OVERVIEW:
The preeminence of Christ (chapter 1); four warnings (chapter 2); putting off and putting on (chapter 3); real relationships (chapter 4).
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
In Revelation 2 and 3, our Lord dictated to the Apostle John seven letters to seven churches in Asia Minor. They were seven churches that actually existed historically, at the time of the writing of the Revelation, and addressed actual situations that these churches were facing at that time. Students of the Bible have noted for centuries, however, that beyond just the historical aspect of these letters, there is also a prophetic aspect, or a future application. When placed into the context of the whole of the book of Revelation, the seven letters also provide for us a panoramic view of the seven stages of church history that pick up where the book of Acts leaves off in the history of the early church, and takes us all the way up to the rapture of the church, which “coincidentally” enough, is found in the book of Revelation immediately following the conclusion of the seventh and final letter to the churches. (See Revelation 4:1.)
But there is also another amazing “coincidence” that should be noted. Not only did our Lord write letters to seven churches, but the Apostle Paul also wrote letters to seven churches, or groups of churches (the church of the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and the Thessalonians). What’s even more “coincidental”, is that if we were to take the seven letters to the churches to whom our Lord wrote, and lay them next to the seven letters to the churches to whom Paul wrote, we would find an amazing similarity of content. Certainly, the most obvious connection would be our Lord’s letter to the Laodiceans, and the letter we’ll be looking at today: Paul’s letter to the Colossians. In fact, the only time other than Revelation 3:14-22 that the word “Laodicea” is found in the Bible is the book of Colossians, where it just happens to be found five times! The thing to take away from this observation is that though the book of Colossians was written to address specific situations taking place in that church when the Spirit of God inspired Paul to write it, and though it has certainly had application for every local church in every period of church history, there is also a very specific application of that letter to the church of Jesus Christ in the Laodicean Church Period (approximately 1901 to the Rapture).
Interestingly enough, when we observe the issues that the Spirit of God inspired the Apostle Paul to address when writing to the church that existed historically in Colossae in approximately 62 A.D., they could not possibly have a more specific and direct application to the issues the church of Jesus Christ has dealt with during the Laodicean Period. You may want to just make a mental note to yourself, that when dealing with doctrinal and/or practical issues in the church in the last days, a good place to begin looking for answers is the book of Colossians!
But to understand some of the historical context of this letter, recognize that as Paul writes to the Colossians, he is sitting in a prison cell in Rome. This is the first of two times he would be imprisoned in Rome; the second time would end in his death. Something interesting about this letter is that it is addressed to a church to which Paul had not personally planted, and in a city to which he had never personally been. You’ll notice in chapter 1 and verse 4, Paul says to the Church in Colossae, that he and Timothy “heard of your faith in Christ Jesus.” In chapter 2 and verse 1, Paul says to them, “For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.” That surfaces, then, these obvious questions:
- How did the church in Colossae get planted?
- Why was Paul writing to them?
Even though Paul had never spent any time in Colossae or Laodicea, he had spent a great amount of time in a city about 100 miles away; a city that served as one of the three main bases for his ministry; the city of Ephesus. Paul went to Ephesus on his third missionary journey, and spent three years preaching and teaching there (Acts 20:31). It was here that Paul’s ministry actually began to explode. So much so, that when Luke wrote about this time in Paul’s ministry in Acts 19:10, he says that in the first two years of being there, “all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.” That’s pretty astounding!
Obviously, as these people from all over Asia Minor would come to Ephesus to hear the gospel, many would then carry it back with them to their home towns. During this time, there was evidently a group of men from the city of Colossae who had come to Ephesus and had received the Lord under Paul’s ministry, and had gone back to home to be used of God to start the church in Colossae. A man named Epaphras (1:7; 4:12), a man named Philemon (Philemon 1), along with two other men, Apphia and Archippus (Philemon 2). From the things Paul says concerning Epaphras, it is obvious that he was the one who served as the pastor of this young church. Paul says in 1:6-7 that the Colossians had come to faith from what they “learned of Epaphras, our dear fellowservant, who is FOR YOU A FAITHFUL MINISTER OF CHRIST.” Later in chapter 4 and verse 12, Paul writes to the church in Colossae and says, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”
It would appear, that as this young pastor was seeking to shepherd this young flock, that even in the midst of all of the wonderful blessings of God upon the church in the lives of the Colossians (1:4-6, 8), there were also some things that were extremely troubling and unsettling to him. They were of such magnitude in Epaphras’ mind, that he felt it necessary to make the 1000-mile journey to Rome, where Paul was imprisoned, to learn from him how to address these dangers that were threatening the spiritual well-being of the church.
Evidently, Paul felt that the issues that Epaphras had informed him that had arisen in the church, were significant enough to receive apostolic attention, and so he immediately commences the writing of the letter to the church, sending it with Tychicus and Onesimus (4:7–8), while Epaphras remained in Rome with Paul for further tutelage and discipleship. Basically, in chapters 1 and 2, Paul writes to the church and says, “Your pastor has told me about some of the incredible things that are happening in your lives and in your church, and I’m blessed beyond measure! But let me warn you about some things:
2:4 – ‘Don’t allow ‘any man [to] beguile you with enticing words.’
2:8 – ‘Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.’
2:16 – ‘Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.’
2:18 – ‘Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.’”
After addressing these DOCTRINAL issues in chapters 1 and 2, Paul then addresses PRACTICAL issues in chapters 3 and 4. The overarching theme of these two chapters is RELATIONSHIPS.
- Our RELATIONSHIP with the LORD. 3:1–17
- Our RELATIONSHIP with those in our FAMILY. 3:18–21
- Our RELATIONSHIP with those with whom we WORK. 3:22–4:1
- Our RELATIONSHIP with the LOST WORLD. 4:2–6
- Our RELATIONSHIP with those in the CHURCH. 4:2–18
For those of us who know the Lord, note that the relationships Paul addresses in these two chapters encompass every relationship we have and provides us the practical principles we need for maintaining these relationships biblically.