Lesson One

OVERVIEW OF COLOSSIANS

A biblical epistle is at once two seemingly contradictory things. It is a letter from a man to a group of people in a particular time and place, and it is a message from the Spirit of God to all Christians in every generation. Just as Christ was fully human and fully divine, so is the letter to the Colossians. In the first part of this overview and in other lessons, we will look at the book mainly from its human side in order to make observations and interpretations. When we get to application, we will focus on the letter's divineness. But before you begin to study, acknowledge the book's supernatural origin by asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you personally and transform you as you study.

This overview will probably take you more time than any other lesson of the study. If necessary, allow one week to read the "How to Use This Study" section, the historical background, and the whole letter to the Colossians. Then take a second week to answer the overview questions.

First impressions

Even though Paul had never been to the church at Colosse, some of its members had been converted through his evangelistic ministry. Among them was Epaphras, who led the church, and Philemon — the owner of the slave Onesimus — in whose house the church may have met. So it was not to total strangers that Paul wrote, but brothers and sisters whose salvation had been shaped by men and women he knew and trusted. People like Epaphras and Philemon were devoted to Paul and must have conveyed their attitudes to the rest of the church. Now there was confusion among the believers, and in Paul's letter they received authoritative instruction on the issues about which they had questions. They probably read through the letter quickly at first, just to discover Paul's attitude and tone, then went back later to dig out the details.

In the same way, read through the entire letter to the Colossians at one sitting. You may want to read it aloud, as it was read to the Colossians, imagining a cluster of listeners around you. Gather a general impression of Paul's themes and tone.

1. How would you describe the tone Paul conveys in this letter? What is his approach to the church at Colosse, their lifestyles, and problems? ________________________________________ ________________________________________

2. Paul did not hesitate to repeat himself when he wanted to stress a point. What words and ideas are repeated in each of the following sets of verses?

1:15-18; 3:10___________________________ ________________________________________

1:18-19; 2:9-10,19; 3:11 _______________ ________________________________________

1:9-10,26-28; 2:2-3; 3:10,16; 4:3_______ ________________________________________

2:11; 3:5,10,12,14______________________ ________________________________________

other___________________________________ ________________________________________

Broad outline

If you are still vague about Paul's intentions after one reading, a broad outline of Colossians may help sharpen your perceptions.

3. Reread Colossians, preferably in a different translation without subheads. You may discover a turn of phrase or word that makes a confusing passage clearer.

This time, think of a short phrase or sentence that can serve as a title for each paragraph. You may want to include key words from the paragraph. Write your titles below.

(Be creative. There is no one right answer; the first title is given as an example. Your Bible's paragraph divisions may differ, so feel free to alter those given here.)

1:1-2 Greetings to the Faithful _____

1:3-8___________________________________ ________________________________________

1:9-14__________________________________ ________________________________________

1:15-23_________________________________ ________________________________________

1:24–2:5__________________________ ________________________________________

2:6-15__________________________________ ________________________________________

2:16-23_________________________________ ________________________________________

3:1-4___________________________________ ________________________________________

3:5-11__________________________________ ________________________________________

3:12-17_________________________________ ________________________________________

3:18–4:1__________________________ ________________________________________

4:2-6___________________________________ ________________________________________

4:7-18__________________________________ ________________________________________

Theme and purpose

We cannot completely reconstruct the reasons for Paul's letter to the Colossians, but the better we recreate the context, the better we will understand his message. Certainly, like other letter writers, he was responding to what he knew of his readers and their situation. He also wrote from his personal experiences, the track record he had established through his years in the faith and in ministry.

Our own purposes for studying Colossians are separated from those of the original readers by centuries of change, but how we understand and apply his words should be influenced by how the Holy Spirit intended them in the context of the first century.

4. From your first readings of Colossians, what seem to be Paul's main reasons for writing this letter? ________________________________________ ________________________________________

5. If you have not yet done so, read the historical background.

6. Have you come across questions you'd like answered as you go deeper into this study? While your thoughts are still fresh, you may want to record your questions here to serve as personal goals for your investigation of the letter. ________________________________________ ________________________________________

7. The letter to the Colossians was written to a specific church at a specific point in history, but it is also God's Word to us today. As you read through Colossians, did you find areas that might apply to you? If so, what are some of those areas?

_______________________________________ ________________________________________

8. Summarize what is to you the most significant first impression from your study so far. ________________________________________ ________________________________________

For the group

This "For the group" section and the ones in later lessons are intended to suggest ways of structuring your discussions....