Outline of Colossians

James Duvall
Pastor, Faith Baptist Church, Covington, Kentucky

1. Colossians was probably written in 62 A.D., the letter being written by Paul and delivered by the carrier who took letters also the Ephesian church and Philemon.   At the time Paul wrote, he was a prisoner in Rome (4:18).
   
2. Brief Outline of Colossians:
   1. Salutation (1:1-2).
   2. The Person and Work of Christ (1:3-2:7).
   3. False Teaching and its Antidote (2:8-3:4).
   4. The Christian Life (3:5-4:6).
   5. Personal Notes and Final Greeting (4:7-18).
      
3. Salutation (1:1-2).
   1. The apostle Paul begins by telling of his appointment (calling) by God to the work of the ministry.   Sometimes today, we hear of mamma-called preachers – this was not the case in New Testament times.   The true preacher is called of God.   For I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God… (1:25) .   And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry (I Timothy 1:12).
   2. As Paul addressed the church, he referred to the saints and faithful brethren.   This church was faithful in its pagan surroundings.   So are we to be in our day, if we are to have a healthy church that is pleasing to God.
      
4. The Person and Work of Christ (1:3-2:7).
   1. The Apostle emphasizes in this letter the pre-eminence of Christ – summing up (in 3:11) that Christ is all and in all.   He stresses also that we are complete in Him (2:10).   As in Paul’s other church writings, the first part of this letter is doctrinal and the latter part is practical.
   2. The faith, hope and love trilogy (1:4-5) is mentioned often in Paul’s other writings.   He gives a comparison of these graces in I Corinthians 13:13, And now abideth faith, hope and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity (love).
   3. The importance of hearing the Gospel of Christ (1:6) is emphasized, along with the fruit it bringeth forth.   The Gospel will bring a dramatic change in a person’s life.   There will be fruit that is evident.
   4. The prayer (1:9) for their knowledge…wisdom and spiritual understanding indicates there was a serious problem confronting the Colossian church.   Teachings that were contrary to the simple gospel had influenced many of them.   It was known as Gnosticism.   The Gnostics claimed to have a great knowledge of spiritual things.   They seemed to make knowledge the goal of their lives.   A.T. Robertson refers to them as intellectual upstarts (Word Pictures, IV, 475).   Their doctrine led to conceit, pride, visions and special practices contrary to the Word of God.
   5. Their special claims of knowledge caused them to deny many of the claims of Christ.   These Gnostics were leading the Colossian church to doubt, rather than to have greater faith in God.   Gnostics assumed that with their natural intellectual powers alone, with no assistance from the Holy Spirit or the revelation of Scripture, they could become all that God intended for them be.   Of course, that kind of person will never know the blessings a child of God experiences when he sees how poverty-stricken he is apart from his Savior, Jesus Christ.
   6. In 1:13, we see our salvation is being rescued and transplanted.   He hath delivered us…and hath translated us…The darkness of sin is powerful, but the kingdom of His dear Son is with glorious power and all might(1:11).
   7. In 1:14-20, Christ is designated as God incarnate, Creator, Eternal Sustainer, Head of the church, Victor over death, and Peacemaker.   The identity of Christ is more important than any of His accomplishments.   If He isn’t everything the Scriptures say He is, then He has not done any of the things the Scriptures say He did.   This truth of Christ over all of the powers in the universe is one that modern man needs so badly to learn.   In verse 18, the pre-eminence of Christ is mentioned; the Lord Jesus Christ had referred to this Himself in John 14:6, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.
   8. Christ’s coming into this world was not to demonstrate His preeminence, but to make peace through the blood of His cross (1:20).   At the announcement of His birth, by the angel, we are told, He shall save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).   The eternal hope of God’s people is the work of Christ on the cross in our behalf.
   9. The apostle speaks of his sufferings in behalf of this church.   He is willing and happy to do this for the Saviour, as the church is His body.   For a more thorough description of the church as Christ’s body, note I Corinthians 12:12-28.
   10. Christ is the hope of glory (1:27).   The importance of preaching is emphasized.   A Christian grows by knowing more about the Saviour; doctrine is what will strengthen God’s people.
   11. In Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (2:3).   The Gnostics had spoken of their wisdom and understanding, but real spiritual treasures are in Christ only.   A church should be rooted and built up… stablished in the faith (2:7) and walking in Christ (2:6).   If we can truly grasp who our Saviour is and what He has done for us, it should control our lives.
       
5. False Teaching and its Antidote (2:8-3:4).
   1. One of the characteristics of false teachers (cultists) is they do not go after the lost, but after those who call themselves Christians.   Recently, as I talked to a so-called Jehovah’s Witness, she said that she and her husband, along with many in their group, were former Baptists.   As we talked, it was obvious that she had no idea what Baptists believe.   Someone failed in their evangelistic efforts to explain the matter of sin, the need of repentance and faith, and the grace of God in Christ.   She had no Biblical concept of these doctrines.   The Beware of 2:8 should put Christ’s people on guard against false prophets.
   2. 2:8 warns against being led astray by philosophy.   Most modern philosophy is an attempt to investigate and clarify meanings and relationships rather than an attempt to arrive at any ultimate truth.   Most modern philosophers despair at finding ultimate truth.   Paul connects vain deceit with this kind of philosophy.
   3. 2:16 indicates that outward signs are the leading indicators of false teaching.   Eat, drink, holy days, new moons and Sabbaths – can all be used as religious practices, yet not teach a person about the true worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.   Let us be careful that we are not only religious outwardly.   Legalism brings bondage.   The Apostle Peter called it a yoke upon the neck in Acts 15:10.
   4. A third warning is given in 2:18: intruding into those things which he hath not seen…People often get themselves into serious trouble by prying into a realm where they are ignorant.   Inflated pride can lead one this way.
   5. The solution for these problems is found by being a member of the local New Testament Baptist church where Christ is the Head.   The New Testament does not offer any solutions outside of a church for Christians.   When someone tries to live apart from a church, they have cut themselves off from the nourishment God provides from the Head – Christ – through the preaching of the Word and fellowship of God’s people.
   6. The basis of our overcoming false teaching is Christ.   We are raised with Christ (3:1); we died with Christ (3:3); we are hidden with Christ (3:3) and we shall be glorified with Christ (3:4).   A.T. Robertson said, So here we are in Christ who is in God, and no burglar, not even Satan himself, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Paul and the Intellectuals, pg. 98).
      
6. The Christian Life (3:5-4:6).
   1. 3:5 – The word mortify means to put to death.   Jesus made similar statements in the Sermon on the Mount when He referred to the eye and hand, and said if either was offensive, pluck it out and cut it off.   The Bible’s message is to stop sinning.   Of course sin comes from the heart and the heart must be right with God.   But sin must be recognized for what it is, so the apostle has a long list of the things that are not to be practiced by the new man ( 3:10).   Many like to think of sin in a general sense, but it is always specific in the Bible.
   2. After listing many things that a born-again person is to put off, the apostle mentions several times the importance of putting on certain characteristics ( 3:10 ff).   True biblical knowledge is not theoretical, but is centered in a person.   Christ is all, and in all (3:11).   The conclusion of all the things that should be added to our lives is charity (love).   In verse 14, we read that love is above all these things that we have put on.
   3. Many Bible students have referred to this letter having some close resemblances to the book of Ephesians.   The passage beginning in 3:16 is one such passage.   Here, we read of the Word of God dwelling in a Christian.   In Ephesians 5:18, we are admonished to be filled with the Spirit.   The same results are produced by the Word as by the Spirit.   For those who emphasize the role of the Spirit above the Word of God, the Scripture gives no such emphasis.   The Spirit of God is always in complete harmony with the Word of God.
   4. The emphasis on the family that begins in verse 18 is like the Ephesians 5 passage.   We see how important our families are.   Husbands, wives, and children must be submissive, have great love and show respect for each other for the family to be blessed of God.   Satan has destroyed many churches by first greatly weakening or destroying the homes of those churches.   The kind of love that should be demonstrated in our homes is the kind that Christ had for His church; Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it (Ephesians 5:25).
   5. 3:24 reminds us ye serve the Lord Christ.   If our eyes get off the One Whom we serve, we will lose the singleness of heart that God demands.   The first portion of this verse speaks of the positive – the reward of the inheritance – but the following verse tells of the chastisement for God’s disobedient children.
   6. Chapter 4:2 tells us to continue in prayer.   The apostle began this letter with a long prayer (1:9-14).   He continues his practical admonitions with a reminder to continue.   One of our Lord’s most important activities was prayer.   Paul requests prayer for himself.   How important it is to pray for God’s men in leadership roles.   A church that prays for her pastor is less likely to criticize him.   Our churches are often weaker than they should be because we don’t pray as we ought.
   7. 4:5 speaks again of our walk.   The lost of the world – them that are without, are watching.   Many observe our conduct and testimony whom we don’t even realize are watching.   The wisdom and every other grace that we need in order to be a good witness comes down to us from above (James 1:5, 17).
      
7. Personal Notes and Final Greeting (4:7-18).
   1. Paul speaks well of the two who delivered the letter to the church.   Tychicus (4:7) [note also Acts 20:4] and Onesimus (4:9) [see the book of Philemon] had both been faithful in service to God.   He speaks of them each as a beloved brother.
   2. The apostle Paul had begun his missionary journeys with Barnabas.   Their disagreement about taking Barnabas’ nephew, Mark, on their second journey was so great they quit working together (Acts 15:37 -39).   From verse 10, we see that they had reconciled.   They more than reconciled; Paul said to Timothy that Mark is profitable to me for the ministry (II Timothy 4:11 ).
   3. In 4:12 , Epaphras is commended for his prayers.   He prayed fervently and had great zeal ( 4:13 ) for the Colossian church and for others nearby.   E.M. Bounds, of a previous generation, seems to have prayed much like Epaphras.
   4. Demas’ name is mentioned in 4:14 .   When the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy he reported Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world (II Timothy 4:10 ).   Let us remember who influences the thinking of this present world and stay close to our Lord lest we forsake His ways.
   5. The reference to the church being in the house of Nymphas ( 4:15 ) was not uncommon in New Testament times.   There are at least five other references to this in the New Testament.
   6. The apostle Paul concludes his letter with Grace be with you ( 4:18 ).   Grace is a marvelous word to each of us.   God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the One preeminent in all things ( 1:18 ), died for us.   We are complete in Him ( 2:10 ).   What a wonderful Saviour we have; what a precious story we have to tell!