Bible study: Colossians 4:2-18 Verse 2-4 Devoting ourselves to prayer: - when we look at the word devoting yourselves to prayer, we can translate in another way as to say being watchful in thanksgiving - rom 12:12 , Paul wanted the Colossians here to be watchful so they wouldnt be caught off guard or unready - read 1 thess 5:4-6 - Paul was warning them from being spiritually lassitude meaning tired, lack of physical mental energy so they would be able to fend against the temptations that would come against them. - read mark 14:34,38 - when we pray persistently that is when we have the power to face temptation - Paul is asking them to pray so he can be focused on what he needs to do and so The Lord would open a door for him where he is. - we must understand here that Paul does not fear being in prison, why because the Lords will is being done in the prison, the gospel is going forth to those around him and at the same time Paul is telling us and the Colossians that we should not fear our prison times because that is where The Lord has the glory in our lives. We must always let our sufferings and trials we go through be a blessing to others. - we tend to forget as believers that we go through trials so we can release others out of their prisons. The Lord will put us in a situation that we are about to overcome, just so we can help the next person who is going through the same trial or about to go through a even greater trial. - why does Paul again say that his message is the mystery of Christ. In this time we must remember that there was no hope for the Gentiles is what was being spoken - Paul always says that he is in chains, what did he mean by that when he said that. - what Paul is saying here to us and the Colossians is that preaching the word of God will not always be the popular thing, it will bring hostility and it will bring persecution. What Paul is really saying here is, that when we are committed to preaching the gospel we are chains not for anything to defeat us but so that His glory would be shown upon others and the word would go forth. It is chains of His glory not chains that defeat us and destroy us Verse 5-6 Using wisdom on how we reach outsiders: - in this time we must realize that the Christians were a minority in a hostile environment, they were concerned about how they look before their neighbours. The Colossians views here were twisted, they believed just because they had the power of Christ fullness in their lives, they had the right to look at be pagans around them as deprived outsiders, in other words they were seen as aliens in Gods kingdom . - read mark 4:11, 1 cor 5:12-13 - this area of thinking was very dangerous because they were shutting the door to the gospel rather then opening it up for people ( Eph 4:4-8) - Paul didnt want the Colossians to be fearful, threatened or isolated but he gave them three things that they should do 1. Their words should always be gracious 2. Their speech was to be salty ( we must season and preserve our language in how we speak ) 3. Well grounded in faith ( 1 pet 3:15-16, col 1:9-10 ) Verse 7-9 - So now here we see Paul talk about two of his fellow brothers - one thing we see here about Pauls ministry is that it was a team effort - he couldnt do it alone and he was not stingy about giving the credit and thanks of who was deserving of it - Paul inspired love and loyalty, in these times the early Christians relied much on the help of others, in these days today we have forgotten about this and we dont support each other. Tychicus is the first one mentioned: - read Eph 6:21-22, - pay close attention to how Paul acknowledges Tychicus, he calls him a faithful minister and fellow servant in The Lord Then Onesimus is mentioned - Paul calls him a faithful and dear brother - you see Paul talks about two different people here but both are working together to complete the same thing. When I read this I believe Paul was talking to the Colossians about having always someone with us side by side. When I read this I believe Paul is talking about the importance of mentorship and discipleship. You see Jesus always sent the disciples two by two never all of them together at once, until they were ready to go on their own to do what The Lord had called them to do Verse 10-14 Now Paul talks about some other individuals: - Aristarchus was a Macedonian from Thessalonics who braved the riotous uproar in Ephesus, he a captive of Christ a fellow servant, epaphras was also a fellow servant and prisoner with Paul - Mark was the cousin of barnabus who was a well known figure in the ancient church ( he was familiar to the Galatians and Corinthians, - Jesus ( Justus along with Aristarchus and Mark as the only Jews who were with Paul , these were the only ones who would bring Paul comfort in this time, - its a important thing that we need to see here that I believe Paul was telling the Colossians is that we have to be always aware of who we pray with. Many times we pray with those who dont believe with us in whatever is happening in our lives and that can be very easily discouraging. So we must use discernment of the Holy Spirit in who we talk with and who we share with because not all will understand what is going on in our situations but they will try to help and more or less it will do more damage. This is why I believe Paul shows us and we see that he had only certain people that were his comfort and others were there for other reasons. Some he called servants and others he called brothers. - that is why here we see Paul talking about the prayer bond among Christians, We must always pray for one another seeking the discernment of the Holy Spirit, - prayer fits our reconstruction of the Colossians situation outside opponents were always coming against their faith and Paul wanted them to stand firm. Many times without knowing it we come against each other in prayer Verse 15-17: - archippus was one who was commissioned as the servant of The Lord who was to present the word in its fullness, it was a positive reminder to him from Paul to get the work done that The Lord had for him Verse 18: - here again we see Paul ending the letter and reminding them to remember his chains, not for any pity upon him but he is saying to them that he is suffering for the glory of Christ and he is glad to suffer for Him, His bonds are not his but the bonds of the gospel. He leaves with encouragement so they would have grace to go through the suffering they would come upon and what they were already going through. Mainly Paul didnt have a half hearted commitment to the gospel but he was fully devoted for it, Amen
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 05:26:06 +0000
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