A Christ Central Overview

If you would open up your Bibles to Colossians chapter 1, in your pew Bibles on page 1168.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

You know, it's always good to know where you're going.

This past summer, you all so graciously gave me a seven-week sabbatical.

It was awesome.

And the first four weeks of that was an epic road trip.

So my wife Jenny, our youngest Mary, we all got in our little CRV, and we did this epic road trip west.

But I got to tell you something.

It was all kind of vague until just a couple months beforehand.

And it wasn't until a couple months beforehand that we actually got the itinerary in place where we knew where we were going.

We'd know we were going to go see the mountains in Crested Butte.

And then we were going to go see Zion National Park in Utah.

Then we were going to hit LA and San Diego, Yosemite.

Then we're going to go to the Ruby Mountains in Nevada.

And then show up in the Tetons.

Hit Mount Rushmore.

Badlands.

Waldrug.

And come back home.

Oh man, when we saw this trip laid out on a map and the majesty of the American West laid out before us.

Man, we were ready to go.

It stirred our anticipation.

It's always good to know where you're going.

This morning, my goal is to stir your anticipation.

To let you know where we're going in the book of Colossians.

So that you can see the majesty of Christ Central laid out in this book again and again.

We've got an epic five and a half month journey as a church through this book.

And we're going to see the glories of Christ again and again and again.

So this morning, you may have not heard a sermon like this before.

It's an overview sermon.

What I'm going to do is briefly give you a little background on the book of Colossians.

And then I'm actually going to walk you through the book of Colossians.

There's like seven pearls strung together with one common theme.

I'm going to walk you through it to build your anticipation for what God has for us.

And then I'm going to show you what the argument is.

What the Holy Spirit is wanting to convince us of over the next five and a half months.

And do you know what I'm going to do then?

I'm going to take Colossians 4.16 to heart.

And I'm going to read you the book.

It takes about 11 minutes.

And so we got our work cut out for us.

But let's start with me giving you some background.

First thing to know is who wrote this letter.

By the way, if you're taking notes, don't write anything yet.

Don't waste your note taking space on the background stuff.

When we get to the structure of the book, the itinerary, that's when you start to need to take notes.

So background, who wrote this letter?

Well, we see in chapter 1, verse 1, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.

That's the guy who wrote the book.

Now, if you don't know who an apostle is or have never heard that word before,

an apostle is a man who was commissioned by Christ himself and given authority to preach Christ

and to establish the church around the nations.

A unique authority.

There are no more apostles like that anymore.

But that authority continues on today in the writings of the apostles.

So when we read a book like Colossians, we're putting ourselves under the apostolic authority of Paul.

Paul was the small A author of the book of Colossians.

The capital A author is the Holy Spirit.

And the Holy Spirit authored every word, inspired every word of this,

so that Paul wrote down everything that God wanted him to write down for those Colossians and for us, Kenosians.

The thing that you need to know about this book, though, that makes it even more interesting is where Paul wrote it from.

He wrote it from a Roman prison cell.

And so when you see the centrality of Christ throughout this book,

in the midst of all that kind of suffering, it's incredible.

So who wrote the letter?

Well, Paul, an apostle.

Who were the recipients of the letter?

Well, we see that in verse 2.

To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae.

Now, Colossae was a town in what is now modern-day Turkey.

It was Asia Minor, and it was primarily a Gentile town, a non-Jewish town.

Anybody familiar with the seven churches of Revelation chapter 2 and 3?

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

Those churches were in Asia Minor, and Colossae was really close to them.

So it's kind of the northern Mediterranean basin, southwestern Turkey today.

And these men and women had been flipped by God's grace in Christ.

They had never met Paul.

They had never seen him face to face.

You'll see that in chapter 2, verse 1.

But what did happen is a guy named Epaphras.

You see this in chapter 1, verse 7.

Just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved servant.

Epaphras was a Colossian, and somehow he had become a Christian.

And he went back to Colossae and started making Christ known among his fellow Colossians.

And they started to believe.

They had faith in Jesus Christ, and their eternities changed.

And there was such a response that they were able to gather a church there.

Paul hears about it.

So he writes this letter to them.

Now, Paul, remember, is the small a author of Colossians.

And the Holy Spirit is the capital A author.

That's why this book is not only good for that first century church in Colossae.

It's really good for a 21st century church in Kenosha.

So why was this letter written?

There was a problem.

The church was being influenced by thinking, maybe even better said, a way of being,

that was minimizing Jesus and decentralizing Jesus.

And something else had come into the controlling center of this church.

And so what Paul is going to argue throughout this letter is that Jesus is the controlling center of all things.

Jesus is enough.

You don't need to add to him.

And so what we see here happening in the book of Colossians is Paul correcting a decentralizing of Jesus by recentralizing Jesus.

Anybody benefit from hearing that day in and day out?

We all have a tendency to decentralize Jesus.

This is going to be good news for us.

You're going to see a glorious Christ worthy of your life again and again and again.

So now, that's the background.

Let's get to where the action is.

The structure of the book.

The unfolding of the book.

There are ten pearls here.

No, no.

Seven pearls in Colossians.

And they're all strung together by one central argument.

Now, if you're taking notes, here's what I'd like you to do on the left side of that kind of note-taking space on the back of your bulletin or on a piece of paper.

Just write one, two, three, four, five, six, seven on the left side.

And then I want you to write words next to them.

Number one, intro.

Number two, purpose.

Number three, threat.

Number four.

I know I'm going quick here.

Number four, who with an arrow that points to how.

Number five.

Let me show if I got my facts right.

Household.

Number six, outsiders.

Number seven, network.

Okay, my goal here is to prime the pump of your heart to build into you some kind of anticipation for the goodness that God has for us.

So I'm going to walk you through these seven pearls.

I'm going to walk you through this itinerary.

And I want you to be coming out of this saying, oh, man, this is going to be good for the next five and a half months.

So let me walk you through, starting with number one, intro.

The introduction of Colossians takes up the most space in Colossians.

Believe it or not, it starts in chapter one, verse one, and goes all the way to chapter two, verse five.

So it's a really big introduction.

Paul kind of introduces himself, says hi to the Colossian church.

And then in verses three through eight, he starts giving thanksgiving for what God has started in this church.

They were loving one another.

They had hope.

They had faith in Christ.

So he's like grateful, thankful for what God had done in this Colossian church.

And then in verses nine through 14, he starts praying for the church.

There's an apostolic prayer in your Bible.

There are multiple of them.

One of them is in Colossians chapter one, verses nine through 14.

And he prays something very specific for this church that gets us on what his burden is for this church.

Look at verse nine.

Asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Verse 10, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him.

What Paul is writing for, what he's getting at in this prayer,

is he's praying something for this church that they would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ central.

Fully pleasing to him.

Christ central.

It's a beautiful passage.

But then he gets into verses 15 through 23, which is kind of like Christological fireworks.

It is believably unbelievable.

And so what the apostle Paul does here is he sets forth this glorious vision for who Jesus is and what he's done.

So in verses 15 through 17, he points to Jesus as being the Lord over all creation.

And then in verses 18 through 20, he points to Jesus as being Lord over all redemption.

He's Lord over all.

He is preeminent over all things and his reign is comprehensive through everything.

Christ central.

There's a reason why this is in the introduction of this book.

The apostle Paul is already centralizing Jesus for this church.

We're going to see this passage played out, echo through the rest of the book.

In chapter 1, verse 24 through 25, again, part of the introduction, the apostle Paul is kind of saying,

okay, this is my labor for you.

This is, this is, this Christ is who I am serving and suffering for so that you would be, verse 28,

so I could present you mature in Christ.

That Christ would be central to your lives.

He starts talking about a mystery in this section.

A mystery revealed.

And that mystery revealed is Christ.

So that's the intro to the book of Colossians.

That's the first pearl.

That's where he starts.

Big Jesus.

And now he moves on in verses 2, 6, and 7 to the purpose.

It's a purpose statement for the book.

Look, you can read it in verse 2, 6.

Therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.

Here, I'm going to read that again.

I'm going to read, therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord.

And I want you all to say back to me, so walk in him.

Ready?

Therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.

Just as you received Christ Jesus as the Lord over all creation and the Lord over the new creation,

so walk in him.

Central, functional to all that you are.

This is the purpose statement of the book.

Paul is impressing upon this church.

Jesus is enough, and he's central to all that you are and all that you do.

Christ central walking.

That word walk, so walk in him.

You might think kind of like walk.

What he's talking about is like living your life.

Living your life in every detail of your life.

Wherever you find yourself living, that is where you're walking.

And what he's arguing here for is Christ is be the controlling center of all that you do.

So that's the purpose.

Let's move on to the third pearl.

The third pearl is threat.

In verses, chapter 2, verses 8 through 23, Paul identifies the threat to the church in Colossae.

And there is a corresponding threat to the church in Kenosha.

There's this, back in the day, there's this dangerous teaching, a dangerous way of being that was toxic to the church.

Now, this threat came in a particular form.

And it's what's called syncretism.

And what syncretism is, is when a Christian starts adding things that are not necessary or essential,

and adding them to the Christian faith and making them necessary and essential.

Even making them central.

And so instead of this beautiful body of Jesus, the church,

what can happen with syncretism is a Frankenstein beast that stops being Christianity.

And so when you read through verses like 8 through 23,

you see a number of these things that are coming up.

There was this secular influence.

Look at verse 8.

See that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition,

according to the elemental spirits of the world.

And notice that, next phrase, and not according to Christ.

They were buying into some kind of philosophy that had nothing to do with Jesus.

And they were making it important to following Jesus.

And then there's all these kind of religious, Jewish kind of religious references.

There's a phrase talking about verse 11.

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands.

By the circumcision of Christ.

Apparently circumcision was an issue.

Look at verse 16.

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink,

or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.

So somebody was influencing the church by saying,

you know what, it really matters what you eat and drink

in order to walking and living for Jesus.

Or it really matters that you keep this religious calendar.

That's really important.

And look what Paul says in verse 17.

These are a shadow of the things to come,

but the substance, the centrality of all things, belongs to Christ.

He goes on to talking about asceticism,

about the worship of angels,

about getting caught up with visions.

And then in verse 20,

he starts talking about 2021.

These things that were being said in the church.

Do not handle.

Do not taste.

Do not touch.

No, no.

No, no.

No.

Don't do that.

No.

No.

And Paul wraps up by saying in verse 23,

hey, these have an appearance of wisdom

in promoting self-made religion,

self-made religion,

Frankenstein religion,

and asceticism and severity to the body,

but they are of no value

in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

They are no value to your godliness.

They are no value to living for Christ.

These things are a shadow.

These things can be toxic.

Guess what, gang?

As it was true back in the first century,

it's true in the 21st century.

There are toxins in American culture

that we're breathing in.

And we've got to point them out and say,

no, no, that's not healthy for us.

No, that's not central to our walking with Jesus.

That's at best on the outside.

So there's a real threat going on

to this Colossian church.

The threat of syncretism.

It's still a threat today.

The fourth pearl

is in chapter 3, verses 1 through 17,

and it's actually Paul's response

to this Frankenstein Christianity

that has no value for stopping

the indulgence of the flesh.

It is the who to how

of Christian living.

This is what it means

to truly walk in a manner

worthy of Christ,

walking in a manner that pleases Him.

He says that's not the way

in chapter 2,

and then lays out for us

in chapter 3,

this is the way

to live for Christ.

And what I want you to see

is a very important relationship.

In chapter 3, 1 through 4,

Paul is going to say,

this is who you are in Christ.

And then in chapter 3,

verses 5 through 17,

he says,

and this is how you live for Christ.

Who you are in Christ

determines how you live for Christ.

Who Christ is

and what Christ has done

defines and determines

who we are

and how we live.

This is a very important passage for us

because he's going to get into

the nitty-gritty of some things.

It's going to help us

recognize that Jesus is enough

and Jesus is central

to our daily living.

And so he hits,

in this part of chapter 3,

he hits on Jesus

kind of like general godliness.

It's what progressive sanctification,

becoming more and more like Jesus,

looks like day in and day out.

The fifth pearl

is he now moves

from these general kind of principles

of godly living for Christ

to now living godly lives

in real relationships

with one another.

Household relationships.

And this is chapter 3, verse 18

Isaiah 3:18

through chapter 4, verse 1.

If you look at it,

it's really interesting.

He identifies three sets of relationships.

He talks about marriage, 18 and 19.

He talks about the family,

children in verse 20,

parents in verse 21.

And then he talks about the workplace.

Bond servants and masters.

We're going to think about that

in terms of

if you are playing some kind of

what's the word?

If you're playing,

I want to say a subservient world,

but that's not it.

The word I'm looking for,

where did I write this word?

Subordinate world.

Sorry about that.

What he's going to address is

how to live as a subordinate

in the workplace

and then how to live

if you're a supervisor

in the workplace.

So it's really interesting

how he lays all this stuff out.

And what I want you to notice

is that Christ is central to it all.

Wives,

you should look at

verse 18.

Wives,

submit to your husbands

as is fitting

in the Lord.

Children,

obey your parents in everything

for this pleases the Lord.

Christ central.

Bond servants,

obey in everything

those who are your earthly masters

fearing the Lord.

Work hardly for the Lord.

You are serving the Lord Christ.

Christ central.

Masters,

supervisors,

treat your subordinates

justly and fairly

knowing that you also have

a supervisor,

Christ central,

in heaven.

Christ central

all the way through.

The next stop

is in chapter 4

verses 2 through 6

and then Paul makes

a very quick move

to those outside the faith.

In verse 2,

he calls this church,

God is calling us

to be praying

watchfully,

evangelistically.

And then in verses 3 and 4,

Paul asks this church

to pray for

his gospel work.

And then in verses 5

through 6,

he moves to the Colossians

themselves

and says,

okay,

this is,

here's some instructions

in order,

how to engage

those outsiders

that you're living among,

those who are not

in Christ

but outside of Christ.

And so,

in verses 2 through 6

of chapter 4,

he's helping us

think evangelistically.

And then finally,

in chapter 4,

verses 7 through 18,

is the close

of the book,

seventh pearl.

And you might

see that

and start thinking,

oh man,

there's a lot of names.

Isn't that interesting?

That's wonderful.

You can dismiss it.

Let's not dismiss it.

The Holy Spirit

has this here

for a reason.

In this passage,

in 7 through 18,

Paul name drops

10 people.

And if you include himself,

it's 18.

No, verse 18.

Including himself,

it's 11.

But interwoven

throughout these names

are greetings.

Christians from all over

the Mediterranean basin

greeting one another.

There's a network here.

And intermingled

with all these greetings,

Paul is making reference

to this gospel labor

of people who are

seeking to make Christ known

in these cities

around the Mediterranean Sea.

And so what you have here

at the end

of the book of Colossians

is a Christ central

missional network.

The book ends

with this sense

that the Colossian church

is not alone

in what God is doing

around the world.

They have a part to play.

So these are the seven pearls.

This is the itinerary

of the book of Colossians.

There is a lot here.

But there is a cord

holding all these pearls together.

All these seven distinct moves.

They unfold

with one common theme.

Christ central.

Christ preeminent over all.

Christ comprehensively reigning

through all.

The main argument of the book

is not just that Christ

is central.

The main argument

of the book

is that Christ

is the functional

center of our lives.

He controls

and determines everything.

You can say it this way.

Because of who Christ is

and what Christ has done,

what Christ is doing,

He must

be the controlling center

of who we are

and what we do.

Christ

central.

Jesus is enough.

I hope it's kind of

stirring some anticipation

in you.

We've got some

majesty of Jesus

coming our way

through the book

of Colossians.

So now what I'd like

to do is

read the book

of Colossians to you.

In chapter 4,

verse 16,

Paul says,

and when this letter

has been read among you,

have it also read

in the church

of the Laodiceans.

This letter

was meant to be read.

This letter was meant

to be heard

by Christians.

So I'm going to read it

and I'm going to ask you

right now,

ask the Lord,

Lord instruct me

as I listen.

Paul,

an apostle of Christ Jesus

by the will of God

and Timothy,

our brother,

to the saints

and faithful brothers

in Christ

at Colossae,

grace to you

and peace

from God our Father.

We always thank God

the Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ

when we pray for you

since we heard

of your faith

in Christ Jesus

and of the love

that you have

for all the saints

because of the hope

laid up for you

in heaven.

Of this you have heard

before

in the word of truth,

the gospel,

which has come to you

as indeed in the whole world

it is bearing fruit

and increasing

as it also does

among you

since the day you heard it

and understood the grace

of God in truth

just as you learned it

from Epaphras,

our beloved fellow servant.

He is a faithful minister

of Christ on your behalf

and has made known to us

your love in the Spirit.

And so from the day we heard,

we have not ceased

to pray for you

asking that you may be filled

with the knowledge

of his will

in all spiritual wisdom

and understanding

so as to walk

in a manner worthy

of the Lord,

fully pleasing to him,

bearing fruit

in every good work

and in increasing

in knowledge of God,

being strengthened

with all power

according to his glorious might

for all endurance

and patience

with joy,

giving thanks to the Father

who has qualified you

to share in the inheritance

of the saints in light.

He has delivered us

from the domain of darkness

and transferred us

to the kingdom

of his beloved Son

in whom we have redemption,

the forgiveness of sins.

And then he starts

talking about Jesus.

He is the image

of the invisible God,

the firstborn of all creation.

For by him,

all things were created

in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones

or dominions

or rulers or authorities,

all things were created

through him

and for him.

And he is before all things

and in him,

all things hold together.

And he is the head

of the body,

the church.

He's the beginning,

the firstborn from the dead,

that in everything

he might be preeminent.

For in him,

all the fullness of God

was pleased to dwell

and through him

to reconcile to himself

all things,

whether on earth

or in heaven,

making peace

by the blood of his cross.

And you,

who once were alienated

and hostile in mind,

doing evil things,

he has now reconciled

in his body of flesh

by his death

in order to present you

holy and blameless

and above reproach

before him,

if indeed you continue

in the faith,

stable and steadfast,

not shifting from the hope

of the gospel

that you have heard,

which has been proclaimed

in all creation

under heaven

and of which I,

Paul,

became a minister,

now I rejoice

in my sufferings

for your sake.

And in my flesh

I am filling up

what is lacking

in Christ's affliction

for the sake

of his body,

that is the church,

of which I became

a minister

according to the stewardship

from God

that was given to me

for you

to make the word

of God fully known.

The mystery,

hidden for ages

and generations,

but now revealed

to his saints,

to them God

chose to make known

how great among

the Gentiles

are the riches

of the glory

of this mystery

which is Christ

in you,

the hope of glory.

Him we proclaim,

warning everyone

and teaching everyone

with all wisdom

that we may present

to everyone

mature in Christ.

For this I toil,

struggling with all

his energy

that he powerfully

works within me.

For I want you to know

how great a struggle

I have for you

and for those

that Laodicea

and for all

who have not seen

me face to face,

that their hearts

may be encouraged

being knit together

in love

to reach all the riches

of the fullness

of assurance

of understanding

and the knowledge

of God's mystery

which is Christ

in whom are hidden

all treasures

of wisdom

and knowledge.

I say this

in order that

no one may delude you

with plausible arguments

for though I am

absent in the body

yet I am with you

in spirit

rejoicing to see

your good order

in the firmness

of your faith

in Christ.

Therefore,

as you receive

Christ Jesus the Lord,

so walk in him.

Rooted and built up

in him

and established

in the faith

just as you were taught

abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it

that no one

takes you captive

by philosophy

and empty conceit

according to human tradition,

according to the elemental

spirits of the world

and not according

to Christ.

For in him

the whole fullness

of deity dwells bodily

and you have been

filled in him

who is the head

of all rule

and authority.

In him also

you were circumcised

with a circumcision

made without hands

by putting off

the body of the flesh

by the circumcision

of Christ

having been buried

with him in baptism

in which you were also

raised with him

through faith

in the powerful

working of God

who raised him

from the dead.

And you

who were dead

in your trespasses

in the uncircumcision

of your flesh

God made alive

together with him

having forgiven us

all our trespasses

by canceling

the record of debt

that stood against us

with its legal demands

this he set aside

nailing it to the cross

he disarmed the rulers

and the authorities

and put them

to open shame

by triumphing over them

in him.

Therefore

let no one

pass judgment on you

in questions of food

and drink

or with regard

to a festival

or a new moon

or a Sabbath

these are a shadow

of the things to come

but the substance

belongs to Christ.

Let no one

disqualify you

insisting on asceticism

and the worship

of angels

going on in detail

about visions

puffed up without reason

by a sensuous mind

and not holding fast

to the head

from whom the whole body

nourished and knit together

through its joints

and ligaments

grows with the growth

that is from God.

If with Christ

you die

to the elemental spirits

of the world

why

as if you were still

alive in the world

do you submit

to regulations

do not handle

do not taste

do not touch

referring to things

that all perish

as they are used

according to human

precepts and teachings.

These have indeed

an appearance of wisdom

in promoting

self-made religion

and asceticism

in severity

to the body

but they

are of no value

in stopping

the indulgence

of the flesh.

If then

you've been raised

with Christ

seek the things

that are above

where Christ is

seated

at the right hand

of God.

set your minds

on things

that are above

not on things

that are on earth

for you have died

and your life

is hidden

with Christ

in God

when Christ

who is

your life

appears

then you also

will appear

with him

in glory.

Put to death

therefore

what is earthly

in you

sexual immorality

impurity

passion

evil desire

and covetousness

which is

idolatry

on account

of these

the wrath

of God

is coming

in these

you too

once walked

when you were

living in them

but now

you must put

them all away

anger

wrath

malice

slander

and obscene

talk from your mouth

do not lie

to one another

seeing that you

have put off

the old self

with its practices

and put

have put on

the new self

which is being

renewed in the

knowledge after

the image

of its creator

a reference

to Jesus

here there is

not Greek

and Jew

circumcised

and uncircumcised

barbarian

Scythian

slave

free

but Christ

is all

and in all

put on then

as God's chosen

ones

holy and beloved

compassionate

hearts

kindness

humility

meekness

and patience

bearing with one

another

and if

one has a

complaint against

another

forgiving each

other

as the Lord

has forgiven

you

so you

also

must

forgive

and above

all these

put on

love

which binds

everything

together

in perfect

harmony

and let

the peace

of Christ

rule in

your hearts

to which

indeed

you were

called

in one

body

and be

thankful

let the

word of

Christ

dwell

in you

richly

teaching

and admonishing

one another

in all wisdom

singing songs

and hymns

and spiritual

songs

with thankfulness

in your

hearts

to God

and whatever

you do

in word

or deed

do

everything

in the name

of the Lord

Jesus

giving thanks

to God

the Father

through him

wives

submit to your

husbands

as is fitting

in the Lord

husbands

love your

wives

and do not

be harsh

with them

children

obey your

parents

in everything

for this

pleases

the Lord

fathers

do not

provoke

your children

lest they

become

discouraged

bond

servants

subordinates

obey in

everything

those who

are your

earthly

masters

not by way

of eye

service

as people

pleasers

but with

sincerity

of heart

fearing

the Lord

whatever

you do

bond

servant

subordinate

work

heartily

as for

the Lord

and not

for men

knowing that

from the

Lord

you will

receive

the

inheritance

as your

reward

you are

serving

the Lord

Christ

for the

wrongdoer

will be

paid

back

for the

wrong

he has

done

and there

is no

partiality

masters

treat

your

bond

servants

supervisors

treat

your

subordinates

justly

and fairly

knowing

that you

also

have

the

ultimate

supervisor

in heaven

continue

steadfastly

in prayer

being watchful

in it

with thanksgiving

at the same

time

pray also

for us

that God

may

open to

us

a door

for the

word

to declare

the mystery

of Christ

on account

of which

I am

in prison

that I

make it

clear

which is

how I

ought to

speak

walk in

wisdom

toward

outsiders

making

the best

use

of the

time

let your

speech

always be

gracious

seasoned

with salt

so that

you may

know

how you

ought

to

answer

each

person

Tychicus

will tell

you all

about my

activities

he is a

beloved brother

and faithful

minister

and fellow

servant

of the

Lord

I have

sent him

to you

for this

very

purpose

that you

may know

how we

are

that he

may

encourage

your

hearts

and with

him

Onesimus

our

faithful

and beloved

brother

who is

one of

you

they will

tell you

of everything

that has

taken

place

here

Aristarchus

my

fellow

prisoner

greets

you

and Mark

the cousin

of Barnabas

concerning

whom you

have received

instructions

if he

comes to

you

welcome

him

and

Jesus

who is

called

Justice

these

are the

only

men

of the

circumcision

among

my

fellow

workers

for the

kingdom

of God

and they

have been

a comfort

to me

Epaphras

who is

one of

you

a servant

of Christ

Jesus

greets

you

always

struggling

on your

behalf

in his

prayers

that you

may stand

mature

and fully

assured

in all

the will

of God

for I

bear him

witness

that he

has worked

hard for you

and for

those in

Laodicea

in Hierapolis

Luke the

beloved

physician

greets you

as does

Demas

give my

greetings

to the

brothers

at Laodicea

and to

Nympha

and the

church

in her

house

and when

this letter

has been

read among

you

have it

also read

in the

church

of the

Laodiceans

and see

that you

also read

the letter

from the

Laodicea

and say

to Archippus

see that

you fulfill

the ministry

that you

have received

in the Lord

I

Paul

write this

greeting

with my

own hand

remember

my

chains

grace

be with

you

brothers

and sisters

we

we have

an epic

journey

in front

of us

over the

next five

and a half

months

we are

going to

see the

majesty

of Christ

lifted up

and worked

through our

lives

would you

join with

me now

as we

ask God

to do

a work

a lasting

work

in our

lives

father

god

we thank

you for

every book

of this

bible

we thank

you for

every word

that has

originated

in your

mind

and is

now

available

to us

in our

own

language

we thank

you for

the book

of

colossians

and its

unique

contribution

to our

lives

the centrality

of Christ

in all

things

father

would you

pour out

your spirit

upon us

week after

week over

the next

five and a

half months

and that

you would

capture us

with this

glorious vision

of Christ

central

preeminent

comprehensive

in all

things

it's your

name we

pray

amen