Colossians AWS
Colossians – July 6th, 2014 – Intro & Colossians 1:1-2 Introduction About 100 miles east from Ephesus, in the valley of the River Lycus, there once stood three important cities – Laodicea, Hierapolis, and Colossae. Originally, they had been Phrygian cities, but in Paul’s day, they were part of the Roman province of Asia. They stood almost in sight of each other. Hierapolis and Laodicea stood on either side of the valley with the River Lycus flowing between, only six miles apart and in full view of each other; Colossae straddled the river about 10 miles further up the foothills of the Cadmus Mountain range. See map below:
The Lycus Valley was known for 4 remarkable characteristics: 1. Described by the historian and geographer, Strabo, as being “euseistos,” which in English means “good for earthquakes.” “Eu” means good and “seistos” is the word from which we get the seismic scale, which talks about the power of an earthquake. More than once this area had been destroyed by an earthquake, but the area was so rich and so independent that it had risen from the ruins without the financial help which the Roman government had offered (they also knew that with government assistance, comes government strings). See also, Rev. 3:14-17
2. The waters of the River Lycus and its tributaries were impregnated with chalk, a white, porous sedimentary rock, a type of limestone made of calcium carbonate (aka: calcite). Thus, the rivers of this area flowed white. This chalk gathered and all over the countryside, built up the most amazing natural formations. The word “Colossae” itself means “monstrosity,” which was a description of the huge natural formations that occurred in that area due to the chalky nature of the rivers. The English word, “Colossal,” also comes from the word Colossae. A man named, “Lightfoot,” described the area as follows: Overhead #1 Buildings and statues are buried; fertile land gets overlaid; river beds become choked up and streams are diverted; fantastic grottoes (naturally formed caves) and cascades (something resembling a series of waterfalls over rocks) and archways of stone are formed by this strange, capricious power, destructive and creative at the same time, working silently throughout the ages. Fatal to vegetation, these incrustations spread like a stony shroud over the ground. Gleaming like glaciers on the hillside, they attract the eye of the traveler at a distance of twenty miles, and form striking features in the scenery, of great and uncommon beauty.
3. Lots of volcanic activity took place in this area. As a result of the volcanic ash, the pasture land was superb. Volcanic ground is always fertile and what was not covered by the chalky incrustations was magnificent pasture land that led to a prominent business for the area. On these pastures were great flocks of sheep and the area was known as the “woolen capital of the world” (just as Edinburgh, Indiana is the black walnut capital of the world (tell story about the tree that fell in my yard). Laodicea was especially famous for the production of garments of the finest quality. An allied trade to the clothing industry was dyeing. There was some quality in those chalky waters which made them especially suitable for dyeing cloth. Colossae was so famous for this trade that a certain dye was known world-wide by Colossae’s name. It wasn’t Rit Dye, it was Colossae Dye. 4. Medicinal springs were scattered all over the Lycus valley area. Given the volcanic activity and earthquakes that frequented that geographical location, there were lots of chasms in the ground from which came forth hot vapors, geysers, and springs. These eruptions caused pools of water. People came by the thousands to bathe in and drink the waters. There was great healing in those springs. This same phenomenon occurred at Epsom, England, where people came to sit in the mineral springs that contained great concentrations of magnesium, i.e. Epsom salts. So it was that Colossae became the French Lick, Indiana, of Asia, a resort area. So then, these three cities stood in a district of considerable geographical interest and of great commercial prosperity. Date that the book of Colossians was written During Paul’s 3rd missionary journey, Autumn 52 AD to early 55 AD (while Paul stayed in Ephesus for about 2 of those 2 and ½ years), all of that area known as Asia, which is now modern day Turkey, was evangelized. See Acts 19:1, 8-10 During that time, either in 53 or 54 AD, the church at Colossae was formed; as well as all of the other churches that are addressed in the book of Revelation, including Laodicea and Hierapolis.
There were so many people coming to Christ during those 2 and ½ years that later Paul said to one of his friends, “Those Turkeys are getting saved by the thousands.” (Note: that last sentence was a joke) In about 53 AD, a man named Epaphras went to Ephesus to hear Paul teach. He became a Christian and was probably the man who delivered the gospel to the people in the Lycus Valley. See Col. 2:1. It appears that Epaphras was the pastor at Colossae. The church at Colossae was vibrant and growing. But in 61 AD, some “new teaching” had come into their midst. The new teaching had not yet drug down the church, but it scared Epaphras when he realized the nature of its message, so he went all the way to Rome, where Paul was in prison, to seek help concerning this matter. Paul’s response to Epaphras’s concerns IS the book of Colossians. This letter to the Colossians was written in 61 AD. The “new teaching” that had come to Colossae taught that faith in Christ was hardly enough for those who wanted to grow spiritually. If you really want to be spiritual, said the new teachers, you need to follow our instructions. New Teachings It is interesting how often, weird, off-base teachings, drift through a church and grip people. This is not only an ancient problem, it happens on a regular basis even in our day. Somewhere along the way, some leader must stand up and address these new teachings before all kinds of destructive activities begin to occur. Examples of some new teachings in our generation that caused trouble: 1. Horrors resulted in many churches across our land from the panic that occurred from the Y2K fiasco. In the last church that I attended, many people left the church over the whole matter, though Y2K panic had never been preached from the pulpit or any Sunday School class. Yet people were gripped by the “new teaching” of disaster over Y2K end time scenarios that were drifting around. 2. Edgar Whisenant’s pamphlet and booklets, centered around 88 reasons why the rapture will occur on September 12th – 15th, 1988, terrorized many churches throughout the country. I know Christians who ended up in the psych ward over that fiasco and it was nothing more than a false teaching, yet people were gripped. Whisenant’s teaching had “the appearance of wisdom,” but it brought terror to the churches in America. Those who know the word of God had to stand up against it back in those days. 3. Remember John Todd? One night, after a Bible Study I taught, a Christian man I knew called me up and said, “You are not going to believe the message I just heard at a Baptist church in Zionsville. You’ve got to hear this tape, I recorded it.” I listened to it that night. This guy named John Todd claimed to be one of the world’s 13 top dog members of the Illuminati. He claimed that there was a plan underway, had been for many years, to take down Christianity and promote the Illuminati as world leaders. He also declared that he had been saved and was now out warning churches about the witchcraft that was coming forth from the Illuminati. In six weeks, his impact was so huge across the country (and it nearly began in Zionsville, Indiana), that eventually Christianity Today, a Christian publication, wrote an article entitled, “The Bewitching of the Churches.” It took about two months before
John Todd was exposed as a fraud, but his “new teaching” brought a tremendous amount of fear to the Christian community. 4. In about 2001, a new teaching about the Kingdom of God, drifted through the country. It originated in Carol Stream or St. Charles area, just west of Chicago. Those who “bit” on the new theology took on an attitude of superior knowledge to the rest of us. They had discovered the key to understanding the Bible, they thought. People in my Sunday School, who previously extolled great virtue and knowledge upon me (undeservedly no doubt) suddenly cast me aside as backwards, narrow-minded, a know-nothing. I lost a lot of people who previously seemed to be solid Christians from my Sunday school class when this new teaching came along. Eventually, it was discredited, but not before much damage had been done. It is true that many of us don’t have the Biblical knowledge to stand against some of these “new teachings.” But:
if something is new, something we didn’t hear about a year ago, that “newness” should serve as a warning to go slowly and proceed with caution. Be suspicious of anything new. be like the Bereans (Acts 17:10-11). Who were they and what did they do? plus go to those who we have found trustworthy in Biblical matters in the past. Run the new teaching and insights past those who we have respected previously.
Persuasive teaching, sprinkled with a few bible verses, can wreak havoc. If it is “new,” BE CAREFUL and don’t bite quickly. “New” should always be a red flag to all of us. Further, the ultimate antidote to falling for all kinds of “new teachings” is to become thoroughly familiar with the basics of the Christian faith as are found in Biblical texts (like the Bereans, mentioned above). That is part of our job as believers. This study in Colossians will go a long way towards anchoring our souls to Biblical truth and it will provide a vaccination against the virus of false teaching. Be firmly rooted in God’s word. Colossians 1:1-2 Epaphras had two main concerns in view when he went to Paul for help. He wanted help in knowing how to answer two main thoughts. 1.) are the people at the church in Colossae already true Christians, and 2.) did they get the full teaching about Christ, or was something important lacking in what they had previously understood, something which could give them more spiritual maturity? Paul began his answer to the issues from the start of his writing this letter. Vs. 1-2 – “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ … to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who at at Colossae …” Behold!, Already see what Paul is doing to respond to Epaphras’s concern. Paul just addressed his letter, “to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ.” He is already dealing with one of the concerns in verse 2. At any rate, in verse 1, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ.” What is the difference between: a.) an apostle b.) a disciple “Apostle” comes from the Greek word, “apostellos,” meaning “sent one,” or “one who is sent.”
“Disciple” comes from the Greek word, “mathetes,” (pronounced, math aye tace), meaning “follower,” or “learner,” or “pupil.” In other words, one who follows a teacher for the purpose of learning from the teacher as would a pupil. It comes from the Greek word “manthano,” which means “to learn.” Now, a “follower,” or “disciple,” could also be “sent,” by the person he is following, and thus, he would become an apostle, “a sent one.” When the disciple had sufficiently learned, the teacher could potentially “send” him to teach others, i.e. the disciple, at that point, would become an apostle, or sent one. The Bible uses the term “apostle” in three senses: 1.) the sense in which every person here is “sent” to a lost world to teach Christ. So you are all little apostles. Hello, my fellow mini-apostles. Our job, should we decide to accept it, is to be ambassadors for Christ, sent to the world. That’s us. 2.) another sense in which the Bible uses the term “apostle” is in regards to anybody who had a large amount of authority and who spoke with authority for God. For example, in Acts 14:14, Barnabas was called an apostle. He too had been sent by God to the world. 3.) the main usage, by far, refers to that specific group of 12 disciples who eventually were sent by God to the whole world and who had certain characteristics, they saw Christ in the flesh and were a witness to His resurrection (see Acts 1:15-22). In verse 1, Paul claims to be an “apostle” by the will of God (see also Galatians 1:1). There are four words in the NT we want to glance at: Thelema = the will, the desire, the wish Thelo = I will, I want, I desire Boule = (a stronger form of) the will, the desire, the wish Boulomai = (a stronger form of) I will, I want, I desire These Greek words are used of God’s will and of His desires. But we also find that the NT talks about the will and desires of God being resisted by men, see Luke 7:30 (boule). See also Acts 7:51 where men are said to “always resist the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter tells us that God is NOT willing (boulomai) for any to perish, yet some do. Two questions to end this lesson today 1. Could Paul have resisted his calling as an “apostle”? 2. Regardless of the answer to question 1. above, is there some area where you are resisting God’s workings, His will, His desires for you in your life right now?
The Lycus Valley was known for 4 remarkable characteristics: 1. Described by the historian and geographer, Strabo, as being “euseistos,” which in English means “good for earthquakes.” “Eu” means good and “seistos” is the word from which we get the seismic scale, which talks about the power of an earthquake. More than once this area had been destroyed by an earthquake, but the area was so rich and so independent that it had risen from the ruins without the financial help which the Roman government had offered (they also knew that with government assistance, comes government strings). See also, Rev. 3:14-17
2. The waters of the River Lycus and its tributaries were impregnated with chalk, a white, porous sedimentary rock, a type of limestone made of calcium carbonate (aka: calcite). Thus, the rivers of this area flowed white. This chalk gathered and all over the countryside, built up the most amazing natural formations. The word “Colossae” itself means “monstrosity,” which was a description of the huge natural formations that occurred in that area due to the chalky nature of the rivers. The English word, “Colossal,” also comes from the word Colossae. A man named, “Lightfoot,” described the area as follows: Overhead #1 Buildings and statues are buried; fertile land gets overlaid; river beds become choked up and streams are diverted; fantastic grottoes (naturally formed caves) and cascades (something resembling a series of waterfalls over rocks) and archways of stone are formed by this strange, capricious power, destructive and creative at the same time, working silently throughout the ages. Fatal to vegetation, these incrustations spread like a stony shroud over the ground. Gleaming like glaciers on the hillside, they attract the eye of the traveler at a distance of twenty miles, and form striking features in the scenery, of great and uncommon beauty.
3. Lots of volcanic activity took place in this area. As a result of the volcanic ash, the pasture land was superb. Volcanic ground is always fertile and what was not covered by the chalky incrustations was magnificent pasture land that led to a prominent business for the area. On these pastures were great flocks of sheep and the area was known as the “woolen capital of the world” (just as Edinburgh, Indiana is the black walnut capital of the world (tell story about the tree that fell in my yard). Laodicea was especially famous for the production of garments of the finest quality. An allied trade to the clothing industry was dyeing. There was some quality in those chalky waters which made them especially suitable for dyeing cloth. Colossae was so famous for this trade that a certain dye was known world-wide by Colossae’s name. It wasn’t Rit Dye, it was Colossae Dye. 4. Medicinal springs were scattered all over the Lycus valley area. Given the volcanic activity and earthquakes that frequented that geographical location, there were lots of chasms in the ground from which came forth hot vapors, geysers, and springs. These eruptions caused pools of water. People came by the thousands to bathe in and drink the waters. There was great healing in those springs. This same phenomenon occurred at Epsom, England, where people came to sit in the mineral springs that contained great concentrations of magnesium, i.e. Epsom salts. So it was that Colossae became the French Lick, Indiana, of Asia, a resort area. So then, these three cities stood in a district of considerable geographical interest and of great commercial prosperity. Date that the book of Colossians was written During Paul’s 3rd missionary journey, Autumn 52 AD to early 55 AD (while Paul stayed in Ephesus for about 2 of those 2 and ½ years), all of that area known as Asia, which is now modern day Turkey, was evangelized. See Acts 19:1, 8-10 During that time, either in 53 or 54 AD, the church at Colossae was formed; as well as all of the other churches that are addressed in the book of Revelation, including Laodicea and Hierapolis.
There were so many people coming to Christ during those 2 and ½ years that later Paul said to one of his friends, “Those Turkeys are getting saved by the thousands.” (Note: that last sentence was a joke) In about 53 AD, a man named Epaphras went to Ephesus to hear Paul teach. He became a Christian and was probably the man who delivered the gospel to the people in the Lycus Valley. See Col. 2:1. It appears that Epaphras was the pastor at Colossae. The church at Colossae was vibrant and growing. But in 61 AD, some “new teaching” had come into their midst. The new teaching had not yet drug down the church, but it scared Epaphras when he realized the nature of its message, so he went all the way to Rome, where Paul was in prison, to seek help concerning this matter. Paul’s response to Epaphras’s concerns IS the book of Colossians. This letter to the Colossians was written in 61 AD. The “new teaching” that had come to Colossae taught that faith in Christ was hardly enough for those who wanted to grow spiritually. If you really want to be spiritual, said the new teachers, you need to follow our instructions. New Teachings It is interesting how often, weird, off-base teachings, drift through a church and grip people. This is not only an ancient problem, it happens on a regular basis even in our day. Somewhere along the way, some leader must stand up and address these new teachings before all kinds of destructive activities begin to occur. Examples of some new teachings in our generation that caused trouble: 1. Horrors resulted in many churches across our land from the panic that occurred from the Y2K fiasco. In the last church that I attended, many people left the church over the whole matter, though Y2K panic had never been preached from the pulpit or any Sunday School class. Yet people were gripped by the “new teaching” of disaster over Y2K end time scenarios that were drifting around. 2. Edgar Whisenant’s pamphlet and booklets, centered around 88 reasons why the rapture will occur on September 12th – 15th, 1988, terrorized many churches throughout the country. I know Christians who ended up in the psych ward over that fiasco and it was nothing more than a false teaching, yet people were gripped. Whisenant’s teaching had “the appearance of wisdom,” but it brought terror to the churches in America. Those who know the word of God had to stand up against it back in those days. 3. Remember John Todd? One night, after a Bible Study I taught, a Christian man I knew called me up and said, “You are not going to believe the message I just heard at a Baptist church in Zionsville. You’ve got to hear this tape, I recorded it.” I listened to it that night. This guy named John Todd claimed to be one of the world’s 13 top dog members of the Illuminati. He claimed that there was a plan underway, had been for many years, to take down Christianity and promote the Illuminati as world leaders. He also declared that he had been saved and was now out warning churches about the witchcraft that was coming forth from the Illuminati. In six weeks, his impact was so huge across the country (and it nearly began in Zionsville, Indiana), that eventually Christianity Today, a Christian publication, wrote an article entitled, “The Bewitching of the Churches.” It took about two months before
John Todd was exposed as a fraud, but his “new teaching” brought a tremendous amount of fear to the Christian community. 4. In about 2001, a new teaching about the Kingdom of God, drifted through the country. It originated in Carol Stream or St. Charles area, just west of Chicago. Those who “bit” on the new theology took on an attitude of superior knowledge to the rest of us. They had discovered the key to understanding the Bible, they thought. People in my Sunday School, who previously extolled great virtue and knowledge upon me (undeservedly no doubt) suddenly cast me aside as backwards, narrow-minded, a know-nothing. I lost a lot of people who previously seemed to be solid Christians from my Sunday school class when this new teaching came along. Eventually, it was discredited, but not before much damage had been done. It is true that many of us don’t have the Biblical knowledge to stand against some of these “new teachings.” But:
if something is new, something we didn’t hear about a year ago, that “newness” should serve as a warning to go slowly and proceed with caution. Be suspicious of anything new. be like the Bereans (Acts 17:10-11). Who were they and what did they do? plus go to those who we have found trustworthy in Biblical matters in the past. Run the new teaching and insights past those who we have respected previously.
Persuasive teaching, sprinkled with a few bible verses, can wreak havoc. If it is “new,” BE CAREFUL and don’t bite quickly. “New” should always be a red flag to all of us. Further, the ultimate antidote to falling for all kinds of “new teachings” is to become thoroughly familiar with the basics of the Christian faith as are found in Biblical texts (like the Bereans, mentioned above). That is part of our job as believers. This study in Colossians will go a long way towards anchoring our souls to Biblical truth and it will provide a vaccination against the virus of false teaching. Be firmly rooted in God’s word. Colossians 1:1-2 Epaphras had two main concerns in view when he went to Paul for help. He wanted help in knowing how to answer two main thoughts. 1.) are the people at the church in Colossae already true Christians, and 2.) did they get the full teaching about Christ, or was something important lacking in what they had previously understood, something which could give them more spiritual maturity? Paul began his answer to the issues from the start of his writing this letter. Vs. 1-2 – “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ … to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who at at Colossae …” Behold!, Already see what Paul is doing to respond to Epaphras’s concern. Paul just addressed his letter, “to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ.” He is already dealing with one of the concerns in verse 2. At any rate, in verse 1, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ.” What is the difference between: a.) an apostle b.) a disciple “Apostle” comes from the Greek word, “apostellos,” meaning “sent one,” or “one who is sent.”
“Disciple” comes from the Greek word, “mathetes,” (pronounced, math aye tace), meaning “follower,” or “learner,” or “pupil.” In other words, one who follows a teacher for the purpose of learning from the teacher as would a pupil. It comes from the Greek word “manthano,” which means “to learn.” Now, a “follower,” or “disciple,” could also be “sent,” by the person he is following, and thus, he would become an apostle, “a sent one.” When the disciple had sufficiently learned, the teacher could potentially “send” him to teach others, i.e. the disciple, at that point, would become an apostle, or sent one. The Bible uses the term “apostle” in three senses: 1.) the sense in which every person here is “sent” to a lost world to teach Christ. So you are all little apostles. Hello, my fellow mini-apostles. Our job, should we decide to accept it, is to be ambassadors for Christ, sent to the world. That’s us. 2.) another sense in which the Bible uses the term “apostle” is in regards to anybody who had a large amount of authority and who spoke with authority for God. For example, in Acts 14:14, Barnabas was called an apostle. He too had been sent by God to the world. 3.) the main usage, by far, refers to that specific group of 12 disciples who eventually were sent by God to the whole world and who had certain characteristics, they saw Christ in the flesh and were a witness to His resurrection (see Acts 1:15-22). In verse 1, Paul claims to be an “apostle” by the will of God (see also Galatians 1:1). There are four words in the NT we want to glance at: Thelema = the will, the desire, the wish Thelo = I will, I want, I desire Boule = (a stronger form of) the will, the desire, the wish Boulomai = (a stronger form of) I will, I want, I desire These Greek words are used of God’s will and of His desires. But we also find that the NT talks about the will and desires of God being resisted by men, see Luke 7:30 (boule). See also Acts 7:51 where men are said to “always resist the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter tells us that God is NOT willing (boulomai) for any to perish, yet some do. Two questions to end this lesson today 1. Could Paul have resisted his calling as an “apostle”? 2. Regardless of the answer to question 1. above, is there some area where you are resisting God’s workings, His will, His desires for you in your life right now?
