Preface: Colossians

Colossians  •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 13
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In the Epistles to the Ephesians and the Colossians the Spirit of God has unfolded to us through the apostle Paul the highest truths of Christianity. Both epistles give prominence to the great truths that the church is the body of Christ, and that Christ is the Head of the body. There is, however, this important difference: whereas the Epistle to the Ephesians brings into prominence the privileges of the body, the Epistle to the Colossians emphasizes the glories of the Head. Moreover, in the Epistle to the Ephesians the church is viewed as represented in Christ in heaven; in the Epistle to the Colossians Christ is seen as represented in the church on earth.
It would seem that the epistle was written with a twofold purpose: firstly, to unfold the fullness that resides in Christ, the Head of the church, so that believers, realizing the fullness of their resources in Christ, may escape the snare of adopting the devices of religious flesh to sustain the Christian life; secondly, to set forth God's purpose that Christ should be displayed in the church, not only in the future glory, but in her passage through time.
In Col. 1, after the introduction (Col. 1:1-14), there is presented: firstly, the glories of the Person of Christ (Col. 1:15-19); secondly, the glories of the work of Christ (Col. 1:20-23); thirdly, the glory of the mystery, which is "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:24-29).
In Col. 2:1-19 we are warned against the different devices by which the devil seeks to frustrate the present purpose of God that the character Christ-the Head in heaven should be displayed in the members of His body on earth.
From Col. 2:20 to chapter 3: 11, the apostle presents the practice that should flow from believers being dead and risen with Christ.
From Col. 3:12 to 4: 6, we are exhorted to express the life of Christ morally in the Christian circle (Col. 3:12-17), the family circle (Col. 3:18-21), the social circle (Col. 3:22 to 4: 1), and toward those that are without (Col. 4:2-6). The usual salutations close the epistle.