Colossians, chapters 1 - 4

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Chapter 1 Paul writing (Timothy possible scribe)

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Salutation (at the beginning each of the books written by Paul): in green is the reminder that Paul was specifically called to be an apostle & set apart by the Will of GOD for ministry; in grey are those called/chosen to be saints according to the Will of GOD: Paul, an apostle of Christ by the Will of GOD, & Timothy Our brother. To the holy & faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace & peace to You from GOD Our FATHER.

We always thank GOD, the FATHER of Our LORD Jesus Christ, when We pray for You, because We have heard of Your faith in Christ Jesus & of the love You have for all the saints-- the faith & love that spring from hope that is stored up for You in Heaven & that You have already heard about in the Word of Truth, the Gospel that has come to You. All over the world this Gospel is bearing fruit & growing, just as it has been doing among You since the day that You heard of it & understood GOD's Grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, Our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on Our behalf, & who also told Us of Your love in the Spirit. He is called a faithful minister here; in chapter 4 (v. 12) below he is a prayer wrestler; in Phlm 1:23 he is My fellow prisoner. For this reason, since the day We heard about You, We have not stopped praying for You & asking GOD to fill You with the knowledge of HIS Will through all spiritual wisdom & understanding. And We pray this in order that You may live a life worthy of the LORD & may please HIM in every way:

• bearing fruit in every good work,
• growing in the Knowledge of GOD,
• being strengthened with all power according to HIS Glorious Might so that You may have great endurance & patience, &
• joyfully giving thanks to the FATHER, who has qualified You to share in the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of Light.

For HE has rescued Us from the dominion of darkness into the Kingdom of the SON HE loves, in whom We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

<2>

Talking about Jesus before the incarnation:

• HE is the image of the Invisible GOD, the firstborn over all creation.
• For by HIM all things were created: things in Heaven on earth, visible & invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by HIM & for HIM.
• HE is before all things, & in HIM all things hold together. And

Talking about Jesus after the resurrection:

• HE is the HEAD of the Body, the Church;
• HE is the beginning for us & the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything HE might have the supremacy.

Talking about Jesus during the incarnation:

• For GOD was pleased to have all HIS Fullness dwell in Him, & through Him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in Heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.

Once You were alienated from GOD & were enemies of HIM in Your minds because of Your evil behavior. But now HE has reconciled You by Christ's physical incarnate body through His death to present You holy in HIS Sight, without blemish & free from accusation-- if You continue in Your faith, established & firm, not moved from the hope held out in the Gospel.This is that Gospel that You heard & that has been proclaimed to every creature under Heaven, & of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

<3>

Now I rejoice in what was suffered for You, & I fill up in My flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions-- what still I haven't understood/experienced, for the sake of HIS Body, which is the Church. I have become its servant by the commission GOD gave Me to present to You the Word of GOD in its fullness-- the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages & generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To Them GOD has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in You, the hope of glory-- this mystery was described specifically as the administration of GOD's Grace that was given to Me for You, the mystery made known to Me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. This mystery is that through the Gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of 1 body, & sharers together in the promise of Christ Jesus (Ephe 3:2-3,6; see Ephe 1 - 3 Chapter 3 <1>)-- for the written briefly part, see Romans 8:10-17. Take note of v. 17, that not only the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, but we all are co-heirs with Christ (see Roma 7 - 9 Chapter 8 2nd & 3rd paragraph of <1>). We proclaim HIM, admonishing & teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that We may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all HIS Energy, which so powerfully works in Me.

Chapter 2 Paul writing (Timothy possible scribe)

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I want You to know how much I am struggling [have struggled(n.){I}] for You & for all Those at Laodicea, & for all who have not met Me personally. My purpose is that They may be encouraged in heart & united in love, so that They may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that They may know the Mystery of GOD, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge. I tell You this so that no 1 may deceive You by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from You in body, I am present with You in spirit & delight to see how orderly You are & how firm Your faith in Christ is.

<2>

So then, just as You received Christ Jesus as LORD, continue to live in HIM, rooted & built up in HIM, strengthened in the faith as You were taught, & overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no 1 takes You captive through hollow & deceptive philosophy-- as through-the-ages many were via scientific ruminations (like man alone can make this a more-perfect world); as recently many were via cults; as today many are via metaphysics-- to name a few, which depends on human tradition & the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Diety lives in bodily form (the Church), & You have been given of this fullness (e.g., gifts of the Holy Spirit) in Christ, who is the head over every power & authority. In Him You were also heart-circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with the circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism & raised with Him through Your faith in the Power of GOD, who raised Him from the dead-- which Him is now HIM, seated at the Right Hand of GOD, in Heaven where be Our citizenship, while here we are being perfected to be HIS Bride. But back to the matter-at-hand:

When You were dead in Your sins & in the uncircumcision of Your sinful nature, GOD made You alive with Christ. HE forgave all Our sins Us all Our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against Us & that stood opposed to Us-- which code God gave in the 1st place, in order to demonstrate that man could not possibly arrive to the necessary heart-circumcision by any degree of adhering to said code, but by placing our full trust in HIM; HE took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers & authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge You by what You eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are now but a shadow of the things that were to come; the bright-shining reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility & the worship of angels disqualify You for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, & his unspiritual mind puffs up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported & held together by its ligaments & sinews, grows as GOD causes it to grow.

Since You died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though You still belonged to it, do You submit to its rules: 'Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!' These rules are all destined to perish with use, because they are all based on human commands & teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their accompanying self-imposed worship, their false humility & their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Chapter 3 Paul writing (Timothy possible scribe)

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Since, then, You have been raised with Christ, set Your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the Right Hand of GOD. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For You died with Christ, & Your life is now hidden with Christ in GOD-- all the fallen angels of Satan cannot locate us, but as God permits; which is why we pray, FATHER, lead (bring) into Us not temptation. When Christ, who is Your life, appears, then You also will appear with HIM in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to Your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires & greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the Wrath of GOD is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life You once lived. But now You must walk-the-talk so as to rid yourself of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander & filthy language from Your lips. E.g., Do not lie to each other, since You have taken off Your old self & put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according as you walk-the-cloth in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is ALL, & is equal in All of the Church. Ref Christ being ALL in All (Looking at the 3 Addresses Moses made to the Israelites just before they crossed the Jordan R. into Canaan):

• But 1st note what Jesus said in John 7:22a (see PerJohn2 C.1.): 'Moses gave You the circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs)'; see Gen 17:10-14,23-24,26-27;21:4; etc.
• In Moses' 1st Address (Prophecy): When You are in distress... in later days You will return to the LORD Your GOD & will obey HIM; HE will not abandon You or forget the Covenant HE made with Your forefathers (Deu 4:30-31);
• In Moses' 2nd Address (Advice): Love the LORD Your GOD with all Your heart, soul & strength. These commandments are to be upon Your hearts (Deu 6:5-6);
• In Moses' 3rd Address (Promise): When You & Your children return to the LORD Your GOD & obey HIM with all Your heart & soul, even if You have been banished to the most distant lands, from there the LORD Your GOD will gather You; the LORD Your GOD will circumcise Your hearts, so that You may love HIM with all Your heart & soul & live (Deu 30:2, 4, 6);
• Now some N.T. Word:
  • all things/people/time are Yours, & You are of Christ, & Christ is in GOD (1stCor 3:23);
  • the SON himself will be made subject to HIM, so that GOD may be ALL in All (1stCor 15:28);
  • There is 1 body & 1 Spirit; 1 GOD & FATHER of Us All, who is over All & through All & in All (Ephe 4:4,6);
  • what we just saw-- Christ is ALL, & is in All (Colo 3:11).

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Therefore, as GOD's Chosen People, holy & dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness & patience. Bear with each other & forgive whatever grievances You may against 1 another. Forgive as the LORD forgave You. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of 1 Body You were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in You richly as You teach & admonish 1 another with all wisdom, & as You sing psalms, hymns & spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to GOD. And whatever You do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the Name of the LORD Jesus, giving thanks to GOD the FATHER through HIM.

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The following 6 pts. are much abbreviated, but almost verbatim instructions given in Ephe 5:22 - 6:9 (see Ephe 4 - 6 Chapter 5 the 4 pts. of <2> & Chapter 6 the 4 pts. of <1>):

• Wives, submit to Your husbands, as it is fitting in the LORD.
• Husbands, love Your wives & do not be harsh with Them.
• Children, obey Your parents in everything, for this pleases the LORD.
• Fathers, do not embitter Your children, or They will become discouraged.
• Slaves, obey Your earthly masters in everything; & do it, not only when their eye is on You & to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart & reverence for the LORD. Whatever You do, work at it with all Your heart, as working for the LORD, not for men, since You know that You will receive an inheritance from the LORD as a reward. It is the LORD Jesus Christ You are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for His wrong, & there is no favoritism.
• Masters, provide Your slaves with what is right & fair, because You know that You also have a master in Heaven.

Chapter 4 Paul writing (Timothy possible scribe)

• Devote yourselves to prayer,
  • being watchful & thankful. And
  • pray for Us, too, that GOD may open a door for Our message, so that We may just proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
  • Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
• Be wise in the way You act toward outsiders;
  • make the most of every opportunity.
  • Let Your conversation be always full of grace, yourself seasoned with salt, so that You may know how to answer everyone-- e.g., thinking how best to respond.

Tychicus will tell You all the news about Me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister & fellow servant in the LORD. I am sending Him to You for the express purpose that You may know about Our circumstances & that He may encourage Your hearts. He is coming with Onesimus, Our faithful & dear brother, who is 1 of You. They will tell You everything that is happening here. My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends You His greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about Him; if He comes to You, welcome Him.) Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among My fellow workers for the Kingdom of GOD, & They have proved a comfort to Me Epaphras, who is 1 of You & a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for You, that You may stand firm in all the Will of GOD, mature & fully assured. I vouch for Him that He is working hard for You & for Those at Laodicea & Hierapolis.

Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, & Demas send greetings. Give My greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, & to Nympha & the church in Her house. After this letter has been read to You, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans & that You in turn read the response letter from Laodicea. Tell Archippus; 'See to it that complete the work You have received in the LORD.' I, Paul, write only this greeting in My own hand. Remember My chains. Grace be with You.