Colossians Is One Of The 4 Prison Epistle -- Series

#3~ Col.1: 19-29 ~Colossians Study~ 12-8-13

Colossians is one of the 4 prison epistle -- Ephesians -- Colossians -- Philippians -- and Philemon. -- Colosse was destroyed by an earth quake in ad 60-61, evidently just before, or possible shortly after this epistle was delivered too the Colossians.

-----------------------

17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

21And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled -- 22In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

23If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; 24Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

25Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

.

===================================================

17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

~Christ existed prior to all creation. He is the great "I am" -- The Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament.

~~ Christ is a manifestation of God, the Sovereign Creator, and the Head of the church. The sum total of all the power and attributes are in Christ.

~ Through Christ all things hold together, are sustained, and united. -- Christ is the personal sustainer and preserver. -- He maintains harmony and order.

~All things are created by Him and are controlled by Him. Apart from Christ all things would disintegrate: ~~~ He holds the stars in their courses, He directs the planets in their orbits, and He controls the laws of the universe. We have a cosmos, not a chaos.

----------

18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

~ He alone, controls, guides, and governs the church. -- The church is His body; He is its source and its life. --- He unites the members into one living body. ~~ The church is also a family, composed of people who share in His resurrection life, brothers and sisters in Christ~~~ He is not the first of a series, but the source.

~Christ is the source of all created, and the sovereign Head of all creation.

~ It is not enough for Christ just to be present, nor prominent; He must be pre-eminent {first] in all things to the Church.

----------------

19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

~~The word dwell indicates permanent residence, not just a temporary visit.

In Christ there is divine perfection: not just a part, nor just almost all, but all divine nature in all its fullness.

----------

20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

~ Let's be sure and notice how this peace was made. --- We don't make our own peace with God, but Jesus made peace for us through His work on the cross. ~~~ The blood speaks of Christ's redemptive work and the sacrificial aspect of His death. ~~~ Christ is the chosen and sufficient agent in reconciliation; nothing else is needed.

~ "Reconcile" means to change completely.

>Rom 5: 6--10 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure [perhaps] for a good man some would even dare to die. 8But God commendeth his love toward us, [made known His love toward us] in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.