1. What stood out to you from this chapter?
This is one of the most Christ-exalting passages in all of Scripture. There are many other people and passages which lift up the name of Jesus, but few (if any) do it as directly as Colossians 1:15-23. You can't read these verses and think that the Bible portrays Jesus as just a good person. There is no doubt that Paul exalts Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords above all other rule and authority. Verse 17 is really cool: "...in him all things hold together." Louis Giglio gives a really neat message on this passage and a fascinating illustration from biology. Click here to watch the YouTube video about it.
2. How does this passage relate to any other Scripture I know?
In the book of Ephesians we read together, I said that Ephesians 3:14-21 was the 2nd most powerful prayer in the Bible. Colossians 1:9-14 is easily up there in the top 5 with it. What an incredible prayer for someone, to know God's will through the Holy Spirit, to live a life worthy of God's calling, to bear fruit, to grow in knowledge, to keep the faith, to be thankful. Those are amazing prayers to pray for yourself, or for someone else.
3. So what does this mean for my life?
As I thought about this question, I am drawn to the last two verses of this chapter. If you listen carefully enough, it could be that this is the closest thing to a "mission statement" that Paul gives us for his ministry. Verse 28 shares that Paul proclaims Christ, teaches others, SO THAT he may present everyone mature (or perfect) in Christ. The "so that" in verse 28 along with the "to this end I labor" in verse 29 make it pretty clear that those objectives are Paul's ultimate goal. It was a good challenge for me to think about my personal mission in life. I want to keep in mind that someone's personal mission in life does not always have to reflect their career. The workplace is simply a place to live out your mission, whether it relates to your actual job or simply provides a new community of people to build into and to support you. Ingham Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camps has the mission statement, "To know Jesus Christ and to make Christ known to all." Between the camp which has been a huge part of shaping my faith, and these passages from Paul's letters, I would see my mission as being almost identical. That really gives me a focus and filter for my decisions, my words, my actions, etc.
4. What questions do I have about this chapter?
Verse 23 seems to clarify the reconciliation and promise of forgiveness we have with the line, "if you continue in your faith." Paul's statement here does cause me to ask the question, "Once we put our faith in God and receive forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit, can we 'forfeit' that again by later rejecting faith and God and Christ?" I hesitate to use the word, can we 'lose' our faith, because it doesn't seem to me from Scripture that we could accidentally 'lose' God. In fact is says that Jesus will not "lose" any that the Father has given him (John 6:39). So it's pretty clear that God will not 'lose' us, nor do I think we can somehow 'lose' our salvation. That's why I chose the word 'forfeit' in my question. No matter what the answer is, this question has caused me to think differently about how I ask people about faith. The question is not "Did you put your faith in Jesus?" as if one prayer at one time, or one checkbox on a survey, or raising your hand at one conference would hopefully be enough to count. The question is not DID you put your faith in Christ, but DO you put your faith in Christ? Today. Now. Is your faith in Jesus Christ? If it is, you can have 100% assurance that you are forgiven of your sins, have heaven ahead of you, and have been given an abundant life with Christ to live out in service to others here on this earth.
That's it. Tomorrow we'll do Colossians 2, and then on the 24th we'll do Colossians 3-4 together. God's blessings.
In Christ,
Dan
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