# Colossians 01 📖: The Supremacy of Christ [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Colossians Overview]] | [[Philippians 04]] | [[Colossians 02]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) [[#Verse 01.]] From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,  [[#Verse 02.]] to the saints, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you from God our Father! ### Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church [[#Verse 03.]] We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,  [[#Verse 04.]] since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.  [[#Verse 05.]] Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel  [[#Verse 06.]] that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.  [[#Verse 07.]] You learned the gospel from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave—a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf—  [[#Verse 08.]] who also told us of your love in the Spirit. ### Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church **Principle**: The more you know Christ = the more you will grow. [[#Verse 09.]] For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,  [[#Verse 10.]] so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects—bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,  [[#Verse 11.]] being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully  [[#Verse 12.]] giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.  [[#Verse 13.]] He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves,  [[#Verse 14.]] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. ### The Supremacy of Christ **Principle**: Christ is King = Before, Present, and Future. [[#Verse 15.]] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, [[John 01#Verse 01.]] [[#Verse 16.]] for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him. [[#Verse 17.]] He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. [[#Verse 18.]] He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. [[#Verse 19.]] For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son [[#Verse 20.]] and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross—through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven. ### Paul’s Goal in Ministry **Principle**: Good News! Christ has come! [[#Verse 21.]] And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, [[#Verse 22.]] but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him—  [[#Verse 23.]] if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant. [[#Verse 24.]] Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body—for the sake of his body, the church—what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.  [[#Verse 25.]] I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship from God—given to me for you—in order to complete the word of God,  [[#Verse 26.]] that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. [[#Verse 27.]] [^1] God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  [[#Verse 28.]] We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature in Christ.  [[#Verse 29.]] Toward this goal I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully works in me. --- ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ***Verse 27-29***. - Paul shares his focus in ministry. His focus was to reach people. Teach people. Grow with people. Experience the power of God through ministry. ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24. ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. ###### Verse 27. ###### Verse 28. ###### Verse 29. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Colossae was in the Lycus River valley in Asia Minor, near Laodicea and Hierapolis (4:13). 2. Paul seems not to have visited Colossae himself. Epaphras brought them the gospel (1:7; 2:1). 3. An earthquake struck the Lycus Valley around AD 60, and the Roman historian Tacitus records that it devastated nearby Laodicea. 4. Unlike nearby Laodicea and Hierapolis, the site of Colossae has seen very little excavation. 5. Many scholars see 1:15-20 as an early Christian hymn or poem about Christ. 6. "Firstborn" (1:15) speaks of rank and inheritance (Psalm 89:27), not of Christ being created. 7. "Thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities" (1:16) were terms used for ranks of spiritual powers. 8. "Held together" (1:17) comes from a Greek word related to the English word "system." 9. Paul stresses that all the "fullness" (*pleroma*, 1:19) dwells in Christ, a word later misused by Gnostic teachers. 10. When Paul speaks of filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions (1:24), he does not mean Christ's atoning work was incomplete. He means sharing in suffering for the sake of the church. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the image of the invisible God, through whom and for whom all things were created (1:15-16). He holds all things together and made peace through the blood of His cross (Hebrews 1:3). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Paul prays they would be filled with the knowledge of God's will so they can live worthy of the Lord (1:9-10). How do knowing and living go together? 2. Christ is supreme over creation and the church (1:15-20). Which phrase in this passage most stirs your worship? 3. Paul's goal was to present everyone mature in Christ (1:28-29). Who is God calling you to help grow? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 13-14: God rescued us from darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His Son. - 📖 verses 15-17: Christ is the image of the invisible God, and all things were created through Him and for Him. - 📖 verses 19-20: All the fullness of God dwells in Christ, and He made peace through the blood of His cross. - 📖 verses 27-28: Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom Paul proclaims to present everyone mature in Christ. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[Ephesians 01#Verse 17.|Ephesians 1:17-18]] - Paul prays for wisdom and enlightened hearts. - 🔗 [[Acts 26#Verse 18.|Acts 26:18]] - Turned from darkness to light. - 🔗 [[John 01#Verse 03.|John 1:3]] - All things were made through Him. - 🔗 [[Hebrews 01#Verse 03.|Hebrews 1:3]] - The radiance of God's glory. - 🔗 [[Colossians 02#Verse 09.|Colossians 2:9]] - All the fullness of deity lives in Christ. - 🔗 [[Ephesians 03#Verse 03.|Ephesians 3:3-6]] - The mystery revealed to the Gentiles. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Colossians 01 - SOAP|If God Were Real…]] ## 📂 Internal Notes [^1]: [[Series_TheWay_Part6-Maker.Of.Disciples]]