Christology of Jesus in the Book of Colossians Essay

Introduction As hints from the books internal evidences bit (Col.14, 23 21), the church at Colossae was non founded by the Apostle capital of Minnesota, plainly rather the fruit of one of his associates labor namely, Epaphras. His words like we perceive of your faith, the gospel which you heard, and for as many as fox not seen my boldness in the flesh, indicate only the way that these tribe to whom he was writing were cognise by him provided with performer other than himself. N perpetu totallyytheless, they argon oddment to him since they argon the go forth of Eparhras bringing of the Gospel in their blank space (Aid to playscript Understanding 1971). Epaphras was Apostle Pauls son in the faith more than like Timothy and Titus.He had come to know the shaper through the p progress toing of Paul in Ephesus and eventu e authentically toldy carried the mental object with him back to Colossae and the result was the founding of the church at that place. Like any father would feel of evidentiary accomplishments of his son, the Apostle was exhilarated simply by reflecting on such achievement molded by his son in the faith (Henry 1998). Indeed, its quite a feat. To the eyes of a true apostle of rescuer who develop grasped the vision of the Lord of the harvest, nothing more and none else bears the mark of indisput equal to(p) success than the affirmy surrender of antecedently rebellious sinners to the Lordship of the Naz bene (Walvoord & Zuck 1997).The church in Colossae is as besides another landmark to the progress of the Gospel and the advancement of the kingdom of theology as well. In Biblical perspective, this is true success. This letter, in that respectfore, was Pauls repartee to the report he received from Epaphras regarding the phantasmal condition of the Colossians. The details of the report, up to now, ar not thoroughly positive.Concurrently, the whole scenario was one of good prospects, with regard to what they are alr eady enjoying macrocosm in savior, and the possibility of somewhat of them cosmos dragged extraneous to religious nonsense because of the presence of morose teachers among them who actively engaging them into a kind of doctrines that sidetrack them from the right focus. These rancid teachers are so cunning in their approach that caught the Colossians off guard. The presence of these cultic teachings in their midst brought them to a situation that is very dangerous, and Paul had to write to them a polemic on the fundamentals of the Person of deliverer and what He achieved on the transversal for them (Dun tush p.1 The unequaled messiah).Historical & Cultural Background It is interesting to note that Phrygians are one among the many peoples present in Jerusalem during the F easterly of Pentecost at the sequence when the promised Holy Spirit descended upon the first band of followers in the amphetamine room (Acts 210). These people were there at the very common snapping tu rtle of Gods activity when He was mobilizing His first band of get byionaries to reach the first of the target geographic spheres Jerusalem. Earlier, deliverer pronounced that his disciples would become His witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. At the brink of this massive missioner activity, a people who would eventually become direct beneficiaries of an apostolic letter were present witnessing a poignant presentation of the gospel by Apostle stopcock.The city of Colossae was once cognize to be a great city and was hailed by famed historic figures such as Alexander the Great and Herodotus. both spoke, in their respective times, of Colossae as a great city. However, at the time of the writing of the Apostle Paul of his letter to the Colossians, the city was not as renowned as Laodicea and Hierapolis (Smith The Letter To The Colossians, New volition Introduction) in comparison. However, on with these greater Phrygian cities, Colossae was famed for its textile industry. In the ancient foundation, a variety of material called Colossinum with its purple wool was one of the exquisite that it was very much valued. Thus, Colossae was among the deuce-ace of known center of the textile industry.Geographically, it was positioned along the banks of the Lycus River, and was 160 kilometers travel to the east side of Ephesus. Its easy to think of a delivery boyian disciple from Ephesus to endure gone to this nearby city to extend the gospel and indeed, it aptitude have been Epaphras who blazed the trail of evangelistic work there and probably since then(prenominal) reconcileing the reins of pastorate there. Since Colossae was in the regions of Phrygia which was itself part of Greece, the population was inheringly Phrygians, classicals, and tidy number of Jews.In his book, The Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus Flavius recorded that during the reign of Antiochus the Great (223-187 B.C.), he banished into evict from Babylonia 2,000 Jewish families and relocated them into the districts of Phrygia and Lydia (Antiquities 12.147-153). The probability was high that the descendants of those Jews who immigrated there both centuries earlier, were with break through a suspect still living in the same region, and in Colossae particularly were rooted and settled by the first century A.D. socializations Influence The mixture of population in Colossae undoubtedly contributed to the obstruction in determining decisively what kind of philosophies or false teachings have crept into the fellowship of delivery boyians at Colossae. The manner through which the problem is identified in the book makes scholars conclude that it was syncretism. Because these false teachers have never outrightly denied the Nazarene in their instructions, if looked at the surface, they appear to be messiahian teachers in the eyes of the radical converts whose level of understanding of the christian doctrines was at this time n ot save thorough strong.False teachers used Christ only as their founding station to bring these people into the true substance of their tactile sensation. For example, it would only succuss the Colossians if these teachers uncunningly had presented themselves as Gnostics, or Judaizers, or some pagan gurus propagating their paganistic philosophies (Bauer et al. 1979). in that locationfore, they stealthily conducted themselves among Christians and evidently they have successfully injected some of the important features of their doctrines into the forefront among the biblical truths which the Colossians were previously oriented to focus their minds on, namely, the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ. Paul elaborated on the implications of everything that the Person of Christ stood for.From unveiling the majestic Person of Christ to the innate(p) ramifications of what it means he went on in scrupulous details. The confusion that these false teachers created among the Colossian c hurch was very dangerous that it threatens the very character of their identity as Christians (i.e. disciples who follow Christs teachings). And besides, it endangers the ghostlike lives of the believers at Colossae. Gospel truths leave lead to true godliness while half-truths or the Gospel obscure with other philosophical elements which are not found in Christ will always lead to the destruction of life in general. agree to Paul, its not possible for them to cause Jewish religious rituals, and dig paganistic beliefs and philosophies, and still retain the true nature of Christianity. As can be seen, the cultural background through which Colossians was written played a ample constituent on how Paul developed his themes in the book. They could not have escaped the applications of Pauls teachings since he made everything clear to them. The social structure of Gnosticisms doctrine was based on presuppositions such as, God is the attendling Being who is spirit and good in natur e. He is the unnamed Father, and out of the core of His being flows a series of emanations/aeons or mediators, and the material population is evil.Reading Pauls letter in the midst of a culture that is so familiar with the Gnostic teachings, one would not miss the images he was using and its implications (Shelley 1982 pp.52-54). To the things advocated by these Gnostics, like for instance, that they needed mediaries to be able to tap to that special wisdom which alone could be received from God, Christ is the wisdom of God. The advocacy of Jewish traditions which are also present and uncontrolled among these believers were just as attractive as all these Hellenistic philosophies in that it lay claim to the very roots of Christianity (Gaebelien 1998). To those who find the arguments of Judaizers logically appealing, the Apostle would range They are but a shadow of things to come.All of the legitimate practices of the people of God as sanctioned by the Old Testament Scriptures were all types and only a shallow of the real thing (Gill 2000). They all pointed to Christ and when the Nazarene came all of them were done away with because the whole substance of those things is Christ. And Christ was manifested in the flesh. To the Gnostic who does not believe in the incarnation of the Christ in literal physical body, Pauls word is In Him (Jesus) dwells all the profuseness of the Godhead bodily (Col.29).To those Jewish Christians who constantly were being Judaized by the Judaizers wanting them to incorporate indisputable elements of their tradition, Pauls message is You were circumcised by the circumcision of Christ. He made it in the spirit without hands. God has forgiven all your trespasses because Christ has wiped out everything that the righteous requirements of the law have been demanding from you. Christ alter all the incriminatory proofs written in the Jewish canon that would concord Christians guilty, whether Jews or Gentiles, before the bar of Gods jus tice (Metzer 1975). In Pauls own words, He (Christ) has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (Col.211-14). The Colossians were moveed of the all sufficiency of Christ (Wenham et al 1994).Overall Message of the hold Since what is under attack is the very Person of Jesus Christ, and because this assault has far-reaching cause and naturally hit the Colossians at different fronts of their faith, Apostle Paul saw it inevitable to concentrate his treatise on the Person and the work of Christ. For instance, as it was the assertion of certain teachers inside the church that the fullness of spiritual experience which until then had not been regardd in their lives could be attained only through means other than Christ (e.g. worship of angels), Paul had to stress the distinctness and the exclusivity of the role of the second Person of the Godhead in salvation and in securing the fullness of experience of every believer in their relationship with God.The have it awayness and the comprehensiveness of Christs Person and work have covered everything that the Colossians could ever imagine. There is no angel, no religious practice/rituals, and no tradition could ever surpass Christ. Christ is supremely preeminent. The Colossians, contrary to what these false teachers wanted them to be convinced of with their teachings, has the fullness already in Christ. They needed only to realize this through the clear elaborations of an Apostle. Epaphras discovered the significance of this role of Paul, hence he asked for his rein ferocityment. During this time of the churchs history, Christs teachings were still significantly guarded by legitimate apostles.In Colossians 11, Paul loose his letter with this salutation Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. . . to the saints and fold brethren in Christ who are in Colosse. . . . He has not yet by this time visited the church at Colossae and therefore has not known personally many of them. They might have heard of him though through Epaphras. And so, his first words reflect the assertion that what will follow are instructions coming from the one who has been sent directly and authorized by Jesus Christ himself. Paul said, I am an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. This introduction stands in sharp contrast to the false teachers in their midst who go along professing to be spiritual elites who were privies to God, and possibly, Jesus.Therefore, the first few words of Paul are significant and their force is carried through the entire letter. It bears the mark of apostolicity and hence it is not just an every sidereal day epistle. Paul was one of the privileged few in his time, like Peter and the rest of all the twelve authentic apostles, who had seen and were commission by Jesus personally. And at the time of his writing, there were many still living apostles who could prove to his claim, although it was not necessary.His apostleship was widely known among the first genera tion of Christians, and at Colossae, Epaphras was there as direct result of Pauls apostleship and the Colossians the indirect yield of Pauls commission. In setting forth very clearly the fact of his authority, what he had to say to them in this letter were not opinions or just lofty guesses coming from a person who mustered enough of his dire purposes about Christ. His teachings were at that time the standard teaching of true apostles of Jesus (Clarke 2003). Another paganistic element in the teachings of these false teachers was the contention that insights into spiritual powers unholy powers that could protect and shield the Colossians could be acquired through certain observances and rituals. In particular, rites that were thought of as effective in restraining the flesh from engaging even in legitimate use of the body in marriage between keep up and wife, and lawful consumption of food and use of things were put forward as necessary for superior spiritism. Again, to battl e these cultic emphases on the superficial appearance of spirituality among the Colossians, the apostle Paul presses over and over again the theme of Christs overall sufficiency.The absolute preeminence of Christ has overarching cosmic implications. To know Christ is to know God. To know Christ is to know the Creator who not only created the universe and all of the planets, but also by His power hold these things together (Col.115-20). If Christ is, as the Apostles Creed faithfully declares, very God of very God, then they have all good reasons to trust in Him alone.No religious leader should dare to compare Him to angels nor to spiritual mediaries because He Himself is God. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him (Col.115-16).Themes of the bear One of the pressing concerns that had seriously affected the demeanor of the Colossians was their fear of the stoicheia Greek word for master(a) principles. The source of the heresy that Paul was battling among the Christians in Colossae was the philosophy that had successfully sneaked into their consciousness. It was very unfortunate to see an apostolic congregation being victimized by this philosophical nonsense (Balz & Schneider 1990). Paul would have to regulate them in his letter of the utter rubbishness of what they are entertaining in place of Christ. They were playing with philosophy which amounts to empty deception because it comes from the tradition of men (Col.28). In the ancient times, stoicheia means many things. But basically, it means, as it is translated in English, elementary instructions.These include the physical elements like earth, water, fire, and wind. Also, the ancient people would have meant it to be elemental hard drink. These elemental spirits are believe d to be those powerful beings that control nature. These are evil spirits and therefore hostile in nature. They teaching the respect and allegiance of gentlemans gentleman beings because they rule over the fate of humans. They can cause sicknesses, effect a curse, bring in poor crops, plagues, earthquakes, and natural disasters (DeWaay Colossian Heresy p.1). The Colossians find this kind of teaching so attractive. Their problem however was that in this kind of hodgepodge religion, they had already fallen into idolatry from accordingly they had been delivered when they believed the Gospel.In the first chapter of Colossians, Paul established the reality of Jesus divinity. Jesus Christ is the one who is truly in control of the elemental spirits because He is in fact the Creator of everything seen and unseen. In Colossians 215, Paul presented Christ as one who through His death on the cross, disarmed principalities and powers, and by the power of His resurrection, He made a public sp ectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. The culture where they happened to be living in has much influence on their lives that they never have suspected.This sinister influence had been there all along and just biding time, and had found the occasion through the false teachers. It was observed that this belief in elemental spirits had been characteristic of ancient Pagans and Jews. It could be that some of the initiates to the Colossian church were looking for help in Christian religion to suspend the spell of stoicheia in their lives. This belief in evil forces in the seam might even be their common background. They were brought up from this superstitious environment. Paul, therefore, had to remind them of what has transpired when they surrendered and have put their trust in Christ.They died with Christ from the basic principles of the world (Col.220). Theres the word stoicheia again. The Colossians should have totally forsaken any ghostwriter of this paganistic reservation . If Christ rules the universe, why fear the evils that these sinister spirits could inflict them? And if Christ is the Creator and for whom all things were created, including invisible elements, and all the spiritual hierarchy in the heavens, then He must be Supreme and Sovereign. The Colossians did not have to subject themselves to useless regulations.Conclusion The understanding of the Person of Christ is crucial to the establishment of the Christians faith. After this elaboration of Paul on the majesty of the Person of Jesus Christ in his epistle to the Colossians, there should be none any more room for any additives to the faith and practice of the Christian life. Christs Person and His redemptive work are sufficient source of unshakeable confidence. Thinking about the Person of Christ, of who He really is as portrayed by Paul in Colossians, how could possibly anyone who knows all these things concerning Jesus add to Him the philosophies of mere men? What is it there that inno vative human beings can add to Christ?False teachers of Pauls day would say that if one wanted to be freed from the dominion and powers of darkness, even if he or she has Christ already, there needed to be certain things to be added. To this, Paul would retort Christ has saved us from the powers of darkness and theres nothing to be added. He is enough and we are complete in Him. To look for fullness somewhere else and other than Christ is to doubt His Person. All things consist in Him and in Him all the fullness dwells. In Christ we received redemption and the forgiveness of our sins.Works citedAnonymous. 1971. Aid to volume Understanding. 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