Book Study: Colossians

Book Overview

Paul thanks the Colossians for their faith, love, and hope in heaven, praying for their continued growth and faithfulness. He rejoices in his suffering for the sake of proclaiming Christ and urges them to remain steadfast in the true gospel, rejecting false teachings and self-made religion. He exhorts them to focus on heavenly things, live in love and gratitude, and let all their actions reflect Christ. Finally, Paul encourages prayerful and loving conduct, shares personal greetings, requests the sharing of his letters, and reminds them of his imprisonment.

Brief Chapter Summaries

Chapter 1

Paul is thankful for their faith and love resulting in a hope in heaven. He prays for their continued faithfulness and growth. The work and person of Christ are summarized. He expresses joy in his suffering for the proclamation of the mystery of Christ through his preaching.

Chapter 2

Paul encourages them to continue in faith and reveals to them the suffering he is enduring for their sake. He warns them to hold a true understanding of Christ’s redemptive work through the cross. He exposes the emptiness of self-made religion that places demands and law in place of grace and faith.

Chapter 3

Set your mind on things above and put away the things of this world and its lusts. Put on love and express it in your relationships and attitude, doing all things in Jesus’ name with thankfulness. Remember it is God who will reward our service.

Chapter 4

Paul continues to express commands on living prayerfully with love in our dealings and conversations. He sends greetings from those with him and to those surrounding Colossae. He asks them to share in distributing his letters and remember his imprisonment.

Key Verses

Colossians 1:15–16

 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Colossians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Colossians 3:2–3

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:12–16

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

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