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7 Bible Verses From The Book Of Colossians

7 Bible Verses From The Book Of Colossians

Last updated on: May 24, 2016 at 8:49 am by Jack Wellman

7 Bible Verses From The Book Of Colossians 2016-05-24T08:49:06-05:00 Jack Wellman

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Here are seven key Bible verses from the Book of Colossians.

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.”

Not only are all things created by Him but they were created for Him and that includes whatever is visible or invisible, and includes all rulers of mankind and those in positions of power. The Apostle Paul continues by adding, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:17). The author of Hebrews writes of Christ, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb 1:3a) and the Apostle John adds, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). That is comprehensive in scope and magnitude.

Colossians 1:21-22 “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.”

This is very similar to 2nd Corinthians 5:21 which says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” We were enemies of God (Rom 5:10), being separated from Him by our sins (Isaiah 59:2). We were aliens to the family of God, however God reconciled us back to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. The purpose is for us to be presented as spotless and blameless before God, without reproach, so Paul believes they (and we) should “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10).

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.”

All you need to do to look at the overabundance of empty philosophies is walk into a bookstore or library. It’s amazing how many different beliefs and traditional practices there are in the world today. There isn’t any doubt that new ones spring up every day; some even more bizarre than the others, but Paul is warning the Christians to not be taken captive by something that’s deceitful, and essentially useless (empty). If it’s according to human tradition, a red flag ought to go up. There are elemental spirits in the world that are busy influencing leaders and controlling no few pulpits, I’m sure. It’s a spiritual battle that we’re engaged in (Eph 6:10-18) and so Paul figures, forewarned is forearmed.

Colossians 2:13-14 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

By Jesus willingly giving His life for us, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col 2:15). That’s why Paul could taunt death by saying, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting” (1st Cor 15:55), concluding “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1st Cor 15:54) because the grave couldn’t hold Him (Acts 2:24).

Colossians 2:16-17 “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”

The shadow that the Mosaic laws and Holy Days cast was not the reality. They only looked forward to the coming of Jesus Christ and His substitutionary work at Calvary. Someone or some church that keeps these days may “have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Col 3:23). That’s because works are useless before God as far as our right standing with Him (Eph 2:9). The only works we need to be concerned about are the good works that God’s already appointed for us to do (Eph 2:10).

Colossians 3:11 “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”

No wonder that when the Gentiles heard that God had opened the door of salvation to them, they rejoiced at it (Acts 13:48). It doesn’t matter where you came from or what your social standing is. There is no partiality with God (Rom 2:11) and He is no respecter of one person over another (Acts 10:34). It’s not about race but about grace. I believe there is only one race; the human race. All are related in the overarching impact that we have with and on one another.

Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

The word that Paul uses for “rule” as in the peace of Christ ruling in your hearts is more like an official at the Olympics or an umpire at a baseball game. That makes sense, since it is the peace of Christ, not the peace of men or women. That would be a very biased and unreliable umpire. When things got rough, that “human peace” would run for his life. The key word is “let” so Paul is saying let or allow the peace of Christ to rule in your hearts. It is His peace but we must allow it to rule and make the call!

Conclusion

I hope you understand why it was very difficult to be limited to only seven Bible verses from the Book of Colossians. In a few cases, I included two at a time due to the context of the verse. Paul would have us include this edification for the church: “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. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:16-17).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

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