Close on two millennia ago, an innocent prisoner penned a short letter from his Roman prison cell to a small group of people in the pagan city of Colossae. This group of new followers of “the way” were attempting to work out what it meant to live out their faith in Christ Jesus amidst the rise of gnosticism (“secret wisdom”) that was infiltrating the city at large, pushing different forms of mysticism and asceticism right to the very front door of their church community, and in the process confusing and diluting the power of the Gospel message. And it’s to fight this heresy that a letter arrives from a prison cell.
Though the letter’s subject matter is panoramically large, its key focal point is what truly takes one’s breath away: Jesus Christ… his magnificence and supremacy, his person and works – and the intoxicating privilege of having him as our Lord, Life and Love. We must be forever grateful that this letter survived.
By God’s orchestration, we have a chance to access Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Though this letter held significant relevance in AD62, it still rings ever true for us here today. In a world clouded with so many competing voices and distorted visions of reality, this epistle helps us to clearly see and deeply cherish Ultimate Reality. So colossal is the profundity, power and practical helpfulness of this letter’s 1582 words, that it deserves a deep and slow perusal.
That is why, for 6 wonder-filled weeks, we are journeying through this book on Sundays and in life-groups together, unpacking its meaning and profound significance for our lives and churches today.
Alongside these corporate moments of discovery, we have also made available on our Life Changers app a 14-day verse by verse reading plan which will help you dig deeper into its treasures in your own time.
Here are three big tips on how to get the most out of this incredible letter:
READ IT SLOWLY
Reading continuously from the first verse of Colossians right up to its conclusion should take you 15 minutes in one sitting. Although reading it this way has much value as it helps bring the flow and overall context into prime view, why don’t you also set out a plan to read it’s four chapters in bite-sized chunks, slowly over the course of our journey together? When you are thirsty, you empty a glass of water in rapid time, but when you are drinking an expensive wine or champagne, you take your time, allowing your palate to savor it, note for note, sip for sip. Likewise with this letter, allow it to take hold of your heart in a deep way as you savor it slowly.
READ IT IN CONTEXT
The year is AD 62. Timothy helps Paul write a letter to the church in Colossae. What is the backstory? Many years earlier (sometime between AD 52 and 57), Paul had lived in the seaside city of Ephesus. For three years, as a result of his preaching ministry, a great revival spread across the region – ‘all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord’ (Acts 19:10). During this time, Paul multiplied his impact by sending out people to preach in the surrounding region – present day Turkey. One of the people he sent out was Epaphras who he describes as ‘a beloved fellow servant’ and ‘a faithful minister of Christ’ (Col 1:7). Having been converted under Paul’s preaching, Epaphras returned to his hometown some 160km to the East, the town of Colossae. There he shared the gospel and the Colossian church was born. Having never visited the church personally, Paul nonetheless carried this church in his heart – a church which indirectly and wonderfully resulted from his own ministry.
READ IT WORSHIPFULLY
Paul’s goal as he wrote this letter was not to primarily impart wisdom, knowledge or mystical insight, but it was ultimately to make crystal clear that the whole point of Christianity is seeing, knowing and worshipping Jesus. It’s something that sounds so obvious but something that we miss, or sideline most times we even read the bible.
When we engage the Scriptures with a heart to worship, we engage not only our mind but also our heart, our emotions, our body, our curiosity, our imagination, and our will. We open ourselves to a deeper level of understanding and insight that grows out of and leads us deeper into our personal relationship with the One behind the text, Jesus. And it is in the context of relational intimacy that real life change takes place.