Colossians 1
This is a letter that Paul wrote from prison in Rome (around 62 A.D.) that along with Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon are called the Prison Epistles.
Colosse was a church that was in decline when Paul wrote this, and the city was wiped out from an earthquake not long after Paul wrote this letter to the Colossians.
The church in Colosse was declining because Gnosticism and Jewish legalism were prevalent at the time. Gnostics, in short, believed Jesus to be a great man, but not God. To them, Jesus was the next step for us to become more like God...the next step up the ladder.
(v.15) It's important to understand the meaning of firstborn over all creation here. Some cults like to say that this means that Jesus was the first thing created by God. First of all, there are scores of verses that refute this one verse, showing that Jesus is God...one example is John 1:1
Secondly, the English translation of the original Greek is misleading here. The word used for firstborn is Arche in Greek. We get the word architect from this Greek word...it means the designer and creator of the creation. Jesus is the Creator, not the first created!
(v.18) Of course, if the cults would read further a few verses, Paul shows us that Jesus is the Creator! He is also the architect of the Resurrection...being the One who did it first, and provided the way for us to be united with Him in heaven.
(v.26) Paul is speaking of the Church and the Rapture...things that Daniel, Ezekiel and Isaiah didn't understand what they were writing, but God's Holy Spirit had them write.
Colossians 2
(v.1) We will see that Jesus rebukes Laodicea in Rev 3:17 the church in Colosse was going down the same path...pride and apathy.
(v.8) This is the problem with much of the "Christian" church today...they have added to God's Word, and created their own traditions and doctrines that are not Scriptural. If you are in a church that doesn't study the Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse, then you will not have a good understanding of the whole Bible.
Topical studies are useful and good, but not by themselves. The Bible is not a manual as to how to live a better life (even though we can live with joy from what we read), the Bible is a love letter from God for us to better know Him. From studying His Word, we come to understand what He did for us, and how much He loves us, and we can then live a joyful and hopeful life in His wisdom.
(v.9) Jesus is God...He is the fullness of the Trinity. There is no way to fully understand God and His attributes, but I like to point out that He created us in His image. With that said, I like to teach my kids that God is like us:
Mind ~ the Father
Body ~ the Son
Spirit ~ Holy Spirit
(v.14) The Law has been fulfilled by Christ...we are to live by faith, not by the Law.
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