If you would open up your Bibles to Colossians chapter 1, in your pew Bibles on page 1168.
You know, it's always good to know where you're going.
This past summer, you all so graciously gave me a seven-week sabbatical.
It was awesome.
And the first four weeks of that was an epic road trip.
So my wife Jenny, our youngest Mary, we all got in our little CRV, and we did this epic road trip west.
But I got to tell you something.
It was all kind of vague until just a couple months beforehand.
And it wasn't until a couple months beforehand that we actually got the itinerary in place where we knew where we were going.
We'd know we were going to go see the mountains in Crested Butte.
And then we were going to go see Zion National Park in Utah.
Then we were going to hit LA and San Diego, Yosemite.
Then we're going to go to the Ruby Mountains in Nevada.
And then show up in the Tetons.
Hit Mount Rushmore.
Badlands.
Waldrug.
And come back home.
Oh man, when we saw this trip laid out on a map and the majesty of the American West laid out before us.
Man, we were ready to go.
It stirred our anticipation.
It's always good to know where you're going.
This morning, my goal is to stir your anticipation.
To let you know where we're going in the book of Colossians.
So that you can see the majesty of Christ Central laid out in this book again and again.
We've got an epic five and a half month journey as a church through this book.
And we're going to see the glories of Christ again and again and again.
So this morning, you may have not heard a sermon like this before.
It's an overview sermon.
What I'm going to do is briefly give you a little background on the book of Colossians.
And then I'm actually going to walk you through the book of Colossians.
There's like seven pearls strung together with one common theme.
I'm going to walk you through it to build your anticipation for what God has for us.
And then I'm going to show you what the argument is.
What the Holy Spirit is wanting to convince us of over the next five and a half months.
And do you know what I'm going to do then?
I'm going to take Colossians 4.16 to heart.
And I'm going to read you the book.
It takes about 11 minutes.
And so we got our work cut out for us.
But let's start with me giving you some background.
First thing to know is who wrote this letter.
By the way, if you're taking notes, don't write anything yet.
Don't waste your note taking space on the background stuff.
When we get to the structure of the book, the itinerary, that's when you start to need to take notes.
So background, who wrote this letter?
Well, we see in chapter 1, verse 1, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.
That's the guy who wrote the book.
Now, if you don't know who an apostle is or have never heard that word before,
an apostle is a man who was commissioned by Christ himself and given authority to preach Christ
and to establish the church around the nations.
A unique authority.
There are no more apostles like that anymore.
But that authority continues on today in the writings of the apostles.
So when we read a book like Colossians, we're putting ourselves under the apostolic authority of Paul.
Paul was the small A author of the book of Colossians.
The capital A author is the Holy Spirit.
And the Holy Spirit authored every word, inspired every word of this,
so that Paul wrote down everything that God wanted him to write down for those Colossians and for us, Kenosians.
The thing that you need to know about this book, though, that makes it even more interesting is where Paul wrote it from.
He wrote it from a Roman prison cell.
And so when you see the centrality of Christ throughout this book,
in the midst of all that kind of suffering, it's incredible.
So who wrote the letter?
Well, Paul, an apostle.
Who were the recipients of the letter?
Well, we see that in verse 2.
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae.
Now, Colossae was a town in what is now modern-day Turkey.
It was Asia Minor, and it was primarily a Gentile town, a non-Jewish town.
Anybody familiar with the seven churches of Revelation chapter 2 and 3?
Those churches were in Asia Minor, and Colossae was really close to them.
So it's kind of the northern Mediterranean basin, southwestern Turkey today.
And these men and women had been flipped by God's grace in Christ.
They had never met Paul.
They had never seen him face to face.
You'll see that in chapter 2, verse 1.
But what did happen is a guy named Epaphras.
You see this in chapter 1, verse 7.
Just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved servant.
Epaphras was a Colossian, and somehow he had become a Christian.
And he went back to Colossae and started making Christ known among his fellow Colossians.
And they started to believe.
They had faith in Jesus Christ, and their eternities changed.
And there was such a response that they were able to gather a church there.
Paul hears about it.
So he writes this letter to them.
Now, Paul, remember, is the small a author of Colossians.
And the Holy Spirit is the capital A author.
That's why this book is not only good for that first century church in Colossae.
It's really good for a 21st century church in Kenosha.
So why was this letter written?
There was a problem.
The church was being influenced by thinking, maybe even better said, a way of being,
that was minimizing Jesus and decentralizing Jesus.
And something else had come into the controlling center of this church.
And so what Paul is going to argue throughout this letter is that Jesus is the controlling center of all things.
Jesus is enough.
You don't need to add to him.
And so what we see here happening in the book of Colossians is Paul correcting a decentralizing of Jesus by recentralizing Jesus.
Anybody benefit from hearing that day in and day out?
We all have a tendency to decentralize Jesus.
This is going to be good news for us.
You're going to see a glorious Christ worthy of your life again and again and again.
So now, that's the background.
Let's get to where the action is.
The structure of the book.
The unfolding of the book.
There are ten pearls here.
No, no.
Seven pearls in Colossians.
And they're all strung together by one central argument.
Now, if you're taking notes, here's what I'd like you to do on the left side of that kind of note-taking space on the back of your bulletin or on a piece of paper.
Just write one, two, three, four, five, six, seven on the left side.
And then I want you to write words next to them.
Number one, intro.
Number two, purpose.
Number three, threat.
Number four.
I know I'm going quick here.
Number four, who with an arrow that points to how.
Number five.
Let me show if I got my facts right.
Household.
Number six, outsiders.
Number seven, network.
Okay, my goal here is to prime the pump of your heart to build into you some kind of anticipation for the goodness that God has for us.
So I'm going to walk you through these seven pearls.
I'm going to walk you through this itinerary.
And I want you to be coming out of this saying, oh, man, this is going to be good for the next five and a half months.
So let me walk you through, starting with number one, intro.
The introduction of Colossians takes up the most space in Colossians.
Believe it or not, it starts in chapter one, verse one, and goes all the way to chapter two, verse five.
So it's a really big introduction.
Paul kind of introduces himself, says hi to the Colossian church.
And then in verses three through eight, he starts giving thanksgiving for what God has started in this church.
They were loving one another.
They had hope.
They had faith in Christ.
So he's like grateful, thankful for what God had done in this Colossian church.
And then in verses nine through 14, he starts praying for the church.
There's an apostolic prayer in your Bible.
There are multiple of them.
One of them is in Colossians chapter one, verses nine through 14.
And he prays something very specific for this church that gets us on what his burden is for this church.
Look at verse nine.
Asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Verse 10, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him.
What Paul is writing for, what he's getting at in this prayer,
is he's praying something for this church that they would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ central.
Fully pleasing to him.
Christ central.
It's a beautiful passage.
But then he gets into verses 15 through 23, which is kind of like Christological fireworks.
It is believably unbelievable.
And so what the apostle Paul does here is he sets forth this glorious vision for who Jesus is and what he's done.
So in verses 15 through 17, he points to Jesus as being the Lord over all creation.
And then in verses 18 through 20, he points to Jesus as being Lord over all redemption.
He's Lord over all.
He is preeminent over all things and his reign is comprehensive through everything.
Christ central.
There's a reason why this is in the introduction of this book.
The apostle Paul is already centralizing Jesus for this church.
We're going to see this passage played out, echo through the rest of the book.
In chapter 1, verse 24 through 25, again, part of the introduction, the apostle Paul is kind of saying,
okay, this is my labor for you.
This is, this is, this Christ is who I am serving and suffering for so that you would be, verse 28,
so I could present you mature in Christ.
That Christ would be central to your lives.
He starts talking about a mystery in this section.
A mystery revealed.
And that mystery revealed is Christ.
So that's the intro to the book of Colossians.
That's the first pearl.
That's where he starts.
Big Jesus.
And now he moves on in verses 2, 6, and 7 to the purpose.
It's a purpose statement for the book.
Look, you can read it in verse 2, 6.
Therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.
Here, I'm going to read that again.
I'm going to read, therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord.
And I want you all to say back to me, so walk in him.
Ready?
Therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.
Just as you received Christ Jesus as the Lord over all creation and the Lord over the new creation,
so walk in him.
Central, functional to all that you are.
This is the purpose statement of the book.
Paul is impressing upon this church.
Jesus is enough, and he's central to all that you are and all that you do.
Christ central walking.
That word walk, so walk in him.
You might think kind of like walk.
What he's talking about is like living your life.
Living your life in every detail of your life.
Wherever you find yourself living, that is where you're walking.
And what he's arguing here for is Christ is be the controlling center of all that you do.
So that's the purpose.
Let's move on to the third pearl.
The third pearl is threat.
In verses, chapter 2, verses 8 through 23, Paul identifies the threat to the church in Colossae.
And there is a corresponding threat to the church in Kenosha.
There's this, back in the day, there's this dangerous teaching, a dangerous way of being that was toxic to the church.
Now, this threat came in a particular form.
And it's what's called syncretism.
And what syncretism is, is when a Christian starts adding things that are not necessary or essential,
and adding them to the Christian faith and making them necessary and essential.
Even making them central.
And so instead of this beautiful body of Jesus, the church,
what can happen with syncretism is a Frankenstein beast that stops being Christianity.
And so when you read through verses like 8 through 23,
you see a number of these things that are coming up.
There was this secular influence.
Look at verse 8.
See that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition,
according to the elemental spirits of the world.
And notice that, next phrase, and not according to Christ.
They were buying into some kind of philosophy that had nothing to do with Jesus.
And they were making it important to following Jesus.
And then there's all these kind of religious, Jewish kind of religious references.
There's a phrase talking about verse 11.
In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands.
By the circumcision of Christ.
Apparently circumcision was an issue.
Look at verse 16.
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.
So somebody was influencing the church by saying,
you know what, it really matters what you eat and drink
in order to walking and living for Jesus.
Or it really matters that you keep this religious calendar.
That's really important.
And look what Paul says in verse 17.
These are a shadow of the things to come,
but the substance, the centrality of all things, belongs to Christ.
He goes on to talking about asceticism,
about the worship of angels,
about getting caught up with visions.
And then in verse 20,
he starts talking about 2021.
These things that were being said in the church.
Do not handle.
Do not taste.
Do not touch.
No, no.
No.
Don't do that.
No.
And Paul wraps up by saying in verse 23,
hey, these have an appearance of wisdom
in promoting self-made religion,
self-made religion,
Frankenstein religion,
and asceticism and severity to the body,
but they are of no value
in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
They are no value to your godliness.
They are no value to living for Christ.
These things are a shadow.
These things can be toxic.
Guess what, gang?
As it was true back in the first century,
it's true in the 21st century.
There are toxins in American culture
that we're breathing in.
And we've got to point them out and say,
no, no, that's not healthy for us.
No, that's not central to our walking with Jesus.
That's at best on the outside.
So there's a real threat going on
to this Colossian church.
The threat of syncretism.
It's still a threat today.
The fourth pearl
is in chapter 3, verses 1 through 17,
and it's actually Paul's response
to this Frankenstein Christianity
that has no value for stopping
the indulgence of the flesh.
It is the who to how
of Christian living.
This is what it means
to truly walk in a manner
worthy of Christ,
walking in a manner that pleases Him.
He says that's not the way
in chapter 2,
and then lays out for us
in chapter 3,
this is the way
to live for Christ.
And what I want you to see
is a very important relationship.
In chapter 3, 1 through 4,
Paul is going to say,
this is who you are in Christ.
And then in chapter 3,
verses 5 through 17,
he says,
and this is how you live for Christ.
Who you are in Christ
determines how you live for Christ.
Who Christ is
and what Christ has done
defines and determines
who we are
and how we live.
This is a very important passage for us
because he's going to get into
the nitty-gritty of some things.
It's going to help us
recognize that Jesus is enough
and Jesus is central
to our daily living.
And so he hits,
in this part of chapter 3,
he hits on Jesus
kind of like general godliness.
It's what progressive sanctification,
becoming more and more like Jesus,
looks like day in and day out.
The fifth pearl
is he now moves
from these general kind of principles
of godly living for Christ
to now living godly lives
in real relationships
with one another.
Household relationships.
And this is chapter 3, verse 18
through chapter 4, verse 1.
If you look at it,
it's really interesting.
He identifies three sets of relationships.
He talks about marriage, 18 and 19.
He talks about the family,
children in verse 20,
parents in verse 21.
And then he talks about the workplace.
Bond servants and masters.
We're going to think about that
in terms of
if you are playing some kind of
what's the word?
If you're playing,
I want to say a subservient world,
but that's not it.
The word I'm looking for,
where did I write this word?
Subordinate world.
Sorry about that.
What he's going to address is
how to live as a subordinate
in the workplace
and then how to live
if you're a supervisor
in the workplace.
So it's really interesting
how he lays all this stuff out.
And what I want you to notice
is that Christ is central to it all.
Wives,
you should look at
verse 18.
Wives,
submit to your husbands
as is fitting
in the Lord.
Children,
obey your parents in everything
for this pleases the Lord.
Christ central.
Bond servants,
obey in everything
those who are your earthly masters
fearing the Lord.
Work hardly for the Lord.
You are serving the Lord Christ.
Christ central.
Masters,
supervisors,
treat your subordinates
justly and fairly
knowing that you also have
a supervisor,
Christ central,
in heaven.
Christ central
all the way through.
The next stop
is in chapter 4
verses 2 through 6
and then Paul makes
a very quick move
to those outside the faith.
In verse 2,
he calls this church,
God is calling us
to be praying
watchfully,
evangelistically.
And then in verses 3 and 4,
Paul asks this church
to pray for
his gospel work.
And then in verses 5
through 6,
he moves to the Colossians
themselves
and says,
okay,
this is,
here's some instructions
in order,
how to engage
those outsiders
that you're living among,
those who are not
in Christ
but outside of Christ.
And so,
in verses 2 through 6
of chapter 4,
he's helping us
think evangelistically.
And then finally,
in chapter 4,
verses 7 through 18,
is the close
of the book,
seventh pearl.
And you might
see that
and start thinking,
oh man,
there's a lot of names.
Isn't that interesting?
That's wonderful.
You can dismiss it.
Let's not dismiss it.
The Holy Spirit
has this here
for a reason.
In this passage,
in 7 through 18,
Paul name drops
10 people.
And if you include himself,
it's 18.
No, verse 18.
Including himself,
it's 11.
But interwoven
throughout these names
are greetings.
Christians from all over
the Mediterranean basin
greeting one another.
There's a network here.
And intermingled
with all these greetings,
Paul is making reference
to this gospel labor
of people who are
seeking to make Christ known
in these cities
around the Mediterranean Sea.
And so what you have here
at the end
of the book of Colossians
is a Christ central
missional network.
The book ends
with this sense
that the Colossian church
is not alone
in what God is doing
around the world.
They have a part to play.
So these are the seven pearls.
This is the itinerary
of the book of Colossians.
There is a lot here.
But there is a cord
holding all these pearls together.
All these seven distinct moves.
They unfold
with one common theme.
Christ central.
Christ preeminent over all.
Christ comprehensively reigning
through all.
The main argument of the book
is not just that Christ
is central.
The main argument
of the book
is that Christ
is the functional
center of our lives.
He controls
and determines everything.
You can say it this way.
Because of who Christ is
and what Christ has done,
what Christ is doing,
He must
be the controlling center
of who we are
and what we do.
Christ
central.
Jesus is enough.
I hope it's kind of
stirring some anticipation
in you.
We've got some
majesty of Jesus
coming our way
through the book
of Colossians.
So now what I'd like
to do is
read the book
of Colossians to you.
In chapter 4,
verse 16,
Paul says,
and when this letter
has been read among you,
have it also read
in the church
of the Laodiceans.
This letter
was meant to be read.
This letter was meant
to be heard
by Christians.
So I'm going to read it
and I'm going to ask you
right now,
ask the Lord,
Lord instruct me
as I listen.
Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus
by the will of God
and Timothy,
our brother,
to the saints
and faithful brothers
in Christ
at Colossae,
grace to you
and peace
from God our Father.
We always thank God
the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ
when we pray for you
since we heard
of your faith
in Christ Jesus
and of the love
that you have
for all the saints
because of the hope
laid up for you
in heaven.
Of this you have heard
before
in the word of truth,
the gospel,
which has come to you
as indeed in the whole world
it is bearing fruit
and increasing
as it also does
among you
since the day you heard it
and understood the grace
of God in truth
just as you learned it
from Epaphras,
our beloved fellow servant.
He is a faithful minister
of Christ on your behalf
and has made known to us
your love in the Spirit.
And so from the day we heard,
we have not ceased
to pray for you
asking that you may be filled
with the knowledge
of his will
in all spiritual wisdom
and understanding
so as to walk
in a manner worthy
of the Lord,
fully pleasing to him,
bearing fruit
in every good work
and in increasing
in knowledge of God,
being strengthened
with all power
according to his glorious might
for all endurance
and patience
with joy,
giving thanks to the Father
who has qualified you
to share in the inheritance
of the saints in light.
He has delivered us
from the domain of darkness
and transferred us
to the kingdom
of his beloved Son
in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins.
And then he starts
talking about Jesus.
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.
And he is before all things
and in him,
all things hold together.
And he is the head
of the body,
the church.
He's the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything
he might be preeminent.
For in him,
all the fullness of God
was pleased to dwell
and through him
to reconcile to himself
all things,
whether on earth
or in heaven,
making peace
by the blood of his cross.
And you,
who once were alienated
and hostile in mind,
doing evil things,
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,
if indeed you continue
in the faith,
stable and steadfast,
not shifting from the hope
of the gospel
that you have heard,
which has been proclaimed
in all creation
under heaven
and of which I,
Paul,
became a minister,
now I rejoice
in my sufferings
for your sake.
And in my flesh
I am filling up
what is lacking
in Christ's affliction
for the sake
of his body,
that is the church,
of which I became
a minister
according to the stewardship
from God
that was given to me
for you
to make the word
of God fully known.
The mystery,
hidden for ages
and generations,
but now revealed
to his saints,
to them God
chose to make known
how great among
the Gentiles
are the riches
of the glory
of this mystery
which is Christ
in you,
the hope of glory.
Him we proclaim,
warning everyone
and teaching everyone
with all wisdom
that we may present
to everyone
mature in Christ.
For this I toil,
struggling with all
his energy
that he powerfully
works within me.
For I want you to know
how great a struggle
I have for you
and for those
that Laodicea
and for all
who have not seen
me face to face,
that their hearts
may be encouraged
being knit together
in love
to reach all the riches
of the fullness
of assurance
of understanding
and the knowledge
of God's mystery
which is Christ
in whom are hidden
all treasures
of wisdom
and knowledge.
I say this
in order that
no one may delude you
with plausible arguments
for though I am
absent in the body
yet I am with you
in spirit
rejoicing to see
your good order
in the firmness
of your faith
in Christ.
Therefore,
as you receive
Christ Jesus the Lord,
so walk in him.
Rooted and built up
in him
and established
in the faith
just as you were taught
abounding in thanksgiving.
See to it
that no one
takes you captive
by philosophy
and empty conceit
according to human tradition,
according to the elemental
spirits of the world
and not according
to Christ.
For in him
the whole fullness
of deity dwells bodily
and you have been
filled in him
who is the head
of all rule
and authority.
In him also
you were circumcised
with a circumcision
made without hands
by putting off
the body of the flesh
by the circumcision
of Christ
having been buried
with him in baptism
in which you were also
raised with him
through faith
in the powerful
working of God
who raised him
from the dead.
And you
who were dead
in your trespasses
in 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
he disarmed the rulers
and the authorities
and put them
to open shame
by triumphing over them
in him.
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.
Let no one
disqualify you
insisting on asceticism
and the worship
of angels
going on in detail
about visions
puffed up without reason
by a sensuous mind
and not holding fast
to the head
from whom the whole body
nourished and knit together
through its joints
and ligaments
grows with the growth
that is from God.
If with Christ
you die
to the elemental spirits
of the world
why
as if you were still
alive in the world
do you submit
to regulations
do not handle
do not taste
do not touch
referring to things
that all perish
as they are used
according to human
precepts and teachings.
These have indeed
an appearance of wisdom
in promoting
self-made religion
and asceticism
in severity
to the body
but they
are of no value
in stopping
the indulgence
of the flesh.
If then
you've been raised
with Christ
seek the things
that are above
where Christ is
seated
at the right hand
of God.
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
when Christ
who is
your life
appears
then you also
will appear
with him
in glory.
Put to death
therefore
what is earthly
in you
sexual immorality
impurity
passion
evil desire
and covetousness
which is
idolatry
on account
of these
the wrath
of God
is coming
in these
you too
once walked
when you were
living in them
but now
you must put
them all away
anger
wrath
malice
slander
and obscene
talk from your mouth
do not lie
to one another
seeing that you
have put off
the old self
with its practices
and put
have put on
the new self
which is being
renewed in the
knowledge after
the image
of its creator
a reference
to Jesus
here there is
not Greek
and Jew
circumcised
and uncircumcised
barbarian
Scythian
slave
free
but Christ
is all
and in all
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 songs
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
wives
submit to your
husbands
as is fitting
in the Lord
husbands
love your
wives
and do not
be harsh
with them
children
obey your
parents
in everything
for this
pleases
the Lord
fathers
do not
provoke
your children
lest they
become
discouraged
bond
servants
subordinates
obey in
everything
those who
are your
earthly
masters
not by way
of eye
service
as people
pleasers
but with
sincerity
of heart
fearing
the Lord
whatever
you do
bond
servant
subordinate
work
heartily
as for
the Lord
and not
for men
knowing that
from the
Lord
you will
receive
the
inheritance
as your
reward
you are
serving
the Lord
Christ
for the
wrongdoer
will be
paid
back
for the
wrong
he has
done
and there
is no
partiality
masters
treat
your
bond
servants
supervisors
treat
your
subordinates
justly
and fairly
knowing
that you
also
have
the
ultimate
supervisor
in heaven
continue
steadfastly
in prayer
being watchful
in it
with thanksgiving
at the same
time
pray also
for us
that God
may
open to
us
a door
for the
word
to declare
the mystery
of Christ
on account
of which
I am
in prison
that I
make it
clear
which is
how I
ought to
speak
walk in
wisdom
toward
outsiders
making
the best
use
of the
time
let your
speech
always be
gracious
seasoned
with salt
so that
you may
know
how you
ought
to
answer
each
person
Tychicus
will tell
you all
about my
activities
he is a
beloved brother
and faithful
minister
and fellow
servant
of the
Lord
I have
sent him
to you
for this
very
purpose
that you
may know
how we
are
that he
may
encourage
your
hearts
and with
him
Onesimus
our
faithful
and beloved
brother
who is
one of
you
they will
tell you
of everything
that has
taken
place
here
Aristarchus
my
fellow
prisoner
greets
you
and Mark
the cousin
of Barnabas
concerning
whom you
have received
instructions
if he
comes to
you
welcome
him
and
Jesus
who is
called
Justice
these
are the
only
men
of the
circumcision
among
my
fellow
workers
for the
kingdom
of God
and they
have been
a comfort
to me
Epaphras
who is
one of
you
a servant
of Christ
Jesus
greets
you
always
struggling
on your
behalf
in his
prayers
that you
may stand
mature
and fully
assured
in all
the will
of God
for I
bear him
witness
that he
has worked
hard for you
and for
those in
Laodicea
in Hierapolis
Luke the
beloved
physician
greets you
as does
Demas
give my
greetings
to the
brothers
at Laodicea
and to
Nympha
and the
church
in her
house
and when
this letter
has been
read among
you
have it
also read
in the
church
of the
Laodiceans
and see
that you
also read
the letter
from the
Laodicea
and say
to Archippus
see that
you fulfill
the ministry
that you
have received
in the Lord
I
Paul
write this
greeting
with my
own hand
remember
my
chains
grace
be with
you
brothers
and sisters
we
we have
an epic
journey
in front
of us
over the
next five
and a half
months
we are
going to
see the
majesty
of Christ
lifted up
and worked
through our
lives
would you
join with
me now
as we
ask God
to do
a work
a lasting
work
in our
lives
father
god
we thank
you for
every book
of this
bible
we thank
you for
every word
that has
originated
in your
mind
and is
now
available
to us
in our
own
language
we thank
you for
the book
of
colossians
and its
unique
contribution
to our
lives
the centrality
of Christ
in all
things
father
would you
pour out
your spirit
upon us
week after
week over
the next
five and a
half months
and that
you would
capture us
with this
glorious vision
of Christ
central
preeminent
comprehensive
in all
things
it's your
name we
pray
amen