COLOSSIANS I know there's little point in writing another commentary on any Bible book, especially Colossians, since many already exist and are available for those interested. My goal in sharing my thoughts about these scriptures is to remind myself of the reasons they were written. I also want to encourage others to be living examples of the truths they've learned. There are lessons to be learned and practiced daily. If we understand the teachings well but fail to apply the lessons, we're more guilty of failure than before reading the Epistle. We are responsible for being and doing what God intended once we've learned the lessons in these words of truth.
Connections with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the only way believers can live with personal power over everything that tries to bring us down to where the world, the flesh, and the devil want us. God’s chosen method to strengthen the public testimony He intends to present to a watching world is through the collective fellowship of believers in an assembly like Colossae. The teachings of Judaism, Gnosticism, or any other “ism” leave us powerless and spiritually empty. God intends that we live holy, righteous, and godly lives by faith in Him.
Our thoughts, actions, moral conduct, and commitment to Christ should align with our verbal testimony. We should not be ashamed to express our faith with words that show our love for God and others. When opportunities arise to share the Gospel, we should seize them by highlighting the supremacy of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Sovereign of the universe and the Savior of all who call upon Him in faith for salvation.
Even though Paul had never visited Colossae, he learned from Epaphras, who was from there, that false teachings existed and needed to be addressed by the church. As an apostle, he understood his duty was to strengthen God’s people in faith through prayer, instruction, and encouragement. In the Book of Colossians, Paul emphasized the “body” more than the “church,” similar to his approach in the Book of Ephesians. The believers in Colossae had to understand that “fullness” was not found in their efforts to improve themselves, as the Gnostics taught, or in religious practices, as the Judaizers believed. It is “In Christ” that all “fullness” resides.