The document discusses the early church in Colossae and the purpose of Paul's letter to them. It provides background information on: - The city of Colossae and the churches in the region - The church at Colossae being founded by Epaphras who was discipled by Paul - A "Colossian heresy" arising that promoted wrong teachings about Christ - Paul writing the letter to combat this heresy and emphasize Christ's supremacy and sufficiency - The letter addressing doctrinal issues in chapter 1, defending Christ's teachings in chapter 2, and displaying the duties of believers in chapters 3-4.

3. Parliament of World’s Religions Chicago 1893
Jesus was ....
• admired, quoted, &
revered
• a revealer of God,
• to be loved & followed
• shows us the way
• Master of Masters,
BUT only one enlightened man among many...
• favorably compared to other religious teachers,
ancient and modern.
• To be respected,
• Honored ...
• but not to be worshiped.
Jesus is not Lord at All
If He is not Lord of All

4. THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS

5. Intro to Colossians
AUTHOR:
• Paul, the Apostle.
DATE:
• Uncertain.
• ?? between A.D. 60-63.
• ?? during Paul's imprisonment
at Rome (Acts 28:16, 30-31)

6. Intro to Colossians
TO WHOM:
• believers & faithful brothers
in Christ at Colossae (1:2)
BY WHOM:
• Tychicus & Onesimus (4:7-9)

7. Intro to Colossians
PURPOSE:
• To combat wrong teachings
in the Colossae church esp
regarding the person &
Lorship of Christ
 “Colossian Heresy”

8. (a) The CITY : Colossae
1. Lycus Valley with 3 cities – Hierapolis, Laodicea &
Colossae
2. Laodicea (the lukewarm church of Revelations)
the biggest only about 10 miles away
3. Colossae was the least important of the three.

9. (a) The CITY :
Colossae
4. Ephesus - about 100 miles away
5. Famous for clothing, dyeing of wool & minerals
6. Population - both Jewish and Gentile.
7. Situated along the East-West trade route -
exposed to modern thoughts & philosophies

10. (b) The CHURCH
• May have met in the home of Philemon, who
lived in Colossae (4:9 and Philemon 10).
• Paul mentions both Laodicea and Hierapolis
(2:1; 4:13, 16).
• Primarily Gentile in membership
• Paul had never visited
Colossae (2:1).
• Acts 19:8-10 Paul’s 3 ys
ministry in Ephesus, "all
Asia" heard the Gospel.
• Founded by ?Epaphras
(1:4-7; 4:12-13) who is
from Colossae.

11. (c) The CRISIS
• Epaphras – personally visited Paul in Rome
(4:12, Philemon 23)

12.  Because of the crisis ....
 3 Letters – Colossians, Ephesians
& Philemon
 Carried by Tychicus (Eph 6:21-22)
& Onesimus
Summary :
Colossians emphasizes Christ’s ...
 Supremacy
 Sufficiency
EPHESIANS
• The Church - the
Body of Christ
COLOSSIANS
• Christ - the Head
of the Body
(d) THE CORRESPONDENCE

13. Outline of Colossians
I. Chp 1 : DOCTRINE
Christ's Supremacy & Sufficiency DECLARED
II. Chp 2 : DANGER
Christ's Supremacy & Sufficiency DEFENDED
III. Chps 3-4 : DUTY
Christ's Supremacy & Sufficiency DISPLAYED

14. Colossians
I. Chp 1 : DOCTRINE
Christ's Supremacy & Sufficiency
DECLARED
A. Lessons in Discipleship 1:1-8

15. Colossians 1:1-8
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of
God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at
Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our
Father.
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ
Jesus and of the love you have for all the
saints–

16. Colossians 1:1-8
5 the faith and love that spring from the hope
that is stored up for you in heaven and that you
have already heard about in the word of truth,
the gospel
6 that has come to you. All over the world this
gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it
has been doing among you since the day you
heard it and understood God's grace in all its
truth.
7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow
servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on
our behalf,
8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

17. Church @ Colossians
* Not started by Paul
Because Paul has never
been there (2:1)

18. Church @ Colossians
Started by a ‘LOCAL’ ...
• 1:7 “You learned it from Epaphras, our
dear fellow servant, who is a faithful
minister of Christ on our behalf, ...”
• 4:12 “Epaphras, who is one of you and a
servant of Christ Jesus, ...”
• Acts 19 Paul’s 3 year stay in Ephesus, 100
miles from Colossae...
• Epaphras was most probably ...
converted in Ephesus
Discipled of Paul,
? Commissioned

19. Church @ Colossians
1:7 “You LEARNED it from
Epaphras, our dear fellow servant,
who is a faithful minister of Christ
on our behalf, ...”
“LEARNED” : Gk manthano or
emathete
“to learn" - mathetes - "a disciple“
- a disciple is a learner
Paraphrase 1:7
Epaphras our dear fellow servant
and faithful minister in Christ
DISCIPLED YOU ...

20. Church @ Colossians
The Colossian Church
was discipled by Epaphras
possibly also the churches at
Laodicea and Hierapolis (4:13)
So Paul first discipled Epaphras
Epaphras then discipled the
Colossians Christians...
What then were the results of
Paul’s Discipling of Epaphras
who then Discipled the Colossians

21. Lessons In Discipleship
1st Lesson in Discipleship :
FAITH
• Col 1:4 “... your faith in Christ Jesus ...”
* Ps Phua : “with Christ”
• Colossians : “in Christ” 7X
• Discipleship is all about being “In Christ”
• Your relationship with Christ is what
matters
You can only have a relationship
‘WITH CHRIST’ if you are ‘IN CHRIST’

22. Lessons In Discipleship
First Lesson In Discipleship :
FAITH in Christ
It’s not even about
Doing Quiet Time...
Reading The Bible...
Attending Sunday Church Service...
Attending Discipleship Groups...
Attending Prayer Meetings...
Going On Mission Trips...
Taking Holy Communion... Etc etc

23. faith !!
What do
you
believe?
Whatever
my church
believe...
And what
do your
church
believe?
What I
believe...
QUESTION :
Do You Know
What You
Believe ?

24. Faith !!
What’s FAITH ?
Quote Heb 11:1
‘Now faith is being sure
of what we hope for and
certain of what we do
not see.’
Story of 8 years old
Wesley Parker

25. Martyn Lloyd-Jones :
"Faith ... is not merely an intellectual awareness of
the truth, or even an intellectual acceptance of the
truth. You can have that and still be without faith.
Faith means a real trusting in Him and what He has
done on our behalf and for our salvation. . . .
Faith !!
The man who has faith is the man who
is no longer looking to himself....
He looks entirely to the Lord Jesus Christ
and His finished work, and he rests on
that alone."

26. Rev Edmund Chan sharing on FAITH esp in
the area of healing...
4 Possible Responses ...
God ‘Can’
An Oxymoron
God ‘Will’
A Presumptuous Faith
God ‘Must’
 Acting as a spoiled brat
God ‘Is’
 True Faith
 TRUST + RELATIONSHIP
Faith = Trust + ?

27. Quotes:
Isaiah 7.9
If you do not stand
firm in your faith,
you will not stand at
all .
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
For faith is only real
when there is
obedience,
never without it,
and faith only becomes
faith in the act of
obedience
Most church is an unreal me
following an unreal Him;
discipleship is the real me
following the real Him.
Roy Baylis

28. Lessons In Discipleship
2nd Lesson In Discipleship :
LOVE
... for all the saints
Col 1:4 “... the LOVE you have for
all the saints...”
‘agape’ love Gk
“ALL” the saints
The Colossian church must
have been a very loving church

29. Lessons In Discipleship
2nd Lesson In Discipleship :
LOVE for all the saints...
• But even though they are called
‘holy’, ‘faithful’ & ‘saints’ ...
they are all still very human ...
• John 13:35 “By this all men will
know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another."

30. “They have something special. I want what
they have. I want to be like Christians to be
able to love others… I want to have the joy
that Christians have. I want to continue my
faith journey even when I go back to China and
help others in China to receive this peace and
joy only Jesus can provide.”

31. “I was deeply attracted by the
church life and the peace and joy
the Christians had. I was also
attracted by how they lived in
harmony with one another.”

32. “I am impressed by the attitude of
their everyday life, the attitude when
they are confronted with difficulty.
Also, they are always willing to help
others.”

33. “From them I saw the image of
Jesus Christ. Without them I
could not know God.”

34. Nie Heng
Sheng

35. What is it ?

36. •

38. A113
• classroom number at the California Institute of
Arts, where many talented animators studied.

39. Lessons In Discipleship
3rd Lesson In Discipleship :
HOPE ...
Col 1:5 “... the hope that is stored up for
you in heaven...already heard about in
the word of truth, the Gospel ...”
Heavenly ...
Word of TRUTH
Gospel – ‘Good News’ ...

40. Lessons In Discipleship
3rd Lesson In Discipleship :
HOPE ...
Col 1:27 “Glorious Hope”
1 Peter 1:3 “Living Hope”
Titus 2:13 “Blessed Hope”
1 Tim 1:1 “Christ Jesus our Hope”

41. Survey ...
Q 1 : WHAT IS THE KEY TO GETTING INTO HEAVEN?
65.5% Living a good life
26.7% Having connections to someone at the top.
2.7% Helping old ladies cross the street.
1.9% Slipping St. Peter $20.00.
1.2% Making a deal with the devil.
0.5% Having a strong letter of reference.
0.5% Telling a really good lie.
Total votes 121,836
Q2 : Are you going to heaven?
 Yes. 89.8%
 No. 10.2%
Total votes 143,309

42. Lessons In Discipleship
The local church is
the hope for the
world.
Bill Hybels

43. Lessons In Discipleship
1st : FAITH
2nd : LOVE
3rd : HOPE
More Lessons In
Discipleship ....
Akan Datang ....

44. Lessons In Discipleship
Application:
As Paul Discipled Epaphras ...
Epaphras in turn Discipled the
Colossian converts ....
Result : Paul commended the Colossian
Church for their ...
FAITH, LOVE & HOPE ...
Cf 1 Thess 1:3b
“... your work produced by faith,
your labor prompted by love, and
your endurance inspired by hope in
our Lord Jesus Christ.”

45. Lessons In Discipleship
Application :
Christians & Disciples !!
‘in theory’ : Christians = Disciples
But ‘in reality’ ...
NOT all Christians are Disciples
but all Disciples are Christians.
& WE ARE ALL CALLED TO BE
DISCIPLES of JESUS CHRIST...

46. Lessons In Discipleship
Take-Home Points :
1. Jesus is still calling for DISCIPLES...
2. Call is to ‘Make Disciples’...
‘Last Command our 1st Priority’
3. Disciples & Discipleship ...
DO NOT JUST HAPPEN...
Discipleship must be INTENTIONAL
4. Discipling & Discipleship
cannot be done ALONE ...
Discipleship is all about Relationship...
Being Discipled & Making Disciples

47. Christianity without
discipleship
is always Christianity
without Christ
Moving forward ...
Think Big,
START SMALL,
Build Deep

48. Conclusion
In Closing...
Col 1:3 “We always thank God, the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when
we pray for you,...”
“We give thanks” - Gk eucharisteo
Root word : Eucharist
- Thanksgiving
Another term for Holy Communion