it is a biblical studies about the letter of Paul to the Colossians

1. Letter
to the
Colossi
ans
Overcomin
g
Oppressive
Punitive
Powers,
and
Seen & Unseen
Overcomin
g
Oppressive
Punitive
Powers,
and
Seen & Unseen
with
Dr. Dennis T. Gonzalez,
SThD
Graphics by SonnyYElaine Bismonte

2. Opening
Prayer
O God and Ama of Jesus, our Messiah,
we give You thanks and praise for
showing him, your Wisdom, first in
creation and first in redemption. He is
the faithful and renewed son of man who
has fulfilled the great mission to reflect
your inner radiance on all creation and to
reflect back
to You the gratitude and praise of
creation. In his body put to death and
raised to new life, he has launched
the New Creation, and reconciled to
himself all peoples, powers and things,
the visible and the invisible, the heroic
and the ordinary, and the big and the

3. Colossians General Outline
Thanksgiving for God’s Work (1:1-
8)
Wonderful Uniqueness of the
Messiah (1:9 – 2:19)
Dying & Rising with the Messiah
(2:20 – 4:6)
Final Greetings (4:7-18)

4. Likely written during Paul’s
extended imprisonment in
Ephesus.
Paul’s co-
worker,
Epaphras,
founded
the Colossian
community
(1:7-8).
“He is always struggling in prayer for
you, that you may stand firm, mature and
fully assured, in everything

5. Central Hymn on Christ
(1:15-20)
“He is
the
image
of the
invisible
God, the
firstborn
of all
creation”

6. Central Hymn on Christ
(1:15-20)
“He is
the
image
of the
invisible
God, the
firstborn
of all
creation”
“For wisdom (sophia) is more
mobile
than any motion;
because of her pureness she
pervades
and penetrates all things.
For she is a breath of the
power of God,
and a pure emanation of
the glory
of the Almighty;
therefore nothing defiled
gains entrance
into her.
For she is a reflection of
eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the
working of God,

7. “For wisdom (sophia) is more
mobile than
any motion;
because of her pureness she
pervades
and penetrates all things.
For she is a breath of the
power of God,
and a pure emanation of
the glory of the
Almighty;
therefore nothing defiled
gains entrance
into her.
For she is a reflection of
eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the
working of God,
Hokma (Sophia)
declares: “Yhwh
brought me forth
at the beginning
of his work, before
his deeds
of old” (Proverbs
8:22).
“When he marked out
the foundations of the
earth,
then I was beside him
as 'āmôn (Heb:
child/apprentice/
artisan); and I was
daily his delight,

8. The beloved Son is
the first and wisest
expression,
the best
representation,
and the inseparable
co-worker of the
invisible Creator.
From the very
beginning, creation
was Trinitarian activity,
which continues
creation, and
in the Son’s bodily
resurrection launches
“He is the firstborn from the dead, so that in
everything

9. His resurrection renders him supreme, as he
was given
new life as the “son of man” who would receive
from “the Ancient of Days…authority, glory,
sovereign power... an everlasting dominion”
(Daniel 7:13-14).
The beloved Son is
the first and wisest
expression,
the best
representation,
and the inseparable
co-worker of the
invisible Creator.
From the very
beginning, creation
was Trinitarian activity,
which continues
creation, and
in the Son’s bodily
resurrection launches
“He is the firstborn from the dead, so that in
everything
At his resurrection Jesus is the firstborn of
New Creation, as he is the first to wrestle
with death and overcome it
after his last breath.
His resurrection renders him supreme, as
he was given
new life as the “son of man” who would
receive from
“the Ancient of Days…authority, glory,
sovereign power...
an everlasting dominion” (Daniel 7:13-14).

10. At his resurrection Jesus is the firstborn of
New Creation, as he is the first to wrestle
with death and overcome
it after his last breath.
His resurrection renders him supreme, as he
was given
new life as the “son of man” who would receive
from “the Ancient of Days…authority, glory,
sovereign power... an everlasting dominion”
(Daniel 7:13-14).
“People will see the Son of Man
coming in clouds with great power
and glory” (Mark 13:26):
the apostles would see the crucified
Nazarene
alive anew & ascend to heaven (Acts
1:3-11),
and they would see the Gospel
grow,
reach Rome and continue to
spread

11. At his resurrection Jesus is the firstborn of
New Creation, as he is the first to wrestle
with death and overcome
it after his last breath.
His resurrection renders him supreme, as he
was given
new life as the “son of man” who would receive
from “the Ancient of Days…authority, glory,
sovereign power... an everlasting dominion”
(Daniel 7:13-14).
“Go into all the world & proclaim the Gospel
to all creation” (Mark 16:15).
The Gospel “has been proclaimed to all creation”
(Colossians 1:23),
as the first resurrection of the body
begins New Creation irreversibly.
“Blessed be the Spirit of New Creation!
May we sense & bear witness to it!”

12. “People will see the Son of Man
coming in clouds with great power
and glory” (Mark 13:26):
the apostles would see the risen
Jesus
ascend to heaven (Acts 1:3-11),
and they would see the Gospel
grow,
reach Rome and continue to
spread
“God created
humankind in his
own image”
(Genesis 1:27).
Jesus is the faithful
and renewed human who has fulfilled
the divine mission to be a curved mirror
(with wide angle) which reflects the
Creator’s radiance on all creation,
and at the same time reflects back to the
Creator
the gratitude and praise of creation.
Curved mirrors help us get past
dangerous

13. “God created
humankind in his
own image”
(Genesis 1:27).
Jesus is the faithful
and renewed human who has fulfilled
the divine mission to be a curved mirror
(with a wide angle) which reflects the
Creator’s radiance on all creation, and at
the same time reflects back to the
Creator the gratitude
and praise of creation.
Curved mirrors help us get past
dangerous
“Diyos ko, Diyos ko, bakit
mo ako pinabayaan?...
Nakaluklok ka sa mga
papuri ng
Israel…Sa aking mga
kapatid ay
ihahayag ko
ang iyong
pangalan, pupurihin kita sa
gitna ng kapulungan…”
(Awit 22)
“Ang hari ay nagagalak, O
Poon,
sa iyong
kalakasan…Sasakmalin
ang mga kaaway ng Poon
sa kanyang

14. “Diyos ko, Diyos ko, bakit
mo ako pinabayaan?...
Nakaluklok ka sa mga
papuri ng
Israel…Sa aking mga
kapatid ay
ihahayag ko
ang iyong
pangalan, pupurihin kita sa
gitna ng kapulungan…”
(Awit 22)
“Ang hari ay nagagalak, O
Poon,
sa iyong
kalakasan…Sasakmalin
ang mga kaaway ng Poon
sa kanyang kagalitan…
Magpasalamat sa
Ama
dahil minarapat
niyang
makabahagi tayo
sa Damayan ng
mga Tapat!
“Heavenly
Father, bless
us and keep
us all alive.
There’s ten of
us
to dinner, and
not enough for
five.”
When eating
bamboo
shoots,
remember the
farmer who

15. Magpasalamat sa
Ama
dahil minarapat
niyang
makabahagi tayo
sa Damayan ng
mga Tapat!
“Heavenly
Father, bless
us and keep
us all alive.
There’s ten of
us
to dinner, and
not enough for
five.”
When eating
bamboo
shoots,
remember the
farmer who
“Let the message of the Messiah dwell among
you richly as you teach and admonish one
another with all wisdom thru psalms, hymns and
songs from the Spirit, singing to God with
gratitude in your hearts.
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father thru him.”
(Col 3:16-17)
Salamatista ang mga tapat na anak ng Ama!
Huwag tularan: salapista, poderista,
benggadorista,

16. “Let the message of the Messiah dwell among
you richly as you teach and admonish one
another with all wisdom thru psalms, hymns and
songs from the Spirit, singing to God with
gratitude in your hearts.
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father thru him.”
(Col 3:16-17)
Salamatista ang mga tapat na anak ng Ama!
Huwag tularan: salapista, poderista,
benggadorista,
“For in him all things were
created: things
in heaven and on earth, visible
and invisible, whether thrones or
powers or rulers
or authorities; all things have
been created
thru him and for him.
“He is before all
things,
and in him all
things
hold together.”

17. “For in him all things were
created: things in heaven and on
earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or
rulers or authorities; all things
have been
created thru him and for him.
“He is before all
things,
and in him all
things
Hold together.”
Thus the
ultimate purpose
of creation
is not
consumption
but celebration
of a relationship
of love (and the
revelation
Creation is the gift of the Ama to
the Anak;
creation is meant neither for a
thing
nor for an idea, but for a
(cherished) person.

18. Thus the
ultimate
purpose of
creation is not
consumption
but celebration
of a
relationship of
love (and the
Creation is the gift of the Ama to
the Anak;
creation is meant neither for a
thing nor an idea, but for a
(cherished)person.
The beloved Son, in his personal
experience of love and his loving response,
is the source of the ultimate purpose
and meaning of all the created
powers/forces:
angelic, mythological, religious, political,
military, economic, educational, scientific,
technological, sexual…
In the wise
power of the
Sophia-
Messiah,
all the created
powers can
know their
proper places to
do beneficial

19. The beloved Son, in his personal
experience of love and his loving response,
is the source of the ultimate purpose
and meaning of all the created
powers/forces:
angelic, mythological, religious, political,
military, economic, educational, scientific,
technological, sexual…
In the wise
power of the
Sophia-
Messiah,
all the created
powers can
know their
proper places to
do beneficial
Away from sophianic messianic power,
these happen:
a created power loses sense of its
proper place, trespasses on or grabs
time-spaces of persons, households,
communities, and habitats,
provokes harmful competition and
conflict over control
of time-spaces among powers,
and becomes punitive and oppressive.

20. Away from sophianic messianic power,
these happen:
a created power loses sense of its
proper place, trespasses on or grabs
time-spaces of persons, households,
communities, and habitats, provokes
harmful competition and conflict over
control of
time-spaces among powers, and
becomes punitive
and oppressive.
“For God was
pleased to have
all the fullness
dwell in him,
and thru him to
reconcile all
things to himself,
whether things
on earth or
things
in heaven, by
making peace

21. “For God was
pleased to
have all the
fullness dwell
in him, and
thru him to
reconcile all
things to
himself,
whether
things on
earth or things
Nang matapos ang tabernakulo sa
disyerto, “tinakpan ng ulap ang
toldang tipanan at pinuspos ng
kaluwalhatian ng Poon ang

22. Nang matapos ang tabernakulo sa
disyerto, “tinakpan ng ulap ang
toldang tipanan at pinuspos ng
kaluwalhatian ng Poon ang
The risen body of Jesus, the renewed
human, is the first indestructible temple in
which the divine glory dwells fully, and
thru which these become reality:
“the earth will be
filled with the
knowledge of
Yhwh as the
waters cover the
sea” (Isaiah 11:9),
the new earth and
new heaven will be
married, and the
New Creation will
be completed as

23. The risen body of Jesus, the renewed
human, is the first indestructible temple in
which the divine glory dwells fully, and
thru which these become reality:
“the earth will be
filled with the
knowledge of
Yhwh as the
waters cover the
sea” (Isaiah 11:9),
the new earth and
new heaven will be
married, and the
New Creation will
be completed as
Temple
cosmology
(N.T. Wright)
in Genesis
(1:27):
Humankind as
divine image is last
to be made in
Creation, God’s
great Temple, the
Creator’s lovely
dwelling place,
“where even the
sparrow has found
a home” (Psalm
84:2), and where
rare birds like the
Philippine eagle,
and common

24. Temple
cosmology
(N.T. Wright)
in Genesis
(1:27):
Humankind as
divine image is
last to be made in
Creation, God’s
great Temple, the
Creator’s lovely
dwelling place,
“where even the
sparrow has
found a home”
(Psalm 84:2), and
where rare birds
like the Philippine
eagle, and
In the temple of the
messianic body, the blood
of Jesus is poured
to displace our sin-
contaminated
blood, and his cleansing
blood
flows to become shared
blood,
shared life, flowing
between God and us.
Nasa dugo iyan!
Nasa dugo ang dahilan,
nasa dugo ang kasagutan!
Nasa dugo ang awayan,
nasa dugo ang

25. In the temple of the
messianic body, the blood
of Jesus is poured to
displace our sin-
contaminated
blood, and his cleansing
blood
flows to become shared
blood, shared life, flowing
between
God and us.
Nasa dugo iyan! Nasa
dugo
ang dahilan, nasa dugo
ang kasagutan! Nasa dugo
ang awayan,
“He is the head of the body, the
church” (Col 1:18).
Jesus is the true head
of the church, whether in the
home
or the whole wide world (true
head
is not the parent, the priest, the
bishop,
or the pope).
Away from the sophianic power
of the Messiah, nobody and no
institution can hold together the
diversity of believers in
the whole wide world.

26. “He is the head of the body, the
church” (Col 1:18).
Pray that sophianic power
will hold together all Filipino
Catholics
and all fellow citizens as we
approach the potentially divisive
event of the 2022 elections.

27. “He is the head of the body, the
church” (Col 1:18).
Pray that sophianic power
will hold together all Filipino
Catholics
and all fellow citizens as we
approach the potentially divisive
event of the 2022 elections.
Live as those made alive in Christ
(3:1-14):
“You have been raised with Christ…
“You died, and your life is now hidden with
Christ in God…
“Put to death, thus, the parts of
you which
belong to the [passing]
earth:
sexual immorality,
impurity, lust,
evil desire, and
greed,
which
is idolatry…
“Clothe
yourselves with
[virtues like]
compassion,
kindness, humility,

28. Live as those made alive in Christ
(3:1-14):
“You have been raised with Christ…
“You died, and your life is now hidden with
Christ in God…
“Put to death, thus, the parts of
you which
belong to the [passing]
earth:
sexual immorality,
impurity, lust,
evil desire, and
greed,
which
is idolatry…
“Clothe
yourselves
with [virtues like]
compassion,
kindness, humility,
The new body, new
life,
of every believer in
our passing age is
now hidden
in Jesus at God’s
right hand,
and he reconciles to
himself the visible
and the invisible, the
heroic and the
ordinary, and the big
and the small acts of
virtue.

29. Nang matapos ang tabernakulo sa
disyerto, “tinakpan ng ulap ang
toldang tipanan at pinuspos ng
kaluwalhatian ng Poon ang
Worldly powers neglect or belittle
the small, the ordinary,
and the low-profile.
Jesus noticed, and
called the attention
of his disciples to,
a poor widow & her
humble, generous (and
humbling) offering
(Mark 12:41-44).

30. Thus the
ultimate
purpose of
creation is not
consumption
but celebration
of a
relationship of
love (and the
Creation is the gift of the Ama to
the Anak;
creation is meant neither for a
thing nor an idea, but for a
(cherished)person.
Thru much prayer (private & public), study, discernment,
and (small & big) acts of virtue & prophetic witness,
believers of the Nazarene harness sophianic power
to influence created powers (and their agents) to know
their proper places to do beneficial things and to contribute
to meaningful & peaceful interaction with others.

31. The new body, new
life, of every
believer in our
passing age is now
hidden in Jesus at
God’s right hand,
and he reconciles
to himself the
visible and the
invisible, the
ordinary and the
glorious, and the
small and big acts
of virtue.
Points for Reflection
From the very beginning, creation was Trinitarian activity,
which continues creation, and in the beloved Son’s bodily
resurrection launches the New Creation.
1
Jesus is the faithful and renewed human who has fulfilled
the divine mission
to be a curved mirror (with wide angle) which reflects the
Creator’s radiance
on all creation, and at the same time reflects back to the
Creator the gratitude and praise of creation.
2
Away from sophianic messianic power, these happen: a
created power loses sense of its proper place, trespasses
on or grabs time-spaces of persons, households,
communities, and habitats, provokes harmful competition
and conflict over control of time-spaces among powers,
and becomes punitive and oppressive.
3
The new body, new life, of every believer in our passing
age is now hidden
in Jesus at God’s right hand, and he reconciles to himself
the visible and the invisible, the heroic and the ordinary,
and the big and the small acts of virtue.
4
Salamatista ang mga tapat na anak ng Ama, dahil sa
Sofiya-Mesiyas
5

32. Nov 27: “The Way of Salvation for Suffering
Humanity
and Creation: Romans chs 1-8”
December 11
“Acts of the Apostles with Letters of Paul"
Bible Study Schedule

33. Closing
Prayer
O God and Ama of Jesus, our Messiah,
we give You thanks and praise for
showing him, your Wisdom, first in
creation and first in redemption. He is
the faithful and renewed son of man who
has fulfilled the great mission to reflect
your inner radiance on all creation and to
reflect back
to You the gratitude and praise of
creation. In his body put to death and
raised to new life, he has launched
the New Creation, and reconciled to
himself all peoples, powers and things,
the visible and the invisible, the heroic
and the ordinary, and the big and the