Colossians Study Outline

I have been silent for many days now, because of a turmoil within me. You see the farther we get into Christ the farther He gets into us. This is what Paul called, "the working out of our salvation." What I mean by this is that He has the liberty to shine His Light throughout all the hidden and dark reigns of our soul and yes, even our body of flesh, in search of all the hidden leaven, much like the Hebrew children do. This may mean that we experience all the old habits formed and cultivated years ago while we were yet children or during young adolescent years. These things for many many of us have been repressed, pushed back and even forgotten. But none the less they are still counted as being appetites of our fleshly, earthly lusts of one form or another and we have to loose them to the LORD for His discharge of them, in the mortification of our flesh man. This flesh man may take a head wound but that does not incapacitate him, it just weakens him somewhat. With each encounter we are to repent and turn all our attention of the LORD, Christ Jesus and ask for forgiveness for our failure to withstand even the voice of our flesh. Because this voice when allowed a place will always seek mastery over the still small voice of our renewed heart. If we ever think that we have gained the higher ground while we still are here on earth we deceive ourselves and the Truth of God is  not ours, as we suppose. We must turn to the power of His resurrection within us to overcome all the works of evil one, that had been forged by our own actions many years ago.

Seven-Fold Prayer of Paul for Us

Before I get into this study I must acknowledge the wealth of knowledge both natural and spiritual (James 1:17-18) which I have received first from God the Father, Christ and the Holy Spirit who are one Spirit, and are known as the Spirit of all Truth and now indwells me, just as He may indwell you. Then such mystics as St. John of the Cross, Jacob Behman, William Law, Andrew Murray, Major William Ian Thomas and lastly James A. Fowler of Christ In You Ministries and Watchman Nee, E.W. Kenyon and a few others who's materials I read during our early years as babes in Christ, while I struggled through our first estate in redemption. As with all of the outlines used by me, which I have taken the basics fundamentals from Les Feldick and his program of “Through the Bible with Les Feldick”, as they are the most simple to use and to follow. From them the Lord has expanded my understanding of Him, in answer to the question He asked of me, “Are you ready to take My yoke upon you to learn of Me? To which I answered Yes Lord! This is found in Matthews synoptic gospel chapter 11 verse 29. I have been laboring for many years in the seeking of His kingdom and His righteousness through which we are to acquire the knowledge of Him.

I would like to give a few words of introduction before we start this book. Remember that Colossians is also one of Paul's prison Epistles that were written while he was in prison in Rome. And it is in the category of letters that is a jump up, doctrinally, from his introductory letters of Romans, Corinthians and Galatians and the letter of warnings addressed to the Jewish believers of Hebrews. This letter he had written by someone else's hand because the antagonist and Judaizer who were causing troubles for those Hebrew believers who had left Judaism behind them to walk with the Lord. And as soon as we get into these prison Epistles of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians it’s just higher ground, spiritually speaking. With the Epistle to the Galatians as a sort of middle ground, just a step below Ephesians. This is progression into deeper waters because of the revelation (knowledge and understanding) of Christ in me, that these Epistles stress and reveal. And these are elements of the faith that I am afraid too many people are just glossing over or are not paying any attention to, but it is paramount if we really want to get into the depths of the Word of God, and therefore I have to do a study of these prison epistles. And share what I discovered in them. At all times keeping in mind that all scripture is an ever increasing revelation of Christ, from Genesis through Revelation. A mystery or secret hidden for us to dig our way through and while doing so we learn to trust and to increase in love of Him.

I posted the Galatians letter in my other blog site because in it we find the deeper walk that God calls all of us to. Ephesians, is just almost totally doctrinal. And shows where our position, as receptive believers is in the Body of Christ. When we have learned how to apply God's Faithfulness in our receptivity of His Grace activity. What does that mean? It is a position. It is something that the Old Testament believer knows nothing of. We are in the Body and are connected or conjoined to Christ, in a partnership of one, with the Head, the LORD of lords and High Priest Who fills us, as the all in All. Even though He is in glory and we are still on earth, there is still this connection. And so Ephesians brings that out. Then Philippians brings about the fact that even though we may be going through trials, temptations and tribulations, we have every reason in the world to rejoice. Rejoice, the Apostle Paul says, in spite of our circumstances. Because its through this process of sufferings that God through Christ in us works out our Salvation. In the perfecting of His divine Glory without which NO one will see God, within us. So that when we reach Glory/Heaven we will Glorify Him because His Glory has become our Glory just as it did Christ Jesus, we have become a son of God while still on this planet. The Philippians were advanced in this revelation of Christ restored in them and they revealed this knowledge of Him in their steadfastness of faith through Love. A Love that they did not have prior to this His revelation being revealed to them and in them. It is known as a Royal law because even the law of faith works through this Love, when it is restored within our pure heart, a pure heart operates on God's Love and Will as the bases of its pure motive, not the fleshly, earthly motive of self above all else, which springs up from the earth.