Colossians Study Outline

Seven-Fold Prayer of Paul for Us of Colossians

Romans 7:4

"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law (that is not the Ten Commandments, No! But rather the Levitical Law of which many mix this up to mean both when it does not) by (through or in) the body of Christ; (that is His and our death on the cross. When Christ died on the cross He fulfilled all the demands of the Law, as a husband who dies frees his wife from their covenant sealed by an oath) that ye should be married (figuratively because of our being conjoined to Him by eating of His figurative flesh, the hidden manna in the jar hidden in the coffin of the Ark of the Mercy seat, in the lamb slain again figuratively spiritual language) to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, (and what’s the purpose?) that we should bring forth fruit unto God."

Now there’s nothing sexual or reproductive here, but rather this is all Spiritual, this is just an analogy, is what many say but is it? In a marriage relationship between a husband and wife, the fruit of that relationship are children, and that is the fruit of marriage. But here we are not talking about physical marriage, but the analogy is that we became dead to the Levitical Law, because of the blood, water in the death of Christ (which speaks of Him in its spiritual form). Now we are free to be married to another (figuratively Christ), because the chains of deception which binds us to Satan as a dictator and tyrant have been broken in death. Instead of the Levitical Law and all of it’s demands (for the religious of Judaism there are 613 of them) and the priesthood which supported it, we are now married to the Covenant of Grace, the Savior, the LORD, Himself (now being conjoined to Him as a wife is conjoined to her husband in marriage and takes his name as her own we now have the name of Christ or Messiah being an anointed messenger, ambassador and steward of God). And all this is but the revelation of the Lord's Supper. And it is all of Covenant, the New Covenant, because He has satisfied the Levitical Law, and we have become dead to that Law, even though as Gentiles we were never under its yoke of Israel. But were bound to Satan which they are and then we including them are now free to be united with Him in a union that again is going to produce fruit. Now we feel the fruit here then is "The fruit of a soul winner!" Because the 144,000 Hebrews who are sealed by God to proclaim this Gospel, the Gospel of Christ, during the tribulation and will through it be winning souls to God by the millions upon millions (look at Revelation 7, 14). We should be able to win the lost and the unbelieving people to Christ, whether it’s your children, your grandchildren, your Sunday school kids, or whatever the case may be. We should be able to show fruit of Christ's presence in us as the result of our being conjoined to Christ. Remember this is, all Spiritual fulfillment is of an earthly circumstance. Now we have another idea of fruit in Galatians chapter 5. This teaching on fruit is a Biblical concept that we are to be fruitful. How many times have we said, that we are not saved just for a fire escape. But we are saved to be fruitful and to serve, we serve in the carrying out of His Will through the Spirit, to bring His Life and Light before sinful men as Paul did with Lydia.

Before move on I must reveal that James reveals the three areas of Satan's greatest influence which are mans flesh, the world, and the devil in James chapter 4. And in all of these he tells us to resist the devil and seek the kingdom rule and righteousness of God through which the devil will flee from us.

Galatians 5:16-18

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, (in your daily life) and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. (in other words you can’t just drift, because it’s a battle) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."

We don’t have to worry about not stealing or doing all those sins listed in the next verses because the Spirit will not allow us to move in that direction. However as we allow the ontological essence of Christ to grow within our born again soul, the head of our old man of flesh was only bruised. He or it is not yet dead, it has to be mortified through resistance through our own will, in which the "I" of pride rules. But most people just take these for granted today. Everybody’s doing it, there’s nothing wrong with these or that the attitude of the world, and what are they?

Galatians 5:19-21

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness. Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

Now these are the things of the flesh, which is running rampant in lawlessness and all that is of the world causing strife and chaos, but coming down to verse 22, and now what do we see? Fruit. In this particular verse, it’s the fruit of the Spirit, but goodness sake, who is the Spirit working in? The believer, who by now is a receiver of what? The fruit of Christ. The fruit of the Spirit is that which comes from the believer who is under the control of the Spirit. One who has sought and found the key to the gate, door of the kingdom, which John the Baptist, Jesus and then Paul proclaim. And then the 144,000 will also be proclaiming with much zeal, that they have to be sealed to protect them throughout the seven years of tribulation. For before the final day they too will be taken from the earth. Now returning to our original subject, in the last part of verse 23 says, "against such there is no law," Do you know what that means? There’s nothing bad about any of this. None of the fruit will ever cause an up lifting of evil in a community. They all enhance goodness and truth in every day living, and look at them.

Galatians 5:22a

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, (see the Colossians had this Agape Love that all true Christ-like ones know, which causes them great) joy,…"

We are in a world that is frantically chasing after happiness. They never talk about joy, they are always wanting to be happy. But remember there is a vast difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is simply the results of your circumstance. Everything is going great, you have money in the bank, and a new car in the garage, a new home to live in, the kids are all doing okay. Boy who couldn’t be happy with that, but it is still and will remain an empty happiness. Because in most cases its without Christ. But joy is a Spiritual thing as fruit of His active presence. Joy comes as a result then with our peace with and rest in God! And that’s why Paul says in Philippians over and over, "Rejoice." Not because they had all these material things, they didn’t. In fact many of them were destitute and in abstract poverty of them. But because they had this salvation, because they were right with God, then consequently they could be joyful. So it is the fruit of the Spirit. Now continuing on with verse 22.