Colossians Study Outline

Jesus Christ the Creator God, the visible manifestation of the Invisible Godhead. In Whom and through Who alone is Salvation realized. 

Job 38:6-8a

"Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof: When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth,"

One of the verses that I'm really thinking of when I saw this is found in Colossians verse 22 chapter 1. Which of course now in our technology even our little grade school kids know this from fourth and fifth grade science. But back in the ancient times they didn’t have the microscopes and so forth. But look what God says here to Job.

 

 

Job 38:22a

"Hast thou entered into the treasurers of the snow?…"

Well what’s He talking about? That even in a tremendous blizzard there’s no two snow flakes alike. Did Job know that? No. Then come all the way up to verse 31.

Job 38:31

"Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, (or what we call the seven sisters) or loose the bands of Orion?”

Job can you control the stars in their orbit? Can you control the constellations?

 

Job 38:33

"Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?"

Do you get what I'm talking about? And with every question He just puts Job lower and lower, and finally Job has to realize that he doesn’t know anything. Back to Colossians and looking at verse 3 again. It’s this same God that confronted Job and reveals all the knowledge of those two chapters of Job 38 and 39. He is the One -

 

 

Colossians 2:3

“In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

In verse 4 we're going to skim over these verses 5, 6, and 7 because verse 4 and verse 8 I'm going to tie together. I'm going to wait till we get to verse 8 before I open verse 4. Because they both teach about deception, about being beguiled so I’ll put them together.

 

 

Colossians 2:4-7

"And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, enjoying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving."

A verse just comes to mind that we need to look at. A lot of times I don’t intend to start chasing Scriptures, but I trust the Holy Spirit has a reason for prompting me. Come back with me to 2Corinthians chapter 11, because I'm sure this is exactly what’s on the Apostle’s mind as he writes. Remember the Corinthian letters were written several years before the prison Epistles, and here he’s rehearsing his sufferings.

 

2Corinthians 11:27-28

"In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. (and I even skipped the verses about his beatings and stoning, and shipwrecks, and being robbed so often) Beside those things (the physical sufferings) that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the Churches."

I mean the man was just constantly burdened, wondering how that Church in Philippi was doing? How are those folks over in the Colossi Church? How are the members over at the Ephesus Church? See, all of this was on his mind constantly, and it was a daily concern for him and prayer for them all. This is to be our standard of prayer also. Coming back to Colossians chapter 2. I can’t help but feel that those Churches were on his mind as he wrote verses 5, 6, and 7. I'm going to come into verse 8, and tie it up to verse 4. And what’s the first word of verse 8? Beware! Look out, because there’s danger ahead. And what’s the danger? False teachings. In the doctrines of men and devils is the phrases used as a means of stern warning.

 

I’ve often said, I know with God, He’s Sovereign and He saw to it that the Church survived. But have you ever stopped to realize what a miracle it is that Christianity ever survived? I mean it’s a miracle. Here we have little groups of believers that have just come out of paganism, they had Paul and one of his helpers for a few weeks, and then they moved on to another place where they would build other congregations. They had no printed Book to leave with them, and no trained pastor to leave with them. Then the moment they moved on to a new congregation the false teachers, the Judaizers, and Herodians would come right in behind them and Paul and tell those people that you can’t be saved by faith and faith alone. You have to keep the Levitical Law of Moses, you have to be circumcised, you have to calibrate the Sabbaths and this and that act is also required, in other words they required actions of some sort of works. And it’s almost that bad today with false teachings, and the passing on of mans traditions. I'm amazed that it all survived. But of course God is Sovereign and He watches over His Church, we know that. Remember my remark, the rock that causes offense is mans own propensity to over rule God in his actions and words. Well here it comes again.