Colossians and Philemon E-Book

Dr. Brian J. Bailey

• Herausgeber: Zion Christian Publishers
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Colossians and Philemon is an easy reading verse by verse commentary on those most blessed New Testament letters of the Apostle Paul. Dr. Bailey emphasizes the vital message of following the way to holiness as seen in the epistle to the Colossians, as well as the message of restoration in that a slave becomes a brother in the epistle to Philemon. This book will be enjoyed by those who seek to find the true pathway to the presence of God and the place of restoration whereby we can be called the sons and daughters of God.

Leseprobe

COLOSSIANS & PHILEMON

Colossians & Philemon

© 1994 Brian J. Bailey

Front cover design:

© 2008 Zion Fellowship, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations in this book are taken from the

King James Version Bible unless otherwise stated.

Published by Zion Christian Publishers

Version 1.0

Published as an e-book on February 2014

in the United States of America

E-book ISBN 1-59665-150-4

For more information, please contact:

Zion Christian Publishers

A Zion Fellowship ® Ministry

P.O. Box 70

Waverly, New York 14892

Phone: [phone]

Acknowledgments

We wish to extend our thanks to the following members of the editorial team:

To Pastor Paul Caram—as the general editor of my books, for his editing of the content of Colossians & Philemon and overall input into the flow of this book.

To Betsy Caram—for her valuable editorial suggestions and assistance.

To Mary Humphreys—for her skill in handling the grammar and sentence structure of this book.

To Leslie Sigsby, Jessica Sparger, and Sharon Miller—for their superb “final touches” in the proofreading of this book.

To Carla Borges—for the design of the front cover.

Other members of the editorial Team: Justin Kropf, Sarah Kropf, and Caroline Tham, and Suzanne Ying.

We wish to extend our thanks to these dear ones, for without their many hours of invaluable assistance, this book would not have been possible. We are truly grateful for their diligence, creativity, and excellence in the compilation of this book for the glory of God.

DEDICATED

To the holy triune God, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Also, to my dear wife, Audrey, who through her sufferings is being made a partaker of His holiness.

OUTLINE FOR COLOSSIANS

I.  GREETINGS 1:1-2

II.  THANKSGIVING 1:3-8, 12-14

III.  PRAYERS 1:9-11

IV.  THE MAGNIFICENT CHRIST 1:15-22

V.  THE MINISTRY 1:23 - 2:5

VI.  FALSE TEACHING AND CORRECTIVE DOCTRINE 2:6-23

VII.  THE WAY TO HOLINESS 3:1-17

VIII.  FAMILY AND SOCIAL LIFE 3:18 - 4:6

IX.  PERSONAL NEWS 4:7-18

I.GREETINGS  (1:1-2)

A.  Ministry is Christ-given

B.  Necessity of companionship

C.  Christians are saints (called “holy”)

II.  THANKSGIVING  (1:3-8, 12-14)

A.  For all saints  (1:4)

B.  For the heavenly hope  (1:5)

C.  For the inheritance  (1:12)

D.  For deliverance from darkness  (1:13)

E.  For redemption and forgiveness  (1:14)

III.  PRAYERS  (1:9-11)

A.  To be filled with the knowledge of His will (1:9)

B.  To walk worthy of the Lord  (1:10)

C.  Be strengthened unto all patience; unto all longsuffering with joyfulness  (1:11)

IV.  THE MAGNIFICENT CHRIST  (1:15-22)

A.  Who is the image of God  (1:15)

B.  Who is the firstborn of every creature  (1:15)

C.  Who is the Creator  (1:16)

D.  Who is before all things  (1:17)

E.  By whom all things consist   (1:17)

F.  The Head of the Church  (1:18)

G.  The firstborn from the dead  (1:18)

H.  Who made peace by the blood of His cross(1:20)

I.  To present us holy, unblameable, and unreprovable (1:22)

V.  THE MINISTRY  (1:23 - 2:5)

A.  To preach, warn, and teach every man  (1:28)

B.  In order to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus (1:28)

C.  To suffer

1.   Vicariously(1:24)

2.  Through conflict with evil spirits(2:1)

VI.  FALSE TEACHINGS  AND CORRECTIVE DOCTRINE  (2:6-23)

A.  The Heresies

1.  Philosophy  (2:8)

2.  Traditions of men  (2:8)

3.  Astrology (rudiments of the world)  (2:8)

4.  Bondage to rules on eating and drinking (2:16)

5.  Observance of days  (2:16)

6.  Worshipping of angels  (2:18)

7.  Physical circumcision  (2:20)

8.  Outward forms of holiness  (2:21-23)

B.  Corrective Doctrine

1.  In Christ is all true wisdom and knowledge (2:3)

2.  In Christ is all the fullness of the Godhead (2:9)

3.  In Christ we are complete; nothing can be added to Him  (2:10)

4.  True circumcision is spiritual (2:11-13)

5.  Christ blotted out all ordinances against us (2:14)

6.  Christ triumphed over all evil spirits  (2:15)

VII. THE WAY TO HOLINESS  (3:1-17)

A.  Risen with Christ  (Salvation, Water Baptism) (3:1)

B.  Hidden in Christ  (3:3)

C.  Mortify or “put to death” the members of our body (3:5) the crucified life - Rom. 6:6)

1.  Fornication

2.  Uncleanness

3.  Inordinate affections (lust)

4.  Evil concupiscence (evil desires)

5.  Covetousness (idolatry)

D.  Put off the following (as you would put off a garment - an act of our will) (3:8-9)

1.  Anger

2.  Wrath

3.  Malice

4.  Blasphemy

5.  Filthy communication

6.  Lying

E.  Put on (as you would put on a garment) these ten spiritual garments  (3:12-15)

1.  Bowels of mercies

2.  Kindness

3.  Humbleness of Mind

4.  Meekness

5.  Longsuffering

6.  Forbearance

7.  Forgiveness

8.  Love

9.  Peace

10.  Thankfulness

VIII.  FAMILY AND SOCIAL LIFE  (3:18 - 4:6)

A.  Wives submit to their husbands  (3:18)

B.  Husbands to love their wives  (3:19)

C.  Children to obey their parents  (3:20)

D.  Fathers to be reasonable toward their children  (3:21)

E.  Servants to obey in all things  (3:22)

F.  Masters to be just  (4:1)

G.  Praying always for our ministers  (4:2-3)

H.  All to walk in wisdom  (4:5)

I.  Redeeming the time  (4:5)

J.  Our speech should be life-giving  (4:6)

IX.  PERSONAL NEWS  (4:7-18)

Preface

A number of years ago I began to seek the Lord with a fresh hunger and thirst for His holiness. In my quest, I turned, as have so many believers in my native country of England, to the writings of holy men and women from Church history. I even asked the Lord which of the writings of William Law, John Wesley, John Fletcher, Michael Molinos, Fenelon, and Madame Guyon I should read. These wonderful saints had certainly entered into the life I aspired to, but their writings did not bring me that for which I searched—true holiness. The Lord most graciously spoke to me and said, “Do not look to these books for your answers, because the answers you are looking for are in My Word.” Then the Lord directed me to the epistle of Colossians, and chapter 3:1- 17 in particular. As I immersed myself in the teachings of the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I began to enter into that life of peace and holiness that I had so desired. This book is presented to you in the hope that through the exposition of these truths, you may also find that for which your soul longs—union and communion with the Lord who alone is holy.

In this epistle we see several areas into which very sincere people often stray in their pursuit of a holy life. The saints at Colosse were seeking holiness through external means such as: 1.) tradition and ceremonial washings; 2.) rigid abstinence—“touch not, taste not, handle not;” 3.) the worship of angels; and 4.) philosophy. They took their eyes off of Christ, who alone has the answers for all things that pertain to life and godliness.

Therefore, let us prayerfully study the errors of the Colossian church so that we may be purged from all forms of false humility and legalism, and let us bathe ourselves in those truths which counteract them. Thus, we will be enabled to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. Then our feet will be firmly established in the ways of holiness, and we will be preserved from erring from the paths of the Lord.

In addition to these great teachings on the subject of holiness, we have included the companion epistle to Colossians that Paul wrote to Philemon, the bishop of the Colossian church. This epistle concerns Philemon’s runaway slave Onesimus. It is a story of the restoration of a runaway slave to his master’s house. We trust that it will be a source of encouragement to all who are praying for wayward loved ones. May the Lord bless you!

Brian J. Bailey

INTRODUCTION

The theme of the Colossian epistle is “Holy Living Through Jesus.” Perhaps more than any other, this epistle helps us to understand the life of victory we can have in Jesus. For this reason, it is important to pray for the spirit of wisdom and revelation as we begin this study, even as the Apostle Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:17: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” Since this Colossian epistle uniquely presents Christ in a way not found in any of Paul’s other epistles, we particularly need the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to reveal unto us the unsearchable treasures that are hidden in Christ. Our introduction can be broken down into three parts:

1.  Geographical Location

2.  Historical Data

3.  The Colossian Heresy

Geographical Location

As we first consider the geographical location involved in this epistle, we should remember that location also provides an indication of spiritual truth. Colosse was located on the Lycus River, on a great East-to-West trade route that went from Ephesus to the Euphrates River. The towns of Hieropolis and Laodicea were situated very near to the Colossian church.

In Colossians 4:13, the Apostle Paul says of Epaphras, “For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea and Hierapolis.” These two towns straddled the Lycus River where it joined the Maeander River. They were approximately 6 miles apart, yet within sight of each other.

Colosse was about 12 miles farther up the river. The Lycus River was impregnated with chalk, and this chalky water eventually covered the whole area around Colosse. The condition of the water becomes very significant when we realise that the Colossian epistle was written to counteract a heresy that was prevalent in this church. The heresy that polluted this church was much like the chalky water that contaminated the town of Colosse, with all its monuments and fertile fields. Even to this very day, there is absolutely no trace of the town of Colosse.