Colossians Chapter 1 Breakdown

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s intro to the letter to the Colossians. He says he is writing to the saints and faithful.

3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.

The believers pray for this group of people. The word has come to Colosse and causing them to be fruitful.

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

Paul and the believers are continually praying for these saints asking they are filled with the knowledge of YHWH’s will with spiritual understanding. This is to make sure believers are walking worthy of YHWH, fully pleasing Him, and being fruitful by doing good works and increasing in the knowledge of YHWH.

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9:10

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Isaiah 33:6

Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure.

Deuteronomy 4:5-6

“Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

I have people say to me that I focus too much on knowledge of the Bible instead of teaching loving others or being Christ-like. But, Paul says right here we are to increase our knowledge of YHWH. We know YHWH is His word, and to know His word is to know Him.

John 1:1

[The Eternal Word] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

As it is clear, we are to fear YHWH and keep His commands. This is exactly what Paul is referencing in this statement. He is relating being fruitful in good works to increasing our knowledge in YHWH.

13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Yeshua has delivered us from the power of darkness, which is sin. Sins of the flesh are known by the Law, meaning the law defines sin, it tells us what sin is. Sin is everything that goes against the law.

Romans 3:20

Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

If the law defines sin and tells us what is good and acceptable to YHWH, then breaking that law is unacceptable to YHWH. We are forgiven our sin by faith through Grace, but we should no longer continue to sin, that is, we should no longer continue to break the Law of YHWH.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Yeshua is the image of YHWH. He is YHWH in the flesh. Yeshua, YHWH in the flesh, is the creator of all things.

17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

YHWH comes before all other things and all those things exist because of Him.

18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Yeshua is the head of the body, and the body is the church.

19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

It pleases YHWH that in Yeshua all fullness should exist. By Yeshua all men can be reunited to YHWH. The Greek word used for “all things” is Strong's G3956 – pas. The translators have used this as all things, undoubtedly, however, they have also used it as all men. It seems to me reuniting all men makes more sense with the overall message of the Good News. The Northern Kingdom of the House of Israel had been divorced and irreconcilable to YHWH before the death of Yeshua. Because of His shed blood and death, that is the death of the first husband, they, the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel, are now able to be under a new covenant with YHWH. The original covenant has been ended with the death of the husband.

21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

These Colossians were once separated from YHWH and even enemies of Him due to their wicked works, which is deeds in direct contradiction to the Law of YHWH. They are now reconciled back to Him through His death. They are no longer the divorced wife living in perpetual sin of adultery. They are now able to be holy and blameless in their deeds in the sight of YHWH. That is if they continue in their faith and are not moved away from the hope of the Good News Paul has given them.

24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.

Paul celebrates the tribulations he is going through for these new converts. Again, Paul references the body as the church and says he has become a minister according to the dispensation from YHWH. Remember, dispensation simply means administration. Paul is saying he has been appointed minister of the Good News by YHWH. He then says he was put into this position so that he can help in fulfilling the word, or prophecies of YHWH, and specifically refers to the mystery which has been hidden for generations but now, at the time of Paul, has been revealed to the believers. I believe that mystery is how YHWH would take back His Lost Sheep of the House of Israel. We can look to Ephesians for more info on this mystery.

Ephesians 1:7-10

 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

Through the Blood of Yeshua, there is redemption. The word used for redemption is Strong's G629 – apolytrōsis and its definition is a releasing effected by payment of ransom. In order to be released from something, one had to be bound by that thing. That being said, what is believers have been released from? The next segment states forgiveness of sins. It seems Paul is saying believers have been released from the bonds of their sin. There were given commands for sacrifice to follow to make amends for unintentional sin. The Jews continued to do these things at the time of Yeshua, but the scattered lost sheep of the House of Israel did not. They had been assimilated into the nations, just as Moses prophesied they would if they did not keep the commands of YHWH.

27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

To these saints YHWH willed to make known how great the glory of this mystery is in terms of the gentiles. That is Christ within the gentiles. Yeshua is the living breathing Torah. This mystery is the Torah within these people. These people are the lost sheep of the House of Israel. Yeshua is the embodiment of the prophecy YHWH gave in Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 31:31-33

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

As we can see, the New Covenant that is prophesied is for the House of Israel and the House of Judah. If this is the case, how can the scattered House of Israel take part in this covenant? Again, this goes back to the mystery Paul refers to.

28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

We are to teach every man all wisdom, recall what the Bible says is wisdom. We do this so that every man can be perfect in Yeshua.

29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

Paul continually labors for this purpose.