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Caleb Drahosh \\ After instructing the Colossians to walk in Christ, Paul goes into greater detail regarding his warning of empty and deceptive philosophy. The Colossians need to avoid worldviews that try to mix pagan or Jewish practices with the gospel message. Those practices are shadows, Christ is the substance.

John Baumgartner \\ Paul proclaims Christ to the Colossians and wants them to walk in Christ and discern empty and deceitful worldviews through Christ. They are no longer subject to such things. They have been raised from the dead, forgiven completely, and freed fully from their past masters. God triumphs over all rivals through the cross of Christ.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Paul proclaims Christ to the Colossians and wants them to walk in Christ and discern empty and deceitful worldviews through Christ. How is this possible? By being filled with the fullness of Christ to the point of satisfaction. When filled with Christ's fullness, when fully satisfied in Him, we overflow with gratitude.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Paul suffers and struggles to bring the gospel message to the Colossians and many others. He knows that there are threats out there, but the message of the gospel has immense value and he is willing to risk his life to get it to the churches. It is Christ that Paul proclaims, nothing else. Through the proclamation of Christ, the Christian is warned and taught; he or she is moved toward maturity. But Paul recognizes that while he's the willing vessel, it's all the work of Christ through Him.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Paul bookends this passage with rejoicing. First, he rejoices in his suffering. Through suffering he participates with Christ in the building up of the church. And secondly, Paul rejoices in the good order and firm faith the Colossians have in Christ. Here Paul sees Himself as a military general, pleased with how well this outpost of the gospel is doing. But the enemy is on the horizon.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Paul bookends this passage with rejoicing. First, he rejoices in his suffering. Through suffering he participates with Christ in the building up of the church. And secondly, Paul rejoices in the good order and firm faith the Colossians have in Christ. Here Paul sees Himself as a military general, pleased with how well this outpost of the gospel is doing. But the enemy is on the horizon.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Paul moves from telling us who Jesus is in verses 15-20 to what Jesus has done in 21-23. Jesus' death had the effect of reconciling us to God. Before Christ, we were out of alignment with God in our status, attitudes, and actions. But Christ's death makes us holy, blameless, and above reproach.

Blaze Culliton \\ As the Apostle Paul explains the attributes of the beloved Son and laying out the supremacy - or preeminence - of Jesus Christ, He explains two foundational elements of the Christian faith. The divine nature, or deity, of Jesus and the reconciliation from sin and death that occurs through Him by the blood of the cross. His deity - which is in Him - allows for reconciliation through Him.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Jesus came into the world to redeem a people for Himself, the church. Those who are part of the kingdom of the beloved Son belong to that body and are, as living stones, built up in it through Jesus, the head, who nourishes and cherishes it. The love that Jesus has for His body extends even beyond the grave, securing it for eternity.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Paul goes on to give more detail about the beloved Son who delivered us from the domain of darkness and into His kingdom. That which is invisible is now seen; Jesus images the Father. And He is the agent of creation, the very power that stands behind it. Not only does He create, He sustains, holding all things together.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Who is qualified to receive an inheritance? The one who has been delivered from the domain of darkness, a place of cloudy, chaotic slavery, and transferred into the kingdom of the beloved Son, a place of clear, ordered sonship. The payment of our debt is how the transfer occurs. And this was all accomplished at the cross.

John Baumgartner \\ Paul continues his prayer for the Colossians, asking God for the very things that are fully pleasing to Him to be manifest in their lives: good works, knowing God, joyful endurance, and gratitude.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Now that Paul has expressed the thanks he gives to God for the faith and love of the Colossians, he states how his prayers also present a request to God. Paul desires that the Colossians keep going on the road they have started down; that they would continue to discern their direction according to the truth.

Caleb Drahosh \\ When the gospel is heard and received it produces fruit and that fruit increases. All of this is grace: hearing, receiving, producing, and increasing. God uses human agents to deliver the gospel who also bear witness to its effect: love.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Paul begins his letter to the Colossians with a traditional greeting and expresses gratitude for the church. Paul – who was imprisoned in Rome when he wrote this letter – had never visited the church in Colossae, but he wanted to send encouragement to them after receiving a report from Epaphras about potentially problematic teaching that threatened the church. The gratitude Paul communicates is grounded in the God-given faith and love of the Colossians.