A Gospel Worth Laboring For (Colossians 1:24-2:5)
CrossWay Community Church
August 21st, 2022
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A Gospel Worth Laboring For (Colossians 1:24-2:5)
Biblical Studies
A Case for Believers’ Baptism by Immersion from Colossians 2:11-12
Paul’s argument in Colossians 2:11-12 assume the following three things:
- Believers are baptized.
- Those who are baptized are believers.
- Baptism is immersion.
Allow me to briefly elaborate on each of these assertions.
1. Believers are baptized
You’ll notice in this passage, as Paul addresses the Colossians, he can assume all of them have been baptized (“you been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him”). It was assumed that believers were baptized, such that Paul can readily appeal to their baptism as part of his argument here. Paul, along with the rest of the New Testament, has no category or conception of an unbaptized believer.
Continue readingThe Gospel’s Productive Power (Colossians 1:1-14)
The Gospel’s Productive Power (Colossians 1:1-14)
CrossWay Community Church
August 7th, 2022
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Complete in Christ: An Introduction & Overview of Colossians
Complete in Christ: An Introduction & Overview of Colossians
CrossWay Community Church
July 31st, 2022
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Introduction to Colossians
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Author
What do we know about the author and his relationship to the audience? What was his location and circumstances when writing (provenance)? How do these things inform and aid our understanding of the book?
Author: The apostle Paul (1:1).
- Apostle of Jesus Christ.
- Former persecutor of Christ’s church.
- Paul apostle to Gentiles (cf. Col 1:24-2:5).
The book makes this claim (1:1). But it’s also supported by a considerable amount of personal and circumstantial details. The author talks about his personal ministry and sufferings (e.g., 1:24-2:5); he references his current circumstances (i.e., imprisonment, see 4:3-4, 18); he requests prayer (4:2-6); he provides specific names of his companions and fellow laborers (1:7; 4:7-17); and he concludes the letter by saying, “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand” (4:18).
The claim to Pauline authorship is disputed among critical scholars for reasons of vocabulary, writing style, theological differences (supposed contradictions), and theological omissions compared to Paul’s other writings.
“No early Christian doubted Paul’s authorship, and the letter to the Colossians was received into the developing Christian canon of Scripture with no apparent controversy.” (Douglas Moo, PNTC)
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Kirk E. Miller 