12
13
Small Group Resource
Week 3 (Colossians 2:16-3:17)
Spotting the Contrasts
In Colossians 2:16-23, Paul explains that
those who follow the way of Christ need to
avoid deception through ‘philosophy and
empty deceit’ (2:18). As Dunn explains in
the Bible Notes, the Colossian believers
were being criticised for not following
Jewish dietary rules and festivals. Paul
draws a contrast between the ‘shadow’ of
such regulations and the ‘substance’ that
belongs to Christ. A further set of contrasts
emerge in 3:1-17, where Paul focuses on
the difference between the way of life
found in Christ and the way of life outside
of Christ.
One way to tackle this text in a group
discussion is to focus explicitly on the
different contrasts within this text – both
between Paul’s theology and the ‘philoso-
phy’ he opposes, and between the new life
and the old.
Living the New Life (3:5-17)
The exhortation to ‘kill off those parts
of you’, habits of hand and mind, which
tied them ‘to the earth’, is something of a
surprise after the repeated reminder that
the Colossian believers had already ‘died’
with Christ (2:12, 20; 3:3). The key is to
recognize that the commitment of baptism
is by no means the whole story. Salvation is
a lifelong process, not a once-for-all act in
midlife. The process involves saying a firm
and repeated ‘No!’ to corrupting thoughts
and habits such as impurity, evil desire and
greed – greed as a form of idolatry because
it projects acquisitiveness and personal sat-
isfaction as objective goods (3:5). It is just
such attitudes and actions which they used
to prize, the destructive consequences of
which Paul sees as the outworking of God’s
wrath (3:6-7; see more fully Rom. 1:18-32).
‘But now’, the ‘but now’ of conversion and
baptism, a fundamental shift in ethical
norms and character of conduct has taken
place. The metaphor of ‘putting off’ clothes
is obvious imagery for transformed values
and conduct (as in Rom. 13:12; Eph. 4:22).
Here the ‘vice-list’ focuses on personal re-
lationships within the Christian community,
warning against the outbursts particularly
of careless or malicious speech that can be
so damaging to community relations (Col.
3:8-9). That may have been acceptable
in the earlier life, ‘but now’ the old habits
and practices (‘the old man’) have been
‘stripped off’, and a new suit of clothes, a
‘new self’, has been ‘put on’. ‘Renewed in
knowledge’, as God intended, reversing
humanity’s initial failure (Gen. 2:17; 3:5, 7)
(Col. 3:9-10).
In that renewal Christ makes irrelevant all
ethnic, cultural and social distinctions, even
‘barbarians’ and ‘Scythians’, widely regarded
as repulsive savages. Christ embraces all
(3:11).
The exhortation repeats the familiar ‘put
off’ (3:9) and ‘put on’ (3:10, 12), again,
including ‘humility’ as a positive virtue. In
bearing with one another, Christ is the
model (3:13) and love the force which
bonds (3:14). The peace of Christ can rule
their hearts, as they function as the body
of Christ (3:15). The brief description of
worship in 3:16 is well worth considering,
and comparing with contemporary
experience. Not to be missed is the final
exhortation: literally, ‘everything, whatever it
is, in word or in deed, do everything in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to
God the Father through him’ (3:17).
PREACHING POINTS
Does 3:1-17 still provide meaningful
principles for daily living?
Approaching the text
Read through Colossians 2:16-3:17. Make sure everyone has the
passage in front of them, either printed out or in the Bible.
Ask members of the group, individually or in pairs or small groups, to
identify the contrasts Paul draws in this section of the letter. Focus
particularly on two sets of contrasts; the contrasts between Paul’s
view and that of his opponents (2:16-23), and the contrast between
the old way of life and the new way of life (3:1-17).
Draw together the observations from members of the group.
You could do this through using flip-chart paper, with one page
exploring the contrast between ‘opponents’ and ‘Paul’, and another
page exploring the contrast between ‘new life’ and ‘old life.’
Discuss what these contrasts tell us about Paul’s vision of the gospel.
How does life in the way of Christ today contrast with competing
visions and values in wider society?
Further Reading
Many approaches to inductive Bible study note the importance of observing
contrasts within biblical texts. For one example, see the brief discussion in David
R. Bauer and Robert A. Traina, Inductive Bible Study: A Comprehensive Guide to the
Practice of Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2011), pp. 97-98.