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Week 2
Colossians 1:24-2:15
Professor James D. G. Dunn
A PERSONAL STATEMENT
(1:24 – 2:5)
Paul and the Gospel (1:24-29)
A characteristic theme in Paul is his re-
joicing in suffering (e.g. Rom. 5:3; 8:18; 2
Cor. 7:4). It was not that he rejoiced in the
thought of personal martyrdom; rather that
he accepted, indeed welcomed, suffering
on behalf of those to whom he wrote –
presumably because the suffering was an
unavoidable consequence of his ministry.
He lists such sufferings in 2 Cor. 11:23-28.
Paul’s theology of suffering was richer
still. Suffering meant suffering with Christ,
sharing in Christ’s sufferings (cf. e.g. Phil.
3:10-11). This thought of identification
with Christ, expressed in his regular use
of the phrases ‘in Christ’ and ‘with Christ’,
was central to Paul’s understanding of the
gospel. What is special here is the further
thought that Paul’s own suffering on behalf
of his churches somehow completed the
saving effect of Christ’s death and resur-
rection (1:24).
PREACHING POINTS
How helpful do you find Paul’s
theology of suffering?
Paul insisted at the letter’s beginning on his
apostleship. But here he does not hesitate
to describe himself as a servant of the
church, as he had already described himself
as a servant of the gospel (1:23). His com-
mission is ‘to make the word of God fully
known’ – the ‘word of God’ even richer
than the gospel (1:25). It is further defined
as ‘the mystery hidden throughout the ages
… but now revealed to his saints’ – the gos-
pel as the climax of God’s purposes from
the beginning (1:26).
And what is this ‘mystery’? Nothing other
than what had been revealed to Paul in his
conversion: that God had always intended
to include at the last Gentiles together with
Jews as his people. This was the key both
to understanding history and to Paul’s own
mission, as he explains more fully in Rom.
11:25-26; see also Eph. 2:11-22.
The working out of this mystery is summed
up as ‘Christ in you, the (sure) hope of
glory’ (1:27). In contrast, Paul hastens to express his
confidence in the firmness of their faith in
Christ (2:5).
The passage closes with Paul’s testimony
as to his own vocation, his goal – what can
be more profound and challenging than
‘to present everyone mature in Christ’? –
and the source of his ‘energy’ powerfully
inspired by Christ (1:28-29). THE LETTER THEME (2:6 – 4:6)
Paul and the Colossians (2:1-5)
Paul’s depth of concern for the churches
for which he felt responsible must have
been well known. The ups and downs of
his relationship with the church in Corinth
in particular would probably have been to
some extent familiar to the churches of the
Lycus valley. So, in case it was thought that
Paul was only concerned for those church-
es which he had personally founded, it was
evidently important to make it clear that he
was equally concerned for those churches
formed by members of his team, churches
which had never met Paul personally (2:1).
His prayer for them focuses not on practice
or belief. Paul’s desire is for their fuller
(assured) understanding and appreciation
of Christ and of the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge revealed in him (2:2-3).
Then comes the first indication that Paul
is concerned about them, explaining why
he is writing in the first place. There is a
danger that they may be deceived by plau-
sible but mistaken arguments (2:4), which
will become clearer as the letter proceeds.
PREACHING POINTS
How do you think Paul would address
your church? What concerns/advice/
rebuke might you expect him to focus
on?
Thematic Statement (2:6-7)
Note the integration of faith and practice.
Initial commitment is just that – initial.
They had received (the traditions about)
Christ as Lord. But that was hardly the
whole story. They needed to ‘walk in him’,
that is conduct their lives as motivated and
inspired by him (2:6). These traditions pro-
vided a ‘root’ from which they should grow,
a ‘foundation’ on which they should build,
and a ‘guarantee’ for their faith (2:7).
PREACHING POINTS
How should a faith ‘abounding in
thanksgiving’ (2:7) best express itself?
THE CROSS AND HUMAN
TRADITION (2:8-23)
The Power of the Cross (2:8-15)
For the first time a specific danger is
referred to. There were some seeking to
win over the recipients of his letter to
what Paul described as a ‘philosophy’, a
term used for a wide range of religious
and pseudo-religious teaching. Probably
in mind were the sort of popular religious
speculations which must often have been
proffered by soap-box ‘philosophers’ in the
market place. Paul dismisses it as ‘empty
deceit’, product of ‘human tradition’ and
speculation about the cosmos, how it came
about and functioned. The key for him
was that such speculation ignored the key
to understanding reality which was Christ
(2:8).
PREACHING POINTS
What philosophies are a threat to
Christianity today?
This key is summed up by Paul’s repetition
of the phrase ‘in him’. It starts with the
astonishing claim that ‘in him’ was encoun-
tered nothing less than the embodiment
of ‘the whole fullness of deity’ (2:9). Even
more astonishing, the Colossian Christians
had been given to share in that fullness
‘in him’, the one who was the head of
(inestimably superior to) every ruler and
authority – that is, including any genuine
cosmic powers that the Colossians might
be attracted to (2:10).
PREACHING POINTS
Are Paul’s regular uses of the phrases
‘in Christ’ and ‘with Christ’ helpful in
your understanding of his teaching
and practice of your faith?
The theology is rich. Circumcision, like bap-
tism, had a deep spiritual significance. So
although Paul was adamant in insisting that
Gentile converts should not be circum-
cised, he did not hesitate to use the meta-
phor of circumcision both for the stripping
away of fleshly desires and for the death of
Christ (2:11). But his preferred metaphor is
that of dying with Christ, buried with him in
baptism, and raised with him – an ‘already’
anticipation of the final climax of complete
salvation (bodily resurrection) (2:12). Note
how the ‘with Christ’ has come in to com-
plement the ‘in Christ’.
The range of metaphors becomes still
richer: conversion as a being made alive, as
well as receiving forgiveness of sins (2:13);
Christ’s saving act as an erasure of the le-
gitimate charge against the sinner – ‘nailed
to the cross’, a brilliant adaptation of the
usual practice of nailing to the cross the
charge for which the individual had been
crucified (2:14); and the stripping off of the
powers under which his incarnation set
him, and the triumph over them, which his
resurrection achieved (2:15). The meta-
phors do not fit easily together but express
the rich variety and depth of Paul’s and the
readers’ experience.