Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Purpose
  "Though the covenant arrangement up to this point clearly specified the need for Israel, the vassal, to appear before her Lord on stated occasions and singled out first Moses and then the priesthood as mediators in this encou...
• B. Purpose 1:8-15
  Having begun with a formal and unusually long greeting compared to his other epistles, Paul next proceeded to address his readers more personally. He had not met the Christians to whom he wrote so he spent some time getting a...
• A. Salutation 1:1-3
  The apostle Paul began this epistle as he did his others by identifying himself and a fellow worker known to the readers. Then he identified and described the recipients of the letter and greeted them with a benediction. This...
• A. Salutation 1:1-2
  This salutation contains the three elements common in all of Paul's epistles and other correspondence of his day: the writer, the addressees, and a greeting."This salutation exhibits undoubted resemblances in form to secular ...
• I. Salutation 1:1-2
  Paul began this epistle by identifying himself and his companion and by wishing God's richest blessings on his readers."Almost all letters from the Greco-Roman period began with a threefold salutation: The Writer, to the Addr...
• Historical background
  The city of Colosse lay in the beautiful Lycus Valley about 100 miles east of Ephesus. It had been an important town during the Persian War of the fifth century B.C. Since then new trade routes had carried most traffic to its...
• Outline
  I. Introduction 1:1-14A. Salutation 1:1-2B. Thanksgiving 1:3-8C. Prayer 1:9-14II. Explanation of the person and work of Christ 1:15-29A. The preeminent person of Christ 1:15-201. In relation to God the Father 1:15a2. In relat...
• A. Salutation 1:1-2
  Paul began his letter with this salutation to introduce himself to his readers and to wish God's blessing on them.1:1 Paul cited his apostolic calling and office to lend authority to what follows. "Paul"was the name the apost...
• B. Thanksgiving 1:3-8
  Paul gave thanks to God for his readers frequently. He told them so to enable them to appreciate the fact that he knew of their situation and rejoiced in their good testimony.1:3-4 Whenever Paul and Timothy prayed for the Col...
• 1. Paul's concern 2:1-5
  2:1 Paul used an athletic metaphor to describe his anxieties and deep concerns for his readers and their neighbor Christians. His strivings (1:29) included specific struggles and conflicts for them. Laodicea was about 11 mile...
• D. The essential practice 4:2-6
  Paul concluded his exhortations concerning Christian living with instructions pertaining to three essential practices for those in Christ. He wanted to impress their importance on his readers. One exhortation dealt with his r...
• D. Paul's personal conclusion 4:18
  Paul normally used a secretary to write his letters and then added a personal word at the end in his own handwriting to authenticate his authorship (cf. Rom. 16:22). Here he requested his readers' prayers for him in his house...
• 1. Personal actions and attitudes 5:16-18
  5:16 This is one of approximately 70 New Testament commands to rejoice. This volitional choice is extremely important for the Christian. We can always rejoice if we remember what God has given us in Christ.5:17 Greek writers ...
• Historical background
  Timothy apparently became a Christian as a result of Paul's missionary work in Lystra (Acts 14:6-23). He joined Paul on the second missionary journey when the apostle's evangelistic team passed through that area where Timothy...
• I. GREETING 1-3
  Paul began this letter by introducing himself and Timothy, by naming the recipients, and by wishing them God's grace and peace. He did so to clarify these essential matters and to set the tone for his following remarks.v. 1 P...
• II. THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER FOR PHILEMON 4-7
  Paul commended Philemon for the fruit of the Spirit that Philemon permitted the Spirit to manifest in his life. He also prayed that it would continue to abound to encourage Philemon to respond to the request that follows in a...
• 4. The encouraging prospect 6:9-12
  Even though the danger his readers faced was great, the writer believed they could avoid it. Consequently he concluded this warning as he did the ones in 2:1-4 and 3:1-4:16 with a word of hope to encourage his audience.6:9 Th...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• Saints, Believers, Brethren
  The saints and faithful brethren in Christ.'--Col. 1:2.THE disciples were called Christians first in Antioch,' says the Acts of the Apostles. It was a name given by outsiders, and like most of the instances where a sect, or s...