Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The celebration of Passover, Firstfruits, and Tabernacles 16:1-17
  The point of connection of this section with what precedes is the sacrificial meals. Moses repeated here the instructions regarding those important feasts that included sacrificial meals that the people would eat at the taber...
• The presentation of the firstfruits 26:1-11
  When the Israelites entered the land they were to bring a special offering of firstfruits they harvested from the land to Yahweh at the tabernacle (cf. 14:22-27). It was to be an expression of their gratitude to God for fulfi...
• Message10
  The Book of Proverbs contains no history. It is purely didactic. It is a book of explicit instruction. Like the other Old Testament wisdom books, Job and Ecclesiastes, it does not contain references to Israel's laws, rituals,...
• The appeal to gain wisdom 8:32-36
  On the basis of all that precedes Solomon exhorted his sons to live by his words and thereby gain wisdom. Again wisdom leads to life, but those who lack wisdom begin to die."Many have equated wisdom in this chapter with Jesus...
• Walking in light or darkness 50:10-11
  This short pericope is another transition. It connects with the third Servant Song, but it introduces a new speaker and develops a different topic. The new subject is the importance of listening to the Servant and the Lord.50...
• 2. The accompanying promises 3:6-10
  3:6-7 Then the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua. He promised, in the name of sovereign Yahweh, that if Joshua obeyed the Lord and served Him, Joshua would govern the temple, have charge of the temple courts, and enjoy free...
• Three woes against the lawyers 11:45-52
  11:45-46 The lawyers (or scribes) were a distinct group, though most of them were Pharisees. The scribes and Pharisees often acted together. The lawyer who spoke up wanted to distinguish his group from the Pharisees, but Jesu...
• The explanation of Israel's unbelief 12:37-43
  12:37-38 The majority of the Jews did not believe on Jesus despite the many miracles that He performed that indicated His messiahship (cf. 1:11). John again attributed Israel's unbelief to God's will, though he balanced that ...
• Paul's general approach to ministry in Ephesus 19:8-12
  19:8 Paul followed his standard procedure of preaching to the Jews in the synagogue at Ephesus as long as possible. Here the Jews were more tolerant than they had been in some other towns that Paul had evangelized, and he was...
• B. Thanksgiving 1:4-9
  Paul followed his salutation with an expression of gratitude for his original readers, as he usually did in his epistles. In this case the focus of his thanksgiving was on God's grace in giving the Corinthians such great spir...
• The encouragement of Christian ministry 4:1-6
  4:1 Paul now returned to the theme of being a minister of the New Covenant (3:6). Since we have a ministry in which the Spirit opens people's eyes and transforms their characters we can feel encouraged. Our job is not simply ...
• 3. Paul's service and sufferings 11:16-33
  To answer his critics and prove the extent of his own service and sufferings for Christ, Paul related many of his painful experiences as an apostle.11:16 Paul apologized again for having to resort to mentioning these experien...
• The illustration 4:1-7
  4:1-3 Already Paul had compared the Law to a prison warden (3:22) and a baby sitter (3:24). Now he compared it to a trustee appointed to care for a young child and his property, a guardian. The purpose of all three comparison...
• Bibliography
  Allen, Kenneth W. "Justification by Faith."Bibliotheca Sacra135:538 (April-June 1978):109-16.Andrews, Mary E. "Paul and Repentance."Journal of Biblical Literature54:2 (June 1935):125.Barclay, William. The Letters to the Galat...
• 2. Past ignorance 3:1-13
  Paul began to pray for his readers again (cf. vv. 1, 14), but he interrupted himself to tell them more about the church. What he said in this section gives background information concerning the church as a mystery.3:1 "For th...
• The basis of unity 4:1-6
  4:1 "Therefore"or "then"refers to what Paul had said in chapters 1-3. To walk worthily or in balance means to harmonize one's conduct with his or her calling. Calling here refers to God's calling to live in unity as Jews and ...
• The preservation of unity 4:7-16
  Having described the basis of Christian unity Paul next explained the means by which we can preserve it, namely with the gifts that the Spirit gives.4:7 Whereas each believer has received grace (unmerited favor and divine ena...
• The Judaizing danger 3:2-4a
  Paul proceeded to deal with a significant group of antagonists that the Philippians faced.3:2 Jesus and other prophets used the term "dogs"to refer to opponents of God's truth (Matt. 7:6; cf. Deut. 23:18; 1 Sam. 17:43; 24:14;...
• Paul's greater goal 3:8-11
  3:8 Paul had regarded his advantages over other people as what put him in a specially good position with God. However, he had come to realize that absolutely nothing apart from Jesus Christ's work on the cross was of any valu...
• 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...
• Message9
  The whole message of this epistle finds expression in 2:9-10a. The two declarations in this sentence are the great revelations of the Colossian letter.The fullness of the godhead is in Christ. This is an eternal fact that is ...
• 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...
• C. Prayer 1:9-14
  Paul told his readers that he prayed for their full perception and deepest understanding of God's will for them and for all believers. He did this so they would be able to glorify God in their conduct. He told them this to re...
• 3. In relation to the church 1:18-20
  So far everything Paul had written about Christ other New Testament writers also revealed, but what follows in verse 18 is uniquely Pauline.In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 and Romans 12:4-8 Paul used the human body to illustrate th...
• Paul's sufferings 1:24
  This verse is ". . . probably the most controversial in the letter."76It might have seemed ironical that Paul was in prison, in view of what he had just said about the success of the gospel. Therefore he quickly explained tha...
• Paul's message 1:25-27
  Paul's role in the household of God (the meaning of "stewardship") was that of a servant who fully expounded God's revelation for the benefit of his Gentile readers."He was a servant of the church, but in the deepest sense he...
• 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...
• 2. Paul's exhortation 2:6-7
  "Verses 6 and 7 occupy a pivotal position in the letter. They serve as the basis of Paul's interaction with the Colossian heresy (vv 8-23) having summarized much of what has already been written in the epistle."1032:6 In part...
• B. The true doctrine of Christ 2:8-15
  Paul revealed what his readers enjoyed in Christ in this pericope to encourage them to remain faithful to the true revelation they had received and believed."The apostle now makes his most direct attack against the Colossian ...
• C. The false doctrines of men 2:16-23
  Having revealed what believers have in Christ, Paul next pointed out the errors of the false teachers more specifically to help his readers identify and reject their instruction."Sad to say, there are many Christians who actu...
• A. The basic principle 3:1-4
  To encourage his readers to turn away from their false teachers, Paul reminded them of their union with Christ. He also urged them to continue living in keeping with their position in Christ.3:1-2 Again we could translate "If...
• B. The proper method 3:5-17
  "3:1-4 has provided the perspective from which the daily life of the Colossian Christians should be lived out. Now follows more specific advice that should help them the better to carry out the thematic exhortation to walk in...
• 1. Things to put off 3:5-11
  On the basis of their position in Christ, Paul urged his readers to separate from the practices of their former way of life. He did this to enable them to realize in their experience all that Jesus Christ could produce in and...
• 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...
• A. The Agent of God's Final Revelation 1:1-4
  The writer began his epistle with an affirmation of Jesus Christ's greatness to introduce his readers to his subject. This section is one sentence in the Greek text. It contrasts God's old revelation with the new, specificall...
• A. The Believer's Resources 1:3-4
  Peter reminded his readers of God's power and promises that were available to them. He did this to rekindle an appreciation for the resources God had given them in view of their present needs. This epistle begins and ends on ...
• G. The letter to the church in Laodicea 3:14-22
  Jesus Christ sent this letter to shake the Laodicean Christians out of their self-sufficient complacency and to exhort them to self-sacrifice for higher spiritual goals (cf. Col. 2:1-2, 4:16)....

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• Christian Progress
  As therefore ye received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and builded up in Him.'--Col. 2:6-7 (R.V.).IT is characteristic of Paul that he should here use three figures incongruous with each other to express the s...