"After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth."~Genesis 8:6-11

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Colossians


This letter was written from Paul and Timothy to the church in Colossae during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome in 60-62AD.  At the time, there was a heresy prevalent in Colossae that was a mixture of Jewish tradition, Greek culture, and mystery cults that led people to asceticism (starvation, dehydration, self-flagellation etc.) to the point of hallucinations (which they called visions) that would supposedly enlighten them, and they believed were brought by angels.

This church was not planted by Paul, but Epaphras (1:5-7) between 53 and 55AD, the beginning of Paul’s third missionary journey (Acts 19:10).  The Jews who lived in Colossae had largely been there since the Babylonian exile, and so had much time to allow their Jewish traditions to be saturated with the culture surrounding them, and (as was popular around this specific time) mystery cults.  The main industry of the area was wool fabric production, and it was also on a major trade route.

The big problems that stemmed from the aforementioned heresy were pride and fear; pride, on the part of those who experienced a “vision” and fear of judgment/inferiority/insufficiency for those who had not.  Paul addresses all of these things by teaching them that Christ is enough.


 "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."- Colossians 1:9-10

 OBSERVATION

For what reason does Paul pray that the Colossians will be filled with the knowledge of God’s will?
So that they will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in knowledge of God.

INTERPRETATION
What else is the idea of increasing in the knowledge of God tied to throughout the book?
"That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ"
-Colossians 2:2

Unity-being knit together in love
What does that unity lead to?
The knowledge of God’s mystery-Christ.

TIMELESS TRUTH 
Unity leads to knowledge of God which should lead us to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, which leads to more knowledge of God and the cycle continues.
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