Colossians Bible Study

A number of years ago I started writing an in-depth Bible study on the book of Colossians for the small home group I was leading at the time. The following blogs are the notes I used to teach from, which amount to being a commentary on Colossians. Most of the resources I used were public domain commentaries found in the Online Bible program or were readily available on the Internet. For this blog, I have updated some of the content with more recent resources, but 99% of the study hasn’t been updated from when I taught it.

These are all of the blogs for my Colossians Bible Study series:

  1. Colossians – Introduction and Outline – The study provides an in-depth look at the book of Colossians, stressing its historical and practical significance. This blog discusses the purpose and teachings in the Colossian church to combat heresies like ceremonialism, asceticism, and Gnosticism creeping into the church.
  2. Gnosticisms and Colossians - Important background information and philosophical understanding of the beliefs of Gnosticism that Paul sought to warn the Colossian church about because of its affect on early Christians and later, seems to have been influenced the early Catholic Church. 
  3. Greetings and Thanksgiving, Colossians 1:1-4 – Paul’s greeting to the church at Colossae, a church he did not found, but lets the Colossians know his thankfulness for them, continual prayers for them, demonstrating how believers should be towards each other.
  4. Gospel Truth, Col 1:5-8 – The gospel’s universal reach and transformative power produces spiritual growth and discernment. Believers learn to discern truth from error by understanding God’s grace and adhering to the truth preached.
  5. Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians, Col 1:9 – Paul’s prayer focuses on their spiritual growth and understanding of God’s will, to resist false knowledge and be completely filled with God’s will, achieved through knowing His Word.
  6. The Knowledge of God’s Will: Pt 1, Col 1:10-11 – These passages outline what the consequences of what being filled with the knowledge of God’s will do for the believer. The knowledge of God gives us a respectable and fruitful life, spiritual growth, strength and endurance. a share in the divine inheritance, redemption, forgiveness, and deliverance from our spiritual darkness.
  7. Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians, Pt 2, Col 1:12-14 – The passage emphasizes the importance of prayer and gratitude, and explores the meaning of inheritance, deliverance and transference, and God’s role in rescuing believers from darkness and transferring them to the kingdom of God.
  8. The Preeminence of Jesus Christ, Col 1:15-18 – This blog identifies Jesus as God in human flesh, and His preeminence over everything and that all that was created was created by Him, through Him and for Him.
  9. The Supremacy of the Work of Christ, Col 1:19-20 – This blog looks at reconciliation in relation to God and then in to all of creation, through the blood of blood of Christ.
  10. The Purpose and Application of His Work, Col 1:21-23 - shows that God's purpose in the Gospel is to make us Christ's ambassadors to the world, who live as though we are just passing through this world, but who demonstrate that we are reconciled with God.
  11. Paul’s View of Ministry, Col 1:24-25 - Paul talks about his suffering for Christ and fulfilling his calling. This should be every believer's attitude for ministry, which should mirror how we should rejoice in our suffering and what our desire should be to fulfill our own calling.
  12. The Subject of Ministry, Col 1:26-27 - Paul expounds on what drives his ministry - his calling to preach the gospel to the gentiles, a gospel that had once been hidden from them was now revealed to them.
  13. The Method and Motive of Ministry, Col 1:28-29 - Paul's mission was to admonish and teach everyone the gospel to make them complete in Christ, not of his abilities, but by the power of God working in him.
  14. Paul’s Love for the Church, Pt 1 - Col 2:1-3 - Paul expresses his concern by relating his love and struggle to encourage and teach the Colossians so that they might fully comprehend the true nature of what Jesus has done for each of them.
  15. Exhortation Against False Teaching, Col 2:4-5 - Paul encourages the Colossian believers that they have the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and to never allow anyone to deceive or persuade them to believe otherwise. He reminds them of his concern for them and that he is always with them in spirit.
  16. Exhortation to Grow in the Faith, Col 2:6-7 - Paul tells believers to find everything in Christ since they are established in Christ and are to progress in their faith step by step as He continues to build their faith and instruct them along their journey of faith.
  17. Philosophy or Christ? Col 2:8 - Paul warns the Colossians to be on their guard against the destructive philosophies infecting the world around them because it brought a reliance upon made traditions or relied upon pagan beliefs not grounded in the Gospel they had already been given. There was no secret knowledge they needed to attain since they had already received all that they needed to walk in the full knowledge of God.
  18. Sufficiency of Christ, Col 2:9-10 - Paul provides the antidote to the poison in verse 8 by providing the solution, Jesus, who makes mankind complete because He is fully God and fully man.
  19. Complete Salvation in Christ, Col 2:11-12 - Paul assures the Colossians that it is Jesus that has secured their salvation which does not require meaningless rituals. Believers have been changed from the inside out and raised up into new lives.
  20. Complete Forgiveness, Col 2:13-14 - Paul assures the Colossians that forgiveness is total, complete and final. We were dead in our sins, but now we have been made alive because of Jesus’ willing sacrifice on the cross for our sins, which no longer exists in God’s eyes.
  21. Complete Victory, Col 2:15 - Paul explains to the Colossians that through the Cross Christ has stripped Satan and his angelic forces of all of their power and humiliated them for the entire universe to see. He and only He is the victor.
  22. Spiritual Intimidation: Legalism, Col 2:16-17 - Paul points out the dangers of legalism whose purpose is to force people the follow human created rules and regulations, as if they have to power to change the human heart. But outward observance of rules does not produce righteousness.
  23. Spiritual Intimidation: Mysticism - Col 2:18-19 - Paul continues by pointing out the dangers of mysticism and how it uses false humility to draw others into their beliefs and how Jesus established us in our faith and the body of Christ functions to provide stability for the believer.


The primary sources for this study use J. Hampton Keathley III, Paul’s Letter to the Colossians: An Exegetical and Devotional Commentary, from bible.org, Copyright ©1996-2020 Bible.org, (Col 1:1 through 2:10), and all attributions are reprinted with permission granted by bible.org, and John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Colossians & Philemon, (Moody Bible Institute: ©1992). A number of commentaries were used and consulted from Logos Bible Software, ver 10, © 2023.

All Greek words utilize the Greek Lexicon, part of the Online Bible, Computer Program, © 1987-2005, or Logos Bible Software, ver 10, © 2023, unless otherwise referenced.

This study uses many of the commentaries and dictionaries which are part of The Online Bible, Computer Program, © 1987-2023, Larry Pierce, http://www.onlinebible.net/. I condensed a lot of the material from some of these resources: 1) John Gill’s Expository Notes, 2) Albert Barnes’ New Testament Notes on Colossians, 3) Matthew Henry Commentary, 4) Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary, 5) The Expositor’s Bible Commentary on Colossians, by Rev. Alexander MacLaren, D.D., 6) James Burton Coffman Commentaries: Colossians, 7) Adam Clarke’s Commentary on Colossians, 8) Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, 9) Matthew Poole’s Commentary Notes on Colossians, 10) John Calvin’s Commentary on Colossians, 11) William Burkitt’s NT Notes on Colossians, 12) James Burton Coffman’s Commentary on Colossians, 13) J. B. Lightfoot’s Commentary on Colossians, 14) Beet’s Bible Commentary on Colossians, 15) Anthology of Commentaries compiled by John Greenhalgh, 16) John Eadie’s Commentary on Colossians. Most of these resources can be found online at various websites with a simple search using your favorite search engine. All of my sources will be attributed. The Online Bible program is still available, but it is only Windows based. A number of commentaries were used and consulted from Logos Bible Software, ver 10, © 2023.

I willingly acknowledge that I stand on the shoulders of great men.


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