The Colossian church was based in a city on decline. The city of Colossae, which was once a thriving business center, began its journey into heavenly rewards. What do I mean by this? Since they were declining in producing, this seeming dilemma opened an avenue for the Good News to spread. The book of Colossians is one of four prison epistles, that is, one of the letters Paul writes from prison. He wrote the Colossians (circa 60 A.D.) and from this an entire city was encouraged in their efforts.

There are two main themes and five main points in Colossians 1:

The two main themes are:

  1. Prayer Magnifies.
  2. Realignment in Christ.

The five main points are:

  1. The Good News Produces (v.6)
  2. Love from the Holy Spirit (v.8)
  3. Strength in His Glory (v.11)
  4. God was pleased in His Peace (v.19-20)
  5. Continue in Faith (v.23)

  1. Prayer Magnifies.

“For this reason we have not stopped praying for you since the day we heard about you. We ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through every kind of spiritual wisdom and insight.”- (Col. 1:9)

‘POP’ is an acronym for ‘power of prayer’ and it is so true especially when Paul addresses the Colossians. For most of the first chapter he spends time  thanking God and then emphasizing how he (and others) are praying for the church of Colossae. This emphasis on prayer starts when Epaphras(v.8) gives Paul an account of all that the Spirit is doing in and through the Colossians. It was ‘for this reason’ that prayer was magnified.

Now the true magnification of prayer is set on the glorification of Christ. Just as we pray for the Holy Spirit to move, so did Paul pray for the gifts to be given. His desire for the Colossians was that God would fill them, just like a gas tank, with knowledge, wisdom, and insight. Knowledge to know Christ, wisdom to pursue Christ, and insight to know how to spread Christ. Paul prayed that they may be filled for the reason to be poured out. For the ‘pour’ in Spirit receive the Kingdom.

The pouring of the Holy Spirit through supplication of prayer is powerful. The power of prayer is magnified when the natural is not kicking in. What do I mean by this? Well, if naturally everything is going well—is there any desire to pray for the supernatural? When everything is perfectly fine, there is no desire to ask for more. What this means for us is that we pray in both situations. When the natural is fine, we pray. When the natural is not fine, we pray. Prayer moves the heart of God.

Prayer magnifies what we didn’t see before. It moves us closer to the heart of God by moving His heart AND having the Holy Spirit intercede for us. Entering the canopy of His grace is beautiful! The Holy Spirit interceding on our behalf (Rom8) is reality. Prayer magnifies Christ.

  1. Realignment in Christ.

“God was pleased to have all of himself live in Christ. God was also pleased to bring everything on earth and in heaven back to himself through Christ. He did this by making peace through Christ’s blood sacrificed on the cross.”- (Col.1:19-20).

The realignment in Christ that was happening during the time of the Colossians was real. There was a realigning emphasis on Christ that wasn’t happening before. The church of Colossae needed to have a reminder, through Paul, that it was all going to be worth it. No matter how much their city was in decline: God was on the move. And the Gospel was producing.

The apostle Paul writes that ‘God was pleased’ to have ‘all of Himself live In Christ.’ This happens to be one of my favorite verses in the entire book of Colossians for many reasons. The first reason is in the word ‘pleased.’ There was no hesitation in Gods mind concerning Christ dying on the cross. It says that God was pleased to have all of Himself live in His son. He was pleased to bridge the gap between us and Him through His son. The realignment that happened was instant and for eternity.

Through Christ’s blood all the plans of the evil one was thwarted. In one fell swoop, through three days, and a glorious resurrection: there was power that happened! He didn’t die reluctantly; He chose to die to take back the keys of hell. It says that the gates of hell will not prevail- (Mat.18:16) and this is a fact that the church was built on. The realignment happened and its result was that all could come to Christ. Even a city in decline was worth the price.

-To Conclude-

The Apostle Paul wrote to a city on decline, to a people on the move. He wrote this chapter thanking God and praying for the church to grow. He spoke a message of revival to the Colossians and the power of prayer was magnified! God was pleased to have ALL of Himself live in His Son, Christ our Lord and Savior. I’m praying this bible study on Colossians 1 magnifies the glory of Christ seated on the throne!

Yours Truly,

Destiny Rose Nielsen.

 

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