24th October 2025
The power of the gospel
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8 (NIV)
The opening of Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae begins with a brief introduction which includes a warm greeting from Paul and Timothy (Colossians 1:1-2), some words of thanksgiving for the ongoing faith of this troubled community (vv.3-8), and a prayer of encouragement (vv.9-14).
The apostle Paul had never visited the church at Colossae in Asia Minor, yet he took the time to write to these young believers from the limiting confines of a Roman prison. What clearly prompted him to pen this heartening and supportive letter was the news that this small community that had emerged, through the hearing of the gospel, as a ray of light in this pagan-ridden city, had become troubled by false teachers, blending incipient Gnostic ideas and worldly philosophies with selective elements of the biblical story.
Some had already departed from the essential concept of the mediatorial High Priesthood of Jesus (Hebrews 4:14-16), even worshipping angels whose mediation, they believe, might give them better access to God (Colossians 2:18). Others had been deceived into believing in a form of esoteric knowledge or extraordinary experiences that masqueraded as ‘secret’ keys to true Christian enlightenment (v.8). The result of such harmful and distracting influences was that the gospel had become diluted so that these believers were robbed of its joy and of the peace that runs so much deeper than mere human satisfaction and contentment (Philippians 4:7).
Paul’s purpose in writing to this disoriented church was to impart spiritual grace and a sense of wholesomeness to reorient their understanding and experience of the Christian faith (Colossians 2:2). This is more than a mere letter: it is a word from Christ by one of his appointed apostles (Colossians 1:1). All the more reason to pay careful attention.
As the letter unfolds, the supremacy and pre-eminence of the Lord Jesus Christ is lucidly set before them (Colossians 2:9-12) so that, as they became clear about precisely who Jesus is and what he had done, all these strange and heretical ideas would simply crumble and fall away. Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form, the image of the invisible God, the author and the goal of creation, the Lord of history, the object and wellspring of faith and the source of true life (Colossians 3:1).
Paul greets the members of this small church, as he opens his letter, calling them ‘holy’ and ‘faithful’ (Colossians 1:1-2). Here they are, dwelling in the midst of a corrupt and immoral society, steeped in licentious idolatry, yet, even in this dark corner of the Roman world there were saints, brothers and sisters in Christ. That’s the power of the gospel, to which they needed to return. The apostle, therefore, commends these believers for their faith and love, Godly works of grace that are rooted in the gospel they had first heard, and not in the false teachings to which they have since been introduced (vv.3-8).
Prayer
Loving Father, as Paul prayed for this church (and for every church) may we know your will and be filled with all wisdom, in order that we might walk worthy of the calling we have received, remembering that our election, redemption and glorification is in Christ, Amen.
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Study by: Richard Dempsey About the author: |
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion Peterborough
Farcet Village Hall
Main Street
Farcet
Peterborough
PE7 3AN
Meeting time:
Sunday 11.00 am
Local congregational contact:
Richard Dempsey
Email: richard.dempsey@btinternet.com
Local church website: GRACE COMMUNION CHURCH PETERBOROUGH – Landing Page
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church