1. A Study of Colossians Sunday Mornings Winter Quarter Lewisville church of Christ

2. The Pauline Model Greeting o Identifies Himself o Offers Encouragement (usually includes “I’m praying for you”) Proclaims the virtues of Christ o His life / their lives / in creation Focus on readers o Remind them of their former relationship o Remind them of their new relationship o Explains to them how “grateful” they should be Because of gratitude, “live this way”

3. There’s always SOMEONE Trying to trip us up!

4. Cultural Obstacles We Face Materialism Independence / Self reliance Immediate Gratification Scholarship Career Traditions of men Blending of Secular and Spiritual Form of religion (majoring in the minors) Self-made religion Modern day idolatry

5. Christ is Supreme and Sufficient “… rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions…” (Colossians 2:8-13)

6. Paul’s Question for Us “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself …. in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?” (Colossians 2:20-22) Why does the culture of men, and their teachings and influence, have such an effect on us as Christians?

7. There’s always SOMEONE else Trying to trip us up!

8. There’s always SOMEONE else Trying to trip us up!

9. Colossians 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

10. Colossians 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

11. Colossians 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

12. Colossians 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

13. Colossians 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

14. Romans 7:22-24 “For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from the body of this death?”

15. Romans 7:22-24 “For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from the body of this death?” 1 Corinthians 12:2 (“… led astray, HOWEVER you were led.”)

16. The War Within (3:5-17) FleshSpirit ImmoralityCompassionate ImpurityKindness PassionHumility Evil DesireGentleness GreedPatience AngerEncouraging / Supporting WrathForgiving MalicePeace Rule My Heart SlanderGratitude Abusive Speech Lying

17. Colossians 3:9b-11a “… you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him – a renewal in which there is no distinction...”

18. Colossians 3:9b-11a “… you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him – a renewal in which there is no distinction...” Romans 12:2 (transformed by the renewing of your minds) 2 Corinthians 4:16 (inner man is being renewed day by day) Titus 3:5 (renewing by the Holy Spirit)

19. Paul’s View of Himself As the image of Christ o 1 Corinthians 11:1 (“Imitate me”) o Philippians 1:21 (“For me to live is Christ”) As one who receives divine help o 2 Corinthians 2:14 (“… God always leads us in triumph in Christ”) o Ephesians 3:20 (To Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us”) o Philippians 4:13 (I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”) As one who was confident in God at the end o 2 Timothy 4:7 (“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith”)

20. Romans 7:14-21 “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into the bondage of sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.”

21. Romans 7:14-21 “But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, I am not the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.”

22. Romans 7:14-21 “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing that I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”

23. Romans 7:14-21 “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.”

24. Romans 7:22-8:2 “For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

25. Application Is Christ supreme in our lives? Is Christ sufficient in our lives? Are we aware of the stumbling blocks in our lives? Are we vulnerable to them? Do we major in the minors?

26. Application Is Christ supreme in our lives? Is Christ sufficient in our lives? Are we aware of the stumbling blocks in our lives? Are we vulnerable to them? Do we major in the minors? What can we do to find God, through the teachings of Christ, and not the indulgence of the flesh (self)?