PT-1 "The Salutation" (Col. 1:1-2)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/13/2016 10:52 PM

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  PT-1 The Salutation

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Colossians 1:1-2

            Message of the verses:  “1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.”

            The first thing that I want to do is to talk about some of the other letters that Paul wrote as far as the salutation that he gives.  Now I have highlighted a portion of verse one showing that Paul first of all tells this church that he has never visited that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and this shows who he is, an apostle, and also who gave him that position, God.

            “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God (Romans 1:1).”  This is another church that Paul had not visited, but will visit later on.

            “Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother (1 Cor. 1:1).”  Paul founded this church, but they did not believe that he was an apostle and that is why he begins this letter this way.

            “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia (2 Cor. 1:1).”  Same reason as 1 Corinthians as seen in my comments above.

            “Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead) (Gal. 1:1).”  Paul had a lot of trouble with this church too.

            “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:1).”  Now this letter to the Ephesians was a circuit letter that went to many different churches in Asia Minor, so this is why he calls himself an apostle, for some of the church it was to go to he had not been to.

            “Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons (Phil. 1:1).”  This church knew that he was an apostle.

            “Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace (1 Thess. 1:1).”  They also knew he was an apostle as we see in both of his letters to them.

            “Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 1:1).”

            Now there is no need for Paul to tell those in the rest of his letters that he was an apostle because those letters were written to friends of his who also worked with him for the cause of Christ.

            We will look at the salutation from Colossians in more depth in our next SD.

12/13/2016 11:06 PM