“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  Colossians 1:15

 The year is 60 A.D.  My husband and I decided to try out our new donkey and visit the little church in Colosse.  Our arrival seems to be timed with some exciting news!  An escaped slave by the name of Onesimus (who we heard has become a Christian) has returned from Rome with his friend Tychicus.  He is carrying two letters from the Apostle Paul who is in prison for his faith in Jesus Christ.

Wow!  One letter is to his master, Philemon and the other one to the church that meets in Philemon’s house. The letter to the church is about to be read!  Everyone knows why one of their elders, Epaphras, has traveled 1300 miles to Rome to visit Paul.  They all know that this letter from the apostle will carry enormous weight!

The place is packed, we can hardly find a place to stand or sit!  Over there in a huddle and on the defensive, are the false teachers and those who are siding with them.  They’re furious!

The church at Colosse is small and the city insignificant, but it is centrally located to many other churches in Asia Minor.  It sits on the road between East and West and Satan has made it his base to launch a heresy designed to corrupt all the churches.  Satan has concocted a mix of Greek philosophy, Jewish tradition, paganism and Christian truth.  It is a heady brew!  It is made up of secrets of inside knowledge, new teaching never heard before.  They say Jesus is just an angel!  The men spreading it are persuasive and many people are being corrupted.  They claim you have to have a special knowledge to be happy!

Wait!  The elder reading the letter is standing!  He begins reading the first few paragraphs!  Believers begin to beam!  Cultists scowl and huddle together.  They pose as intellectuals, but now they are confronted by Paul, the most brilliant Biblical intellectual of all time.  His inspired pen wrote powerful words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  The elder reads to the middle of chapter 1 and all of God’s people are now enrapt!

(Jesus Christ) “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him, all things were created:  things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from the dead, so that in everything, He might have the supremacy.” Colossians 1:15-18

 Satan’s emissaries scuttle away, back to their dark holes to emerge another day.  But their evil teaching will come back again to confuse another generation.  The letter to the Colossians will be as up to date at a future time as it is in 60 AD.

Your friend, Jean