Questions tagged [colossians]

Questions about Paul's letter to the church in Colossae.

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Col 2:11-12 - Is Paul equating Baptism to circumcision?

Colossians 2:11-12 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in ...
2 votes
5 answers
717 views

Does Colossians 1:15, refer to the Genesis creation, or merely present Jesus as the beginning of those raised from the dead?

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or ...
21 votes
16 answers
7k views

In Colossians 1:24 what "is lacking in Christ's afflictions" according to Paul?

In Colossians 1:24, I read: Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church (ESV) ...
2 votes
3 answers
204 views

Who are the "children" in Ephesians 6:1-4 and Colossians 3:20-21?

Ephesians 6:1-4 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 so that it may turn out well for you, ...
1 vote
2 answers
156 views

Did God create out of nothing or just what is not seen?

Hebrews 11:1, 3 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not ...
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

Sharing of Paul epistles amongst churches

In Colossians 4:16, Paul explicitely instructs the sharing of epistles between the Laodiceans and Colossians: 16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church ...
3 votes
3 answers
612 views

What does "authority" mean in Colossians 2:10?

Colossians 2:10 ESV "and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority." A. "Authority" here relates to Christians who "have been filled in him"...
6 votes
3 answers
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What does it mean when it says that Christ is "the head of the body"?

In Gen. 2:23, we see that Chavva (Eve) was taken out of Adam, built from his rib, and concerning her, Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called "Woman" (Ishah)...
2 votes
2 answers
3k views

How to translate the word passion (pathos) in Colossians 3:5?

English Standard Version Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. New Living Translation So put to ...
6 votes
5 answers
598 views

What is the meaning of "received" in Colossians 2:6?

Colossians 2:6 AMPC As you have therefore received Christ, [even] Jesus the Lord, [so] walk (regulate your lives and conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him.
1 vote
4 answers
150 views

Does κτίζω entail creation out of nothing

Col 1:16 - For in Him [Jesus] all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him [...
2 votes
4 answers
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What does 'love in the Spirit' mean in Colossians 1:8?

and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. Colossians 1:8 (ESV) What does 'love in the Spirit' means in Colossians 1:8?
3 votes
5 answers
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Why did Jesus create Judas only for the predestined purpose of being doomed to destruction - based on [Colossians 1:15-20] + [John 13:27, 17:12]?

The new testament teaches Judas as a disciple/creation of Jesus is sadly never forgiven/blessed/prayed for in return for his devotion to Christ's commandments in John 13:27. - Although a creation of ...
5 votes
3 answers
165 views

Were the commands, concerning clean/unclean meats, from God or man?

Leviticus 11:1 – Starts with… "1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 “Tell the Israelites: You may eat all these kinds of land animals" then goes on to give a detailed list of which animals ...
4 votes
3 answers
348 views

Colossians 1:22 — WHEN are we "presented" to God as Holy and Blameless? (aorist active infinitive)

Colossians 1:22 says, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him [ESV] νυνὶ δὲ ἀποκατήλλαξεν ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς ...
4 votes
3 answers
328 views

What does "domain" mean in "the domain of darkness" Colossians 1:13?

Colossians 1:13 "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son". ESV. My emphasis. [domain/exousias]. Matthew 28:18 "And Jesus ...
7 votes
4 answers
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In Colossians 1:16, what is the meaning of the phrase “in him” (ἐν αὐτῷ)?

Sorry if this seems like a really simple question but this always confuses me. For example Colossians 1:16: For it was in Him that all things were created. Would it mean the same thing if the word ...
22 votes
4 answers
45k views

What does the term "principalities and powers" mean?

In some translations, I see the term "principalities and powers." To what does this refer? This will not be exhaustive, but for example, consider the KJV's translation of Romans 8:38-39: For I am ...
4 votes
3 answers
26k views

Who are "the sons of disobedience" in Colossians 3:6?

If this variant represents the original text, then who are "the sons of disobedience" (τοὺς υἱοὺς τῆς ἀπειθείας, tous huious tēs apeitheias) in Colossians 3:6? NA28: δι᾿ ἃ ἔρχεται ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ ...
3 votes
6 answers
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Colossians 4: Was Luke a gentile?

Colossians 4: 10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11Jesus, ...
5 votes
8 answers
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Are Christians being licensed not to keep the Sabbath according to Colossians 2:16-17, Romans 14:5-8 and Acts 15?

Is Paul giving Christians license to omit Sabbath observance in Colossians 2:16-17 and Romans 14:5-8? Is this corroborated by Acts 15? Below the passages: Colossians 2:16-17 16 Therefore let no one ...
7 votes
3 answers
384 views

Col 2:15 - Was the triumph over them "in him" or "in it"

Within what/who were the rulers and authorities triumphed over? Here is an example of the two version showing different options: English Standard Version He disarmed the rulers and authorities and ...
6 votes
5 answers
293 views

When did Jesus disarm rulers and authorities?

“When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” ‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬ ‭ What instance is Paul referring to here?
0 votes
3 answers
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Was Paul tacitly referring to Moses as an Angel worshipper in Colossions 2:16-18?

KJV Colossians 2:16-18 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but ...
3 votes
3 answers
774 views

What does “in bodily form” mean in Colossians 2:9?

in bodily form. σωματικῶς (sōmatikōs) Adverb Strong's 4985: Bodily, corporeally, belonging to the body. Adverb from somatikos; corporeally or physically. The actual verse: NASB 1995 “For in Him all ...
5 votes
5 answers
332 views

What is Jesus being credited with here? Col 1:16

Considering the significance of the phrases, "on the earth", and "in heaven", and the words, "through him and for him", what is Jesus being credited with here - if ...
16 votes
16 answers
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What does John 1:3 mean by "through" logos everything is made?

Do any parts of the Bible definitively claim that everything is made by Jesus? I have read already that some people say that Colossians 1:16 does not mean Jesus was the agent of creation, but of his ...
15 votes
4 answers
6k views

What does the Greek word θεότητος in Colossians 2:9 mean?

The Greek word θεότητος is translated differently in English Bibles: Colossians 2:9 New Living Translation For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. New American ...
8 votes
2 answers
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Defining Idolatry according to Col 3:5

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. (Col 3:5 ESV) According to this verse in the Greek is ...
4 votes
4 answers
767 views

Buried with Him by/in baptism - Romans 6:4 and Colossians 2:12

Romans 6:4 (ESV), 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. ...
1 vote
3 answers
492 views

Was Nymphas, Male or Female

Col 4:15 Greet the brothers who are in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church that is in her house. (NHEB) Greet the brethren in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church in his house. (SLT)
5 votes
3 answers
489 views

Colossians 1:17 Perfect Tense - What did the "all things" do and when?

In Col 1:17, συνέστηκεν is in the perfect tense. However, it seems very common for translations like NIV to treat συνέστηκεν as if it were present in tense: "He is before all things, and in him ...
1 vote
1 answer
34 views

"ὑμᾶς νεκροὺς ὄντας -you being dead" (Col 2:13) - What does “being dead" (fig.) imply, a complete or partial inanimate state of us?

Col 2:13* - "And you -- being dead in the trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh -- He made alive together with him, having forgiven you all the trespasses" (YTL).
8 votes
7 answers
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What does "image" mean in "He is the image of the invisible God", Colossians 1:15?

Colossians 1:15 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation". ESV 1 Peter 2:24 "He himself bore our sins in his body". If a coin has someone's head on ...
5 votes
2 answers
190 views

Does 1 Corinthians 15:49 show we are not currently in God’s image?

We know from Genesis that we are created in God's image. Genesis 1:26: Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness" Genesis 1:27: So God created mankind in his ...
4 votes
10 answers
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What does the word "prototokos" mean in Colossians 1:15?

What does the Greek word "prototokos" mean in English as used in Colossians 1:15? Col 1:15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn [prōtotokos] over all creation. [NIV] ...
0 votes
2 answers
96 views

Does Colossians 4:2 condemn being a "prayer squirrel"?

My question arises from a preacher's Facebook post condemning the practice of being a "prayer squirrel" (i.e., getting distracted while praying). He offers the following as an example of ...
7 votes
3 answers
225 views

Does Colossians 1:16 represent the creation of a sub-set of things within the universe?

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by ...
3 votes
6 answers
7k views

Did Paul allow believers to eat meat of strangled animals in Colossians 2:16?

At the Jerusalem Council, James spoke in Acts 15:29 New International Version You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual ...
3 votes
2 answers
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What does "synesteken/hold together" mean in "in him all things hold together"? Colossians 1:17?

Colossians 1:17 "And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." ESV. My emphasis. Barnes' notes on the Bible: "The meaning is, that they [all things] are kept in ...
5 votes
0 answers
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What does "baptism now saves you" mean in 1 Peter 3:21 [duplicate]

What does baptism now saves you mean in 1 Peter 3:21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the ...
2 votes
1 answer
125 views

In Colossians 2:2 what translation issues are involved with ESV putting "in Christ" where the NKJV puts "both of the Father and of Christ"?

Colossians 2:2 ESV "...and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ." Colossians 2:2 NKJV "...to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ." ...
9 votes
5 answers
366 views

Shouldn't Christ be the subject of Colossians 1:19?

ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ εὐδόκησεν πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα κατοικῆσαι In Colossians 1:19 there is no noun or pronoun in the nominative to specify the subject of the aorist active indicative "εὐδόκησεν." Since &...
8 votes
4 answers
1k views

What does it mean that "it pleased the Father" for "all the fullness" to dwell in Jesus (Colossians 1:19, NKJV)?

Colossians 1:19 states (NKJV): For it pleased [the Father that] in Him all the fullness should dwell. Now, the New King James Version supplies "the Father," but to my knowledge, most ...
6 votes
5 answers
493 views

Is the fullness in Colossians 1:19 necessarily the same as the fullness in Colossians 2:9?

19 Because in Him, it was well-pleased for all the fullness to dwell, 20 And through Him to reconcile completely all unto Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross- through Him- ...
3 votes
2 answers
198 views

What is the meaning of "might be/may have/genetai" in Colossians 1:18?

Colossians 1:18 ESV "And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent". My emphasis. A. In this ...
2 votes
2 answers
3k views

What does "being watchful" mean in Colossians 4:2?

Colossians 4:2 states the following (emphasis added): Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. (ESV) Here, Paul tells Christians to be "watchful" in prayer. ...
5 votes
3 answers
322 views

Greek question Colossians 1:23

Looking at Colossians 1:23, specifically: which was preached to every creature under heaven (KJV & NKJV) has been proclaimed (ESV) It looks like most translations translate "κηρύσσω - ...
2 votes
3 answers
1k views

Meaning of "food" and "drink" in Colossians 2:16

After Paul discusses Jesus abolishing the handwriting of requirements that were against us, he writes in Colossians 2:16-17 (NKJV, emphasis mine): So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or ...
4 votes
1 answer
125 views

Why does the household table in Colossians spend so long on slaves?

In the household table in Colossians 3:18-4:1, almost half the words are directed towards slaves. This seems significant, especially since in the household table in Ephesians, it is much more evenly ...