Colossians Chapter 1
Reading Guide
Before diving into this reading guide I’d urge you to take the next few minutes and read Colossians chapter 1 (or even the entire book of Colossians) all the way through. This will give you a better overall picture of whats going on in this chapter. Then go back with this guide and use this to help highlight some major themes and verses in this chapter and apply them to your own life!
Praying For Others
“We always thank God, the Father of our lord jesus christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in christ jesus and of the love you have for all god’s people”
- Colossians 1:3-4
From the very beginning of Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae we see that Paul and his friend Timothy always have this church in mind. Apparently they pray for them on a regular basis! I don’t know about you, but if I’m being honest, most of my prayers are pretty self centered.
Lord Bless my day
Lord bless my marriage or relationship
Help me land that job
God provide for me financially
Show me my purpose in life
Listen, not one of those things are bad things to pray. Not at all. But if you notice, all of those things listed revolve around ME, MYSELF, and I.
Here’s what I think we can take away from this. There’s power in our prayers for others. Praying for other people should be a part of our daily prayer routine. It might take some work and some discipline at first, but how amazing is it when we can celebrate what God is doing in our friends lives knowing we’ve been praying for their miracle!
Here’s a simple way to implement this in your own life:
Make a list of 3 people in the front cover of your bible or journal
Make a commitment to pray for those people for 1 minute each, each day
Feel free to rotate this list around as much as you want
Another Great Prayer TO Pray
We continually ask god to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the lord and plase him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…
- Colossians 1:9-11
When we think of famous prayers, it’s normally The Lords Prayer that comes to mind and gets all the credit. And while The Lords Prayer deserves all recognition it can get, the bible is full of amazing things to pray. Take this for example. Look at what Paul is praying for here.
To be filled with the knowledge of God’s will
To have all the wisdom and understanding the spirit gives
To live a life worthy of Jesus and to please Him with how you live
To be strengthened NOT according to your power but His
If you’re looking to grow in your prayer life praying scripture is always a great place to start. I believe Colossians 1:9-11 is one of the most powerful prayers we can pray as Christians as it aligns us with God’s will and reminds us that we have access to God’s Spirit who will give us wisdom and understanding whenever we need.
Jesus The head of all things
The son is the image of the invisible god, the firstborn over all creation. for in him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
- Colossians 1:15-16
I think sometimes we can lose sight of the power of Jesus. We often hear about the kindness of Jesus or the grace of Jesus and all those attributes about Jesus are true and part of what makes Him so amazing. But when we think about Jesus do we think about POWER? When we pray in Jesus name do we understand the authority that we’re stamping our prayer with. The name of Jesus is no small thing.
I love Colossians 1:15-18. It just reminds our soul that there is NOTHING that Jesus is not over. EVERYTHING not only on earth but “visible and invisible” bows to the name of Jesus. So no matter what you’re facing in life remember this truth: Jesus is over it!
Free From Accusation
But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you honly in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
- Colossians 1:22
If you’re anything like me you know what it feels like to be your own worst critic. It’s one thing for someone else to accuse you of something, to point out a flaw or some obvious shortcoming. But only we really know our inner world; our thoughts, our desires, our motives. And oftentimes I find that because of this, I can be my own biggest accuser on why I fall short or don’t deserve God’s love.
But read what this verse says again. Highlight it or circle it in your bibles.
Because of Jesus you are without blemish and FREE from ACCUSATION. Even the things you accuse yourself of.
in your journal or somewhere in your bible write down some of the things you feel like you frequently accuse yourself of.
Use this verse to remind yourself that BECAUSE OF JESUS you are free from any accusation the enemy, a person, or even yourself can bring Against you!
The Hope Of Glory
To them god has chosen to make known among the gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is christ in you, the hope of glory
- Colossians 1:27
If I were to ask you where you place your hope I’m sure most of us could come up with a “good” “christian” answer. But if we really examine where our hope lies and we’re honest with ourselves, most of us, myself included have our hope scattered across many different areas of our life.
Our jobs to provide for us
Our families or friends to support us
Our relationships to give us love and community
All of those things are good and amazing gifts from God, but what if I told you as a Christian you have access to a greater hope? Not a hope that can fade with unemployment or the ending of a relationship. But a hope that carries not only past this life but into the next.
When Paul is writing to these Christians (and to us) he is reminding us that our ultimate hope is the fact that Jesus died on a cross, was buried, rose again and ascended into heaven! Not only did Jesus do this to remove our sins, but we have the offer of EVERLASTING LIFE, life beyond this one, a continuation of life into eternity with God! As Christians this is our hope. That life doesn’t end with death. That because of Jesus, we too will rise again and spend eternity with Him. That is the hope of glory and that is available to everyone who calls on Jesus name!