Colossians and Philemon Leader Guide (NASB and ESV) GAINING A TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST SO NO ONE DELUDES YOU! i Colossians Leader Guide (NASB and ESV) © 2015 Precept Ministries International Published by Precept Ministries of Reach Out, Inc. Chattanooga, Tennessee 37422 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the U.S.A. Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible® © The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. www.lockman.org Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 1st Edition (10/2015) ii USING LEADER GUIDES Leader Guides are intended for you, the leader, to guide your Precept Upon Precept® and In & Out® discussions. They are designed to help you reason through the content of the lessons and to ensure you have understood what your group should have learned from their study. The guides offer effective plans for leading discussions. The Holy Spirit is your guide as you prepare. He is the one who knows what your group needs to apply to their lives. Pray for them as they study and for yourself as you prepare to lead the discussion. These guides can be used for either the NASB or the ESV edition of the courses. ESV words follow the NASB after a slash / or are set off with parentheses. Leader Guides include the following: • Lesson emphasis • A logical order for the discussion • Discussion questions • Suggested visual aid(s) Practical tips for using the Leader Guide: • Don’t simply “do” the lesson. Stay with the lesson until you have a good understanding of it. This will give you a better grasp of how the Leader Guide takes you through the lesson. • You don’t have to ask every question in the guide. Often one question will be covered while discussing another question so there is no reason to ask it. Your goal is not to ask every question, but to ask enough questions to make sure your group understood the lesson and to help them apply the truths to their lives. Using the Leader Guide with In & Out When your entire group uses In & Out Compare an In & Out lesson with the Leader Guide. Use what relates to the In & Out lesson as a guide for the discussion. Don’t teach what’s not in In & Out lessons. Remember your goal in the discussion is for your group to discuss what they’ve learned, not for you to lecture on what you learned. For groups studying both Precept Upon Precept and In & Out Use the Leader Guides as designed for PUP, knowing that the In & Out assignments will be covered in the discussion. Make a note in the Leader Guide of what is not in the In & Out. iii PRINTED L ESSONS PDF PAGE NO. PAGE NO. 1 LESSON ONE: Overview 5 5 LESSON TWO: Colossians 1 9 13 LESSON THREE: Colossians 1 17 19 LESSON FOUR: Colossians 2 23 27 LESSON FIVE: Colossians 2 31 35 LESSON SIX: Colossians 3 39 39 LESSON SEVEN: Colossians 3 43 47 LESSON EIGHT: Colossians 3 and Philemon 51 53 LESSON NINE: Colossians 4 57 To locate a particular lesson in the pdf, click on in the grey bar on the left side of the window. Bookmarks will appear for each of the lessons. Select the lesson you need. iv 2015 Precept Ministries International Colossians and Philemon Leader Guide Lesson 1, Colossians Overview COLOSSIANS AND PHILEMON LEADER GUIDE Lesson 1 Lesson emphasis • Colossians Overview To begin this discussion you might ask your group if there was a part of Colossians which ministered in a special way to them as they studied this lesson. Let some share what it was. It might be an encouragement, a warning, an instruction, or some teaching. Tell them to look at their At a Glance chart as a visual aid for this discussion. HISTORICAL SETTING Ask who wrote Colossians, to whom, why, and when. Tell your group to also look at the map and the chart “Sequence of Events in Paul’s Life after His Conversion.” The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Colossians when he was in prison in Rome for speaking the gospel. Paul included Timothy with himself in verse 1, but the majority of the references used by the author are “I,” “me,” and “my.” 1:23 and 4:18 say, “I, Paul.” The Colossians heard the gospel from Epaphras who told Paul about their faith. Paul then wrote this letter to them, and sent it from Rome to Colossae by Tychicus and Onesimus. In this letter he encouraged, taught, and warned the recipients. The believers at Laodicea were also to read this letter. What was the city of Colossae like at that time? Colossae was a small city in the Lycus Valley in Asia, about 100 miles from Ephesus, but close to Hierapolis and Laodicea. These cities were on a trade route (from Ephesus). Therefore, various religions and philosophies mixed in the area. At any point in your discussion, give time for your group to discuss application or how what they are discussing relates to them as believers now. 1 Colossians and Philemon Leader Guide 2015 Precept Ministries International Lesson 1, Colossians Overview COLOSSIANS 1 Ask your group what they noted on their At a Glance chart as a possible theme for this chapter. Maybe they had something similar to: Paul heard of Colossians’ faith; the Son; complete / mature in Christ Ask your group what they learned from this chapter. Tell them to look at their lists about the author, recipients, and Christ as visual aids. Verses 1-2 describe the author and the recipients. Paul, Jesus Christ’s apostle by God’s will, and Timothy our brother Saints and faithful brethren / brothers in Christ at Colossae Verses 3-8 tell how Paul and Timothy heard about the Colossians and how the saints at Colossae heard the gospel. Epaphras, a Colossian, informed Paul that he told the gospel to the Colossians and they received it by faith in Christ. The Colossians had faith in Christ Jesus, love for all saints, and hope in heaven. Verses 9-14 are Paul and Timothy’s prayer for the saints. Since they had heard and understood the gospel, Paul prayed for them to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Relate this to what was going on in the city and the warnings of chapter 2. At the end of his prayer, he began to teach about Christ Jesus, verses 15-20. NOTE: Don’t discuss every detail about Him. More will be studied in later lessons. Verses 21-23 describe the Colossians before and after believing in Christ. Paul said he was a minister of the gospel. Formerly alienated as Gentiles, they were reconciled by Christ’s blood. Chapter 1 ends with Paul’s ministry and purpose, preaching the Word, making the mystery known among the Gentiles. Verse 28 seems to summarize what this letter is about Proclaiming Christ Admonishing / warning and teaching with wisdom To present every man complete / mature in Christ You might ask what your group learned from this chapter for life now. 2 2015 Precept Ministries International Colossians and Philemon Leader Guide Lesson 1, Colossians Overview COLOSSIANS 2 Ask about a possible theme for this chapter. What did they put on their At a Glance chart? No one delude you, all / whole fullness in Christ; you’re complete / filled in Him How does Paul’s thought continue from 1:29? His labor / toil, struggle for those who had never seen him is described. It was for the purpose of presenting them complete / mature in Christ. He had never seen them before, but rejoiced in their faith in Christ. He wanted to encourage them. He wanted them to have full assurance of understanding and knowledge. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. As a church they had good discipline / order and stability / firmness of faith and were being built up and established in Him. They were growing spiritually, and Paul encouraged them to continue. Paul then warned the Colossian saints and all who read this letter. He continued to teach about Jesus as he warned in this chapter. What were the warnings about? Verse 4 indicates that the letter was written so no one delude them with persuasive / plausible argument. Then in verse 8 he warned against being taken captive by philosophy and empty deception / deceit. These things are from men’s traditions—the elementary principles / spirits of the world. Verses 16-23 are warnings also. Being judged regarding food, drink, festival, new moon, Sabbath day Christ is the substance of all those shadows. Defrauding / disqualifying the Christians delighting in self-abasement (ESV—insisting on asceticism) angel worship and visions inflated / puffed up Submitting to decrees / regulations which forbid handling, tasting, and touching 3 Colossians and Philemon Leader Guide 2015 Precept Ministries International Lesson 1, Colossians Overview Give time for your group to discuss how these warnings apply to believers now. You might also ask if they think it strange that a growing and stable church received these warnings. What can they learn from this? COLOSSIANS 3 What is a possible theme? Set your mind on things above—where Christ is What is this chapter about, and how does it differ from the first two? This chapter begins a list of instructions.