not of man, neither by the will of man, but by the will of God (Gal. 1:15; 2:1-10). The sovereign effi- He links the name of Timothy, his brother in Christ, to this chain of authority. H eaders G reeted 1 :2 The epistle is directed to the “in Colossae saints” and faithful breth ren in Christ. Colossae was a small insignificant city in the Lycus Val ley. Paul, however, never penned a greater message to any church. No doubt, this heresy had disturbed all the churches in the Lycus region, so it was written not only for one, but for all churches in that day and evi dently for the present hour. The psychology of this greeting is shown in the way he addresses them, “To the saints and faithful breth ren in Christ.” How could he compli ment them any more? The word (hagiois) “saint” refers to spiritual position always, rather than a spiritual condition. It means one who has been set apart because of his faith in Christ for a holy pur pose. These saints are also described as faithful brethren. The adjective here implies steadfastness and trust worthiness (Acts 16:15).
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I N the opening of this personal let ter to the Colossian church Paul authenticates his apostleship. The name Paul (little one) is in the em phatic position for good reasons. The Apostle had never visited Colossae according to the records left today (Col. 1:4, 7; 2-1). The name Paul was a household word by this time (63 A.D.) in the Christian world. A postleship A uthenicated 1:1 There is another important rea son why he must authenticate his apostleship, and that is the vicious heresy he is endeavoring to correct. These heretics were denying Christ Jesus the sole place of mediator be tween God and man and destroying the headship of Christ over the uni verse, but more seriously, the Head of the Church. He is an apostle of Christ Jesus, the one sent with a divine commis sion (Luke 6:13) to do the work of Christ. The phrase, by the will of God, is a reminder of his further au thentication as an apostle. It was
The second story to Biota's Science Building has been completed. Pictured above is one segment of the structure which contains a number of new, vitally needed classrooms.
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