Colossians 1:1-14
Dear RTB’ers,
Back to the New Testament, to Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Colossae is a town in modern-day Turkey located about 100 miles east of Ephesus. Paul had spent a lot of time in Ephesus and had visited cities far east of Colossae (Iconium, Lystra, Derbe), but had never visited Colossae. So as he writes this letter, he is writing to people he has never met, but who have been converted and discipled by Paul’s earlier converts (Epaphras, Col. 1:7 – likely from his time at Ephesus.
My quote from two days ago has direct bearing today: …what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. (II Tim 2:2) Epaphras is from Colossae (Col. 4:12), but very likely heard Paul’s teaching in Ephesus and brought it home to Colossae. Likewise, we are to share what we have heard and leave the results up to the Holy Spirit. Our job is to speak, not to convert. We hope for conversion outcomes, but that is not our job. Evidently Epaphras was able to see the fruit of his labors in Colossae and was able to bring word of those conversions to Paul in prison.
So as we read further in Colossians, we will see Paul as the teacher from afar, further discipling new believers he has never met. And we thought that online collegiate instruction was a new thing, brought on (to a great extent) by Covid. Paul provided this “distance learning” model a couple thousand years ago!!
Blessings.
See also: October 23 (2021) / Colossians 1:1-29.