Pastor's Bible Study

Paul exhorts Timothy and the church at Ephesus to keep first things first, i.e. focus on the top priority. The top priority in ministry and for ministry is prayer. We would do well to heed Paul's exhortation to pray first and to pray for all people and their salvation. That kind of praying can change the world, our world, and our lives too.

Paul encourages Timothy by reminding him the he is the recipient of God's mercy.

Paul writes a letter to young Timothy (Paul's protégé) and encourages him pastor to pastor. Paul knows that Timothy is in a hard place to lead a church. In the opening verses, Paul lays out four directives for Timothy to follow. These things are good for us today also. Timothy was to 1) stick to the task, 2) speak the truth, 3) set his sights on the goal of ministry, which is love, and 4) support the gospel in all that he teaches because the gospel is the standard. If you undercut the gospel in the things you teach, then what you teach is bogus.

The letter Paul wrote to Philemon shares with us the beautiful and moving story of friendship and forgiveness, release and redemption. We really see to very applicable truths: 1) Jesus did for us what Paul did for Onesimus. We've been forgiven for the sake of Jesus just like Philemon forgave Onesimus for the sake of Paul. 2) We can forgive others because we've been forgiven.

As Paul wraps up his letter to the Colossians, he takes time to mention and appreciate several friends in the ministry that have partnered with him and ministered to him during his imprisonment.
A friend provides three things vital for a quality life. Friends provide companionship, without which we’d be lonely and isolated. They provide comfort – a pat on the back, a shoulder to cry on, and kind words of consolation when we need them. And they provide the accountability and perspective we need to keep us on the straight path.

In the text, Paul addresses both dimensions of our speech, the vertical and horizontal planes. Our vertical speech is directed to God. Our horizontal speech is directed to other people. And Paul points out that one of the reasons what we say on the horizontal plane is so important is because we say it to those who are lost and don’t have a vertical relationship with God. Our horizontal speech can have an impact on someone else coming into a vertical relationship with God.

Although this passage refers to servants, or slaves, and masters, or slave owners, the principles taught here certainly apply to the employee/employer relationship. In this lesson we will look at the both the original context of this passage and how it applies in our modern day work life. What Paul has to say speaks directly to the dignity of work, our work ethic, and how we treat workers with fairness.

When Christ is our life, His peace will be the decisive factor in what we think and feel. And the truth of His Word will saturate everything we say and do. By default then Christ as our life will also impact our homes, marriages, families, etc.

In this text, Paul will deal with the home, husbands, wives, parents, and children. As with all things that God created, God has a divine design for the Home. Not all of that design is laid out here in these four verses, but if as families we would implement the truths of these four verses, we would be healthier and happier and glorify God.

Paul uses the image of changing clothes illustrate how our actions are to match our identity as the elect, holy, and beloved of God. Since we are the elect of God, holy and beloved we have some solemn responsibilities to God to put on spiritual clothes and turn on spiritual controls. Instead of sensuality, materialism, and negative emotionalism, we are to have compassion, kindness, humility gentleness, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, love, and unity.

In the first two chapters of the book, Paul laid down the doctrinal part of Colossians. He exposed the false teaching that was robbing the Colossians of their spiritual maturity. Now in chapters three and four he gives practical application of those doctrines that leads to genuine spiritual maturity.

Christianity brought a change to the way of thinking and living for the Colossae believers. What we believe has a very definite connection with how we behave. It has too. Being in union with Christ means we share His life. He cannot live in us by His Spirit and permit must to live in sin.

In the first eleven verses of chapter 3, Paul will give us a three-step procedure for living the victorious Christian life.