Colossians

This is the seventh in a series of twenty-one summaries of the New Testament letters.  The seventh is Colossians, and the outline comes from John Paul Heil:

a   Grace from Paul an Apostle by the Will of God, 1:1-2
     b   Thanking God when Praying for You to Walk in Wisdom, 1:3-14
          c   The Gospel Preached to Every Creature Under Heaven, 1:15-23
               d   We Are Admonishing and Teaching Every Human in All Wisdom, 1:24-2:5
                     e   Walk and Live in Christ with Whom You Have Died and Been Raised, 2:6-23
                     e'  You Died and Were Raised with Christ from Living as You Once Walked, 3:1-7
               d'  In All Wisdom Teaching and Admonishing One Another, 3:8-16
          c'  You Have a Master in Heaven, 3:17-4:1
     b'  Pray for Us in Thanksgiving and Walk in Wisdom, 4:2-6
a'  Full Assurance in All the Will of God and Grace from Paul, 4:17-18

The 'a' pattern links the introduction to the conclusion.  Also, the 'will of God' has prominence in both: Paul, in the first section, is an apostle "by the will of God." (1:1).  In the second, Paul speaks of Epaphras wrestling in prayer for the Colossians, that they "may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured." (4:12)

The 'b' pattern has to do with prayer and walking in wisdom.  In the first section, Paul speaks about how he and his partners "have not stopped praying." (1:9).  In the second section, Paul tells the Colossians to "devote yourselves to prayer." (4:2)  In the first section, Paul speaks about knowing God's will "through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives." (1:9).  In the second section, Paul tells the Colossians to "be wise in the way you act toward outsiders." (4:5)

The 'c' pattern has to do with Christ's mastery over all things in heaven and on earth.  In the first section, Paul repeatedly invokes 'heaven' to convey Christ's mastery: "For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth..." (1:16)  "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in (The Son), and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven..." (1:20)  "This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven..." (1:23).  In the second section, Paul encourages slaves to work with all their heart, "as working for the Lord, not for human masters." (3:23).  He also encourages the masters to "provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven." (4:1)  Thus, the second section illustrates the microcosmic way that the macrocosmic message of the first section is worked out.

The 'd' pattern shares a theme of admonishing and teaching.  In the first section, Paul speaks of the mystery, "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (1:27).  In the second section, Paul speaks of the fulfillment of this mystery: "Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all." (3:11)  In the first section, Paul writes: "He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom..." (1:28)  In the second section, Paul writes, "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom..." (3:16)

The 'e' pattern links Christ's resurrection and ascension to our being raised and then ascending in him.  In the first section, Paul tells the Colossians to continue to live their lives in him.  In the second section, Paul warns them about their former life: "You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived." (3:7)  In the first section, Paul speaks of Christ's resurrection, that the Colossians were "raised with him, through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead." (2:12).  In the second section, Paul turns to the Colossians: "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ..." (3:1) and proceeds to show the results of a life linked to Christ at the right hand of the Father.  In the first section, Paul says the Colossians were "dead" in their sins, but God made them alive in Christ. (2:13)  In the second section, Paul says that since they have been raised with Christ, they should "put to death" whatever belongs to the earthly nature. (3:5)