In just 29 verses within the first chapter of Colossians the word "all, or every, or entire", depending on your translation, is used 20 times! In searching for key words, usually a word that helps highlight a theme or idea maybe mentioned a half dozen times or so within a couple chapters of a New Testament book. Here, it's pretty clear Paul wants to convey to his audience that "pas" (Greek word for "all/every/entire"), and its varying Greek forms, hits the ears, eyes and heart of the Christian.
Take a moment to read the chapter again and focus on this key word and concentrate on the context in which it is used. Remember, every word in the Bible is intentionally used for all of us to understand (cf. Ephesians 3:3-5). When Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirt, writes the word "all", he is not meaning 99.9%, but 100%...really!
I also hope that as you highlight or underline every use of "all/every/entire" in chapter 1, you will allow the flow of the text to continue reading the rest of Colossians and find any other form of "all". Enjoy this study!
Verses in chapter 1:
4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 28
*Would love to read and share any comments from your own personal study!*
1 comment:
I have just got to do a very short (500 words) essay on the use of "pas" in Colossians. Would be good to hear more about your thoughts about why it is used so much. It appears nearly 40 times in the whole book. My thoughts were that Paul is coming against those who say the Colossians need something else, so he says (this is quite rough): Christ is above all and before all and every good thing is in him - All you need can be find in Christ - Christ is in you - You don't need anything else
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