Colossians 1:1

I was listening to a talk the other day, and the speaker told a story about a teacher he had in college. He attended some bible college, so his experience might have been different than yours. He said that the professor asked them to read a passage in scripture and write down any questions they had about it.

I took this approach the other day while I was reading through Colossians. The book starts off this way...

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Here are a few questions I came up with from verse 1:1.

1. Who was Paul? I know, people spend their entire life researching this subject. Maybe it would help if I knew a little more about him.


2. What does it mean to be an apostle of Christ Jesus?
   1. What does it mean to be an apostle of anything?
   2. Can you be an apostle of something else?


3. What does he mean by "by the will of God"? If Jesus is God, does he mean an apostle of God because God willed it?


4. Who was Timothy?


5. "Our brother"... Who does our refer to? Paul and the Colossians? Us? All Christians?


6. Why does the letter start off this way?I assume this was the cultural norm, but maybe there is more to it.


7. Is this a formal letter or a personal letter? Was there a difference in that day and age?

In the talk, the students each came back with a question or two about the passage they had been asked to study. The professor was livid. He admonished the students for their arrogance. He asked if they claimed to know everything else about the passage; All but a few things.

It made me think about how little I know about the scriptures, and how much I just read over without considering what is actually being communicated.

I have a lot to learn. We have a lot to learn.