(What To Think About Before Class)
Read: Colossians 1:1-2:5
Do Step 2 of “Three Steps to Reading an Epistle”
(We did Step 1 in class)
STEP 1. Identify Arrangement: How is this letter arranged?
Epistles are usually arranged into four parts. Look for these parts in your text:
– Greeting: introduces who is writing and to whom
1:1-2 Greeting
– Opening: usually prayer/poem, why writing, and main message/theme
1:3-2:5 Opening Thoughts
– Body: “Therefore” of the letter, focused on exhortation and instruction
2:6-4:6 Body of Letter
– Conclusion: closing greetings / instructions / blessing
4:7-17 Closing
STEP 2. Study Opening: What is the writer want to emphasize as the main message / purpose of the letter? Look for words that are repeated / patterns, big ideas
Read and Reread the Opening 1:3-2:5 (HINT: The Key Paragraph is the Poem 1:15-19)
Handout/In Class Study:
https://lexingtonlutheran.org/Bible_Class/Colossians1_3-2_5.pdf