A Letter to the Churches of the Lycus Valley Quiz

Answer: contacting the dead through the use of mediums

Contacting the dead through the use of mediums is about the only thing this church wasn't engaged in, of the choices given.

There was a "religious" system that was threatening to cause damage to the church at Colosse. It contained elements of "vain" philosophies (2:8); angel worshipping (2:18); extremist rules and regulations (2:20-22); traces of Eastern mysticism (2:23); and sins of a sexual nature (3:5); as well as other false doctrines, like those of the Gnostics and the self-flagellants, who engaged in what Paul classifies as self-willed acts of personal debasement.

Answer: to show that Christ is "preeminent" or "above" all things

Paul's greeting is followed by an unusually lengthy thanksgiving and prayer for the believers at Colosse. He states that he wants them to come to a deeper understanding of Christ's power and person. Paul assures the Gentile readers that although he has not personally met them, he still desires for them to become deeply rooted in Christ ALONE.

He then presents three major themes that he feels that the church needs to hear. First, he points to Christ's primary place in creation. Next, he speaks of Christ's preeminence in redemption. Finally, he demonstrates Christ's preeminence in the church.

Answer: Christ, the Son of God

In 1:12-15 we see that Jesus is the firstborn of every creature, and in verses
16-18 that he was present during the creation of all things. Paul writes that He was the purpose of the creation because all things were created by Him and for Him, and that He has prepared eternal life and happiness for His people, just as He had provided an inheritance and a Promised Land for the Israelites of old.
God gives grace and glory and we are told in v. 12 what that glory is. It is the "inheritance of the saints in light".
Christians believe that, as children, (born-again believers) of God, they receive an inheritance from their Father, just as children are provided for by their earthly fathers.

Answer: all things that have ever been created

In Colossians 1:15, we see Christ presented as being the "image of the invisible God." This is saying that he was created in the image of God, like man was, but also that He is the EXPRESS image of God's personage. He is not a created being, but as He is the Creator, Christians believe He is over ALL things. John 1:3 states that all things were created by Him.

In this passage in Colossians, verse 16, Paul refers to various types of angelic beings; namely, thrones, dominions, principalities and powers, and he strives to impress his readers that Christ created them ALL to serve HIS purposes.

Answer: through Christ's church

Christians believe that Christ redeemed everything from the curse of sin. They also believe that only man, above all the rest of creation, must choose whether to be eternally redeemed or eternally damned. The gospel is preached to every creature, for the gospel excludes none except those who reject it. In verse 26, Paul says that the gospel, (good news), was long-hidden, but has now been revealed to Jew and Gentile alike through Jesus Christ.

He writes that the mystery had been hidden from generations and ages throughout the time of the Old Testament, but now, through the church, has been revealed to all.

Answer: the blood of his cross and the body of his flesh

Paul writes that Christ Himself has laid the foundation of salvation; that He paid the price of redemption. He was, Paul says, the ransom for humanity, the sacrifice that God's law required and the redeemer of all. His blood paid the cost and put sins into remission, and through that same blood, Paul writes, His people are set free from sin and its bondage.
Christians believe that He has made peace with the Father for humanity through the blood of His cross (verse 20), and in the body of His flesh (verse 22). It is the blood that makes atonement for sins because the blood is the life, and because without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22).
This belief says that there was such a value in the blood of Christ that God was willing to deal with man upon a new set of terms based upon grace for His sake; to pardon and accept man as a righteous being, if man would only come to Him through the blood of His Son, admitting his sin, asking forgiveness and repenting of his evil ways. Christians generally believe that man has to accept the terms that God has provided, without bargaining, negotiating or seeking some other way back to God's will.

Answer: because it detracts from Christ's preeminence in all things

Christians believe that Jesus became the curse for human sins and that through His righteousness all people are commanded to be righteous. He took the law of the commandments and nailed them to the cross; these are the same commandments which Christians believe had been a burden to the Jews and a wall of partition to the Gentiles. Christians believe that this barrier is abolished, fulfilled completely in Christ and no longer of any necessity.
He has also become known as a glorious victory for believers in Christ over the powers of darkness. Some of these angels, some of the Powers and Principalities, were fallen with Lucifer. Not all spirits or angels are "good" ones in Christianity.
As the curse of the law was against man in Christian thought, so was Satan against man. Christians feel that, since Christ has redeemed mankind from that law, he has also exercised his power over Satan. Christians believe that the devil and all of the powers of hell were conquered and disarmed by the resurrected Redeemer. The first promise made in Genesis 3:15 makes reference to this. Christ is manifested in his power and glory after Satan "bruises his heel." Jesus crushes the serpent's head in complete and utter victory and makes a show of His triumph openly, for all creation to see.
Paul also addresses the Gnostic teaching that encouraged angel-worship, especially when seen as mediators between man and God. It may seem to be a form of humility to make use of angelic beings, as if people were conscious of their unworthiness to appear before God, but this is seen by Paul to be a false humility. It involves taking honor that is due to Christ and offering it to one of the created beings, not to the creator. This passage seems to indicate that the APPEARANCE of humility is insufficient.

Answer: he is referring to false doctrines in the vicinity of the church

In vs. 23 we notice a phrase that bears close scrutiny: "which things have a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body..."
This "show of wisdom" seems to be a reference to the teaching of the Gnostics, who thought themselves wiser than their neighbors. Their Jewish counterparts were constantly trying to get the people to follow the legalism of Judaism. The Gnostics felt that if observing the law of Moses didn't obtain their salvation, then the Gnostic "wisdom" of self-will might do the job. This, according to Paul, constituted only a "show" of wisdom and was mere pretence, an invention of their own minds.
The second part of the statement concerning humility and neglecting the body was an invention of the Ascetics, who taught abstaining from certain foods (much as the Jews taught), and mortifying their human bodies.
One of the more severe of these practices is still taught today by the self-flagellants, who lash on themselves in a show of self-abasement and humility. Many Christians feel that there is no true devotion in any of these practices: they are all self-willed acts, in this view, and not God-willed actions.

Answer: The church body is dead, yet alive. Believers' true lives are in another world. It is in that world that believers have hope of perfection.

Paul presents three arguments for this reasoning. First, he say that men are dead. If not born-again, then people are spiritually dead, he reasons, but if people are children of God, then they are dead to sin and the things of this world, so that they are spiritually alive.
Second, he point out that the true life of a Christian lies in another world.
Third, Paul says that in that perfect world there is hope of the perfection of happiness.

Answer: Laodicea

"And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea."
Apparently Paul had previously written a letter to Laodicea, but they either never received it or it got lost afterwards. Both the church at Colosse and the church at Laodicea were to share the letters given to them because of their close proximity to each other and their shared needs, but somehow the letter to Laodicea was misplaced. The only other reference we have to this church is in John's book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ.