In September 2023, I had the great honor of speaking at the Neller Preachers’ Workshop during Harding University’s Centennial Lectureship, and today I’m sharing part one of the series of lectures I gave on the book of Colossians. The workshop is named after the late Ken Neller who served as a Professor of New Testament at Harding for many years—I took Greek 3 and 4 with him during the 2006-07 school year.
My first lecture, entitled “The Supremacy of Christ,” covers Colossians 1:1-23. In this opening chapter, Paul introduces the major themes the he will develop throughout the letter: Jesus’s supremacy over all as the enthroned Messiah, and the importance of the Colossians’ growth in the knowledge of Jesus.