Colossians #51

Colossians confronts an early false teaching, whose exact nature is debated, that seems to have involved ascetic rules, visions, and worship of angels, by exalting Christ’s absolute supremacy over all creation and every spiritual power.

Read Colossians in the King James Version →

Author and Date

Paul and Timothy are named as senders (Colossians 1:1), and tradition holds that Paul wrote it from a Roman imprisonment, c. AD 60-62. Some scholars propose Caesarea or Ephesus as the place of writing. Some critical scholars question Pauline authorship because of its style and its similarities to Ephesians, while others defend it; the question remains disputed.

Background and Audience

Colossae was a small town in the Lycus Valley in what is now Turkey, near Laodicea. Paul had not visited the church there (Colossians 2:1). It was apparently founded through Epaphras, who reported concern about a teaching that promoted special rules, visions, and the worship of angels (Colossians 1:7-8; 2:16-23). The letter was carried with Onesimus and Tychicus (Colossians 4:7-9).

Outline

• Chapter 1:1-14: Greeting, thanksgiving for the Colossians’ faith and love, and prayer for spiritual understanding
• Chapter 1:15-2:5: The supremacy of Christ over creation and church, reconciliation, and Paul’s labor for the churches
• Chapter 2:6-23: Warnings against empty philosophy, ritual regulations, asceticism, and angel worship
• Chapter 3:1-17: Raised with Christ, believers set their minds on things above and put on a new self
• Chapter 3:18-4:1: Instructions for households: wives and husbands, children and parents, servants and masters
• Chapter 4:2-18: Prayer, conduct toward outsiders, and personal greetings

Key Themes

The dominant theme is the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ: he is the image of God, the agent of creation, and the head of the church, and through him God reconciles all things. The letter argues that spiritual completeness comes from union with Christ, not from added rituals or special experiences, and it applies this to daily conduct, including relationships and speech.

Key Verses

• Colossians 1:15-17 — Christ is the image of the invisible God and the one through whom all things were created
• Colossians 1:19-20 — God’s fullness dwells in Christ, and through him all things are reconciled
• Colossians 2:8-10 — A warning against empty philosophy, and a reminder that believers have fullness in Christ
• Colossians 3:1-3 — Believers who have been raised with Christ are to focus on heavenly things
• Colossians 3:12-14 — The clothing of compassion, kindness, patience, forgiveness, and above all love

How It Fits the Bible

Colossians shares much of its content with Ephesians, and was probably sent alongside the personal letter Philemon. Its opening hymn is often read as drawing on Old Testament ideas of wisdom and creation, such as those in Proverbs, and applying them to Christ. It is among the New Testament’s fullest statements of his divine status.