Paul's Letter to Colosse
Background Information
This letter was written from Rome after Paul’s third missionary journey and subsequent imprisonment in Caesarea (Acts 28:30-31).
Paul wrote four New Testament (NT) letters during this, his first imprisonment in Rome. This imprisonment was a kind of “house arrest,” not a classic imprisonment in a squalid cell. He was able to receive guests, write and send letters, conduct business, and send willing people on errands (Acts 28:16, 30-31).
This imprisonment was the result of Paul’s appeal to Caesar, something which Roman citizens had the right to do. The case in question was a set of false accusations by Jewish religious leaders of being a troublemaker, cult leader, and Temple vandalizer. Government officials held Paul in prison for two years, neither charging nor absolving him, in order to leverage his imprisonment for political leverage with the Jewish people. Paul, in turn, leveraged this right to receive free travel and passage to Rome, where he wanted to go anyway. According to Acts 27-28, this trip was perilous rather than pleasurable.
The audience was Christians in the city of Colosse.
Paul wrote this letter to the church at Colosse, the same time as he wrote letters to the church at Ephesus and to a man named Philemon. Colosse was located approx. 100 miles east from the coastal city of Ephesus. He wrote these letters early in his imprisonment, then wrote a letter to the church at Philippi near the end of this imprisonment, too. Altogether, we call these four letters the “prison epistles.”
A man named Tychicus delivered the first three prison epistles to their destinations and was accompanied by Onesimus, of whom we’ll learn more when we study Paul’s letter to Philemon (Eph 6:21; Col 4:7-9; Phil 1:10-12).
Unlike most other NT letters Paul wrote, in which he had a previous relationship with the church or person (minus Romans), Paul had never been to Colosse before. According to Col 2:1, he had never met the believers there personally. This explains why Paul’s closing greeting (similar to the one at the close of his letter to the Romans) featured more extended, personal introductions and commentary as he endeavored to establish greater trust and relationship with them through the letter (Col 4:7-15).
This letter actually had a secondary audience, too – the church at Laodicea, a neighboring city twelve miles further west in mountainous Lycus River Valley (Col 4:16).
These two churches likely started during Paul’s 3-yr. ministry in Ephesus from people reached with the gospel during that time. These churches also seem to consist predominately (if not exclusively) of Gentile believers, since Paul uses phrases to describe them which he uses elsewhere to describe Gentile people (Col 1:21; 2:13).
The general theme of this epistle is “The Sufficiency of Christ.”
Paul wrote this letter in response to the ongoing influence of false teachers among them who were diminishing the deity of Christ, promoting the idea that he was not actually God. To confront this critical error, Paul emphasized the complete sovereignty, supremacy, and sufficiency of Christ, using some of the most lofty, grand, and honorific language of all of his letters to describe Christ (Col 1:15-19; 2:9, etc.).
The false teaching Paul confronted through this letter, which was infiltrating inland, Gentile churches, consisted of elements from both Jewish legalism (2:11-16) and Greek, philosophical Gnosticism (2:8). Gromacki explains:
It taught that spiritual knowledge was available only to those with superior intellects, thus creating a spiritual caste system. Faith was treated with contempt; advanced Gnosticism even taught that salvation was received by knowledge. Adherents believed that they could understand divine mysteries totally unknown and unavailable to the typical Christian.
This teaching also claimed that physical matter is inherently evil while immaterial things (such as soul, spirit, mind) are inherently good. Such teaching resulted in the belief that God could not have created the material world and that Christ, who was human, could not be God, therefore also denying Christ’s death and resurrection.
Because of these beliefs, this teaching viewed Christ as being one of a series of “emanations” from God and perhaps the highest such emanation, such as the most superior angel, etc. – but not God himself. This perspective resulted in an unhealthy fascination with or even worship of angels.
Such teaching also resulted in an ascetic or legalistic lifestyle, believing that since physical matter is inherently evil, then adopting strict codes of behavior which consisted of rigid self-denial (circumcision, dietary laws, etc.) (2:20-23). This belief offered special knowledge to those who were serious followers, knowledge made available through mystical experiences outside of Scripture.
In response to this heretical teaching, Paul wrote not only to reinforce and uphold the deity of Christ from a theological and philosophical standpoint, but to explain how a belief in the deity of Christ should affect our lifestyle as followers of Christ.
Summary Outline
Exposition on the preeminence of Christ (1)
He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell … (1:18-19)
Exposing false teaching regarding Christ (2)
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (2:8-9)
Exposition of Christ’s sufficiency applied to everyday life (3-4)
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (3:1-3)
Conclusion (4:7-18)
This letter was written from Rome after Paul’s third missionary journey and subsequent imprisonment in Caesarea (Acts 28:30-31).
Paul wrote four New Testament (NT) letters during this, his first imprisonment in Rome. This imprisonment was a kind of “house arrest,” not a classic imprisonment in a squalid cell. He was able to receive guests, write and send letters, conduct business, and send willing people on errands (Acts 28:16, 30-31).
This imprisonment was the result of Paul’s appeal to Caesar, something which Roman citizens had the right to do. The case in question was a set of false accusations by Jewish religious leaders of being a troublemaker, cult leader, and Temple vandalizer. Government officials held Paul in prison for two years, neither charging nor absolving him, in order to leverage his imprisonment for political leverage with the Jewish people. Paul, in turn, leveraged this right to receive free travel and passage to Rome, where he wanted to go anyway. According to Acts 27-28, this trip was perilous rather than pleasurable.
The audience was Christians in the city of Colosse.
Paul wrote this letter to the church at Colosse, the same time as he wrote letters to the church at Ephesus and to a man named Philemon. Colosse was located approx. 100 miles east from the coastal city of Ephesus. He wrote these letters early in his imprisonment, then wrote a letter to the church at Philippi near the end of this imprisonment, too. Altogether, we call these four letters the “prison epistles.”
A man named Tychicus delivered the first three prison epistles to their destinations and was accompanied by Onesimus, of whom we’ll learn more when we study Paul’s letter to Philemon (Eph 6:21; Col 4:7-9; Phil 1:10-12).
Unlike most other NT letters Paul wrote, in which he had a previous relationship with the church or person (minus Romans), Paul had never been to Colosse before. According to Col 2:1, he had never met the believers there personally. This explains why Paul’s closing greeting (similar to the one at the close of his letter to the Romans) featured more extended, personal introductions and commentary as he endeavored to establish greater trust and relationship with them through the letter (Col 4:7-15).
This letter actually had a secondary audience, too – the church at Laodicea, a neighboring city twelve miles further west in mountainous Lycus River Valley (Col 4:16).
These two churches likely started during Paul’s 3-yr. ministry in Ephesus from people reached with the gospel during that time. These churches also seem to consist predominately (if not exclusively) of Gentile believers, since Paul uses phrases to describe them which he uses elsewhere to describe Gentile people (Col 1:21; 2:13).
The general theme of this epistle is “The Sufficiency of Christ.”
Paul wrote this letter in response to the ongoing influence of false teachers among them who were diminishing the deity of Christ, promoting the idea that he was not actually God. To confront this critical error, Paul emphasized the complete sovereignty, supremacy, and sufficiency of Christ, using some of the most lofty, grand, and honorific language of all of his letters to describe Christ (Col 1:15-19; 2:9, etc.).
The false teaching Paul confronted through this letter, which was infiltrating inland, Gentile churches, consisted of elements from both Jewish legalism (2:11-16) and Greek, philosophical Gnosticism (2:8). Gromacki explains:
It taught that spiritual knowledge was available only to those with superior intellects, thus creating a spiritual caste system. Faith was treated with contempt; advanced Gnosticism even taught that salvation was received by knowledge. Adherents believed that they could understand divine mysteries totally unknown and unavailable to the typical Christian.
This teaching also claimed that physical matter is inherently evil while immaterial things (such as soul, spirit, mind) are inherently good. Such teaching resulted in the belief that God could not have created the material world and that Christ, who was human, could not be God, therefore also denying Christ’s death and resurrection.
Because of these beliefs, this teaching viewed Christ as being one of a series of “emanations” from God and perhaps the highest such emanation, such as the most superior angel, etc. – but not God himself. This perspective resulted in an unhealthy fascination with or even worship of angels.
Such teaching also resulted in an ascetic or legalistic lifestyle, believing that since physical matter is inherently evil, then adopting strict codes of behavior which consisted of rigid self-denial (circumcision, dietary laws, etc.) (2:20-23). This belief offered special knowledge to those who were serious followers, knowledge made available through mystical experiences outside of Scripture.
In response to this heretical teaching, Paul wrote not only to reinforce and uphold the deity of Christ from a theological and philosophical standpoint, but to explain how a belief in the deity of Christ should affect our lifestyle as followers of Christ.
Summary Outline
Exposition on the preeminence of Christ (1)
He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell … (1:18-19)
Exposing false teaching regarding Christ (2)
- True wisdom is found in Christ (2:1-15)
- Stay clear from philosophy and principles of this world (2:16-23).
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (2:8-9)
Exposition of Christ’s sufficiency applied to everyday life (3-4)
- Know the basic principles (3:1-17)
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (3:1-3)
- Apply them to ...
- Family relationships (3:18-21)
- Business relationships (3:22-4:1)
- Church relationships (4:2-6)
Conclusion (4:7-18)
Posted in Bible Talks
Posted in Bible Study, Colossians, Paul, Christology, Christ, Theology, New Testament, Philosophy, Legalism
Posted in Bible Study, Colossians, Paul, Christology, Christ, Theology, New Testament, Philosophy, Legalism
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