Study of Colossians - Session 1
Larry Reynolds
· When was it written?
· From where was it written?
· What was the occasion that caused it to be written?
· What is the main purpose, the over-arching theme of the book?
So,
I want us to begin our study of Colossians by looking at some key background
information about the book. I realize
this is not highly edifying material, but it is an important foundation which
needs to be laid if we are to understand the deeper message and meaning of this
wonderful New Testament letter.
Colossians
is one of a group of four New Testament letters that have come to be known as “The Prison Epistles.” The other three letters in this group are
Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon. In
each of those four letters Paul makes specific reference to his being a
prisoner. (See Colossians 4:10, 18)
·
In style the prison epistles tend
to be more meditative, more tranquil than most of Paul’s other letters. That’s understandable giving the setting in
which Paul was when he wrote the letters.· In content the prison epistles tend to focus more on the growth and spiritual health of believers than on the salvation of unbelievers. Another way of saying that is they are more devotional than evangelistic.
· From where were they written? The Scripture does not tell us precisely where Paul was imprisoned when he wrote these letters, so we are left to speculate. I think from the biblical text we can assume they were written from one of two places.
o Caesarea – In Acts 21 Paul was arrested by the
§ During the time
Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea , he appeared
before Felix, the Roman
Governor of the area, and his wife Drusilla. Felix, who did not decide Paul’s case, kept
him under arrest in Caesarea for approximately
two years. (Acts 24)
§ Felix was succeeded by Festus had Paul brought before him, and Paul exercised his
right as a Roman citizen to have his case heard by Caesar in Rome
§ King
Agrippa and his wife, Bernice,
came to Caesarea and Festus told him about
Paul’s case. Paul appeared before them
(Acts 26) and King Agrippa said that Paul had done nothing deserving death or
imprisonment. But because he had
appealed his case to Rome
Some say Paul wrote the prison epistles during the 2+
years he was being held in Caesarea . The argument against that is that in Pilemon 22
Paul seems to indicate he was about to be released. But during his imprisonment Caesarea, Paul
obviously knew that he had appealed his case to Caesar and that he was headed
to Rome
o
· When were they written? – Since Paul was released from prison sometime after writing the prison epistles, it is likely there were written before two major historical events took place which contributed to
So,
it is my position the prison epistles, including Colossians, were written by
Paul from Rome
1. What events led to Paul’s writing Colossians?
2. What was Paul’s primary purpose (what did he want to
accomplish) in writing the book?
3. What is over-arching message or theme of the book?
What events led to the writing of
Colossians? Writing a letter, even one that seems
relatively short in comparison to letters such as the one Paul wrote to the
Romans, was a rather laborious task in the 1st century. We are so conditioned to computers that
generate documents rather easily that we tend to forget that to sit down and
write a letter by hand on parchment (animal skin) or papyrus (the center of
reed plants that had been pressed out and dried) was a difficult task. Therefore, it was not something that was done
lightly. Usually some event or series of
events took place that led up to the producing of such letters. In the case of Colossians, two things
happened that led to Paul’s writing this letter:
1. Paul received
a visit while he was in prison in Rome from a man named Epaphras. We will come
across that name in Colossians 1:7 where Epaphras is described as the person
who first shared the Gospel with the people in Colossae Colossae Ephesus Ephesus for two years and Acts 19:10
says that during those years, “...all who live in Asia
heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.” Colossae is
about 100 miles from Ephesus which was the
economic center of that part of Asia . Perhaps Epaphras was a business man who
traveled to Ephesus , met Paul, became a
Christian, went back to Colossae Rome to visit Paul in his
imprisonment and give him news about the church at Colossae
2. Paul’s
contact with Onesimus who is
described in Colossians 4:8 with the same phrase as used of Epaphras, “...one
of your number...” meaning he was also from Colossae. Onesimus was a run-a-way slave, whose master,
Philemon, was also in the church at Colossae Rome
Those
two events remind me that God does not do anything by accident. Things that may seem like coincidences to us
or even absurdly unjust to us may be part of God’s larger plan for our good and
the advancement of His Kingdom.
What was Paul’s primary purpose in
writing Colossians? I think there are three primary reasons Paul
wrote this letter.
1. To express
his personal interest in and concern for the Colossians. (Colossians 2:1)
These were people Paul had not met.
There is no record of Paul ever going through Colossae
2. To warn the
Colossians against reverting back to their old, pagan ways. (Colossians 2:6)
The newness of their conversion was wearing off. They were entering that period every new
believer goes through of coming down from the initial spiritual high of
conversion and settling into a pattern of life.
Paul reminded them of the importance of not going back to their old
practices. They were to continue their
walk in Christ.
3. To refute a
false teaching that was threatening the Colossians church. This was
Paul’s primary reason for writing. From
some things Paul says in chapter 2 we can get at least a glimpse of this false
teaching.
a. It was characterized by a pseudo-intellectualism (2:8)
b. It de-emphasized the person and work of Jesus (2:9-10)
c. It was legalistic in nature (2:16, 21)
d. It was ascetic in nature (2:18, 23) [It viewed the body as evil and needing to be
subdued and punished]
e. It emphasized the worship of angels (2:18)
f. It found its authority in subjective religious
experience (2:18) rather than the objective revelation of God in Christ (2:19
Paul wrote to refute this false teaching which was
undermining the spiritual well-being of the Christians in Colossae
·
What is the over-arching message or theme of the book? The theme of Colossians is the absolute supremacy and
the complete sufficiency of Jesus Christ.
Essentially, Paul’s answer to the false teaching in the church is Jesus. Over and over in the four chapters of this
letter Paul reminds us what Jesus does for us...
o
Jesus reveals God
to us - “...He is the image [the exact representation] of the invisible
God...” [1:15]
o
Jesus cleanses us
from sin and makes us acceptable to God - “... He has now reconciled you
in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and
blameless and beyond reproach.” [1:22]
o
Jesus gives us
stability and direction for living - “As you therefore have received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being
built up in Him and established in your faith...” [2:6-7a]
o
Jesus fulfills
the deepest needs of our hearts - “...in Him you have been made complete
(or full)...” [2:10a]
o
Jesus gives us
new life - “...you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in
God...” [3:3] and “...you have been raised up with Christ...”
[3:1]
The
theme of Colossians is Jesus Christ...A.T. Robert son,
the NT scholar, calls Colossians Paul’s “full length portrait of Christ”
Before
we begin looking at the text of Colossians, I want to point out one final thing
by way of introduction. There are some
striking similarities between Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and Paul’s letter
to the Colossians. For example:
·
As we have seen,
they are both prison epistles and were written about the same time.
·
They have similar
content. 54 of the 155 verses (about 1
out of 3) in Ephesians show a likeness to Colossians. There are 72 marginal references in
Colossians to Ephesians and only 88 marginal references to all of Paul’s other
letters. They deal with many of the same
topics—the person of Christ, the church, family relations, etc...
·
The are similar
in structure. Each has a doctrinal or
theological section followed by a practical application or ethical section.
·
They were
delivered by the same messenger—Tychicus.
It
is not inaccurate to view Colossians as something of a condensed version of
Ephesians, like Galatians is a condensed version of Romans.
With
that background in mind, let’s get to the text itself. (Distribute outline and
overview the structure of Colossians)
INTRODUCTION (1:1-14)
1.
Salutation (1:1-2) – We usually place salutation and signature at the end of our
letters. But in NT times was customary
for writer to identify himself and offer a salutation at beginning. Practical
reason...scroll form...have to roll down to very end if name withheld to the
end as we do... Also, of course did not
have letterhead and envelopes as we do to allow recipient to identify quickly
the sender.
1)
Writer –
The very first word in the letter is “Paul.” Even though the text bears his name and even
though the strong tradition of the church is that Paul wrote this letter, a few
people have questioned Paul’s authorship of Colossians. They base their questions on what I believe
to be very flimsy ideas.
i.
Vocabulary differs
somewhat from Paul’s other letters...can be explained by the subject matter
Paul addresses...
ii.
Heresy
confronted reflects a 2nd century Gnosticism (a system of thought
that stressed the importance of knowledge and the inherent evil of the
physical)... however, Gnosticism had its roots in 1st century...
iii.
Christology
seems more advanced than in Paul’s other letters...but certainly does not
conflict with Paul’s other letters and may be a reflection of the heresy was
confronting...
“an apostle” – Since Paul had never been to
“of Jesus Christ” – Gave Paul the right to speak on behalf of and with the full authority of Jesus...in very first phrase Paul establishes his authority to correct authoritatively any erroneous teachings to which they were subjected...
Question: Are there apostles in the church today, people who speak with the full authority of Christ? Obviously, there are those who call themselves “apostles.” The mainstream of Christian thought is that once the Scripture was put together, it serves the purpose of the role of “apostle” in the early church...
“by the will of God” – Paul did not appoint himself an apostle... did not earn the title through hard work...was not elected or appointed by others...it was God’s doing and God’s alone...
“and Timothy our brother” – Timothy did not compose Colossians even though he may have been the secretary who actually put the words on the parchment or papyrus...(see 4:18)...the fundamental requirement of Christianity is brotherliness – one who stands beside another as his/her own flesh and blood...Timothy was Paul’s brother in good times and bad times...
2) Readers – “...to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at
i. Their character
·
“saints” - “hagios” and it comes from the same word
family as the word we translate “holy”...and it is one of the most
misunderstood words in the Bible...if stopped average person on the street and
asked that person to explain what a saint is, would probably say a saint is
someone who has an extra measure of
religious commitment or has done something outstanding or unusual for God...the
ordinary understanding of the word is that saints are those who are super-spiritual,
super-Christians, who rise above everyone else...however, that is not at all
the NT meaning of the word...literally the word means to be separated, to be
set apart...in the Christian context it means to be separated from our sin and
to be set apart for service to God...and in that sense, all Christians are
saints...it is important to understand that we do not become a saints by virtue
of our own actions or commitments...the title of saint is
conferred upon us by virtue of our relationship with God...when you became a
Christian, you became a saint in the sense that you were set apart for service
to God...
·
“faithful” – Literally, “full
of faith”...means to be a true believer...implies loyalty, specifically
loyalty to Christ...
·
“brethren” – Term of affection...denotes a common parenthood...God
is their Father...
·
If using
NASB will notice words “who are” are in italics...means not in Greek
text but added for clarity...literally the text simply says “in Christ in
Colossae
·
They were “at
Colossae”...that is they lived in a physical place...Colossae was a
small town located on the Lycus River in the Roman Province of Asia...it was
about 100 miles east of Ephesus...one writer describes it as the least
important place to which at New Testament letter is addressed...[Vaughan, p.20]
·
However, the
recipients of this letter didn’t just live in an obscure, unimportant
village...they also lived “in Christ”...that phrase is used by
the Apostle Paul in various forms at least 164 times in his writings...he
speaks of being “in Christ” or “in the Lord” or “in
Him” over and over again...”in Christ” describes the
spiritual location of believers...while we live in a physical world, we also
live in spiritual relationship with Christ...
·
The implications
of that for our lives are astounding...no matter where we go, no matter what we
do, no matter how lonely or isolated we may feel, we are never separated from
Christ...He is our constant companion...He is always there...He never forsakes
us...never abandons us...never leaves us alone...
·
David expressed
this idea in the beautiful 139th Psalm when he wrote: “Where
can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I
flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to
heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of dawn, if I dwell in
the remotest part of the sea, even there Thy hand will lead me, and Thy right
hand will lay hold of me.” [Psalm 139:7-10]
·
Paul expressed
the same concept in Romans 8 when he wrote:
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Typical
Pauline greeting...it is found in this precise form in all of Paul’s letters
except for the letters to Timothy...in this greeting we are reminded of two
great blessing enjoyed by every true believer...
·
First, we have
the blessing of “grace”...it has been said, and I think correctly
so, that the word “grace” sums up Christian theology... one
writer defines the word as “the free and undeserved giving by God to
[people] what they cannot achieve themselves” [Moulton, quoted by
Vaughan, p.20]...it is a reminder that in Christ we have something we could
never have gained on our own initiative — the unmerited, undeserved favor/
acceptance/approval of God...it is no wonder that John Newton, the converted
slave trader, referred to it as “Amazing Grace” in the famous hymn...
·
Second, we have
the blessing of “peace”...this word, which is used more than 100
times in the NT, doesn’t mean merely the absence of conflict...it carries the
idea of a calmness of spirit, quiet trust in the Lord, in the midst of
conflict...on the night before His crucifixion Jesus promised His followers
peace...said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the
world gives, do I give to you. Let not
your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” [John 14:27]
Two
things need to be noted about this greeting.
·
It is “…from
God our Father…” – These are blessings God gives His people…
·
The order is
important…first there is grace and then peace…peace is the result or by-product
of experiencing God’s grace…
Question for thought: What does Paul’s description of the
recipients of Colossians say to you about your own identity and about how you
should view your fellow believers?
