The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the
COLOSSIANS
Author: Paul
Date: About A.D. 61
Theme: The Supremacy and Sufficiency of Christ
Key Words: Fullness, Wisdom, Knowledge, Mystery
Background. Paul had never visited Colosse, a small town in the province of Asia, about 100 miles east of Ephesus. The Colossian church was an outgrowth of his three-year ministry in Ephesus about A.D.52–55 (see Acts 19:10; 20:31). Epaphras, a native of the town, and probably a convert of the apostle, was likely the church’s founder and leader (1:7, 8; 4:12, 13). The church apparently met in Philemon’s home (Philem. 2).
Conservative scholars believe Paul wrote this letter during his first Roman imprisonment, around A.D. 61. Tychicus took the letters to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians to their respective destinations.
Occasion and Purpose. Sometime during Paul’s imprisonment, Epaphras solicited his help in dealing with false teaching which threatened the church at Colosse (2:8, 9). This heresy was apparently a blend of pagan-occultism, Jewish legalism, and Christianity. The error resembles an early form of Gnosticism, which taught that Jesus was not fully God and fully man, but merely one of the semidivine beings that bridged the chasm between God and the world. He, therefore, was said to be lacking in authority and ability to meet the needs of the Colossians. Enlightened believers could, however, achieve spiritual fullness through special knowledge and rigorous self-discipline.
With an urgency heightened by the repatriation of the runaway slave, Onesimus, to his master at Colosse, Paul wrote this epistle with a fourfold purpose: 1) to expose and rebut the heresy; 2) to instruct the Colossians in the truth and alert them to the danger of returning to pagan vices; 3) to express personal interest in the believers; 4) to inspire them to promote mutual love and harmony.
Characteristics. No other book of the New Testament sets forth more fully or defends the universal lordship of Christ more thoroughly. Combative in tone and abrupt in style, Colossians bears a close resemblance to Ephesians in language and subject matter. Over seventy of the 155 verses in Ephesians contain expressions echoed in Colossians. On the other hand, Colossians has twenty-eight words found nowhere else in Paul’s writings and thirty-four found nowhere else in the New Testament.
Content. The false teachers at Colosse had undercut the major doctrines of Christianity, not least of which was the deity, absolute lordship, and sufficiency of Christ. Colossians sets forth Christ as supreme Lord in whose sufficiency the believers find completeness (1:15–20). The first two chapters present and defend this truth; the latter two unfold practical implications.
Jesus Christ’s supremacy hinges upon His uniqueness as God’s eternal, beloved Son and Heir (1:13, 15). In Him dwells the totality of divine attributes, essence, and power (1:19; 2:9). He is the exact revelation and representation of the Father, and has priority in time and primacy in rank over all creation (1:15). His sufficiency depends upon His superiority. The conviction of Christ’s absolute sovereignty gave impulse to Paul’s missionary activity (1:27–29).
Paul declares Christ’s lordship in three primary ways, at the same time proclaiming His adequacy. First, Christ is Lord over all creation. His creative authority encompasses the whole material and spiritual universe (1:16). Since this includes the angels and planets (1:16; 2:10), Christ deserves to be worshiped instead of the angels (2:18). Further, there is no reason to fear demonic spirit-powers or to seek superstitiously for protection from them, because Christ has neutralized their power at the Cross (2:15), and the Colossians shared His triumphant resurrection power (2:20). As sovereign and sufficient Potentate, Christ is not only Creator of the universe but also its Sustainer (1:17), its Uniting Principle, and its Goal (1:16).
Second, Jesus Christ is preeminent in the church as its Creator and Savior (1:18). He is its Life and Leader, and to Him alone may the church submit. The Colossians must remain rooted in Him (2:6, 7) rather than become enchanted with empty speculation and traditions (2:8, 16–18).
Third, Jesus Christ is supreme in salvation (3:11). In Him all man-made distinctions fade and barriers fall. He has made all Christians into one family in which all members are equal in forgiveness and adoption; and He is all that matters, first and last. Therefore, contrary to the heresy, there are no special qualifications or requirements for experiencing God’s favor (2:8–20).
Chapters 3 and 4 deal with the practical implications of Christ in the Colossians’ daily life. Paul’s use of the word “Lord” nine times in 3:1–4:18 indicates that Christ’s supremacy impinges upon every aspect of their relationships and activities.
Personal Application. Because this is an age of religious pluralism and syncretism (that is, a diluting of truth for the sake of unity), Christ’s lordship is deemed irrelevant by many religious groups that believe one religion is as good as the other. His preeminence is denied by others that place the Christian stamp upon a fusion of beliefs from several religions. Usually hailed as an advance beyond apostolic Christianity, this blend promises self-fulfillment and freedom without surrender to Christ.
“Jesus is Lord” is the church’s earliest confession. It remains the abiding test of authentic Christianity. Neither the church nor the individual believer can afford to compromise Christ’s deity. In His sovereignty lies His sufficiency. He will be Lord of everything or not Lord at all.
Christ Revealed. Paul lifts up Christ as the center and circumference of all that exists. The incarnate Son of God, He is the exact revelation and representation of the Father (1:15), as well as the embodiment of full deity (1:19; 2:9). He who is Lord in creation (1:16), in the church (1:18), and in salvation (3:11) indwells believers and is their “hope of glory” (1:27). The supreme Creator and Sustainer of all things (1:16, 17) is also a sufficient Savior for His people (2:10). See also “Content” above.
The Holy Spirit at Work. Colossians has a single explicit reference to the Holy Spirit, used in association with love (1:8). Some scholars also understand “wisdom and spiritual understanding” in 1:9 in terms of gifts of the Spirit. For Paul, the lordship of Christ in the believer’s life is the most crucial and clearest evidence of the Spirit’s presence.
Jack W. Hayford, Spirit Filled Life Study Bible
COLOSSIANS
Author: Paul
Date: About A.D. 61
Theme: The Supremacy and Sufficiency of Christ
Key Words: Fullness, Wisdom, Knowledge, Mystery
Background. Paul had never visited Colosse, a small town in the province of Asia, about 100 miles east of Ephesus. The Colossian church was an outgrowth of his three-year ministry in Ephesus about A.D.52–55 (see Acts 19:10; 20:31). Epaphras, a native of the town, and probably a convert of the apostle, was likely the church’s founder and leader (1:7, 8; 4:12, 13). The church apparently met in Philemon’s home (Philem. 2).
Conservative scholars believe Paul wrote this letter during his first Roman imprisonment, around A.D. 61. Tychicus took the letters to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians to their respective destinations.
Occasion and Purpose. Sometime during Paul’s imprisonment, Epaphras solicited his help in dealing with false teaching which threatened the church at Colosse (2:8, 9). This heresy was apparently a blend of pagan-occultism, Jewish legalism, and Christianity. The error resembles an early form of Gnosticism, which taught that Jesus was not fully God and fully man, but merely one of the semidivine beings that bridged the chasm between God and the world. He, therefore, was said to be lacking in authority and ability to meet the needs of the Colossians. Enlightened believers could, however, achieve spiritual fullness through special knowledge and rigorous self-discipline.
With an urgency heightened by the repatriation of the runaway slave, Onesimus, to his master at Colosse, Paul wrote this epistle with a fourfold purpose: 1) to expose and rebut the heresy; 2) to instruct the Colossians in the truth and alert them to the danger of returning to pagan vices; 3) to express personal interest in the believers; 4) to inspire them to promote mutual love and harmony.
Characteristics. No other book of the New Testament sets forth more fully or defends the universal lordship of Christ more thoroughly. Combative in tone and abrupt in style, Colossians bears a close resemblance to Ephesians in language and subject matter. Over seventy of the 155 verses in Ephesians contain expressions echoed in Colossians. On the other hand, Colossians has twenty-eight words found nowhere else in Paul’s writings and thirty-four found nowhere else in the New Testament.
Content. The false teachers at Colosse had undercut the major doctrines of Christianity, not least of which was the deity, absolute lordship, and sufficiency of Christ. Colossians sets forth Christ as supreme Lord in whose sufficiency the believers find completeness (1:15–20). The first two chapters present and defend this truth; the latter two unfold practical implications.
Jesus Christ’s supremacy hinges upon His uniqueness as God’s eternal, beloved Son and Heir (1:13, 15). In Him dwells the totality of divine attributes, essence, and power (1:19; 2:9). He is the exact revelation and representation of the Father, and has priority in time and primacy in rank over all creation (1:15). His sufficiency depends upon His superiority. The conviction of Christ’s absolute sovereignty gave impulse to Paul’s missionary activity (1:27–29).
Paul declares Christ’s lordship in three primary ways, at the same time proclaiming His adequacy. First, Christ is Lord over all creation. His creative authority encompasses the whole material and spiritual universe (1:16). Since this includes the angels and planets (1:16; 2:10), Christ deserves to be worshiped instead of the angels (2:18). Further, there is no reason to fear demonic spirit-powers or to seek superstitiously for protection from them, because Christ has neutralized their power at the Cross (2:15), and the Colossians shared His triumphant resurrection power (2:20). As sovereign and sufficient Potentate, Christ is not only Creator of the universe but also its Sustainer (1:17), its Uniting Principle, and its Goal (1:16).
Second, Jesus Christ is preeminent in the church as its Creator and Savior (1:18). He is its Life and Leader, and to Him alone may the church submit. The Colossians must remain rooted in Him (2:6, 7) rather than become enchanted with empty speculation and traditions (2:8, 16–18).
Third, Jesus Christ is supreme in salvation (3:11). In Him all man-made distinctions fade and barriers fall. He has made all Christians into one family in which all members are equal in forgiveness and adoption; and He is all that matters, first and last. Therefore, contrary to the heresy, there are no special qualifications or requirements for experiencing God’s favor (2:8–20).
Chapters 3 and 4 deal with the practical implications of Christ in the Colossians’ daily life. Paul’s use of the word “Lord” nine times in 3:1–4:18 indicates that Christ’s supremacy impinges upon every aspect of their relationships and activities.
Personal Application. Because this is an age of religious pluralism and syncretism (that is, a diluting of truth for the sake of unity), Christ’s lordship is deemed irrelevant by many religious groups that believe one religion is as good as the other. His preeminence is denied by others that place the Christian stamp upon a fusion of beliefs from several religions. Usually hailed as an advance beyond apostolic Christianity, this blend promises self-fulfillment and freedom without surrender to Christ.
“Jesus is Lord” is the church’s earliest confession. It remains the abiding test of authentic Christianity. Neither the church nor the individual believer can afford to compromise Christ’s deity. In His sovereignty lies His sufficiency. He will be Lord of everything or not Lord at all.
Christ Revealed. Paul lifts up Christ as the center and circumference of all that exists. The incarnate Son of God, He is the exact revelation and representation of the Father (1:15), as well as the embodiment of full deity (1:19; 2:9). He who is Lord in creation (1:16), in the church (1:18), and in salvation (3:11) indwells believers and is their “hope of glory” (1:27). The supreme Creator and Sustainer of all things (1:16, 17) is also a sufficient Savior for His people (2:10). See also “Content” above.
The Holy Spirit at Work. Colossians has a single explicit reference to the Holy Spirit, used in association with love (1:8). Some scholars also understand “wisdom and spiritual understanding” in 1:9 in terms of gifts of the Spirit. For Paul, the lordship of Christ in the believer’s life is the most crucial and clearest evidence of the Spirit’s presence.
Jack W. Hayford, Spirit Filled Life Study Bible
