The Colossian Epistle

 

 

Rex Banks

 

 

 

Lesson 17

 

Authorship

 

Paul (1:1).  On Paul the apostle, see our Paul's Epistles, Introducing Paul (Book 4).  Once again, Timothy is associated with Paul in the greeting (see notes at 2 Corinthians and Philippians).  Although the first person plural does occur, especially in the greeting and thanksgiving (1:1-12), there is greater use of the first person singular throughout and its use is significant.  For example, the writer says:

 

·        “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body” (1:24).

 

·        “Of this church I was made a minister…so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God” (1:25). 

 

·        “For this purpose also I labour, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me” (1:29).

 

The letter ends:  “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.  Remember my imprisonment.  Grace be with you” (4:18).  Thus the apostle used an unnamed amanuensis to write the bulk of the letter.

 

 

External evidence

 

(1)             “The tradition that Colossians is a genuine Pauline epistle stands on good ground. The later church fathers accepted it (Ireneaus Adv Haer 3.14.1; Tertullian, De Praescr Haer 7; Clement of Alexandria, Strom 1.1) and there was no dispute over its authorship in the first decades, even if the allusions to the letter in the earlier part of second century are not entirely clear.  (It appears to have been used as early as Justin, Dialogues 85.2; 138.2).  Marcion included it in his canonical list, and it is also found in the Muratorian canon” (Peter T. O’Brien, Word Biblical Commentary vol 44).

 

(2)          Examples

 

“And again, ‘For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus;’ and, ‘By Him were all things created that are in heaven, and on earth, visible and invisible; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist’” (cf. Col 1:16, 17) (Ignatius Epistle to the Tarsians chapter 4).

 

“This being was endowed with all power by the Father, who placed everything under his authority, the Aeons doing so likewise, so that ‘by him were all things, visible and invisible, created, thrones, divinities, dominions” (cf. Col 1:16).  He then was sent to her along with his contemporary angels (Ireneaus Against Heresies 1.4.5). 

 

“Seeing, then, that all things which have been created are said to have been made through Christ, and in Christ, as the Apostle Paul most clearly indicates, when he says, ‘For in Him and by Him were all things created, whether things in heaven or things on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or powers, or principalities, or dominions; all things were created by Him, and in Him;’” (cf. Col 1:16) (Origen De Principiis Bk 2.9.4).

 

(3)          In fact, authorship of Colossians was undisputed until about the middle of the nineteenth century when several poor arguments were advanced for denying Pauline authorship.  The arguments of the critics are quite similar to the weak arguments against Pauline authorship which we discussed in our treatment of Ephesians so we will not go into great detail here.  The following points are relevant:

 

·        Tenney explains:  “Colossians and Ephesians are twin epistles; in fact their resemblance is so great that some who doubted the Pauline authorship of Ephesians have averred that it is only a copy of Colossians with additions.” Ironically, others who reject Pauline authorship of Colossians do so for the opposite reason, arguing that the writer of Colossians depended upon Ephesians!  Moreover, it is a very weak argument that denies Paul’s ability to have written two similar letters with a different emphasis.

 

·        Some argue that the writer of Colossians is combating second century Gnosticism and that the letter is from the post-Pauline period.  However, later we will see that the so-called “Colossian heresy” was not fully developed Gnosticism but a mixture of various ideas current in Paul’s day.

 

·        Some point out that a good number of words found in Colossians are not found elsewhere in Paul’s epistles.

 

“Colossians has thirty-four words not found elsewhere in the NT; fifteen common with Ephesians but otherwise used in non-Pauline material; and ten common only with Ephesians (e.g. ‘men-pleasers’ and ‘eyeservice’)” (G. Johnson, The Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible). 

 

Again this is weak argument.  As F .F Bruce points out, “(Paul) readily takes up...(the) characteristic terminology (of the ‘Colossian heresy’)” and “(his) employment for apologetic purposes of the technical terms of the ‘Colossian heresy’...goes some way to account for the differences in vocabulary...” (Paul Apostle of the Heart Set Free).  Clearly “the crisis of the Colossian heresy is responsible for the introduction of unusual words like ‘beguiling speech’ ‘philosophy’ ‘deity’ ‘disqualify’ and ‘rigor of devotion’” (2:4-23)” (Johnson).

 

The absence of typically Pauline words such as “righteousness,” “fellowship,” “law,” “save” and such like is easily explained by the fact that the major themes of Colossians are quite different from, say those of Romans and Galatians for example.  Moreover, as far as unique vocabulary is concerned “Colossians in this respect falls well within the normal Pauline range” (Carson et al).  In fact, Philippians contains thirty six unique words yet few question Pauline authorship of this letter.  Galatians contains thirty one words which occur nowhere else in the New Testament. 

·        Allegedly the style of Colossians suggests that someone other than Paul authored the letter.

 

“(Like) Ephesians, Colossians has long sentences, many participles, synonyms, parallel clauses, heaped-up genitives, and expegetical infinitives” (Johnson). 

 

This is all highly subjective of course, and “These stylistic differences…have been interpreted differently.  Percy (Probleme, 43) considers that these features when compared with the rest of Pauline letters have their ‘basis entirely in the peculiarity of the letter’s content’” (Peter T. O’Brien, Word Biblical Commentary vol 44). 

 

·        The Christology of Colossians is Pauline (eg Rom 5:1; 1 Cor 1:24; 4:1) as is the book’s teaching on the church as the body of Christ (eg Rom 12; 1 Cor 10:18, 32; 12).

 

·        Paul is undoubtedly the author of Philemon, and the links between Colossians and Philemon are obvious.  Both contain references to Timothy, Onesimus, Archippus, Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke.  Also, words like “fellow-worker” and “fellow prisoner” occur in both.  In Colossian the author speaks of “the church that is in (Nympha’s) house” (4:15) and in sending greetings to Archippus he speaks of the “church in your (sing) house” (Phile 2).

 

 

Composition Date, Place and Circumstances

 

(1)          The city of Colossae was located about 100-120 miles east of Ephesus on the banks of the Lycus River (tributary of the Maeander) in the Roman province of Asia.  Her nearest neighbours, Laodicea (10 miles away) and Hierapolis (13 miles away) are referred to in the epistle (2:1; 4:13) and like Colossae, these cities also contained churches.  “Sir William Ramsay has shown that these towns lay altogether outside the routes followed by St. Paul in his missionary journeys; and it is inferred from Col 1: 4, 6, 7, 8 and 2:1 that they were never visited by the Apostle himself” (Catholic Encyclopaedia).

 

(2)          During the time of the Persian and Greek empire, the city had been significant and in the fifth century BC the Greek historian Heroditus called it “a great city of Phrygia.”  However, by the first century, it had so declined that it was only an insignificant little town, dwarfed by Laodicea and Hierapolis.

 

(3)          Colossae was populated largely by pagans who worshipped various deities, but a good number of Jews were intermingled with the population.  The Jews prospered in the Lycus valley where there was a good trade in dyed wool and other commodities.

 

(4)          In the course of Paul’s second and third missionary journeys, the apostle passed through the region of Phrygia (Acts 16:6; 18:23; 19:1) but there is no indication that he founded the Colossian church.  In fact, Col. 2:1 (“those who have not personally seen my face”) may well indicate that the brethren of Colossae had not met Paul personally.  Paul says that he has “heard” of their faith and love (1:4 cf. vv 8-9) but as we have seen from our Ephesian study, this is not conclusive.

 

(5)          In the course of Paul’s third missionary journey, he spent 2 years and 3 months at Ephesus (Acts 19:8-10) and during this time “all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:10).  Significantly, Demetrius says that “not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people” (Acts 19:26).  Paul says that the Colossians had “learned” the gospel from someone called Epaphras (1:7) and likely he was the actual founder of the churches in the Lycus valley.  Epaphras was a Colossian (“one of your number” – 4:12), Paul’s “fellow-prisoner in Christ-Jesus” (Phile 23) and a deeply-committed labourer among the three churches of the Lycus valley (Col 4:13).  He had worked under Paul’s direction (“on our behalf” – Col 1:7) and perhaps Paul had sent him to Colossae.  As we will see, Paul has nothing but praise for his efforts.

 

(6)          For some time prior to this letter, Paul has had information about the churches in the Lycus valley (1:3-4, 9; 2:1) and evidently had been in communication with the church at Colossae (4:10).  Epaphras visits Paul in captivity (4:3).  (In our discussion of Ephesians we argued that the apostle was in prison at Rome between 61 and 63 AD).  Epaphras brings a generally a good report on the condition of the church, but he also informs Paul of a dangerous heresy which was gaining ground in Colossae.  I have argued elsewhere (see Philippians and Ephesians) that the imprisonment was at Rome, and if this is the case, Epaphras has travelled between 1,000-1300 miles to reach this city, an arduous and dangerous journey.

 

(7)          Paul’s friend and convert Philemon (Phile 1, 19) resided at Colossae (cp 4:9; Phile 12) and reference is made to the church in his home (Phile 2).  Philemon is the former master of Onesimus, a run-away slave converted by Paul (Phile 10-11).  Paul returns Onesimus to Philemon “no longer as a slave but as a brother beloved” (Phile 16) along with Tychicus, the bearer of the Colossian and Ephesian letters (4:7-9; Eph 6:21-22).  In a letter to Philemon, Paul begs pardon for Onesimus and tells of his own hope of soon being free to visit Colossae (Phile 12-17, 22).

 

 

Addressees

 

It is evident that most in the church at Colossae are Gentiles (1:21, 27; 2:11-13; 3:5-7), likely of Greek and Phrygian extraction, and as we will see, Paul emphasises to them the importance of not returning to their former pagan lifestyle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purpose, Theme and Characteristics

 

Thanks-giving

 

Paul wants the Colossians to know of his personal interest in them and of the great thankfulness that he feels because of them.

 

·        Paul “gives thanks to God” (1:3) for the Colossians’ “love for all the saints” (1:4).  The gospel has been “bearing fruit and increasing” among the Colossians as elsewhere (1:6).  Paul is also thankful for the work of Epaphras (1:7-8) from whom these brethren had “learned” the gospel.  Epaphras:

 

Ø     Is Paul’s “beloved fellow bond-servant.”

 

Ø     Is “a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf” (perhaps having preached in Paul’s stead at Colossae).

 

Ø     Had kept Paul informed of their love (either their love for each other or for Paul).

 

·        In light of their growth, Paul’s prayer (1:9) is that they will “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all Spiritual wisdom and understanding” with the result that they “may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord” (1:10).  Such a walk involves:

 

Ø     “bearing fruit in every good work” (Eph 2:10; Gal 5:5; Tit1:16; 2:7, 14; 3:8).

 

Ø     “increasing in the knowledge of God.”

 

Ø     “(being) strengthened with all power.”

 

Ø     “joyously giving thanks to the Father.”

 

·        Another reason for Thanksgiving:  The Father “has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.”  The inheritance is (lit) “in the light,” “light” in scripture speaking of holiness, purity, happiness, and knowledge, as opposed to the ignorance, darkness and sin which characterized the Satanic realm.  Christ: 

 

Ø     “rescued us from the domain of darkness” (1:13).

 

Ø     “transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son” (1:13) where we have “redemption” (1:14) and “forgiveness of sins.”

 

So, as Paul writes to tell the Colossians of his genuine interest in them, he is able to express sincere thanks to God for their progress in the gospel. 

 

 

Exhortation to Christian living

 

In view of the predominance of converts from the Gentile world (1:21, 27; 2:11-13; 3:5-7), the danger of a relapse into paganism with all its decadence and gross immorality was ever-present.  There is no evidence that some at Colossae were involved in or were attempting to justify immoral lifestyles, but in light of their recent heathen past and their wicked environment, a word of warning is appropriate and this is what we find in the letter.

 

·        Before coming to Christ, they had been “alienated...hostile in mind (and) engaged in evil deeds” (1:21) but Christ has “reconciled” them so that He might present them “before Him, holy and blameless and beyond reproach” (1:22).  They have been called from evil to holiness.  These brethren will be presented to Christ “if indeed...(they) continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast.”  This condition of continuing in the faith must be met, and a return to paganism is unthinkable.  Negatively, Paul states the same idea telling them that they must “not (be) moved away from the hope of the gospel that...(they) have heard” (1:23).

 

·        In 2:6, the Colossians are reminded that they have “received Christ Jesus the Lord” and urged to “continue to live in Him” (NIV).  Four participles in 2:7 describe this lifestyle:

 

 

“having been firmly rooted” (as a tree or a building) 

 

“The perfect tense points to the past completed action with the continuing results or conditions.  The tense pictures the settled state brought about by conversion” (Reineker and Rogers Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament)

 

 

“now being built up in Him”

 

Their walk is to involve growth in Christ).

 

 

“established in your faith” (pres pass part)

 

The idea is “being more and more established” in your faith.

 

 

“overflowing with gratitude”

 

Giving of thanks increases the sense of obligation (Ps.116:12-14) and prevents a relapse.

 

They have “received” Christ - now let them walk in such a way that they are not pulled away from Him.

 

·        Because they have been “raised up with Christ” (3:1) and enjoy vital union with Him, they must “keep seeking the things above.”  In Christ they have “died” to the world (3:3) and can live in anticipation of future glory (3:4). They have “laid aside the old self with its evil practices and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him” (3:9-10).  In light of all this they must:

 

Ø     Abandon the old sins of “immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed” in which they “once walked” (3:5-7) and which incur God’s wrath (3:6).

 

Ø     Abandon (“put...aside”) old sins of attitude and speech such as:  “anger” (orge -settled anger), “wrath” (thumos - a burning anger which flares up and cools down), “malice, slander...abusive speech” (3:8) and lying (3:9).

 

Ø     Put on in their place “a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”  Their new walk involves “bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave...” (3:12-13).  Beyond all these, they must “put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity” (3:14).  They are to possess peaceful and thankful hearts (3:15) ruled by God’s word, (3:16) and to “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (3:17).

 

Ø     Apply the rule of 3:17 (“do all in the name of the Lord Jesus”) to relationships involving wives and husbands (3:18-19), children and parents (3:20-21), slaves and masters (4:1).  (Recall our comments on Ephesians 5:22-6:9).

 

There is no evidence that the Colossian have succumbed to their old pagan practices but Paul is always ready to reinforce the message that the old man of sin must remain buried.  Perhaps too, Paul is aware that there were accusations of misconduct on behalf of Christians from their critics in the pagan world and so his appeal ends:  “Conduct yourselves with wisdom towards outsiders” (4:5) and “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were with salt, so that you may know how you ought to respond to each person” (4:6).

 

 

Warning against error

 

Evidently “at Colossae in particular there was a strong tendency among the Christians to embrace a form of teaching which (although they themselves had no suspicion of this) threatened to subvert the gospel of grace which they had recently believed and to replace their Christian liberty with spiritual bondage” (F. F. Bruce,  Paul).  Perhaps this erroneous teaching had already invaded the churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

 

Paul writes to alert the brethren to the danger of what has come to be called the “Colossian heresy.”  Since we only have Paul’s response to the problem, we must try to piece together the elements of this dangerous teaching from his letter.  An additional complication is that we cannot be sure when Paul is using his own theological terminology and when he is adopting and adapting the language of the errorists.  Clearly then, it is wise to avoid dogmatism when discussing the “identifying features of the Colossian heresy.”   

 

We also need to keep in mind that while fully developed Gnosticism did not emerge until the second century, the ideas which led to the development of this system were alive and well in Paul’s day.  Likely it is appropriate to view the “Colossian heresy” as a form of incipient Gnosticism.  Some explain the Colossian error solely in terms of a distorted Judaism of the kind practiced by Jews of the Dispersion.  They appeal to the writings of Philo and Josephus to show that the term “philosophy” (2:8) permits a looser meaning than the technical Greek sense. However, it is more likely the heresy involved a blending together of different religious and philosophical systems (syncretism) and evidently included the following elements:

 

·        It is clear from Paul’s response that the denial of Christ’s all-sufficiency and pre-eminence lay at the heart of the Colossian problem.  Paul tells of his “struggle” on their behalf (2:1), a struggle which he engages in so that they may be “encouraged” (2:2) as a result of loving unity.  The object of all this is that “they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (2:2, NIV).  Paul is adamant that to know Christ is to know God’s mystery, because Christ manifests all of God’s “wisdom and knowledge.”  Those who know Christ lack nothing of God’s provision.

 

Paul says all this about Christ’s completeness “so that no one may delude (them) with persuasive argument” - 2:4).  The word translated “delude” suggests leading astray by false reasoning, and “persuasive argument” is “practically equivalent to our English expression ‘to talk some-one into something’” (Reineker and Rogers Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament).  The idea is “Do not exchange demonstrated facts, regarding the fulness that is in Christ, for specious reasoning.” (W. Hendriksen, Colossians).  The errorists are denying the all-sufficiency of Christ.  They are attempting to “take...captive” by “philosophy and empty deception” which is “according to the tradition of men” and “according to the elementary principles of the world.”

 

The expression “elementary principles of the world” is much debated and O’Brien has a good discussion of its possible meaning in a note on Col 2:8. Likely Paul’s meaning is “either (1) that the “philosophy” of the errorists was a system instigated by the elemental spirits (perhaps thought of as the powers of evil) or (2) that it was a system having the elemental spirits as its subject matter” (Curtis Vaughan, The Expositors Bible Commentary vol 11).  Anyway, the errorists’ doctrines are “of men” not of God, and are “of the world” rather than of Christ.

 

·        It is likely the faith in Christ was pictured as a valuable asset by the errorists, but insufficient on it’s own to procure fulness of knowledge, holiness, joy, salvation etc.  More was needed, according to these errorists, to be complete or fully-equipped.  Paul combats this by emphasising the sovereignty, adequacy, pre-eminence and uniqueness of Christ.  Thus:

 

Ø     In Christ we have “redemption and forgiveness of sins” (1:13).  Man’s spiritual needs are completely met in Christ.

 

Ø     Christ is the “image (eikon) of the invisible God” (1:15).  “Image is more than likeness which may be superficial and incidental.  It implies a prototype, and embodies the essential verity of its prototype” (Vincent:  Word Studies) or “the very stamp of God” (Robertson:  Word Pictures).

 

Ø     Christ is “the first-born (prototokos) of all creation” (1:15).  The word “first-born” is “prototokos” (cf Col 1:18; Rom 8:29; Heb 1:6; Rev 1:5).  “The word emphasises the pre-existence and uniqueness of Christ as well as His superiority over creation.  The term does not indicate that Christ was a creation or a created being” (Reineker and Rogers Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament).

 

Ø     Christ’s dominion over creation is grounded upon the fact that:

 

I                 “by (en) Him all things were created”

 

II              “all things have been created by (dia) Him” meaning that He is the agent through whom it came into being

 

III            all things have been created “for (eis) Him” (1:16).  Thus, He is the end for which all things were made, the goal to which all things move.  The very reason for which creation exists is to glorify and serve Christ.

 

Ø     Christ is “before all things” (1:17).  The word “before” (pro) here “could refer to priority in time or rank, but the idea of time is here more suitable.  Used with the pres. tense of the verb the idea expresses immediality of existence i.e. ‘His existence is before all things’” (Reineker and Rogers Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament).

 

Ø     In Christ “all things hold together.”  The word...means “cohere, to hold together...  Christ is the controlling and unifying force in nature” (Robertson, Word Pictures).  See Heb 1:3.

 

Ø     Christ is also pre-eminent in redemption (1:18-20).  He is “head of the body, the church” and “the beginning” (1:18) or “originating cause” (of the church).  He is “the first-born from the dead” meaning that “He comes forth from among the dead as the first born emerges from the womb” (Vincent).  He was the first to come from the dead never to die again (1 Cor. 15:20) and this “new life” which He possesses is shared by those in union with Him.  The closing words of 1:18 tell us why Christ rose from the dead to be the first-born from the dead.  It was “so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.”  He clearly had “first place” in creation because He was its source; now, by His resurrection He comes to have “first place” in the new spiritual creation.

 

Ø     In Christ (because of the Father’s “good pleasure”) “all the fulness” (pleroma) dwells (1:19 cf 2:9).  Here we find “a recognised technical term in theology, denoting the totality of the divine powers and attributes” (Lightfoot).  The word “dwells” suggests permanent residence.  “Paul here asserts that all the fulness of the Godhead, not just certain aspects dwells now in Christ in his glorified humanity” (Robertson).  (Before, during and after the incarnation Christ possessed and possesses the fulness of God’s nature).

 

Ø     It is by “holding fast to the head” (Christ) that the church “grows with a growth which is from God” (2:19).  It is through Christ and only through Christ that God makes provision for the church.

 

Much more could be said on this point, but Paul’s message to the Colossians in two primary Christological passages (1:14-23; 2:9-15) is clear - the Gospel does not need to be supplemented because Christ is sufficient.  In Christ dwells the “fulness of Deity…in bodily form” (2:8) and “in Him” they have been made “complete” (2:9).  Both words translate a form of the word plēroō and Paul’s use of this word in the Colossian epistle is quite distinctive and important.

 

“In the passages from Col, ‘the fullness’ in Christ is contrasted with the mediating eons or angel-powers or spiritual manifestations supposed to be intermediate between God and the world (see 4 below – Rex).  The false teachers at Colossae seem to have used ‘fullness,’ as a technical or semi-technical term, for the purpose of their philosophical or theosophical teaching, employing it to signify the entire series of angels or eons, which filled the space or interval between a holy God and a world of matter, which was conceived of as essentially and necessarily evil. Teaching of this sort was entirely derogatory to the person and work of Christ.  In opposition, therefore, to the Colossian false teaching in regard to ‘the fullness,’ Paul shows what the facts really are, that in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (John Rutherford, Fullness,  International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia).

 

The fulness or completeness in Christ “does not mean that the perfection of Christ is transferred into us, but that there are in Him resources from which we may be filled, that nothing be wanting in us” (Calvin).  Christ’s all-sufficiency is Paul’s answer to the Colossian error.

 

·        Evidently too, elements of some form of Judaism are present in the Colossian error.  Paul tells the Colossians that they had been “circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” (2:11).  The Colossian error clearly involved an attempt to bind Jewish ordinances, including circumcision (cf Acts 15:1; Gal 5:2-3).  “You need to be circumcised to be ‘complete’” is the message.  Paul responds:  “You were circumcised when you came to Christ with a spiritual (ie “without hands”) circumcision.  This is the circumcision “done by Christ” (NIV) and it involved the stripping off and casting away of “the body of the flesh,” or our carnal nature, which had been in slavery to sin.  Paul explains (2:12) that this “circumcision made without hands” involved their “having been buried with (Christ) in baptism, in which...(they) were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead.”  A return to the physical ordinance of circumcision reflects a failure to understand God’s provision in Christ.

 

In this context, Paul warns “let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day” (2:16).  The present imperative with the negative calls for the stopping of an action in progress.  The Colossians are to resist those who are insisting that their acceptability to God depends upon their observing certain requirements of the Mosaic Law (and likely certain requirements of Jewish custom which originated in human tradition).  The reference to “festival, new moon (celebration) or a Sabbath day” is clearly to Jewish observances - Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, New moon (Num 10:10; 28:11) and Sabbath (Ex 20:8-11; 31:14-16).  Thus, the eating and drinking are likely also primarily references to Jewish dietary laws (perhaps supplemented by Jewish oral tradition).  Paul calls them “a shadow of what is to come” (2:17) meaning that “the Old Testament ritual observances were dim outlines of the N.T. redemptive truth” (Reineker and Rogers Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament).  Paul insists that the “substance belongs to Christ” (2:17), his point being that the shadowy, passing regulations which pointed to Jesus must now be discarded 

 

·        Worship of the angels and asceticism were also part of the Colossian heresy. (Perhaps the phrase “elementary principles of the world” refers (2:8) to angelic worship).  Paul warns the brethren:  “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind” (2:18).  Thus angel-worship, self-abasement (the “severe treatment of the body” - 2:23) and prohibitions concerning foods seem to have combined as part of the Colossian heresy.  In our discussion of 1 Corinthians, we discussed the influence of Greek dualism and its association with ascetic practices.  Stoics and Hedonists divorced soul and body and some advocated severe treatment of the body in order to bring it into subjection.  It is likely that in the Colossian error, we have elements of dualism combined with Jewish dietary laws.  Paul warns against taking a stand on visions (2:18) and perhaps the ascetic practices paved the way for visionary experiences involving angelic beings.

 

Speculations about angels feature prominently in Jewish writings and perhaps as O’Brien suggests:

 

“In the Colossian false teaching these angels were to be placated by keeping strict legal observances.  The breaking of the law incurred their displeasure and brought the lawbreaker into debt and bondage to them...  Apparently they were thought to control the lines of communication between God and man.  All this was presented as a form of advanced teaching for a spiritual elite.  Epaphras had instructed the Colossian Christians only in the first steps and they were now being urged to press on in wisdom and knowledge to attain to true ‘fulness’...  To do this they must follow a path of rigorous asceticism until finally they become citizens of that spiritual world, the realm of light.”

 

Paul views all this as “self-made religion” having the “appearance of wisdom” but no spiritual value (2:23).  In fact, he describes the practitioner of error as “inflated without cause by his fleshly mind” (2:18) as a result of his supposed experiences.  He reminds the Colossians that in reality, Jesus is the creator of all things including “thrones...dominions...rulers (and) authorities” (1:16).  (In context, this is probably an allusion to the alleged angelic hierarchy).  Later we read:  “When He (either the Father or Christ) had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them having triumphed over them through Him (or “through it,” ie the cross)” (2:15).  The Colossians must see that they need have no fear of, or reverence for, demonic powers and hostile angelic forces, because in Christ the victory over them has been won.  Therefore, they are to reject the errorists who seek to enslave them to such superstitions.

 

Elements of the Colossian sound very much like certain new age teachings. Anyway, the error was dangerous.  The Colossians had been taught well by Epaphras, and in this letter Paul sets his seal of approval upon this brother.  Epaphras was a Colossian (“one of your number”- 4:12), Paul’s “fellow-prisoner in Christ-Jesus” (Phile 23) and a deeply-committed labourer among the three churches of the Lycus valley (Col.4:13).  He had worked under Paul’s direction (“on our behalf” – Col 1:7) and perhaps Paul had sent him to Colossae.  Paul has nothing but praise for his efforts and it is clear that he is warning the Colossians not to be moved away from the gospel which they had received from Epaphras.

 

 

Brief Outline

 

(1)          Introduction (Col 1:1-14).

 

Greeting (Col 1:1-2).

Thanks offered (Col 1:3-8).

Prayer (Col 1:9-14).

 

(2)          Christ’s Preeminence (Col 1:15-23).

 

(3)          Paul describes his ministry (Col 1:24-2:7).

 

(4)          Warning against error (Col 2:8-23).

 

(5)          Exhortation to Christian living (Col 3:1-4:6).

 

(6)          Conclusion (Col 4:7-18).