Course 102 - COLOSSIANS: THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH

WRITER The letter of Colossians was written to the churches in the cities of Colosse and Laodicea (4:16) by the apostle Paul. It is evident that Paul had never been to Colosse on any mission that is recorded in the book of Acts. However, from the results of his work in Ephesus, he possibly had contact with the disciples in Colosse. 

DATE This was one of the four letters that Paul wrote during his first Roman imprisonment. He was imprisoned in Rome for about two years somewhere during A.D. 61-63. During this first Roman imprisonment, he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. He may have written this letter before the letter to the Ephesians because the letter to the Ephesians seems to expand on the thoughts of what he presents in this letter. 

THEME The theme of this letter is taken from 1:16-18. The key verse would be 1:18. “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He might have the preeminence.” Paul focuses on the present exaltation of Christ. It is in Christ that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells. Therefore, He is over all things since all things were created by Him (1:16). The theme of the letter, therefore, focuses on the Christ of the church, whereas Ephesians focuses on the church of the Christ. Colossians identifies the cause of the church, that is, Christ. 

PURPOSE The Colossian church, as well as all other churches in western Asia Minor, were located in a religious culture that was greatly influenced by Far East mysticism. A mixture of eastern mysticism with Judaism produced a Judaeo-gnosticism that had already permeated the synagogues when the church was first established in the region. Jewish converts seemed to have brought some of their gnostic beliefs into the church, and thus, were attacking the nature of who Jesus is in reference to His being and authority as one with the Godhead. 

The heresy of Gnosticism is not dealt with directly in the letter. From what Paul says in this letter, there was the prevalent belief that Jesus was at least above the level of man. It was believed that He was superior to man, but not great enough in deity to qualify Him to be the sacrificial offering of the incarnate God on behalf of humanity. He was superhuman. However, it was believed that He was not deity as God. In conjunction with the preceding false concepts that seemed to permeate the world view of some of the Colossians, a system of legalistic religiosity came into the church as a substitute for salvation by God’s grace (See comments Gl 1:6-9). 

This system of religion was common in the religious institutions of the culture of both the Jews and Gentiles. Those of this system of religion taught that through legal actions of religious obedience one could place demands on God in order to merit salvation (See comments in the intro. to Gl). Epaphras, who was one of the evangelists of the region, was Scripture text notations are taken from the International King James Version. experiencing the invasion of Judaeo-gnosticism among the Colossian disciples. The influence of this teaching was possibly affecting the church in the neighboring cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis (4:13,16). Epaphras thus traveled to Rome where he explained the situation to Paul. 

Realizing that the very foundation of the church was under attack by a teaching that corrupted the nature of who Jesus Christ was, the Holy Spirit moved Paul to write this letter to the disciples in the region of Colosse. The letter was directed primarily to the Colossian disciples, though it was to be read to the disciples in Laodicea (4:16) and Hierapolis (4:13), who were not far away. Paul’s purpose for writing, therefore, was to exalt the preeminence of Jesus over all things (1:15-23). He wrote to explain his apostolic work of preaching the truth of the gospel in a world of false religion (2:6 - 3:4), and to exhort the Colossian disciples to maintain Christian principles in their behavior (3:5 - 4:6). 

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Colosse was a city of Phrygia in the western part of Asia Minor. The cities of Hierapolis and Laodicea were nearby (2:1; 4:13,16). The city of Colosse was located on the Lycus River and was about 160 kilometers (100 miles) east of the city of Ephesus. Colosse was a commercial city that traded in textiles, wool and a precious dye that was unique to the area. It was also a religious center, being the location of the throne of the goddess Cybele. Stoic and Epicurean philosophies, with Egyptian religious beliefs, abounded in the area. Because it was on a trade route between Rome and the Far East, the teaching of oriental religions, with their mysticism, infiltrated the area and flourished at the time the letter was written. In the 2nd century before Christ, Antiochus III resettled about two thousand Jewish families in the area of Colosse. These Jews were brought from the Mesopotamian area where Judaism had been influenced by religious beliefs of the Far East. The combination of these religious beliefs later led to the development of systematic 

Gnosticism in Asia Minor in the 2nd century. At the time Paul wrote the prison epistles (Ep, Cl, Ph, Pl), the beginnings of this philosophy had already been initiated in the minds of the religious people throughout the region. The principal beliefs of the heresy were already infiltrating the church. Therefore, in this letter to the Colossian brethren, as well as the other prison letters and the letters to Timothy and the Corinthians, Paul mentions those religious philosophies that denied the eternal being of the Son of God and His present existence as God over all. 

The churches in Colosse, Hierapolis and Laodicea were probably started by Epaphras (1:7; 4:12,13), though Paul possibly visited Hierapolis and Laodicea during the almost three years he worked with the Christians in Ephesus (At 19:10). The church met in at least two houses in Colosse (Compare Pl 2 with Cl 4:9 and 4:15). The homes of members were the customary meeting place of all the disciples at this time in the growth of the early church. We must assume that the disciples that are addressed in all the cities of the New Testament, therefore, were meeting in several different homes of the members throughout each city. 

The church in Colosse probably consisted mainly of Gentile converts, though there were many Jews in the region, and consequently, among the disciples. Because there is little direct reference to the Old Testament by quotation, it is believed that the church was composed primarily of Gentiles. However, in the letter there is a strong reference to Judaism which was a system of religion of the Jews that they had constructed after their own traditions (Mk 7:1-9; see comments Gl 1:13,14). 

It was this system of religion, in conjunction with the religious influences that the Gentiles brought into the church, that Paul attacks in this letter. He begins first by reaffirming the nature of the being, existence and authority of Jesus. Since Jesus is who He said He was, such should motivate Christian behavior. After affirming the nature of Jesus’ present existence, Paul thus moves into the Christ-like behavior of those who have submitted to the lordship of Jesus over all things.