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Introduction to Colossians
by Matt Slick (carm.org)
Colossians focuses on Jesus as the Head of the Church and the Church living in submission to that Head. Paul’s purpose in writing this letter is to show that Christ is supreme and that the Christian’s life should manifest his/her union with the One who is above all things. It would be inconsistent for a Christian to live a life apart from Christ since Christ is the fullness of the Godhead manifested in the flesh (Col 2:9), the focus of the saving Gospel (Col 1:5).
Colossae was a minor city about one hundred miles east of Ephesus. It is by a mountain pass and was once a very populated city with a vibrant economy. By the time of the writing of this epistle, Colossae had withered economically due, in part, to the success of its neighboring cities.
There is some doubt as to whether Paul ever visited Colossae, and, apparently, the Colossian church was founded by Epaphras (Col 1:4-8; 2:1).
Colossians was probably written about the same time as Philemon and Ephesians when Paul was first imprisoned in Rome. If this is accurate, then Colossians was probably written around 60 A.D.
The letter was written in response to a heresy that was developing within the church. Though it is not known exactly what the heresy was, it apparently was a religious system that combined elements from Greek speculations (Col 2:4; 8-10), Jewish legalism (Col 2:11-17), and Oriental mysticism (Col 2:18-23).
by Matt Slick (carm.org)
Colossians focuses on Jesus as the Head of the Church and the Church living in submission to that Head. Paul’s purpose in writing this letter is to show that Christ is supreme and that the Christian’s life should manifest his/her union with the One who is above all things. It would be inconsistent for a Christian to live a life apart from Christ since Christ is the fullness of the Godhead manifested in the flesh (Col 2:9), the focus of the saving Gospel (Col 1:5).
Colossae was a minor city about one hundred miles east of Ephesus. It is by a mountain pass and was once a very populated city with a vibrant economy. By the time of the writing of this epistle, Colossae had withered economically due, in part, to the success of its neighboring cities.
There is some doubt as to whether Paul ever visited Colossae, and, apparently, the Colossian church was founded by Epaphras (Col 1:4-8; 2:1).
Colossians was probably written about the same time as Philemon and Ephesians when Paul was first imprisoned in Rome. If this is accurate, then Colossians was probably written around 60 A.D.
The letter was written in response to a heresy that was developing within the church. Though it is not known exactly what the heresy was, it apparently was a religious system that combined elements from Greek speculations (Col 2:4; 8-10), Jewish legalism (Col 2:11-17), and Oriental mysticism (Col 2:18-23).
- Jesus as the All-Sufficient Savior is the Object of the Believer’s faith (Chapters 1-2)
- Belief in Jesus results in faith, hope, and love (1:1-1:12)
- Greetings (1:1-2)
- Reasons for thanksgiving (1:3-8)
- Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians (1:9-12)
- Christ’s preeminence (1:13-23)
- In Creation (1:13-20)
- In Redemption (1:21-23)
- In His Church (1:24-2:3)
- Our Freedom in Christ (2:4-23)
- Freedom from false teachings (2:4-7)
- Freedom from false philosophy (2:8-10)
- Freedom from false judgments of Men (2:11-17)
- Freedom from false worship (2:18-19)
- Freedom from the false doctrines of Men (2:20-23)
- Belief in Jesus results in faith, hope, and love (1:1-1:12)
- The Submission of the Christian to Christ and His Church (Chapters 3-4)
- Our life in Christ (3:1-17)
- Raised with Christ (3:1-4)
- Put off the old man (3:5-11)
- Put on the new man (3:12-17)
- Teachings about holiness (3:18-4:6)
- In the family (3:18-21)
- At work (3:22-4:1)
- In prayer (4:2-4)
- With unbelievers (4:5-6)
- Conclusion (4:7-18)
- Commendation of Tychicus (4:7-9)
- Greetings from Paul’s Friends (4:10-14)
- Paul’s Personal Farewell (4:15-18)
- Our life in Christ (3:1-17)
