Read this brief introduction and background of Colossians in preparation for our study.
Author: Who wrote Colossians?
The Apostle Paul was the author of Colossians, as stated in Col 1:1. At the time of writing Paul is evidently imprisoned (Col 4:10, 18). It is unclear where he is imprisoned, but it is likely either Ephesus or Rome. Regardless of where he is, Timothy is with him (Col 1:1) and is considered a co-sender of the letter. It might be that Timothy was acting as Paul’s secretary or scribe. Col 4:18 indicates that Paul signed the letter with his own hand, which may point us to Timothy as the one who had actually put pen to paper for the rest of the letter. This was not an uncommon practice at the time. Timothy may have had more of a hand in shaping the letter than simply taking down Paul’s dictation. In Romans 16:22 a man named Tertius signs his name and claims to have written (i.e. physically copied down) the letter, but he is not listed in the greeting as one of the authors like Timothy is here. So, it is possible that while the letter is clearly and principally from Paul, Timothy may have had some input into the content and form of the letter. In any event, however Paul and Timothy divided the labor, they were “carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21 ESV).
Audience: Who originally read Colossians?
The original recipients of this letter were “the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae” (Col 1:2). Colossae was a city located in the Lycus Valley of modern-day Turkey, about 200 km east of Ephesus. Today, the ruins of Colossae are just east of Denizli, Turkey. The city has not yet been excavated by archaeologists, so little is known about Colossae other than what is accessible in historical sources.[1] The churches in Colossae were not planted by Paul, but by Epaphras, a Colossian who had evidently been converted under Paul’s ministry in Ephesus and returned to Colossae to preach the gospel (Col 1:7). For his part, Paul had apparently never been to Colossae, but had learned of the churches there through Epaphras’ reports (Col 1:8; 2:1).
It is noteworthy that Paul does not address the letter to “the church in Colossae” as he does in other letters (e.g. 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1; 1 Thess 1:1). This may indicate that there were multiple churches in the city of Colossae and that Paul intended for this letter to be read to all of them (see e.g. Col 4:15: “Nympha and the church that is in her house”). Additionally, he wants the Colossians to make sure that a copy of this letter gets to the church in the nearby city of Laodicea (Col 4:16). It may be that the Colossians had already begun missionary activity of their own and had planted a church in Laodicea, in addition to multiple churches within their own city (perhaps also nearby Hierapolis as well? See Col 4:13).
Date: When was Colossians written?
As with many books of the Bible, it is difficult to pinpoint an exact date of when the book was written. We have to piece together the timing from a number of sources, including clues within the book itself, other reference points within the Bible, and historical data from outside the Bible. Historical records from the time indicate that Laodicea and Hierapolis, cities in the same region as Colossae, were extensively damaged by a massive earthquake in the early AD 60s.[2] It seems that Colossae was in ruins for some time afterwards, and so we can safely assume, considering that there is no mention of this event in the letter, that Colossians was written some time before this earthquake. The timing of the letter also depends on where Paul is writing from. If he is writing during a period of imprisonment in Ephesus, he may have written Colossians in the mid-AD 50s. If he wrote it during his first Roman imprisonment, it may be as late as AD 60–62.[3] In the end, the precise date of writing does not significantly affect our interpretation of the book. Occasion and Purpose: Why was Colossians written?
This question has two parts: (1) What historical circumstances led to Colossians being written? (the occasion) and (2) what was the author trying to accomplish by writing the letter? (the purpose).
Occasion
Epaphras had preached the gospel in Colossae and churches had been planted and were growing. It is unclear how long had passed between the initial gospel work in Colossae and the writing of Colossians, but it was likely long enough for a significant ministry to take root. Epaphras had then returned to Paul, wherever he was imprisoned, to report on the work in Colossae (Col 1:8). At the time of writing, Epaphras was still with Paul (Col 4:12–13). Epaphras had brought word to Paul both of the gospel’s fruit among the Colossians (Col 1:4–6) and also of cultural and religious pressures that the Colossians were facing in their new faith (Col 2:4, 8, 16, 18).
Much ink has been spilled in trying to reconstruct the exact nature of the pressures the Colossians were facing—what commentators have referred to as “the Colossian heresy.” Some have argued that it was an early form of Gnosticism. Others have suggested it was Jewish legalism, as in Galatians. Still others have claimed that it was a type of Jewish mysticism. And others have said it was a syncretistic mix of Jewish and pagan religions. Each of these suggestions has strengths and weaknesses. Recently I have become more convinced that there was not one distinct “Colossian heresy” that Paul was refuting. Rather, the Colossians were experiencing challenges to their faith from many different cultural and religious sources, including traditional pagan religions and philosophies and Jewish legalism and mysticism.[4] Acknowledging that the Colossians may have had multiple cultural opponents providing pressure on their new-found faith relieves us from having to make all the square pegs of what Paul is responding to fit into the round hole of a single opposition group or false teacher. This makes sense if we consider that “the Colossians were new Christians. They had not long left paganism (or Judaism, especially of some of them were God-fearers), and it was all too easy for them to revert to practices and ways of thinking to which they had been accustomed in their pre-Christian days, which they still encountered and whose attractiveness they found impossible to deny.”[5] In the end, it is not essential that we know the exact nature of the teaching(s) exerting pressure on the Colossians. Perhaps more will be learned as the city of Colossae is excavated and more historical data is discovered about the culture of the region. But whatever the precise challenges, Doug Moo’s comments are appropriate:
Here is the essence of the false teaching: it is “not according to Christ” (2:8). And, at the risk of generalizing unduly, we might suggest that here as well is the point of contact for the application of the message of Colossians to a wide variety of historical and contemporary teachings. Any teaching that questions the sufficiency of Christ—not only for ‘initial’ salvation but also for spiritual growth and ultimate salvation from judgment—falls under the massive christological critique of Colossians.[6] Purpose
Given the pressures facing the Colossians, Paul writes this letter to the churches in Colossae to encourage them to persevere in the gospel (Col 1:23), not bowing to the cultural and religious pressures around them to move on from Christ, as if he is not enough. Rather, Christ is entirely sufficient for everything the Colossians need—he is the one “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3), in whom “all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Col 2:9), and in whom “you have been made complete” (Col 2:10). Paul writes to remind and assure the Colossians that in their lives “Christ is all” (Col 3:11). Because they have him and the life he provides, they don’t need anything else.
[1] Bird, Colossians and Philemon, 2. [2] Bird, Colossians and Philemon, 2. [3] Moo, Colossians and Philemon, 42. [4] Adam Copenhaver, Reconstructing the Historical Background of Paul’s Rhetoric in the Letter to the Colossians (LNTS 585; London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2018), 235–37. [5] Carson and Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, 527–28. [6] Moo, Colossians and Philemon, 60.