OPENING STATEMENTS
A. Thank God for the heretics at Colossae;
because of them Paul wrote this powerful letter. Remember that to understand the
book, we must relate it to its historical setting. Paul’s letters are called
“occasional documents” because he was addressing local problems with universal
gospel truths. The heresy at Colossae was an unusual mixture of Greek philosophy
(Gnosticism) and Judaism.
B. The cosmic Lordship of Jesus (or to put it
another way, Jesus as creator, redeemer, and Lord of all creation and its
implications for Christian living) is the central theme (cf. 1:15-17). The
Christology of this book is unsurpassed! Colossians forms the basic outline for
Ephesians. Paul knew the heresy would spread in Asia minor. Colossians attacks
the false teachings while Ephesians develops its central themes to prepare other
churches for the coming heresy. The emphasis of Colossians is Christological
while the emphasis of Ephesians is the unity of all things in Christ, who is
Lord of all things.
C. Paul refutes legalism, both Jewish and
Greek, in very powerful terms (2:6-23). Taking this letter as a model, one
wonders how Paul would address modern heresies. He surely would have engaged
them!
THE CITY
A. Originally the city of Colossae was part of
the kingdom of Pergamum within Phrygia. In 133 b.c. it
was given to the senate of Rome.
B. Colossae was a large commercial center
before Paul’s day (cf. Heroditus’
Histories VII:30 and Xenophon Anabasis 1:2:6).
1. The valley in which Colossae was
located was the ancient Mediterranean world’s leading producer of wool,
especially black wool, and dyed wool, purple and scarlet. The volcanic soil
produced excellent pasture land and the chalky water aided the dyeing process
(Strabo, 13:4:14).
2. Volcanic activity (Strabo, 12:8:6)
caused the city to be destroyed several times in its history; the latest time
being a.d.
60 (Tacitus) or a.d. 64 (Eusebius).
C. Colossae was located on the Lycus River, a
tributary of the Maeander River which ran by Ephesus, 100 miles downstream. In
this one valley were several small cities where Epaphras started churches:
Hierapolis (6 miles away) and Laodicea (10 miles away, cf. 1:2; 2:1; 4:13,
15-16) and Colossae.
D. After the Romans built their major
east-west highway, Via Ignatia, which bypassed Colossae, it dwindled to
almost nothing (Strabo). This was similar to what happened to Petra in the
Trans-Jordan area of Palestine.
E. The city was made up mostly of Gentiles
(Phyrgians and Greek settlers), but there were numerous Jews also. Josephus
tells us that Antiochus III (223-187
b.c.) transported 2,000 Jews from Babylon to Colossae.
Records show that by a.d. 76 11,000 Jewish males lived
in the district of which Colossae was the capital.
AUTHOR
A. There are two senders, Paul and Timothy
(cf. Col. 1:1). However, the main author is Paul; Timothy was sending his
greeting as Paul’s co-worker and possibly his scribe (amanuensus).
B. The ancient literature is unanimous that
Paul the Apostle was the author:
1. Marcion (who came to Rome in
a.d. 140’s), the anti-Old Testament heretic, included it in his Pauline
corpus.
2. It was listed with Paul’s letters in
the Muratorian Canon (a list of canonical books from Rome around
a.d. 180-200)
3. Several early church fathers quote
from it and identify Paul as author
a. Irenaeus (wrote
a.d. 177-190)
b. Clement of Alexandria (lived
a.d. 160-216)
THE LITERARY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COLOSSIANS AND EPHESIANS
A. The historical relationship between these
two prison letters follows this outline
1. Epaphras (Col. 1:7; 4:12;
Philemon 23) was converted during Paul’s Ephesian Campaign (Acts 19).
a. Epaphras took his new-found faith
back to his home area, the Lycus River valley (cf. 4:12).
b. Epaphras started three churches:
Hierapolis, Laodicea (cf. 4:13), and Colossae.
c. Epaphras asked Paul for advice on
how to combat this merging of Christianity, Judaism, and Greek thought, which
the heretics were teaching. Paul was imprisoned (cf. 4:3,18) at Rome (early
60’s).
2. False teachers advocated Greek
metaphysics
a. Spirit and matter were co-eternal
b. Spirit (God) was good
c. Matter (creation) was evil
d. A series of
aeons (angelic levels), especially in the writings of the Valentinians,
existed between a good high God and a lesser god who formed matter
e. Salvation was based on knowledge
of secret passwords which helped people progress through the angelic levels (aeons)
to the high good God
B. The literary relationship between Paul’s
two letters
1. Paul heard of the heresy in these
churches which he had never personally visited (cf. 1:7-8).
2. Paul wrote a hard-hitting letter in
short, emotional sentences, directed at the false teachers. The central theme
was the cosmic lordship of Jesus. This is known as Paul’s letter to the
Colossians.
3. Apparently, soon after writing
Colossians, with time on his hands in prison, he developed the themes in the
letter we know as Ephesians. He knew that this attempt to merge Greek thought
and the gospel for the purpose of making Christianity “relevant” to Greek
culture would spread to all the new churches in Asia Minor. Ephesians is
characterized by long sentences and developed theological concepts (1:3-14,
15-23; 2:1-10, 14-18, 19-22; 3:1-12, 14-19; 4:11-16; 6:13-20). It takes
Colossians as a starting point and draws out its theological implications. Its
central theme is the unity of all things in Christ, which is a contrast to the
aeons (angelic levels) of incipient Gnosticism.
C. Related literary and theological structure
1. The basic structure
a. They have very similar openings
b. They each have a doctrinal
section dealing primarily with Christ
c. Each has a practical section
which emphasizes Christian lifestyle using the same categories, terms, and
phrases
d. They have virtually identical
closing verses. In Greek they share 29 consecutive words; Colossians adds only
two additional words (“and fellow bond slave”). Compare Eph. 6:21-22 with Col.
4:7-9.
2. Exact words or short phrases
| Eph. 1:1c and Col. 1:2a Eph.1:4 and Col. 1:22 Eph. 1:7 and Col. 1:14 Eph. 1:10 and Col. 1:20 Eph. 1:15 and Col. 1:3-4 Eph. 1:18 and Col. 1:27 Eph. 1:27 and Col. 1:18 Eph. 2:1 and Col. 1:13 Eph. 2:16 and Col. 1:20 Eph. 3:2 and Col. 1:25 Eph. 3:3 and Col. 1:26,27 Eph. 4:3 and Col. 3:14 Eph. 4:15 and Col. 2:19 Eph. 4:24 and Col. 3:10, 12, 14 Eph. 4:31 and Col. 3:8 Eph. 5:3 and Col. 3:5 Eph. 5:5 and Col.3:5 Eph. 5:6 and Col. 3:6 Eph. 5:16 and Col. 4:5 |
“faithful” “holy and blameless” “redemption. . .forgiveness” “all things. . .heaven. . .earth” “heard. . .love for all the saints” “the riches of the glory” “head. . .church” “you were dead” “reconcile. . .cross” “stewardship” “mystery” “unity” “head” and “grow” “put on . . .” “anger” “wrath” “malice” “slander” “immorality” “impurity” “greed” “idolatry” (coveting) “the wrath of God” “making the most of the time” |
3. Exact phrases or sentences
Eph. 1:1a and Col 1:1a
Eph. 1:1b and Col. 1:2a
Eph. 1:2a and Col. 1:2b
Eph. 1:13 and Col. 1:5
Eph. 2:1 and Col. 2:13
Eph. 2:5b and Col. 2:13c
Eph. 4:1b and Col. 1:10a
Eph. 6:21,22 and Col. 4:7-9 (29 consecutive words
except for “kai syndoulos” in Colossians)
4. Similar phrases or sentences
Eph. 1:21 and Col. 1:16
Eph. 2:1 and Col. 1:13
Eph. 2:16 and Col. 1:20
Eph. 3:7a and Col. 1:23d, 25a
Eph. 3:8 and Col. 1:27
Eph. 4:2 and Col. 3:12
Eph. 4:29 and Col. 3:8; 4:6
Eph. 5:15 and Col. 4:5
Eph. 5:19,20 and Col. 3:16
5. Theologically synonymous concepts
| Eph. 1:3 and Col. 1:3 Eph. 2:1,12 and Col. 1:21 Eph. 2:15 and Col. 2:14 Eph. 4:1 and Col 1:10 Eph. 4:15 and Col. 2:19 Eph. 4:19 and Col. 3:5 Eph.4:22,31 and Col. 3:8 Eph.4:32 and Col. 3:12-13 Eph. 5:4 and Col. 3:8 Eph. 5:18 and Col. 3:16 Eph. 5:20 and Col. 3:17 Eph. 5:22 and Col. 3:18 Eph. 5:25 and Col. 3:19 Eph. 6:1 and Col. 3:20 Eph. 6:4 and Col. 3:21 Eph. 6:5 and Col. 3:22 Eph. 6:9 and Col. 4:1 Eph. 6:18 and Col. 4:2-4 |
a prayer of thanks alienation from God hostility of Law worthy walk Christ’s body growing to maturity from its Head sexual impurity “lay aside” sins Christians kind to one another Christian speech filling of Spirit = word of Christ thanksgiving to God for all things wives be subject to husbands husbands love your wives children obey your parents fathers do not provoke children slaves obey masters masters and slaves Paul’s request for prayer |
6. Terms and phrases used in both
Colossians and Ephesians which are not found in other Pauline literature
a. “fullness” (which was the Gnostic
term for the angelic levels)
| Eph. 1:23 Eph. 3:19 Eph. 4:13 Col. 1:19 Col. 2:9 |
“the fullness of Him who fills all in all” “be filled up to all the fullness of God” “to the fullness of Christ” “for all the fullness to dwell in Him” “for in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells” |
b. Christ as “Head” of the church
Eph. 4:15; 5:23 and Col. 1:18; 2:19
c. “alienated”
Eph. 2:12; 4:18 and Col. 1:21
d. “redeeming the time”
Eph. 5:16 and Col. 4:5
e. “rooted”
Eph. 3:17 and Col. 1:5
f. “the word of truth, the gospel”
Eph. 1:13 and Col. 1:5
g. “forbearing”
Eph. 4:2 and Col. 3:13
h. unusual phrasing and terms (“held
together,” “supply”)
Eph. 4:16 and Col. 2:19
D. Summary
1. Over one third of the words in
Colossians are also in Ephesians. It has been estimated that 75 of the 155
verses in Ephesians have a parallel in Colossians. Both claim Paul’s authorship
while in prison.
2. Both were delivered by Paul’s friend
Tychicus.
3. Both were sent to the same area (Asia
Minor).
4. Both deal with the same
Christological topic.
5. Both emphasize Christ as Head of the
church.
6. Both encourage Christian living.
E. Major Points of Dissimilarity
1. The church is always local in
Colossians but universal in Ephesians. This may be because of the circular
nature of Ephesians.
2. Heresy, which is such a prominent
feature of Colossians, is totally absent in Ephesians. However, both letters use
characteristic Gnostic terms (“wisdom,” “knowledge,” “fullness,” “mystery,”
“principalities and powers” and “stewardship”).
3. The Second Coming is immediate in
Colossians but delayed in Ephesians. The church was, and is, called to serve in
a fallen world (2:7; 3:21; 4:13).
4. Several characteristically Pauline
terms are used differently. One example is the term “mystery.” In Colossians the
mystery is Christ (Col. 1:26-27; 2:2; 4:3), but in Ephesians (1:9; 5:32) it is
God’s previously hidden, but now revealed, plan for the unity of Gentiles and
Jews.
5. Ephesians has several Old Testament
allusions (1:22-Ps. 8; 2:17-Isa. 57:19) (2:20-Ps. 118:22) (4:8-Ps. 68:18)
(4:26-Ps. 4:4) (5:15-Isa. 26:19, 51:17, 52:1, 60:1) (5:31-Gen. 2:24)
(6:2-3-Exod. 20:12) (6:14-Isa. 11:5, 59:17) (6:15-Isa. 52:7) but there are only
one or two in Colossians, 2:3-Isa. 11:2, and possibly 2:22-Isa. 29:13.
F. Though very similar in words, phrases, and
often outline, the letters also include unique concepts:
1. The Trinitarian blessing of grace,
Eph. 1:3-14
2. The grace passage, Eph. 2:1-10
3. The merging of Jews and Gentiles into
one new body, Eph. 2:11-3:13
4. The unity and giftedness of the body
of Christ, Eph. 4:1-16
5. “Christ and the church” as the
pattern for “husband and wife,” Eph. 5:22-33
6. The spiritual warfare passage, Eph.
6:10-18
7. The Christological passage, Col.
1:13-18
8. Human religious rituals and rules,
Col. 2:16-23
9. The theme of the cosmic significance
in Christ in Colossians versus the theme of the unity of all things in Christ in
Ephesians.
G. In conclusion, it seems best to follow A.
T. Robertson and F. F. Bruce in asserting that Paul wrote both letters in close
proximity and developed the thoughts of Colossians into his capstone
presentation of truth, Ephesians.
DATE
A. The date of Colossians is linked to one of
Paul’s imprisonments (Ephesus, Philippi, Caesarea, or Rome). A Roman
imprisonment best fits the facts of Acts.
B. Once Rome is assumed to be the place of
imprisonment, the question arises-which time? Acts records that Paul was
imprisoned in the early 60’s. However, he was released and wrote the Pastoral
letters (I & II Timothy and Titus) and was then rearrested and killed before
June 9,
a.d. 68 (the date of Nero’s suicide), probably in
a.d. 67.
C. The best educated guess for the writing of
Colossians (Ephesians and Philemon) is Paul’s first imprisonment, in the early
60’s. (Philippians was the last of the prison letters, probably written toward
the mid 60’s.)
D. Tychicus, along with Onesimus, probably
took the letters of Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon to Asia Minor. Later,
possibly several years later, Epaphroditus, recovered from his physical illness,
took the letter of Philippians back to his home church.
E. Possible chronology of Paul’s writings
following F. F. Bruce and Murry Harris with minor adaptations.
| Book | Date | Place of Writing | Relation to Acts |
|
| 1 | Galatians | 48 | Syrian Antioch |
14:28; 15:2 |
| 2 | I Thessalonians | 50 | Corinth | 18:5 |
| 3 | II Thessalonians | 50 | Corinth | |
| 4 | I Corinthians | 55 | Ephesus | 19:20 |
| 5 | II Corinthians | 56 | Macedonia | 20:2 |
| 6 | Romans | 57 | Corinth | 20:3 |
| 7-10 | Prison Letters | |||
| Colossians | early 60’s | Rome | ||
| Philemon | early 60’s | Rome | ||
| Ephesians | early 60’s | Rome | ||
| Philippians | late 62-63 | Rome | 28:30-31 | |
| 11-13 | Fourth Missionary Journey | Ephesus (?) | ||
| I Timothy | 63 (or later, |
Macedonia | ||
| Titus | 63 but before |
|||
| II Timothy | 64 a.d. 68) |
Rome |
RECIPIENTS AND OCCASION
A. The church was apparently started by
Epaphras (cf. 1:7,8; 2:1; 4:12-13), who was probably converted by Paul at
Ephesus (cf. Col. 1:7-8 and compare 2:1). It was mostly made up of Gentiles (cf.
1:21; 3:7). Epaphras came to Paul in prison to report a problem with false
teachers who taught a mixture of Christianity with Greek philosophy called
Gnosticism(2:8) and Jewish legalism (cf. Jewish elements, 2:11, 16, 17: 3:11;
angel worship, 1:16; 2:15, 18 and asceticism 2:20-23). There was a very large
Jewish community in Colossae which had become very Hellenistic. The essence of
the problem centered around the person and work of Christ. The Gnostics denied
that Jesus was fully man but affirmed that He was fully divine because of their
eternal antagonistic dualism between matter and spirit. They would affirm His
Deity but deny His humanity. They also denied His mediatorial preeminence. For
them there were many angelic levels (aeons) between a good high god and
humanity; Jesus, even though the highest, was only one of the gods. They also
tended to be intellectually elite (cf. 3:11, 14, 16, 17) and emphasized a
special exclusive secret knowledge (cf. 2:15, 18, 19) as the path to God instead
of Jesus’ atoning, vicarious sacrifice and mankind’s repentant faith response to
His free offer of forgiveness.
B. Because of this theological, philosophical
atmosphere, the book of Colossians emphasizes
1. The uniqueness of the person of
Christ and His finished work of salvation.
2. The cosmological ownership, reign and
significance of Jesus of Nazareth – His birth, His teachings, His life, His
death, His resurrection and His ascension! He is Lord of all!
PURPOSE
Paul’s purpose was to refute the Colossian heresy. To
accomplish this goal, he exalted Christ as
1. the very image of God (1:15) the Creator
(1:16)
2. the preexistent sustainer of all things
(1:17)
3. the head of the church (1:18)
4. the first to be resurrected (1:18)
5. the fullness of deity in bodily form
(1:19, 2:9)
6. the reconciler between God and mankind
(1:20-22)
Thus, Christ was completely adequate. Paul uses the title “Christ” 25 times
in this short book! Believers “have been given fullness in Christ” (2:10). The
Colossian heresy was completely theologically inadequate to provide spiritual
salvation. It was a hollow and deceptive philosophy (2:8), lacking any ability
to restrain the old sinful nature (2:23).
A recurring theme in Colossians is the complete adequacy of Christ as
contrasted with the emptiness of mere human philosophy. This adequacy is
expressed in the cosmic Lordship of Jesus. He is owner, creator and sovereign
over all things, visible and invisible (cf. 1:15-18).
OUTLINE
A. Traditional Pauline openings
1. Identification with sender,
1:1
2. Identification with
recipients, 1:2a
3. Greetings, 1:2b
B. The Supremacy of Christ (topics 1-10 taken
from NKJV paragraph outline)
1. Faith in Christ, 1:3-8
2. The Preeminence of Christ, 1:9-18
3. Reconciliation in Christ, 1:19-23
4. Sacrificial service for Christ,
1:24-29
5. Not philosophy, but Christ, 2:1-10
6. Not legalism, but Christ, 2:11-23
7. Not carnality, but Christ, 3:1-11
8. Put on Christ, 3:12-17
9. Let Christ affect your home, 3:19-4:1
10. Let Christ affect your daily life,
4:2-6
C. Paul’s messengers, 4:7-9
D. Paul’s friends send their greetings,
4:10-14
E. Paul sends greetings, 4:15-17
F. Paul’s closing in his own hand, 4:18
GNOSTICISM
A. Most of our knowledge of this heresy comes
from the Gnostic writings of the second century. However, the incipient ideas
were present in the first century (Dead Sea Scrolls).
B. The problem at Colossae was a hybrid of
Christianity, incipient Gnosticism, and legalistic Judaism.
C. Some stated tenets of Valentinian and
Cerinthian Gnosticism of the second century:
1. Matter and spirit were co-eternal (an
ontological dualism). Matter is evil, spirit is good. God, who is spirit, cannot
be directly involved with molding evil matter.
2. There are emanations (aeons or
angelic levels) between God and matter. The last or lowest one was YHWH of the
Old Testament who formed the universe (kosmos).
3. Jesus was an emanation like YHWH but
higher on the scale, closer to the true God. Some put Him as the highest but
still less than God and certainly not incarnate deity (cf. John 1:14). Since
matter is evil, Jesus could not have a human body and still be divine. He just
appeared human, but was really a spirit (cf. I John 1:1-3; 4:1-6).
4. Salvation was obtained through faith
in Jesus plus special knowledge, which is only known by certain persons of the
group. Knowledge (passwords) was needed to pass through heavenly spheres. Jewish
legalism was also required to reach God.
D. The Gnostic false teachers advocated two
opposite ethical systems:
1. For some, lifestyle was totally
unrelated to salvation. For them, salvation and spirituality were encapsulated
into secret knowledge (passwords) through the angelic spheres (aeons).
2. For others, lifestyle was crucial to
salvation. In this book, the false teachers emphasized an ascetic lifestyle as
an evidence of true spirituality (cf. 2:16-23).
E. Some good reference materials:
The Gnostic Religion by Hans Jonas, published by
Beacon Press
The Gnostic Scriptures by Bentley Layton, Anchor
Bible Reference Library
The Dictionary of New Testament Background, IVP,
“Gnosticism” pp. 414-417
READING CYCLE ONE (from “A
Guide to Good Bible Reading“)
This is a study
guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own
interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the
Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not
relinquish this to a commentator.
Therefore, read the entire biblical book at one sitting.
State the central theme of the entire book in your own words (reading cycle #1).
1. Theme of entire book
2. Type of literature (genre)
READING CYCLE TWO (from “A
Guide to Good Bible Reading“)
This is a study
guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own
interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the
Bible and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not
relinquish this to a commentator.
Therefore, read the entire biblical book a second time at
one sitting. Outline the main subjects (reading cycle #2) and express the
subject in a single sentence.
1. Subject of first literary unit
2. Subject of second literary unit
3. Subject of third literary unit
4. Subject of fourth literary unit
5. Etc.
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Bible Lessons International