Epistle to the Colossians
Colossians is the fifty-first book in the Christian Bible, and the twelfth in the New Testament.
Author
[change | change source]This book has been long thought to have been written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Colossae, a small Phrygian city in modern day Turkey.[1] Some modern scholars think it was written by a follower of Paul based on how it describes Jesus. They believe those ideas took some time to be thought out. It is not as certain that Paul wrote this letter as it is with his other letters.
Date
[change | change source]The letter may have been written by Paul at Rome when he was in jail the first time.[2] Other scholars have suggested that it was written from Caesarea or Ephesus.[3] This could have been about 62 A.D.,but it could have been later.
Content
[change | change source]The letter to the Colossians says that Jesus Christ is over the entire created universe and tells Christians to lead godly lives. The letter consists of two parts: first a teaching section, then a second section about how to live. Some believe that the letter was needed to warn about growing heresy in the church. In both parts of the letter are warnings about false teachers who have been teaching wrong things to the people. Others see both sections of the letter as mainly about encouraging and teaching a growing church.[4]
In the first two chapters the letter strongly says that Christ is over all that has been created. All things were created through him and for him, and the universe is kept by him. God had chosen to fully live in Christ. The "cosmic powers" honored by the false teachers had been defeated at Christ's death. Christ is the master of all angels and the head of the church. Christ is the only one who can be a go between with God and humans. It is the Father (God) in Colossians who is said to have saved us from darkness and put us in the kingdom of His well loved Son,[5] Jesus also in some way restores all of the created world as well ("all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven").[6]
The second part of the letter, chapters 3 and 4, tells the Christians how to live based on what they know about Jesus. They are told to think about things that are above, to kill the bad desires of their old nature, and to put on the new (Christian) person. Many special duties of the Christian life are also taught. These show that we are true Christians. The letter ends with prayer, instruction, and greetings.[7]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Cross, F.L., ed. (2005), "Colossians, Epistle to the", The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian church, New York: Oxford University Press.
- ↑ Acts 28:16, 28:30
- ↑ Wright, N. T., Colossians and Philemon, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), pp. 34–39.
- ↑ Hooker, Morna D. (1973). ""Were There False Teachers in Colossae?"". Christ and Spirit in the New Testament: Studies in Honour of Charles Francis Digby Moule: 315-331.
- ↑ Colossians 1:12–13.
- ↑ Colossians 1:20
- ↑ Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "Colossians" pp. 337–38
Other websites
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