Colossians → an introduction
- Steve Schott
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 7 hours ago
Theme
► The main theme of Colossians, in my opinion, is the deity of Jesus Christ - His fullness as God, and HIs complete sufficiency as having done all that is necessary to save us from our sins.
► Colossians 2:9-10 → "9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete,..."
→ Who Jesus is, is complete.
→ What Jesus has done, is complete.
• There is nothing that we can add to this to effect, improve, or add value to our salvation.
► Paul will spend the rest of this letter, both carefully elaborating on the divine character of Jesus, and also being very specific about the completeness of what Jesus did on the cross to obtain our salvation.
► Attacks, if you will, from outside the church (and perhaps some from inside the church), that suggest that more is needed, specifically within the framework of our human efforts, to fully obtain salvation, will be shot down like enemy missiles, the intent of which is to destroy our faith.
Author and Date
► The Apostle Paul clearly identifies himself in each one of his letters. He's not puffing himself up, or trying to assert his authority, as much as he's trying to make sure that there are no misunderstandings about who is writing to them. In this particular greeting, he includes Timothy "our brother" as, if not a co-author, at least as a co-laborer. It's historically clear that Timothy is one of a few of Paul's disciples that will inherit Paul's job when he has completed his sojourn on earth.
► Colossians 1:1 → "1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,..."
► One could make the point that Paul is nearing the "fall" period of his life. Technically, this "house arrest" that he is under in Rome, after a 2 year stint in Caesarea of the same nature, and a multi-month voyage from Caesarea to Rome on a ship full of prisoners, could be considered as his 4th missionary journey. Since Paul has been preaching for around 30 years, and has already been on 3 multi-country missionary journeys, one wonders when is his battery going to run out? He's been through a lot, and we know from Scripture that he only has a few more years until he is executed. But he never seems to give much care for himself, but always seems to be focused on the needs of others.
► As I said, he is currently in prison in Rome. Paul mentions his imprisonment three times in chapter 4...
→ Colossians 4:3 → "3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;..."
→ Colossians 4:10 → "10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also Barnabas’s cousin Mark (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him);"
→ Colossians 4:18 → "18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you."
► All of that being said, Colossians is one of 4 letters commonly known as "the prison epistles", which also includes Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon. All would were written near the end of Paul's current imprisonment, possibly with the idea that he better get the word out, just in case they end up executing him rather than releasing him. Either way, all the letters except Philippians (delivered by Epaphroditus) were delivered to each location or person (in the case of Philemon) by Tychicus.
Audience
► Colossians 1:2 → "2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father."
► The text makes it clear - the true and faithful believers in Colossae are the recipients of this letter.
→ Colossae is a city in what is modern-day Turkey, and is near Laodicea, which is one of the churches listed in Revelation chapters 1-3.
► The greeting "Grace to you and peace from God our Father" is common in all of Paul's letters. He starts ALL of his letters, and finishes most of them, with this same combination of words.
→I think that some people discount, or simply just read through this greeting, as nothing more than a common expression used in letters. Sort of like saying "how are you?" when shaking someone's hand, but not really expecting an answer.
→ But with Paul, I think it's much more than that. I think this is a phrase that he uses to remind us of the significance of what Jesus has done for us.
→ You can not know peace, if you have not received grace. It's plain and simple, but one of the most significant concepts in the universe.
• KNOW Jesus; KNOW peace.
• NO Jesus; NO peace.
→ You can't reach true eternal peace any other way than by accepting Jesus as your Savior and Lord.
Issues at hand
► As stated earlier, the concerns are that false teaching, in the form of adding additional criteria involving specific behaviors or actions on the part of the people, is leading (or at least has the potential to) the people down the wrong path. Paul will attack these various detours to make sure the Colossians are staying on the right path.
► First he will remind them of a simple truth...
→ Colossians 2:6-7 → "6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude."
→ Paul reminds them that the "requirement" for living the Christian life is the same as becoming a Christian - it's FAITH, pure and simple.
► Secondly he will charge them to be careful...
→ Colossians 2:8 → "8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ."
→ Paul then encourages them to be careful to not allow themselves to be drawn into falsehood.
• As we spend time in the letter to the Colossians, we all need to ask ourselves, "am I staying true to the simplicity of the gospel truth?". Or are we drifting. Maybe not being mislead necessarily by false teachers, but maybe by some of our own thoughts or ideas. We need to be "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,..." as it says in 2 Corinthians 10:5.
Photo • 11/08/2025 - Fall colors at my home in Claremore, OK
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