Introduction to Colossians

Text: The Book of Colossians and Colossians 1:1-2

Title: The Introduction and the Overview of the book of Colossians

Theme of Colossians: Jesus Christ:  The pre-eminent and all-sufficient Savior

Introduction

The book of Colossians is a helpful book for our current times. The material that Paul writes about is very important to believers today. People today are excited about science. There in the past hundred years, there has been more scientific progress than in thousands of years before. Many debates take place about creation and evolution. There are also many issues concerning science and ethics; such as, should people be able to have abortions. People today are also very excited about angels and astrology. There are hundreds of unbiblical books that have been written about angels. This is also obvious since horoscopes are so important to many people. Some religions are also trying to promote that their “visions” are above Gods Word. They say that they have seen a vision, and they make their vision more important than what God’s word says. The book of Colossians talks about all these issues. In this book, Paul talks about Christ being over all creation and science (1:15-18). Paul also says that worshiping angels and astrology is not correct (2:18). In 2:18, Paul also says to not let a person that has visions and revelations cheat you or deceive you by his ignorance. As you can see, this book has a lot to do with the current issues of our day. I would say that Colossians is a very important book for all believers to study and examine thoroughly.

Read Colossians 1:1-2

Overview and Outline of the Book

This book is also important in its doctrinal and practical content. The first half of the book contains doctrine about the deity of Christ, reconciliation, redemption, and the nature of the church. The second half of the book contains practical information about the church, family, and the Christians life in general. If you would study Ephesians and Colossians together, you would notice that the two books are very similar. We will probably refer to Ephesians often to look at parallel passages.

The following outline was taken from John MacArthur’s commentary on Colossians. This outline is not as thorough as some other outlines that are available, but it is a shorter outline that will be very helpful for us to see the contents of the book.

I.     Personal (1:1–14)

            A.     Greetings (1:1–2)

            B.     Thanksgiving (1:3–8)

            C.     Prayer on behalf of the church (1:9–14)

            II.     Doctrinal (1:15–2:23)

            A.     The Person and work of Christ (1:15–23)

            B.     The ministry of Paul (1:24–2:7)

            C.     The sufficiency of Christ versus worldly philosophies (2:8–23)

            III.     Practical (Chaps. 3–4)

            A.     Living the risen life (3:1–9)

            B.     Putting on the new man (3:9–17)

            C.     Managing the Christian household (3:18–4:1)

            D.     Conducting one’s speech (4:2–6)

            E.     Imparting greetings and farewell-s (4:7–17)

The Author, Date, and Place of Writing

In the first two verses, Paul identifies himself as the author (he also refers to himself as the author in 1:23 and 4:18). Many of the early church fathers spoke of Paul being the writer of Colossians. The book is closely related to the books of Ephesians and Philemon. Paul wrote all three books near the same time. It is estimate that Paul probably wrote the books sometime during A.D. 60-62. This was during Paul’s Roman imprisonment (Acts 28:16-31). Therefore, this book (along with Philippians, Philemon, and Ephesians) is referred to as a “Prison Epistle.” Some have supposed that Paul was imprisoned somewhere else other than Rome, but Rome is probably the most likely place from which Paul wrote this book.

Background and Setting of the City and church of Colossae

Colossae was a city in the Roman province of Asia (part of western Turkey). The city of Colossae was about 100 miles (____ kilometers) east of the city of Ephesus. On the map you can see Ephesus near the coast, and Colossae a little more inland. The city was located on the Lycus River, in the Lycus valley. There were mountains right around the city, with Mt. Cadmus rising 8000 feet high (____ kilometers). 

During the fifth century B.C., Colossae was a thriving city with plenty of wealth. One Greek historian in 481 B.C. wrote, “Colossae, an inhabited city, prosperous and large.” At that time, its wealth was from black wool and dyes made from nearby chalk deposits. During the fifth century B.C., Colossae was the middle of a major trade route, but by Paul’s day, the major road had been moved to go through Laodicea and Hierapolis. Both of these cities are mentioned in the book, probably since they were located within just a few miles of each other. The people of Colossae were mostly Gentile, but there was a large Jewish community.

The church was probably started during Paul’s 3-year ministry at Ephesus (Acts 19). Paul did not start the church himself, but it was probably started by one of his converts, Epaphras. Paul says in 2:1 that he had never been there. In 1:5-7, Paul mentions that the people of the church of Colossae have been learning from Epaphras, “who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf.” Paul knew about the church and had probably been near Colossae, and perhaps even in Laodicea and Hierapolis, but he probably was not the founder of the church.

Purpose for writing the Book

Paul had one main purpose for writing to book of Colossians, to refute a heresy that was destroying the church. The founder of the church, Epaphras, was so concerned for the church that he personally went to Rome to tell Paul about the heresy (1:7-8; 4:12-13). Paul then wrote back to the church to explain the error of the heresy that was being taught. This heresy is commonly called the “Colossian Heresy.” The Colossian Heresy taught Jewish legalism, the necessity of circumcision for salvation, observance of the ceremonial rituals of the OT law, and rigid asceticism. It also taught the worship of angels and that people should have mystical experiences. All of these things were incorrect, so Paul wanted to make sure no one in the church was deceived (2:8). The Colossian Heresy will be explained in more detail when we come to it in the text.

As mentioned before, Paul wrote the books of Ephesians and Philemon near the same time as he wrote Colossians. Tychicus was the person taking this letter to Colossae. In the New Testament times, there was no postal system. If a person wanted a letter sent, then he would have to find some one going to the same destination of the letter and ask that person to deliver it. Tychicus was going to Colossae to return Onesimus, the runaway slave, to his master Philemon. Philemon was probably a member of the church of Colossae. Since Tychicus was going to Colossae, Paul took advantage of this opportunity and sent three letters with Tychicus.

Greeting to the Church of Colossae

I. The Writer: Verse 1:

The greeting that Paul used was a typical greeting of letters written in that day. It would contain the authors name, the destination, and a word of salutation. Paul used similar greetings in all 13 of his letters, but each one was customized to the person or church to which he was writing. Since Paul had not founded the church of Colossae and had probably not been to it in person, he stated his full title or position, “an apostle of Jesus Christ.” As an apostle, Paul had the full authority of Christ to write to this church; this also made it the responsibility of the Colossians to listen and obey this message.

Paul then writes that it is by “the will of God” that he is an apostle. This was not the result of Paul’s personal ambition or education, but God planned it! In Acts 9, you can read about the conversion of Paul. Before Paul’s conversion, he was persecuting Christians because of the Gospel, but after his conversion, he was trying proclaim the Gospel. Paul then names Timothy as his coworker and brother in the faith. Timothy was not a co-writer, but just a coworker of Paul’s that had been praying for the church of Colossae.

Application: Most Christians want to know what the will of God is for their life, but many do not know God’s will for their life. This last week at camp, we learned what we have to do to know God’s will. There are 5 things that will help you know God’s will.

1. Spend time with God in Prayer.
2. Study God’s Word. 2 Tim. 2:15
3. You must be willing to do whatever God asks of you!
4. You must obey. James 1:22
5. Trust God completely when he reveals His will for you.

Paul knew God’s will because he did these things. I guarantee that you will know God’s will if you are doing these things like the Scripture commands.

Illustration: Some say, “I’ll do whatever God wants, I just don’t want to be a preacher.”

II. The Recipients: Verse 2:

First, Paul describes the reader’s spiritual position. They were saints and faithful brothers. This meant that they believed in Christ and had accepted the Gospel. The two words, saints and faithful, did not describe two different people; both words described a Christian. The word saint can actually mean “holy.” A Christian was holy and he would be faithful. Can both of these words describe you?

Second, Paul describes the readers in terms of their geographical position. We already talked about where they were located, so there is no need to discuss it here.

Third, Paul describes the readers blessing. The blessing that they received was “grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” This blessing is given to every Christian. It is an expression that Paul used to explain God’s gracious favor given to men without regard to merit. It also indicates the inner assurance and the sense of spiritual health, which enables the believer to be content even in the midst of turmoil.

Illustration/Application: There will never be peace on this earth, but we can have peace in our hearts. An unbeliever is at war with God. Everything about them wrestles with God. When a person believes in Christ and repents of their sin, then they have peace with God. This gift is given to us even though we don’t deserve it. If you don’t have peace in your heart with God, then you are probably not a Christian.

Conclusion

We have not gone into a deep study of the text today, nor have we made much application. I do hope that this is a good foundation for our study in Colossians. It is an important book for every Christian to study! I would encourage you to start reading through this book every day. I know that many people say that the Bible is hard to understand. So is algebra, chemistry, English, engineering, but people still study these and become very knowledgeable in each area. How do they do that? by continual study. We must be students of God’s Word! We have to take the time to study God’s Word!