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TOM · The Owner's Manual · New Testament

Colossians 1

Before you read Colossians: who, when, why

BOOK 51 OF 66 · NEW TESTAMENT · LETTER

Jesus Is Enough

AUTHOR
Paul, with Timothy, 1:1. Paul signs it in his own hand, 4:18. Some scholars think a follower wrote it later, because the style is different.
WRITTEN FROM
Prison, 4:3 and 4:18. Most say Rome, the same stay as Philemon and Ephesians. Some say Ephesus instead.
DATE WRITTEN
About AD 60 to 62. If it was Ephesus, about AD 54 to 55.
WRITTEN TO
The believers in Colossae, a small town in the Lycus valley of Turkey, 1:2. Paul had never visited them, 2:1.
CHURCH STARTED BY
Epaphras, a man from Colossae who learned the gospel from Paul, 1:7 and 4:12.
DELIVERED BY
Tychicus, with Onesimus, 4:7 to 9. They likely carried Philemon and Ephesians on the same trip.
WHY HE WROTE
Teachers were adding philosophy, food rules, holy days and angel worship to Jesus, 2:8 to 23. Paul says Jesus is enough.
KEY VERSE
Colossians 2:9 to 10. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form. And you have been made complete in Christ.
THE OLDEST COPY OF COLOSSIANS

The Oldest Copy of Colossians

Part of a page of Papyrus 46, Paul's letters copied in Egypt about AD 200, now in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. At the top is the end of Philippians and the word Amen. Under the short line is the title PROS KOLASSAEIS, To the Colossians, and the first words of the letter: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God. THE OTHER SIDE. The back of this leaf holds Colossians 1:5 to 13. See the whole page in Philippians. WHY IT MATTERS. Copied only about 140 years after Paul wrote, it says what our Bibles say today.

The Setting

Colossae sat in the Lycus river valley in western Turkey, next to two bigger cities, Laodicea about 10 miles away and Hierapolis about 13 miles away. Five hundred years before Paul, the Greek writer Herodotus called it a great city. By Paul's day it was a small town, known for wool dyed a deep purple red. Paul never went there. A local man named Epaphras heard the gospel from Paul, probably in Ephesus, and took it home. Later he visited Paul in prison with good news and bad news. The church was growing, but some teachers were selling a Jesus plus package.

What Colossae Was Up Against

  • Smart Sounding Talk. Teachers used fine words and philosophy to pull people away from Christ, 2:4 and 2:8.
  • Rule Keeping. Food and drink rules, festivals, New Moons and Sabbaths were being used to judge people, 2:16 and 2:21.
  • Angel Worship. Some claimed special visions and worshiped angels, 2:18.
  • Old Habits. Anger, lies, greed and sexual sin still needed to be put to death, 3:5 to 9.

Where to Find Jesus

  • Colossians 1:15 and 1:18. The firstborn over all creation and from among the dead. Fulfills Psalm 89:27 and Proverbs 8:23.
  • Colossians 1:16 to 17. All things were created through Him, and He is before all things. Fulfills Proverbs 8:23.
  • Colossians 1:20. He made peace by the blood of His cross. Fulfills Isaiah 53:5.
  • Colossians 2:3. In Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Fulfills Isaiah 11:2.
  • Colossians 2:11. The circumcision done by Christ, not by human hands. Fulfills Deuteronomy 30:6.
  • Colossians 3:4. When Christ appears, you will appear with Him in glory. Still to come.

Cool Stuff Most People Miss

  • An Early Song. Many scholars think 1:15 to 20 was a song or poem about Jesus. In six verses it says He made everything, holds everything together and rules everything.
  • The Same Mailbag. Tychicus and Onesimus carried this letter, 4:7 to 9. Philemon lived in Colossae, so the little letter to Philemon was likely in the same bag.
  • O Or A?. The town's coins spell it with an o. Many old copies of this letter, like Papyrus 46, spell it with an a. Both were used.
  • The Second Chance. Mark, the young man Paul refused to take on a trip, Acts 15:37 to 39, is back on Paul's team, 4:10. Later Paul calls him useful, 2 Timothy 4:11.

Did Anybody Listen?

Yes. Colossians was copied with Paul's letters by about AD 200 and quoted by Irenaeus. In the 300s, Athanasius used its words, the image of the invisible God, to show Jesus is fully God. The town faded, but its letter still tells the world that Jesus is enough.

Chapter 1 in 30 seconds

Paul has never met these people, but he prays for them all the time. Then he breaks into a song about Jesus. He made everything, He holds everything together, He is head of the church, and He made peace by His blood. The big secret God kept for ages is out: Christ in you, the hope of glory.

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In this chapterField Notes · ArchaeologyColossae · after verse 20

Greetings from Paul and Timothy// Philippians 1:1–2; Philemon 1:1–3

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

  • COL 1:2[FIELD NOTES]See the Colossae Field Notes page.

Thanksgiving and Prayer// 1 Corinthians 1:4–9; Philippians 1:3–11

3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints— 5the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6that has come to you.

All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God. 7You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8and who also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

13He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

  • COL 1:14[TEXT]Many later manuscripts and the KJV add through His blood. The oldest copies do not have these words here. Ephesians 1:7 says it, and 1:20 says He made peace by the blood of His cross.

The Supremacy of the Son// Hebrews 1:1–14

15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.

  • COL 1:15[FULFILLS]He would be the Firstborn ← PS 89:27MEDIUM
  • COL 1:15[FULFILLS]Foreordained from everlasting ← PROV 8:23MEDIUM
  • COL 1:15[NOTE]FIRSTBORN. In the Bible, firstborn can mean first in rank, the heir, not the first one made. God says of David, a youngest son, I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn, Psalm 89:27. Paul explains in the next verse: all things were created through Him. If He made all things, He was not made. Jehovah's Witnesses read firstborn as the first thing God created, and their New World Translation adds the word other in 1:16, 17 and 20. That word is not in the Greek.

17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence. 19For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.

  • COL 1:18[FULFILLS]He would be the Firstborn ← PS 89:27MEDIUM
  • COL 1:20[FULFILLS]His sacrifice brings peace between man and God ← IS 53:5b

21Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds. 22But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence— 23if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Paul’s Suffering for the Church// 2 Corinthians 11:16–33

24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church. 25I became its servant by the commission God gave me to fully proclaim to you the word of God, 26the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints. 27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

28We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully within me.

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