Bible Study from March 2, 2020 - Introduction to Colossians

We have begun our new study of Paul’s Letter to the Colossians with an introduction to the letter. Next week we will get into a verse by verse study of the letter, beginning with Colossians 1:1. Here is a summary of the introduction to Colossians.

Colossae was a city in Phrygia, an area within the Roman province of Asia (not what we call Asia today). Colossae was about 100 miles southeast of Ephesus, the capital of Asia, and was close to another city we hear about in Revelations, the city of Laodicia. All of these cities were in what is part of the country of Turkey today.

The apostle, Paul, had traveled near to Colossae during his missionary journeys, but has apparently never visited there himself. (See Colossians 2:1.) One of his converts to Christianity, Epaphras, had probably been sent to Colossae by Paul and had started a Christian church there. (See Colossians 1:7.) At some point, the church was being troubled by false teachings and the idea that some new knowledge, beyond that of Jesus and His saving work, was necessary for the people. Epaphras then travels to see Paul to get help in dealing with these new, false ideas that endangered the Christian faith itself.

Paul was in prison when Epaphras went to see him. (See Colossians 4:3, 10, 18.) Most likely, this was the first Roman imprisonment of Paul, from 58-60 AD. Earlier, Paul had traveled to Jerusalem, where he had great conflicts with Jewish authorities and was arrested. Nothing was being resolved so Paul, as a Roman citizen, eventually appealed to Caesar in Rome to settle his case. (Paul was Jewish, but had been born in a free Roman city, and therefore had Roman citizenship. You can read about this time in Jerusalem and Paul’s dangerous trip to Rome in Acts 21-28.)

We hear in Acts 28:16ff that Paul was in house arrest for two years in Rome, in chains, with a guard watching him, and yet able to have visitors like Epaphras and to share freely the good news of Jesus. See Acts 28:30-31. It was during this time that Paul also likely wrote his letters to the Ephesians, the Philippians, to Philemon, and to the Colossians - what are called the “prison” letters of Paul that we find in the New Testament of the Bible. (It seems that Paul then was released from prison and was able to carry on his ministry for a number of years longer, before being arrested again and executed in Rome.)

The Letter to the Colossians, then, was Paul’s advice and encouragement to Epaphras and the people of Colossae, with a strong focus upon Jesus - Who He was and what He did - and how He is completely sufficient for them and for us, for salvation. The new, false ideas coming to Colossae were wrong and dangerous, as they still are when we confront them today.

Finally, since letters in those days were written on parchment scrolls, Colossians follows the typical letter form, with the author identifying himself first and then the people to whom he writes. Paul most always adds an initial blessings and prayer at the beginning.