Summary: Bible - Book of Colossians

The GIST

Colossians is a short letter, four chapters long, addressed to the Christians of Colossae, a small city in Phrygia in Asia Minor, about a hundred miles from Ephesus. It presents itself as written by the apostle Paul, with Timothy, from prison. Paul speaks of its members as people who have not seen his face. They had learned the gospel from a co-worker named Epaphras, who has now come to Paul with good news of its faith and, it seems, some worrying news as well. A teaching has taken hold that offers a higher spirituality through strict observances, self-denial and reverence for angelic powers. The letter's answer is to lift the readers' eyes to who Christ is. If he is lord of all creation and has already reconciled them to God, they need nothing added.

The result is one of the loftiest portraits of Christ in the New Testament and, following from it, a warm and practical description of the life that belongs to those who are, as the letter puts it, risen with him. It is counted among the prison epistles, alongside Ephesians, Philippians and Philemon, and is closely tied to Philemon by the names that appear in both.

What It Says

Greeting, thanks and prayer (1:1 to 14). Paul and Timothy greet "the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse." Paul thanks God for what he has heard of their faith and of their love for all God's people, both of which spring from hope. The gospel, he says, is bearing fruit among them as it is all over the world, ever since they learned it from Epaphras. He prays that they will be filled with the knowledge of God's will, live in a way that is worthy of the Lord, bear fruit in good work and be strengthened to endure with joy. Already the keynote sounds. God "hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son."

The supremacy of Christ (1:15 to 23). Then comes the passage for which the letter is famous, a passage with the rhythm of a hymn. Christ "is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature." Everything that exists, in heaven and on earth, seen and unseen, every throne and dominion and power, was made through him and for him. "And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." The second half turns from creation to redemption. He is the head of the body, the church, and the firstborn from the dead, so that in everything he might have first place. "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell," and through him to reconcile all things, on earth and in heaven, "having made peace through the blood of his cross."

This is not abstract theology. It is aimed at people being told that other powers stand between them and God. Paul applies it immediately: you who were once estranged and hostile have been reconciled, to be presented holy and without blame, provided you remain grounded in the faith.

Paul's labor (1:24 to 2:7). Paul speaks of his own sufferings and his commission. He has been entrusted with a mystery hidden for ages and now disclosed, and the surprise of it is that it includes the Gentiles: "Christ in you, the hope of glory." His goal is to present every person mature in Christ, and for that he struggles with all the energy God gives him. He is concerned for the Colossians and for the neighboring church at Laodicea, people who have never seen his face, that they may be knit together in love and know Christ, "In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." He says this so that no one will mislead them with persuasive talk. They are to go on as they began: "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him."

The warning (2:8 to 23). Now the danger is named, though never fully described. "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." It is the only place in the New Testament where the word philosophy occurs. Against it stands a single sentence: "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." And the readers are complete in him. In him they have received a circumcision not made with hands. They were buried with him in baptism and raised with him. Their sins have been forgiven, and the record of debt that stood against them has been cancelled, nailed to the cross. The powers they are being taught to fear were stripped and publicly put to shame there.

The practical consequences follow. "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days." Such things are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ. Nor should anyone disqualify them by insisting on self-abasement and the worship of angels, going on about visions and puffed up without cause, while losing hold of the head from whom the whole body grows. If they died with Christ to the elemental forces of the world, why submit to regulations? "Touch not; taste not; handle not." Rules like these look wise, with their show of devotion and harsh treatment of the body, but they are of no real value in restraining the flesh.

The new life (3:1 to 17). The letter turns on the same logic in a positive direction. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." Their life is hidden with Christ in God. So they are to put to death what belongs to the old way of living: sexual immorality, impurity, evil desire, and greed, which is called idolatry; and also anger, malice, slander and filthy talk. They are not to lie to one another, since they have taken off the old self and put on the new, which is being renewed in the image of its creator. In that new humanity the old divisions lose their force: "there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all."

What they are to put on is described in a passage of great beauty: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving as they have been forgiven. "And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." The peace of God is to rule in their hearts. The word of Christ is to dwell in them richly as they teach one another and sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. One sentence gathers it all: "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus."

The household (3:18 to 4:1). The letter then addresses the members of a household in pairs. Wives are to be subject to their husbands and husbands are to love their wives and not be harsh with them. Children are to obey their parents, and fathers are not to provoke their children, in case they lose heart. Slaves are to obey their masters sincerely, working as for the Lord, from whom they will receive an inheritance. Masters are to treat their slaves justly and fairly, "knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven."

Last words (4:2 to 18). They are to persevere in prayer and to pray for Paul, that a door may open for the message for which he is in chains. Toward outsiders they should act wisely, and their speech should be gracious, "seasoned with salt." The letter will be carried by Tychicus, accompanied by Onesimus, "a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you." Greetings follow from Aristarchus, Mark the relative of Barnabas, Epaphras, who prays for them constantly, "Luke, the beloved physician," and Demas. The Colossians are to exchange letters with the church at Laodicea. Paul adds a line in his own hand: "Remember my bonds."

Why It Matters

Colossians contains one of the highest statements about Christ anywhere in the New Testament. It presents him as the one through whom and for whom the universe was made and by whom it holds together, and it extends his reconciling work beyond the church to all things. Some scholars see in it a view of Christ more developed than in Paul's other letters.

Its practical message is a consequence of that vision. If Christ is sufficient, then religious systems that promise something more through special diets, calendars, visions or severe self-discipline are a step backward, however impressive they look. The letter is equally clear that this freedom is not laxity. It leads to a transformed character, and to ordinary relationships lived "in the name of the Lord Jesus."

The household instructions, and especially the words to slaves and masters, have a difficult history, since they take the institution of slavery for granted. The passage does address slaves directly, promising them an inheritance from God, and it places masters under a master of their own.

On authorship, opinion is divided. The early church accepted the letter as Paul's, and many scholars still do, dating it to the early 60s during his imprisonment, perhaps in Rome. Others, since the nineteenth century, have attributed it to a follower writing in his name, pointing to its vocabulary, its hymn-like style and its developed teaching about Christ and the church, and placing it later in the first century. Defenders reply that a different subject, a different occasion and the use of a secretary can account for the differences, and they point to its close links with Philemon. One survey of scholars found a majority in favor of Paul. The precise nature of the teaching it opposes is also uncertain.

Who Should Read It

Read Colossians for its vision of Christ, which is breathtaking in so small a space, and for chapter 3, among the finest short descriptions of Christian character. It speaks to anyone drawn to spiritual techniques that promise an inner circle or a higher level, and to anyone who suspects that more rules will not make them better.