The book of Colossians is particularly interesting because it is a letter Paul wrote to a church he had neither founded nor visited.
The Colossians were strangers to Paul, and the only other church he wrote to under similar circumstances was the church in Rome. When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, he had not yet visited them. However, he eventually did when he arrived in Rome as a prisoner (Acts 28).
In fact, Colossians is believed to have been written during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome. It is one of the four "Prison Epistles" penned during the events of Acts 28:
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- Philemon
As far as we know, Paul never visited the Colossian church. It is believed that the church was founded by Epaphras, one of Paul’s associates (Colossians 1:7). Epaphras visited Paul while he was in prison and informed him about the Colossian church and the challenges they were facing.
A Personal Reflection
Like the book of Romans, Colossians lays out foundational Christian teachings. We—just like the Colossians—have never met Paul, which makes these letters feel especially relevant to us.
What would Paul say to believers he had never met? Well, he wrote Romans and Colossians. Read them. Interestingly, the Colossians and Romans were Gentile believers—just like most of us.
Overall Structure
Colossians is very short. It is 4 chapters long. It comes right after Philippians and before 1 Thessalonians
I do not have the qualifications or knowledge to break down the poetry or arrangement of the book. Here are the things that stand out to me:
Paul’s final remarks (Yes, I’m starting from the back) consist of quite a few cameos:
We see Onesimus (of Philemon fame- He is a major subject in the book of Philemon).
We see Mark, who I am especially happy to see. If Paul wrote this in Acts 28, then that means he reconciled with Mark, who had abandoned Paul in Acts 13 and was the reason Barnabas and Paul split in Acts 15. In Timothy 4:11, Paul mentions that Mark became useful to him in ministry.
Fun Fact: This is the same Mark who wrote “The Gospel according to Mark”, which is believed to be based on the teachings and memoirs of Peter. The gospel according to Mark is widely believed to be the earliest of the 4 gospels.
Mark, who caused a great problem early on, rose to be useful to Paul and contributed greatly to the church. So cheer up, you Christian who has fallen.
Colossians chapter 4 also features Luke, another gospel writer. Fun Fact: This is where we learn he was a doctor.
Demas is also mentioned. He is mentioned again in Philemon as a worker with Paul. However, by 2 Timothy, he seems unfortunately to have fallen away (2 Tim 4:10); a sad and important cautionary tale.
Like I said before, Colossians is fundamental Christianity. Paul speaks on
- The Supremacy of Christ
- Our fullness in Christ
- Freedom from the law
- Fleeing sin
- The structure of the Church Home and more
All of these are worthy of long essays by themselves.
I will pause here, though, and will likely include a part 2 later on.
Just like Paul prayed for the Colossians, I pray that you will be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
0 Comments