Epistle to the Colossians

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, Full Text of Colossians

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Synopsis

The Epistle to the Colossians is a book of the New Testament. It was a letter written by the apostle Paul to the church in Colossae.

Chapters

1 2 3 4

Translations of Epistle to the Colossians

• World English Version

Related topics

• Apostle Paul
• Colossae

For related quotations see Epistle to the Colossians (quotes)

Main article

The Epistle to the Colossians is a book of the New Testament. It was a letter written by the apostle Paul to the church in Colossae.

Authorship

The letter begins by identifying the apostles Paul and Timothy as the authors. Paul's authorship is also confirmed by many of the church's early key figures such as Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, and Eusebius.

Date of the epistle

The letter was probably written by Paul at Rome during his first imprisonment there (Acts 28:16, 30), probably in the spring of AD 57, or, as some scholars think, AD 62, and soon after he had written his Epistle to Ephesians.

Themes and reasons for writing the letter

Like some of his other epistles (for example, those to Corinth), this seems to have been written in consequence of information which had been conveyed to him of the internal state of the church there by Epaphras (1:4-8). Its object was to counteract false teaching. A large part of it is directed against certain speculatists who attempted to combine the doctrines of Eastern mysticism and asceticism with Christianity, thereby promising believers enjoyment of a higher spiritual life and a deeper insight into the world of spirits. Paul argues against such teaching, showing that in Christ they had all things. He sets forth the majesty of his redemption. The mention of the "new moon" and "sabbath days" (2:16) shows that Gnostic ascetics were judging the body of Christ for "eating and drinking" and observing the "feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths." In response, Paul commands the saints to "let no one judge you...but the body of Christ,", that is, the church itself.

Links

Wikipedia - Epstle to the Colossians

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