13. Colossians
13. Colossians
CONTENTS
The opening greeting (Col. 1:1-2) is followed by thanksgiving for the faith and the love of the Colossian Christians (1:3-13). Paul then launches into a magnificent section on the greatness of Christ (1:15-20) in which he brings out the truth that he is "the image of the invisible God,” that he was active in the creation of all things—indeed, we are also told (uniquely in the New Testament) that all things were made for him—and that he is the head of the church. The apostle goes on to Christ’s reconciling work (1:21-23) and relates something of his own sufferings as he works for Christ, of his struggling for believers such as those in Colossae and Laodicea whom he has not met (1:24-2:5).
Paul exhorts his readers to live in Christ and warns them against being taken captive by a "hollow and deceptive philosophy” (Col. 2:6-8). He comes back to the greatness of Christ, in whom "all the fullness of the Deity lives,” and reminds them of the salvation Christ has brought about (2:9-15). In the light of this they should not submit to people’s ideas about food laws and religious festivals (2:16-23). This leads to the truth that believers have been "raised with Christ”; they should live in accordance with this great fact. Paul goes into some detail about the things they should avoid and the things they should do (3:1-17); he gives directions about the way people should live in Christian households, speaking of wives, husbands, children, fathers, slaves, and masters (3:184:1). He rounds this section off with injunctions to pray and to be wise in their behavior toward outsiders (4:2-6).
Tychicus, he says, will bring the Colossians news of him, as will Onesimus. This leads to greetings from a number of Paul’s companions to the Colossian Christians (Col. 4:7-15). There is an injunction about the reading of the letter and exchanging it with one to the Laodiceans, a command for Archippus (4:16-17), and a short form of the usual Pauline ending to a letter (4:18).