OCCASION
OCCASION
The church at Colossae was not of Paul’s foundation (2:1). Epaphras had apparently been the preacher who brought the Christian gospel to that city (Col. 1:7). Paul describes him as "a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf” (1:7), which seems to mean that Paul had sent him to Colossae. Paul could not preach in every place, and it made sense to send trusted fellow workers to proclaim the gospel in places where he could not go himself. If so, he would retain an interest in the progress of such a church, and this letter may well have arisen out of such an interest. The apostle had heard that some false teachers had come to Colossae, so he wrote to refute their errors, lest the new little church be harmed.
The precise nature of the false teaching is not clear (as is always the case when we have none of the teaching itself, but only what is written to refute it), but some things are fairly plain. Paul puts emphasis on the supremacy of Christ (Col. 1:15-19), so it seems that the false teachers detracted in some way from a high Christology. Evidently they thought that Christ was no more than a beginning; to go on to spiritual maturity, it was necessary to follow their rules and practices. They may well have spoken of Christ in warm terms, but in the last resort they saw him as a created being and therefore as less than God. In the face of such teachings Paul insists that Christ is "the image of the invisible God” and the Father’s agent in bringing creation about (1:15-16). Every created thing owes its existence to him, even the angelic powers that these teachers invited people to worship. All God’s "fullness” dwells in Christ (1:19; 2:9). He is supreme over all, and there is no way of going on to some higher spirituality by deserting him.
Paul also speaks of "hollow and deceptive philosophy” (Col. 2:8). Unfortunately for us he does not explain what this means (the Colossians knew quite well, so why should he?). It seems that the false teaching had a Hellenistic aspect: "wisdom and knowledge” (2:3) may point to Greek roots, as perhaps do asceticism ("harsh treatment of the body” [2:23]) and "fullness” (πλήρωμα [pleroma], G4445, 1:19). There are puzzling references in 2:8, 20 to what NIV calls "the basic principles of this world” (τα στοιχεία του κοσμου [ta stoicheia tou kosmou]), an expression that some take to mean "elemental spirits” (RSV) and some, "elementary teaching” (KJV "rudiments”; cf. Heb. 5:12). 10 "Elemental spirits” would mean that the false teaching found a place for the worship of spirits, "elementary teaching” that the Colossians had failed to progress in the faith and were still taken up with elementary things.
But we must not see the error as simply a Greek aberration, for the references to circumcision (Col. 2:11; 3:11) show that there were Jewish elements in it as well. 11 "Human tradition” (2:8) may also point to Jewish teaching, perhaps the tradition of the elders. The Jews did not worship angels, but they had quite an interest in them; "the worship of angels” (2:18) may refer to some development of Jewish speculation about these celestial beings. Sabbath observance (2:16) was plainly Jewish, and the religious festivals and new-moon celebrations with which it is linked may also be Jewish in origin. The food regulations (2:16, 21) may be Jewish, but many religions had such regulations, so we cannot insist on it.
Our best understanding of the false teaching, then, is that it was a blend of Jewish and Hellenistic teachings. 12 Such syncretism was a feature of the ancient world, and it need not surprise us that when it appeared, it constituted an attraction for new and imperfectly instructed Christians: it was the sort of teaching that attracted first-century people. 13 Indeed, it is precisely because of the prevalence of such syncretism that Morna D. Hooker can question whether there was any Colossian heresy. She points out that if we find a modern Christian pastor telling people that Christ is greater than any astrological forces and that if Christians read their horoscopes in the newspaper they are succumbing to the pressures of contemporary society, we do not think of an invasion of the church by false teachers. 14 She thinks the situation in Colossae may have been something like that. Paul is concerned enough about it to spend time pointing the Colossians to right practices and right thinking, but he evidently does not think that the church is in a parlous state. His general satisfaction with the Colossian believers shines through the letter (see Col. 1:3-5; 2:5; 3:7). But whether or not Hooker is right, we may be reasonably sure that Paul judges the believers in Colossae to be in danger of popular syncretism and writes in part to protect them from the threat.