Epaphras, one of Paul’s converts, founded the church in Colosse (1:7; 4:12;13); Paul had never been there personally (2:1). While imprisoned in Rome, Paul heard that false doctrines were being introduced in the church, so he wrote this letter to warn the believers and to establish them in the faith.
The key theme is the preeminence of Christ (1:18) because the false teachers made Christ one of several emanations from God. They mixed Christian truth with their doctrines of Jewish legalism and Oriental mysticism. Colossians is the perfect answer to the so-called New Age movement today, for it affirms that in Jesus Christ believers are complete and have the fullness of God available to them (2:9–10).
Chapters 1–2 are doctrinal and present Jesus Christ as the preeminent Creator, Savior, and Lord. Chapters 3–4 are practical and show how the believer works out the preeminence of Christ in daily living. Because the epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians were written about the same time, you will see parallels; but Ephesians emphasizes the body (the church), while Colossians emphasizes the Head of the body (Jesus Christ). The letters complement each other.
