Reading the New Testament Colossians

A modern writer calls Colossians ‘one of Paul’s most powerful and attractive’ letters. Like Ephesians, Philippians (and Philemon) Paul wrote it from prison, probably under house arrest in Rome, 61-63 AD. He refers to himself by name in 1:1, 23 and in 4:18 he says I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. He refers to his chains (4:3) and in 4:10 calls Aristarchus his fellow-prisoner. He also writes (1:24) of filling up in his flesh what was still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions.

Colosse

Known for the glossy black wool produced from flocks tended by shepherds in the nearby hill country, Colosse lay 100 miles inland of Ephesus in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) on a rock ridge overlooking the Lycus River valley. Laodicea was 11 miles west, slightly to the north. Hierapolis was also nearby. Colosse was an important city in the Persian Wars of the fifth century BC but the other two places grew in significance and Colosse declined. By the first century AD it was still a good-size but rather decadent.

Paul had not visited these cities. He says the Colossians are among those who had not seen his face (2:1). Uniquely, the letter is to a church not founded by Paul himself. There is no record in Acts of its beginning though Luke says (19:10) that during the two years Paul preached in the lecture hall of Tyrannus in Ephesus, all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the Province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. The Colossian church was probably founded in this period.

The church there

Maybe Timothy (mentioned with Paul as writer) or another fellow-worker went east and planted the church. More likely, people from Colosse, especially Epaphras, came to Ephesus and were converted, then returned and started the churches in Colosse, Hierapolis and Laodicea. Paul says of the gospel (1:7, 8) You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. He is the one who had gone to Paul in Rome to discuss problems in Colosse. Also see 4:12, 13. Other people we know of in these churches include Nympha (4:15), Archippus (4:17) and Philemon and Apphia (see Philemon). From the way Paul speaks it seems Colosse was a largely Gentile church.

Heresy

The letter reflects concern over a heresy affecting the church. Being on trade routes to the east, the Colossians were influenced by oriental, mystical religions from that direction. We do not automatically leave all our old ways of thinking behind on conversion. The exact nature of the Colossian heresy is unclear. It is a little like hearing one side of a telephone conversation. We hear what Paul says against it and how he positively counteracts it but we do not know what was being said on the other side. It seems to have included Jewish legalistic practice mixed with Gentile pagan doctrine. We know there were many Jews in the area and they tended to be heretical. To what extent they had penetrated the church is unclear. What is apparent is that the Colossians were heavily influenced by the spirit of their age. This is always a danger.

We can identify seven characteristics of the heresy. Such ideas are still around today in different forms.

1. Promising fullness. It offered a spiritual fullness not otherwise attainable. Paul’s reference to fullness in Christ suggests perhaps this was their big thing. Yes, the Colossians are Christians but they needed more. This is typical of heresy. It just wants to add something. Beware!

2. Promising freedom. Freedom was also a big thing. They knew how to find it. In fact, Paul points out, the false teachers were only seeking to impose a new sort of slavery.

3. Gnostic. This word has been used a lot lately thanks to Dan Brown. They seem to have claimed a particular insight into the powers of evil and the Colossian heresy may have been an early form of Gnosticism. The ideas from which Gnosticism developed are likely to have been in circulation some time before its second century rise.

4. Ascetic. Asceticism was high on their agenda – fasting, harsh treatment of the body, etc.

5. Arrogant. They spoke of a higher knowledge reserved for the initiated. They went into great detail about what they had seen. Their unspiritual mind puffing them up with idle notions.

6. Backward-looking. What they were advocating was a step back into Judaism, into keeping religious festivals such as New Moon celebrations or Sabbath days. These are only a shadow of the things … to come. The reality is found in Christ.

7. Divisive. Like all false teachers they were divisive. Paul does not want the believers to be deceived by fine-sounding arguments but to united in love and peace for God’s glory, where there is no Greek or Jew, … but Christ is all, and is in all (3:11).

Other material

The Colossian heresy centred on Christ’s person of Christ. Paul corrects makes a positive presentation of the correct doctrine. He shows that all philosophies, ceremonies and spiritual powers are secondary to the glory and fullness of Christ.

This is in 1:14-22, a section that flows from the prayer he offers for them in the opening verses after the usual greeting. What Paul says of Christ can only be applied fully to God himself. The section is summarised in Paul’s assertion that in Christ the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily. Paul is using a term here familiar to the heretics - fullness - and applying it to Christ. He argues that in creation, redemption and our personal lives, Christ must be pre-eminent. 

The doctrine of redemption is prominent. In Christ we have forgiveness of sins (1:14); we are reconciled to God through the blood of the cross (1:20, 22) and all our debt is cancelled by Christ (2:14). In the light of all the Lord has accomplished, Paul argues that we should not submit ourselves to man-made ordinances but rather seek the things that are above.

Ephesians

As in Ephesians, he shows the kind of life and conduct that should flow from an understanding of our privileges in Christ. There are many similarities between Colossians and Ephesians. Some argue, unconvincingly, that Colossians is just a copy of Ephesians with certain matters added. One writer calls the books twins. They were written at the same time, so it is hardly surprising that the same matters were in Paul’s mind and that these were expressed in similar ways in both letters. An interesting difference is that in certain places where Ephesians speaks of the Spirit, Colossians speaks of the Word. These parallel verses are useful for cross-interpretation.

Reasons for writing

To sum up, among reasons for Paul writing his letter are

1. His prayerful concern for them. See 1:1-12.

2. His desire for them to have a clear understanding of Christ’s sovereign headship over creation and the church. See 1:13-29.

3. His obvious desire to warn against the heresy referred to. In Chapter 3 he begins to exhort the Colossians to a life of holiness.

4. The need to explain the mission of Tychicus and Onesimus who brought the letter. He sends greetings from those with him in Rome.

Outline

1. Greeting 1:1-2

2. The Person and Work of Christ 1:3-2:7

Paul’s Thanksgiving for the Church 1:3-8 Paul’s Prayer for the Church 1:9-12 The Pre-Eminence of Christ 1:13-23 Paul’s Sufferings and Concern for the Church 1:24-2:7

3. False Teaching and Its Remedy 2:8-3:4

False Philosophy 2:8-15

False Worship 2:16-19

False Asceticism 2:20-3:4

4. The Christian Life 3:5-4:6

Negatively Put off … 3:5-11

Positively Put on … 3:12-17

Family Relationships 3:18-4:1

General Conduct 4:2-6 

5. Personal Notes and Final Blessing 4:7-18

This article first appeared in Grace Magazine

Reading the New Testament Philippians

We all like Philippians. William Hendriksen has called it a ‘little gem of four sparkling chapters’. It is not the most important of Paul’s letters but it has what one writer calls ‘a peculiar charm’. Short, straightforward, positive, practical and casting light on some of the characters connected with the church at Philippi, it is full of interest. Bengel claimed ‘The sum of the epistle is I rejoice, rejoice ye’ and indeed the joy and rejoicing words appear many times (see 1:18, 25, 26; 2:2, 17, 18 29; 3:1, 4:1, 4, 10). Furthermore, there is the wonderful ‘hymn’ in Chapter 2 – full of theology and focused on Christ. Don Carson has preached and written on it under the heading Basics for believers. No wonder we are drawn to it.

It is one of three New Testament letters written by Paul from prison and is the most personal of his letters to churches. It is only a short letter but Paul uses the first personal pronoun around a hundred times! He speaks of himself, not in a boastful way, nor as a defence against attack on his authority and apostleship, as in 2 Corinthians, but rather out of a deep affection for the Philippians.

Philippi

Founded BC 356 and named for Alexander’s father Philip II, Philippi became part of the Roman Empire in BC 167. Anthony and Octavian defeated Brutus and Cassius there BC 42 and it became a Roman Colony. A strong sense of Roman citizenship would have prevailed in this ‘miniature Rome’, a fact that illuminates parts of Acts 16 and Philippians 3:20 especially, But our citizenship is in heaven, etc. The idea that we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, parallels the unrealised Philippian hope of a visit from the emperor.

Paul writes about a decade after he had first gone to the city on his first foray into Europe, along with Silas and Luke on his second missionary journey. The city had been responsive. Lydia’s conversion is recorded in Acts 16, as is the conversion of the gaoler and his family. They had become some of the first members of the church. The church had supported Paul financially in his travels and mission, particularly when he was fairly near to them in Macedonia and Greece. Now that they had heard of his troubles in Jerusalem and subsequent transfer to Rome, they had once again contributed to his needs. They sent this by the hand of Epaphroditus. After reaching Rome he had been taken seriously ill, and was at the point of death. Paul ascribed his recovery to prayer. God had been merciful in sparing him the sorrow of losing this friend and fellow-labourer. The church had heard of his illness and was concerned about him, so Paul now sends him back with this letter, to assured them that he had discharged his task in relaying the gift to the apostle.

The letter was probably written toward the end of Paul’s two years imprisoned in Rome. Some commentators say it was written before the other prison letters to Asia, as the style of the language is more like that used by Paul in the letters written during his travels. However, we have to allow for some time to elapse after his imprisonment started for the news to travel to Philippi, and for the church there to have sent Epaphroditus to him. Paul mentions his reputation among the Praetorian Guard (1:13) and the entry of the gospel into Caesar’s household (4:22), both of which would have taken a while to happen. All this seems to indicate a date toward the close of his imprisonment, perhaps in the latter part of AD 61.

There does not seem to have been any particular heresy or error to deal with. The only problem directly addressed is that of the two women, Euodia and Syntyche (4:2), who had a disagreement and needed to be urged to unity. Paul does speak of a Judaising tendency in Chapter 3, but this could be seen as a potential rather than an actual threat, and Paul was simply guarding against its entry into the church

The gospel

Some have described the letter as a ‘Thank you’ note, which in some ways it was. One of the main themes of the letter is the gospel, which Paul mentions nine times. He speaks of fellowship in the gospel (1:5), the confirmation of the gospel (1:7), the progress of the gospel (1:9), the defence of the gospel (1:16), being worthy of the gospel (1:27), striving for the faith of the gospel (1:27), service in the gospel (2:22), labour in the gospel (4:3) and the beginning of the gospel (4:13). He does not give any definition of the gospel in the letter. It was a term that was well understood by the church. He uses the term as expressing a body of faith, a message, and the work of preaching it. He does speak eloquently of the humbling and death of Christ in Chapter 2, and of seeking Christ’s righteousness in Chapter 3, so the basic elements of the gospel are covered in the letter.

Joy

Another theme, or really a characteristic note in the letter, as we have said, is that of joy. Paul’s outward circumstances were anything but joyful: he was in prison and could soon face death, as he makes clear in Chapter 1. However, he is thankful for every memory of the Philippians, and even when Christ was preached from wrong motives, thinking to cause him distress, he could rejoice that Christ was proclaimed. He urges his readers to rejoice in the Lord, commit everything to God in prayer, and dwell upon what is good.

Outline

1. Greetings and Introduction 1:1-11

Opening greetings 1:1,2

Thanksgiving and prayer 1:3-11

2. Paul’s Personal Circumstances 1:12-26

Advancing the gospel 1:12-18a

Life in Christ, a life of joy 1:18b-26

3. Exhortation to Worthy Conduct 1:27-2:18

Encouragement to Worthy Living 1:27-30

Christ Our Example 2:1-11

A great deal of controversy has raged around the precise meaning of kenosis - the statement that Christ emptied Himself (2:7) - some have taken it to mean that he even emptied himself of his deity when he came to earth as man. However, we see from Colossians that this was not so. The fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in him. It can only mean that he divested himself of the outward manifestation of his glory and deity, while at the same time remaining fully God. This is one of the outstanding New Testament passages on the incarnation of Christ, even though its prime intention is not really to teach Christological doctrine, but rather to exhort humility: it shows how doctrine and practice are inextricably linked.

The Object of Worthy Living 2:12-18

4. Commendation of Fellow Workers 2:19-30

5. Warning Against Legalism and Antinomianism 3:1-4:1

Warning against Judaisers 3:1-4a

Paul’s Testimony 3:4b-11

Pressing on and up 3:12-4:1

6. Closing Counsels and Greetings 4:2-23

Unity 4:2, 3

Joy 4:4-7

Thought 4:8, 9

Thanksgiving 4:10-20

Greeting 4:21-23

This article originally appeared in Grace Magazine

Reading the New Testament Ephesians

Comprehensive, clear, practical and winsome, Ephesians was John Calvin’s favourite letter. One theologian called it ‘the greatest … maturest … most relevant’ of Paul’s letters and ‘pure music’. Many have highly praised it. ‘The divinest composition of man’; ‘the grand canyon of Scripture’; ‘queen of the epistles’; ‘the crown of Paul’s writings’ are just some of the phrases used. Dr Lloyd-Jones spent many months expounding it on Sunday mornings at Westminster Chapel. His younger contemporary John Stott described the letter as ‘a marvellously concise, yet comprehensive summary of the good news and its implications’ that nobody can read ‘without being moved to wonder and worship, and challenged to consistency of life.’

Prison letters

It was probably written while Paul was under house arrest at Rome in 60 and 61 AD and, with Philemon, Colossians and Philippians, is one of four New Testament ‘prison epistles’. Some opt for Caesarea in the years 56, 57 AD but the traditional view is that they were written from Rome. Paul makes references in these letters not only to his chains and being a prisoner (Ephesians 3:1, 4:1, 6:20) but also speaks of Caesar’s household and the Praetorian Guard in Philippians, suggesting he was at Rome. The daily sight of Roman soldiers no doubt informs the famous verses about spiritual armour in Ephesians 6.

The letter to Philemon arose out of the specific circumstances of Onesimus. As a letter was being taken from Rome to Asia Minor, it was a good opportunity for Paul to send other letters. Ephesians and Colossians were written at the same time and carried by Tychicus, who accompanied Onesimus back home. Ephesians 6:21 (like Colossians 4:7) says that Tychicus would give the churches further information about Paul and his circumstances. Other men with Paul at this time are Aristarchus, Epaphras, Luke, Demas, Jesus Justus and Mark, now back with Paul. Ephesus was capital of the Roman Province of Asia and we read about the beginnings of the church there in Acts 19, 20. Another brief letter to the Ephesians is in Revelation 2:1-7.

Circular

By this time Paul had founded many churches in differing cities and cultures. The theme of the church is prominent in Ephesians. In this letter we find the word church being used of the universal body of believers, rather than just individual local groups. Perhaps looking back on his labours had prompted Paul to think further about the nature of the new body that had come into being.

It is possible that the letter was written not only to Ephesus but was a circular letter for all the churches in the area. Some ancient manuscript copies omit the words at Ephesus in 1:1. There are different theories to explain this omission. For instance, was the letter to be read in a number of churches, the reader inserting the church’s name at the appropriate point. Paul does refer in Colossians to a letter he had sent to Laodicea, which he says should be read to the Colossians and that the letter to the Colossians should be read at Laodicea. This Laodicean letter could have been what we call Ephesians. It seems then that such exchanges of letters took place as soon as they were written, not just when the New Testament canon had been drawn up.

Themes

Like Romans, Ephesians gives comprehensive teaching on salvation, but in a different manner and style. It is ‘a mini-course in theology centred on the church’. Paul had already spent two years and three months teaching at Ephesus, and the church there had received the services of Apollos, and of Priscilla and Aquila. It was a well-taught church but he continues to lead them further into Christian doctrine.

Paul’s main theme is the church, a single body composed of both Jews and Gentiles without distinction, with standards of its own and engaged in a spiritual battle. There are other themes. One writer discovered 27 distinct doctrines here. God’s sovereign purpose dominates the first half as Paul elaborates the plan of God in redemption, He chose us ... he predestined us (1:4, 5) his will (1:9,11). He raised Christ (1:20), he has raised us (2:4-6); we are his workmanship (2:10). In the second half of the letter the way of life of the believer in response to this divine initiative is emphasised. We are urged to walk worthy of our calling (4:1), to be imitators of God (5:1) and to put aside our former way of life (4:22-24, 5:8). Another recurring theme and phrase is in the heavenlies, which describes the sphere of our blessings and activities (1:3,10,20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12). This refers to a spiritual rather than a geographical or physical locality. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is also prominent in the letter. He is the seal (1:13), means of access to God the Father (2:18), source of revealed truth (3:5), source of power (3:16), bond of our unity (4:3-4), One whom we are to avoid grieving (4:30), stimulus to our joy (5:18) and our strength and defence in spiritual conflict (6:17).

Outline

The letter’s theme is the church and its glory. We can divide its six chapters into nine parts. The first six (Chapters 1-3) are doctrinal. The other three (Chapters 4-6) give practical application.

1. Introduction 1:1, 2 

2. The Establishment of the Church 1:3-14

By the Father 1:3-6

In the Son 1:6-12

Through the Spirit 1:13, 14

3. Prayer for the Church 1:15-23

Paul prays that his readers would know

The hope of God’s calling

The riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints

The greatness of his Power

4. The Creation of the Church 2:1-10

He speaks of The material: children of wrath

The means: by grace

The purpose: good works

5. The Scope of the Church 2:11-22 The Union of Jew and Gentile in Christ

6. The Calling of the Church 3:1-21

To Reveal the Wisdom of God 3:1-13

To reveal the Fullness of God (a Prayer) 3:14-21

7. The Behaviour of the Church 4:1-6:9

Its Ministry:

Diversity in Unity 4:1-16

Its Moral Standards 4:17-5:14

Its Behaviour Toward the World 5:15-21

Its Internal Relationships 5:22-6:9

8. The Spiritual Conflict 6:10-20

Our Enemy and our Strength and Defence

9. Conclusion 6:21-24