Text -- Colossians 3:15 (NET)

3:15 Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: Col 3:15

The peace of Christ ( hē eirēnē tou Christou ).

The peace that Christ gives (Joh 14:27).

Robertson: Col 3:15

Rule ( brabeuetō ).

Imperative active third singular of brabeuō , to act as umpire (brabeus ), old verb, here alone in N.T. See note on 1Co 7:15 for called in peace.

Robertson: Col 3:15

In one body ( en heni sōmati ).

With one Head (Christ) as in Col 1:18, Col 1:24.

Robertson: Col 3:15

Be ye thankful ( eucharistoi ginesthe ).

"Keep on becoming thankful."Continuous obligation.

Vincent: Col 3:15

Peace of Christ

Which comes from Christ. See Joh 14:27; Eph 2:14.

Vincent: Col 3:15

Rule ( βραβεύετω )

Lit., be umpire . Only here in the New Testament. See on Col 2:18. The previous references to occasions for meekness, long-suffering, forbearance, forgiveness, etc., indicate a conflict of passions and motives in the heart. Christ is the one who adjusts all these, so that the metaphorical sense is appropriate, as in Col 2:18.

Vincent: Col 3:15

Called in one body

See Eph 4:4. So that ye are in one body according to your call.

Wesley: Col 3:15

Shall sway every temper, affection, thought, as the reward (so the Greek word implies) of your preceding love and obedience.

JFB: Col 3:15

The oldest manuscripts and versions read, "The peace of CHRIST" (compare Phi 4:7). "The peace of GOD." Therefore Christ is God. Peace was His legacy to His disciples before He left them (Joh 14:27), "MY peace I give unto you." Peace is peculiarly His to give. Peace follows love (Col 3:14; Eph 4:2-3).

JFB: Col 3:15

Literally, "sit as umpire"; the same Greek verb simple, as appears compounded (Col 2:18). The false teacher, as a self-constituted umpire, defrauds you of your prize; but if the peace of Christ be your umpire ruling in your hearts, your reward is sure. "Let the peace of Christ act as umpire when anger, envy, and such passions arise; and restrain them." Let not those passions give the award, so that you should be swayed by them, but let Christ's peace be the decider of everything.

JFB: Col 3:15

Many wear a peaceful countenance and speak peace with the mouth, while war is in their hearts (Psa 28:3; Psa 55:21).

JFB: Col 3:15

That is, with a view to which state of Christian peace (Isa 26:3); 1Co 7:15, "God hath called us to peace."

JFB: Col 3:15

Greek, "ye were also called." The "also" implies that besides Paul's exhortation, they have also as a motive to "peace," their having been once for all called.

JFB: Col 3:15

(Eph 4:4). The unity of the body is a strong argument for "peace" among the members.

JFB: Col 3:15

For your "calling." Not to have "peace ruling in your hearts" would be inconsistent with the "calling in one body," and would be practical unthankfulness to God who called us (Eph 5:4, Eph 5:19-20).

Clarke: Col 3:15

And let the peace of God - Instead of Θεου, God, Χριστου, Christ, is the reading of ABC*D*FG, several others, both the Syriac, the Arabic of Erpen, Coptic, Ethopic, Armenian, Vulgate, and Itala, with several of the fathers; on this evidence Griesbach has inserted it in the text

Clarke: Col 3:15

Rule in your hearts - Βραβευετω· Let the peace of Christ judge, decide, and govern in your hearts, as the brabeus , or judge, does in the Olympic contests. No heart is right with God where the peace of Christ does not rule; and the continual prevalence of the peace of Christ is the decisive proof that the heart is right with God. When a man loses his peace, it is an awful proof that he has lost something else; that he has given way to evil, and grieved the Spirit of God. While peace rules, all is safe

Clarke: Col 3:15

In one body - Ye cannot have peace with God, in yourselves, nor among each other, unless ye continue in unity; and, as one body, continue in connection and dependence on him who is your only head: to this ye are called; it is a glorious state of salvation, and ye should be for ever thankful that ye are thus privileged.

Calvin: Col 3:15

15.And the peace of God. He gives the name of the peace of God to that which God has established among us, as will appear from what follows. He would have it reign in our hearts. ⁴⁴⁵ He employs, however, a very appropriate metaphor; for as among wrestlers, ⁴⁴⁶ he who has vanquished all the others carries off the palm, so he would have the peace of God be superior to all carnal affections, which often hurry us on to contentions, disagreements, quarrels, secret grudges. He accordingly prohibits us from giving loose reins to corrupt affections of this kind. As, however it is difficult to restrain them, he points out also the remedy, that the peace of God may carry the victory, because it must be a bridle, by which carnal affections may be restrained. Hence he says, in our hearts; because we constantly feel there great conflicts, while the flesh lusteth against the Spirit. (Gal 5:17.)

The clause, to which ye are called, intimates what manner of peace this is — that unity which Christ has consecrated among us under his own direction. ⁴⁴⁷ For God has reconciled us to himself in Christ, (2Co 5:18,) with this view, that we may live in entire harmony among ourselves. He adds, in one body, meaning by this, that we cannot be in a state of agreement with God otherwise than by being united among ourselves as members of one body. When he bids us be thankful, I do not take this as referring so much to the remembrance of favors, as to sweetness of manners. Hence, with the view of removing ambiguity, I prefer to render it, “Be amiable.” At the same time I acknowledge that, if gratitude takes possession of our minds, ⁴⁴⁸ we shall without fail be inclined to cherish mutual affection among ourselves.

Defender: Col 3:15

See Phi 4:7."

TSK: Col 3:15

the peace : Psa 29:11; Isa 26:3, Isa 27:5, Isa 57:15, Isa 57:19; Joh 14:27, Joh 16:33; Rom 5:1, Rom 14:17; Rom 15:13; 2Co 5:19-21; Eph 2:12-18, Eph 5:1; Phi 4:7

to the : 1Co 7:15; Eph 2:16, Eph 2:17, Eph 4:4, Eph 4:16

and be : Col 3:17, Col 1:12, Col 2:7; Psa 100:4, Psa 107:22, Psa 116:17; Jon 2:9; Luk 17:16-18; Rom 1:21; 2Co 4:15, 2Co 9:11; Eph 5:20; Phi 4:6; 1Th 5:18; 1Ti 2:1; Heb 13:15; Rev 7:12

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Col 3:15

And let the peace of God - The peace which God gives; Notes, Phi 4:7.

Rule in your hearts - Preside in your hearts; sit as umpire there (Doddridge); govern and control you. The word rendered here "rule"- βραβεύετω brabeuetō - is commonly used in reference to the Olympic and other games. It means, to be a director, or arbiter of the public games; to preside over them and preserve order, and to distribute the prizes to the victors. The meaning here is, that the peace which God gives to the soul is to be to us what the brabeutes, or governor at the games was to those who contended there. It is to preside over and govern the mind; to preserve every thing in its place; and to save it from tumult, disorder, and irregularity. The thought is a very beautiful one. The soul is liable to the agitations of passion and excitement - like an assembled multitude of men. It needs something to preside over it, and keep its various faculties in place and order; and nothing is so well fitted to do this as the calm peace which religion gives, a deep sense of the presence of God, the desire and the evidence of his friendship, the hope of his favor, and the belief that he has forgiven all our sins. The "peace of God"will thus calm down every agitated element of the soul; subdue the tumult of passion, and preserve the mind in healthful action and order - as a ruler sways and controls the passions of assembled multitudes of people.

To the which ye are also called - To which peace.

In one body - To be one body; or to be united as one; notes, Eph 4:4-6.

And be ye thankful - For all mercies, and especially for your privileges and hopes as Christians. A spirit of thankfulness, also, would tend much to promote harmony and peace. An ungrateful people is commonly a tumultuous, agitated, restless, and dissatisfied people. Nothing better tends to promote peace and order than gratitude to God for his mercies.

Poole: Col 3:15

And let the peace of God he doth not say the peace of the world, but the peace of God, or, as some copies, the peace of Christ; be sure, without the mediation of Christ we can have no peace with God; he alone hath made peace, Col 1:20 , with Col 2:14 ; he is our peace, making it with God and amongst ourselves, to whom he hath preached it, Act 10:36 Eph 2:14-17 , and whom he hath brought into the bond of it, Eph 4:3 ; the Lord of peace himself, who always gives it where it is enjoyed, Joh 14:27 2Th 3:16 . It is then the peace of God through Christ; see Phi 4:7,9 ; by faith in whom we have peace in our own hearts with God, Isa 32:17 Rom 5:1 , and Rom 14:17 , and with one another, Joh 17:21 Rom 15:6,7,13 . That the members of Christ may live in this peace, 2Co 13:11 , the apostle here enjoins, as we render the word, let it rule in your hearts: the Greek word (both simple here, and compound, Col 2:18 ) is no where else to be found in the New Testament but in this Epistle, and it may signify either to arbitrate, or to mediate: our translation and the generality of interpreters take it in the former notion, for to arbitrate, or to rule, govern, sway, or moderate by way of arbitration, as he who sat judge, or umpire, to adjudge the reward in the agonistics. So the import of the apostle’ s injunction is, let it regulate, govern, superintend, or give law to the rest of the affections of the new man; let it be mistress and governess of all your motions, to keep them in due respect, and withhold them from attempting any thing disorderly, and to oversway disinclinations to the Divine pleasure or the good order of Christian community. The Arabic version is, let it be as the centre. Yet one learned man, conceiving the apostle doth here, as before, Col 2:18 , glance upon the false apostles, (who would insinuate the mediation or intercession of angels), thinks because the word signifies also to mediate, intercede, or interpose, the apostle’ s meaning may be, let the peace of God be to you instead of all conceited angelical mediators or intercessors, which would derogate from him that made peace, Col 1:20 , nailing what hindered to his cross, Col 2:14 ; let that preponderate with you in your hearts to overbalance any thing that can be suggested to the contrary.

To the which also ye are called in one body considering the Divine vocation, or the call of God, Rom 12:18 1Co 7:15 , and the condition or unity of the body into which ye are called under Christ your Head, 1Co 10:16,12:12,13,25,26 Eph 4:4 . He adds,

and be ye thankful be ye gracious, or amiable, of an obliging temper (as some render the word, passively); or rather, as we take it, actively, be ye thankful, i.e. to God and Christ, and Christians; be mindful of the benefits ye have received, giving thanks to God always for all things, Eph 5:20 , and behaving yourselves as becomes the gospel.

Haydock: Col 3:15

The peace of Christ rejoice: [2] reign, conquer, bear away the prize. (Witham)

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Exultet, Greek: brabeueto, palmam referat.

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Gill: Col 3:15

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,.... By "the peace of God" is meant, either the peace believers have with God, which is his gift, and passes all understanding, and flows from a comfortable apprehension of interest in the blood, righteousness, and atonement of Christ; or rather that peace which does, or should subsist among the saints themselves, which God is the author of, calls for, and requires, and encourages in them. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and, Ethiopic versions, read, "the peace of Christ"; and so the Alexandrian copy, and some others. This may be said to "reign" in their hearts, when it is the governing principle there; when it restrains the turbulent passions of anger, wrath, and revenge, allays undue heats, moderates the spirits, and composes differences. The metaphor is taken from the judge in the Olympic games, who was the umpire, the moderator, and who determined whose the victory was, and to whom the crown belonged; the apostle would have no other umpire among the saints than the peace of God: and the arguments he uses follow,

to the which also you are called in one body; the saints in their effectual calling are called to peace by God, who is the God of peace; by Christ, who is the Prince of peace; and by the Spirit, whose fruit is peace; and through the Gospel, which is the Gospel of peace, and into a Gospel state, which lies in peace, righteousness, and joy in the Holy Ghost: and they are not only called to this, but they are called "in one body"; though they are many members, yet they are but one body; and therefore ought to be in peace, and that should bear the sway in them, seeing it is unnatural for members of the same body to quarrel with each other.

And be ye thankful; which intends either gratitude to men, to fellow creatures, for any service or kindness done by them, especially to the saints, the members of the same body, who are placed in a subservience, and in order to be useful to each other; or else to God, for all spiritual blessings in Christ, and particularly the peace he gives, for the effectual calling, and a place in the body, the church; and "to Christ", as the Syriac version reads, for all those graces which come from him, and strength to exercise them, and for himself, and an interest in him, who is all in all; and a grateful spirit, both for spiritual and temporal mercies, is a very becoming and beautiful one, and is another part of the ornament of a Christian: this last is added to make way for what follows.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Col 3:15

¹ tn Grk “in one body.” This phrase emphasizes the manner in which the believers were called, not the goal of their calling, and focuses upon their unity.

Geneva Bible: Col 3:15

And let the peace of God ^{( i )} rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in ^{( k )} one body; and be ye thankful.

^{( i )} Rule and govern all things.

^{( k )} You are joined together into one body through God's goodness, so that you might help one another, as fellow members.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Col 3:1-25

1 He shows where we should seek Christ.

5 He exhorts to mortification;

10 to put off the old man, and put on Christ;

12 exhorting to charity, humility, and other several duties.

Maclaren: Col 3:1-15

Risen With Christ

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. 5. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6. For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience. 7. In the which ye also walked sometime, when ye lived in them. 8. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10. And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him: 11. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. 12. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness longsuffering; 13. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 15. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.'--Col. 3:1-15.

THE resurrection is regarded in Scripture in three aspects--as a fact establishing our Lord's Messiahship, as a prophecy of our rising from the dead, and as a symbol of the Christian life even now. The last is the aspect under which Paul deals with it here.

I. Col. 3:1-4 Set Forth The Wonderful But Most Real Union Of The Believer With The Risen Christ.

We have said that the Lord's resurrection is regarded as a symbol, but that is an incomplete representation of the truth here taught, for Paul believed that the Christian is so joined to Jesus as that he has, not in symbol only, but in truth, risen with him. Mark the emphasis and depth of the expressions setting forth the believer's unity with his Lord: Ye were raised together with Christ'; Ye died, and your life is hid with Christ.' And these wonderful statements do not go to the bottom of the fact, for Paul goes beyond even them, and does not scruple to say that Christ is our life.'

The ground of these great declarations is found in the fact that faith joins us in most real and close union to Jesus Christ, so that in His death we die to sin and the world, and that, even while we live the bodily life of men here, we have in us another life, derived from Jesus. Unless our Christianity has grasped that great truth, it has not risen to the height of New Testament teaching and Christian privilege. We cannot make too much of' Christ our sacrifice,' but some of us make too little of Christ our life,' and thereby fail to understand in all its fulness that other truth on which they fasten so exclusively. Union with Christ in the possession of His life in us, and the consequent rooting of our lives in Him, is a truth which much of the evangelical Christianity of this day needs to see more clearly.

The life is hid,' as being united with Jesus, and consequently withdrawn from the world, which neither comprehends nor sustains it. A Christian man is bound to manifest to the utmost of his power what is the motive and aim of his life; but the devout life is, like the divine life, a mystery, unrevealed after all revelation.

The practical conclusion from this blessed union with Jesus is that we are, as Christians, bound to be true in our conduct to the facts of our spiritual life, and to turn away from the world, which is now not our home, and set our mind (not only our affections ) on things above. Surely the Christ, seated on the right hand of God,' will be as a magnet to draw our conscious being upwards to Himself. Surely union with Him in His death will lead us to die to the world which is alien to us, and to live in aspiration, thought, desire, love, and obedience with Him in His calm abode, whence He rules and blesses the souls whom, through their faith, He has made to live the new life of heaven on earth.

MHCC: Col 3:12-17

We must not only do no hurt to any, but do what good we can to all. Those who are the elect of God, holy and beloved, ought to be lowly and compassionate towards all. While in this world, where there is so much corruption in our hearts, quarrels will sometimes arise. But it is our duty to forgive one another, imitating the forgiveness through which we are saved. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts; it is of his working in all who are his. Thanksgiving to God, helps to make us agreeable to all men. The gospel is the word of Christ. Many have the word, but it dwells in them poorly; it has no power over them. The soul prospers, when we are full of the Scriptures and of the grace of Christ. But when we sing psalms, we must be affected with what we sing. Whatever we are employed about, let us do every thing in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in believing dependence on him. Those who do all in Christ's name, will never want matter of thanksgiving to God, even the Father.

Matthew Henry: Col 3:12-17

The apostle proceeds to exhort to mutual love and compassion: Put on therefore bowels of mercy, Col 3:12. We must not only put off anger and wrath (as Col 3:8), but we must put on compassion and kindness; not only cease to do evil, but learn to do well; not only not do hurt to any, but do what good we can to all.

I. The argument here used to enforce the exhortation is very affecting: Put on, as the elect of God, holy and beloved. Observe, 1. Those who are holy are the elect of God; and those who are the elect of God, and holy, are beloved - beloved of God, and ought to be so of all men. 2. Those who are the elect of God, holy and beloved, ought to conduct themselves in every thing as becomes them, and so as not to lose the credit of their holiness, nor the comfort of their being chosen and beloved. It becomes those who are holy towards God to be lowly and loving towards all men. Observe, What we must put on in particular. (1.) Compassion towards the miserable: Bowels of mercy, the tenderest mercies. Those who owe so much to mercy ought to be merciful to all who are proper objects of mercy. Be you merciful, as your Father is merciful, Luk 6:36. (2.) Kindness towards our friends, and those who love us. A courteous disposition becomes the elect of God; for the design of the gospel is not only to soften the minds of men, but to sweeten them, and to promote friendship among men as well as reconciliation with God. (3.) Humbleness of mind, in submission to those above us, and condescension to those below us. There must not only be a humble demeanour, but a humble mind. Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, Mat 11:29. (4.) Meekness towards those who have provoked us, or been any way injurious to us. We must not be transported into any indecency by our resentment of indignities and neglects: but must prudently bridle our own anger, and patiently bear the anger of others. (5.) Long-suffering towards those who continue to provoke us. Charity suffereth long, as well as is kind, 1Co 13:4. Many can bear a short provocation who are weary of bearing when it grows long. But we must suffer long both the injuries of men and the rebukes of divine Providence. If God is long-suffering to us, under all our provocations of him, we should exercise long-suffering to others in like cases. (6.) Mutual forbearance, in consideration of the infirmities and deficiencies under which we all labour: Forbearing one another. We have all of us something which needs to be borne with, and this is a good reason why we should bear with others in what is disagreeable to us. We need the same good turn from others which we are bound to show them. (7.) A readiness to forgive injuries: Forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any. While we are in this world, where there is so much corruption in our hearts, and so much occasion of difference and contention, quarrels will sometimes happen, even among the elect of God, who are holy and beloved, as Paul and Barnabas had a sharp contention, which parted them asunder one from the other (Act 15:39), and Paul and Peter, Gal 2:14. But it is our duty to forgive one another in such cases; not to bear any grudge, but put up with the affront and pass it by. And the reason is: Even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. The consideration that we are forgiven by Christ so many offences is a good reason why we should forgive others. It is an argument of the divinity of Christ that he had power on earth to forgive sins; and it is a branch of his example which we are obliged to follow, if we ourselves would be forgiven. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, Mat 6:12.

II. In order to all this, we are exhorted here to several things: - 1. To clothe ourselves with love (Col 3:14): Above all things put on charity: epi pasi di toutois - over all things. Let this be the upper garment, the robe, the livery, the mark of our dignity and distinction. Or, Let this be principal and chief, as the whole sum and abstract of the second table. Add to faith virtue, and to brotherly-kindness charity, 2Pe 1:5-7. He lays the foundation in faith, and the top-stone in charity, which is the bond of perfectness, the cement and centre of all happy society. Christian unity consists of unanimity and mutual love. 2. To submit ourselves to the government of the peace of God (Col 3:15): Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, that is, God's being at peace with you, and the comfortable sense of his acceptance and favour: or, a disposition to peace among yourselves, a peaceable spirit, that keeps the peace, and makes peace. This is called the peace of God, because it is of his working in all who are his. The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace, Rom 14:17. "Let this peace rule in your heart - prevail and govern there, or as an umpire decide all matters of difference among you."- To which you are called in one body. We are called to this peace, to peace with God as our privilege and peace with our brethren as our duty. Being united in one body, we are called to be at peace one with another, as the members of the natural body; for we are the body of Christ, and members in particular, 1Co 12:27. To preserve in us this peaceable disposition, we must be thankful. The work of thanksgiving to God is such a sweet and pleasant work that it will help to make us sweet and pleasant towards all men. "Instead of envying one another upon account of any particular favours and excellence, be thankful for his mercies, which are common to all of you."3. To let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, Col 3:16. The gospel is the word of Christ, which has come to us; but that is not enough, it must dwell in us, or keep house - enoikeitō , not as a servant in a family, who is under another's control, but as a master, who has a right to prescribe to and direct all under his roof. We must take our instructions and directions from it, and our portion of meat and strength, of grace and comfort, in due season, as from the master of the household. It must dwell in us; that is, be always ready and at hand to us in every thing, and have its due influence and use. We must be familiarly acquainted with it, and know it for our good, Job 5:27. It must dwell in us richly: not only keep house in our hearts, but keep a good house. Many have the word of Christ dwelling in them, but it dwells in them but poorly; it has no mighty force and influence upon them. Then the soul prospers when the word of God dwells in us richly, when we have abundance of it in us, and are full of the scriptures and of the grace of Christ. And this in all wisdom. The proper office of wisdom is to apply what we know to ourselves, for our own direction. The word of Christ must dwell in us, not in all notion and speculation, to make us doctors, but in all wisdom, to make us good Christians, and enable us to conduct ourselves in every thing as becomes Wisdom's children. 4. To teach and admonish one another. This would contribute very much to our furtherance in all grace; for we sharpen ourselves by quickening others, and improve our knowledge by communicating it for their edification. We must admonish one another in psalms and hymns. Observe, Singing of psalms is a gospel ordinance: psalmois kai humnois kai ōdais - the Psalms of David, and spiritual hymns and odes, collected out of the scripture, and suited to special occasions, instead of their lewd and profane songs in their idolatrous worship. Religious poesy seems countenanced by these expressions and is capable of great edification. But, when we sing psalms, we make no melody unless we sing with grace in our hearts, unless we are suitably affected with what we sing and go along in it with true devotion and understanding. Singing of psalms is a teaching ordinance as well as a praising ordinance; and we are not only to quicken and encourage ourselves, but to teach and admonish one another, mutually excite our affections, and convey instructions. 5. All must be done in the name of Christ (Col 3:17): And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, according to his command and in compliance with his authority, by strength derived from him, with an eye to his glory, and depending upon his merit for the acceptance of what is good and the pardon of what is amiss, Giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Observe, (1.) We must give thanks in all things; whatsoever we do, we must still give thanks, Eph 5:20, Giving thanks always for all things. (2.) The Lord Jesus must be the Mediator of our praises as well as of our prayers. We give thanks to God and the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Eph 5:20. Those who do all things in Christ's name will never want matter of thanksgiving to God, even the Father.

Barclay: Col 3:14-17

To the virtues and the graces Paul adds one more--what he calls the perfect bond of love. Love is the binding power which holds the whole Christian body together. The tendency of any body of people is sooner or later to fly apart; love is the one bond which will hold them together in unbreakable fellowship.

Then Paul uses a vivid picture. "Let the peace of God be the decider of all things within your heart." Literally what he says is, "Let the peace of God be the umpire in your heart." He uses a verb from the athletic arena; it is the word that is used of the umpire who settled things in any matter of dispute. If the peace of Jesus Christ is the umpire in any man's heart, then, when feelings clash and we are pulled in two directions at the same time, the decision of Christ will keep us in the way of love and the Church will remain the one body it is meant to be. The way to right action is to appoint Jesus Christ as the arbiter between the conflicting emotions in our hearts; and if we accept his decisions, we cannot go wrong.

It is interesting to see that from the beginning the Church was a singing Church. It inherited that from the Jews, for Philo tells us that often they would spend the whole night in hymns and songs. One of the earliest descriptions of a Church service we possess is that of Pliny, the Roman governor of Bithynia, who sent a report of the activities of the Christians to Trajan, the Roman Emperor, in which he said, "They meet at dawn to sing a hymn to Christ as God." The gratitude of the Church has always gone up to God in praise and song.

Finally, Paul gives the great principle for living that everything we do or say should be done and said in the name of Jesus. One of the best tests of any action is: "Can we do it, calling upon the name of Jesus? Can we do it, asking for his help?" One of the best tests of any word is: "Can we speak it and in the same breath name the name of Jesus? Can we speak it, remembering that he will hear?" If a man brings every word and deed to the test of the presence of Jesus Christ, he will not go wrong.

Constable: Col 3:5-17

B. The proper method 3:5-17

"3:1-4 has provided the perspective from which the daily life of the Colossian Christians should be lived out. Now follows more specific advice that should help them the better to carry out the thematic exhortation to walk in him' (2:6)."¹⁴²

Constable: Col 3:12-17

2. Things to put on 3:12-17

Paul urged his readers not only to divest themselves of behavior that is inappropriate to their union with Christ but also to clothe themselves with attitudes and actions that are appropriate. He did so to complete their understanding of their responsibilities as Christians.

"The emphasis in this section is on motives. Why should we put off the old deeds and put on the qualities of the new life? Paul explained four motives that ought to encourage us to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4)."¹⁵¹

3:12-14 Paul reminded the Colossians of who they were because an appreciation of who one is affects how he or she behaves. God has specially selected believers, has set them apart for great things, and has made them the objects of His love. In view of this privilege the following characteristics are only reasonable.

Compassion (Gr. splanchna oiktirmou) shows sensitivity to those suffering and in need.

Kindness (chrestotes) manifests itself in a sweet disposition and thoughtful interpersonal dealings.

Humility (tapeinophrosyne) means having a realistic view of oneself, "thinking lowly of ourselves because we are so."¹⁵²

Gentleness (prautes) means not behaving harshly, arrogantly, or self-assertively but with consideration for others.

Patience (makrothymia) is the quality of being long-suffering, self-restraining. The following two qualities expand on the thought of patience.

Forbearing (anechomenoi) means putting up with others and enduring discomfort.

Forgiving (charizomenoi) involves not holding a grudge or grievance.

Love (agape) means doing what is best for another person.

Note that all these features deal with the believer's interpersonal relationships. In this area of life especially the life of Christ should be visible in us. Love is the supremely important Christian virtue. We should put it on over all the other garments in this figure like a belt that holds the others in place.

3:15 Four imperatives in verses 15-17 identify the precepts believers must follow. The first of these is "let rule." When Christians need to make choices, the peace that Christ produces in our hearts should be a determining factor.¹⁵³ We should choose what will result in peace between us and God, and between us and one another, if such a course of action lies within God's moral will (cf. John 14:27).

"This directive forms, with the Word of God and the witness of the indwelling Spirit, one of the most important principles of guidance in the Christian life."¹⁵⁴

When these three indicators line up we can move ahead confidently.

Realization of the unity of the body and the peace of Christ results in thankfulness that should also mark our behavior. The second imperative is "be thankful."

3:16 The third imperative is "let dwell." The "word of Christ," used only here in the New Testament, is Christ's teachings, not only during His earthly ministry but also in all of Scripture. His Word should permeate our whole being so that we make all decisions and plans in its light.

". . . as the rabbis later pointed out, he who dwells in a house is the master of the house, not just a passing guest . . ."¹⁵⁵

"Thus we are to submit to the demands of the Christian message and let it become so deeply implanted within us as to control all our thinking."¹⁵⁶

"Many saved people cannot honestly say that God's Word dwells in their hearts richly because they do not take time to read, study, and memorize it."¹⁵⁷

Teaching is the imparting of truth, and admonition is warning against error. We should perform these activities joyfully and with song. "Psalms" probably refers to the inspired Old Testament psalms. The word "psalms" implies that the believers sang them with musical accompaniment. Hymns are songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. Spiritual songs probably refer to expressions of Christian experience set to music. Thankfulness to God is to mark our singing too (cf. v. 15).

"It has often been noticed that the Colossian passage is parallel with Ephesians 5:18-20. In the latter passage the hymns and songs are the outgrowth of the filling of the Spirit, while in Colossians they are the result of the deep assimilation of the Word of God. In other words, the Word-filled Christian is a Spirit-filled Christian, and the examination of the two passages would save us from a great deal of error on this subject. Undisciplined emphasis on the Holy Spirit is accompanied too frequently by shallow grounding in the Word of God."¹⁵⁸

3:17 This verse covers all other thoughts and actions.

"The NT does not contain a detailed code of rules for the Christian, like those which were elaborated with ever-increasing particularity in rabbinical casuistry. Codes of rules, as Paul explains elsewhere (e.g., in Gal. 3:23-4:7), are suited to the period of immaturity when he and his readers were still under guardians; the son who has come to years of responsibility knows his father's will without having to be provided with a long list of Do's' and Don't's [sic].' What the NT does provide is those basic principles of Christian living which may be applied to all the situations of life as they arise (cf. 1 Cor. 10:21)."¹⁵⁹

The basic principle, as opposed to a set of specific rules, is this. We should say all words and practice all deeds in harmony with the revelation of Jesus Christ, namely under His authority and as His followers. The "name" comprehends everything revealed and known about the person bearing the name. Moreover we are to do all with thanksgiving to God. The fourth imperative is implicit in the Greek text, but the translators have supplied it in the English text: "do."

When faced with a question about what the Christian should do, Paul taught that we should simply ask ourselves what conduct would be appropriate for one identified with Christ. This approach is vastly different from the legal one that provides a specific command for every situation. In this contrast we see a basic difference between the New and Old Covenants.

College: Col 3:1-25

COLOSSIANS 3

VIII. SEEK THE THINGS ABOVE (3:1-4)

¹ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your ^a life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

^a 4 Some manuscripts our

Verses 1-4 pick up many of the ideas previously set forth in Colossians, and prepare for the same ideas to be repeated later. Here was the true Christian profession, contrasted to the heresy. The false teaching is left behind, at least in terms of specific reference, and Paul moves into the ethical section of the letter. He will speak of the true heart of devotion to God, rather than the empty system he had just criticized. As these four verses center in the believer's relation to Christ, so the ethical appeals will draw their power from the relation to Christ (3:11,12,13,15,16,17,18,19,23,24).

3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Pokorny´ points out that the entire paranetic section, through 4:6, shows the importance of their baptism, since obedience was the living out of the promise and divine transformation accomplished at that time. The death and resurrection motifs imply their baptism (2:12) and are indicated as well in verses 5 and 12. It is quite likely that the convert was given ethical instruction at baptism, and this would explain the proximity of baptismal allusions and ethical exhortation.

Here Christians had been raised. Verse 4 looks forward to the ultimate resurrection. But for the present the resurrection at baptism contained moral demands. "Become what you are" was Paul's meaning. "Above" was not important spatially, but rather as the dwelling place of Christ. "Let that life be lived out in your life" (cf. 3:12-16). "Things above" were eternal, compared to things that perish (2:22). As Christ was raised and ascended, so let his risen disciples put their hearts into ascent. On "the right hand of God" see Psalm 110:1; Mark 12:36 and parallels.

3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

This verse seems to repeat the previous one, but there is a Greek nuance the NIV misses by using "set" in both. In verse 1 the term means to "seek" while in verse 2 a different term indicates a mind set which determines actions. The Greek here is fronevw (phronço ), and the word is a favorite with Paul (cf. notes at Phil 1:7). Melick says verse 1 is moral and verse 2 is mental. Seek, and then become what you find. "Earthly things" may be a parting reference to the heresy, but also anticipates 3:5-10. Christian thoughts and minds were not to be trapped by the concerns and values of the fallen order, even though Christians must live in it.

3:3 For you died,

In verses 3 and 4 the motivation for the imperatives of verses 1 and 2 are more fully unfolded. Those who were raised in their baptisms had also died. The death theme is continued with "put to death" in verse 5. As "raised" in verse 1 called for further effort, so does "died."

and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Why did Paul choose "hidden" (from kruvptw , kryptô ) to describe their situation with Christ? Safety and security might be implied, as well as a source of strength and well-being. Bruce says the Christian has "a doubled rampart" - with Christ in God. It has also been suggested that "hidden" indicates that the source of the Christian's life is hidden from a world which does not know the Lord. Or it could be a play on some concept held by the heretics. Since the next verse speaks of appearing it may have implied that the full blessedness of the saints was not yet known.

3:4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

As Colossians began with hope in 1:5, so the doctrinal section ends with hope. Though this is the only explicit reference to the return of Christ in the letter, the concept is implied often (1:28; 3:6,24). At the appearance both Christ and his followers would appear in glory. This picture differs somewhat from other Pauline pictures of the return, but moral impact rather than architectural consistency was the aim of such texts. On the glory of believers see Philippians 3:20f; 1 Corinthians 15:42ff; 2 Corinthians 5:1f; 1 John 3:2. On Christ as life see Philippians 1:21; Galatians 2:20; and 1 John 5:12.

IX. THINGS TO PUT TO DEATH (3:5-11)

⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ^{a 7} You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹ Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

^a 6 Some early manuscripts coming on those who are disobedient

"Put to death" (nekrwvsate , nekrôsate ) is another uncompromising imperative, as in verse 1, calling on the Christians to grow in their faith (cf. 1:6). The two negative lists in this paragraph each contains five items, with an elaboration on the fifth in each case. This grouping could reflect a custom of the day with such lists, though it was not the style Paul always used. These groupings may have assisted converts, instructed at baptism, to remember. Of the many virtue and vice lists in the New Testament, the ones most similar in form to this are in Ephesians and 1 Peter. The sins condemned were all pagan practices that Jews found particularly reprehensible.

3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:

Understanding Christ, which Paul has promoted throughout the previous part of this letter, was to produce the lifestyle which he will now set forth. This was no arbitrary list, giving the terms of a bargain with God, but was a reflection of God's nature as lived out by his people. Nor was it a compelled obedience, but a response of love to his love. "Put to death" referred to a point of action from which their style of life was to proceed. It also implied something of their lifestyles before they became Christ's followers. The death idea reflects earlier references in 2:11f, 20, and 3:3. "Earthly nature" (cf. the prohibition in 3:2) does not refer to anything characteristic of physical existence, but does refer to any immoral use of one's mind and body. The Greek mevlh . . . ejpiΙ th'" gh'" (melç...epi tçs gçs ), literally, is "members upon the earth," which the NIV interprets as "earthly nature," changing a physical description to a spiritual - and properly so.

sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires

The progress Paul has described has moved from knowledge ("set your hearts" in 3:1) to a disposition ("set your minds" in 3:2) to action ("put to death" here). The first four sins listed were sexual ones, which violated love for neighbor, and the fifth, greed, denied ultimate love for God. Sexual sins, in addition, violated the integrity of marriage and the family (cf. vv. 18-21). On sexual sins cf. Galatians 5:19; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 Corinthians 5:6-11, 6:18f; Ephesians 5:5. "Sexual immorality" (porneiva , porneia ) refers to any unlawful sexual intercourse, though a primary application may have been to consorting with prostitutes. The Greek term is the root of the English "pornography." "Impurity" (ajkaqarsiva , akatharsia ) has the same general sense, but was a term of wider application (cf. Rom 1:24f). "Lust" or "passion" (pavqo", pathos ) would be the evil desire leading to sexual immorality (cf. Rom 1:26; 1 Thess 4:5). The word in other contexts could refer to legitimate desire, as in 1 Timothy 3:1 ("desires" in the NIV). "Evil desires" (ejpiqumiva , epithymia ) also renders a word that could be used in the good sense, though obviously not here. The meaning here is close to that of the previous word. In Paul's lists it is not always possible to discern nuances of difference between the terms used. The overall impact was the thing.

and greed, which is idolatry.

"Greed" (pleonexiva , pleonexia ) is identified as "idolatry." It was seen as a rival religion, and thus was as dangerous in its way as was the heresy. Idolatry was abhorrent to the Jew, and the use of the term as a modifier here stresses the heinousness of a sin often glossed over and unrecognized. Greed is the inordinate desire for what one does not have. It may involve jealousy because of what others possess. It focuses on this life, and is self-centered. Thus it denies genuine love (contrast v. 14). Unfortunately it is often made to appear respectable. Even the Graeco-Roman world repudiated greed. In the New Testament see Luke 12:15; Romans 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:10f; 6:10; and Ephesians 5:3. Lohse says greed seizes man's heart, leads him away from God, and imprisons him.

3:6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

This is Paul's first reference in Colossians to the negative side of God's final action (cf. Rom 1:18, 32; 1 Cor 5:13; 1 Thess 4:6). "Wrath" (ojrghv , orgç ) is commonly seen as God's final judgment, and vice catalogues often ended with a statement like this. But it is also possible that the term referred to the very nature of God's universe, in which disobedience to God would finally bring judgment on itself, because it was not the way God's universe "works." This, of course, must also involve the final judgment, since often the wicked go through this life seeming to be happy and without mishap.

"Wrath" is seldom used by Paul to describe God. Weed suggests a better translation would be "disaster" - a term avoiding some of the negative implications associated with the other. The language says that God, rich in mercy, must also be consistent with his nature. He could not act as if offenses to his very purity and being did not matter. If he did, what kind of a God would he be? The moral nature of the universe would be destroyed and chaos would result. "Wrath" does not show him a vindictive God eager to punish. It does show the seriousness of moral issues, and was a powerful motivator to turn to God. No one need experience God's wrath. One who failed to see its seriousness might treat morals lightly. Texts such as this warn against such unconcerned folly.

3:7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.

This verse indicates that the Colossian church was largely Gentile, for the Jews found the behavior described in verse 6 abhorrent. Whereas other writings of Paul would stress the Holy Spirit as empowering the moral life, in Colossians it is the relationship to Christ - death, burial and resurrection. The method and result in Christian experience were the same, but Paul spoke as he did here because of his stress on Christ throughout the epistle.

Translations which have the longer version of verse 6 ("those who are disobedient" - see the NIV footnote) translate the opening of this verse "among whom" rather than "these ways." The basic truth is not changed.

3:8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these:

"Rid yourselves" is the image of putting off dirty or worn-out clothes. It may take its meaning from baptism, in which the candidate may have changed into some form of baptismal garment. Paul names five more vices, vices which could destroy social relations. As with the five in verse 6, here the last vice is elaborated. The first three were attitudinal, and the last two verbal. Of course they could interact in practice.

anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

"Anger" (ojrghv , orgç ) and "rage" (qumov" , thymos ) are very close in meaning, showing again that Paul aimed for total impact, rather than to distinguish between precise nuances. These attitudes would burst out in ways that would destroy relationships and deny love (v. 14). "Malice," a general term, may describe the attitude that would lead to slander and filthy language. "Slander" is, in the Greek, blasfhmiva (blasphçmia , blasphemy). The New Testament usually has it describing speech against God or his servants. Here it probably had the broader idea of "abuse," which was a common usage in the world of that day (cf. Titus 3:5). "Filthy language" is from a word (aijscrologiva , aischrologia ) found only here in the New Testament. Other translations render it "abusive" language, which perhaps catches the sense more accurately. It was not profanity in the commonly accepted sense. "Lying," in the next verse, was probably an illustration of Paul's meaning.

3:9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices

Paul's emphases in these prohibitions would certainly be directed to his knowledge of the Colossian situation. Thus, lying would be a problem of the old life which may have crept into the church. So Paul says especially that they should not lie "to each other." The reference to taking off the old self is similar to "rid yourselves" of verse 8 and "putting off" of 2:11. It may also suggest the changing of clothes for baptism. Normally lying was associated with "filthy language" and perhaps with "slander" of the previous verse, but Pokorny´ suggests it sums the entire section from verse 3, since it was the opposite of preaching the truth, which was Christ. Or was Paul attempting to associate lying with teaching heresy? That, however, seems strained, as does Pokorny´'s view.

3:10 and have put on the new self,

The reason to avoid lying (and all the other vices?) is continued here with the positive statement. The "new self" was not just personal change, but was the new human situation made possible through Christ. Christians, emerging from baptism, came into a new world. It was a world of new knowledge and new behavior. When the old behavior threatened to return, it was a world of discipline and prayer to overcome.

which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

"Renewed in knowledge" echoes Paul's prayer of 1:9ff (see also 2:3). The knowledge was more than cognition. This whole paranetic section indicates it was lifestyle. Knowledge, then, involved grasp of God's purpose and conformation to it. And it was to be a continuing process. The renewal was in the image of the Creator. This could be in God's image, indicating a return to God's original place for man (cf. Gen 1:26f). In view of 1:16, however, Paul may have had Christ in mind here. The result would be the same with either interpretation.

3:11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

This is a marvelous statement of the universal sweep of the gospel (cf. Gal 3:28; 1 Cor 12:13). But why did Paul put it here? If any rifts in the Colossian church had been along these lines, he has nowhere else indicated it. Could these be areas where "natural" animosities would likely lead to the kinds of mistreatment Paul had just condemned? Or was he amplifying the contrast of "old" and "new" of verses 9 and 10? Formerly there had been racial, religious, cultural and social barriers. They were now no longer relevant, for the new reality was either Christian or non-Christian. Love and proper treatment were to extend across that barrier. So in Christ the old sinful life and the old human divisions were done away. Christ was all, and in all. That relation was to govern everything!

"Greek" probably means all Greek-speaking Gentiles. Here they were mentioned before Jews, since Paul was writing to a Gentile church. Circumcision and uncircumcision refer to the literal act, not the spiritual act of 2:11. Barbarians were Gentiles who did not speak Greek. Scythians were at the low end of the barbarian scale. Josephus said they were little better than wild beasts, and in Attic comedy they were ridiculed as being uncouth in speech and action. Slave and free were categories on Paul's mind because of the situation with Onesimus, the runaway slave (4:9 and the book of Philemon). Though their societal status stayed the same, all enjoyed the same spiritual status.

X. THINGS TO PUT ON (3:12-17)

¹² Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

3:12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved,

Paul now exhorts to positive characteristics, and lists five qualities, as he had previously given two lists of five vices each. "Therefore" grounds these exhortations in the "new world" created by God, and in all the powerful realities set forth throughout previous parts of this letter. These include God's choice of the Christians, a picture parallel to his choice of Israel. Christians were the new chosen race (cf. Rom 8:33; 1 Pet 2:9). "Holy" is the term found in 1:2,4 ("saints"). "Beloved" enhances the power of Paul's motivations.

clothe yourselves

Those who have rid themselves of vice now clothe themselves - again a possible reference to baptism. "Clothe" refers to a point of action, but obviously with continuing effects. The virtues noted were specific parts of the totally new way of thought and life. These qualities were to be present whether one was Greek, Jew, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free.

with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

"Compassion" (splavgcna oijktirmou' , splanchna oiktirmou ) is literally "inward parts" (cf. Rom 12:1; 2 Cor 1:3 for oiktirmos by itself). It can mean the whole inner person. It was not just a virtue, but was a part of one's character. "Kindness" (crhstovth" , chrçstotçs ) often describes God (cf. Rom 2:4; 1:22; Eph 2:7; Titus 3:4). God gave it to the totally undeserving, who were thus called to extend it to others, even to the undeserving. It was caring, the extending of blessings. "Humility" (tapeinofrosuvnh , tapeinophrosynç ) has been found in 2:18, 23, where the NIV translators have added "false" to indicate it was an undesirable trait in connection with the heresy. Here it was a virtue which was one quality that set Christians apart. In the Greek world at the time this quality was considered a weakness. "Gentleness" (prau?th" , prautçs ) involves considering others and even being willing to give up one's rights to help them (cf. 2 Cor 10:11; Gal 5:23, 6:1; Eph 4:2). Some translations render the word "meekness," which implies self-control and avoidance of excessive self-concern. "Patience" (makroqumiva , makrothymia , cf. Rom 2:4; 9:22) endures wrong and puts up with the frustration produced by others without becoming unduly and unwisely irritated. Cf. "bear with" in the next verse.

3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Bearing and forgiveness were functions of the attitudes specified in verse 12. The call to forgive echoes Jesus' teaching (see Matt 18:23; Luke 11:3) but draws further significance from his death and resurrection. The word carivzomai ( charizomai , "grant forgiveness") translated "forgive" and "forgave" is not the usual New Testament term, but stresses the grace (unmerited blessing) involved in Christ's sacrifice. See also Romans 8:32; 1 Corinthians 2:12; Galatians 3:18; Ephesians 4:32; Philippians 1:29, 2:9; and Colossians 2:13. "Grievances" suggests the idea of unremitted debts, and may indicate the presence of such feeling in the congregation. The aggrieved person was to take the initiative, as God took the initiative for man's sake. Did Paul have in mind any attitude toward the heretics, hoping that gracious overtures would lead them to repentance? We cannot say. It is clear here and throughout that forgiving was more than just a command given to Christians. It was woven into the very fabric of God's action in Christ. To refuse it would be to deny the very nature of Christianity.

3:14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Paul spoke of the supremacy of love in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, and said all other commandments were summed up in love in Romans 13:9f. Here he elevates it above the virtues he had enumerated, as that which bound them in perfect unity. There are two views of his meaning. One is that love, like a belt, holds the other virtues together. The idea may be that if one is loving then the other virtues would be a part of that love. This would seem to agree with 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 and Romans 13:9f. The other view is that love binds the members of the church together so that they are led to perfect unity. Love would solve all problems of division among Christians. In either event the profound importance of love must be affirmed.

3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.

Those who love one another are at peace. On the peace of Christ cf. John 14:27; Ephesians 2:14; Philippians 4:7 and 2 Thessalonians 3:16. This was peace in community, not simply inner peace. "Rule" indicates control. Their relationships should be controlled by peace.

And be thankful.

"Thankful" (eujcavristo" , eucharistos ) picks up Paul's words in 1:12. The particular focus here would be gratitude for the forgiveness and new life from God described in the previous verse. This was intrinsic to the faith, and was to be the Christian's constant motivation.

3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly

Paul instructs his readers to love each other (v. 14), to be at peace with each other (v. 15), and now to teach and admonish each other. This verse is a lovely picture of a harmonious community at worship. Teaching and admonishing had their ground in the Word of Christ. This was probably the message about Christ (see 1:15-20) and thus the message about redemption. One might also think of the teachings of Christ, but they do not seem to be the focus of this letter.

"In you" could be a personal indwelling, or could mean within the community. Throughout the epistle this word about Christ has been Paul's constant antidote to the heretical teaching. When the church was centered in that message, false doctrine could not gain a foothold.

as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom,

Teaching and admonition are activities of those who love one another, and who wish to help others grow in Christ. No view of the corporate activities of Christians can afford to neglect this. "Wisdom" could modify teaching and admonishing, as in the NIV, or it could modify "sing." The term would imply acting judiciously and in a manner that would be most effective. It can be understood as a call to the church to carefully examine and select its hymns so that they would be used wisely. On wisdom in Colossians see 1:9,28; 2:3,23; and 4:5.

The parallel to this text is Ephesians 5:19, which says "speak to one another." Although we cannot be certain, perhaps the early church employed antiphonal singing. There is a question as to whether the singing was the vehicle of teaching or whether it was a separate activity. We consider it to be the former, on the basis of the parallel with Ephesians 5:19. In addition to 1:15-20, other New Testament texts considered to be early Christian hymns are Philippians 2:5-11; Ephesians 5:14; 1 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Timothy 2:11-13.

and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs

Scholars agree it is virtually impossible to make nice distinctions between psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. "Psalms" is used, of course, of Old Testament psalms. The basic meaning is a song of praise. The Christians probably composed new songs of praise, modelled on the Old Testament psalms, appropriate to their faith in Christ (cf. 1 Cor 14:26). The verbal form of the word is found in 1 Corinthians 14:15 and James 5:13. "Hymns" (a transliteration of the Greek u{mno" , hymnos ) is also a term describing songs of praise. The only other New Testament usage is Ephesians 5:19, but the related verb form is found in Mark 14:26 and parallels, and in Acts 16:25. "Songs" (wj/dhv , ôdç ) is also a song praising God's acts, as in Revelation 5:9; 14:3; and 15:3. None of these terms implies anything about the activity itself beyond the actual singing.

"Spiritual" (pneumatikov" , pneumatikos ) may modify all three terms. Some consider this as Spirit-prompted singing. Others think it refers to the content of the songs, or to the gratitude to God which prompted the singing of them. Since Colossians says so little about the Holy Spirit, we incline to the latter view.

with gratitude in your hearts to God.

"Gratitude" translates the word cavri" (charis) usually rendered "grace." Since the term is used with the definite article, and since Paul was not speaking of the aesthetic value of the singing, but of its teaching role, "gratitude" seems an appropriate translation. It also parallels the references to thankfulness in verses 15 and 17.

3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,

In a sense this verse climaxes the main paranetic section of Colossians and sums up what Paul had been saying. It is appropriate that such a statement climax the depiction of Christ Paul has been making throughout. Next Paul will give the household rules (3:18-4:1) which stand as a separate unit. This will be followed by a personal request (4:2-4), a brief exhortation (4:5,6) and closing greetings and instructions (4:7-18).

do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

This universal statement directed readers in a life perspective. Those who pursued it did not need to be given specific rules for every possible circumstance. "In the name" can indicate all Jesus was, all he taught, and the acknowledgment of his role as savior. "Thanks" (cf. 1:12; 3:15) could be an additional note, but we think it more likely the words and deeds were to be spurred by gratitude for Christ's love. The whole expression may be drawn from the baptismal procedure, as has so much of the language of the preceding verses (cf. Rom 10:9,13; 1 Cor 1:2,10,31; Eph 4:5; 5:20; 1 Thess 1:12; 3:6; 2 Tim 2:19; 1 John 2:12; 3:23; 5:13). Baptism has been central in Paul's thought throughout as he has penned this letter, since it was a decisive act in an individual's commitment to Christ.

XI. RULES FOR THE CHRISTIAN HOUSEHOLD (3:18-4:1)

A. HUSBANDS AND WIVES (3:18-19)

¹⁸ Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

This section and others like it in the New Testament have been called "house tables," or "rules for the household." See similar material in Ephesians 5:22-6:9; 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 6:1f; Titus 2:1-10; 1 Peter 2:18-3:7; and outside the New Testament in Didache 4:9-11; Epistle of Barnabas 19:5-7; First Clement 1:3; 2:6-9; Ignatius to Polycarp 4:1-6:2; and Polycarp to the Philippians 4:2--6:1. The different style of this material is obvious even to the casual reader. The relationships occur in pairs, with the subordinate member listed first, and the relations move from the closest to the most remote. It was generally assumed that Christians would obey the exhortations to both parties, so that there was a symbiotic relationship. Paul does not say here, for example, what the Christian wife of a non-Christian husband ought to do if he mistreated her. Here her submission is met by his love, and vice versa.

The normal form of these admonitions first lists the member addressed, then gives the imperative, and finally (usually) gives a motivation. Some of these same instructions could be found in non-Christian ethical instructions, but in them the motivation would differ. Note how often these verses refer to the Lord (Master) - 18,20,22,23,24 (twice) and 4:1. These relations give specific form to "all in the name of the Lord Jesus" of verse 17.

There has been much discussion, but no consensus, about the origin of these housetables. Were they adapted and modified by Christians from some non-Christian background? That sort of adaptation was done by Hellenistic Jews in their synagogues. If so, what was the background? Might they have been part of the instruction given new converts before or following baptism? If so, it seems strange that certain New Testament books (Romans, 1 Corinthians, 1, 2 Thessalonians, James, and John's writings) omit them. It does seem significant, though, that these instructions take similar form in various New Testament writings, implying they may have been somewhat "fixed" in many churches. The questions posed here have still not been answered definitively.

Were these standards only relevant to the cultural situation of the day, or were they of eternal validity? Often personal agendas determine how individuals answer this question. If one takes all Paul's writings into account, it is clear he had a hierarchical view of relationships, especially husband and wife (see 1 Cor 11:3,7-9; Eph 5:23ff). He placed his instructions in the context of relation to the Lord (see 1 Cor 11:2-16 and Eph 5:22-33). He also said in Christ there was neither male nor female (Gal 3:28) which, though indicating equal access to salvation, no more abrogates the nature of that interrelationship than it says slaves were no longer slaves. If one begins to eliminate Paul's words on a cultural basis, it would be difficult to know where to stop the process. Further the rightness or wrongness of a matter cannot be determined by whether or not it was culturally "correct." Behind such an argument is the supposition that the view of culture held by the person making the argument is the correct one.

Since much of a person's life was lived in the household, it was important that Christianity offer instructions aimed directly at those relationships.

3:18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

The wife's submission is here treated as a status she chose because of her relation to the Lord. "Submit" (uJpotavssesqe , hupotassesthe ) in Greek is in middle voice, i.e., "submit yourself" - choose to do so. Paul's words give no comfort to the chauvinist, since "love" in the following verse tempers and conditions submission. It would be no burden to submit to love. The same complementary relationship between love and submission is seen in Ephesians 5:22-33, and in 1 Corinthians 7:3f, Paul also speaks of the "rights" of both partners. Thus nothing demeaning to the wife can be deduced from Paul's language here. Nor is there any indication of a natural inferiority of the wife to her husband. After all everyone must submit to someone, if only to God.

3:19 Husbands, love your wives

The counterpoint to the submission of the wife is the love of the husband. "Love" translates the term found in verse 14, and is the same word (agapç ) the New Testament uses of God's love for man. This word was not found in any secular list of household duties. No motivation clause is found here because love in Christian terms carried its motivation within itself; love was "absolutely valid."

and do not be harsh with them.

The prohibition of harshness is literally "don't be embittered" (mhΙ pikraivnesqe , mç pikrainesthe ). This would call for patience with faults, and also for a refusal to vent on the wife bitterness generated by outside circumstances. Weed points out that Paul's words are in contrast to Jewish and pagan ethics which gave husbands all the rights and wives all the duties.

B. CHILDREN AND FATHERS (3:20-21)

²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

²¹ Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

Children are addressed as being responsible, contrary to pagan ethics. Further they are asked to obey, rather than the fathers being asked to enforce obedience. "Obey" (uJpakouvw , hypakouô ) is a stronger term than "submit" in verse 18, and "everything" adds further strength. We are not told if the children had become Christians, but as part of a Christian household they were to respect its rules. The verse ends, in Greek, with "in the Lord," probably meaning "in the Christian sphere." The Jewish background for these words is found in Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16. Again it is assumed the fathers act as Christians should (v. 21, Eph 6:4). Paul does not discuss cases of unreasonable parents or rebellious children.

3:21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

We presume fathers are addressed because of their special responsibility, but one would suppose these instructions would apply to both parents, since verse 20 indicates obedience to both parents. In the Roman culture the father's parental authority was unlimited, so that this teaching would considerably temper any extremes. As O'Brien says, the idea here is responsibility to children, not authority over them. The word translated "embittered" (from ejreqivzw , erethizô ) is found elsewhere in the New Testament in 2 Corinthians 9:2 ("stirred," NIV). Some translations have "provoke" here. The word may refer to nagging or belittling of the children. If they were constantly criticized, they might feel it was impossible to become worthwhile persons. A sense of failure inbred into children could poison their entire lifetimes. The opposite term from "discouraged" (ajqumevw , athymeô ) means "take heart," and refers to the "undergirding presence of God" in Acts 27:22,25 and 36.

C. SLAVES AND MASTERS (3:22-4:1)

²² Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. ²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵ Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

¹ Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

3:22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything;

The instructions to slaves are as lengthy as those to all other groups combined. This may indicate a large number of slaves in the church, or that problems with slaves were a particularly challenging case for Christian ethics. The case of Onesimus was on Paul's mind, and though the issues discussed in Philemon are not those noted here, they may have been relevant to Onesimus before his escape (cf. the book of Philemon). We are given an interesting look at the attitudes of some slaves. Paul's words indicate a radical change of heart from what was otherwise the case in society.

and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.

"Earthly masters" is a reminder that the slave owner's sovereignty over his slaves was not absolute. There was a higher authority governing the relationship. "Obey in everything" is the same language as that used in verse 20. "Their eye is upon you" could imply they would work only when watched, or that they were trying to attract attention. The Greek is literally "eye service" (ojfqalmodouliva , ophthalmodoulia ), and the first known usages are here and in Ephesians 6:6. "Sincerity" indicates undivided loyalty (the NRSV has "wholeheartedly"). What higher motivation could be given than "reverence for the Lord" (literally, "fearing")? In a sense, then, a slave's daily service was worship.

3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

This verse is similar to verse 17. A slave who worked as "for the Lord" need never suffer anxiety over failure to serve his owner (assuming the owner were reasonable, and not a tyrant.) "Working for the Lord" expands on "reverence for the Lord."

3:24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

This verse strengthens the motivation of the slave. For the third consecutive verse relation to the Lord is noted. Under Roman law slaves could not inherit, so Paul's "inheritance" would be a particularly striking statement. Not only inheritance, but what an inheritance (cf. 1:5,12,27; 3:1-4)! The word translated "reward" (ajntapovdosi" , antapodosis ) is only here in the New Testament. "Serving" could also be translated as an imperative; i.e., "you serve." The word douleuvw (douleuô ) is the verbal form of the usual word for slave ( doulos ). They were, finally, slaves of Christ, which determined their earthly demeanor.

In the other relationships of verses 18-21 a reciprocity is supposed. Here the case may be different. Ought not the slave to obey, whatever the treatment given by the master? 1 Peter 2:18ff indicates they should.

It is also intriguing to imagine the situation in the church if a slave was an overseer/elder. Then in that sphere he would be concerned, as a shepherd, for the spiritual health of his Christian master. Yet in everyday life he would still have the obligation Paul describes here. This could be a delicate situation for both slave and master.

3:25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

This is the other side of the inheritance pictured in verse 24. The principle stated was universal and inescapable (cf. Gal 6:7f). Though in the broader sense all were under this principle, the question here is whether Paul spoke to slaves, to masters, or to both. Those who think it was slaves point out that masters are not specifically addressed till the next verse, and that the word for "do wrong" (ajdikevw , adikeô , "act unjustly") is used of Onesimus in Philemon 18. On the other hand are those who say masters could wrong their slaves, but not vice versa. Those arguing for masters note that the word translated "favoritism" is applied to masters in Ephesians 6:9.

Whatever the primary sense, neither group would receive special consideration. If there were "favoritism" in this life, there would be none in God's judgment. Those who treated others wrongly should fear, and those wrongly treated should take heart.

4:1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

The implication of "earthly masters" in 3:22 is now made specific. Christian masters were themselves slaves under the heavenly master, and were called upon to serve the Lord as their slaves were to serve them. Though slavery in the first Christian century is often pictured as harsh and repressing, both pagan and Jewish moralists laid down principles for humane treatment. Thus "right" and "fair" would be understood even outside Christian circles. The difference with Christians was the motivation.

Christianity, at this point, was not fomenting major social revolution. Slavery was accepted as a given. It has been said that when Christian principles were thoroughly understood and accepted in society, slavery became more difficult, and eventually impossible.

Christians may ask if these principles apply to the relation of employer and employee. Though the question has difficult nuances, it is hard to see how either a Christian employer or employee could ignore the mandates given here, since they are anchored in a relation with the Lord.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

Introduction / Outline

Robertson: Colossians (Book Introduction)

The Epistle to the Colossians

From Rome a.d. 63

By Way of Introduction

Genuineness

The author claims to be Paul (Col_1:1) and there is no real doubt about it in spite of Baur’s denial of the Pauline authorship which did not suit his Tendenz theory of the New Testament books. There is every mark of Paul’s style and power in the little Epistle and there is no evidence that any one else took Paul’s name to palm off this striking and vigorous polemic.

The Date

Clearly it was sent at the same time with the Epistle to Philemon and the one to the Ephesians since Tychicus the bearer of the letter to Ephesus (Eph_6:21.) and the one to Colossae (Col_4:7.) was a companion of Onesimus (Col_4:9) the bearer of that to Philemon (Phm_1:10-12). If Paul is a prisoner (Col_4:3; Eph_6:20; Phm_1:9) in Rome, as most scholars hold, and not in Ephesus as Deissmann and Duncan argue, the probable date would be a.d. 63. I still believe that Paul is in Rome when he sends out these epistles. If so, the time would be after the arrival in Rome from Jerusalem as told in Acts 28 and before the burning of Rome by Nero in a.d. 64. If Philippians was already sent, a.d. 63 marks the last probable year for the writing of this group of letters.

The Occasion

The Epistle itself gives it as being due to the arrival of Epaphras from Colossae (Col_1:7-9; Col_4:12.). He is probably one of Paul’s converts while in Ephesus who in behalf of Paul (Col_1:7) evangelized the Lycus Valley (Colossae, Hierapolis, Laodicea) where Paul had never been himself (Col_2:1; Col_4:13-16). Since Paul’s departure for Rome, the " grievous wolves" whom he foresaw in Miletus (Act_20:29.) had descended upon these churches and were playing havoc with many and leading them astray much as new cults today mislead the unwary. These men were later called Gnostics (see Ignatius) and had a subtle appeal that was not easy to withstand. The air was full of the mystery cults like the Eleusinian mysteries, Mithraism, the vogue of Isis, what not. These new teachers professed new thought with a world-view that sought to explain everything on the assumption that matter was essentially evil and that the good God could only touch evil matter by means of a series of aeons or emanations so far removed from him as to prevent contamination by God and yet with enough power to create evil matter. This jejune theory satisfied many just as today some are content to deny the existence of sin, disease, death in spite of the evidence of the senses to the contrary. In his perplexity Epaphras journeyed all the way to Rome to obtain Paul’s help.

Purpose of the Epistle

Epaphras did not come in vain, for Paul was tremendously stirred by the peril to Christianity from the Gnostics ( hoi gnōstikoi , the knowing ones). He had won his fight for freedom in Christ against the Judaizers who tried to fasten Jewish sacramentarianism upon spiritual Christianity. Now there is an equal danger of the dissipation of vital Christianity in philosophic speculation. In particular, the peril was keen concerning the Person of Christ when the Gnostics embraced Christianity and applied their theory of the universe to him. They split into factions on the subject of Christ. The Docetic (from dokeō , to seem) Gnostics held that Jesus did not have a real human body, but only a phantom body. He was, in fact, an aeon and had no real humanity. The Cerinthian (followers of Cerinthus) Gnostics admitted the humanity of the man Jesus, but claimed that the Christ was an aeon that came on Jesus at his baptism in the form of a dove and left him on the Cross so that only the man Jesus died. At once this heresy sharpened the issue concerning the Person of Christ already set forth in Phi_2:5-11. Paul met the issue squarely and powerfully portrayed his full-length portrait of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Son of Man (both deity and humanity) in opposition to both types of Gnostics. So then Colossians seems written expressly for our own day when so many are trying to rob Jesus Christ of his deity. The Gnostics took varying views of moral issues also as men do now. There were the ascetics with rigorous rules and the licentious element that let down all the bars for the flesh while the spirit communed with God. One cannot understand Colossians without some knowledge of Gnosticism such as may be obtained in such books as Angus’s The Mystery-Religions and Christianity , Glover’s The Conflict of Religion in the Early Roman Empire , Kennedy’s St. Paul and the Mystery-Religions , Lightfoot’s Commentary on Colossians .

JFB: Colossians (Book Introduction)

The GENUINENESS of this Epistle is attested by JUSTIN MARTYR [Dialogue with Trypho, p. 311, B.], who quotes "the first-born of every creature," in reference to Christ, from Col 1:15. THEOPHILUS OF ANTIOCH [To Autolychus, 2, p. 100]. IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 3.14.1], quotes expressly from this "Epistle to the Colossians" (Col 4:14). CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [Miscellanies, 1. p. 325], quotes Col 1:28; also elsewhere he quotes Col 1:9-11, Col 1:28; Col 2:2, &c.; Col 2:8; Col 3:12, Col 3:14; Col 4:2-3, &c. TERTULLIAN [The Prescription against Heretics, 7], quotes Col 2:8; [On the Resurrection of the Flesh, 23], and quotes Col 2:12, Col 2:20; Col 3:1-2. ORIGEN [Against Celsus, 5.8], quotes Col 2:18-19.

Colosse (or, as it is spelt in the best manuscripts, "Colassæ") was a city of Phrygia, on the river Lycus, a branch of the Meander. The Church there was mainly composed of Gentiles (compare Col 2:13). ALFORD infers from Col 2:1 (see on Col 2:1), that Paul had not seen its members, and therefore could not have been its founder, as THEODORET thought. Col 1:7-8 suggests the probability that Epaphras was the first founder of the Church there. The date of its foundation must have been subsequent to Paul's visitation, "strengthening in order" all the churches of Galatia and Phrygia (Act 18:24); for otherwise we must have visited the Colossians, which Col 2:1 implies he had not. Had Paul been their father in the faith, he would doubtless have alluded to the fact, as in 1Co 3:6, 1Co 3:10; 1Co 4:15; 1Th 1:5; 1Th 2:1. It is only in the Epistles, Romans and Ephesians, and this Epistle, such allusions are wanting; in that to the Romans, because, as in this Church of Colosse, he had not been the instrument of their conversion; in that to the Ephesians, owing to the general nature of the Epistle. Probably during the "two years" of Paul's stay at Ephesus, when "all which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus" (Act 19:10, Act 19:26), Epaphras, Philemon, Archippus, Apphia and the other natives of Colosse, becoming converted at Ephesus, were subsequently the first sowers of the Gospel seed in their own city. This will account for their personal acquaintance with, and attachment to, Paul and his fellow ministers, and for his loving language as to them, and their counter salutations to him. So also with respect to "them at Laodicea," (Col 2:1).

The OBJECT of the Epistle is to counteract Jewish false teaching, by setting before the Colossians their true standing in Christ alone (exclusive of all other heavenly beings), the majesty of His person, and the completeness of the redemption wrought by Him; hence they ought to be conformed to their risen Lord, and to exhibit that conformity in all the relations of ordinary life Col 2:16, "new moon, sabbath days," shows that the false teaching opposed in this Epistle is that of Judaizing Christians. These mixed up with pure Christianity Oriental theosophy and angel-worship, and the asceticism of certain sections of the Jews, especially the Essenes. Compare JOSEPHUS [Wars of the Jews, 2.8,13]. These theosophists promised to their followers a deeper insight into the world of spirits, and a nearer approach to heavenly purity and intelligence, than the simple Gospel affords. CONYBEARE and HOWSON think that some Alexandrian Jew had appeared at Colosse, imbued with the Greek philosophy of PHILO'S school, combining with it the Rabbinical theosophy and angelology which afterwards was embodied in the Cabbala. Compare JOSEPHUS [Antiquities, 12.3,4], from which we know that Alexander the Great had garrisoned the towns of Lydia and Phrygia with two thousand Mesopotamian and Babylonian Jews in the time of a threatened revolt. The Phrygians themselves had a mystic tendency in their worship of Cybele, which inclined them to receive the more readily the incipient Gnosticism of Judaizers, which afterward developed itself into the strangest heresies. In the Pastoral Epistles, the evil is spoken of as having reached a more deadly phase (1Ti 4:1-3; 1Ti 6:5), whereas he brings no charge of immorality in this Epistle: a proof of its being much earlier in date.

The PLACE from which it was written seems to have been Rome, during his first imprisonment there (Act 28:17-31). In my Introduction to the Epistle to the Ephesians, it was shown that the three Epistles, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, were sent at the same time, namely, during the freer portion of his imprisonment, before the death of Burrus. Col 4:3-4; Eph 6:19-20, imply greater freedom than he had while writing to the Philippians, after the promotion of Tigellinus to be Prætorian Prefect. See Introduction to Philippians.

This Epistle, though carried by the same bearer, Tychicus, who bore that to the Ephesians, was written previously to that Epistle; for many phrases similar in both appear in the more expanded form in the Epistle to the Ephesians (compare also Note, see on Eph 6:21). The Epistle to the Laodiceans (Col 4:16) was written before that to the Colossians, but probably was sent by him to Laodicea at the same time with that to the Church at Colosse.

The STYLE is peculiar: many Greek phrases occur here, found nowhere else. Compare Col 2:8, "spoil you"; "making a show of them openly" (Col 2:15); "beguile of your reward," and "intruding" (Col 2:18); "will-worship"; "satisfying" (Col 2:23); "filthy communication" (Col 3:8); "rule" (Col 3:15); "comfort" (Col 4:11). The loftiness and artificial elaboration of style correspond to the majestic nature of his theme, the majesty of Christ's person and office, in contrast to the beggarly system of the Judaizers, the discussion of which was forced on him by the controversy. Hence arises his use of unusual phraseology. On the other hand, in the Epistle of the Ephesians, subsequently written, in which he was not so hampered by the exigencies of controversy, he dilates on the same glorious truths, so congenial to him, more at large, freely and uncontroversially, in the fuller outpouring of his spirit, with less of the elaborate and antithetical language of system, such as was needed in cautioning the Colossians against the particular errors threatening them. Hence arises the striking similarity of many of the phrases in the two Epistles written about the same time, and generally in the same vein of spiritual thought; while the peculiar phrases of the Epistle to the Colossians are such as are natural, considering the controversial purpose of that Epistle.

JFB: Colossians (Outline)

• ADDRESS: INTRODUCTION: CONFIRMING EPAPHRAS' TEACHING: THE GLORIES OF CHRIST: THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER FOR THE COLOSSIANS: HIS OWN MINISTRY OF THE MYSTERY. (Col. 1:1-29)
• HIS STRIVINGS IN PRAYER FOR THEIR STEADFASTNESS IN CHRIST; FROM WHOM HE WARNS THEM NOT TO BE LED AWAY BY FALSE WISDOM. (Col. 2:1-23)
• EXHORTATIONS TO HEAVENLY AIMS, AS OPPOSED TO EARTHLY, ON THE GROUND OF UNION TO THE RISEN SAVIOUR; TO MORTIFY AND PUT OFF THE OLD MAN, AND TO PUT ON THE NEW; IN CHARITY, HUMILITY, WORDS OF EDIFICATION, THANKFULNESS; RELATIVE DUTIES. (Col. 3:1-25)
• EXHORTATIONS CONTINUED. TO PRAYER: WISDOM IN RELATION TO THE UNCONVERTED: AS TO THE BEARERS OF THE EPISTLE, TYCHICUS AND ONESIMUS: CLOSING SALUTATIONS. (Col. 4:1-18)

TSK: Colossians (Book Introduction)

Colosse was a large and populous city of Phrygia Pacatiana, in Asia Minor, seated on an eminence to the south of the river Meander. It is supposed to have occupied a site now covered with ruins, near the village of Konous or Khonas, and about twenty miles nw of Degnizlu. By whom, or at what time, the church at Colosse was founded is wholly uncertain; but it would appear from the apostle’s declaration, Col 2:1, that he was not the honoured instrument. It appears from the tenor of this epistle to have been, upon the whole, in a very flourishing state; but some difficulties having arisen among them, they sent Epaphras to Rome, where the apostle was now imprisoned (Col 4:3) to acquaint him with the state of their affairs. It is remarkable for a peculiar pathos and ardour, which is generally ascribed to the extraordinary divine consolations enjoyed by the apostle during his sufferings for the sake of Christ. Whoever, says Michaelis, would understand the Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians, must read them together. The one is in most places a commentary on the other; the meaning of single passages in one epistle, which, if considered alone, might be variously interpreted, being determined by the parallel passages in the other epistle.

TSK: Colossians 3 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Col 3:1, He shows where we should seek Christ; Col 3:5, He exhorts to mortification; Col 3:10, to put off the old man, and put on Christ; Col 3:12, exhorting to charity, humility, and other several duties.

Poole: Colossians 3 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 3

MHCC: Colossians (Book Introduction)

This epistle was sent because of some difficulties which arose among the Colossians, probably from false teachers, in consequence of which they sent to the apostle. The scope of the epistle is to show, that all hope of man's redemption is founded on Christ, in whom alone are all complete fulness, perfections, and sufficiency. The Colossians are cautioned against the devices of judaizing teachers, and also against the notions of carnal wisdom, and human inventions and traditions, as not consistent with full reliance on Christ. In the first two chapters the apostle tells them what they must believe, and in the two last what they must do; the doctrine of faith, and the precepts of life for salvation.

MHCC: Colossians 3 (Chapter Introduction)

(Col 3:1-4) The Colossians exhorted to be heavenly-minded.

(Col 3:5-11) To mortify all corrupt affections.

(Col 3:12-17) To live in mutual love, forbearance, and forgiveness.

(Col 3:18-25) And to practise the duties of wives and husbands, children, parents, and servants.

Matthew Henry: Colossians (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians

Colosse was a considerable city of Phrygia, and probably not far from Laodicea and Hierapolis; we find these mentioned together, Col 4:13. It is now buried in ruins, and the memory of it chiefly preserved in this epistle. The design of the epistle is to warn them of the danger of the Jewish zealots, who pressed the necessity of observing the ceremonial law; and to fortify them against the mixture of the Gentile philosophy with their Christian principles. He professes a great satisfaction in their stedfastness and constancy, and encourages them to perseverance. It was written about the same time with the epistles to the Ephesians and Philippians, a.d. 62, and in the same place, while he was now a prisoner at Rome. He was not idle in his confinement, and the word of God was not bound.

This epistle, like that to the Romans, was written to those he had never seen, nor had any personal acquaintance with. The church planted at Colosse was not by Paul's ministry, but by the ministry of Epaphras or Epaphroditus, an evangelist, one whom he delegated to preach the gospel among the Gentiles; and yet, I. There was a flourishing church at Colosse, and one which was eminent and famous among the churches. One would have thought none would have come to be flourishing churches but those which Paul himself had planted; but here was a flourishing church planted by Epaphras. God is sometimes pleased to make use of the ministry of those who are of less note, and lower gifts, for doing great service to his church. God uses what hands he pleases, and is not tied to those of note, that the excellence of the power may appear to be of God and not of men, 2Co 4:7. II. Though Paul had not the planting of this church, yet he did not therefore neglect it; nor, in writing his epistles, does he make any difference between that and other churches. The Colossians, who were converted by the ministry of Epaphras, were as dear to him, and he was as much concerned for their welfare, as the Philippians, or any others who were converted by his ministry. Thus he put an honour upon an inferior minister, and teaches us not to be selfish, nor think all that honour lost which goes beside ourselves. We learn, in his example, not to think it a disparagement to us to water what others have planted, or build upon the foundation which others have laid: as he himself, as a wise master-builder, laid the foundation, and another built thereon, 1Co 3:10.

Matthew Henry: Colossians 3 (Chapter Introduction)

I. The apostle exhorts us to set our hearts upon heaven and take them off from this world (Col 3:1-4). II. He exhorts to the mortification of sin, in the various instances of it (Col 3:5-11). III. He earnestly presses to mutual love and compassion (Col 3:12-17). And concludes with exhortations to relative duties, of wives and husbands, parents and children, masters and servants (Col 3:18-25).

Barclay: Colossians (Book Introduction)

A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS OF PAUL

The Letters Of Paul

There is no more interesting body of documents in the New Testament than the letters of Paul. That is because of all forms of literature a letter is most personal. Demetrius, one of the old Greek literary critics, once wrote, "Every one reveals his own soul in his letters. In every other form of composition it is possible to discern the writercharacter, but in none so clearly as the epistolary." (Demetrius, On Style, 227). It is just because he left us so many letters that we feel we know Paul so well. In them he opened his mind and heart to the folk he loved so much; and in them, to this day, we can see that great mind grappling with the problems of the early church, and feel that great heart throbbing with love for men, even when they were misguided and mistaken.

The Difficulty Of Letters

At the same time, there is often nothing so difficult to understand as a letter. Demetrius (On Style, 223) quotes a saying of Artemon, who edited the letters of Aristotle. Artemon said that a letter ought to be written in the same manner as a dialogue, because it was one of the two sides of a dialogue. In other words, to read a letter is like listening to one side of a telephone conversation. So when we read the letters of Paul we are often in a difficulty. We do not possess the letter which he was answering; we do not fully know the circumstances with which he was dealing; it is only from the letter itself that we can deduce the situation which prompted it. Before we can hope to understand fully any letter Paul wrote, we must try to reconstruct the situation which produced it.

The Ancient Letters

It is a great pity that Paulletters were ever called epistles. They are in the most literal sense letters. One of the great lights shed on the interpretation of the New Testament has been the discovery and the publication of the papyri. In the ancient world, papyrus was the substance on which most documents were written. It was composed of strips of the pith of a certain bulrush that grew on the banks of the Nile. These strips were laid one on top of the other to form a substance very like brown paper. The sands of the Egyptian desert were ideal for preservation, for papyrus, although very brittle, will last forever so long as moisture does not get at it. As a result, from the Egyptian rubbish heaps, archaeologists have rescued hundreds of documents, marriage contracts, legal agreements, government forms, and, most interesting of all, private letters. When we read these private letters we find that there was a pattern to which nearly all conformed; and we find that Paulletters reproduce exactly that pattern. Here is one of these ancient letters. It is from a soldier, called Apion, to his father Epimachus. He is writing from Misenum to tell his father that he has arrived safely after a stormy passage.

"Apion sends heartiest greetings to his father and lord Epimachus.

I pray above all that you are well and fit; and that things are

going well with you and my sister and her daughter and my brother.

I thank my Lord Serapis [his god] that he kept me safe when I was

in peril on the sea. As soon as I got to Misenum I got my journey

money from Caesar--three gold pieces. And things are going fine

with me. So I beg you, my dear father, send me a line, first to let

me know how you are, and then about my brothers, and thirdly, that

I may kiss your hand, because you brought me up well, and because

of that I hope, God willing, soon to be promoted. Give Capito my

heartiest greetings, and my brothers and Serenilla and my friends.

I sent you a little picture of myself painted by Euctemon. My

military name is Antonius Maximus. I pray for your good health.

Serenus sends good wishes, Agathos Daimonboy, and Turbo,

Galloniuson." (G. Milligan, Selections from the Greek Papyri,

36.)

Little did Apion think that we would be reading his letter to his father 1800 years after he had written it. It shows how little human nature changes. The lad is hoping for promotion quickly. Who would Serenilla be but the girl he left behind him? He sends the ancient equivalent of a photograph to the folk at home. Now that letter falls into certain sections. (i) There is a greeting. (ii) There is a prayer for the health of the recipients. (iii) There is a thanksgiving to the gods. (iv) There are the special contents. (v) Finally, there are the special salutations and the personal greetings. Practically every one of Paulletters shows exactly the same sections, as we now demonstrate.

(i) The Greeting: Rom_1:1 ; 1Co_1:1 ; 2Co_1:1 ; Gal_1:1 ; Eph_1:1 ; Phi_1:1 ; Col_1:1-2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:1 .

(ii) The Prayer: in every case Paul prays for the grace of God on the people to whom he writes: Rom_1:7 ; 1Co_1:3 ; 2Co_1:2 ; Gal_1:3 ; Eph_1:2 ; Phi_1:3 ; Col_1:2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:2 .

(iii) The Thanksgiving: Rom_1:8 ; 1Co_1:4 ; 2Co_1:3 ; Eph_1:3 ; Phi_1:3 ; 1Th_1:3 ; 2Th_1:3 .

(iv) The Special Contents: the main body of the letters.

(v) Special Salutations and Personal Greetings: Rom 16 ; 1Co_16:19 ; 2Co_13:13 ; Phi_4:21-22 ; Col_4:12-15 ; 1Th_5:26 .

When Paul wrote letters, he wrote them on the pattern which everyone used. Deissmann says of them, "They differ from the messages of the homely papyrus leaves of Egypt, not as letters but only as the letters of Paul." When we read Paulletters we are not reading things which were meant to be academic exercises and theological treatises, but human documents written by a friend to his friends.

The Immediate Situation

With a very few exceptions, all Paulletters were written to meet an immediate situation and not treatises which he sat down to write in the peace and silence of his study. There was some threatening situation in Corinth, or Galatia, or Philippi, or Thessalonica, and he wrote a letter to meet it. He was not in the least thinking of us when he wrote, but solely of the people to whom he was writing. Deissmann writes, "Paul had no thought of adding a few fresh compositions to the already extant Jewish epistles; still less of enriching the sacred literature of his nation.... He had no presentiment of the place his words would occupy in universal history; not so much that they would be in existence in the next generation, far less that one day people would look at them as Holy Scripture." We must always remember that a thing need not be transient because it was written to meet an immediate situation. All the great love songs of the world were written for one person, but they live on for the whole of mankind. It is just because Paulletters were written to meet a threatening danger or a clamant need that they still throb with life. And it is because human need and the human situation do not change that God speaks to us through them today.

The Spoken Word

One other thing we must note about these letters. Paul did what most people did in his day. He did not normally pen his own letters but dictated them to a secretary, and then added Ws own authenticating signature. (We actually know the name of one of the people who did the writing for him. In Rom_16:22 Tertius, the secretary, slips in his own greeting before the letter draws to an end). In 1Co_16:21 Paul says, "This is my own signature, my autograph, so that you can be sure this letter comes from me." (compare Col_4:18 ; 2Th_3:17 .)

This explains a great deal. Sometimes Paul is hard to understand, because his sentences begin and never finish; his grammar breaks down and the construction becomes involved. We must not think of him sitting quietly at a desk, carefully polishing each sentence as he writes. We must think of him striding up and down some little room, pouring out a torrent of words, while his secretary races to get them down. When Paul composed his letters, he had in his mindeye a vision of the folk to whom he was writing, and he was pouring out his heart to them in words that fell over each other in his eagerness to help.

INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTER TO THE COLOSSIANS

The Towns Of The Lycus Valley

About one hundred miles from Ephesus, in the valley of the River Lycus, near where it joins the Maeander, there once stood three important cities--Laodicaea, Hierapolis and Colosse. Originally they had been Phrygian cities but now they were part of the Roman province of Asia. They stood almost within sight of each other. Hierapolis and Laodicaea stood on either side of the valley with the River Lycus flowing between, only six miles apart and in full view of each other; Colosse straddled the river twelve miles farther up.

The Lycus Valley had two remarkable characteristics.

(i) It was notorious for earthquakes. Strabo describes it by the curious adjective euseistos, which in English means good for earthquakes. More than once Laodicaea had been destroyed by an earthquake, but she was a city so rich and so independent that she had risen from the ruins without the financial help which the Roman government had offered. As the John who wrote the Revelation was to say of her, in her own eyes she was rich and had need of nothing (Rev_3:17 ).

(ii) The waters of the River Lycus and of its tributaries were impregnated with chalk. This chalk gathered and all over the countryside built up the most amazing natural formations. Lightfoot writes in description of that area: "Ancient monuments are buried; fertile land is overlaid; rivers beds choked up and streams diverted; fantastic grottoes and cascades and archways of stone are formed, by this strange, capricious power, at once destructive and creative, working silently throughout the ages. Fatal to vegetation, these incrustations spread like a stony shroud over the ground. Gleaming like glaciers on the hillside, they attract the eye of the traveller at a distance of twenty miles, and form a singularly striking feature in scenery of more than common beauty and impressiveness."

A Wealthy Area

In spite of these things this was a wealthy area and famous for two closely allied trades. Volcanic ground is always fertile; and what was not covered by the chalky incrustations was magnificent pasture land. On these pastures there were great flocks of sheep and the area was perhaps the greatest centre of the woollen industry in the world. Laodicaea was specially famous for the production of garments of the finest quality. The allied trade was dyeing. There was some quality in those chalky waters which made them specially suitable for dyeing cloth, and Colosse was so famous for this trade that a certain dye was called by its name.

So, then, these three cities stood in a district of considerable geographical interest and of great commercial prosperity.

The Unimportant City

Originally the three cities had been of equal importance, but, as the years went on, their ways parted. Laodicaea became the political centre of the district and the financial headquarters of the whole area, a city of splendid prosperity. Hierapolis became a great trade-centre and a notable spa. In that volcanic area there were many chasms in the ground from which came hot vapours and springs, famous for their medicinal quality; and people came in their thousands to Hierapolis to bathe and to drink the waters.

Colosse at one time was as great as the other two. Behind her rose the Cadmus range of mountains and she commanded the roads to the mountain passes. Both Xerxes and Cyrus had halted there with their invading armies, and Herodotus had called her "a great city of Phrygia." But for some reason the glory departed. How great that departure was can be seen from the fact that Hierapolis and Laodicaea are both to this day clearly discernible because the ruins of some great buildings still stand; but there is not a stone to show where Colosse stood and her site can only be guessed at. Even when Paul wrote Colosse was a small town; and Lightfoot says that she was the most unimportant town to which Paul ever wrote a letter.

The fact remains that in this town of Colosse there had arisen a heresy which, if it had been allowed to develop unchecked, might well have been the ruination of the Christian faith.

The Jews In Phrygia

One other fact must be added to complete the picture. These three cities stood in an area in which there were many Jews. Many years before, Antiochus the Great had transported two thousand Jewish families from Babylon and Mesopotamia into the regions of Lydia and Phrygia. These Jews had prospered and, as always happens in such a case, more of their fellow-countrymen had come into the area to share their prosperity. So many came that the stricter Jews of Palestine lamented the number of Jews who left the rigours of their ancestral land for "the wines and baths of Phrygia."

The number of Jews who resided there can be seen from the following historical incident. Laodicaea, as we have seen, was the administrative centre of the district. In the year 62 B.C., Flaccus was the Roman governor resident there. He sought to put a stop to the practice of the Jews of sending money out of the province to pay the Temple tax. He did so by placing an embargo on the export of currency; and in his own part of the province alone he seized as contraband no less than twenty pounds of gold which was meant for the Temple at Jerusalem. That amount of gold would represent the Temple tax of no fewer than 11,000 people. Since women and children were exempt from the tax and since many Jews would successfully evade the capture of their money, we may well put the Jewish population as high as almost 50,000.

The Church At Colosse

The Christian Church at Colosse was one which Paul had not himself founded and which he had never visited. He classes the Colossians and the Laodicaeans with those who had never seen his face in the flesh (Col_2:1 ). But no doubt the founding of the Church sprang from his directing. During his three years in Ephesus the whole province of Asia was evangelized, so that all its inhabitants, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord (Act_19:10 ). Colosse was about one hundred miles from Ephesus and it was no doubt in that campaign of expansion that the Colossian Church was founded. We do not know who its founder was; but it may well have been Epaphras, who is described as Paulfellow-servant and the faithful minister of the Colossian Church and who is later connected also with Hierapolis and Laodicaea (Col_1:7 ; Col_4:12-13 ). If Epaphras was not the founder of the Christian Church there, he was certainly the minister in charge of the area.

A Gentile Church

It is clear that the Colossian Church was mainly Gentile. The phrase estranged and hostile in mind (Col_1:21 ) is the kind of phrase which Paul regularly uses of those who had once been strangers to the covenant of promise. In Col_1:27 he speaks of making known the mystery of Christ among the Gentiles, when the reference is clearly to the Colossians themselves. In Col_3:5-7 he gives a list of their sins before they became Christians, and these are characteristically Gentile sins. We may confidently conclude that the membership of the Church at Colosse was largely composed of Gentiles.

The Threat To The Church

It must have been Epaphras who brought to Paul, in prison in Rome, news of the situation which was developing in Colosse. Much of the news that he brought was good. Paul is grateful for news of their faith in Christ and their love of the saints (Col_1:4 ). He rejoices at the Christian fruit which they are producing (Col_1:6 ). Epaphras has brought him news of their love in the Spirit (Col_1:8 ). He is glad when he hears of their order and steadfastness in the faith (Col_2:5 ). There was trouble at Colosse certainly; but it had not yet become an epidemic. Paul believed that prevention was better than cure; and in this letter he is grasping this evil before it has time to spread.

The Heresy At Colosse

What the heresy was which was threatening the life of the Church at Colosse no one can tell for sure. "The Colossian Heresy" is one of the great problems of New Testament scholarship. All we can do is to go to the letter itself, list the characteristics we find indicated there and then see if we can find any general heretical tendency to fit the list.

(i) It was clearly a heresy which attacked the total adequacy and the unique supremacy of Christ. No Pauline letter has such a lofty view of Jesus Christ or such insistence on his completeness and finality. Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God; in him all fullness dwells (Col_1:15 , Col_1:19 ). In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge (Col_2:2 ). In him dwells the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form (Col_2:9 ).

(ii) Paul goes out of his way to stress the part that Christ played in creation. By him all things were created (Col_1:16 ); in him all things cohere (Col_1:17 ). The Son was the Fatherinstrument in the creation of the universe.

(iii) At the same time he goes out of his way to stress the real humanity of Christ. It was in the body of his flesh that he did his redeeming work (Col_1:22 ). The fullness of the Godhead dwells in him somatikos (G4984), in bodily form (Col_2:9 ). For all his deity Jesus Christ was truly human flesh and blood.

(iv) There seems to have been an astrological element in this heresy. In Col_2:8 , as the King James Version has it, he says that they were walking after the rudiments of this world, and in Col_2:20 that they ought to be dead to the rudiments of this world. The word translated rudiments is stoicheia (G4747), which has two meanings.

(a) Its basic meaning is a row of things; it can, for instance, be used for a file of soldiers. But one of its commonest meanings is the A B C, the letters of the alphabet, set out, as it were, in a row. From that it develops the meaning of the elements of any subject, the rudiments. It is in that sense that the King James Version takes it; and, if that is the correct sense, Paul means that the Colossians are slipping back to an elementary kind of Christianity when they ought to be going on to maturity.

(b) We think that the second meaning is more likely. Stoicheia (G4747) can mean the elemental spirits of the world, and especially the spirits of the stars and planets. The ancient world was dominated by thought of the influence of the stars; and even the greatest and the wisest men would not act without consulting them. It believed that all things were in the grip of an iron fatalism settled by the stars; and the science of astrology professed to provide men with the secret knowledge which would rid them of their slavery to the elemental spirits. It is most likely that the Colossian false teachers were teaching that it needed something more than Jesus Christ to rid men of their subjection to these elemental spirits.

(v) This heresy made much of the powers of demonic spirits. There are frequent references to principalities or authorities, which are Paulnames for these spirits (Col_1:16 ; Col_2:10 ; Col_2:15 ). The ancient world believed implicitly in demonic powers. The air was full of them. Every natural force--the wind, the thunder, the lightning, the rain--had its demonic superintendent. Every place, every tree, every river, every lake had its spirit. They were in one sense intermediaries to God and in another sense barriers to him, for the vast majority of them were hostile to men. The ancient world lived in a demon-haunted universe. The Colossian false teachers were clearly saying that something more than Jesus Christ was needed to defeat the power of the demons.

(vi) There was clearly what we might call a philosophical element in this heresy. The heretics are out to spoil men with philosophy and empty deceit (Col_2:8 ). Clearly the Colossian heretics were saying that the simplicities of the gospel needed a far more elaborate and recondite knowledge added to them.

(vii) There was a tendency in this heresy to insist on the observance of special days and rituals--festivals, new moons and sabbaths (Col_2:16 ).

(viii) Clearly there was a would-be ascetic element in this heresy. It laid down laws about food and drink (Col_2:16 ). Its slogans were: "Touch not; taste not; handle not" (Col_2:21 ). It was a heresy which was out to limit Christian freedom by insistence on all kinds of legalistic ordinances.

(ix) Equally this heresy had at least sometimes an antinomian streak in it. It tended to make men careless of the chastity which the Christian should have and to make him think lightly of the bodily sins (Col_3:5-8 ).

(x) Apparently this heresy gave at least some place to the worship of angels (Col_2:18 ). Beside the demons it introduced angelic intermediaries between man and God.

(xi) Lastly, there seems to have been in this heresy something which can only be called spiritual and intellectual snobbery. In Col_1:28 Paul lays down his aim; it is to warn every man; to teach every man in all wisdom; and to present every man mature in Jesus Christ. We see how the phrase every man is reiterated and how the aim is to make him mature in all wisdom. The clear implication is that the heretics limited the gospel to some chosen few and introduced a spiritual and intellectual aristocracy into the wide welcome of the Christian faith.

The Gnostic Heresy

Was there then any general heretical tendency of thought which would include all this? There was what was called Gnosticism. Gnosticism began with two basic assumptions about matter. First, it believed that spirit alone was good and that matter was essentially evil. Second, it believed that matter was eternal; and that the universe was not created out of nothing--which is orthodox belief--but out of this flawed matter. Now this basic belief had certain inevitable consequences.

(i) It had an effect on the doctrine of creation. If God was spirit, then he was altogether good and could not possibly work with this evil matter. Therefore God was not the creator of the world. He put out a series of emanations, each of which was a little more distant from God until at the end of the series there was an emanation so distant that it could handle matter; and it was this emanation which created the world. The Gnostics went further. Since each emanation was more distant from God. It was also more ignorant of him. As the series went on that ignorance turned to hostility. So the emanations most distant from God were at once ignorant of him and hostile to him. It followed that he who created the world was at once completely ignorant of, and utterly hostile to, the true God. It was to meet that Gnostic doctrine of creation that Paul insisted that the agent of God in creation was not some ignorant and hostile power, but the Son who perfectly knew and loved the Father.

(ii) It had its effect on the doctrine of the person of Jesus Christ. If matter was altogether evil and if Jesus was the Son of God, then Jesus could not have had a flesh and blood body--so the Gnostic argued. He must have been a kind of spiritual phantom. So the Gnostic romances say that when Jesus walked, he left no footprints on the ground. This, of course, completely removed Jesus from humanity and made it impossible for him to be the Saviour of men. It was to meet this Gnostic doctrine that Paul insisted on the flesh and blood body of Jesus and insisted that Jesus saved men in the body of his flesh.

(iii) It had its effect on the ethical approach to life. If matter was evil, then it followed that our bodies were evil. If our bodies were evil, one of two consequences followed. (a) We must starve and beat and deny the body; we must practise a rigid asceticism in which the body was kept under, and in which its every need and desire were refused. (b) It was possible to take precisely the opposite point of view. If the body was evil, it did not matter what a man did with it; spirit was all that mattered. Therefore a man could sate the bodydesires and it would make no difference.

Gnosticism could, therefore, issue in asceticism, with all kinds of laws and restrictions; or, it could issue in anti-nomianism, in which any immorality was justified. And we can see precisely both these tendencies at work in the false teachers at Colosse.

(iv) One thing followed from all this--Gnosticism was a highly intellectual way of life and thought. There was this long series of emanations between a man and God; man must fight his way up a long ladder to get to God. In order to do that he would need all kinds of secret knowledge and esoteric learning and hidden passwords. If he was to practise a rigid asceticism, he would need to know the rules; and so rigid would his asceticism be that it would be impossible for him to embark on the ordinary activities of life. The Gnostics were, therefore, quite clear that the higher reaches of religion were open only to the chosen few. This conviction of the necessity of belonging to an intellectual religious aristocracy precisely suits the situation at Colosse.

(v) There remains one thing to fit into this picture. It is quite obvious that there was a Jewish element in the false teaching threatening the Church at Colosse. The festivals and the new moons and the sabbaths were characteristically Jewish; the laws about food and drink were essentially Jewish levitical laws. Where then did the Jews come in? It is a strange thing that many Jews were sympathetic to Gnosticism. They knew all about angels and demons and spirits. But, above all, they said, "We know quite well that it takes special knowledge to reach God. We know quite well that Jesus and his gospel are far too simple--and that special knowledge is to be found nowhere else than in the Jewish law. It is our ritual and ceremonial law which is indeed the special knowledge which enables a man to reach God." The result was that there was not infrequently a strange alliance between Gnosticism and Judaism; and it is just such an alliance that we find in Colosse, where, as we have seen, there were many Jews.

It is clear that the false teachers of Colosse were tinged with Gnostic heresy. They were trying to turn Christianity into a philosophy and a theosophy, and, if they had been successful,. the Christian faith would have been destroyed.

The Authorship Of The Letter

One question remains. Many scholars do not believe that Paul wrote this letter at all. They have three reasons.

(i) They say that in Colossians there are many words and phrases which do not appear in any other of Paulletters. That is perfectly true. But it does not prove anything. We cannot demand that a man should always write in the same way and with the same vocabulary. In Colossians we may well believe that Paul had new things to say and found new ways to say them.

(ii) They say that the development of Gnostic thought was, in fact, much later than the time of Paul so that, if the Colossian heresy was connected with Gnosticism, the letter is necessarily later than Paul. It is true that the great written Gnostic systems are later. But the idea of two worlds and the idea of the evil of matter are deeply woven into both Jewish and Greek thought. There is nothing in Colossians which cannot be explained by long-standing Gnostic tendencies in ancient thought, although it is true that the systematization of Gnosticism came later.

(iii) They say that the view of Christ in Colossians is far in advance of any of the letters certainly written by Paul. There are two answers to that.

First, Paul speaks of the unsearchable riches of Christ. In Colosse a new situation met him and out of these unsearchable riches he drew new answers to meet it. It is true that the Christology of Colossians is an advance on anything in the earlier letters of Paul; but that is far from saying that Paul did not write it, unless we are willing to argue that his thought remained for ever static. It is true to say that a man thinks out the implications of his faith only as circumstances compel him to do so; and in face of a new set of circumstances Paul thought out new implications of Christ.

Second, the germ of all Paulthought about Christ in Colossians does, in fact, exist in one of his earlier letters. In 1Co_8:6 he writes of one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things and through whom we exist. In that phrase is the essence of all he says in Colossians. The seed was there in his mind, ready to blossom when a new climate and new circumstances called it into growth.

We need not hesitate to accept Colossians as a letter written by Paul.

The Great Letter

It remains a strange and wonderful fact that Paul wrote the letter which contains the highest reach of his thought to so unimportant a town as Colosse then was. But in doing so he checked a tendency, which, had it been allowed to develop, would have wrecked Asian Christianity and might well have done irreparable damage to the faith of the whole Church.

FURTHER READINGS

Colossians

T. K. Abbott, Ephesians and Colossians (ICC; G)

J. B. Lightfoot, St. PaulEpistles to the Colossians and Philemon (MmC; G)

C. F. D. Moule, The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and to Philemon (CGT; G)

E. F. Scott, The Epistles to Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians (MC; E)

Abbreviations

CGT: Cambridge Greek Testament

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MC: Moffatt Commentary

MmC: Macmillan Commentary

TC: Tyndale Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: Colossians 3 (Chapter Introduction)

The Risen Life (Col_3:1-4)

Christ Our Life (Col_3:1-4 Continued)

The Things Which Lie Behind (Col_3:5-9)

The Things Which Must Be Left Behind (Col_3:5-9 Continued)

The Universality Of Christianity (Col_3:9-13)

The Garments Of Christian Grace (Col_3:9-13 Continued)

The Perfect Bond (Col_3:14-17)

The Personal Relationships Of The Christian (Col_3:18-25; Col_4:1)

The Mutual Obligation (Col_3:18-25; Col_4:1 Continued)

The Christian Workman And The Christian Master (Col_3:18-25; Col_4:1 Continued)

Constable: Colossians (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Historical background

The city of Colosse lay in the beautiful Lycus Valley about 100 miles east of Ephesus. It had been an important town during the Persian War of the fifth century B.C. Since then new trade routes had carried most traffic to its neighboring towns of Laodicea and Hierapolis and had left Colosse only a country village.¹ The inhabitants were mainly Greek colonists and native Phrygians when Paul wrote this epistle, though there were many Jews living in the area as well. Antiochus the Great (223-187 B.C.) had relocated hundreds of Jewish families from Mesopotamia to this region.

"Without doubt Colossae was the least important church to which any epistle of St Paul is addressed."²

Churches had taken root in Colosse, Laodicea (4:16), and probably Hierapolis (4:13). Paul had not visited the Lycus Valley when he wrote this epistle (1:4; 2:1), but he had learned of the spread of the gospel there through Epaphras (1:8) and probably others.³

Epaphras seems to have been the founder or one of the founders of the Colossian church (1:7; 4:12-13). He was a Colossian and had instructed the Christians there (1:7) and probably in Laodicea and Hierapolis. Perhaps Paul led him to Christ, maybe at Ephesus (cf. Acts 19:10).

Epaphras may have traveled to Rome to meet with Paul to secure his help in combating the influence of false teachers that were preaching in Colosse. Archippus may have stood in for Epaphras during his absence (4:17; Phile. 2).

The only information available to help us reconstruct the heresy threatening the church comes from indirect allusions and the emphases in this epistle. We conclude that the false teachers were not giving the person and work of Christ proper interpretation or emphasis. They were distorting and minimizing these doctrines. The false teaching also contained a philosophic appeal, whether Oriental or Hellenistic we cannot be sure (2:8). Notwithstanding there was an emphasis on higher knowledge of the cosmic order. There were also elements of Judaistic ritualism and traditionalism present (2:8, 11, 16; 3:11). However, contrary to orthodox Judaism, the false teachers were encouraging the veneration of angels who they believed controlled the operations of nature to some degree (2:18-19). There was an emphasis on ascetic self-denial (2:20-23) and apparently the idea that only those with full knowledge of the truth as taught by the false teachers could understand and experience spiritual maturity (1:20, 28; 3:11). These emphases later developed into Gnosticism, though in Colosse the Jewish emphasis was more prominent than in later Greek Gnosticism.⁴ It is easy to see how such a cult could develop and gain adherents in the Greek-Jewish culture of the Lycus Valley.

". . . given . . . various factors . . ., including the probable origin of the Colossian church from within synagogue circles, the likely presence of Israelite sectarianism within the diaspora, the lack of other evidence of Jewish syncretism in Asia Minor, and the readiness of some Jews to promote their distinctive religious practices in self-confident apology . . ., we need look no further than one or more of the Jewish synagogues in Colossae for the source of whatever influences were thought to threaten the young church there."⁵

The primary purpose of the letter was clearly to combat this false teaching. The two main problems were the doctrine of Christ and how this doctrine affects Christian living. The primary Christological passages (1:14-23; 2:9-15) present Christ as absolutely preeminent and perfectly adequate for the Christian. The Christian life, Paul explained, flows naturally out of this revelation. The Christian life is really the life of the indwelling Christ that God manifests through the believer.

Paul probably wrote this epistle from Rome toward the middle or end of his first house arrest there between 60 and 62 A.D. He experienced confinement though he enjoyed considerable liberty there for about two years. Many of Paul's fellow workers were with him when he composed this epistle (4:7-14). This view of the letter's origin generally fits the facts better than the Caesarean and Ephesian theories of origin.

There are many similarities between Ephesians and Colossians. The major distinction between them is that in Ephesians the emphasis is on the church as the body of Christ. In Colossians the emphasis is on Christ as the head of the body. Stylistically Colossians is somewhat tense and abrupt whereas Ephesians is more diffuse and flowing. Colossians tends to be more specific, concrete, and elliptical while Ephesians is more abstract, didactic, and general. The mood of Colossians is argumentative and polemical, but that of Ephesians is calm and irenic. The former is a letter of discussion; the latter is a letter of reflection.⁶ Paul evidently wrote both letters about the same time. These two epistles, along with Philippians and Philemon, constitute the Prison Epistles of Paul.⁷

Purpose

Three purposes emerge from the contents of the epistle. Paul wanted to express his personal interest in this church, which he had evidently not visited. He wrote to warn the Colossians of the danger of returning to their former beliefs and practices. He also refuted the false teaching that was threatening this congregation. The outstanding Christian doctrine that this letter deals with is Christology. Paul's great purpose was to set forth the absolute supremacy and sole sufficiency of Jesus Christ.

"The church today desperately needs the message of Colossians. We live in a day when religious toleration is interpreted to mean one religion is just as good as another.' Some people try to take the best from various religious systems and manufacture their own private religion. To many people, Jesus Christ is only one of several great religious teachers, with no more authority than they. He may be prominent, but He is definitely not preeminent.

"This is an age of syncretism.' People are trying to harmonize and unite many different schools of thought and come up with a superior religion. Our evangelical churches are in danger of diluting the faith in their loving attempt to understand the beliefs of others. Mysticism, legalism, Eastern religions, asceticism, and man-made philosophies are secretly creeping into churches. They are not denying Christ, but they are dethroning Him and robbing Him of His rightful place of preeminence."⁸

Message⁹

The whole message of this epistle finds expression in 2:9-10a. The two declarations in this sentence are the great revelations of the Colossian letter.

The fullness of the godhead is in Christ. This is an eternal fact that is always true. The Greek word translated "deity" (theotetos) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It does not mean divinity. Divinity is an attribute of God. Deity is the essence of God. It is not enough to say Jesus Christ was divine. In a sense every person is divine. Jesus Christ was deity. He alone possesses the unique nature of God. In Him the fullness of essential deity dwells in bodily manifestation. The Apostle Paul expounded Christ's fullness in three respects in this epistle.

In relation to creation He is the originator and sustainer of all things (1:16-17). This includes all life.

In relation to redemption He is the first-born from the dead (1:18). Resurrection presupposes death. Death is due to sin. Between creation and resurrection there was sin and death. In resurrection Christ was victor over sin, death, and the grave. He is the master of death.

In relation to reconciliation Christ is the maker of peace (1:19-20). The result of Christ's victory over death is peace. He is the reconciler of all things that sin has separated. His reconciliation affects both people and the created world. In Christ we see all the fullness of deity: creating, rising triumphantly out of death, and reconciling to the farthest reaches of the universe. That is the Christ of Christianity.

The second declaration is that in Christ God makes us full (2:10a). Not only is the fullness of the godhead in Christ, but the filling of the saints is in Christ too. Paul explained what this means.

First, it means God restores us to our true place in creation in Christ. We can regain the scepter and the crown as kings of the earth under God's authority. God has sent us out into all the cosmos to make Christ known. Unfortunately we do not always realize our position. We choose instead to grovel among the world's garbage heaps. Nevertheless in this sense God makes us full in Christ. We come into a new relationship to all creation through Christ. God restores us to our divinely intended position in creation in Him. We are His trophies.

Second, God restores us to our true relation to Himself through Christ's resurrection. God communicates His very life to us so that we take our rightful place as subject to God. God does not break our will. He captures our will by the indwelling grace of Christ's life. God makes us full in this sense too. We are His instruments.

Third, God restores us to true fellowship with Himself in Christ. We not only receive from God, but we can also give to God in service. Thus our fellowship is reciprocal. We are His partners.

We experience fullness in Christ for in Him God restores us to our true place in creation, to our true relation to Himself, and to our true fellowship with Himself. This restoration enables us to cooperate with God in His purposes. We become not only trophies of His grace but His instruments and even His partners in our generation. In view of this revelation Paul made a threefold appeal.

The first appeal is a warning against a false philosophy (2:8). Paul described this false philosophy in two ways.

It is the tradition of men, which is essentially speculation. In this context Paul meant human guessing that leaves God out of His universe.

It is also the rudiments of the world. This philosophy is rudimentary because it tries to explain everything within the limits of the material. The material part of life is rudimentary.

We correct this false philosophy by recognizing that Jesus Christ is the solution to the problem of the universe. When we realize that Jesus Christ is the first-born (first in rank and sovereignty, not in temporal sequence) then we gain a true view of the universe. He is the great cohesive agent in the universe.

Paul's second warning is against false mediation (2:16-18).

Paul pointed out that ceremonies such as observing certain kinds of foods and festivals are only shadows. We should not think that observing these ceremonies will improve our relationship to God. We have Jesus Christ who is the substance to which these ceremonies pointed.

Another type of false mediation involves the worship of angels. We should have nothing to do with this practice because we have direct access to Jesus Christ. He is the Creator and Master of all creatures including the angels.

To summarize, we should not allow religious ceremonies or created mediators to come between ourselves and Christ.

Paul's third warning is against false confidences (2:20-23).

Our enemy may tempt us to have confidence in the opinions of others. When false teachers say, "Do not touch this or taste that or handle something," we may think those statements are authoritative. Paul urges us not to follow such opinions but to get our direction from the Lord Jesus.

Our enemy may tempt us to put confidence in ascetic practices of abstention and self-affliction. Paul tells us to forget these things and to set our thinking on the things of Christ rather than on ourselves.

When we have a true view of Jesus Christ He will be the focus of our thinking. That view will deliver us from the domination of the flesh. We need to base our confidence on God's Word rather than on human traditions that do not reflect scriptural revelation accurately.

The matter of supreme importance to the church is her doctrine of Christ. Our Christian life and service will flow out of our doctrine of Christ. We are what we think. "As a man thinks in his heart so is he." Not only must Christ occupy the central place in our lives, but our understanding of Christ must be accurate. We can avoid all the errors Paul warned against in this epistle by keeping a proper view of Christ.

Constable: Colossians (Outline)

Outline

I. Introduction 1:1-14

A. Salutation 1:1-2

B. Thanksgiving 1:3-8

C. Prayer 1:9-14

II. Explanation of the person and work of Christ 1:15-29

A. The preeminent person of Christ 1:15-20

1. In relation to God the Father 1:15a

2. In relation to all creation 1:15b-17

3. In relation to the church 1:18-20

B. The reconciling work of Christ 1:21-29

1. As experienced by the Colossians 1:21-23

2. As ministered by Paul 1:24-29

III. Warnings against the philosophies of men ch. 2

A. Exhortation to persevere in the truth 2:1-7

1. Paul's concern 2:1-5

2. Paul's exhortation 2:6-7

B. The true doctrine of Christ 2:8-15

C. The false doctrines of men 2:16-23

IV. Exhortations to practical Christian living 3:1-4:6

A. The basic principle 3:1-4

B. The proper method 3:5-17

1. Things to put off 3:5-11

2. Things to put on 3:12-17

C. The fundamental relationships 3:18-4:1

1. Wives and husbands 3:18-19

2. Children and parents 3:20-21

3. Slaves and masters 3:22-4:1

D. The essential practice 4:2-6

V. Conclusion 4:7-18

A. The bearers of this epistle 4:7-9

B. Greetings from Paul's companions 4:10-14

C. Greetings to others 4:15-17

D. Paul's personal conclusion 4:18

Constable: Colossians

Colossians

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Colossians (Book Introduction)

THE

EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE,

TO THE COLOSSIANS.

INTRODUCTION.

Colosse was a city of Phrygia, near Laodicea. It does not appear that St. Paul had preached there himself, (see Chap. ii. 1.) but that the Colossians were converted by Epaphras, a disciple of the apostles. However, as St. Paul was the great apostle of the Gentiles, he wrote this epistle to the Colossians when he was in prison, and about the same time that he wrote to the Ephesians and Philippians. The exhortations and doctrine it contains, are similar to those which are set forth in his epistle to the Ephesians. St. John Chrysostom takes notice, that the epistles he wrote in prison seem even more spiritual than the rest: the chief design of which was to hinder them from being seduced by false teachers. (Challoner; Witham) --- The Colossians were first instructed in the faith by Epaphras, who is considered their first bishop. He was a prisoner, at Rome, with St. Paul, when this epistle was written. The intent of it was to disabuse the Colossians of worshipping the Angels; for Cerinthus and others, had taught them to look upon Angels as superior to Christ, whom they looked upon as a mere man; to observe the law of Moses, with all its legal rites and ceremonies. He begins his epistle by insisting chiefly on the exalted state of Christ, saying that he is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature, by whom all things visible and invisible were created, whether thrones, principalities, or powers, and that in him the divinity essentially exists. From this he proves the inutility of the ceremonies of the law, &c. (Fleury and Calmet) and takes great pains to prevent their relapsing either into paganism or Judaism. (Bible de Vence)

====================

Gill: Colossians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS

The Colossians, to whom this epistle is written, were not the Rhodians, by some called Colossians, from Colossus, the large statue of the sun, which stood in the island of Rhodes, and was one of the seven wonders of the world; but the inhabitants of Colosse, a city of the greater Phrygia, in the lesser Asia, near to which stood the cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis, mentioned in this epistle. Pliny ^a speaks of it as one of the chief towns in Phrygia, and ^b Herodotus calls it the great city of Phrygia; it is said to have perished a very little time after the writing of this epistle, with the above cities, by an earthquake, in the year of Christ 66, and in the tenth of Nero ^c; though it was afterwards rebuilt; for Theophylact says, that in his time it was called Chonae. When the Gospel was brought hither, and by whom, is not known, nor who was the founder of the church in this place; for the Apostle Paul was not, since his face had never been seen by them, Col 2:1, though it is said that Epaphras, the same name with Epaphroditus, was fixed by him pastor of this church; and others say Philemon was set over it by him. The occasion of this epistle was this, Epaphras, who had preached the Gospel to the Colossians, and very likely was the first that did, came to Rome, where the Apostle Paul was a prisoner, and gave him an account of them, how they had heard and received the Gospel, and of their faith Christ, and love to the saints; and also declared to him in what danger they were through some false teachers that had got among them, who were for introducing the philosophy of the Gentiles, the ceremonies of the law of Moses, and some pernicious tenets of the followers of Simon Magus, and the Gnostics; upon which the apostle writes this epistle to them, to confirm them in the faith of the Gospel Epaphras had preached unto them, and which was the same he himself preached; and to warn them against those bad men, and their principles; and to exhort them to a discharge of their duty to God, and men, and one another. It was written by the apostle, when in bonds at Rome, as many passages in it show, and about the same time with those to the Philippians and Ephesians; and the epistle to the latter greatly agrees with this, both as to subject and style. Dr. Lightfoot places it in the year of Christ 60, in the second of the apostle's imprisonment, and in the sixth of Nero's reign.

Gill: Colossians 3 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS 3

This chapter contains exhortations to several duties, some more general, which relate to all Christians, and others more particular, which belong to saints in such and such a state of life. The apostle begins with an exhortation to seek things heavenly, and not earthly, and to set the affections on the one, and not on the other: the arguments used to enforce it are taken from the saints being risen with Christ; from Christ being in heaven at the Father's right hand; from their being dead to sin, the law, and the world; from their having life in Christ safe and secure; yea, from Christ being their life, and their appearance with him in glory, Col 3:1. And next he proceeds to an exhortation to the mortification of sin, and the deeds of it, which he urges from the wrath of God coming upon men for these things, and from the consideration of their former state and condition, expressed by walking and living in them, Col 3:5, and by a metaphor taken from the putting off and on of garments, he exhorts to the putting off of the old man, with his deeds, several of which are mentioned, Col 3:8, and to the putting on of the new man, and to the exercise of various graces, as mercy, meekness, forbearance, forgiveness, charity, and peace, Col 3:10. And then he proceeds to exhort to such duties as relate to the word and worship of God; as that the word of Christ should have an abiding place in them, and that they should teach and instruct one another by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and do all they did in a religious way, in the name of Christ, with thankfulness to God by him, Col 3:16. And closes the chapter with the duties of wives to their husbands, and of husbands to their wives, and of children to their parents, and of parents to their children, and of servants to their masters, Col 3:18.

College: Colossians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION

THE CITY

Colosse had been a thriving and important city several centuries before Christ, but by the time this letter was written its importance had diminished considerably, and it was overshadowed by its neighbors Hierapolis and Laodicea, both short distances to the west. Colosse was approximately 100 miles east of Ephesus, located in the Lycus valley in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). It was located on a major trade route moving inland from the coast.

A severe earthquake had shaken Laodicea either in 60 or 64 AD, and it is supposed Colosse, being near, would also have suffered. This may have been one cause of a decline in population.

The primary economic significance of the city was due to textiles, and a highly prized wool came from the area. The site of the city was rediscovered in 1835, but it has not been excavated. The city is mentioned in the New Testament only in Paul's letter.

THE CHURCH

Paul would have been in the general vicinity of Colosse during his Ephesian ministry (Acts 19) but there is no reference in Acts to a visit there, though Ephesus did become a mission center (Acts 19:10). In Colossians 1:4 Paul states that he had heard of the faith of the Colossians, and in 2:1 he speaks of those who had not met him personally. These notes, and the references to Epaphras in 1:7f and 4:12f, have led to the conclusion that Paul had not personally visited the city (though he anticipated doing so - Phlm 22), and that Epaphras was the evangelist who founded the church (1:7f). Epaphras may also have founded the congregations in Hierapolis and Laodicea (Col 4:13,16).

Several Christians from Colosse are named by Paul, including Nympha, Archippus (Col 4:15,17), Philemon, Apphia (Phlm 1f), and, of course, Epaphras. Epaphras had gone to visit Paul and is designated in Philemon 23 as Paul's "fellow prisoner" (see the notes there). The text of Colossians indicates the membership was primarily Gentiles, though the "heresy" which Paul opposed contains Jewish elements (see 2:16f and the discussion there).

OCCASION

Personal information is generally shared in letters like Colossians. This would be especially important because there would be concern over Paul's condition as a prisoner. The most likely theory is that Epaphras traveled to see Paul, primarily because of concern over certain teachings that were troubling the church and seemed to seriously diminish the significance of Christ. For some reason (imprisonment - Phlm 1:23?) Epaphras was unable to carry Paul's letter back to Colosse, so that task was entrusted to Tychicus, who also carried a letter to Philemon, and who was accompanied by Onesimus, a runaway slave (Col 4:7-9; Phlm 1:12,17).

But the troublesome teaching is the chief burden of the letter. Paul describes this heresy in 2:8,16-23, and in the rest of the book he attacks it, either frontally or in more subtle ways. The nature of the heresy has been a continuing puzzlement to scholars, and many theoretical explanations have been offered. It seems to have involved Jewish elements (2:16f), angelic worship (2:18), and extreme asceticism (2:20-23). But attempts at more precise definition have had to recognize ambiguities in the text, problems with seeing a coherent relation of the elements of the false teaching, the incompleteness of Paul's description (remembering he had to rely on the reports of others), and finding any known teaching from the period that embodied all these elements. See the discussion in the commentary proper.

The effect of this teaching was to lessen the significance of Christ's saving work. If the tenets of the heresy provided the path to salvation, then Christ's sacrifice was not as important. The heresy seems to have imported another form of works salvation, much as the circumcision party in the church attempted to do. Paul attacks the error by a powerful affirmation of Christ's identity (1:15-20) and his role in salvation. His thesis was that an understanding of Christ and life in him would completely refute the heresy. In addition to the magnificent texts in 1:15-20 and 2:9-15 he constantly makes references to benefits which the heretics sought after, but which only Christ truly gave. These included such things as wisdom, knowledge, and fullness (cf. 1:9). Note also the references to the mystery (1:26; 2:2). Even the ethical appeals from 3:1-4:6 powerfully emphasize the relation of the ethical life to Christ (note the references listed before 3:1).

PAUL'S LOCALE

The commonly accepted tradition holds that Paul wrote Colossians and Philemon from the Roman imprisonment described in Acts 28. The apostle does not name the city from which he writes, but numerous factors support Rome. Luke (Col 4:14) and Aristarchus (Colossians 4:10) were with him there, and were in Rome according to Acts 27:2 (the "we" implies Luke). Acts indicates Paul's Roman imprisonment was not unduly restrictive (Acts 28:30f) and this fits the relatively unfettered activities described in Colossians 4:7-15. Onesimus was with Paul (Col 4:9; cf. Phlm) and it is quite possible he had migrated to Rome to lose himself in the urban populace. If we accept the Roman hypothesis, Colossians would be dated in the early 60s.

Due to the perceived presence of problems with a Roman origin, however, other locales have been suggested. One is Caesarea, since that is the only other Pauline imprisonment documented in Acts. This theory has not gained any significant following, since the circumstances described in Acts do not fit those depicted in Colossians and Philemon, especially Paul's expectation to visit Colosse (Phlm 1:22). From Caesarea Paul expected only to go to Rome, and before his appeal to Caesar he was kept in continual uncertainty.

A more likely case has been formed for Ephesus. It was relatively close to Colosse and could thus conveniently explain Paul's travel plans (i.e., an eventual trip to Rome after a detour to Colosse). Paul did encounter some problems in Ephesus (1 Cor 4:9-13; 2 Cor 4:8-12; 6:4f; 11:23-25; and perhaps 1 Cor 15:32). They might have included prison, but Acts gives no evidence of it, and details are uncertain enough to disallow any definite conclusion. Since Luke details Paul's problems so carefully, it seems strange he would not mention an Ephesian imprisonment had there been one. Further, Acts has no indication Luke was even in Ephesus. He was left in Philippi on Paul's second tour, and did not resume the apostle's company till the third tour (Acts 16:16,40; 20:5). If Colossians was written from Ephesus, it would be dated in the early to mid 50s.

The case for Ephesus depends, in part, on certain perceived weaknesses in the Roman view. One is the divergence between Paul's announced intent to go to Spain (Rom 15:28) and his desire to return to Colosse (Phlm 1:22). In our comments on Philemon 22 we have argued that a change of plans by Paul is a reasonable supposition. Another objection is the distance from Rome to Colosse, well over 1000 miles. If Paul expected Onesimus to be returned to him (see notes on Philemon) that seems a long distance for him to be sent only to retrace his steps. However, the Roman road system was good, and Paul's honor demanded that he send Onesimus and give Philemon the option of voluntary response, whatever the distance. We do not think Paul could have written as he did to Philemon and not have sent Onesimus.

A third argument has to do with Paul's request for lodging with Philemon ( v. 22). Would he have made such a request when so many miles and days away? But once we accept Paul's intent to visit Colosse (perhaps to deal with the heresy) and consider his graciousness in dealing with Philemon, the request seems reasonable enough.

A fair case can be made for Ephesus, but we hold that the case for Rome is the stronger alternative.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

BIBLIOGRAPHY

COLOSSIANS

Bruce, F.F. The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984.

Lohse, Eduard. Colossians and Philemon . Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971.

Melick, Richard. Philippians, Colossians, Philemon . Nashville: Broadman, 1991.

O'Brien, Peter. Colossians, Philemon . Waco: Word Books, 1982.

Patzia, Arthur. Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon . Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1984.

Pokorn΄y, Petr. Colossians, A Commentary . Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1991.

Weed, Michael. The Letters of Paul to the Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon . Austin: Sweet, 1971.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

College: Colossians (Outline)

OUTLINE

SALUTATION - 1:1-2

I. THANKSGIVING - 1:3-8

II. PAUL'S PRAYER FOR THE COLOSSIANS - 1:9-14

III. THE HYMN ABOUT CHRIST - 1:15-20

IV. THE HYMN APPLIED - 1:21-23

V. PAUL'S MINISTRY TO THE CHURCHES AND TO THE COLOSSIANS - 1:24-2:5

A. Paul's Labors in God's Power - 1:24-29

B. Warning Against Being Deceived - 2:1-5

VI. RECEIVING CHRIST AS LORD - 2:6-15

A. Continue in Christ: Don't Be Deceived! - 2:6-8

B. "In Christ" - 2:9-12

C. Death to Life - 2:13-15

VII. WARNINGS AGAINST THE HERESY - 2:16-23

A. Don't Lose the Prize! - 2:16-19

B. Shun Worldly Rules! - 2:20-23

VIII. SEEK THE THINGS ABOVE - 3:1-4

IX. THINGS TO PUT TO DEATH - 3:5-11

X. THINGS TO PUT ON - 3:12-17

XI. RULES FOR THE CHRISTIAN HOUSEHOLD - 3:18-4:1

A. Husbands and Wives - 3:18-19

B. Children and Fathers - 3:20-21

C. Slaves and Masters - 3:22-4:1

XII. FINAL EXHORTATIONS TO PRAYER AND PROPER BEHAVIOR - 4:2-6

XIII. FINAL INSTRUCTIONS AND GREETINGS - 4:7-18

A. Tychicus and Onesimus - 4:7-9

B. Greetings - 4:10-15

C. Concluding Instructions - 4:16-18

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV