The Christ hymn (1.15–20) is the bulwark of the Letter and its strains reverberate in later passages. Whether the opponents also used it to their ends is not clear. It buttresses several of the author’s claims: Christ’s close relationship to God (1.15, 19; 2.9); Christ’s role in creating all things, including the celestial powers (1.16; 3.10); Christ’s authority over the body (1.18; 2.19); and Christ’s role in God’s reconciling work (1.20; 3.11).
The Letter’s recurrent wisdom terminology (1.9–10, 28; 2.2–3, 23; 3.10, 16; 4.5) reflects the dispute at its center. The author clings closely to tradition as an authority and to Christ as the means of access to wisdom, while the opponents, borrowing from various religious currents of the time, feature visions and special relationship to angels as the avenue to wisdom. While Paul was alive, he combined both tradition and visions (see 1 Cor 15.3–11; 2 Cor 12.1–5); the Pauline school, as represented in Colossians, has retained the former, but not the latter.
As a rhetorical strategy vilification is an ancient practice. The author does not aim for fairness but for triumph, so his opponents’ positions are caricatured to his advantage. Accordingly any attempt to identify the opponents must at best be provisional and reserved.
Date and Place of Writing
THE DATE AND PLACE OF WRITING cannot be determined with certainty. Paul is portrayed as imprisoned (4.3, 10, 18; cf. Phil 1.12–14; Philem 1, 13, 23), but, as this document is probably by a follower writing after Paul’s death, some date after the mid-60s CE must be supposed. In any case, Colossians was written at a post-Pauline time when women’s roles were diminished (3.18; see also note on 3.11) and when relationships within the household were once again accommodated to the wider culture (3.18–4.1). [J. PAUL SAMPLEY]
Colossians 1
Salutation
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2To the saints and faithful brothers and sistersa in Christ in Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Paul Thanks God for the Colossians
3In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel 6that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. 7This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant.b He is a faithful minister of Christ on yourc behalf, 8and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
9For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’sd will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. 11May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has enablede youf to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.g
The Supremacy of Christ
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16for inh him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17He himself is before all things, and ini him all things hold together. 18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
21And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciledj in his fleshly bodyk through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him—23provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.
Paul’s Interest in the Colossians
24I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 25I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.
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a Gk brothers
b Gk slave
c Other ancient authorities read our
d Gk his
e Other ancient authorities read called
f Other ancient authorities read us
g Other ancient authorities add through his blood
h Or by
i Or by
j Other ancient authorities read you have now been reconciled
k Gk in the body of his flesh
1.1–2 These verses formally resemble most Pauline Letter openings.
1.1 For Paul’s self-designation as an apostle, see 2 Cor 1.1; Gal 1.1; Eph 1.1.
1.2 Saints (lit. “holy ones” see also v. 22; 3.12), all believers, those who have been set apart for God and have an inheritance (v. 12). The designation of God as Father (see v. 12; 3.17) is consistent with the importance of the household in this Letter (see 3.18–4.1) and with the Pauline tradition (see, e.g., each of the Letter openings).
1.3–14 The thanksgiving, a feature of most Pauline Letters.
1.4–5 For the triad of faith, love, and hope, see 1 Cor 13.13; 1 Thess 1.3; 5.8.
1.4 See Eph 1.15.
1.5 Colossians emphasizes spatial concepts like heaven (see also vv. 16, 20; 3.1, 2, 5) instead of temporal ones like the “day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1.6).
1.6 On bearing fruit (see also Mt 7.16–20; Rom 7.4–5) and growing, see v. 10; 2.19.
1.7 Epaphras was probably the founder of this church; see 4.12–13; Philem 23.
1.9 Being filled and coming to fullness (see also vv. 19, 25; 2.9–10) are ambivalent: the believers have come to fullness in Christ (2.10), yet here the author prays that they may be filled with proper wisdom.
1.10 Lead lives worthy, lit. “walk worthily,” meaning conduct one’s life appropriately. See also 2.6; 3.7–17; 4.5.
1.11 His glorious power, lit. “the power of his glory.” Cf. the rival power in v. 13.
1.12 Light and darkness are ancient scriptural categories (Gen 1.4; Isa 42.16; Lam 3.2) that in the NT and the Dead Sea Scrolls designate opposing apocalyptic forces (1.13; 2 Cor 6.14; Eph 5.8; 1 Thess 5.5).
1.13 The power of darkness, the evil forces that bid to control the universe and worldly affairs, but whose ultimate defeat lies already in the crucifixion (2.15, 20). Kingdom of his…Son. Cf. 4.11; 1 Cor 15.24.
1.14 Redemption, the buying back of a slave or the freeing of a prisoner by ransom. See Rom 3.24; Eph 1.7, 14; 4.30. Forgiveness of sins. See 2.13; 3.13; Eph 1.7. In the undisputed Letters Paul views sin as an enslaving power, not a misdeed (see Rom 5.12; Gal 3.22).
1.15–23 A hymn, redolent with liturgical overtones, about Christ, followed by the author’s application. The hymn (vv. 15–
20), echoed in later parts of the Letter, is the heart of the author’s argument.
1.15 On Christ as the image of God, see 2 Cor 3.18; 4.4; see also Phil 2.6; Heb 1.3. Describing God as invisible (see Jn 1.18; 1 Tim 1.17; Heb 11.27) was common in Hellenistic writings. Firstborn of all creation. See also Rom 8.29; Rev 3.14. Similar claims are made about Wisdom; see Prov 8.22–26; Sir 24.9.
1.16 The affirmation of Christ’s active role in creation (see also Rom 11.36; 1 Cor 8.6; Heb. 1.2) corresponds to assertions made about Wisdom (Prov 8.27–30) and about the Word (Jn 1.1–3). Thrones…powers, either earthly or cosmic powers, or both; see also 2.10; Rom 8.38; 1 Cor 15.24; Eph 1.21; cf. Rev 2.13. In either case, the statement would have had political overtones.
1.18 On Christ as head of the body, the church, see 2.19; Eph 1.22–23. This precise image appears nowhere in the unquestionably authentic Pauline Letters (cf. Rom 12.5; 1 Cor 12.12). Firstborn from the dead, a reference to the resurrection. See Rev 1.5; cf. Rom 8.29; 1 Cor 15.20, 23.
1.19 The fullness of God that dwells in Christ (reaffirmed in 2.9; see also Eph 1.23; 4.10; cf. Jn 1.16) is available in him for all believers (see 2.10).
1.20 An expression of the author’s confidence in reconciliation as a present reality. On Christ as its means, see 2 Cor 5.19; Eph 2.13–22.
1.22 Present, a technical term for bringing a sacrifice to an altar (see Rom 12.1) or an accused person before a judge (see 1.28). The same point, but with the image of a betrothal, is made in 2 Cor 11.2.
1.24–2.5 These verses establish Paul’s trustworthiness and commitment to Christ and to the Colossians.
1.24 Rejoicing in…sufferings. See Rom 5.2–5; 2 Cor 6.9–10; Phil 1.12–18. Completing…Christ’s afflictions. Believers’ hardships and sufferings are seen as extensions of Christ’s crucifixion; cf. 2 Cor 1.5.
1.27 On Gentiles’ inclusion, see Eph 3.6. Mystery, which is Christ in you (see note on 2.2) refers to Christ’s presence in the church because the you is plural (see Rom 8.10; 2 Cor 13.5; Gal 4.19; in each case the plural “you” implies a community rather than an individual). This present reality is the basis for the hope of glory in the future (see also Rom 5.2; 8.18).
1.28 Warning anticipates the author’s treatment of the opponents in 2.4–23. Mature, i.e., complete, unshakable. See 4.12; Eph 4.13–14.
The cities of the Lycus Valley were important centers of Pauline Christianity. A special relation between churches at Laodicea and Colossae is suggested by Col 4.16.
Colossians 2
1For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face. 2I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself,a 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments. 5For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Fullness of Life in Christ
6As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your livesb in him, 7rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe,c and not according to Christ. 9For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision,d by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, Gode made youf alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15He disarmedg the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
16Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwellingh on visions,i puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking,j 19and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.
Warnings against False Teachers
20If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe,k why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, 21“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”? 22All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. 23These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.l
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a Other ancient authorities read of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ
b Gk to walk
c Or the rudiments of the world
d Gk a circumcision made without hands
e Gk he
f Other ancient authorities read made us; others, made
g Or divested himself of
h Other ancient authorities read not dwelling
i Meaning of Gk uncertain
j Gk by the mind of his flesh
k Or the rudiments of the world
l Or are of no value, serving only to indulge the flesh
2.1 Struggling has the semantic range of “conflict,” “fear,” “care.” The church at Colossae seems to have had strong ties with Laodicea, ten miles west; see 4.13–16.
2.2 United, rendered held together in v. 19. Here Christ himself is the content of the mystery; in 1.27 it is Christ in you.
2.4 The emphasis on wisdom and knowledge in vv. 2–3 suggests that the false but plausible arguments of the opponents have these as their goal as well. See v. 8; see also 1 Cor 1.18–2.5.
2.5 Morale, lit. “(good) order.” See 1 Cor 14.40.
2.6–19 The proper grounding in Christ versus the opponents’ empty demands.
2.8 Philosophy and empty deceit (see v. 4) is used to describe false teaching based on human tradition and on the erroneous assumption that power resides in the elemental spirits of the universe. This last phrase refers to the widespread Greco-Roman notion that the universe is composed of celestial powers that rule life; see 1.13, 16; 2.20; Gal 4.3.
2.9 Fullness of deity. See note on 1.19.
2.10 You have come to fullness in him, an emphatic identification of believers with Christ and therefore with his dominion over every ruler and authority (see v. 15; Eph 1.21–22).
2.11 Circumcision, the Jewish rite of inclusion in God’s people, here a metaphor for the crucifixion and the believers’ participation in it through baptism (cf. Rom 2.28–29; Phil 3.3). At baptism (see v. 12), new believers put off their old garments and afterwards were clothed in new ones; see also 3.9–10; Eph 4.22–24.
2.12 On baptism as burial, see Rom 6.3–5. Nowhere in the undisputed Pauline Letters are believers described as already raised. See 3.1; Eph 2.6; cf. Rom 6.3–5; 1 Cor 15.22–23; Phil 3.10–11. The evidence offered for the power of God is Christ’s resurrection.
2.13–15 Peace (cf. 3.15) won by military victory, with political implications for contemporary imperial aims.
2.13 Uncircumcision of your flesh identifies the audience as gentile; see 1.27.
2.14 Record, possibly a certificate of indebtedness or bond. Legal demands, lit. “requirements.” There is no explicit reference to Israel’s law here.
2.15 The image is of a triumphal military
procession in which the conqueror leads the defeated powers (see 1.13; 2.10), publicly disgracing them. Triumphing, leading in triumph. See 2 Cor 2.14. In it refers to the cross (v. 14), but the Greek could be translated “in him,” referring to Christ (see vv. 9–10).
2.16–23 These verses offer some insight into the opponents’ requirements.
2.16 On festivals, new moons, or sabbaths as required observances, see Ezek 45.17.
2.18 Disqualify you, rob you of your prize (cf. condemn you in v. 16). Beyond a relationship to Christ, the opponents require self-abasement, i.e., through ascetic practices (see vv. 21, 23), and the worship of angels, which suggests either that angels could perform an intermediary function beyond what Christ offered or that self-mortification could grant access to worship with the angels. Dwelling on visions, a difficult phrase, possibly “the things seen when one entered [heaven? a place of oracles?].” Human way of thinking, an ironic put-down of the opponents’ claims.
2.19 Head, a reference, through v. 10, to the Christ hymn (see 1.18). Growth. See 1.6, 10.
2.20–23 The last explicit mention of the opponents and their teachings.
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