1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. 3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6 which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. Colossians 1:1–8
Paul wrote this letter during his two-year “house-arrest” in Rome. He was busy during that time also penning letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon. With him was his beloved disciple Timothy, and as we read on, Tychicus, who would ultimately deliver the letter to the church (4:7), Onesimus, the runaway slave who would be traveling back to his master Philemon (4:9), Aristarchus, Paul’s “fellow prisoner” (4:10), Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (4,10), Jesus, called Justus (4:11), the hardworking Epaphras, who founded the Colossian church, who would curiously stay behind with Paul (4:12), Luke, the “beloved physician,” and future deserter Demas (4:14). Also not far away was Paul’s Roman “captor,” the most likely person on earth to succumb to the love of Christ. (Acts 28:26)
Paul wanted simply to be known as an “apostle” of Jesus Christ, that role being cast by the “will of God,” not of his own volition. He was dramatically called on the road to Damascus, we all know the story. At this point of his arduous journey, this designation had been well earned and battle tested, which is an understatement.
“Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.” 2 Corinthians 11:28
His main concern was not his present “confinement” but for the churches, that they might thrive unimpeded by doctrinal errors. His rented quarters served as a command central for the furtherance of the gospel, with these associates to be soon sent back out into the field to do the Lord’s bidding.
But first, from Epaphras he had heard of a few things he needed to address in the Colossian church that, unabated, spelled significant trouble.
“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)
The main threat was rooted in Gnosticism, a deceptive philosophical heresy (2:8) making God good but what he created evil, ranking Jesus Christ, one of his “creations,” as inferior to God, and making the acquisition of a secret, higher knowledge above Scripture necessary for enlightenment and salvation. Also embedded in the philosophy was the legalism of the Jews. [Condensed from MacArthur’s Study Bible]
The Asian church at Colossae was a perfect mark for this heresy, being influenced by both a Jewish population and people from all parts of the world, once being at the crossroads of major trade routes, but now off those beaten paths, with commerce gravitating more to nearby Laodicea and Hierapolis. What apparently did not move on was the false teachings.
Since some of us would rather not master this strange teaching in order to refute it, a better way to understand it will be to simply study what Paul teaches in his letter in contradiction to it, or what is referred to as the “word of truth.” For example, the Apostle complements their faith and love emanating from hope in Christ. Therefore, Gnosticism must teach something opposite. The gospel is pure and simple. The most comforting description of the Colossian church is in verse 6, that they had “understood the grace of God.” That is the simple essence of belief. From this is spawned the authentic characteristics of a Christian. All the rest is just beating the air. (1 Corinthians 9:27)
What the Gnostics were doing was chasing windmills. If anything, Christianity is tangible, simple to understand, and easily acquired. Paul had taken pen in hand determined to make sure that the church he had not yet visited but had heard all about “stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.” (4:1)
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