Paul's Letter To The Colossian Church
Theme: The theme of Paul’s letter to the Colossian church is the centrality and supremacy of Christ. Christ is “the image of the invisible God” (1:15), “before all things” as the One who holds all things together (1:17), and the “head of the body, the church”. We can see that the Colossians were growing steadily in their faith in Christ and love for fellow believers (1:4) after first hearing the gospel roughly five years prior. That Paul continuously seeks to reaffirm the absolute authority and complete sufficiency of Christ indicates the presence of false teachers in the church. The Colossians are warned against believing “hollow and deceptive philosophy” in 2:8 which attempted to subvert the gospel’s emphasis of faith in Christ alone by worshipping
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2, “God’s holy people in Colossae”. Paul then offer thanks to God for their faith, love, and hope (1:3-5). He mentions that this is brought about by the Gospel, which is “bearing fruit throughout the whole world.” The introduction concludes with his prayer for the church’s spiritual growth by being filled with “the knowledge of [God’s] will” …show more content…
I kept the passage together because the greeting is obviously precursory to the other components of the letter, and because Paul’s thanksgiving is connected to his prayer. In v. 3, Paul states that “we always thank God… when we pray for you”.
Paul’s Salutation to the Colossian Church (1:1-2)
Content: Salutations were customary of Hellenistic letters in the first century, and typical of Pauline letters. In it, Paul introduces himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,” which established his credibility and ultimate focus in writing: to represent Christ and proclaim Him. V.1 goes on to mention “Timothy our brother”. It is unclear whether Timothy co-authored the letter with Paul, or scribed the letter as Paul dictated it. The recipients of the letter are revealed to be “God’s holy people in Colossae” in v.2a. Paul wishes grace and peace to them from God the Father in v. 2b.
Structure: These two verses are connected because of their introductory nature. They address who the letter is from and who it is
2, “God’s holy people in Colossae”. Paul then offer thanks to God for their faith, love, and hope (1:3-5). He mentions that this is brought about by the Gospel, which is “bearing fruit throughout the whole world.” The introduction concludes with his prayer for the church’s spiritual growth by being filled with “the knowledge of [God’s] will” …show more content…
I kept the passage together because the greeting is obviously precursory to the other components of the letter, and because Paul’s thanksgiving is connected to his prayer. In v. 3, Paul states that “we always thank God… when we pray for you”.
Paul’s Salutation to the Colossian Church (1:1-2)
Content: Salutations were customary of Hellenistic letters in the first century, and typical of Pauline letters. In it, Paul introduces himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,” which established his credibility and ultimate focus in writing: to represent Christ and proclaim Him. V.1 goes on to mention “Timothy our brother”. It is unclear whether Timothy co-authored the letter with Paul, or scribed the letter as Paul dictated it. The recipients of the letter are revealed to be “God’s holy people in Colossae” in v.2a. Paul wishes grace and peace to them from God the Father in v. 2b.
Structure: These two verses are connected because of their introductory nature. They address who the letter is from and who it is