01 Colossians Series Overview

Like every book of Scripture, the intent of the book of Colossians, is to instruct and grow believers individually, so that we might develop a closer relationship with the Lord.

The Lord can bring that to pass because God’s Word is multi-faceted:

Hebrews 4:12

1 Who Wrote it and When

The first verse reveals that Colossians was authored by the apostle Paul:

Colossians 1:1

Paul indeed was the human instrument the Holy Spirit used to communicate the Word, it seems that due to Paul’s eye problems, his assistant, the young pastor Timothy might have been the one to actually write down the words which Paul dictated.

While Paul had indeed developed a close relationship with the young Colossian church, not only hadn’t he founded it, but he’d never been to Colossae:

Colossians 2:1

Colossae was one of a trio of cities located in the Lycus River Valley in an area of what was then known as Asia Minor, and today is part of the nation of Turkey.

Throughout the letter, Paul expressed his love, and desired to one day see these believers face-to-face.

Most bible scholars believe the letter was written around 60 or 61 AD while Paul was imprisoned in Rome.

Colossae was a mostly pagan town at the time Paul wrote them. In addition to those of a Greek culture, historians estimate that there were nearly 11,000 Jews living in the Lycus Valley area at the time.

2 Purpose for Writing It

Even though Paul had never physically been to Colossae, the church there was founded upon his teachings. During his two years of teaching in Ephesus, one of the converts, was an individual from Colossae, named Epaphras.

It seems Epaphras then went back home, evangelizing his hometown, and then founded and led the newly formed church.

The new church, with a young pastor, would certainly be susceptible to the dangers of heresy creeping into the fellowship.

Thankfully, during Paul’s imprisonment, he was allowed visitors, and frequently brethren such as Timothy and Epaphras would spend time with him:

Philemon 1:23

That verse has led to debates amongst bible scholars, as to whether Epaphras himself, had been imprisoned, or whether Paul was solely speaking about how he and Epaphras shared being bound to Christ. Paul used the term “prisoner of Christ” several times in his writings:

Ephesians 3:1

Therefore, Paul wrote to the Colossian believers to both encourage and strengthen the young church, while at the same time, to warn them about the heresies that were threatening the church.

3 Practical Application

Jesus is the focal point of Colossians, as it shows that He is both completely sovereign, and all-sufficient.

Some of the heresies of the first century, said that Jesus wasn’t really God, and sadly, that same heresy has found its way back into areas of the modern church.

Because Jesus is all-sufficient, the believer can rest secure, and submitted to Him.

4 Brief Overview

• In the first two chapters of the epistle Paul provides the sound doctrinal teaching necessary to combat heretical teaching.
• The second half of the letter provides practical application based upon the doctrine from the earlier chapters.