In 2015 Term 2 we worked through Colossians in our morning services at the Anglican Parish of Mulgoa. Murray Harris' detailed syntactical and exegetical study was the book I most used, and is very helpful, as was the briefer one by Con Campbell, but the commentaries of O'Brien and Dunn were also helpful on particular verses. Lightfoot on Colossians is excellent on the issues to do with what is the 'letter from Laodicea'. The division of Colossians for exegesis and preaching is based on the children's talk break up devised by Sandy Galea: see http://kidswise.com.au/. There is a kids' talk for Philemon .
1. Colossians 1:1-14: The Rescue, The Inheritance, and What Follows
2. Colossians 1:15-23: The Full Jesus & the Full Gospel
3. Colossians 1:24-2:15: Fully United with Christ Who Is Fully God
4. Colossians 2:16-23: Freedom from Human Commands
5. Colossians 3:1-14: The life of those who died and rose with Christ
6. Colossians 3:15-17: The Four Way Ministry of the Word in Song
7. Colossians 3:18-19: Wives and Husbands in Christ
8. Colossians 3:20-21: Children and Parents in Christ
9. Colossians 3:22-4:1: Master and Servant in Christ
10. Colossians 4:2-18: Prayer, Speaking & Greeting
11. Philemon: Bringing Back a Better Brother
To the Colossians
1:1Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother. 1:2To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae. Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
1:3We always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you, 1:4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints. 1:5Both are results of the hope stored away for you in the heavens, which you previously heard about in the true message[1], the gospel 1:6that has come to you. This gospel is continually bearing fruit and growing throughout the world, in the same way that it also has among you, ever since you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 1:7In the same way, you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-slave, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 1:8and the one who informed us of your love in the Spirit.
1:9For this reason, ever since we heard about you, we also have not stopped praying and asking God on your behalf, that you be filled with the knowledge of his will by having all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 1:10The purpose of this is that you might walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, please him in every way, 1:11bear fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God, being enabled in every ability according to his glorious strength for every type of endurance and patience, joyfully 1:12giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you for your share of the inheritance to be distributed to the saints in the [kingdom of] light. 1:13He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 1:14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
1:15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, 1:16for in him all things in the heavens and upon the earth were created – whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him. 1:17And he himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 1:18And he himself is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself might come to hold the first place[2] in all things. 1:19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 1:20and through Christ to reconcile to himself all things – whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens[3] – having made peace through the blood that he shed on the cross.
1:21And as for you, at one time you were alienated from God and were enemies in your thinking because of your evil deeds, 1:22But now God has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body, through his death, to present you holy and spotless and free from blame before him, 1:23provided that you remain in the faith, established and firm, and not moved from the hope coming from the gospel which you heard, which has been preached in all creation under the heavens[4], and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
1:24Now I rejoice in the midst of my[5] sufferings for your benefit, and for your sake I am filling up in my flesh whatever is still lacking with regard to the afflictions endured by Christ[6] on behalf of his body, which is the church. 1:25I have become a servant of the church, in accordance with the stewardship that God has given me for your benefit, namely, to proclaim in all its fullness the message from God. 1:26That message from God is the mystery that was hidden for past ages and generations, but now has been revealed to his saints, 1:27to those whom God wanted to make known the glorious richness of this mystery now proclaimed among the gentiles. This mystery is Christ in you, your hope of sharing in glory. 1:28This Christ we ourselves continually proclaim as we warn all people and teach everyone with all wisdom, so that we might present every person complete in Christ. 1:29To bring this about, I continue to labour as I strive in accordance with his energy which powerfully and inwardly energizes me.
2:1For I want you to know how strenuous my exertions are for you, for those at Laodicia, and for all who have not physically met me. 2:2My purpose is that their hearts might be encouraged by uniting them together in love, and to bring them into all the richness of having a full conviction that comes from their perception, the ultimate result being their deep knowledge of the mystery of God, which is Christ. 2:3In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 2:4I am saying this so that no one will deceive you by their convincing yet false arguments. 2:5For although I am physically absent, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, and I am overjoyed to see your orderliness and the resolute stability of your faith in Christ.
2:6Therefore, in the same way that you received Jesus as Christ and Lord, continue to walk as is appropriate in him, 2:7being firmly rooted and built up in him, established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with thanksgiving.
2:8Take care that no one takes you captive through their empty and deceptive philosophy which accords with human tradition and the basic principles of the world but does not accord with Christ. 2:9For in Christ all the fullness of God’s essence permanently dwells in bodily form, 2:10and you have complete fullness in him, who is the head over every ruler and dominion.
2:11In Christ you were also circumcised, with a circumcision not done by humans hands, but by the stripping off of the body of flesh, which is the circumcision of Christ. 2:12This happened when you were buried together with Christ in the[7] process of the immersion [of Christ][8]. In and with him[9] you were also raised through your faith, which was enabled by God, who raised Christ from the dead.
2:13Even though you were dead because of your transgressions and while you were physically uncircumcised, God made you alive together with Christ[10], after having graciously forgiven us all our[11] transgressions. 2:14God did this by cancelling the handwritten acknowledgment of debt that was against us, with the legal decrees that stood opposed to us. He has even removed this handwritten acknowledgement of debt from our midst, by nailing it to the cross. 2:15And having stripped naked the rulers and dominions, God[12] boldly exposed them in public by leading them in triumphal procession, in Christ[13].
2:16Therefore, do not let anyone sit in judgment over you concerning the matter of what you eat and drink or with regard to a festival, a new moon or sabbaths. 2:17These things are only a shadowy outline of the things that were to come, but the bodily reality belongs to Christ. 2:18Do not let anyone rule as an umpire against you by delighting in self-abasement and worship of the angels. Such a person proudly boasts about the things he has seen, being puffed up without cause by a mind dominated by his senses[14]2:19He no longer holds onto the head, from whom the whole body grows with the growth given by God, as it is supported and held together by its joints and ligaments.
2:20Since you died with Christ to free you from the basic principles of the world, why, as though you were still living in their world, do you continue to submit yourselves to its legal decrees, like 2:21‘Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not even touch’? 2:22 All these decrees are destined to perish because they are now all used up. They accord with human precepts and teachings. 2:23Things of these sort appear to have wisdom[15], with their self-imposed worship and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but they have no real value in combating[16] the gratification of the flesh.
3:1Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, diligently pursue the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 3:2Think about the things that are above, not about earthly things. 3:3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 3:4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
3:5Therefore, put to death the parts of your bodies in so far as they are used for earthly purposes[17]: sexual sin, impurity, passion, evil lust, and especially covetousness, which amounts to idol worship. 3:6Because of these things the wrath of God is coming. 3:7You also at one time walked in these sins when they dominated your lives.[18] 3:8But now, in addition, you must also rid yourselves of all these following things: wrath, rage, malice, blasphemous slander, foul speech from your lips. 3:9Do not lie to one another, since you have stripped off the old self with its practices, 3:10and have put on the new self, which is renewed for the purpose of attaining full knowledge in conformity with the image[19] of its[20] creator. 3:11Here there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free. Rather, Christ is everything and is in everything.
3:12Therefore, since you are chosen by God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, 3:13as you put up with one another and exercise gracious forgiveness to one another. If, as may happen, someone has a grievance against someone else, just as also the Lord graciously forgave you, in the same way you also must forgive one another. 3:14And over all these things put on love, which binds them together, and so doing produces completion. 3:15And let the peace of Christ rule as an umpire in your hearts. Into this peace you were called, in union with one body. And be thankful. 3:16Let the message of Christ dwell in you richly, as with all wisdom you teach and warn one another using psalms, hymns and spiritual songs as you sing with thanks in your hearts to God. 3:17And whatever you are doing, whether in word or in work, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
3:18Wives, submit to your[21] husbands as is proper in the Lord. 3:19Husbands, love your wives, and do not be embittered against them. 3:20Children, obey your parents in every respect, for this is pleasing behaviour in the Lord. 3:21Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they do not become despondent. 3:22Slaves, obey your earthly masters[22] in every respect, not just when your master is watching you[23] as a people-pleaser does, but with sincerity of heart because you fear the Lord. 3:23Whatever you are doing, work at it with all your heart, because you are doing it for the Lord and not only for people. 3:24For you know that you will receive back from the Lord the repayment that is your inheritance. Serve[24] the Lord Christ. 3:25For the unrighteous person will bring back upon himself the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and there is no favouritism with the Lord. 4:1Masters,[25] grant to your slaves whatever is just and fair, because you know that you also have a Lord in heaven.
4:2Be busily engaged in prayer, as you remain wide awake while you pray with thanksgiving. 4:3At the same time, pray for us, too, that God would open up for us a door for his message. The purpose of this prayer is that we speak the mystery, that is, Christ – the very reason that I am in chains! 4:4Pray that I will speak the message clearly, just as I should. 4:5Walk in a wise way in your dealings with outsiders, making the most of your time.[26] 4:6Let your speaking of the message always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you would know how you should answer each and every person.
4:7Tychicus, the beloved brother, faithful servant and fellow slave in the Lord, will inform you about all my affairs. 4:8I am sending him to you for this very reason, namely, that you might know about our affairs and that he might encourage your hearts. 4:9With him I am sending Onesimus, that faithful and beloved brother who is one of you. They will inform you of everything going on here.
4:10Aristarchus, my fellow-prisoner, greets you, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (you have received a command concerning him; if he comes to you, welcome him), 4:11and Jesus, called Justus. They are my only coworkers for the Kingdom of God from the circumcision. They are a comfort to me.
4:12Epaphras, who is one of you, greets you. He is a slave of Christ Jesus, always agonizing over you in his prayers, that you might stand complete and fully convinced about all the will of God. 4:13For I testify on his behalf that he works very hard for you and those in Laodicea and Heirapolis.
4:14Luke, the beloved doctor, greets you, and so too does Demas. 4:15 Greet the brothers in Laodicea, and Nymphas[27], and the church in their[28] house. 4:16 And when this letter has been read for you, make sure that it is also read in the church of Laodicea, and that you also read the letter from Laodicea.[29]
4:17 And tell Archippus, ‘Make sure that you fulfill the ministry which you have received in the Lord’. 4:18 This greeting is written by my own hand: from Paul.
Remember my chains.
Grace be with you.
[1] Or ‘word’.
[2] πρωτεύων ‘first place’, ‘pre-eminence’: LSJM 1544; Thayer, 554; BAG, 732.
[3] In the original Paul places this as a prepositional phrase at the end of his sentence, preceded by a repetition of ‘through him’. It has the effect of emphasizing that it is through Christ the reconciliation comes, and the reconciliation is of ‘everything’.
[4] While it is possible to take this phrase as “to every creature” (eg NIV), this takes the preposition ‘en’ in an unusual way. Context suggests that the preposition ought to be read in its more usual sense of ‘in’. Con Campbell comments: ‘Since thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities are mentioned in 1:16 (in the context of creation), it is likely that the proclamation of the gospel to all creation refers to the announcement of Christ’s achievement of reconciliation to those institutions and powers over which he has triumphed, as well as humanity. Thus, πάσῃ refers to every constituent realm of creation (powers and authorities as well as humanity), rather than to every individual member of humanity.’ In this reading, the aorist participle here translated ‘has been preached’ refers to Paul’s past preaching of the gospel, but in the whole sphere of creation that is 'under heaven', i.e., the human world and also amongst the angelic/demonic, powers, and thrones, which have also heard the gospel through Paul’s ministry. It is not a statement about preaching to each individual within that sphere but to creation as a collective noun, the all (pas) referring to every component element within creation. Paul is probably operating with a cosmology in which the thrones and powers are located in the realm of the air under the heaven, and thus ‘under the heavens’ does not mean on the earth but includes the kingdom of the air per Ephesians 2:1-3. ‘The air formed the intermediate sphere between earth and heaven. It was the dwelling place of evil spirits’ (O’Brien, Ephesians: Pillar, 160). This is synonymous with the heavenly realms in Ephesians 3:10 and 6:12. According to the ESV Study Bible note on 2 Corinthians 12:2, the third heaven was the abode of God, the second heaven was the abode of sun, moon and stars, and the first heaven is where the birds fly. It may be that what Paul regards elsewhere as the heavenly realms, the kingdom of the air, and perhaps the first and second heavens, is not the abode of God proper, but is in Colossians 1:23 is encompassed by ‘under the heavens’.
[5] Taking the article as anaphoric, ‘my’.
[6] ‘The things that are lacking’ regarding Christ’s penal and substitutionary afflictions are not its adequacy but its application. The message of the cross needs to be preached and believed in for its saving efficacy to be realized. Paul’s personal ministry as steward and proclaimer of the word of God is to this end. The death of Christ viewed as a penal and substitutionary sacrifice to remove the wrath of God from sinners is correctly called ‘the one oblation satisfaction and propitiation sufficient for the sins of the whole world both actual and original’, and need and can have no augmentation from the suffering of the church. Christ’s death from that perspective is rightly called the finished work of Christ, for he has now sat down at the right hand of God.
[7] The article might be anaphoric, ‘his’, the baptism or immersion being Christ’s, and is a reference to his death. So D B Knox says 'The Christian is circumcised in Christ's spiritual circumcision, he is buried with Christ in Christ's spiritual baptism. The definite article in front of baptism is equivalent to the possessive pronoun 'his'. This is normal Greek grammar. "Very commonly the article is used alone where in English an unemphatic personal pronoun would be normal". (citing K L Maclay, Greek Grammar for Students, 1974 14.1.4 13.2.6) Thus Colossians 2:12 should be translated "buried with him in his baptism, in who also you were raised". (DBK, Selected Works Vol 2:294-5). This argument by Knox is strengthened by the parallel ‘the circumcision of Christ’, whereby the possessive pronoun may well be elided, and should be implied. In Mark’s Gospel, Christ refers to his death as a baptism to undergo (10:28). I take it that verse 11 expounds the effects of the death and resurrection of Christ using the Mosaic covenant’s initiation sacrament (although circumcision precedes the Mosaic covenant, though it came to represent it), and verse 11 using an illusion to the death of Christ which provided the meaning to the New covenant initiation sacrament, and which sacrament then feeds back to explain the death and resurrection of Christ.
[8] The masculine noun baptismos denotes the act or process of dipping, washing or immersion, and is used here. The neuter baptisma denotes the rite or ordinance of baptism: Harris, EGGNT, 103. D W B Robinson says: 'I may add that I think baptismo(i) is the better reading, and makes good sense. Baptisma is usually more suitable as viewing the baptism (of whatever kind it may be) as a completed act. But baptismos describes the act in process, here 'the putting off of the body of the flesh', and, whether the baptism is that of Christ or of the Colossians, baptisms may represent it more vividly in this context.' (Selected Works Vol 2:261-2).
[9] Or ‘in which’. However, it is preferable to translate the relative pronoun in the construction Ἐν ᾧ καὶ where it appears in both verse as referring to him, being Christ.
[10] Lit, ‘he made you alive with him’. I have supplied subject and indirect object.
[11] Change from second person to first person is in the original. It probably refers to the fact that both Jewish Paul and his companions, and Gentile Colossians, all need the curse of the law removed by the cross and Christ’s triumph over the rulers and dominions.
[12] The subject of the verb is not in the Greek, but I have supplied it.
[13] Lit, ‘him’.
[14] Lit, ‘the mind of his flesh’.
[15] Lit, ‘These things are, on the one hand, a thing having wisdom…’.
[16] Greek, pros., taken as ‘against’, ‘in combat with’
[17] Lit, ‘the members, the ones upon the earth’.
[18] Lit, ‘you lived in them’.
[19] In 1:15, Christ is the image of God.
[20] The new self.
[21] Anaphoric article. Also vv 19-20.
[22] Literally, ‘your lords according to the flesh’.
[23] Literally, ‘in eye-service’.
[24] Or ‘You are serving …’. The original can be translated either way.
[25] Literally, ‘Lords’.
[26] Literally, ‘redeeming the time’.
[27] The best mss suggest Nymphas was a male. See note below.
[28] Following the masculine plural pronoun, the reading in a A C P, etc. The feminine singular is found in B and Origen. The masculine singular is read by D G K L Byz.
[29] Some, including Calvin and some fathers, take it the letter from Laodicea was written by the Laodiceans to Paul. But the phrase Paul uses does not have to mean ‘the letter written from Laodicea’, but could simply mean ‘the letter procured from Laodicea’. A Latin mss exists of a supposed ‘Letter to the Laodiceans’ from Paul, but has commanded little support, and has been widely determined to be a forgery, and adds little to our understanding of Paul’s theology in any case. A letter purportedly from Paul addressed to the Laodiceans was rejected as a forgery by the Muratorian Fragment, and also Jerome (4th Century). Alternatively, several canonical letters from Paul have also been suggested as that from Laodicea, including 1 Timothy, and 1 & 2 Thessalonians, but there is no evidence that Paul had ever been to Laodicea at the time of writing Colossians. Hebrews has been suggested, with no success. Marcion identified the Laodicean letter as Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, and this view has been revived by some modern scholars. Likewise, Philemon has been suggested. A difficulty with the Philemon suggestion is that Onesimus is said to be ‘from Colossae’. However, while Onesimus was from Colossae, and while this causes a problem for the opinion that Philemon was the letter from Laodicea, it is not necessarily fatal, as Onesimus could be ‘from’ the Colossians and still have been a slave of Philemon at Laodicea. Lightfoot’s objection that Philemon is a personal letter stumbles over the fact that it was in the end made public by its inclusion in the canon. There may be good reasons for reading Philemon to the Colossian Christians, as this would explain why the escaped slave should not be punished, and it would put additional pressure on Philemon to forgive Onesimus. However, what I believe is most likely fatal to the idea that Philemon is the letter 'from Laodicea' is the fact that in Colossians 4:15, Paul says 'Greet the brothers in Laodicea'. Why would Paul issue an instruction to the Colossian Christians to greet the brothers in Laodicea, if Paul himself was going to greet them as 'the church in your house' in Philemon 2? Again, perhaps there is some solution, like there may have been two Laodicean house churches, but this fact means that I no longer lean to the letter to Philemon being the letter 'from the Laodiceans'. Perhaps the letter to the Ephesians as the solution has the least problems. For a discussion, see Lightfoot, Colossians & Philemon, 274- 300.