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
angels and adhering to religious rules and festivals, and were reminded that Christ is “head over every power and authority” (2:10). True believers are “hidden with Christ in God” (3:3), and begin to show signs of their conversion in their conduct as they seek to “put to death” their earthly nature (3:5) and “put on the new self” (3:10).

Introduction (1:1-14)
Content: The introduction sets the stage for the letter to the Colossians by stating the identity of the author, Paul (1:1), who mentions his spiritual son Timothy and goes on to address the letter’s audience in v.
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”
(1:9).
Structure: The introduction is disconnected from the rest of the book because it opens the letter but does not directly connect to the theme of the book, that being Christ’s preeminent nature.
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
for.
Thanksgiving for Their Faith in Christ (1:3-8) Content: Paul states that they always thank God when they pray for the
Colossians because of their “faith in Christ Jesus” and “love [they] have for all God’s people”, which “spring up from the hope stored up for [them] in heaven” (1:3-5). The Gospel, which they heard and believed, is “bearing fruit and growing” in the same way throughout the world. Epaphras, their “dear fellow servant” is the one who originally shared the gospel with them (1:7). He is presumably the one who informed Paul and Timothy of the Colossians’ growth in faith, love and hope.
Structure: Verses 3-8 focus on thanking God for the faith of the believers to whom the letter is addressed. They also discuss the message of the gospel and its impact in Colossae and the rest of the ancient world.
Prayer for Continued Growth (1:9-14)
Content: Paul tells the Colossians of how he regularly prays for them, asking for them to know the will of God. His purpose in praying is that they would “live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him,” have a fruitful ministry, grow in their knowledge of God, be empowered by Him, and give joyful thanks to God the Father (1:10-12).
Structure: This section is dedicated to prayer for the Colossians, shifting away from why Paul is thankful as he prays. The verses cover the subject of Paul’s prayer (1:9), the desired results of his prayer (1:10-12a), and reasoning for the desired response of the Colossians, that being God’s act of rescuing His children (1:12b-14).