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The Blue Letter Bible
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Scofield Reference Bible
Colossians Introduction

The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians.

WRITER: The Apostle Paul (Col 1:1).

DATE: Colossians was sent by the same messenger who bore Ephesians and Philemon, and was probably written at the same time.

THEME: Epaphras, who laboured in the Word in the assembly at Colosse, was Paul's fellow-prisoner at Rome. Doubtless from him Paul learned the state of that church. As to fundamentals that state was excellent (Col 1:3-8), but in a subtle way two forms of error were at work:

  • The first was legality in its Alexandrian form of asceticism, "touch not, taste not," with a trace of the Judaic observance of "days"; the object of which was the mortification of the body (cf. Rom 8:13).
  • The second form of error was false mysticism, "intruding into those things which he hath not seen"—the result of philosophic speculation.

Because these are ever present perils, Colossians was written, not for that day only, but for the warning of the church in all days.

The Epistle is in seven divisions:

  1. Introduction, Col 1:1-8
  2. The apostolic prayer, Col 1:9-14
  3. The exaltation of Christ, Creator, Redeemer, Indweller, Col 1:15-29
  4. The Godhead incarnate in Christ, in whom the believer is complete, Col 2:1-23.
  5. The believer's union with Christ in resurrection life and glory, Col 3:1-4
  6. Christian living, the fruit of union with Christ, Col 3:5 - Col 4:6
  7. Christian fellowship, Col 4:7-18
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Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

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CONTENT DISCLAIMER:

The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.