Introduction
Authorship
At the beginning and end of the letter, the author identifies himself as the Apostle Paul. This was the view held by the Church Fathers and was not questioned until 19th Century. The recent disputation of Pauline authorship is based on two primary issues:
1. Differences between this letter and other Pauline letters
Scholars compare this letter’s text to that of other letters of Paul and claim to find differences in both theology and writing style, suggesting instead that it was written by a Pauline disciple. Such comparisons are problematic though:
(a) The audience and purpose of each letter was different
(b) The letter clearly contains Pauline themes
2. A developed stage of Gnosticism
Some scholars point to the heresies addressed in the letter, claiming that it represents the Gnosticism of the 2nd/3rd Century, meaning that the letter couldn’t possibly be written by Paul. However, many scholars dispute this, pointing to:
(a) the presence of proto-gnosticism in the First Century
(b) the vague identification of the heresy in the letter
Date
We have a number of clues available to us in determining the context and date of this letter. Paul speaks of himself being in captivity, Timothy is with him, and he mentions the runaway slave Onesimus, as well as many of the same group of friends he mentions in the Epistle to Philemon: Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke.
Consequently, many conclude that this letter was written around the same time as Philemon, suggesting that Paul wrote this letter during his first imprisonment in Rome, together with the other “captivity epistles” (Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Philemon), a period of time dated to AD 60-62.
(It is worth noting, however, that some scholars place the authorship of this letter to Paul’s captivity in Ephesus in the mid-50s)
Destination
Colossae was once a leading trade city in Asia Minor (Turkey), but by Paul’s time it had very much lost its prestige to nearby Laodicea and Hierapolis fifteen miles away.
Paul had never visited the Colossae, but he did stay in nearby Ephesus for three years. It appears that through his ministry, a Colossian native called “Epaphras” had been converted and took the gospel to Colossae and founded the Church there. Although there were Jews in the city, the congregation appears to have mainly been populated by Gentiles.
Themes
It seems Epaphras visited Paul in Rome, asking him to write to this nascent congregation to speak to the various heresies attacking the Church in Colossae:
1. Circumcision
2. Legalistic Asceticism
3. Minimization of Christ and His divinity
4. Secret knowledge (gnosis)
5. Human wisdom
Some scholars identify the opponents differently:
(a) Early gnostics
(b) Pagans
(c) Jews. This is probably most likely due to the focus on Jewish observance.
In response to the attacks, in his letter Paul concentrates on asserting the supremacy of Christ and the completeness of the Christian Faith.