The False Gospel that Almost Destroyed Colossae—And Still Threatens Us Today
The assembly in Colossae faces a crisis.
Some of the believers in the church are having conflicts, and false teachers have come into the assembly to subvert the gospel of grace. The teachers have introduced a bizarre form of Jewish legalism mixed with counterfeit spirituality.[84] They are teaching the Colossian believers the following:
You cannot share in the inheritance of Israel unless you observe certain rules.[85]
To experience God’s “fullness,” you must observe all the ceremonies in the Law of Moses. You must observe special “holy” days and only eat “clean” foods. Also, the men in the assembly must be circumcised.[86]
Union with God is evidenced by mystical visions and angelic visitations. If you don’t have these operating in your life, you’re falling short.
What you handle, taste, and/or touch can either help or harm your relationship with God. If you handle, taste, or touch what is “unclean,” you will lose your union with God, and you’ll never experience His fullness.[87]
The false teaching has also spread beyond Colossae to the assembly in Laodicea. Epaphras, the founder of the Colossian and Laodicean assemblies (as well as the church in Hierapolis)[88] is troubled by the new spiritual assault. Therefore, he sails to Rome to receive advice from Paul.[89] At the same time, Onesimus (Philemon’s slave) runs away.[90]
But he doesn’t run away empty-handed. He steals money from Philemon, a capital offense.[91]
Epaphras gets word that Onesimus has run away. He locates the runaway slave and takes him to Rome, believing Paul can help him.[92] Onesimus is not a follower of Jesus, but he recalls Paul as a compassionate man and believes the apostle will help extricate him from his precarious situation. With Onesimus accompanying him to Rome to visit Paul, Epaphras (also called Epaphroditus)[93] stops at Philippi to visit the assembly there.
Epaphras/Epaphroditus spends time ministering to the kingdom community in Philippi, and the church is greatly encouraged by him. In fact, the believers fall in love with him. After a time, the Philippians send him off to Rome with a small fortune to hand to Paul as a love offering to care for his needs.94 Once again, the assembly in Philippi has provided financial support to Paul.
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The Philippians are deeply concerned for Paul and ask Epaphras to let them know about the apostle’s state when he visits him. Epaphras and Onesimus continue toward Rome, but Epaphras becomes deathly ill on the way. Despite his illness, Epaphras persists on to Rome for the Lord’s sake.[95] A message is sent to the assembly in Philippi, informing them about Epaphras’ sickness and requesting prayer for him.[96] When the assembly in Philippi hears that Epaphras is sick, they write Paul a letter inquiring about Epaphras’ health.
By God’s mercy, Epaphras arrives in Rome with Onesimus.[97] He greets Paul with a warm embrace and a holy kiss,98 and he hands him the financial gift from the Philippian assembly. Epaphras tells Paul about the love the Philippians have for the apostle and gives him an update on their progress. He also informs Paul about the believing community in Colossae. He joyfully tells the aged worker about the love the Colossians have for one another. But he also shares a report on the problems they are facing, along with the issues in the ekklesias at Laodicea and Philippi.
Epaphras informs Paul that Archippus—the son of Philemon and Apphia[99]—is spiritually gifted and regularly ministers to the believers.[100] But Archippus is discouraged and needs inspiration to continue God’s work in the assemblies at Colossae and Laodicea.[101] Hearing all the bad news, Paul struggles in prayer for the assemblies in Colossae, Laodicea, Hierapolis, and Philippi. Onesimus is with Epaphras, and Paul shares the gospel with the slave. The Holy Spirit opens his heart, and Onesimus believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. As the days pass by, Onesimus turns out to be an excellent assistant to Paul, and Paul grows to depend upon him.
Paul Writes Colossians
Year: A.D. 60-62 [102]
From: Rome [103]
To: The church in Colossae (which is five to seven years old)
Author: Paul [104]
Contextual Summary: Paul addresses the heretical gospel introduced in Colossae by false teachers. He does so by giving the Colossian Christians a peerless unveiling of the cosmic Christ, the head of the body (the ekklesia) and the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form.
Within his seismic revealing of Christ, he portrays Jesus to be the incarnation of God’s wisdom, which is a subtext in much of the letter.[105] Paul combats the heresy[106] by declaring that the Colossian believers already have union with God through Christ, apart from religious works or mystical experiences.
He takes dead aim at the false doctrine that asserts the Colossians must observe the ceremonial laws of Moses, pointing out that Christ is the substance and fulfillment of those laws. Paul ends the letter by exhorting the believers to walk in the new humanity, bearing with one another in love, forgiveness, and respect.[107]
In his closing, the apostle sends greetings from some of the believers who are with him in Rome, specifically six of his friends: Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus Justus (all of Jewish birth) as well as Epaphras, Luke, and Demas (all of Gentile birth).108 The apostle asks the assembly to read his letter to the Laodicean assembly, which gathers in the home of Nympha.[109]
The letter of Laodicea will also be sent to Colossae, and Paul asks that it be read by the Colossian assembly.[110] (The Laodicean letter is lost to us.[111]) Colossians is written differently than Paul’s earlier epistles because they contain the Asiatic style of rhetoric.[112] Timothy is the co-sender of the letter.[113]
Footnotes
78. Being in Roman custody in chains was shameful. So Paul’s “guilt” spread to the Gentile churches and the Diaspora. For this reason, some believers wanted to dissociate with him while he was imprisoned. But those who were faithful to Paul and the gospel stood with him during his confinement. Luke’s narrative (Acts) shows that Paul, like Jesus before him, was innocent. The book of Acts works to vindicate Paul. It’s a legal apologetic, among other things. Craig Keener, “Lessons on Acts,” Session 31.
79. Colossians 4:12; Philemon 1:23.
80. Ephesians 6:21; Colossians 4:7.
81. Colossians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; 2:19.
82. Colossians 4:14; Philemon 24.
83. Philemon 24; Colossians 4:10. Obviously, Paul reconciled with Mark after their falling out on the first apostolic journey. 2 Timothy 4:11; The NKJV Study Bible, 1799. According to Wright, “Mark is clearly rehabilitated both as a worker for the gospel and as a companion to Paul.” N.T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon, 156.
84. Bruce believes the heresy was Jewish, since it involved new moons, the Sabbath, food regulations, etc. It appears to have been a fusion of Judaism and an early form of gnosticism. F.F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free, 413. McKnight says the false teachers operated with a Jewish set of ideas and practices that Paul calls vain “philosophy” and “wisdom.” Scot McKnight, The Letter to the Colossians, 29-30. Wright agrees that the opponents in Colossae were seeking to push Judaism on the believers. Paul’s masterstroke was to associate the religion of Judaism with a form of pagan religion (Colossians 2:8, 22). N.T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon, 24-30. Gundry holds that the “Colossian heresy” was a blending of Jewish legalism, Greek philosophy, and eastern mysticism. These features would appear in full-blown form years later in gnosticism. Robert Gundry, A Survey of the New Testament, 395.
85. Scot McKnight, The Letter to the Colossians, 30.
86. In this regard, the false teachers who were active in Colossae weren’t too different from those who opposed Paul’s message in Galatia, etc. Eckhard Schnabel, Early Christian Mission, 2:1027-1028; Mark Fairchild, Christian Origins in Ephesus & Asia Minor, 74.
87. References to circumcision, fasting, new moons, sabbaths, and angels in Colossians 2:8-18 show that the brand of Judaism being promoted was mixed with pre-gnostic overtones. It doesn’t appear this was the influence of “Paul’s thorn” (the Jerusalem-based countermission), but rather, a localized heresy. Paul Barnett, Paul: Missionary of Jesus, 151.
88. For details on the church in Hierapolis, see Mark Fairchild, Christian Origins in Ephesus & Asia Minor, 76ff.; F.F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, 8-17.
89. Many scholars assert that Epaphras visited Paul in Rome during the time he wrote the two letters that mention him as present (Colossians 4:12; Philemon 23). The trip from Colossae to Rome is a long one, from 1,000 to 1,300 miles depending on how one calculates.
90. For details on slave resistance in the first century and the common treatment of slaves, see John Byron, A Week in the Life of a Slave, 54-55, 61.
91. This is the traditional view based on Philemon 18 and 19. Scholars like N.T. Wright, Craig Keener, and Jeffrey Weima agree it’s plausible. N.T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon, 166; Craig Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 633; personal correspondence with Jeffrey Weima, 1/6/24. See also The ESV Study Bible, 2356. Alternative theories can be found in David deSilva, An Introduction to the New Testament, 591-593. Slaves who ran away were commonly punished by crucifixion, and harboring runaway slaves was a serious criminal offense. N.T. Wright, Paul: A Biography, 280.
92. According to Keener, “That Epaphras took Onesimus is a reconstruction; this could have gotten Epaphras arrested. But again, it is plausible; it makes sense of how Onesimus got to Paul.” Personal correspondence with Craig Keener, 12/4/23.
93. I agree with those scholars who believe Epaphras and Epaphroditus were the same person. Epaphras is a shortened form of Epaphroditus. Alan Bandy, An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul, 122; John McKenzie, Dictionary of the Bible (New York, NY: The Macmillan Company, 1965), 239. According to Lightfoot, “The name occurs very frequently in inscriptions both Greek and Latin, whether at full length Epaphroditus, or in its contracted form Epaphras.” J.B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians, Logos edition (New York, NY: The Macmillan Company, 1913), 123. Both Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25; 4:18) and Epaphras (Philemon 23; Colossians 1:7; 4:12) were co-workers with Paul, and both were with him during the same Roman imprisonment. (Paul uses similar language in those texts.) Epaphras planted churches, and Paul calls Epaphroditus an apostolos (Philippians 2:25). This all suggests that they were the same person. Witherington acknowledges that my theory is possible, in which case the Asians called him Epaphras while the Latins knew him as Epaphroditus. Personal correspondence with Ben Witherington III, 1/3/06. While Epaphras was from Colossae and planted a church there, when he visited Philippi, he fell in love with the assembly and became their “apostle,” sent by Paul. Though he may understand the term differently than I do, Witherington rightly calls Epaphroditus an “apostle” numerous times in his commentary on Philippians. Ben Witherington III, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, 173, 175, 178. People like Priscilla, Aquila, Timothy, Titus, Luke, et al. all traveled extensively. It is plausible to conclude that Epaphras/Epaphroditus spent time in Colossae first and Philippi afterward.
94. Philippians 2:25 with 4:10-19.
95. Ben Witherington III, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, 175-176.
96. Witherington suggests they could have met a fellow Christian traveling east and tasked him with sending the message about Epaphras/Epaphroditus to the church in Philippi. Ben Witherington III, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, 176.
97. Fee is right in saying that Epaphroditus likely didn’t travel alone, especially given the large sum of money he carried. Based on piecing the narrative together, and equating Epaphroditus with Epaphras, I believe Onesimus is the most plausible option for the person who traveled with him. Gordon Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), 278.
98. The holy kiss was the customary greeting among the believers. See my previous notes on the holy kiss with biblical references.
99. Philemon 1:1-2. “He is addressed with Philemon and Apphia in a manner suggesting that he may have been their son.” J.D. Douglas, et al., eds., New Bible Dictionary, 78. See also F.F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free, 405; R.C. Lucas, The Message of Colossians & Philemon, 184-185; Craig Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 580. Archippus appears to have had a leadership role in the ekklesia. Colossians 4:17; N.T. Wright and Michael Bird, The New Testament in Its World, 453. Perhaps he was one of the overseers. He is called our “fellow soldier” in Philemon 2, NIV.
100. N.T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon, 161-162.
101. Colossians 4:17. Paul’s encouragement to “complete” his ministry must have a context behind it. My scenario constitutes a plausible context.
102. Many scholars date the letter within this timeframe. The ESV Study Bible, 2289; Clinton Arnold, ed., Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, 3:371; Ben Witherington III, Invitation to the New Testament, 171; David deSilva, An Introduction to the New Testament, 623; F.F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, 32. Those who believe Colossians was written from Ephesus date the epistle earlier (mid-to-late 50s). Scot McKnight, The Letter to the Colossians, 39. While I agree with Weima and others who believe Colossians was written from Rome, the Ephesian imprisonment theory has become very popular these days among many New Testament scholars. Personal correspondence with Jeffrey Weima, 1/6/24.
103. F.F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free, 398-399, 412; The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, 32. Like many scholars, Schnabel believes Paul wrote Colossians and Ephesians as a prisoner in Rome. Eckhard Schnabel, Paul the Missionary, 143. See also Mark Fairchild, Christian Origins in Ephesus & Asia Minor, 53. Others, like N.T. Wright, believe all four “prison letters” (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon) were penned in Ephesus. N.T. Wright, Paul: A Biography, 268.
104. Ben Witherington III, Invitation to the New Testament, 231-233; N.T. Wright and Michael Bird, The New Testament in Its World, 458-459; N.T. Wright, Paul: A Biography, 285. Wright concludes, “There is therefore no need to reject Pauline authorship of Colossians….” N.T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon, 34. Barnett also believes Paul authored Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon. Paul Barnett, Paul: Missionary of Jesus, 216ff. F.F. Bruce agrees that Paul penned Colossians. F.F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free, 408ff. McKnight believes Colossians as well as Ephesians and the rest of the letters attributed to Paul were Pauline in the sense that Paul was “behind the letter” and made use of scribes to pen them. Scot McKnight, The Letter to the Colossians, 18, 34-35. According to McKnight, when Paul wrote a letter, it was according to the process identified in Randolph Richards’ Paul and First-Century Letter Writing: Secretaries, Composition, and Collection (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004). Personal correspondence with McKnight, 11/12/22. For details on the authorship of Colossians as a genuine work of Paul, see Ben Witherington III, The Letters to Philemon, the Colossians, and the Ephesians, 100ff.; Donald Guthrie, New Testament Introduction, 572-577.
105. N.T. Wright, Paul: A Biography, 287.
106. In context, “heresy” refers to a doctrine, usually a false teaching, that divides God’s people. For details, see Frank Viola, ReGrace: What the Shocking Beliefs of the Great Christians Can Teach Us Today (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2019), chap. 24.
107. For an overview of Colossians, see David deSilva, An Introduction to the New Testament, 610-630; N.T. Wright and Michael Bird, The New Testament in Its World, chap. 20; Clinton Arnold, ed., Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, 3:371-403. For an insightful but short commentary on Colossians and the majority of Paul’s other epistles, see T. Austin-Sparks, The Gospel According to Paul (Bethesda, MD: Testimony Book Ministry, 1988); The Mission, the Meaning, and the Message of Jesus Christ, chaps. 6-12.
108. Colossians 4:10-14. F.F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, 178. In Colossians 4:10, Paul sent the church instructions about Mark, but we have no idea what they were. Although Bruce, following Lightfoot, thinks they have to do with the church welcoming Mark (180). Mark is also mentioned as the cousin of Barnabas, indicating that the Colossians knew who Barnabas was.
109. Colossians 4:15. N.T. Wright and Michael Bird, The New Testament in Its World, 453. Meeks believes the entire ekklesia met in Nympha’s home. I agree. Wayne Meeks, The First Urban Christians, 143. Gupta believes Nympha was a highly influential leader in the church in Laodicea. Nijay Gupta, Tell Her Story, 109-110.
110. Colossians 4:16.
111. Some scholars have suggested that the letter to the Laodiceans is our Ephesians. Craig Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 579. Weima points out that only a small minority thinks this. Personal correspondence with Jeffrey Weima, 1/6/24.
112. This explains the difference in style and how Colossians (and Ephesians) can be genuinely Pauline. Ben Witherington III, Invitation to the New Testament, 231-233.
113. Colossians 1:1. Bruce says a “natural explanation” for this is that Timothy served as Paul’s amanuensis in penning the letter, and he served the same function in writing Philemon. F.F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free, 408. Timothy was with Paul in Rome when Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians were written. F.F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, revised edition, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990), 390. I give more detail on what provoked Paul to write Colossians as well as provide a deep dive into the letter in my master class, Immortal Mystery: Colossians in 3D. Refer to thedeeperchristianlife.com/classes.
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