We all want to live full, authentic lives, don’t we? In that spirit, let’s take a look at the get it all done kind of person in Colossians 4:17-18.
Have you ever wondered who wrote the book of Colossians? Come to find out, it’s Paul. Who? That’s right, Paul of-redemption-acts-and-ephesians.
Did you know that the book of Colossians was actually authored by three vastly different authors? There’s Paul, Luke, and another unknown person. And those authors lived hundreds of years apart from one another.
Who Wrote The Book of Colossians
Why did Paul write the Book of Colossians? What is it about this book that can help believers?
The Epistle to the Colossians is the twelfth book of the New Testament. It was written, according to the text, by Paul the Apostle and Timothy, and addressed to the church in Colossae, a small Phrygian city near Laodicea and approximately 100 miles (160 km) from Ephesus in Asia Minor.
The Author
The Book of Colossians was sent to the church at Colossae which is near Laodicea and was likely written about around A.D. 58-62. Paul obviously wrote the Book of Colossians or the letter as he opens it by writing “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae” (Col 1:1-2). He writes this while in prison and is one of four prison epistles in the New Testament (along with Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon).
The Preeminence of Christ
As for the study of Christ, this might be the best section on Christology there is in the Bible. Paul shows the divinity of Christ, the sufficiency of Christ, and the supremacy of Christ in the Book of Colossians. Paul writes of Jesus as being “the image of the invisible God” and it is “by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:15-17). Jesus is declared to be the Creator of all things and it was done through Him and for Him and before all these things existed, He was (John 1:1). It is by the Word of His power that “all things hold together” so that divine power is still operating in all matter in all places in the universe at this moment.
Colossians Background
The Purpose of Colossians
The Book of Colossian’s purpose, besides showing the supremacy, sufficiency, and divinity of Christ, is how Christians are to live in the world and before God (Col 3). When we became new creatures in Christ, we “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming” (Col 3:5-6). Those are the things we used to do (Col 3:7) but now we are to “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Col 3:10) and it doesn’t matter who you are (Col 3:11). In our old nature, we gossiped, fought, and strove against others but now we are to have “compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Col 3:12-13). Jesus says “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matt 7:16a) and if there’s no real fruit then there’s no real root.
Who wrote the book?
Before Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Colossae, he had never been to their city (Colossians 2:1). This helps explain the personal greetings he included at the end of the letter, a practice he usually reserved for letters to churches he had not visited (for example, Romans). Paul sought to develop personal connections with the people he hoped to teach and serve, rather than just going around from city to city asserting his apostolic authority. The more personal tone at the close of this letter would have been especially significant in creating a connection with the Colossian believers, given the fact that part of Paul’s reason for writing involved calling out the heretical teachers who had infiltrated the Colossian church
