The book of Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul to the Church of Colosse. Biblical evidence leads to the belief that Paul may not have ever set foot on Colosse by the time of his writing the letter. The Church of Colosse was established by his follower, Epaphras. Being converted and mentored by Paul, Epaphras brought the faith to Colosse, thereby instituting the Church of Colosse under the guidance of the apostle. Here are more fun facts about the Book of Colossians: Colossians, or The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians, consists of 4 chapters, 95 verses and about 2,000 words. Colossians is the 7th of Paul’s Letters, the 12th of all the books in the New Testament and the 51st of all the books in the Bible. The time of this book’s writing is not agreed upon by Biblical scholars. The estimated time varies greatly from being either in 58 A.D. or sometime in 60-65 A.D to even sometime in 80 A.D. Though the Epistle was named after the Church of Colosse or Colossae, the intended recipients of the letter were not only from that area’s church, but from all the churches surrounding it too, including the Church of Laudicea. The city of Colosse used to be a center of trade in the region, as it lay along the main road from the West to the East. However, upon the modification of the trade route, its commercial activity declined, leading to the decline of the city’s economy and popularity compared to the cities along the new route, such as Hierapolis and Laudicea. Its trade on black wool, however, continued to flourish. The letter was sent by Paul to the Church of Colosse and other surrounding churches through Tychicus, who, together with Trophimus, had accompanied Paul on his trip from Macedonia to Jerusalem. It is believed that Tychicus had likewise been in Rome with Paul. He was also thought of as sent by Paul to Ephesus to aid in the institution of the church in the area. In this Letter, Paul reminds the church to be forgiving of the shortcomings of their neighbors, the way the Father has been forgiving of them. It is written in Colossians 3:12-13, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave, so also do you.” In this Epistle, Paul reveals a secret hidden for many generations. Colossians 1:26-27 states, “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints. To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The secret revealed is that Christ is in them. In the letter, Paul reminds the people of the church to focus on heavenly matters, or matters concerning the Lord (such as faith, hope, peace, unity and love) and not on earthly things (material things such as money, possessions, power, and others). Colossions 3:1-2 reads, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Paul speaks of the most important clothing in this letter. He states, “And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony,” written in Colossians 3:14.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 03:53:18 +0000
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