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The Epistle to the Colossians is a book of the Bible New Testament. It is a letter from Paul to the people of Colossae.

It was written by Paul at Rome during his first imprisonment there ( Acts 28:16, 30), probably in the spring of AD 57, or, as some think, 62, and soon after he had written his Epistle to Ephesians.

Like some of his other epistles (e.g., those to Corinth), this seems to have been written in consequence of information which had somehow been conveyed to him of the internal state of the church there (1:4-8). Its object was to counteract false teaching. A large part of it is directed against certain speculatists who attempted to combine the doctrines of Oriental mysticism and asceticism with Christianity, thereby promising the disciples the enjoyment of a higher spiritual life and a deeper insight into the world of spirits. Paul argues against such teaching, showing that in Christ Jesus they had all things. He sets forth the majesty of his redemption. The mention of the " new moonTraditionally, the lunar phase new moon begins with the first visible crescent of the Moon, after conjunction with the Sun. This takes place over the western horizon in a brief period between sunset and moonset. Therefore the time and even the day depend" and " sabbathThis article concerns the Sabbath in Christianity. For the Sabbath in Judaism, see Shabbat. For other uses see Sabbath (disambiguation In both Judaism and Christianity, the Sabbath ( Hebrew " Shabbat") is a religious day of rest that usually occurs on the days" (2:16) shows also that there were here Judaizing teachers who sought to draw away the disciples from the simplicity of the gospelFor the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. Gospels are a genre of ancient literature concerning the life of Jesus. The word derives from the Old English word for " Good News", a translation of the Greek word , euangelion''. This refers to.

Like most of Paul's epistles, this consists of two parts: a doctrinal and a practical.

The doctrinal part comprises the first two chapters. His main themeIn literature (as well as many works of nonfiction), a theme is the main idea of the story, or the message the author is conveying. This message is usually about life, society or human nature. Not all stories have explicit themes (they are optional in esc is developed in chapter 2. He warns them against being drawn away from Him in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Christian GodheadIn Christianity, the Godhead is a unit consisting of God the Father, Jesus Christ (the Son), and the Holy Spirit. Though often used interchangeably with the concept of Trinity the terminology of Godhead is broader than the idea of Trinity and includes oth, and who was the head of all spiritual powers. Christ was the head of the body of which they were members; and if they were truly united to him, what needed they more?

The practical part of the epistle (3-4) enforces various duties naturally flowing from the doctrines expounded. They are exhorted to mind things that are above (3:1-4), to mortify every evil principle of their nature, and to put on the new man (3:5-14). Many special duties of the Christian life are also insisted upon as the fitting evidence of the Christian character.

Tychicus was the bearer of the letter, as he was also of that to the Ephesians and to PhilemonPhilemon was a person in the Bible New Testament and the recipient of the Epistle to Philemon. He was an inhabitant of Colossae, and apparently a person of some note among the citizens ( Col. 4:9; Philemon 1:2). He was brought to a knowledge of the gospel, and he would tell them of the state of the apostle (4:7-9). After friendly greetings (10-14), he bids them interchange this letter with that he had sent to the neighbouring church of Laodicea. (The apocryphal Epistle to the Laodiceans is almost universally believed to be a forgery based on this instruction.) He then closes this brief but striking epistle with his usual autograph salutation. There is a remarkable resemblance between this epistle and that to the Ephesians.

According to Raymond Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament [New York: Doubleday, 1997], p. 610), "At the present moment about 60 percent of critical scholarship holds that Paul did not write the letter." The disagreements concern language, style, and the presence or absence of characteristic Pauline concepts; however, the differences between these elements in this letter and one commonly considered the genuine work of Paul (e.g. 1 Thessalonians) can also be explained by human variability.

This entry incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation.