Unlike Paul’s other writings,
Colossians was addressed to a Christian community with whom he had no direct
connection for the primary purpose of combating a deviant form of teaching. He
had learned of their faith by report (1:4) and was unknown to them by face
(2:1). Epaphras appears to have been responsible for starting this church (1:7;
cf. 4:12-13), perhaps having learned the gospel through Paul’s ministry in
Ephesus (Acts 19:10). Colossians is the least personal letter in the Pauline corpus, with 46% more second person terms than first person (151/55), underscoring its uniqueness and comparative lack of intimacy. Colosse is considered to have been the least important
city to which any Pauline document was sent.
Colossians shares an
affinity with Paul’s correspondence to Philemon. In both letters Timothy is
named as co-sender, reference is made to Epaphras, Archippus and Onesimus (Col.
1:7; 4:9, 17; Philm. 2, 10, 23), and included as Paul’s immediate companions
are Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke (Col. 4:10, 14; Philm. 24).1 Since
Onesimus was a resident of Colosse (Col. 4:9) and was Philemon’s slave (Philm.
15-16), the obvious conclusion is that both letters were sent to the same city
to perhaps two separate congregations, one of which met in the home of Philemon
(Philm. 2).2 Onesimus was to accompany Tychicus to Colosse (Col.
4:7-9) and return to Philemon (Philm. 12).
Colossians also shares
a close relationship with Ephesians. The commendation of Tychichus is very
similar in both letters (Col. 4:7-8; Eph. 6:21-22). There are also a number of mutual
themes and some common vocabulary between the two. It has been estimated that
of the 155 verses in Ephesians, 75 are paralleled in Colossians. Ephesians
appears to be a further development of Colossians, with Colossians having been
written with a specific situation in mind and shortly thereafter Ephesians was
composed with broader purposes to a different audience.3
Questions of Authorship
While the self-acknowledged
author of Colossians is Paul (1:1a, 23; 4:18), Timothy’s collaborative role is
more apparent in this epistle than in most other Paulines. The letter opens
with the typical address from ‘Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus,’ with the added
phrase, ‘and Timothy the brother’ (1:1b).4 After naming Timothy as
co-sender, the introductory thanksgiving (1:3) is plural: eucharistoumen (‘we give thanks’), in relation to peri humōn (‘concerning you’). Since
Paul’s introductory thanksgiving is typically singular, it is only natural to
conclude that Timothy plays a more substantial role in the drafting of this
letter. In fact, of all the “we” references in Colossians, nearly 77% are
employed in the exclusionary sense (i.e., distinct from the readership), evidently
inclusive of Timothy and Paul.
Despite the self claims
of the text, however, Colossians has been counted among the “disputed” Pauline
letters for the following reasons: (a) the language and writing style differ
somewhat from that found in Paul’s genuine letters; (b) the christology,
ecclesiology, and eschatology are more developed than in the undisputed
letters, suggestive of a later time period; and (c) the heresy described in
Colossians seems much later than Paul, indicative of a 2nd-century situation.6
In response to these
objections, consider the following. (a) With respect to the hypothetical
“Pauline style,” suffice it to say that Timothy’s collaborative involvement is
adequate to explain any apparent differences in presentation. Further, the
special circumstances being addressed and the particular error being refuted
easily account for any peculiarities of language, especially if some of the
language was borrowed from the false teachers to make a case against them.
Colossians actually exhibits a great deal of distinctively Pauline vocabulary,
style, and theology, and R. E. Brown concedes, “were the name ‘Paul’ missing
from 1:1, 23; 4:18, surely the letter would still be placed in the Pauline
ambiance” (An Introduction to the NT
610).
(b) Any alleged
differences in theology tend to be overstated and/or based on biased
assessments. Even in the “undisputed” letters Paul shows an exalted view of Christ
(1 Cor. 8:6), an appreciation of the universal church (Gal. 1:13; 1 Cor. 12:28;
15:9), and a sense of a realized eschatology (Rom. 6:4-5; 2 Cor. 5:14-17; Gal.
2:20; Phil. 1:21). The concept of a slow and gradual development of New Testament
theology rests on subjective evolutionary presuppositions, often discounting
the role of divine revelation (see Biblical Authorship Part 2).
(c) There is so much
guesswork involved in trying to determine the precise nature of the false
teaching described in Colossians (see next post), any argument based on it is
pure speculation. The case against Pauline authorship can readily be answered, and
it is unreasonable to so casually dismiss the self-claims of authorship (1:1,
23; 4:18; cf. 1:24-25; 2:1-5; 4:3-14), not to mention the abundant manuscript
evidence and the consistent testimony of the early church.
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 The only
persons named in the letter to Philemon who are not mentioned in Colossians are
Philemon himself and Apphia (his wife?) – those to whom the former letter is
sent to deal with a situation concerning their household.
2 Note that
Colossians is not addressed to the ekklēsia
(‘church’) but to the hagiois
(‘saints’ or ‘sanctified ones’) in Colosse. The church meeting in the home of
Nympha/s (Col. 4:15) may have been a third congregation? The tri-cities of the
Lycus River valley were Laodicea, Hierapolis, and Colosse (the smallest), the
latter of which was about 110 miles (177 km) from Ephesus (cf. Col. 4:13). The letter to
the Colosse saints was to be shared with the church of the Laodiceans and vice
versa (Col. 4:16).
3 See E.
Best, “Who Used Whom?” 72-96; also D. A. Carson and D. J. Moo, Introduction to the NT 481, 485, 520-21.
That Ephesians was written after Colossians is also suggested by the fact that
Timothy is named as co-sender in all of Paul’s prison epistles except
Ephesians, which may indicate that Ephesians was penned after Timothy had been
sent away to Philippi (Phil. 2:19-23).
4 Unless
otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are the author’s own translation. The
opening of Colossians is identical to that in 2 Corinthians, and except for the
mention of a co-sender it is also the same as in Ephesians and 2 Timothy.
Besides here, Timothy is named as co-sender in 2 Corinthians, Philippians, 1
and 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon.
5 The only
other Pauline letters in which the introductory thanksgiving is plural are the
co-authored Thessalonian epistles. The introductory thanksgivings in Col. 1:3 and
1 Thess. 1:2 are identical. In Colossians the “we-you” contrast is maintained
through verse 12, whereas in the Thessalonian correspondence it runs
throughout.
6 Pauline
authorship of Colossians was first disputed by E. T. Mayerhoff in 1838 (Der Brief an die Kolosser), and today
there is a fairly even split among critical commentators concerning its
authenticity. R. E. Brown estimates that
about 60% of today’s critical scholarship holds that Paul did not write the
epistle (An Introduction to the NT
610), although Brown’s assessments tend to be somewhat exaggerated. For good
discussions on the arguments for and against Pauline authorship, see E. D.
Freed, Critical Introduction 312-14;
D. Guthrie, NT Introduction 551-55;
P. T. O’Brien, “Colossians,” in DPL 150-52.
Related Posts: Letter to Colossians Part 2, Paul's Prison Epistles, Paul's Letter to Philemon, Authorship of Ephesians
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