1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

In coming to Paul's letter to the Colossians, we will try to get an overview of the whole letter from which we will be better placed to see and understand the individual parts. We look first of all, at the forest before we look, in coming weeks, in greater detail, at the trees. For our introductory readings, as we should do whenever we approach any biblical book, and as we often do almost without thinking, ask the questions: Who? What? Where? And why? Who was Paul writing to and where were they living? Why has Paul written, and, in general, broad strokes, what he has tried to say? The ancient city of Colossae was one of three adjacent country towns which straddled the River Lycus in the Lycus valley, in the province of Asia (now Western Turkey). Laodicea (10mls west) and Hierapolis (12mls north west) were sister cities. As far as we know, the apostle never visited the Lycus valley (2:1), and yet he was the instrument used under God, from afar, as the herald of the glad evangel. It seems probable that it was during the highly fertile period of evangelism mentioned in Acts 19:10, as Paul laboured daily in preaching in Ephesus (70mls to the west of Colossae), that the majority of churches in the whole of Asia Minor were planted. Paul's converts and fellow workers were sent out from Ephesus with the Gospel far and wide throughout the province. It is highly likely that it was during this prodigious missionary and evangelistic activity that Epaphras travelled to Ephesus from his home in Colossae, and under Paul's preaching ministry was brought to faith in Christ. He in turn became an evangelist to his own people (1:6, 7) and was used by God to plant churches throughout the Lycus valley in Laodicea and Hierapolis, as well as in his own home town of Colossae.

Daily Bible Reading 19th May 2025 // Colossians 1:1-2