Daily Bible Reading 20th May 2025 // Colossians 1:1-2
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.
If Paul did not know the Colossian believers at first hand, why did he write to them? Well, from the establishment of these churches, several years have elapsed, during which time Paul has been arrested, taken to Rome and imprisoned (He was put under house arrest - Acts 28:30-31 and Colossians 4:3. Colossians is one of the four 'prison epistles' - Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon and then Philippians). The new converts at Colossae have become established in their faith (1:4, 5; 2:5) and have grown in their love for each other. Epaphras (the local 'parish minister' in the Lycus valley - did he have a linked charge!) has recently travelled to Rome to meet with Paul and to report on a matter of great concern in the Church back in Colossae, and has himself been arrested for his faith (Philemon 23, 'fellow prisoner'). While Epaphras has reported the praiseworthy growth of the Colossian fellowship and while he has sought to encourage and minister to Paul in his imprisonment, he has also brought disturbing news of a worrying and dangerous 'false teaching' which has arisen in the church at Colossae. And this is the reason for Paul's writing now. This letter is his urgent response. The Colossian epistle is Paul's vigorous reaction to news of a new, strange teaching which is creeping into the church at Colossae. Paul wants to expose the error and so refute and excise it. Paul immediately recognises the danger to the peace and stability of the church and the necessity of warning the fellowship and refuting the error: He recognises that this 'new' teaching and lifestyle cut at the very heart of the Christian Gospel. So he warns (2:4, 8) the apparently unsuspecting fellowship not to be misled by plausible but utterly false philosophies. He warns them to be on their guard lest they are kidnapped from the truth.