• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
DonateLOG IN(0)
Casual English Bible

Casual English Bible

By Stephen M. Miller

  • Home
  • About Casual English Bible
    • About Stephen M. Miller
    • The Casual English Bible is Easier to Read
  • Bible
  • Map Search
    • Bible Book Guides & Maps
    • Maps for Publication
  • FAQ
  • Map Store
  • Blog
  • Contact

Intro Notes for Colossians

Home » Bible Book Intros » Intro Notes for Colossians

Apostle Paul writingHere’s the big question: Why would Paul write to a group of Christians in the town he had never come within 100 miles (160 km) of visiting?

The most common guess—and it is just a guess—is that a man who seems to have been the founding pastor, Epaphras, somehow got word to Paul that the church was having trouble. Scholars have to guess what the trouble was.

A popular guess is that Jews in the town were trying to convince Christians they had to be law-abiding Jews if they wanted to follow the Messiah.

Paul tells the Christians that all they need is faith in Jesus. He tells them to skip the religion rules. “You know what rules I’m talking about. ‘Stay away from this! Don’t eat that! Don’t even touch this!’” (Colossians 2:21).

After dealing with that problem, Paul moves on to give this church the same kind of warm pastoral counseling he offered to churches he helped start in Ephesus and Philippi. He may have written all of these letters the same time; they are that much alike.

Paul has a lot of great one-liners in the short letter.

One of the most popular and most practical is this: “Whatever you say when you open your mouth and whatever you do wherever you go, do it all as a representative of the Lord Jesus” (3:17).

Writer

From: “Paul, a God-approved apostle of Jesus the Messiah, and from our brother Timothy” (1:1).

Timeline

Paul doesn’t say when he wrote this letter. Many Bible experts guess that he wrote it when he was under house arrest in Rome, sometime around AD 60-62. He may have penned Colossians the same time he wrote Ephesians and Philippians; he offers the people at Colossae some of the same advice he gave the folks of Ephesus and Philippi.

map of Ephesus and ColossaePaul’s location

Paul is writing from somewhere in “chains” (4:3), possibly Rome, at the trial in the Emperor’s supreme court, reported in Acts 28.

Destination of letter

Paul addressed a group of Christians in the city of Colossae, in what is now Turkey. It’s about 120 miles (192 km) east of the west coast city of Ephesus.

Back to Colossians
Colossians atlas and leaders guide promo Casual English Bible

Colossians – Leaders Guide & Atlas

$4.00Add to cart

Casual English Bible Comprehensive Atlas

Casual English Bible Comprehensive Atlas, PDF, +500 maps

$51.00Add to cart

CROWD-FUNDING MAKES THE CASUAL ENGLISH BIBLE® POSSIBLE.

This is a Bible especially for Bible newcomers, non-Christians curious about the Bible, and Christians who have trouble understanding the Bible. It’s a mission funded by people like you who believe everyone deserves a Bible they can read and understand.

Patreon
Donate

Buy Bible Atlases, Q & A Leader’s Guides

Buy atlases and guides for an individual Bible book or a full set.

Instant PDF download, paperback, eBook.

Shop Now
  • Copyrights, credits, permissions
  • Privacy Policy
  • About the Casual English Bible
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2022 · Casual English Bible · All Rights Reserved · Website by Stormhill Media