2 Oct. Paul greets and prays for the believers in Colossae
"From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle because this is what God wanted.
Also from Timothy, our brother.
To the holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ that live in Colossae.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father."
"In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because we have heard about the faith you have in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all God's people."
"You have this faith and love because of your hope, and what you hope for is kept safe for you in heaven. You learned about this hope when you heard the message about the truth, the Good News that was told to you."
"Everywhere in the world that Good News is bringing blessings and is growing. This has happened with you too, since you heard the Good News and understood the truth about the grace of God."
"You learned about God's grace from Epaphras, whom we love. He works together with us and is a faithful servant of Christ for us. He also told us about the love you have from the Holy Spirit."
"Because of this, since the day we heard about you, we have continued praying for you, asking God that you will know fully what he wants. We pray that you will also have great wisdom and understanding in spiritual things so that you will live the kind of life that honours and pleases the Lord in every way."
"You will produce fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God. God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient."
"And you will joyfully give thanks to the Father who has made you able to have a share in all that he has prepared for his people in the kingdom of light."
"God has freed us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son. The Son paid for our sins, and in him we have forgiveness."
(Colossians 1:1-14)
Have you noticed that Paul's Letter to the Colossians starts with exactly the same words as Paul's Letter to the Ephesians? (compare Colossians 1:1-2 and Ephesians 1:1-2)
This is because the two letters were written at the same time, and Paul probably said to his scribe, "Write the same greeting to the Colossians and to the Ephesians".
The Letter to the Colossians was written to the church at Colossae – about 100 miles / 160 km inland from the port of Ephesus in the Roman province of Asia – in c.61AD while Paul was under house arrest in Rome, awaiting his trial before emperor Nero. Although little remains of the settlement today, in Roman times Colossae was an important city on the banks of the River Lycos (near the modern town of Honaz).
Paul had probably never visited the church which, like the nearby churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis, was established by Paul’s fellow-worker Epaphras (see Colossians 1:7 & 4:12-13). Paul nevertheless felt responsible for the missionary activity that had resulted from his three year stay at Ephesus during his third missionary journey in 53 - 56AD (see Acts 19:10).
Epaphras had travelled to Rome to seek advice from Paul. But Paul’s letter was taken back from Rome to Colossae by Tychicus (see Colossians 4:7-8) as Epaphras had been imprisoned in Rome (see Philemon 1:23).
It was probably taken to Colossae at the same time as the Letter to the Ephesians (see Ephesians 6:21-22) and a Letter to the Laodiceans (see Colossians 4:16). Tychicus was accompanied by Onesimus, the slave on whose behalf Paul wrote his Letter to Philemon (see Colossians 4:9 & Philemon 1:10) and who had probably been sent by Philemon to assist Epaphras on his journey to visit Paul in Rome.
In this letter, Paul condemns the false teachings that are circulating in Colossae. He insists that angel worship, ‘secret’ knowledge and asceticism have no place in Christian belief, and he repeats his teaching that Gentile believers do not need to adopt Jewish religious laws or be circumcised.
The photo shows remains of the main street in Laodicea, close to Colossae.
You can read more from Paul's Letter to the Colossians starting @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/15-pauls-letter-to-ephesu…