Introduction to Colossians And part one

Hello. Our next study will be wading through the book called Paul's letter to the Colossians. Also take a look at the area called Colossae. The letter is traditionally accepted as genuine, with objections cropping up in the  modern era. Because of certain references, it is thought that Paul wrote this letter from prison in Rome. However, the exact location is actually unknown.

The letter starts off with a greeting from Paul, who calls himself an apostle, and Timothy "our brother." It is to "the holy and faithful brothers in christ at Colosse." Here we have a definite identification of the sender and receiver of the letter, not like in 3 John. We also have the brotherhood language, but the type of brotherhood is clearly identified. Everyone is a believer in Christ.

The body of the letter begins with effusive compliments on the reputation of recipients' faith and love. They have hope stored in heaven that they heard about in the word of truth, aka the gospel. The gospel is spreading throughout the world. The Colossians learned it from a fellow named Epaphras, who works for and with Paul in spreading the word. We find out later, in Colossians 4:12, that Epaphrus is a Colossian, and he is currently travelling and working with Paul. He is also mentioned in the book of Philemon as a co-prisoner with Paul.

Since Epaphras has told Paul about the Colossians' love, he prays for them to be filled with the knowledge of God's will, so they can live a life worthy of the lord. He uses a lot of words to tell them how much he prays for them. That prayer description sounds a lot like a sermon. I don't understand how anyone being prayed for by Paul could possibly go wrong. He claims to know the will of god. If someone else didn't, I'm sure he was willing to tell them what god's will was.

Paul starts theologizing around verse 12. Where we learn that the Colossians "share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." How? He rescued them from the "dominion of darkness" and brought them into the  kingdom of the son he loves. Where is the dominion of darkness? Where is the kingdom of light? Your guess is as good as any body's. Paul says it is in the son of god that the Colossians have redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Redemption from what?  Where does the idea of sins come from? I'm guessing Paul borrowed his notion of sin from Judaism. 

Did the gentiles (Greeks/Romans) have a theology of sin? Let's see what Encylopedia Brittanica says about sin here. It seems obvious that Greeks and Romans would not have had the same concept or theology of sin as Jews and Christians. For one thing, the Greeks and Romans were not concerned with breaking the law of Moses or offending Yahweh. They also did not subscribe to the teachings of Jesus. They had their own gods and their own famous teachers. The Greek and Roman gods weren't exactly paragons of virtue either. Zeus probably never threatened those who committed adultery with fire and brimstone, seeing as how he was guilty of the same many times over. In order for a Greek or Roman to be convicted of sin in the Christian manner, he would have to have been first convinced of the truth of of the existence and supremacy of Yahweh, the authority of the scriptures, and that Jesus's death on the cross was a necessary remedy for sin.

More to come.