Colossians part 9 and wrap up.

We are in chapter 4 verse 10 and nearing the end of the letter. Paul sends greetings from various persons: Aristarchus, Mark  the cousin of Barnabas, Jesus who is called Justus, Epaphrus who is also a Colossian, Luke the Doctor, and Demas. The first three are the only Jews with Paul. All of them, except Jesus/Justus are mentioned at the end of The letter to Philemon. All of them except Jesus/Justus and Demas are mentioned in the book of Acts. There are people named Justus in Acts, but this seems not to be either one. One was a gentile, not a Jew. Demas is mentioned in 2 Timothy as having deserted Paul. Mark is supposedly the writer of the Gospel of Mark.

Paul asks for his greetings to be given to the church in Laodicea and to Nympha, whose house is where the church meets. He requests that this letter be also read in Laodicea and the letter to the Laodiceans be read in Colossi. You would think the letter to the Laodiceans would be important to Christians,  having been written by Paul. However, it is lost to history.

Finally, there is a personal exhortation for Archippus, who is also mentioned in Philemon. Paul says he writes  his final greeting himself, which means someone else probably wrote the body of the letter for him, by his dictation.

Now for the wrap up. This letter may very well be authentic. However, it does not claim to be the word of god, and Paul never uses words that would indicate he is transmitting a message directly from god or Jesus. In fact, Paul never quotes Jesus anywhere. This letter does not say anything about Jesus's birth, childhood, and life. He says nothing about Jesus's teachings or miracles. He only mentions Jesus's suffering, death on the cross, and resurrection from the dead. Paul mentions none of the disciples/apostles or events from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.

In Fact, Paul does not mention a single person or event from the old testament. He does mention generic religious festivals, circumcision, and written codes. There are no specific Old Testament laws mentioned. He does not even mention Abraham or Moses. There is no mention of angels, demons, Satan, or hell, just the "dominion of darkness." Paul does mention heaven.

As far as theology goes, Paul tells the Colossians that Jesus is the image (icon) of god. His death on the cross reconciled all people to god. The mystery of christ in everyone has been revealed, that's Paul's purpose in life. Paul tells the Corinthians there is no need for circumcision or following other religious traditions and regulations. Those were nailed to the cross. People are metaphorically circumcised by putting off the sinful nature in baptism, which is also characterized as a kind of death, burial, and resurrection.

According to Paul, there are no distinctions of race, background, and cultural differences, in Christ. Since they have "died" to sin, they should be living a new, virtuous life, bound together in unity by love. They should be doing everything in the name of Jesus. Wives should submit to their husbands. Husbands should love their wives. Children should obey their parents. Slaves should obey their masters. Masters should be fair. Why? Because every believer is a slave/servant to the master Jesus, including Paul and his cohorts.

Next we look at the letter to Philemon, because it has a close connection with this letter. Plus, it is short.

Edited for grammar.