Introduction

Authenticity: The ancient testimonies that Paul wrote this Epistle are very strong: the Marcionite Canon;¹ St. Irenaeus;² The Muratorian Fragment;³ Clement of Alexandria;⁴ Origen;⁵ Tertullian;⁶ Valentinus.⁷ In addition, it is probably mentioned in: St. Ignatius, To Ephesus 10.2;⁸ St. Polycarp 10.1;⁹ Epistle to Diognetus 10.7;¹⁰ St. Justin Dialogue 84.¹¹

No one questioned Pauline authorship until E.T. Mayerhoff did so in his commentary on Colossians published in Berlin in 1838.

The arguments are far from solid:

Vocabulary and Style: There are 34 words used in Colossians that are found nowhere else in the New Testament. There are 28 words that do not come in the undisputed Pauline letters. There are 10 words in common only with the Epistle to the Ephesians, and 15 words that are found in Colossians and Ephesians, but nowhere else in the New Testament.

Reply: No one who has studied the works of the pagan historian Tacitus in the original Latin will be much impressed by any argument from vocabulary and style. If one reads the historical writings of Tacitus in Latin (it will not show in translation) the style is unusually distinctive and pungent. But we have also under the name of Tacitus a Dialogue on Orators, where the style is day and night different. It is the same as the style of Quintilian, a slightly earlier writer on oratory. We know Quintilian also wrote on this same topic, but his work is lost. So the temptation comes to say that we have the work of Quintilian, and that of Tacitus is lost. However, other evidence has convinced nearly all scholars that the Dialogue is indeed the work of Tacitus.

The differences mentioned above in regard to Paul are much less. Further, many of the new words come in passages where there is special reason for them, since Paul is using the terms of some very special kinds of opponents in reply to them. These opponents are very strange indeed, as we shall see later.

Theological considerations:

a)Justification, faith, save, law: Paul in Colossians does not speak much of these things he formerly spoke of so often. Reply: Paul has a different problem here. Formerly he was arguing against the Judaizers and needed these concepts so much.

b)Christology: Paul does not here say Christ is the Son in whom we have redemption, and we are buried with Him in baptism, and He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Reply: Here Paul has a different purpose. He does say that we have even been raised with Christ and sit in heavenly places with him, which is part of the syn Christo theme. Some commentators, with astonishing dullness, think Paul means these things have literally taken place now. They do not see that they are all part of the theme of syn Christo: doing everything with Christ, part of which theme was found earlier,¹² and is extended here: We have a hard life with Christ, we suffer and die with Him, we are buried with Him, we rise with Him, we live our life as if we were in heavenly places even now. Since we have been raised with Christ, we must think of the things that are above. Further, Paul does speak of redemption, in the language of debt: Christ took the bill that was against us, nailed it to the cross: Colossians 2:14-15. Further, in 1:13-14 Paul speaks of the redemption they have through Christ, and the remission of sins.

c)Eschatology: In the earlier letters, Paul expects the end to come soon: 1 Thessalonians 4:13ff.; 1 Corinthians 7:26. Reply: In our comments on these passages we saw that they do not at all need to imply Paul expected the end soon. In Second Thessalonians 2 he makes clear that he does not expect it _ some unfortunate commentators deny authenticity of Second Thessalonians, even though the external witnesses to it are as good as they are for First Thessalonians.

d)Ecclesiology: It is more developed now. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 and in Romans 12:4-8 Paul speaks of Christians as members of Christ. He does not explicitly say Christ is the head. Here in Colossians and also in Ephesians he does say that, and fills in quite a bit: a)Christ is the Head:Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18; 2:18-19. b)In Him is all the fullness of divinity (a new term, pleroma appears): Colossians 2:9 and 1:19. c)The Church receives from Him and becomes His fullness: Ephesians 1:22-23. d)All this is aimed at the complete development of the pleroma: Ephesians 4:13. e)Christ becomes the head or center of all: Ephesians 1:10; Colossians 1:20. Reply: Any person who lives very long should develop intellectually. Paul did that. So his ecclesiology is more developed now. Further, the claims of opponents called for more development by Paul. And to say we are members of Christ surely implies that He is the Head.

Strangely, one prominent commentary, in giving the differences between Paul's Christology in Colossians and in undisputed Epistles says that in Colossians the role of believers is to hold fast to the head (2:19) and to teach and admonish one another. There is no description of special offices within the Church. To assume that there are no officers because not mentioned is very odd indeed. It is also odd to so limit the role of believers just because Paul does not fill it in more at this point. It was not needed for his purpose.

Opponents: It is difficult to be sure precisely what type of opponents Paul is working against here. Some, but not all features would fit the Judaizers especially if they include the apocalyptic type of speculator. Other things fit well with Gnostics. We add a few comments on Gnosticism: There are many forms, but common features are that they start with a great appreciation of the majesty of God, whom they often call The Depth, The Silence. This is of course good, a feature lacking in the devotion of too many today. But then they hold that matter is evil, and that God emanates aeons. The aeons come in male and female pairs called syzygies. The first pair produces the second, then it produces the third, and so on. As they go farther out, they become less and less perfect. And so, of course, one pair goes astray, and is excluded from the pleroma (the full assembly of the aeons) and is cast into the lower world. There it produces a new series of aeons, which share in the evil of the parent rejected aeon, and finally they create man and the material world. This creator is often called the Demiurge, the God of the Jews, and is evil.

The Gnostics commonly held a physical predestination. There were three kinds of people: the spiritual ones, who are automatically saved, no matter how they live, the material ones, who are automatically damned, no matter how they live, and the natural men, who may be saved or lost, but that depends not on how they live, but on their knowledge. Hence the term Gnosticism, from Greek gnosis, knowledge. It is interesting, though not conclusive, to notice how often, more than usual, Paul uses words pertaining to knowledge in this letter. We will underline them to help the reader.

Many of the special terms Paul uses could well be taken from such Gnostics, to answer them in their own language.

Some object that Gnosticism was not around in Paul's day. But at least an incipient form was at hand, and probably more.

Perhaps it is best to suppose that the Colossians had fallen into a mixture of Jewish ideas mingled with Gnostic speculation, and elements of mystery religions (for instance, the words on angels in 2:18) along with some strict ascetic practices.

Conclusion on Authorship: Since the arguments offered against Pauline authorship are not at all strong, we conclude they are not nearly enough to overrule the numerous ancient testimonies that Colossians is really by St. Paul.

Date and Place of Composition: Even believing Colossians is by Paul, we still do not know for certain the date and place. It seems later in Paul's life, in view of the more developed thought on the Mystical Body. Paul is in prison, but he was in several prisons. Ephesus is a good possibility, for Paul was in prison there, and it is not far from Colossae, to which Paul sends greetings. Some have suggested Caesarea, the place of his two year imprisonment before being sent to Rome. But there are no solid arguments to help that view. Others think it was in Rome, in the period 61-63, the time of Paul's house arrest.