WHEN FAITH CONFRONTS CULTURE
This is an inductive study of Colossians and Philemon
INTRODUCTION
Colossians and Philemon are being considered together because the conditions Paul dealt with in these epistles affect each other. Philemon was one of the leaders, if not the sole leader of the church in Colossea. The epistle of Philemon dealt with the issue of slavery which was a crucial point of witness in this particular church. The spiritual needs of the church in Colossea and the surrounding area heavily impacted the situation to which Paul wrote in Philemon
The city of Colossea was located in Phyrgia on the busy Lycus River. The topography of the area was a very flat plain reaching out to Mt. Cadmus. At Colossea, there is a delta where two rivers merge. It is not surprising that Colossea was a hub of commercial boat traffic on these two important rivers. The city was also located on the highway going from Ephesus to the Tigris Euphrates valley. This was one of the most lucrative markets of that day. Because of these thriving markets, Colossea also contained a strong mixture of cultures, nationalities and religions. This also meant that these people came with all their skills as well as all their sinful habits.
Though Colossea was smaller than some other centers of wealth, it still could boast of wealth that equaled and in some cases surpassed that which was found in much larger cities. On the above map, you can see that Colossea was located about 13 miles from Hieropolis, 12 miles from Laodicea and about 100 miles from Ephesus.
The city of Colossea was well known for a certain kind of wool that was produced there. This wool was unique in that it had a purple cast to it. We are not certain if this hue was natural or if it had been dyed that way. Though we can-not be certain, it appears that this was the natural color of the wool. This particular wool was available nowhere else. Though Colossea had earlier been a strong commercial hub, changes in the business climate changed this forever. When commercial transfer was no longer the key industry in Colossea, it gradually became a great industrial center. It changed from the transfer of goods to the production of them. This would be very labor intensive and would account for the fact that in the first century more than 50% of the population were slaves. Today we would think of Colossea as a "blue collar community." Both the cultural and educational levels of the city were quite low. The native Colossian citizens were Phyrgian barbarians whose ancestors were emotional and mystical idolaters. This presented an intense challenge for the church.
In the fifth century B.C., Colossea was a large and very important city. It experienced a very gradual decline until the first century when both Laodicea and Hieropolis were more important than Colossea. In fact, Colossea faded to near extinction. This came about because of changes in the trade routes and also because of changes in the way commerce was conducted.
The city was destroyed and rebuilt during the ninth year of the reign of Nero. Finally in the twelfth century A.D., the city was destroyed by the Turks and never rebuilt. As happens so of-ten, a wealthy city also is known for its extreme forms of evil. Sooner or later, the wealth will leave or die out, but the people are left with their decadent sinful culture. This eventually spells the permanent demise of what was once a wonderful place to live.
Like Corinth and Ephesus, Colossea was a gathering place for all sorts of religious ideas and philosophies. In earlier centuries, it had been a center for pagan idolatry. Remnants of this background were still in evidence when Paul wrote to this church. Colossea was a stronghold of oriental mysticism. This evil form of worship caused no end of trouble for the early church there.
As a commercial center, Colossea attracted a large group of Jewish businessmen. Their mixture of philosophy and gnosticism became a serious threat of heresy for the church in this city. This Jewish gnosticism contended that Jesus was a lesser god, not the Son of God. They viewed the death of Jesus as evidence of His inferiority.
A goodly number of Colossian citizens believed that the angel Michael protected the city at the time of a great flood in the area. Because of this, they believed that Michael was the protecting saint of the city. Many people there considered angels to be the total mediators between God and man. Angels were considered to be the agents of law. Thus, the keeping of the law paid tribute to them. In some cases, this was the major motivation behind law observance. They thought that if a person broke the law, this would incur the wrath of the angels.
Again, another large segment of the Colossian population was deeply involved in astrology. One might even say it was like the American scene today. All of these forces together led to an ascetic posture and a renunciation of the material world. This condition inevitably leads to great spiritual bondage. All of the forces we have described were at their peak impact upon the city when the church came into being there.
The Colossian church was probably founded by Timothy and Epaphras. Though Paul did not found this church, still he was deeply concerned about it. He was very familiar with the people of the congregation and wrote this epistle for their instruction. Paul wrote these two epistles, from his imprisonment in Rome, in 60 - 62 A.D., about midway in the rule of Nero, and shortly before Paul's death. Paul dealt with this unusual mixture of religious affiliations in the Colossian church by his strong emphasis on the greatness of Christ. Paul described Jesus as the one and only Mediator between Man and God.
The Church in Colossea
Epaphras and Timothy, not Paul, should be credited with forming the Colossian church. Epaphras was probably a convert of Paul's ministry in Ephesus. If so, he would be well suited to deal with the religious subculture in Colossea. The church was largely made up of Gentiles, but it also contained a strong Jewish element.
There were several doctrinal problems draining the life from the Colossian church. Paul dealt forcefully with this in chapter two. This church struggled with angel worshiping, much as the recipients of Hebrews did.
Gnosticism was a major problem. The Gnostics believed Jesus had to have at least some evil in His life. They held that the spirit is good, but the flesh is evil. Therefore, to hold that Jesus, the sinless Son of God, came in the flesh would be considered a contradiction in terms. They believed that if Jesus took a human body, then He could not possibly be absolutely holy. They believed that he had to have at least some evil in His being. Paul wrote this book to deal with the false teachers who were trying to outdo each other in appealing to the new Christians in Colossea.
Jews in the fellowship held out for a strong ritualism while the believers in mysticism held out for a very strong place for its tradition in the church.
There was also a strong Stoic presence in this area. They pressed for abstinence from curtain foods and drink. At the same time, the Jewish population in the church had strong legalistic leanings that confronted their new freedom in Christ.
The Colossian Epistle
We cannot be certain, but it appears that this epistle was written in 61 A. D. If you look care-fully, you will find at least 53 pieces of information about the recipients. The general topics covered in this information are as follows:
1. He described their former life.
2. He strongly affirmed that they were Christians.
3. These people have new, different attitudes.
There are 58 exhortations in this epistle. As you can see from the following table, these exhortations are found in three of the four chapters of the epistle.
| CH. 1 | CH. 2 | CH. 3 | CH. 4 |
| 0 | 12 | 40 | 6 |
The way this epistle is laid out gives us an indication of the thinking of the author as he wrote. For instance, if you look at the epistles where Paul deals with the most trouble, like I Corinthians, there are as many exhortations in the first part of the epistle as there are in the last part. This grows out of the fact that Paul was very concerned and having mentioned the issue proceeded to give the exhortation he wished the people to follow in order to correct the problem. To a lesser degree, that is what Paul did in Colossians. His style, in Colossians, indicates that he has some real concerns, but feels that these can only be addressed if the people will take his instructions seriously.