“From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you from God our Father!”
Colossians 1.1-2
Custom of the day said that the name of the author came first in a letter: from Paul…and Timothy…tells us that Paul is the primary author and Timothy the trusted assistant or scribe. As his earlier letters are addressed to a church/churches (Galatians 1.1, for example), here the people themselves are named. Perhaps this was a change over time where people became more important to Paul, or perhaps due their not being a record of a visit to the somewhat-obscure town of Colossae.
Written from prison (4.3, 10) to the saints, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, at Colossae. The saints at Colossae were presented with a major doctrinal problem contemporarily known as ‘the Colossian heresy’ (more on that as the letter progresses) and it seems that some had fallen into a less-than-orthodox way of thinking about Jesus. When this happens the natural consequence is that our faith is lived out differently and for different reasons. Into this context, Paul writes.
The opening is typical for Paul and something you may have read elsewhere in your Bible (Romans 1.7, 1 Corinthians 1.3, 2 Corinthians 1.12):
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father!”
The unconditioned goodwill towards men and women best expressed in the saving work of Christ, as F.F. Bruce describes it, grace is the solution to the problems the Colossian church are facing;
Yes, some of the saints have erred, but grace…from God our Father is a sufficient solution.
Yes, they may not have held Jesus in the highest regard, but grace…from God our Father is there to restore them and return them.
As for the Colossians, so for you today. Wherever you have slipped or tripped in your walk with God, wherever you have been temped to adopt thoughts about Jesus that contradict the clear teachings of Scripture, grace…from God our Father is there to guide us back to the truth (cf. 2 Corinthians 12.9).
The first step is to see error as error, sin as sin. Take a moment today to honestly look at yourself and then take comfort, take peace, and take confidence from having laid what needs changing at the grace…from God our Father.
James Travis 