The Letter to the COLOSSIANS

Paul wrote this letter to the church in Colossae (about A.D. 60) to counter act false teachers. Evidently these teachers were trying to impose strict rules about eating and drinking and religious festivals, and were advocating the worship of angels. Paul shows the superiority of Christ over all human philosophies and traditions. He writes of Christ's deity ("He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation" [1:15]) and of the reconciliation he accomplished with his blood. He explains that the right way of living in this world is to focus on heavenly rather than earthly things. God's chosen people must believe their sinful lives behind and live in a godly way, looking to Christ as the head of the church (1:18).

(Text taken from the English Standard Version, Introduction to Colossians. Copyright © 2001 Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers)