UNROLL
Morning over the Lycus valley seen from the hills above Hierapolis: white mineral terraces in the foreground, the wide green plain below, and a small town on a low mound far off beneath a snow-capped mountain.

The Book of

Colossians Intro

A small church in a quiet valley, and a Savior who is first in everything.

Before chapter 1≈ 2 min4 chapters

Images are artistic interpretations.

In 30 seconds

A young church is told it needs more than Jesus.

Paul answers: Christ is first in everything.

All God’s fullness lives in Him, and you are complete in Him.

So set your mind above and put on the new self.

And whatever you do, do it in His name, with thanks.

Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture

Who wrote it

Paul

Apostle, writing in chains

  • Paul names himself in the first line, with Timothy. Some scholars doubt Paul wrote it, but the church received it as his from the start.Colossians 1:1
  • Written in chains and signed in his own hand, traditionally from Rome, around AD 60–62.Colossians 4:18
  • Tychicus carried it, with Onesimus, probably along with Ephesians and Philemon.Colossians 4:7
  • For a church Paul had never visited. They first heard the gospel from Epaphras, one of their own.Colossians 1:7

How it’s built

Who He is, then how to live

Christ first1 · Creator and headof the churchComplete inHim2 · nothing needsadding to ChristRaised withHim3–4:6 · new life,home and workFriends4:7–18 · news andgreetings

Whiteboard

Two chapters on who Christ is and what He has done, then how to live it. The turn comes at 3:1: you have been raised with Christ.

Big themes

Four threads to follow

Where it happens

RomeEphesusColossae

Stylised map · locations approximate

On the map

From Rome to the Lycus valley

Colossae was a small town in the Lycus valley, near Laodicea and Hierapolis. The gospel probably reached it from Ephesus. Paul wrote in chains, traditionally from Rome, and Tychicus carried the letter.

Meet the cast

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Watch for

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Colossians 1:15–17

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Question

Quick question

Paul had never been to Colossae. Someone else brought them the good news first.

Who first taught the Colossians the gospel?

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