Theme - We have no record of a visit to the city by Paul himself, but he regarded all the churches of Asia as his own parish; and he was deeply touched during his imprisonment at Rome when news came to him that grievous errors had crept into the church at Colosse. A heretical teacher, quite evidently of considerable ability, had injected into the church an old Eastern dogma that all matter is evil, and its source also evil; grounded in this heresy, several gross errors had become common. To correct this condition, Paul wrote this Epistle to the church and directed that it be read in other neighbouring churches. He refutes all the dangerous errors now threatening the life of the church by the noblest of all forms of controversy.

Outline - Following the Introduction, the Epistle may be divided into four main sections in which these various heresies are refuted by counter truths: I. The Doctrinal Section (1:1-2:3) II. The Polemical Section (2:4-3:4) III. The Practical Section (3:5-4:6) IV. The Personal Section (4:7-18)