Introduction
Colossians (C) is very similar to Ephesians (E) in terms of context structure and message. Both are written when Paul is imprisoned in Rome. It is interesting to discover the similarity as well as the difference as we compare Colossians with Ephesians in the course of reading Colossians.
(the city of Colosse)
The epistle is written for the brethren at Colosse. Colosse is located about 75 to 100 miles east of Ephesus. It once was a great fortress city as Laodicea. It had been a great city of defense against invasion from the East. By the time of Paul, the danger had been relieved because the Roman Empire was pretty much in charge of the world. As a result, the people had lapsed into paganism and gross immorality. Paul never visited the city of Colosse. He traveled north of Colosse to Ephesus and bypassed Colosse. Epaphras was once the leader of the church (1:7). At the time of writing this epistle, Epaphras (以巴弗) was Paul’s “fellow prisoner”. (Col 4:12, Philemon 1:23) Converts from Paul’s ministry in Ephesus could have come to Colosse to form the nucleus of that church. At the time of Paul’s writing, Archippus (亞基布) seems to be the leader of the church of Colosse. (4:17)