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Studying Colossians

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Some resources to help in studying Paul's letter to the Colossians, one of the key New Testament documents. The letter was most probably written by Paul from prison in Rome in AD 60 - about the same time as Ephesians and Philemon, and shortly before Philippians.

Colosse: some pictures

There isn't much to see these days of the city Paul knew. There's really just a mound which has never been excavated properly - unlike Hierapolis and Laodicea.

Pictures of Colosse, Hierapolis and Laodicea, the three closely-connected churches of the Lycus Valley. The church in Colosse shared a full-time worker (Epaphras) with the other two, and the last chapter of Colossians directs the Christians to swap "their" letter with another which Paul had sent to Laodicea, so that both churches could read both letters. By the time Paul wrote to Colosse, the city was already declining in importance compared to its local rivals, although for some centuries before it had been an important trading centre. And by the time of Revelation, only Laodicea was singled out by the Spirit in the list of the Seven Churches of Asia.
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Key resources on Colossians

Note: Squidoo insist on providing links to these books from Amazon in America, but British users will find that all these titles are available from Amazon UK too. Not to mention Stuart at Wesley Owen in Exeter...

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Online resources for studying Colossians

Here's a selection of some of the best online material about Colossians and its background.
The Colossian Heresy
What was the Colossian heresy? A careful and detailed study - a little bit technical, but perfectly understandable.
Mark Copeland
Study guide to Colossians, chapter by chapter, by Mark A. Copeland. Simple and clear - and very helpful.
The background to Colossians
Very thorough examination of the background to Colossians, including strong arguments for authenticity.
Early Christian Writings: Colossians
A more sceptical view of who wrote Colossians - but he does fairly give the arguments on both sides, even if (I think) his conclusion is too despairing:"My position is, thus, that the authenticity of Colossians is a matter over which reasonable people may disagree."
Colossians links
Some useful Colossians links, including audio versions, a good sermon by the fabled Ray Stedman, and even the whole text in Serbo-Croat...
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown
One of the all-time classic commentaries on Colossians
Wikipedia on Colossians
Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia provides a workmanlike summary of the key features of Colossians. Brief but excellent.
Constable on Colossians
Dr Thomas Constable's notes on Colossians in PDF form. Includes a verse-by-verse commentary, and runs to 54 pages plus references.
Epaphras
A study of Epaphras, who probably planted the Lycus Valley churches, by 19th century Scots preacher Andrew Bonar.
J. Hampton Keathley III
A commentary on Colossians 1 and 2; the author died before he could complete the book, but what he's left is valuable.
The Lycus Valley churches
Ten-page densely-packed booklet in PDF format: "The Biblical Cities of Laodicea, Colosse and Hierapolis" by David Padfield.

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johnallan

John Allan is a member of the Leadership Team at Belmont Chapel, Exeter, UK, and chaplain of Exeter School. He also does some Bible teaching in Torchb... more »

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