I. Letter Opening: Paul and Timothy Desire Grace and Peace for the Colossians (1:1â2)
Just as most modern letters contain an opening address (âDear . . .â), often an introductory wish (âI hope all is well with youâ), a body that contains the main part of the letter, and a concluding farewell (âSincerely,â âWith best wishesâ + the senderâs name), so Hellenistic letters had the similar basic structure. As we will see, Paul adapts this variant fourfold Hellenistic letter convention, especially by injecting Christian theology into it. For example, the opening address in Colossians of âPaulâ is expanded to âan apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,â a typical expression added in various ways in Paulâs other letters. This is an adaptation of the Hellenistic letter, in which the letter replaces the writerâs presence. Yet as we will see in the case of Paul, the letter represents not merely Paulâs presence but also his apostolic authority over the recipients. This apostolic authority actually entails that the letter carries with it the authority of God and Christ, whom Paul represents in each letter, including that of the one sent to the Colossians. The second part of the ancient letter was a generic greeting, which Paul replaces with the theologically charged âgrace and peace,â typically followed by âfrom God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,â which indicates further that behind Paulâs letter-writing stand God and Christ. Colossians follows this pattern, though it has only âfrom God our Father,â for some reason omitting âand from the Lord Jesus Christ.â
Paul never structures the parts of his epistles as merely formal, stylistic formulas, but as we have already begun to see, he packs his letters with theological substance and means every word he says. He cares deeply about the people to whom he writes his epistles, and there is much feeling expressed in his letters, including his introductory greetings. This is certainly true of his Letter to the Colossians. The main point of verses 1â2 is in verse 2, which states the goal of the letter: that God would give âgrace and peaceâ to the recipients, which they will need to stand against the false teaching and to persevere and grow in their faith, which the remainder of the epistle will make clear.
Exegesis and Exposition
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus [through] the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2to the saints at Colossae and [the faithful brothers] in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father â â.
Paulâs greeting first focuses upon his office as an âapostleâ (áŒÏáœčÏÏολοÏ, apostolos). He is an âapostle of Christ Jesus,â which likely expresses that he belongs to Christ (a possessive genitive, though possibly also including the notion that he was sent out by Christ [a subjective genitive], as expressed explicitly in Gal. 1:1; on the two senses of the genitive here, see Wallace [1996: 82] as well as Harris [2010: 7]). Paul was called as an apostle through âthe will of God.â This call happened to Paul when the resurrected Christ appeared to him on the Damascus road and commissioned him (Acts 9:3â19; 22:6â16; 26:12â20; 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:7â9). Thus Paulâs apostleship is grounded in the authoritative call of the resurrected Christ. He became an apostle through the working of Godâs powerful will and not through his own independent decision making (Melick 1991: 188). The initial mention of Paul himself as an âapostleâ in this verse suggests that the letter ultimately carries his own apostolic authority. As an apostle, he represents the authority of the Messiah. Thus Paulâs self-reference as an âapostleâ refers to his unique office and is qualitatively different from other uses of âapostleâ to designate mere human messengers (cf. NASB marginal readings at Phil. 2:25 and 2 Cor. 8:23) or approved missionaries (e.g., 1 Cor. 9:5â6; 15:7; cf. Gal. 2:9; on which see D. Moo 2008: 74). Paulâs mention of âChrist [Messiah] Jesusâ is used so much by him (as is the word order of âJesus Christâ) that one might think it has become a mere name carrying little theological freight. However, the name probably at least evokes the OT expectation of a Messiah, who is now identified with Christ (likewise D. Moo 2008: 75; Bird 2009: 34). This point is possibly enhanced by âChristâ being placed first, as in âMessiah Jesus.â
The greeting is not only from Paul but also from Timothy (so also in the greeting sections of 2 Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1; Philem. 1). The mention of Timothy here and in the other introductions indicates, at least, that he is one of Paulâs âfellow workersâ in the ministry (Rom. 16:21; 1 Thess. 3:2; cf. 1 Cor. 16:10), but it may also imply that he is Paulâs secretary (it is less likely that this implies multiple authorship). Paul and other NT writers used secretaries in other letters (he dictated Romans to Tertius: Rom. 16:22; Peter used Silvanus as a secretary: 1 Pet. 5:12). Besides being a âfellow worker,â Timothy accompanied Paul in his travels (Acts 16:1â20:4; Phil. 2:19; 1 Thess. 3:6), preached alongside him (2 Cor. 1:19), and represented Paulâs teachings to others (1 Cor. 4:17). Therefore it is natural that Paul calls him a âbrotherâ at the end of verse 1, and accordingly it is natural that Timothy would be one of Paulâs secretaries.
Use of secretaries is also implied by the way Paul brings attention to his own unique signature at the conclusion of some of his epistles (with statements like âI, Paul write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I writeâ: 2 Thess. 3:17 NIV; likewise 1 Cor. 16:21; Gal. 6:11). This is highlighted in Col. 4:18: âthe greeting [is] by my hand, Paul.â* This also indicates that Paul is the true author, even if writing through a secretary.
Furthermore, that Paulâs secretaries did not have an independent hand in composing the letters is apparent from the way dictation took place in the ancient world. Cicero mentions two kinds of dictation: a looser dictation method, in which secretaries listened and wrote down âwhole sectionsâ; and a more strict method, in which secretaries wrote down âsyllable by syllableâ (Cicero, Att. 333, 13.25). Even the looser manner of dictation would not have meant that Paulâs secretaries had an autonomous role in writing, since it is highly probable that Paul would have read the letter himself before sending it off, or he would have had the letter read back to him, to ensure that what the letter finally said represented precisely what he wanted to convey.
In addition, the initial mention of Paul himself as an apostle before the comment about Timothy, who is not called an âapostle,â suggests that the letter ultimately represents Paulâs own apostolic authority (so also Lincoln 2000: 587). Moreover, Paulâs authority behind the letter is also reflected by passages where the first-person pronoun (I/my), referring to Paul, is found (such as Col. 1:23â25, 29; 2:1, 4â5; 4:3â4, 7â8, 10, 13, 16, 18), which finds close and numerous parallels in the epistles unanimously accepted by all to be Pauline (e.g., Phil. 2:19â28; 1 Thess. 2:18; 3:5; 5:27; see Barth and Blanke 1994: 143). The same evidence points away from a disciple of Paul first composing a letter independently but in the name of Paul and with Paulâs ultimate approval (as argued by Schweizer 1982: 15â24; Dunn 1996: 44, 47).
Hence, with these qualifications in mind, it is appropriate that Timothy may have had some part in writing this letter as a secretary. It is possible, however, that mention of Timothy is merely Paulâs way of commending him as a faithful âfellow workerâ in the ministry, or the mention may merely indicate that he was formally commissioned by Paul to deliver his letter (so Doty 1973: 30). All of the above ideas are not mutually exclusive of one another and may be in mind. It is interesting that Timothy is likely referred to as among the âapostlesâ in 1 Thess. 2:6â7 (cf. 1 Thess. 1:1), but that was more likely a temporary designation by which he shared in Paulâs representative authority, just as his time of serving as Paulâs secretary and writing down Paulâs authoritative words would have happened only on special occasions (see further additional notes).
Paul is writing to âthe saints and faithful brothers.â There is a question about whether âsaintsâ (dative pl., áŒÎłáœ·ÎżÎčÏ, hagiois) is to be taken as an adjective (which it is by form) or whether the adjectival form is being used as a noun (which is often also the case). Some think it is better to take it adjectively since the plural article âtheâ (ÏÎżáżÏ, tois) preceding áŒÎłáœ·ÎżÎčÏ is missing before âfaithful,â so that the article is doing double duty. This would mean that the plural of áŒ
ÎłÎčÎżÏ (hagios) is to be taken together with âfaithful,â and since the latter is clearly adjectival, so must be áŒÎłáœ·ÎżÎčÏ, with the meaning of âholy.â The resultant translation would be âto the holy and faithful brothers,â which is viable. Since, however, áŒ
ÎłÎčÎżÏ in the plural always functions as a noun in the opening of Paulâs Epistles (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1; Eph. 1:1; Phil. 1:1), it is perhaps more likely that the word functions that way here: âto the saints [or holy ones] and faithful brothersâ (following OâBrien 1982: 3). Outside of Paulâs introductory greetings, the adjective âsaints,â or âholy onesâ (the pl. of áŒ
ÎłÎčÎżÏ), is also found to function as a noun (âsaintsâ) throughout the NT with reference to believers in Christ. What further points to the adjective âholy onesâ being used as a noun is the observation that the phrase âin Colossaeâ is syntactically closer to and goes viably with the plural âsaintsâ (áŒÎłáœ·ÎżÎčÏ), âfaithful brothersâ is closer to and goes with âin Christ,â and the two clauses are separated by the conjunction âandâ (Îșα᜷, kai). This syntactical pattern is especially found in Eph. 1:1, which is the closest parallel of all to Col. 1:2 and supports the position taken here (see further below). Thus the plural article can still be considered to be doing double duty without necessitating that áŒ
ÎłÎčÎżÏ functions as an adjective. The significance of the double duty is that the âsaintsâ and âfaithful brothersâ are regarded to be a unified whole (see MHT 3:181).
There likely is continuity with the OT use of the word to describe the âsaintsâ of Israel (Pss. 16:3 [15:3 LXX]; 34:9 [33:10]), especially those who will live in the dawning of the end-time age of the kingdom (Dan. 7:18, 21â22, 25, 27; 7:27 LXX reads âholy peopleâ), a kingdom that Paul in this letter regards as having begun to appear (1:13; 4:11). Perhaps the Dan. 7 background is not out of mind, since âsaintsâ (pl. of áŒ
ÎłÎčÎżÏ) together with close mention of âkingdomâ (ÎČαÏÎčλΔ᜷α, basileia) occurs only in Dan. 7 in all of the OT (see the preceding r...