This letter shares many things common with Ephesians and yet provides more historical background. Therefore if we can pay attention to Chapter 4, we may relate better these two letters and the one to Philemon. Firstly, 4:7 mentions “Tychicus,” also mentioned in Eph 6:20. Second, Paul says he is “in chains” (4:3), similar to Eph 6:20. Then Col 4:16 instructs them to exchange letters with Laodecia, whilst these two cities, as well as Ephesus, were all situated in the Province of Asia (now Turkey), which was the same region the seven letters of Revelation (chapter 1-3) addressed. We should also note that the “Onesimus” in 4:9 is the same one that Paul sent back to Philemon the owner in Colossae (Philemon v. 10-12).

Probably Paul never met the church of Colossae (2:1). But since he heard from Epaphras (1:7; 4:12) about the influence of the many religions that was bothering the Christians there in Asia, compounded by some Jewish legalistic teachings, Paul decided to write to encourage this church. For this reason, Colossians share with Ephesians that the “mystery is Christ” (1:26, 27; 2:2); the redemption in Christ is also the basis of reconciliation between the cosmos and the Creator, as well as amongst creation (1:20). In the teachings about the superiority of Christ and the reconciliation of all things in Christ, Colossians uses similar wordings to Ephesians.

Even the way Paul introduces ethics is similar in these two letters:

Eph 4:1   I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Col 3:1    Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above

Immediately in 4:10, Paul brings the reality of Christ above down to earth for Christian living, urging them to be like their creator (3:10), constantly putting “the Lord” in life. If we track the recurrences of the word “Lord” from 3:10 through 4:1, we will not miss Paul’s point. It is fair to say that as in Ephesians, the exhortation in Colossians is for Christians to live their lives imitating the Lord and pleasing the Lord.

There is one matter which Colossians dealt with that was not treated in Ephesians: the role of the Jewish Law in Gentile Christians, a more relevant point to us. It can be seen from 2:4 and 2:8 that Paul sensed the dangers of the Jewish propaganda and he really wanted to emphasize the point he made in Romans 10:4 that “Christ is the end of the Law.” Therefore he made it clear that those typically Jewish requirements like circumcision (2:11), ordinances (2:14), food laws, calendars and Sabbath (2:16), purity laws (2:21) etc., were but shadows of the real thing that is Christ (2:17). Gentile Christians must therefore grasp the significance of Christ, who is also a Jewish person.

Like Ephesians, the letter to the Colossians also emphasizes Christian growth:

1:10         And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, (cf. Eph 2:10)      

1:22         … to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation

1:28         so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

2:6-7        …just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him,  strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. ( cf. Eph 3:17)

2:19         … from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. (cf. Eph 4:16)  

3:10       …and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator (cf. Eph 4:23-24)

If we wish to know about growth and edification, reading Colossians (or with Ephesians) will tell us quite a lot. It is no wonder that most Christian training theories or institutions often cite passages like 2:6-7.

Colossians also gives us a rare look into how Paul applies “His body is the church” (Eph 1:23 & Col 1:24) existentially. In Col 1:24, Paul says, “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” It appears that Paul sees the Jewish “Messianic (that is Christ) suffering” as something to be endured physically. It happened historically when Jesus was crucified. The Church being the body of Christ, still must go through the “Messianic suffering,” and Paul views his own life, including “chains” (4:3, 18), through this lens. To Christians true to their faith and God’s call, this perspective is indispensable.