Colossians: How to read the Letters

Review:

Letters in Context:

The Gospel is for all Nations

NT Letters are continuing this promise

Focus on Issues

Letters in context:

The Gospel is for all Nations: The Bible gives a clear vision for God using the family of Israel to bring blessing to all nations through a promised descendant.

NT Letters are continuing this promise: The apostles saw themselves as the continuation of these promises to restore God’s blessing to all nations through the good news about Jesus.

Focus on issues: The New Testament authors focused on many of the cultural and social issues of their day because they wanted their audiences to see themselves as members of the same family of God.

Sources

The Bible Project, Tim Mackie

Ben Witherington, NT Rhetoric

Jeffrey Weima, Paul the Ancient Letter Writer

Nijay Gupta, “Mirror Reading Moral Issues in Paul’s Letter”

Context Matters

Context is everything when it comes to this work. Tim Mackie from Bible Project gives a helpful framework for what is important about context:

Context is everything:

Where do these letters fit in the broader storyline of the Bible?

What is the original Jewish, Greek, or Roman cultural context?

What is the situational context that prompted this letter?

What is the unified message of the letter as a whole?

Last time we covered #1. and next time we will cover #2. Today I want to touch on 3 and 4. Not yet to Colossians in particular but still in introduction. Putting tools in your belt and then doing it.

A lot of information today. We are getting closer to applying some tools to the book of Colossians, but a little ways to go. Today there is the possibility that you feel a little overwhelmed. Fear not. I believe today is like if I were to try and teach you again how to do long division. It would probably make some of our brains swim....but you are already doing long division with a calculator or quick steps in your mind.

First we will look at the Form of First Century Letters...

The Form of First Century Letters

Sources: Weima, Witherington, Bible Project

If you were to do some of the work that Weima and others that have studied ancient letter writing, you would find that most of the letters had a similar form. The NT letters share that same form:

Overview

The Opening Address: Sender, receiver, greeting

The Thanksgiving

The Body of the Letter

The Closing: Greetings to people; travel arrangements, prayer/praise to God, final note

We will look at this through the lens of Colossians

Part 1: The Opening Address

Colossians 1:1–2 NIV

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

Part 1: The Opening Address:

Sender: Paul (and our brother Timothy)

Receiver: To the holy ones and faithful brothers and sisters in Colossae

Greeting: Grace and Peace to you from God our Father

Part 2: Thanksgiving

Many ancient letters begin with a thanksgiving, usually offered to the gods for something to do with the recipients.

“Each of the thanksgivings...is designed to attract the goodwill of the readers and make them more attentive and receptive. But there is no false flattery. The variety of compliments accurately reflects Paul’s estimations of the qualities of the different churches. Each thanksgiving also fulfills an introductory role in that it evokes themes which will turn out to be central to the letter.”

JEROME MURPHY-O’CONNOR, PAUL THE LETTER WRITER, 62.

Colossians 1:3–6 NIV

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.

Part 3: The Body of the Letter

Chart with differences in length....

In an oral and aural culture such as the Greco-Roman world, people were geared far more to learning by ear than by eye…Literary documents in early Christianity were intended to be read aloud in the assemblies, not least because most all ancient reading was done aloud. In fact, letters were seen as surrogates for oral conversation, indeed as vehicles for carrying on such conversations. The spoken word was primary, the written word secondary… In our age of millions of books, emails, and texts, it is hard for us to grasp how the visible text was not primary for most people in antiquity… This is why the study of rhetoric in the [NT letters] is such a crucial matter. Paul had written his words so that they might be heard as persuasive.

-Ben Witherington, New Testament Rhetoric, 97

Teach this out a little....

Oratory and rhetoric are about the art of persuasion. At all times and places the ability to win others to one’s point of view has been esteemed, and in all spheres of life: business, politics, law, relationships. In the democratic societies of Greece and Rome, success in public life depended on eloquence… It was the hallmark of civilization and the characteristic of an educated person. And while some were gifted in finding the key to the audience’s heart, the majority were not, and so began the project of studying and codifying the arts of persuasion in Greco-Roman education.

-Jerome Murphy O’Connor, Paul The Letter Writer, 65-66

They were written for reason....not just cause a light bulb went off.

Studying rhetoric is important. Tracing argument. This would be like upper level NT, I wont go into detail here. We will do some of this work every week as we work through the book of Colossians.

Finally, part 4 of the letters are the closing....

Part 4: The Closing

The Apostles use a standard series of conventions when closing their letters

The peace benediction

final exhortation

final greetings

the autograph

Let’s look at the closing of Colossians to see these at work.

Colossians 4:7–18 NIV

Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here. My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea. Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.” I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

Situational Context:

Nearly every letter if not all of them, are prompted by something very specific. Of course there could be an exception like with something like Philippians. It seems that is written just to encourage. The context should inform our interpretation of each section of the letter.

Remember the phone analogy.

4 Skills to Situational Context: (Tim Mackie)

Skill 1: Read Letters as a Whole

Mackie writes:

“The baseline skill in reading the epistles is to read them as a unified whole. While reading, look for any explicit statements about the purpose of the letter or the situation that motivated the author to write the letter.” -Tim Mackie

Galatians

1:6: I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel*;

2:1-3: Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain. But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.

2:11-14: But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

1 Peter

1:6-7: In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

4:12-16: Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

5:8-9: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Skill 2: Mirror Reading

Example from Barclay, review mirror. You can look back there and see a reflection of what is behind you. But it is not to scale. You can fully be sure....

Gupta Quote:

“Mirror-reading a letter involves, of course, looking at an ‘image’ (part of a conversation) and trying to discern the original ‘object’ (the original discussion or context). From a letter of Paul, for instance, we can learn some details about the situation against which he might be reacting…. But not all the details are clear, so gap-filling is required to understand why Paul writes the things he does in the letter.” -Nijal Gupta

NIJAY GUPTA, “MIRROR-READING MORAL ISSUES IN PAUL’S LETTERS,”

IN JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, VOL. 34 (2012), PP. 361-381.

Barclay:

5 Things to Pay Attention To in Mirror Reading

The type of statement

Assertion: likely imply that someone is practicing or teaching the opposite

Denial: implies that someone has made a false claim about the author

Command: implies that people are not doing what is described

Prohibition: implies that people are doing what is mentioned

Tone: Does he issue the above statements with emphasis or urgency?

Frequency: Does Paul repeat this theme or idea often enough to show that he’s responding to an issue?

Consistency: We should assume that each letter addresses one core problem, argument, or person/group, unless it is explicit that diverse issues are being addressed.

Example: In 1 Corinthians, Paul explicitly shifts topics and groups.

Example: In 1 Thessalonians, there are a variety of problems addressed, but they could all be explained as manifestations of one core issue: overzealous end-time fanaticism.

Historical Plausibility: Do we have evidence that the reconstructed group or ideas existed at the time?

Let me bring this home with an example. I want to prove to you that you can mirror read. Good Will Hunting. How many of you have seen it? Last time?

Well I want you to take this in and I will not put it on the screen on purpose.

Robin Williams monalogue?

So if I asked you about art you’d probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo? You know a lot about him. Life’s work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientation, the whole works, right? But I bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You’ve never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling. Seen that.

If I asked you about women you’d probably give me a syllabus of your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can’t tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You’re a tough kid.

I ask you about war, and you’d probably, uh, throw Shakespeare at me, right? “Once more into the breach, dear friends.” But you’ve never been near one. You’ve never held your best friend’s head in your lap and watched him gasp his last breath, looking to you for help.

And if I asked you about love you probably quote me a sonnet. But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone could level you with her eyes. Feeling like! God put an angel on earth just for you…who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn’t know what it’s like to be her angel and to have that love for her to be there forever. Through anything. Through cancer. You wouldn’t know about sleeping sitting’ up in a hospital room for two months holding her hand because the doctors could see in your eyes that the term visiting hours don’t apply to you.

You don’t know about real loss, because that only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself. I doubt you’ve ever dared to love anybody that much.

I look at you; I don’t see an intelligent, confident man; I see a cocky, scared (stiffless) kid. But you’re a genius, Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine and you ripped my (freaking)’ life apart.

You’re an orphan right? Do you think I’d know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you?

Personally, I don’t give a (poo) about all that, because you know what? I can’t learn anything from you I can’t read in some (freaking) book. Unless you wanna talk about you, who you are. And I’m fascinated. I’m in. But you don’t wanna do that, do you, sport? You’re terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief.

Look at your hand out again, I want you to see that you can do this!

Type of statement: Assertion everywhere.....even in questions. You would do this and not do this. Asserting that Will knows everything or thinks he does.

Tone, I don’t do it justice but it is somber and emotional.

Frequency, over and over again about what he might or might now know

historical plausibility does not apply for my made up example.

Display Rhetoric.... by lifting up good things about Will, but he is convincing him that there is something more.

These are basic reading (or listening) skills, you can do that.