Colossians and Philemon

By Michael F. Bird

Michael Bird's commentary on Colossians and Philemon in the New Covenant Commentary Series pays close attention to the socio-historical context, the flow and dynamics of the text, their argumentative strategy, theological message, and the meaning of Colossians and Philemon for the contemporary church today. Bird situates Colossians in the context of Paul's Ephesian ministry and describes how Paul attempts to persuade a congregation in the Lycus Valley to remain firm in the gospel and to grasp the cosmic majesty of Jesus Christ over and against the views of certain Jewish mystics who have thrown the Colossians into confusion. He shows how, in the letter to Philemon, Paul intercedes for a slave estranged from his master through a carefully crafted feat of pastoral persuasion from a missionary friend of Philemon. The commentary combines exegetical insight, rhetorical analysis, theological exposition, and practical application all in one short volume. Bird shows Paul at work as a theologian, pastor, and missionary in his letters to the Colossians and Philemon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Release date: Sep 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9781498273824

Michael F. Bird

Michael F. Bird is Deputy Principal and Lecturer in New Testament at Ridley College,?Australia. He is the author of numerous scholarly and popular books on the New Testament and theology, including, with N. T. Wright, The New Testament in Its World (2019).

Book preview

Colossians and Philemon

A New Covenant Commentary

Michael F. Bird

2008.Cascade_logo.jpg

COLOSSIANS AND PHILEMON

A New Covenant Commentary

New Covenant Commentary Series 12

Copyright © 2009 by Michael F. Bird.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, or stored on any information storage and retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publishers. For permissions write to Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Avenue, Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

Cascade Books

A Division of Wipf and Stock Publishers

199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

Eugene, OR 97401

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isbn: 978-1-60608-131-0

eisbn: 978-1-4982-7382-4

Cataloging-in-Publication data:

Bird, Michael F.

Colossians and Philemon : a new covenant commentary

xiv + 178 p. ; 23 cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.

New Covenant Commentary Series 12

isbn: 978-1-60608-131-0

1. Bible. N.T. Colossians—Commentaries. 2. Bible. N.T. Philemon—Commentaries. I. Title. II. Series.

bs2715.53 b57 2009

Manufactured in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Title Page

Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction to Colossians and Philemon

Colossians

1:1–2

1:3–14

Fusing the Horizons: The Global Church

1:15–20

Fusing the Horizons: Christological Assertions

1:21–23

1:24—2:7

2:8–23

Fusing the Horizons: Common Faith

Excursus: Colossians and the Roman Empire

3:1–17

3:18—4:1

4:2–18

Fusing the Horizons: Christian Leaders

Philemon

1–7

8–22

23–25

Fusing the Horizons: Ministerial Formation

Bibliography

NCCS | New Covenant Commentary Series

The New Covenant Commentary Series (NCCS) is designed for ministers and students who require a commentary that interacts with the text and context of each New Testament book and pays specific attention to the impact of the text upon the faith and praxis of contemporary faith communities.

The NCCS has a number of distinguishing features. First, the contributors come from a diverse array of backgrounds in regards to their Christian denominations and countries of origin. Unlike many commentary series that tout themselves as international the NCCS can truly boast of a genuinely international cast of contributors with authors drawn from every continent of the world (except Antarctica) including countries such as the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Kenya, India, Singapore, and Korea. We intend the NCCS to engage in the task of biblical interpretation and theological reflection from the perspective of the global church. Second, the volumes in this series are not verse-by-verse commentaries, but they focus on larger units of text in order to explicate and interpret the story in the text as opposed to some often atomistic approaches. Third, a further aim of these volumes is to provide an occasion for authors to reflect on how the New Testament impacts the life, faith, ministry, and witness of the New Covenant Community today. This occurs periodically under the heading of Fusing the Horizons. Here authors provide windows into community formation (how the text shapes the mission and character of the believing community) and ministerial formation (how the text shapes the ministry of Christian leaders).

It is our hope that these volumes will represent serious engagements with the New Testament writings, done in the context of faith, in service of the church, and for the glorification of God.

Preface

Commentary writing is, so I have learned, no simple feat. There is the mammoth task of doing your own translation, an immense volume of primary and secondary literature to read and interact with, and the struggle of trying to find something new or incredibly profound to say in every single verse when you find yourself most of the time agreeing with those who ploughed the textual terrain before you. I’m reminded of Calvin’s words in the preface to his Romans commentary where he virtually apologizes for writing another commentary on Paul’s letter despite so many fine volumes already existing:

Since so many scholars of pre-eminent learning have previously devoted their efforts to explaining this Epistle, it seems unlikely that there is any room left for others to produce something better . . . It will, however, I hope be admitted that nothing has ever been so perfectly done by men that there is no room left for those who follow them to refine, adorn, or illustrate their work. I do not dare to say anything of myself, except that I thought that the present work would be of some profit, and that I have been led to undertake it for no other reason than the common good of the Church.

All I can say is that I have labored here as best as I can and I hope that the fruit of this work is fresh, stimulating, and challenging for those who belong to the new covenant communities of the twenty-first century. As it is, much of the content was formed through the regular delivery of sermons and in the context of worship at the Highland Theological College student chapel, where we all learned that Colossians speaks much to our contemporary age.

Colossians is my favorite book of the Pauline corpus and Philemon is a much underappreciated child of the canonical family. What links both books together I believe is the New Testament message of reconciliation. Christ is able to reconcile us to God the Father (Colossians) and he gives us the grace to be reconciled to each other (Philemon). They contain a message that our much hurting world is in desperate need of hearing. I have tried to avoid writing a commentary on other commentaries. For the most part I’ve started with my own translation, had an occasional glance at Jimmy Dunn’s and Peter O’Brien’s fine works to get some bearings, and then tackled the text myself armed with nothing but lexical aids, consulting the sundry secondary literature only after this. Done this way I believe that the commentary is much my own rather than an eclectic combination of everyone else’s. In the secondary literature, I have found the works by Robin McL. Wilson, Markus Barth, Joseph Fitzmyer, N. T. Wright, Charles Talbert, Andrew Lincoln, Murray Harris, and M. M. Thompson to be the most helpful, and I certainly cannot forget to mention the pleasure of working through John Chrysostom’s homilies and J. B. Lightfoot’s commentary as well (how on earth did they do it without word processors and Bible software back then?).¹

I have to thank several people for their support and assistance in the lead up to this volume. First, my co-editor Craig Keener has been a pleasure to work with. Craig has a rare combination of erudite scholarship and pastoral sensitivity. I am most grateful that Craig took a chance on working with a zany redhead Australian to launch a commentary series. His input into both this volume and the series as a whole has been priceless. Second, the editorial team at Wipf and Stock is second to none. K. C. Hanson and Chris Spinks have done a cracking good job of getting this series going and were supportive of the project from the beginning. K. C. has a wealth of experience in commentary production and he gave me some golden advice as a new editor. Third, I have to thank my family as always, including my wife Naomi and my daughters Alexis and Alyssa. Fourth, several people read and offered helpful comments on an earlier draft, including Lynn Cohick, Sean Du Toit, and Ian Smith, and I am most grateful for their remarks. Fifth, I would like to dedicate this book to my good friend Ben Myers, who is making theology in the antipodes fashionable again and is my syndoulos in the kingdom of Christ. His dedication to the theological craft is inspiring. May his tribe increase!

1. Unfortunately the commentaries on Colossians by Jerry L. Sumney and Douglas J. Moo came out too late for me to be able to make use of them.

Abbreviations

AB Anchor Bible

ABRL Anchor Bible Reference Library

ACCS Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture

BDAG Walter Bauer, F. W. Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed.; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000

BDF F. Blass, A. Debrunner, and R. W. Funk, editors, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (9th ed.; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961)

Bib Biblica

BSac Bibliotheca Sacra

BST Bible Speaks Today

CGTC Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

ECC Eerdmans Critical Commentary

EDNT H. Balz and G. Schneider, editors, Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament. 3 vols.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990

EvQ Evangelical Quarterly

ESCJ Études sur le christianisme et le judaïsme (Studies in Christianity and Judaism)

esv English Standard Version

ExpTim Expository Times

FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments

HTR Harvard Theological Review

ICC International Critical Commentary

IVPNTC InterVarsity Press New Testament Commentary

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament

JSNTSup JSNT Supplement Series

JTS Journal of Theological Studies

kjv King James Version

LightAE Adolf Deissman, Light from the Ancient East. Translated by L. R. M. Strachan. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995

LCL Loeb Classical Library

LNTS Library of New Testament Studies

lxx Septuagint

MNTC Moffatt New Testament Commentary

nasb New American Standard Bible

ncb New Century Bible

NDIEC G. H. R. Horsley and S. R. Llewelyn, editors, New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity. 9 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976–87

neb New English Bible

NeoT Neotestamentica

net New English Translation

nib New Interpreter’s Bible

NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary

niv New International Version

NIVAC niv Application Commentary

njb New Jerusalem Bible

nlt New Living Translation

NovTSup Supplements to Novum Testamentum

NPNF Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers

nrsv New Revised Standard Version

NTC New Testament Commentary

NTG New Testament Guides

NTM New Testament Monographs

NTS New Testament Studies

ÖTKNT Ökumenischer Taschenbuch-Kommentar zum Neuen Testament

OTP James H. Charlesworth, editor, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. 2 vols. ABRL. New York: Doubleday, 1983, 1985

PC Proclamation Commentaries

PSt Pauline Studies

RevExp Review and Expositor

reb Revised English Bible

RGG K. Galling and H. von Campenhausen, editors. Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart. 3rd ed. 7 vols. Tübingen: Mohr/Siebeck, 1957–65

rsv Revised Standard Version

SBLMS Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series

SBT Studies in Biblical Theology

SP Sacra pagina

SUNT Studien zur Umwelt des Neuen Testaments

tev Today’s English Version

TDNT G. Kittel and G. Friedrich, editors, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Translated by G. W. Bromiley. 10 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964–1976

TH Two Horizons

tniv Today’s New International Version

TNTC Tyndale New Testament Commentaries

TSAJ Texte und Studium zum antiken Judentum

TynBul Tyndale Bulletin

WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament

ZNW Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche

Ancient Sources

1QH Thanksgiving Hymns

1QM War Scroll

1QS Rule of the Community

4Q186 Zodiacal Physiognomy

4Q400–5 Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice

4Q510 Songs of the Sage

4Q534 Elect of God

Apoc. Ab. Apocalypse of Abraham

Apoc. Paul Apocalypse of Paul

Apoc. Zeph. Apocalypse of Zephaniah

Ascen. Isa. Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah 6–11

Augustine Civ. De civitate Dei (The City of God)

Babylonian Talmud (b.)

Menah. Menahot

Sanh. Sanhedrin

Bar Baruch

2 Bar. 2 Baruch (Syriac Apocalypse)

Barn. Barnabas

Calpurnius Siculus

Ecl. Eclogues

CD Cairo Genizah copy of the Damascus Document

Cicero

Flac. Pro Flacco

1 Clem. 1 Clement

Did. Didache

Dionysius of Halicarnassus

Ant. rom. Antiquitates romanae (Roman History)

1 En. 1 Enoch (Ethiopic Apocalypse)

2 En. 2 Enoch (Slavonic Apocalypse)

3 En. 3 Enoch (Hebrew Apocalypse)

Epictetus

Disc. Discourses

Ep. Arist. Epistle of Aristeas

Eusebius

Chron. Chronicon (Chronicle)

Gos. Thom. Gospel of Thomas

Gk. Apoc. Ezra Greek Apocalypse of Ezra

Hippolytus

Haer. Refutatio omnium haeresium (Refutation of All Heresies)

Jdt Judith

John Chrysostom

Hom. Col. Homiliae in epistulum ad Colossesnses

Jos. Asen. Joseph and Aseneth

Josephus

Ag. Ap. Against Apion

Ant. Jewish Antiquities

J. W. Jewish Wars

Jub. Jubilees

Justin

Dial. Tryph. Dialogue with Trypho

Juvenal

Sat. Satirae (Satires)

Livy

Hist. History of Rome

1–4 Macc 1–4 Maccabees

Mishnah (m.)

Abod. Zar. Abodah Zarah

Ber. Berakhot

Odes Sol. Odes of Solomon

Origen

Cels. Contra Celsum (Against Celsus)

Philo

Conf. De confusione linguarum (On the Confusion of Tongues)

Decal. De decalogo (On the Decalogue)

Det. Quod deterius potiori insidiari soleat (That the Worse Attacks the Better)

Flacc. In Flaccum (Against Flaccum)

Fug. De fuga et inventione (On Flight and Finding)

Gig. De gigantibus (On Giants)

Hypoth. Hypothetica

Leg. Legum allegoriae (Allegorical Interpretation)

Legat. Legatio ad Gaium (On the Embassy to Gaius)

Migr. De migratione Abrahami (On the Migration of Abraham)

Mos. De vita Mosis (On the Life of Moses)

Opif. De opifico mundi (On the Creation of the World)

Plant. De plantatione (On Planting)

Prob. Quod omnis probus liber sit (That Every Good Person Is Free)

QE Quaestiones et solutions in Exodum (Questions and Answers on Exodus)

Sacr. De sacrificiis Abelis et Caini (On the Sacrifices of Cain and Abel)

Somn. De somnis (On Dreams)

Spec. De specialibus legibus (On the Special Laws)

Philostratus

Vit. Apoll. Vita Apollonii

Plato

Tim. Timaeus

Pliny the Younger

Ep. Epistolae

Pss. Sol. Psalms of Solomon

Sir Sirach

Seneca

Ep. Epistulae morales

Strabo

Geogr. Geographica (Geography)

T. Ab. Testament of Abraham

T. Isaac Testament of Isaac

T. Job Testament of Job

T. Levi Testament of Levi

Tacitus

Agr. Agricola

Hist. Historiae

Tertullian

Jejun. De jujunio adversus psychicos (On Fasting, against the Psychics)

Tob Tobit

Wis Wisdom

Xenophon

Anab. Anabasis

Series Editors:

Michael F. Bird (Highland Theological College, Dingwall, Scotland)

Craig Keener (Palmer Seminary, Philadelphia, USA)

Revelation Gordon Fee

Ephesians Lynn Cohick

James Pablo Jimenez

1–3 John Sam Ngewa

John Jey Kanagaraj

Pastoral Epistles Aída Besançon-Spencer

Mark Kim Huat Tan

Acts Youngmo Cho

Forthcoming titles (in order of projected publication):

Titles in this series:

Romans Craig Keener

Luke Jeannine Brown

2 Peter and Jude Andrew Mbuvi

Matthew Joel Willits

1 Peter Eric Greaux

Philippians Linda Belleville

Hebrews Tom Thatcher

Galatians Brian Vickers

2 Corinthians David deSilva

Introduction to Colossians and Philemon

When I open the chapel doors of the Epistle to the Colossians it is as if Johann Sebastian himself sat at the organ.¹

The singular loftiness of the mind of Paul, though it may be seen to greater advantage in his other writings which treat of weightier matters, is also attested by this Epistle [to Philemon], in which, while he handles a subject otherwise low and mean, he rises to God with his wonted elevation. Sending back a runaway slave and thief, he supplicates pardon for him. But in pleading this cause, he discourses about Christian forbearance with such ability, that he appears to speak about the interests of the whole Church rather than the private affairs of a single individual. On behalf of a man of the lowest condition, he demeans himself so modestly and humbly, that nowhere else is the meekness of his temper painted in a more lively manner.²

City of Colossae

Colossae was a city in the Lycus Valley located within southwestern Phrygia in the interior of Asia Minor. Colossae was once a densely populated and wealthy city according to Xenophon, a city through which Xerxes and his army passed in 480 BCE.³ The Greek geographer Strabo described Colossae in his time as a polisma, or small city.⁴ In 133 BCE the last king of Pergamum bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans who later reorganized it as the province of Asia. The Lycus Valley was eventually incorporated into the Roman Empire and remained so for many centuries. By Paul’s time Colossae was dwarfed by the larger cities of Hierapolis and Laodicea also in the Lycus Valley.

There was a sizable Jewish population in the Lycus Valley. Seleucus Nicator (ca. 358–281 BCE), the founder of the Seleucid kingdom encompassing Asia Minor, granted civic rights to the Jews in all the cities that he founded and Antiochus II (ca. 286–46 BCE) planted Jewish colonists in the cities of Ionia.⁵ Antiochus III (ca. 241–187 BCE) settled some two thousand Jewish families from Babylon and Mesopotamia in the regions of Lydia and Phrygia, and Philo refers to the large population of Jews in every city of Asia Minor.⁶ Laodicea in particular was a collection point for payment of the temple tax by Jews living in the region, and in 62 BCE the proconsul of Asia Lucius Valerius Flaccus attempted to seize the collection, which, according to Cicero, consisted of twenty pounds of gold.⁷ If the temple tax was a half shekel or two drachmae, that could represent a collection from Jewish males numbering as many as ten thousand, though a slightly lower figure might be more cautious.⁸ Like other Anatolian cities, Colossae probably had a substantial Jewish population (possibly between one and two thousand persons) and at least one synagogue or prayer house. A number of Jewish sarcophagi in Hierapolis have been collected together by Walter Ameling, indicating a sizable Jewish presence in the Lycus Valley.⁹ Hierapolis and Laodicea suffered extensive damage from an earthquake that shook the region in the early 60s CE and we can safely assume that Colossae suffered the same fate. Laodicea was rebuilt using funds from within the city, but we do not know what happened to Colossae or if it survived the earthquake or not.¹⁰ There is no evidence of habitation in Colossae after 63–64 CE until coins reappear in the late second century.¹¹

Colossae has never been excavated; however, excavations are planned in a joint project directed by Flinders University (Australia) and Pamukkale University (Turkey).¹² We can anxiously await the results since it may significantly alter much of what we claim to know about Judaism, indigenous religions, and Christianity in Colossae. In fact, Colossians commentaries may need to be rewritten in light of the evidence that emerges.

Relationship of Colossians to Ephesians

Colossians stands conceptually between Galatians and Ephesians, while Philemon is probably the closest in style to Philippians. Colossians has a mix of Pauline polemics indicative of Galatians and the lavish language and high Christology of Ephesians. Ephesians and Colossians are similar in many respects as both are said to be delivered by Tychicus (Col 4:7–9; Eph 6:21), they exhibit similar language, theological concerns (e.g., mystery, raised with Christ, catholic Church), and share fifteen words not found elsewhere in other New Testament writings. The literary parallels between Colossians and Ephesians are numerous (see the table below) and have usually led to a literary relationship being posited between the two documents.¹³ Although some have argued that Colossians depends on Ephesians, the reverse seems far more likely given the use of Old Testament quotations and allusions in Ephesians that is lacking in Colossians. These quotations and allusions are more likely to have been added than subtracted by an author or redactor. There is also a greater focus on the church universal and more attention given to the Holy Spirit in Ephesians, which suggests theological explication of something found in Colossians. These letters are genetically related, but also somewhat independent of one another given the differences in purpose, audience, and even contents, showing how complicated the issue of literary dependency really is.¹⁴ The historical circumstances of their common relationship can only be judged once the questions of the authorship and the provenance of Colossians and Philemon are satisfactorily answered.

Authorship

Philemon is ordinarily regarded as genuinely Pauline and no new reasons have been adduced to doubt this fact. The style and vocabulary of Philemon, typified by the opening and closing sections, is characteristically Pauline. The overall linguistic variation of the contents also remains well within the