Paul, who was known as Saul, was a man who was out to destroy this new group which became known as Christians. He had them arrested and was even complicit in the stoning of the first martyr, Stephen. He had a supernatural conversion on the road to Damascus, where he came into contact with the risen Christ. He went from hunting down Christians to being one of the most influential Christians in his day. He was the main writer, inspired by the Holy Spirit, of the New Testament and suffered greatly for the cause of Christ. He travelled on missionary journeys planting churches and encouraging believers. He was well versed in the Mosaic Law and was firmly grounded in Scripture. He used his background in scripture and his experience as a missionary to write the Epistles that we have today to the churches around this region. He was an amazing man.
Paul was made aware of Gnosticism in that region, where it fused religion and philosophy, teaching that matter is evil and spirit is good. This was becoming a danger to the newly planted churches and the reason for this letter to the Colossians.
Here Paul emphasises the pre-eminence of Jesus, as first and foremost, also warning against legalism, which restricted what foods or drinks one could have, religious feast days, and circumcision. For a man with a shepherd’s heart, he was quite aware of the dangerous wolves trying to infiltrate this new flock.
