“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Colossians 1:1-2
The book of Colossians is actually a letter, sent by the apostle Paul and Timothy to the believers in Colosse by the hand of Tychicus and Onesimus. And this letter was to be read by all the believers in Colosse and then read also in the church at Laodicea (Colossians 4:16); and the Colossians were directed to read a letter sent to the church in Laodicea (a letter which we apparently no longer have).
Because God preserved this letter and moved the churches to include it in the Bible, we still read this letter today and can learn much about Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has done for us. It lays out for us the fact that we are complete and have eternal salvation through faith alone in Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. This short epistle also shows us how we should live as believers in this world while we await Christ’s return and our partaking of the eternal joys of heaven which He won for us.
Notice that Paul, formerly known as Saul, was an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. Acts 9 explains how the Lord Jesus met Saul on the road to Damascus and called him from being a persecutor of the church to being an apostle to the Gentiles. Paul himself explains more about his calling in his letter to the church at Galatia (Galatians 1:11ff.). Timothy is our brother in the Lord too. He came to faith in Jesus through the teaching of his mother and grandmother and was adopted by the apostle Paul to help in his ministry to the churches (cf. Acts 16:1ff.; 2 Timothy 1:2-5; 3:14-17).
And this letter is addressed “to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse.” It is addressed to those who are counted righteous and holy through faith in Christ Jesus – to the believers in Colosse. And, as a part of God’s inspired Word, it is addressed to all who today are saints – counted righteous and holy not by our works but through faith in Christ Jesus – faith which is worked in our hearts by God the Holy Spirit through the hearing of God’s Word (Romans 10:17).
And Paul’s salutation or greeting was a blessing: “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” God’s grace, His undeserved love and favor toward us, is offered and given to us for the sake of Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of all.
When we trust in Jesus, we have peace with God, the peace of sins forgiven and God’s acceptance of us as His dear children. It is as the apostle wrote in another letter to the believers in Rome: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2).
O gracious and merciful God, we thank You for preserving for us this letter of the apostle Paul to the believers in Colosse that we too might read it and from it be strengthened in our faith in Messiah Jesus that we might hold fast to Him and receive the eternal joys of heaven He won for us by His death upon the cross for our sins and by His glorious resurrection. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.