{"collection":"Hypertext Bible","full_text_available":false,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/sacred_texts_v1_bib_web_col_htm/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/sacred_texts_v1_bib_web_col_htm","id":"sacred_texts_v1_bib_web_col_htm","license":"unknown_pending_legal_review","rights_basis":"sacred_texts_v1_preview_gate_primary_text_only; acquisition-method/ToS and compilation-copyright questions still open, not resolved by this gate","source":"sacred_texts_v1","source_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/bib/web/col.htm","summary":"This is the Epistle to the Colossians, a first-century Christian letter attributed to the Apostle Paul, written to a congregation at Colossae in Asia Minor and belonging to the tradition of Pauline epistles in the New Testament. Its theological centerpiece is an exalted portrayal of Christ as the \"image of the invisible God,\" the agent and sustainer of all creation, and the fullness of the Godhead dwelling bodily \u2014 a Christology that directly counters competing philosophies and ascetic practices Paul warns the community against. The letter argues that because believers have died and risen with Christ through baptism, they are already complete in him, and therefore external religious regulations (dietary rules, Sabbath observance, angel veneration) are mere shadows with no power over those united to the true Head. Practically, Paul translates this theological claim into a moral ethic: stripping off vices associated with the \"old man\" and putting on virtues \u2014 compassion, forgiveness, and above all love \u2014 with household codes directing conduct between wives and husbands, children and parents, and servants and masters. A distinctive emphasis is Paul's framing of his own suffering as mysteriously completing Christ's afflictions for the sake of the church, and his insistence that \"Christ in you\" \u2014 the indwelling of Christ among Gentile believers \u2014 is the previously hidden mystery now disclosed. The letter closes with personal greetings and instructions for the letter's circulation to neighboring Laodicea, providing a rare glimpse into early Christian inter-church communication.","tags":["English Bible Translations","Modern Bible Translations","New Testament"],"text":null,"title":"World English Bible: Colossians","tradition":"Hypertext Bible","translated_text":null,"word_count":2088}