One of the greatest doctrinal controversies during the New Testament age was the battle against gnosticism. Gnosticism started in Persia, came into Judaism, and then into the church.

The church at Colossae was bothered with the forms and peripherals of gnostic teaching. A preacher from Colossae named Epaphras asked the apostle Paul to assist him in combating this unhealthy teaching. Paul’s response was the epistle to the Colossians with its great theme of the sufficiency of Christ.

The great letter to Philemon also went to Colossae. Gary Hampton’s excellent summary of Colossians and Philemon is useful for the student, teacher, and preacher.