Before we can begin to discuss directly the content of the Colossian hymn we must first briefly discuss both the context for the larger letter and then the form in which the hymnic passage is presented to us.

As noted above the Baur took the occasion of the letter, in his estimation a response to the ebonite heresy^[28], as the grounds to reject Pauline authorship. Our dating of Colossians pre 60 CE precludes that thesis. However, the occasion of the letter’s writing is still a question that must be addressed.

Morna Hooker, in her influential paper, “Were There False Teachers in Colossae” ultimately concluded, no, but instead attributed Paul’s goal to the more broad intent of guarding the Colossian community against the pervasive forces of superstition that dominated the Roman Empire^[29]. While this argument would seem appropriate given the apostle having never travelled personally to Colossae, his intent then being less specific, it does not seem as plausible given our attribution of the letter’s writing to a disciple of Paul. It would seem unnecessary for another to write in the name of Paul and possible under the endorsement of Paul if there were not a pressing need for the letter’s writing. Further the writer’s specific warning against false teaching^[30] would seem to be overly dramatic prose if not for some legitimate false teaching. Along the same reasoning reason F.F. Bruce concludes that, “Yes, there were false teachers in Colossae^[31].” However, the identity and intent of those false teacher will prove much more difficult to identify. As Charles C. Bing points out the, “epistle’s emphasis on Christ’s supremacy, preeminence, and sufficiency for salvation… was Paul’s doctrinal defense against the danger facing the Colossians^[32].” This points us in a particular direction as we attempt to ascertain the false-teachers intent. If indeed Paul’s primary goal is to assert the primacy of Christ then it follows that those he is opposing are diminishing that conclusion. Calvin identifies a set of speculative Jews that have, “invented an access to God^[33]” and Bruce affirms the Jewish nature of the letter’s antagonists by pointing to the reference in Colossians 2:16 to festivals, new moons celebrations and sabbaths as indicative of a uniquely Jewish identity. “Festivals and new moons were observed by non-Jews and Jews alike, but Sabbaths were distinctively Jewish^[34].” That noted, the frequent use of terms^[35] that bear significant parallels to the Gnostic tradition as found in the Qumran such as “wonderful mysteries^[36]” indicate we may be observing a form of early Gnosticism. As Bruce points out however, it would be hard to equate what we read in Colossians to any of, “the particular forms of developed Gnosticism known today from Irenaeus and Hippolytus or more recently the Nag Hammadi texts^[37].” In fact the author’s use of the term e˙qeloqrhski÷aˆ in 2:23 may in fact be a term coined by the author^[38] to denote a self-ordered piety^[39] or a “would-be religion^[40]” indicating that the author did not recognize the false-teaching as an established counter position. While it is beyond the scope of this paper to more clearly identify the specific nature of the Colossians heresy we can conclude that it is fairly categorized as an incipient form of Jewish Gnostic thought. Though Paul himself was open to and in fact relied heavily on his own personal mystical experiences^[41] in arguing for his authority as an apostle^[42], the undisputed pauline letters form the basis for Christ’s preeminence in all matters of salvation^[43] and therefore provide for the Colossian author a platform from which to push back against the proto-Gnostic incursion into the community.