The New Testament Theology series aims to treat the main themes of each book of the New Testament through the lens of biblical theology. In this volume, Kevin McFadden, associate professor of New Testament at Cairn University, writes that the goal of this book is “to supplement the many excellent commentaries on these letters with a readable overview of their major themes” (13).
McFadden wrote five chapters that highlight major themes in Colossians and Philemon centered around the theme of hope:
- Christ, Our Hope;
- Christ, God’s Son;
- Christ, Our Life Above;
- Christ, Our Life Below; and
- Hope for Philemon and Onesimus.
The letters of Colossians and Philemon revolve around difficult circumstances. The Colossian church was suffering from false teaching, Philemon’s slave had run away (a subject to which McFadden does try to answer), and Paul was in prison! Yet it is in Colossians that we get some of the most profound information about Christ’s pre-existence, authority, and reigning power. Paul’s theology was sharpened in this letter by the false teaching that had entered the Colossian church.
“The Philosophy” (2:8)
McFadden writes about “the philosophy” of 2:8 “required law-keeping and angelic visions to reach the fullness of salvation” (20). The false teachers who had come in were ready to judge the believers for not following some food restrictions and following specific holidays (2:16, 21). McFadden takes these to be the food and calendar requirements of the Mosaic law. This is a possibility because Josephus refers to some 2,000 Jewish families who had been moved there to Phrygia (the region of Colossae’s ancient name) from Babylon. As well, Paul’s description of keeping to “festivals,” “new moons,” and “Sabbath” (2:16) refers to the calendrical regulations in the OT law (cf. 2 Chron 2:4). Paul, in step with the author of Hebrews, writes that these things were “a shadow of the things to come” (Col 2:17; Heb 10:1). This “philosophy” may also have taught that Gentiles needed to be circumcised (Col 2:11).
But it’s more complex than that. It’s possible the law keeping was meant as an ascetic practice that would lead one to have heavenly, angelic visions. McFadden presents two interpretive options and opts for a syncretistic view, meaning aspects of Judaism were mixed with paganism, leading to the veneration of angels (2:18). A pagan fear of angelic powers fits with Paul’s emphasis on the lordship of Christ over all (now “disarmed”) demonic powers (1:16; 2:8, 10, 15, 18-19, 20). Paul’s warning is not that philosophy or learning is bad, but rather that not all learning is “according to Christ.” Paul warns the Colossians not to be taken captive by the empty and deceitful words of the false teachers.
Bearing Fruit and Increasing (1:6)
McFadden ends by looking at the theme of and bearing fruit and increasing. Whereas the false teachers wanted to disqualify any who didn’t keep to their requirements, the gospel is offered to everyone in the whole world that it may be believed by them all. It is universally true for all eternity. Bearing fruit includes understanding God’s will to walk in a manner pleasing to him (1:9–10). The more we understand Christ and what he means both for the universe and for us, the more we will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. McFadden disagrees that this phrase is an allusion to God’s command to Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply” (Get 1:28).
The Mystery Hidden for Ages (1:26)
Paul calls the word of God a “mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints” (40). The gospel was revealed beforehand in the OT to a degree, but now Christ has been revealed in a way he was not previously known. But how? McFadden notes that Jesus is revealed through apostolic preaching. Christ is to be preached and thus revealed to the world, but he has particularly been revealed to believers (Col 1:27), which we see when Paul writes that the mystery is “Christ in you” (1:27).
The Image of God (1:15)
McFadden notes the difficulty in describing what it means for Jesus to be “the image of God.” After much consideration he concludes “that Paul is claiming that the Son of God is the divine reflection of God and the revelation of the invisible God to us” (42). This book is brief, and McFadden’s answer here is both brief and exegetically sound. While many believe that Jesus being the “image of God” is a reference to the creation account (and McFadden agrees it may be an allusion), it is unlikely that it refers to the humanity of the Son. Instead, “Paul roots his claim that the Son is the image of God in the role the Son played in the creation of all things” (43). Jesus is the agent and goal of all creation (Col 1:16), and so he is the divine reflection of God himself. This invisible God whom we cannot neither see nor know outside of his special revelation, is made known to us in the person of Jesus Christ. He was the image of God before his incarnation and even before creation, and he is still imaging God. He then elucidates the term “firstborn” and how it points to Christ’s authoritative rule.
The Wisdom of God (1:28; 2:3, 23)
McFadden covers numerous topics such as the philosophy (written about above), the elemental spirits, and all the hidden treasures under the rubric of the wisdom of God. “The philosophy” was likely rooted in both human and demonic wisdom (Col 1:16; 2:10, 15). This teaching was “not according to Christ” (2:8), and thus the false teachers were wrong because ultimately they were “not holding fast to the head” (2:19) and thus neither had nor shared God’s wisdom. Opposite that, all the treasures of God’s wisdom are found in Christ. It is comprehensive: all the treasures. God’s wisdom lies in Christ and in him alone. Since God’s mystery is Christ, God has both “hidden and revealed wisdom in his Son” (57).
Other themes are being buried with Christ, which cuts off from our three enemies: our sinful flesh, demonic powers, and the world. As well, we were also raised with Christ, which gives us the new man while also pointing us to the future resurrection when we will receive our new bodies and appear with Christ in glory (3:4).
We see that there is hope for both Onesimus and Philemon. Because of the hope believers have in Christ, Paul could write to Philemon in the way he did knowing that love is a fruit produced by God’s Spirit. Onesimus now had a new hope—Christ—and though he would (likely?) Go back to his former slave owner Philemon, he would go back as a spiritual brother to him, connected to the same Head, the firstborn over creation, the image of God, Jesus, who freed us from our sins through his blood and in whose kingdom we now live. McFadden offers some helpful thoughts about Onesimus’ slavery and how modern Christians should think about it, especially the thought about how his reconciliation to Philemon held more weight in Paul’s mind than his freedom.
Recommended?
This brief volume is full of nuggets on Colossians and Philemon. It covers a lot in such a small space, and I wish more books would be as succinct as McFadden’s. His hope is that “pastors and Bible teachers beginning a series on Colossians or Philemon could read this book in a weekend and come away with the big picture of Paul’s teaching in these letters,” and I believe he succeeds (13). This is a good volume in a great series.
Lagniappe
- Series: New Testament Theology
- Author: Kevin W. McFadden
- Paperback: 112 pages
- Publisher: Crossway (October 31, 2023)
- Read the Introduction + Chapter 1
- Previous Reviews in this Series:
- Mark — Peter Orr
- 2 Corinthians — Dane Ortlund
- Ephesians — Ben Merkle
- Revelation — Tom Schreiner
Buy it from Amazon or Crossway!
Review Disclosure: I received this book free from Crossway. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.
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