At the conclusion of the epistle to the Colossians, the apostle Paul wrote, “…when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:16). Where is this epistle that Paul wrote to the church at Laodicea? Why is it not in the New Testament?
An Uninspired Letter?
It is possible the letter to Laodicea was not given by inspiration, and therefore not included in the Bible. I say possible, but I think unlikely. Paul may have penned uninspired letters, but would he refer to such a document as a “must read” for Christians? Paul stressed the sufficiency of the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If the inspired writings were able to make one complete, and the epistle to the Laodiceans was not inspired, then his mention of the letter to the Colossians was nothing short of pride. In essence, he said, “Read the letter, not because God gave it, but because I wrote it!”
Similarly, some have said that Paul wrote an epistle to the Corinthians prior to what is found in the Bible. 1 Corinthians 5:9 is used to support this idea. I see how one might assume this refers to a former epistle, but it could just as easily refer to this letter, for he had just finished telling them not to keep company with sexually immoral people (5:1-8). The translators, not the Greek text, have set the tense as past rather than present. The Greek word grapho can be past or present.
It is possible that Paul had written a previous letter to Corinth, but if it was an uninspired work, we are again faced with the prospect that the inspired apostle placed his own uninspired work on par with Scripture. Hear what Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
...my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
A Lost Letter?
If the Laodicean letter was not unspired, then it must have been inspired. If so, where is it? Has it been lost?
There are serious implications if an inspired epistle has been lost! If this took place, then we DO NOT have all of God’s word today and cannot know for certain if we are doing all that God has commanded His people to do.
If a document received and recorded by God’s Spirit has fallen by the wayside, the words of Peter are found to be untrue. He said,
...the word of God lives and abides forever ... the word of the LORD endures forever. (1 Peter 1:23-25)
A Laodicean Letter
There is a letter that is considered by some to be the epistle spoken of by Paul. However, it is not found among the oldest avaialble manuscripts. If you’re familiar with Paul’s style, the Laodicean letter will not sit well with you. It reeks of falsehood, and is nothing more than a patchwork of statements, some borrowed from Philippians. The phraseology in it is uncommon to Paul for the most part.
Where’s The Letter?
If the letter was given by God and His word endures forever, where is the letter? I believe we do have the letter to the Laodiceans in the Bible, but no one calls it that. It is commonly called Ephesians.
Now, I realize that in Ephesians 1:1, it reads:
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus...
The address to Ephesus is not in all manuscripts, and without the city being mentioned in 1:1, nothing links this letter to Ephesus.
Tertullian wrote “Adversus Marcionem,” an apologetic response to Marcion, a 2nd century heretic. Among his beliefs considered to be heresy was the thought that Ephesians was in fact “The epistle to the Laodiceans.” Tertullian said it was contrary to “the true tradition of the Church” and argued that Paul “did in fact write to all.”11 Not everything believed by a heretic is heresy. Tertullian’s answer is feeble, a tradition not a fact, and even evasive with his final comment.
However, we need not rely on Marcion. There is a lack of internal evidence linking the letter with Ephesus. Paul had worked with the brethren at Ephesis for three years (Acts 20:31). His time with them is mentioned in both his letters to Timothy and the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 16:8; 2 Corinthians 1:8; 1 Timothy 1:3; 2 Timothy 1:18), but oddly, he made no mention of it in the letter he supposedly sent to Ephesus. A quick look at Paul’s letters (1 Corinthians 2:1; 2 Corinthians 1:23; Galatians 4:11-14; Philippians 1:27, 30; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2) shows that he tended to speak of his visits with brethren when he wrote to them. Why would he make no mention at all, not even in passing, to the three years he was with them?
Paul was in the habits of mentioning individuals by name in his epistles, in greetings, or at times, sharing news with the brethren about one of their own (1 Corinthians 16:15, 17; Philippians 4:2, 18; Colossians 4:12, 17; etc.). After spending three years in Ephesus, Paul would have known a lot of folks, and no doubt had close friends there. And yet there is not a single greeting found in the letter which was supposedly written to the church at Ephesus! The only name mentioned is Tychicus, who was sent by Paul to share news about him with them. The lack of a gretting is more consistent with a letter written to a church he’d not visited, like Colosse or Laodicea (Colossians 1:4, 7-8; 2:1).
Add to these points the fact that the epistles of Colossians & Ephesians complimented each other. Our understanding is enriched by looking at them together, which is why Paul wanted them to be shared. The forged Laodicean letter has no relationship at all to Colossians.
Despite being named Ephesians, the evidence seems to indicate that the book we call Ephesians may actually be Laodiceans.
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Footnotes
- Adversus Marcionem, Bk. 5, Ch. 17, Vs. 1 ↩︎
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