Colossians is one of Paul’s prison epistles (Colossians 1:7-8; 4:3, 7-14), written while Paul was under house arrest in the city of Rome. The content of this book is very similar to that which was written in the book of Ephesians.
Like the book of Ephesians, the letter to the church at Philippi is a “prison epistle,” written by Paul while he was under house arrest in Rome (Philippians 1:7, 13-14, 16; 4:22).
The book of Ephesians is part of a group of Pauline letters we commonly call the “prison epistles.” These are letters which Paul wrote while he was imprisoned in Rome (Ephesians 3:1; 4:1).
The book is a companion letter to Colossians. The two books parallel one another in content. Notice a few examples:
Most of Paul’s epistles were written to specific churches (ie. “the church of God which is at Corinth,” 1 Corinthians 1:2; “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,” Philippians 1:1), but this letter was addressed “to the churches of Galatia” (Galatians 1:2). Galatia was not a city, but a geographical region which had churches in the cities of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, among others.
The apostle Paul began the church at Corinth while on his second missionary journey (Acts 18). He stayed in the city for a year and a half teaching the gospel (Acts 18:11). The two letters were written in close succession while Paul was on his third journey. The first letter was penned shortly before Paul left Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:8-10). The second letter was written while Paul was in Macedonia (2 Corinthians 1:15-16). He would visit the church soon thereafter and then go to Judea with the gift for the saints who were suffering through a famine.
The book of Romans is the first epistle (letter) we come to in the New Testament. It was from the apostle Paul (11:1) to the church at Rome (1:7), but was recorded by a scribe named Tertius (16:22).
The full name of the book is “The Acts of the Apostles,” though we typically refer to it as “Acts.” This book is the continuation of Luke’s writing (Acts 1:1; cf. Luke 1:3). In the first record, he wrote about the life and deeds of the Messiah, finishing just before His ascension. In the book of Acts, Luke picks up where he left off and proceeds to tell about the beginning of the church “…in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” This phrase (from 1:8) reveals how the gospel would be spread to the whole world.
John is the fourth and final gospel account. The author is the apostle John, a former fisherman along with James, his brother, working on the boat of Zebedee, their father. He was part of the inner circle of Jesus’ friends (Peter, James, and John), in fact, he describes himself as the disciple “whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 20:2; 21:7, 20). In addition to the gospel account, he wrote 4 other books: 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and the Revelation.
Luke is the third of the four gospel accounts. The author is the only gospel writer (in fact, the only New Testament writer) who is not Jewish. A statement by Paul in Colossians 4:10-14 identifies Luke as a Gentile (presumed to be Greek) and a physician.
Mark is the second and shortest of the four gospel accounts. The author’s given name is John, though we typically refer to him by his surname, Mark. He lived with his mother, Mary, in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12), but left to join Paul on his first missionary journey (Acts 12:25; 13:13). Paul was upset that John Mark turned back before the first journey was ended, and thus refused to take him on his second journey (Acts 15:37). Instead, John Mark went on a second journey with his cousin Barnabas (Acts 15:39; Colossians 4:10). About 10 years later, we find that Paul considered John Mark to be a fellow worker (Philemon 1:24) and eventually sought to have him by his side at Rome (2 Timothy 4:11).
