1:15-20 Most scholars regard this passage as Paul's citation of an early Christian hymn. This presents no threat to the integrity of the biblical text since the inspired apostle cited it with wholehearted approval. In fact, if the passage is hymnic, it provides evidence of a high Christology commonly confessed by the early church.
1:15 Some groups denying Christ's deity (e.g., Jehovah's Witnesses) claim "firstborn" indicates Jesus was a created being. The context here, however, indicates "firstborn" is a metaphor for sovereignty or rank. It echoes a psalm of David: "I will also make him My firstborn, greatest of the kings of the earth" (Ps 89:27). Elsewhere, Israel is called God's "firstborn" (Ex 4:22)—clearly not "first in a series."
1:20 This passage does not teach universalism (all will be saved) but instead points forward to Messiah's quelling all rebellion, bringing lasting peace to the universe. The "reconciliation" here entails a pacification of evil powers (as 2:15 makes clear).
1:24 This verse does not imply a deficiency in Christ's atoning sacrifice upon the cross. Behind it stands a Jewish and early Christian conviction of a predetermined amount of suffering to be endured by God's people before the consummation of the age (see Rv 6:9-11). Paul saw his suffering on behalf of Christ as contributing to the sum total.
2:8 The term "philosophy" occurs only here in the Bible. Paul was not making a blanket denunciation of philosophical study or even Greek philosophy (e.g.,Platonism, Stoicism). Nor was he worried that the Colossians' faith would crumble if they subjected it to critical inquiry. The article ("the") appearing before the term in the Greek text suggests that the opponents had characterized their own teaching as a "philosophy"—the specific teaching Paul opposed.
2:8 "Elemental forces" (stoicheia) suggests supernatural agencies or spiritual beings.
2:9 Jesus Christ is far more than an inspired prophet, an extraordinary moral teacher, or even some kind of supernatural being. The very substance of God exists in Jesus the Messiah in His incarnation, His life on earth, and His resurrected and ascended body.
2:15 No contradiction exists here between Paul's statement that the principalities and powers have been defeated and his assumption elsewhere that the powers are still virulently active and that believers need to fight against them (e.g., Eph 6:12). The cross of Christ is the point of decisive victory over the powers of evil; believers can now be victorious over them through their union with Christ. They will be vanquished once and for all at the end of the age.
2:18 This probably refers to a magical invocation of angels for help or deliverance.
3:18 The text does not call on wives to render blind obedience to their husbands but rather to offer submission to the husbands' leadership consistent with the ethical demands of the gospel ("as is fitting in the Lord"). The result is a form of male leadership that did not conform to the patriarchal patterns of the day but instead was modeled on the servant leadership of Christ.
3:22 Paul gave slaves perspective on how to live as Christians within this socioeconomic institution of their day (see the notes in Phm).
4:16 This is not a reference to the fourth-century Letter to the Laodiceans. It refers to another letter Paul wrote to a church in this region that has unfortunately been lost.