Nijay Gupta and Martin Salter on Colossians

Nijay Gupta, ‘New Commentaries on Colossians: Survey of Approaches, Analysis of Trends, and the State of Research’, Themelios 35.1 (2010), 7-14.

This is a very helpful short essay, not only highlighting six recent commentaries on Colossians, but looking briefly at how they handle the following interpretive cruxes in Colossians:

• Authorship
• The Colossian heresy or philosophy
• Paul and the sufferings of Christ (1:24)
• Stoicheia tou kosmou (2:8, 20)
• The fullness (pleroma) of God (1:19; 2:9)
• Shadow and body/substance (2:17)
• Worship of angels (2:18)
• The household codes (3:18-4:1)

This same issue of Themelios also contains a longer essay on Colossians 2:11-12:

Martin Salter, ‘Does Baptism Replace Circumcision? An Examination of the Relationship between Circumcision and Baptism in Colossians 2:11-12’, Themelios 35.1 (2010), 15-29.

His discussion takes in the situation at Colossae, Paul’s theology of circumcision and baptism, before providing a close exegesis of Colossians 2:11-12.

If you don’t want to know his answer to the question before reading the article, don’t scroll down…

































No. (At least, not on the basis of Colossians 2:11-12 alone.)