01 Apr

Where is Paul’s Letter to the Laodicean Church?

BEYOND THE BASICS | William Stewart | Kingston, Ontario

 

via Henryk Niestrój | Pixabay

 

The apostle Paul mentioned the brethren at Laodicea multiple times in his epistle to the Colossians. He had never seen them face to face, but he was concerned for the faith of the Christians in both cities (Colossians 2:1-10). At the close of the Colossian letter, Paul forwarded greetings from Epaphras, his fellow prisoner and a native of Colosse (Colossians 4:12; Philemon 1:23). The apostle was moved by this man’s zeal for his brethren in Colosse, as well as neighbouring Laodicea and Hierapolis (Colossians 4:13). Paul extended his own greetings to the Christians in Laodicea through the Colossian church (Colossians 4:15).

His final reference to the Laodiceans is in Colossians 4:16. It reads:

Now 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.

Paul expected the church at Colosse to share their letter with the Laodicean brethren. In turn, the apostle wanted the Colossians to read the epistle he sent to Laodicea. I have some questions and concerns. Where is the Laodicean epistle? Is it missing or do we have access to it? Is this Laodicean letter an inspired work or uninspired? If it is an inspired letter and is missing – well, that’s a problem. If it is an uninspired letter, why would Paul set it on par with the Colossian letter, which is accepted as an inspired work? Let’s consider some options.

The Muratorian Fragment & Marcion’s Canon

In the mid-1700s, Italian historian Ludovico Muratori discovered a fragment in the Ambrosian Library. It was part of a Latin codex by an unidentified author, presumed to be bound in the 8th century AD. A canon of accepted New Testament books was given, but also comments on rejected words, including an epistle “to the Laodiceans, another to the Alexandrians, forged in Paul’s name for the sect of Marcion, and several others, which cannot be received in the catholic Church; for it will not do to mix gall with honey.”

Marcion’s canon (circa 150 AD) contained just eleven books: a shortened version of Luke’s Gospel, Galatians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Romans, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, Laodiceans, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians. There is no information available on the content of the book Marcion identified as the Laodicean Epistle.

In The Latin Vulgate

There is a Laodicean letter which found it’s way into the Latin Vulgate. This short, single chapter text appeared in various works from the 4th century onward, including Wycliffe’s English Bible, as well as Medieval German Bibles, though Luther excluded it. This brief letter is unknown to any Greek copy of the Scriptures. Jerome, who translated the Vulgate from the Hebrew and Greek texts said of this supposed letter to Laodicea, “Some read one also to the Laodiceans, but it is rejected by everyone.” (De Viris Illustribus, 5)

The text of this pseudo-Laodicean letter is a patchwork of statements from Paul’s epistles to Galatia, Philippi, and Colosse. Here is the text:

  1. Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, to the brethren at Laodicea.
  2. Grace unto you: and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
  3. I give Christ thanks in my every prayer, that you are enduring in Him and persevering in His good works, looking for the promise of the day of judgment.
  4. Let not the vain speeches of any trouble you, that they may turn you away from the truth of the gospel which I have preached.
  5. And now, may God cause those who are of me will continue serving unto the increase of the truth of the Gospel, and doing kindness which works salvation of eternal life.
  6. And now my bonds are seen, which I suffer in Christ, and so I am glad and I rejoice.
  7. And this is for my eternal salvation, which comes through your prayers and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, whether it be by life or by death.
  8. For truly to me, to live is to be in Christ, and to die is a joy.
  9. And he will work his mercy in you, so that you will have the same love and be of one mind.
  10. So, beloved, as you have heard in my presence, so hold fast and work in the fear of God, and eternal life will be yours.
  11. Since it is God that works in you,
  12. do whatever you do without hesitation.
  13. And for the rest, beloved, rejoice in Christ and beware of those who are out for sordid gain.
  14. Let all your petitions be made openly before God. And be ye steadfast in the mind of Christ.
  15. And what is sound and true and sober and just and lovable, do these things.
  16. And what you have heard and accepted, hold it in your heart, peace will be yours.
  17. Salute all the brethren with a holy kiss.
  18. The saints salute you.
  19. The grace of the Lord Jesus with your spirit.
  20. And cause that this be read to the Colossians; and that the Colossians to you.

Having read the writings of Paul, it is hard to imagine him dictating this and sending it to a congregation. There is no meaningful message, relevant theme, or discernible flow to this supposed Pauline epistle. Knopf and Kruger call it “nothing other than a worthless patching together of [canonical] Pauline passages and phrases, mainly from the Epistle to the Philippians.”

Imagine yourself as a member of the church at Colosse. The group has received and read very carefully copies of Paul’s letters to Thessalonica. Maybe they’ve even had access to and benefited greatly from the letters sent to Corinth. Several weeks ago, a messenger arrived with an epistle addressed to the Colossian church from Paul. What a blessing! Though he had never been to Colosse, Paul sought to encourage their faith. The church has read and reread this Spirit-given masterpiece from the apostle. It has focused their minds upon the pre-eminence of Christ in the church and in all creation. The brethren have been encouraged to grow in the knowledge of God’s way, setting aside human wisdom and philosophy which distract from true holiness. Paul has urged the brethren to put off the deeds and attitudes of the flesh and to become imitators of the character and service of Christ. It has been a rich time of faith-building study.

As instructed by the apostle, the churches have exchanged letters. A messenger from Colosse made the 30 km round-trip to deliver a copy of their letter to Laodicea and has returned with a copy of Paul’s writing to their sister church. Now, the church has gathered for the wisdom of God given to the apostle for the Laodiceans and beyond to be read aloud. And the messenger reads the 20-verse mess we noted above. What was that? How disappointing! Surely such a lackluster and disjointed writing did not come from the apostle Paul – and further, from the Spirit of God.

Do We Have The Laodicean Letter?

Earlier we asked whether the Laodicean letter is inspired or not. I am confident it is. Given Paul’s emphasis on inspiration (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 1:11-12; Ephesians 3:3-4; 2 Timothy 3:16; etc.), it seems unlikely Paul would set an uninspired work on par with an inspired text. But if it is an inspired text and is missing, that is a problem. I don’t believe it is missing. I am confident we have access to it, but it has been mislabeled. In the 63 English translations available on biblegateway.com, all but two mention Ephesus in Ephesians 1:1. It is worth noting that many include a footnote acknowledging the most ancient manuscripts do not contain Ephesus, the reference to Ephesus was added in some later manuscripts, and other such comments. The Revised Standard Version (and RSVCE) text simply read, “…to the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus…,” with a footnote stating, “other ancient authorities read who are at Ephesus and faithful.” Among the manuscripts without the Ephesus reference are Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, P46, 1739, etc..

In his work, “Against Marcion” (Bk 5, Ch 17), Tertullian stated, “We have it on the true tradition of the Church, that this epistle was sent to the Ephesians, not to the Laodiceans.” I have no reason to doubt Tertullian’s contention that his contemporaries believed the letter was to Ephesus. With all due respect to Tertullian, that alone is not proof. In fact, I would suggest if the copies of the letter available in Tertullian’s day read, “…to the saints who are at Ephesus…” his appeal would have been to the syntax of the letter, not “the true tradition of the Church.”

There is internal evidence indicating the epistle was not written to Ephesus. Consider:

Personal remarks. When writing to brethren he was familiar with, Paul would refer to visits and include names of brethren in his greetings (1 Corinthians 2:1; 16:15-17; 2 Corinthians 1:23; Galatians 4:11-14; Philippians 1:27, 30; 4:2, 18; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2). Where are the personal remarks in the Ephesians letter? He worked in Ephesus for 3 years (Acts 19:8-10; 20:31)! He was familiar with the brethren there (1 Corinthians 16:8; 2 Corinthians 1:8; 1 Timothy 1:3; 2 Timothy 1:18), and yet there is not a single personal reference in the epistle. Colossians 2:1 tells us Paul had never been to Laodicea. That would explain the absence of any personal remarks.

The meeting in Miletus. Acts 20 records a meeting between Paul and the Ephesian elders. He warned of troubles to come (Acts 20:29-31), and yet there is no mention of any troubles on the horizon in the letter we call Ephesians.

Share the letters. Paul instructed the Colossian and Laodicean brethren to exchange letters (Colossians 4:16). The Colossian letter and the epistle we call Ephesians are analogous. In fact, about ½ of the 155 verses in Ephesians have a verbal parallel in Colossians. Almost 80% of the 95 verses in Colossians correlate with passages in Ephesians. Obviously, the letters share a host of topics, and yet each presents unique details making them complementary.

  • Ephesians 1:21 exalts Christ above all principality and power while Colossians 1:15-17 exalts Him as the Creator of all things.
  • After identifying Jesus as the head of the church (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18), the Colossian letter refers to the Christ as the fullness of God (1:19) while the Ephesian letter focused on the church as the fullness of Christ (1:23).
  • Both texts speak about the abolition of the law (Ephesians 2:14-15; Colossians 2:14-15) but with different yet equally important outcomes observed. Ephesians concentrates on the unity of Jews and Gentiles in one body (Ephesians 2:14-22), but Colossians on the freedom from the wiped out and disarmed law (Colossians 2:14-17).
  • The Lord’s provision to join and knit together the body resulting in growth is found in both epistles (Ephesians 4:15-16; Colossians 2:19). However, the context in the Ephesian letter warns about being led astray by false doctrine and wickedness (Ephesians 4:14, 17-19) whereas the Colossian text cautions against human philosophy, idolatry, and asceticism (Colossians 2:11, 18-23).
  • Both texts compel us to teach one another in song (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). In the Colossian letter, this is couched within a 4-verse span (Colossians 3:14-17) where the apostle extolled the need for love and wisdom as we do the will of God. In the parallel, Paul took 21 verses to elaborated on this thought, instructing us to walk in love (Ephesians 5:1-7), in light (Ephesians 5:8-14), and in wisdom (Ephesians 5:15-21).
  • These are just a few examples of how these two books are woven together, providing the reader a greater and more full comprehension of God’s will. More could be said as the books discuss our reconciliation and inheritance (Ephesians 1:9-11; Colossians 1:26), the old man and the new man (Ephesians 4:16-32; Colossians 3:4-15), various human relationships (Ephesians 5:22-6:9; Colossians 3:18-4:1), and more.

The same messenger. Both the letter to the church at Colosse and its parallel, which we identify as Ephesians, were delivered by Tychicus (Ephesians 6:21; Colossians 4:7).

Paul heard of their faith. In Colossians 2:1 Paul clearly stated that he had never met the Christians in Colosse or Laodicea. They had not seen his face. Thus, Paul’s familiarity with the faith of the Colossians was based upon hearing about their faith (Colossians 1:4, 7, 9). He hadn’t seen their faith and certainly was not involve in teaching them. Ephesians 1:15 uses the same terminology, “…after I heard of your faith…” as Colossians 1:4, 9. Paul hadn’t heard of the faith of the Ephesians – he saw their faith and was responsible for bringing many in Ephesus to the faith. Paul mentions his role in bringing people to the Lord in other places (1 Corinthians 4:15; Galatians 4:19; Philemon 1:10) but makes no such statement in Ephesians – in fact, he mentions no names in the book except Tychicus, who delivered the letter (Ephesians 6:21).

Conclusion

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

The prophet affirmed the indestructibility of God’s word. It is not like man or the works of men. The apostle Peter quoted Isaiah’s words in 1 Peter 1:22-25, applying it to the gospel message which was proclaimed and written down (2 Peter 1:12-15, 19-21). Peter counted the writings of Paul to be Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). Paul instructed the twin cities of Colosse and Laodicea to exchange letters because they were reciprocal in nature. And no doubt these letters were both shared, not just with one another, but beyond, just as the rest of the New Testament scriptures.

The Laodicean letter has not been lost, as some suppose. It is not the 20-verse medley of miscellaneous Pauline phrases which appeared long after Paul and only in the Latin language. I am confident the book of Laodiceans has continued to our day, but it has been mislabeled as Ephesians.

I don’t suggest we scratch out the reference to Ephesus in 1:1 of the epistle and begin referring to it as Laodiceans. It is known by the name Ephesians throughout the world in almost every translation in almost every language. It would cause more confusion than good to even suggest a name change to the 10th book of the New Testament. However, I believe knowledge is important. It is better for people to know the letter is present but mislabeled than to be ignorant. I would rather inform brethren about such things than allow them to be taken by surprise by an opponent of the Bible seeking to cast doubt on the Scriptures. We can have confidence in the Scriptures. Indeed, it lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23-25).

Sources

  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_to_the_Laodiceans
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muratorian_fragment
  • vulgate.org/nt/epistle/laodiceans.htm
  • Study Guide to Ephesians and Colossians, Keith Sharp (via padfield.com)

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