Introduction to Colossians: Authorship, Date, Audience - Crain Home

Interpretation 1
former epistle.
http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries/MatthewHenryComplete/mhccom.cgi?book+col
The Intervarsity Press Commentary points out that the first part of the
greeting is a familiar Roman greeting:
The apostle's conventional salutation wonderfully expresses
the theology of his Gentile mission. Grace to you was a
common greeting between people living in the Roman world.
In Paul's vocabulary of God's salvation, however, it
underscores the stark contrast between God's saving grace
and the secular forms of salvation offered by the ruling elites
of the Roman world. Every event Paul recites in the story of
God's salvation--beginning with God's election of a people for
salvation (3:11-12), climaxing with God's sending of Jesus as
Son (1:15-20) in order to lead that people on a new exodus
from sin (1:13-14), and concluding with God's call of Paul as
apostle (1:24--2:5) in order to lead Gentiles into God's final
triumph over evil in Christ (1:21-23)--is understood as the
work of God's grace. That is, grace empowers a holy and
faithful life from which death and sin are absent (see Rom
6:4). Unlike the Roman offer of secular salvation, often
repressive and always conditional, God's salvation is offered
as a free gift, even to those without social merit or political
power.
http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/webcommentary
Charles Hess, however, argues the greeting is not quite that of the Romans:
http://crain.english.mwsc.edu/colossians/interpretation_1.htm (5 of 20)6/17/2003 8:17:40 AM
Grace to you. Paul did not use the customary Greek
salutation, CHAIRE Hail! (see Lu 1:28) but, more appropriate
to Christians, CHARIS Grace!
And peace from God our Father. [ 12 ] The Hebrew SHALOM
peace [ 13 ] is equivalent to the Greek EIREENEE peace but in
Paul's greeting "peace" has the special meaning that Christ
gave to it. He said to His disciples, "Peace I leave with you,"
adding that His peace is "not as the world gives" (Joh 14:27;
compare Col 3:15).