Ecclesiology

The heightened Christology of the letter—e.g., “in him all things hold together” (Col 1:17)—naturally leads to the “church” being referred to in a universal sense. Because the Church is “Christ’s body” (1:18, 24; 2:19) and Christ’s Lordship is cosmic in scope (1:13; 2:10, 12), it is not surprising that references to “the church” (ἐκκλησία, ekklēsia) throughout Colossians are universal rather than local. As mentioned earlier, the development of the metaphor of Christ as the head of the body locates the Church mutually “in Christ” (3:11).