Paul's letter to the Colossians is generally understood to have been in response to some doctrinal/behavioral errors that were beginning to plague that community. While nowhere in Colossians does Paul specifically define the nature of these errors, internal evidences from this letter (2:8, 9, 18, 23) suggest there may have been both a tendency toward ascetic ritualism and a rising attraction to a cult of angels or spirits. Paul's warnings and advice also seem to indicate that while some of these Colossian Christians were pushing a legalistic asceticism, others abandoned that narrow track and gave themselves over to licentiousness (2:23).

Paul addresses particular practices and tendencies throughout chapter 2, leaving him to emphasize in chapter 3 the true Christian alternative that awaited…