Paul’s Letter to the Laodiceans

The New Testament book of Colossians mentions a letter sent by Paul to the church of Laodicea in Asia Minor (Col 4:16).1 No letter addressed to the Laodiceans survives from Paul’s own hand, but we know that one had been placed in circulation by the second century, since the Muratorian canon (see below) warns against it as a Marcionite forgery.2 At a later time another letter to the Laodiceans appeared, also claiming to be from Paul; the letter became exceedingly popular: it is found in a number of Latin manuscripts of the New Testament down through the Middle Ages. This letter—which is given below—is evidently not, however, the Marcionite forgery mentioned in the Muratorian canon. For there are no clear and compelling Marcionite tendencies here. In fact, the letter shows few tendencies of any kind. It instead represents a kind of pastiche of statements drawn from Paul’s canonical writings, especially Philippians: it evidences no speciﬁc occasion and addresses no clear theological or ethical issues. It is difﬁcult to see why a pseudonymous author would choose to forge a letter in the name of Paul without trying to achieve some kind of overarching purpose such as attacking a particular heresy (cf. 3 Corinthians) or promoting Paul’s apostolic status (cf. the correspondence of Paul and Seneca). It may be that this particular letter was forged by a proto-orthodox author precisely in order to counter the Marcionite Letter to the Laodiceans. By compiling a number of Pauline commonplaces, the author could claim that this, rather than the heretical forgery of Marcion’s followers, was actually the letter Paul had mentioned at the end of his epistle to the Colossians. It is difﬁcult to determine when this letter was written, but most scholars would date it to the second or third centuries.

See further, Ehrman, Lost Christianities, 213–15. Ehrman, Lost Christianities, 103–09.

On the life and teachings of Marcion, see

Translation by J. K. Elliott, Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993) 546; used with permission.

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NON-CANONICAL EPISTLES AND RELATED WRITINGS

1 Paul, an apostle not of men and not through man, but through Jesus Christ, to the brethren who are in Laodicea: 2 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank Christ in all my prayer that you continue in him and persevere in his works, in expectation of the promise at the day of judgement. 4 And may you not be deceived by the vain talk of some people who tell tales that they may lead you away from the truth of the gospel which is proclaimed by me. 5 And now may God grant that those who come from me for the furtherance of the truth of the gospel ( . . . ) may be able to serve and to do good works for the well-being of eternal life. 6 And now my bonds are manifest, which I suffer in Christ, on account of which I am glad and rejoice. 7 This to me leads to eternal salvation, which itself is brought about through your prayers and by the help of the Holy Spirit, whether it be through life or through death. 8 For my life is in Christ and to die is joy.

9 And his mercy will work in you, that you may have the same love and be of one mind. 10 Therefore, 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 For it is God who works in you. 12 And do without hesitation what you do. 13 And for the rest, beloved, rejoice in Christ and beware of those who are out for sordid gain. 14 May all your requests be manifest before God, and be steadfast in the mind of Christ. 15 And do what is pure, true, proper, just, and lovely. 16 And what you have heard and received, hold in your heart, and peace will be with you. 17 3 Salute all the brethren with the holy kiss. 18 The saints salute you. 19 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. 20 And see that (this epistle) is read to the Colossians4 and that of the Colossians to you.

V. 17 is absent in some manuscripts. omit “to the Colossians.”

Some MSS