Abstract:
Scholarly work has concentrated much effort on Colossians 1:15-20 as
an early Christian hymn. In discussions with Botha (1986; 1989) and
Van der Watt (1988), an attempt has been made here to prove the unity
of 1 :13-20 as a confessional statement, and to determine its structural
coherence and progression. The letter's macro structure is utilized to
pinpoint the pericope's locality in the letter since this has bearing on the
function it fulfills. The analysis of its structural composition is an
attempt to help clarify my position on various details and understanding
of its meaning. In view of the positions taken and of a discussion of the
letter's context and its communicative thrust, the function of the confessional
statement is considered to be its role of grounding the community's
faith in the totally sufficient salvation by God in Christ - thus opening
the way for the warning against being misled on a way other than
that of Christ and to hold onto him as head, which signals the communicative
thrust of the letter.
