The traditional and most widely held view is that the apostle Paul wrote the book of Colossians, with Timothy closely associated as his coworker.

Who wrote Colossians?

  • The letter itself opens with, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother” (Colossians 1:1), which presents Paul as the primary author and Timothy as his associate.
  • Many scholars think Timothy may have served as an amanuensis (secretary), helping Paul compose or write down the letter while Paul was imprisoned.
  • Early Christian writers such as Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Origen all treat Colossians as a genuine letter of Paul, and this went largely unquestioned until the 19th century, when some modern scholars began to raise stylistic and linguistic objections.
  • Even where scholars question Pauline authorship, they usually still see the letter as coming from within Paul’s circle—perhaps a close follower writing in his name and theology—rather than from a much later or unrelated source.