Food for Friday
And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. Colossians 4:16
Hey, wait a sec! The epistle to the Laodiceans? I haven’t run across that one in my Bible lately! Paul wrote such an epistle. And he urged the folks in Colosse to get their hands on it. So he must have felt it was worthwhile reading. So why is it not in our Bible? Is Scripture a book short? Actually, the fact that the Laodicean letter is missing from the canon of Scripture is proof that it was the Holy Spirit who compiled the canon. If it had been up to Paul, that epistle to the Laodiceans would have been tucked in somewhere between Romans and 2 Thessalonians. Its absence is proof that the Bible – and only the Bible – is inspired.
So what was in the Laodicean letter? What admonitions did Paul dispense, what errors did he seek to set straight, what doctrines did he discuss? We’ll never know, and as far as God is concerned, we don’t need to know. We have enough in the 66 books to complete God’s revelation to us.
Did the epistle to Laodicea benefit the folks in Colosse? Undoubtedly! It would be similar to having a godly preacher show up at a meeting of the Assembly and deliver a faithful sermon. But it contained nothing of such value that its inclusion in the canon of Scripture was warranted. We can safely say that Paul did not write that epistle with the pen of inspiration, as he did the epistle to Colosse. And yet Paul would have included it. That reminds me of the teachings of some brethren, who insist that their views on Scripture are not only valid, but are the only valid views. Such men are the makers of cults and error, because they take to themselves the authority that belongs to God alone. While new applications and ideas can be obtained from Scripture – in fact, we will be doing so for all eternity – we need to resist all who would come up with new doctrine and revelations from the Word.
An old preacher was fond of saying that anything that is true is not new, and anything that is new is not true. Take care that all doctrine comes from God, not from man’s interpretation of God. Remember, even Paul could be wrong about what God has to say to us. – Jim MacIntosh