182 sigurd grindheim
the middle of a sentence, a change that is inexplicable unless the verses
represent a conflated quotation. Finally, sanders observes that the verb
χαρίζομαι is used with the meaning “to bestow,” but in Col 2:13 it means
“to forgive.” his explanation is that the author of Colossians quotes
from rom 8:32, but uses the expression in a new context and with a new
meaning.17
as for the first observation, sanders himself admits that the expression
“who raises him from the dead” may be a stock phrase.18 as for the new
compound verbs, they are rather a stamp of Pauline authorship, as i have
showed above. if the conflator has omitted the words μέν and δέ, he or she
was doing the exact opposite of what sanders thought he or she was doing
in Col 1:26, where the inclusion of the word δέ is explained as a quotation.19
if both the presence and the absence of the same word is evidence of
sanders’ thesis, then his thesis is not falsifiable and therefore also not veri-
fiable. similarly, if the switch from “you” to “us” in Col 2:13 is the result of
a conflated quotation, the author of Colossians is less careful than sand-
ers otherwise assumes. however, this change is also characteristic of Paul
(e.g., rom 6:14–5, 22–23; 7:4; 7:25–8:2; 8:2–4, 11–12, 12–13, 15–16; 13:11, 13–14;
14:13, 16–19, 19–20). Finally, Paul uses the verb χαρίζομαι eight times in the
undisputed letters, five times with the meaning “give graciously” (rom
8:32; gal 3:18; Phil 1:29; 2:9; Phlm 22) and three times with the meaning
“forgive” (2 Cor 2:7, 10; 12:13). it is therefore unwarranted to see the use of
this word with the meaning “forgive” as evidence of non-Pauline author-
ship. in my opinion, the evidence for conflation is unconvincing.
The Picture of the Apostle
although the ecclesiology of Colossians is an important indication of
pseudonymity for many scholars, recent studies often place even more
weight on the differences in the picture of the apostle. Colossians is seen
as a letter that exalts the apostle and his authority to a surprising degree
if the letter were written by Paul himself. in particular, the statement in
Col 1:24, “in my flesh i am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions
for the sake of his body, that is, the church,” goes further than anything
we find in the undisputed letters. sumney observes that Paul “does not
17 sanders, “literary dependence,” 40–41.
18 sanders, “literary dependence,” 40.
19 sanders, “literary dependence,” 40.
