Was Paul’s epistle from Laodicea lost (Colossians 4:16)?
At Colossians 4:16, Paul commands the church at Colossae: “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.” Some argue that the “epistle from Laodicea” is a lost letter of Paul because none of Paul’s letters in our New Testament bear this title. However, the text says this letter was “from Laodicea” — not that the letter was called by that name. There is good evidence that the letter “from Laodicea” is a reference to the book of Ephesians. There are several reasons for this. First, Paul wrote Ephesians at the same time that he wrote the book of Colossians. Second, Ephesians was a kind of cyclical letter that Paul sent throughout the churches of Asia Minor, and three early Greek manuscripts do not contain the words “at Ephesus” in Ephesians 1:1 in the phrase: “to the saints which are at Ephesus.” Thus, many believe that the letter coming “from Laodicea” mentioned in Colossians 4:16 was