“For I would that ye knew what great conflict I haue for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as haue not seene my face in the flesh:”
1611 King James Version (KJV)
2:1 How great a conflict - Of care, desire, prayer. As many as have not seen my face - Therefore, in writing to the Colossians, he refrains from those familiar appellations, Brethren, Beloved.
Col 2:1 Warnings Against False Theories SUMMARY OF COLOSSIANS 2: Paul's Conflict for the Churches. Present with Them in Spirit. Exhortation to Be Rooted and Grounded in Christ. Warning Against Vain Philosophy. The True Circumcision. The Baptismal Burial. The Handwriting of Ordinances Removed. Keeping Sabbath Days. Angel Worship Forbidden. What great conflict I have. Anxiety. For you. The brethren at Colosse. And [for] them at Laodicea. A sister church only a few miles away. Laodicea was one of the Seven Churches of Revelation. See Re 3:14. As many as have not seen my face in the flesh. This seems to imply that he had never visited either of these churches in person. The reasons for his anxiety are revealed in this chapter. They were assailed by false teachings.