For Paul, Christian existence was understood as an imitation of the sufferings and sacrificial death of Christ, while full participation in the resurrection of Christ would have to wait until the eschaton. In Colossians, by contrast, Christians were those who had already been "raised with him [Christ] through faith ... when you were buried with him in baptism" (Col 2:12).

One fearure distinguishes Colossians from the genuine epistles of Paul. It is the occurrence of ethical instructions for ordering the household. Wives should be subject to their husbands, children to their parents and slaves to their masters. The husbands and masters should treat their wives, children and slaves kindly.

Colossians is closely connected to the Epistle to the Ephesians because many passages in Ephesians seem to be directly copied from Colossians.

Another view:

Letters and personal visits were the only way to communicate in Bible times, and according to the scriptures, Paul was the author of the letter to the Colossians (Colossians 1:1+2/ Colossians 4:18), one of many he wrote as a 'traveling overseer' of sorts, encouraging and correcting all the congregations in person, and then in writing, to keep Jesus' teachings clear and unified among all(1 Corinthians 1:10)(2 Corinthians 11:28). The letter to the congregation in Ephesus (Ephesians) and the letter to the congregation in Colossae (Colossians) are similar in some respects because they were written about the same time period, and both groups were experiencing similar issues(Colossians 1:24-29/Ephesians 3:1-7)(Colossians 2:19/Ephesians 4:16)(Colossians 3:8-10.12.13/Ephesians 4:20-25,31,32).

Beyond that, two things seemed to have motivated Paul to write to the Colossians:

1. Though there were a few problems to discuss, he mainly wanted to commend them for their faith and love, as disclosed by Epaphras (Colossians 1:7+8).

2. He also used the opportunity to recommend Onesimus to the congregation.(Colossians 4:7-9) Once a rebellious run-away slave, Onesimus had met Paul in Rome, listened and accepted Jesus' teachings. He was now returning to his master, Philemon, as a humble Christian brother(Philemon 10-12). Paul asked that he be welcomed with love.

Matthew Henry's Synopsis of Colossians:

"...This epistle was sent because of some difficulties which arose among the Colossians, probably from false teachers, in consequence of which they sent to the apostle. The scope of the epistle is to show, that all hope of man's redemption is founded on Christ, in whom alone are all complete fulness, perfections, and sufficiency. The Colossians are cautioned against the devices of judaizing teachers, and also against the notions of carnal wisdom, and human inventions and traditions, as not consistent with full reliance on Christ. In the first two chapters the apostle tells them what they must believe, and in the last two what they must do; the doctrine of faith, and the precepts of life for salvation." (Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary; Colossians: Book Synopsis:...)

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