Colossians 4:16

“And when this epistle is read amongst you, &c,] Which the apostle was now writing, and sent unto them; and which was to be read publicly, before the whole church; being sent not to any particular person, or persons, but to the whole body, and for their general good and instruction: cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; his will was, that after it had been read to the church at Colosse, it should be sent, or at least a copy of it, to the church of the Laodiceans, in order to be read there: his reason might be, not only because this church was near them, but because it was in much the same situation, being infested with the same sort of false teachers; and therefore what…”

“the epistle from Laodicea--namely, the Epistle which I wrote to the Laodiceans, and which you will get from them on applying to them. Not the Epistle to the Ephesians. See Introduction to Ephesians and Introduction to Colossians. The Epistles from the apostles were publicly read in the church assemblies. IGNATIUS [Epistle to the Ephesians, 12], POLYCARP [Epistle to the Philippians, 3.11,12], CLEMENT [Epistle to the Corinthians, 1. 47], Th1 5:27; Rev 1:3, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear." Thus, they and the Gospels were put on a level with the Old Testament, which was similarly read (Deu 31:11). The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write, besides those extant, other Epistles which…”

“And when this Epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans - Laodicea was near to Colossae, and the church there was evidently exposed to the same dangers from philosophy and false teachers as the at Colossae. The counsels in this Epistle, therefore, would be equally applicable to both. In 1 Thessalonians 5:27, the apostle also charges those to whom that Epistle was addressed to see that it be “read unto all the holy brethren.” It is evident that the apostles designed that the letters which they addressed to the churches should be read also by others, and should become the permanent source of instruction to the friends of Christ. Laodicea, here…”

“The epistle from Laodicea - Not to Laodicea. Perhaps some letter had been written to St. Paul from thence. Colossians 4:17”

“4:16 you should read the letter I wrote to them: Various attempts have been made over the years to identify the letter to the Laodiceans with a New Testament letter or fragment, but it is most likely that Paul’s letter to the Laodicean church has been lost.”

“Th1 5:27 Colossians 4:17”