Colossians 1:1,2 - by the will of God

1:1

Paul was not afraid to mention his apostleship. Indeed in letters like Galatians and Corinthians he makes a big thing of it. He knew his calling, and the job that God had given him. He was an apostle “by the will of God”. But he did not separate himself for the letter also comes from “Timothy our brother”. Timothy was special to Paul (see the pastoral epistles), he should also have been respected and loved by the church as a whole.

1:2

Having said who the letter is from, we now come to the recipients, “God’s holy people in Colossae”. They were set apart for God’s purposes, he then calls them “the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ”. So they receive “grace and peace” "from God our Father”. Everything is focused on the Lord. It is all God-centred.