Please turn in your Bibles this evening to Colossians chapter 4 as we continue our study through the Word of God and we finish up Paul’s letter to the church in Colosse. Now keep in mind that the first 2 chapters dealt with doctrine to counter the heresies that were trying to get into the church. Thus, Paul shows us that Jesus is God and he makes this powerful point by showing us the preeminence of Christ in creation, in redemption and in the church.
Then, in Colossians chapter 2 he shows the emptiness of the world’s philosophies, religious legalism like that of the Judiazers, of mysticism or a man-made spirituality, and he concludes by showing the emptiness of asceticism or a life of denial to attain a relationship with God. You see, if Jesus is God, if He reigns supremely, why go after things that won’t help you to be complete but will leave you outside of a relationship with God, incomplete! It is as Paul said in Colossians 2:9-10, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”
Now, as we move into chapters 3 and 4 of Colossians, Paul shows us how we should walk, how we should apply the things of God to our life. You see, the old life, that sin nature we need to remove like filthy clothes and discard them and put on the garments of Christ, the new man who has been cleaned by Christ.
And as Paul concluded chapter 3 he spoke of the family life; that wives are to submit to their husbands because it is fitting in the Lord, husbands are to AGAPE love their wives and encourage them in the Lord, children are to obey their parents because in this the Lord is pleased, and parents are to encourage their children that they might grow in the Lord.
He then moves on to work life and how slaves or as in our case, employee’s are to do their best for their employer in the fear of the Lord because we are serving the Lord. We are to do our best when our boss is there and watching and when he is not!
Now as I said last week, verse 1 of Colossians chapter 4 should really be part of chapter 3 as it deals with masters or employers and how they are to treat their slaves or employees. Why is it like that?
First of all the chapter divisions and the verse divisions were placed at a much later date for our convenience, they are not inspired. Stephen Langton the Archbishop of Canterbury divided the Bible into chapters in 1228 AD and in around 1551 Robert Stephanus divided the chapters into verses. He did most of this work while riding horseback from Paris to Southern France. Maybe that explains some of the bumps with the divisions! Of these divisions Von Soden remarks:
“The verse divisions of Stephanus which he, according to an incidental remark made by his son, made during a trip from Paris to Lyons, frequently do not do service to the sense of the text. There is no consistent method at work in this system. The verses sometimes coincide with a single sentence, and sometimes they include several sentences; sometimes a single sentence is divided into two verses, with the result that the reader is led to consider the second verse while forgetting the point of view of the first verse. Especially objectionable is the way in which words introducing a direct quotation sometimes belong to the preceding verse and sometimes to the verse in which the quotation is found.”
So then what should we do? Should we redo the Bible? Of course not but just understand that they are not inspired but they are there to help us locate things in the Bible more easily. And with any help, it may not be perfect, but it does work and when it doesn’t, read on, don’t stop the thought, read into the next verse or next chapter to get the whole thought!
With that said, let’s begin reading in Colossians chapter 4, and we will pick up in verse 1 and expound on what we touched on last week and then we will finish up this letter that Paul wrote to the church in Colosse. So let’s see what the Lord has for us this evening.
VERSE 1
The thing we need to keep in mind is that in Christ, as Paul tells us, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28. Here in Colossians Paul speaks of masters or employers and how they should treat their slaves or employee’s fairly, just as they expect the Lord to treat them. If not, Paul says that they will be judged accordingly. The key, of course, for all of us is what Paul said in Colossians 3:23, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” May we do that, in our words and in our deeds, that all we do we do unto the Lord, as His representative. If we do we won’t have to worry about the other things because we are manifesting the nature of Jesus in all we do!
VERSE 2
Paul is calling for the Colossians to be alert in prayer, why? Because the enemy brings distractions across our path so as we begin to pray the phone rings, the doorbell rings, you begin to think of all you have to do and before long, prayer is over before it even starts. Thus, be alert! Be wise to what the devil is trying to do, keep you off your knees!
We are to be persistent in prayer, we are to hold fast to the promises of God and not let go! In regards to prayer Paul tells us that we are to, “pray without ceasing.”
I Thessalonians 5:17. And in Ephesians 6:18 Paul tells us, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” How in the world can we prayer always, without ceasing? That is not Paul’s point here because you can’t. I believe what Paul is saying to us is that we are to have a God consciousness, that we are to be in tune with God in all that we do so that we are directed by Him and we are prepared to pray at any time! You see, every life experience can be brought before God and directed by Him and that is so important, especially in the days we are living in when things seem so confusing as we look at the world. That is who we are to look to, Christ, may we keep our eyes focused on Him!
VERSES 3-4
If you were in prison for something you didn’t do, when you ask believers to pray for you, what are you going to ask them to pray about? “Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, you know that I am in this filthy prison for preaching Christ and you know the conditions of this prison and they are not good. Please pray for my release, that I can be freed of these chains! Release me, please release me let me go!” Sorry about that but that is what I would do, but not Paul. Paul is asking for prayer that while he is in prison doors of opportunity might be opened up for him to minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people. And not only that, but that when he shares his faith, when he speaks it would be clear so that people would receive Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life.
And that is exactly what happened when he was in prison – doors of opportunity were opened for him. The Palace guard or those soldiers who were chained to Paul guarding him, came to know the Savior of the world, Paul had a captive audience. (Philippians 1:13). Also, some of Nero’s family was saved, Paul must have intrigued them and they came and listened to Him and they came to know Jesus. (Philippians 4:22). And the Christian brethren were strengthened in the faith, encouraged by what they saw in the life of Paul, what he was able to do even in prison. (Philippians 1:14). May you keep the leadership of this church in prayer, that God would open doors for us to minister to, that God would raise up others to assist in the work of the ministry, all of you, and we as leaders will pray for you!
VERSES 5-6
You might call these verses “Christians coming out of the closet” the “prayer closet” that is. You see, it starts with prayer but then we must walk, we must reach out and touch the lives of others. If we truly believe these are the last days, which I believe they are, and even if you don’t, we need to redeem the time, buy it up; don’t let it pass you by. Did you know that the average American will spend 6 months of his life waiting at stoplights! What a great time for prayer, preparing yourself for what is ahead, be it in the car or when you leave the car! Peter tells us in I Peter 3:15 this very thing, to be ready. He says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” May we be ready to share our faith as God brings people across our path!
Paul says that our speech is to be with grace. Don’t go up to someone and tell them, “Turn or burn!” Or, “Eternity, smoking or non-smoking?” Jude put it this way, “And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” Jude 22-23. Some need to hear what awaits them outside of Christ, but others, and for most people, they need to hear the grace of God. Let’s face it, there is so much negative things out there, to hear that God loves them and died for them and to be saved from their sin all they must do is receive Jesus by faith is a great blessing to them and to us. May our words be filled with the grace of God towards others as God has extended His grace to us!
Also, our speech is to be seasoned with salt or we are to make people thirsty for Jesus. Salt is also a preservative and we are to be a preserving force as we converse with people, don’t let it deteriorate into ungodly speech. You have control, you can tell them to stop talking like that and if they don’t you can move on. And sometimes salt burns as it is placed on a wound and as the wound of sin is exposed and salt is applied, it may burn but that needs to happen before there is healing. The key is to do these things all in love! Be ready; redeem the time for the days are evil!
We might call this next section, from verses 7-18 or the end of the letter, “With a little help from my friends.” You see, we are part of the body of Christ, working together to bring glory to God and see the kingdom of God grow. The work is not done by a select few, but by the body of Christ as Paul shows us here. How often in the church do we see a few do the work and are out on the field and the rest are spectators sitting on the benches? That should not be, Christianity is not a spectator sport, but all need to be involved, all the body of Christ needs to be actively involved in the work of God!
VERSES 7-8
Paul is sending Tychicus back to Colosse with this letter for them and to let them know how Paul was doing. Also, Tychicus was to listen to their concerns, to hear what was going on in Colosse so that he may encourage them. Tychicus hooked up with Paul on his third missionary journey, towards the end of it as Paul was heading toward Jerusalem. When Paul needed a temporary replacement for Titus, the pastor of the church in Crete, Tychicus was one of the men Paul was thinking of sending to them, (Titus 3:12). At the end of Paul’s life Paul wanted to see Timothy one last time as his life was coming to an end and Paul sent Tychicus to Ephesus, (II Timothy 4:12). He also carried the letter to the church in Ephesus, (Ephesians 6:21). And it is possible and probable that he carried the letter to Philemon also, (Colossians 4:9). And keep in mind that this was a dangerous and difficult journey but Paul trusted this man with these letters. His name means “fortunate” and he truly was fortunate to not only know the Lord, but to minister with a man like Paul.
Now if Epaphras, their pastor, was with Paul in Rome at this time, why didn’t he send the letter back with him? We don’t know for sure but it is possible that he was not returning home yet but was going to remain with Paul for a time and thus, Tychicus was going to bring this letter to the church in Colosse.
Paul also makes this interesting point. He says that Tychicus is a “fellow servant of the Lord.” Paul didn’t use his position to elevate himself above others but he called himself a slave, along with Tychicus. Folks, you can never be to small to be used by God but you can be to big, at least in your own eyes. Humble yourself before God and let Him lift you up, to use you for His glory not because you are so great, so talented, so gifted, but you are a slave and ready to serve your Master wherever He leads!
VERSE 9
The traveling partner for Tychicus was Onesimus. Who is this man? He was a runaway slave whose master, Philemon; was a Christian leader in the church in Colosse and it was probably his home where the church met. As this slave escapes he ends up meeting Paul in Rome, in prison and this slave gets saved! How lucky is that? It had nothing to do with luck, it was a God ordained appointment! Now, as Onesimus gets saved, Paul sends him back home and probably the letter to Philemon was carried by Tychicus as Paul urges Philemon to receive his runaway slave as a brother in the Lord and if this man owes anything to Philemon, Paul says to charge it to his account. We will be looking at this letter more closely in a few months, so we will save the rest for then.
What a great picture of all of us. We were slaves to sin but have been set free in Christ, all our debt was paid in full by Jesus and thus as Paul said in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” That is the power of God to change lives like Onesimus and you and me!
VERSE 10
Aristarchus was a native of Thessalonica, (Acts 20:4, 27:2) who was a Jewish believer who had a Greek name as did many of the Jews of the Diaspora did. Aristarchus first met up with Paul during his three-year stay in Ephesus on his third missionary journey. There the crowd seized him because Paul and his companions were turning people to Jesus, (Acts 19:29). He also returned with Paul to Jerusalem, (Acts 20:4) and he was with Paul on his voyage to Rome, (Acts 27:2). Now it seems that this man ministered to Paul during his imprisonment in Rome and was a fellow prisoner in a sense, sacrificing his freedom to care for Paul! What a powerful lesson of putting others ahead of himself!
Paul also mentions John Mark who accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey and he was the cousin of Barnabas. The problem for John Mark is that when things got tough, when the situation was rough, he got scared and returned home, not finishing the work, (Acts 13:13). As Paul is preparing for his second missionary journey we are told in Acts 15:37-40, “Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.”
Who was right, Paul or Barnabas? The Bible doesn’t tell us, why? Because they both were probably wrong to some degree and that is not the real issue. You see, even godly men can let their feelings get in the way. It doesn’t make it right; the Bible just tells it like it is. Now, the great thing here is the story does not end like this for John Mark. John Mark is restored and not only wrote the Gospel according to Mark but he was a fellow servant with Paul! Paul tells us in II Timothy, at the end of his life, “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.” II Timothy 4:11. What does this tell us? Our God is the God of second chances, and third chances and-so-on. God forgives, God restores, God will give us a second chance if we would only be broken of self and say, “Lord, here I am, send me!”
VERSE 11
Justus was his name among his fellow Romans and Jesus or Joshua was his name before his fellow Jews. I tend to think he mostly went by Justus because it would be hard to live up to the name of Jesus. We don’t know much about this man but he was a fellow servant of Christ and with John Mark and Aristarchus, they were of the circumcision or they were believing Jews.
VERSES 12-13
Why did Epaphras labor in prayer, agonize for them in prayer? First of all, if he was their pastor, he loved them so much and was concerned that they would fall prey to the heresy that was knocking at their door, so he prayed that they “may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” He labored in prayer because the enemy knows the power of prayer and if he can get us not to pray, he knows we will be weak, ineffective for prayer is the heavy artillery in our spiritual armor! Folks, when you have a concern over a situation, a person, a group of people, it will be seen in fervent prayer for them or the situation you are in!
Of this, F. B. Meyer tells us: “This is a very beautiful epitaph on a good man’s life. Amid all the crowding interests of Epaphra’s visit to Rome, his heart was with his friends. He strove for them in prayer. It was no passing thought that he voiced; no light breathing of desire; no formal mention of their names. It seemed as though he were a wrestler, whose muscles strained as he agonized for the prize. He labored. We shall never know, till we stand in the clear in the light of heaven, how much has been wrought in the world by prayer. Here at least, there is mention of a man’s labors. Probably the work on the results of which we are inclined to pride ourselves is due less to us than we suppose, and more to unrecognized fellow laborers. Let us be careful to mingle much intercession with all our prayers, especially on behalf of Christian workers, that they may realize we are actually working and laboring beside them.” The power of prayer!
VERSE 14
Luke, the author of the Gospel according to Luke and the book of Acts, was a physician and maybe the slave of Theophilus who was a believer. It is possible that after he was saved Theophilus let him go and he traveled with Paul on his second missionary journey, ministering to Paul’s physical problems, the recurring illnesses he had.
Demas is one who might have started out well but he doesn’t finish well. We are told in II Timothy 4:9-10, “Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica . . .” The pull of the world was too strong for him, and was drawn back into it. How did that happen? When we take our eyes off of Jesus, when we are not satisfied with what He has given to us and we are enticed by what the world has for us. And like sugar coated poison that may taste good but will eventually kill you, that is what the world has. The Lord has all that we truly need and we need to learn to be satisfied in Him for in Him is where true satisfaction found!
VERSE 15
The early church didn’t meet in churches, buildings but in homes. It wasn’t for a few hundred years before they began to meet in buildings.
VERSE 16
Paul wants them to share this letter with the church in Laodicea and for the letter he is sending to Laodicea to be read in the church in Colosse. We don’t have the letter that Paul wrote to the church in Laodicea but we do have a letter that Jesus wrote to them in the book of Revelation. When Jesus wrote that letter the church in Laodicea was big, it was growing, they had lots of programs, they had everything they needed, they didn’t need anything else. The sad thing is that Jesus is on the outside of this church knocking to get in. They had everything but Jesus and thus, the reality is they had nothing.
Where are you at this evening? Are you too big, too strong, too wealthy, are you in need of nothing? You see, we can be so full of things that Jesus is outside knocking to get back into our lives. We are told of this in this letter, as Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20. Let Him in, you won’t be sorry!
VERSE 17
How important are those words for each of us. What has God called you to do? Whatever it is, fulfill it and do the work to the best of your ability. It would seem that maybe Archippus was down, maybe discouraged, maybe he wasn’t seeing much fruit from his labor and Paul encourages him to continue on, don’t stop, don’t give up, keep forging ahead in the work that God has called you to do. Remember what Paul said in Acts 20:22-24, “And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” May nothing move us from the course that God has for us! And, know that what you do, even though you may not see results as quickly as you like, Paul reminds us, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” I Corinthians 15:58. What a glorious promise, one that I hold onto and I hope you do too!
VERSE 18
Paul dictated his letters and then signed the postscript with his own hand. And Paul understood the reality of his imprisonment, the loneliness, the possible death, and so he asks the Colossian believers to remember him and what he is going through by keeping him in prayer. How beautiful is that, a heartfelt cry for help from the brethren. We all can use that from time to time depending on what we are going through, what has us in chains!
Charles Dickens was asked the secret of his success and this is how he answered that question. He said, “Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do it well: whatever I have devoted myself to I have devoted myself to completely.” May we as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ do no less, may we do our best and may we do it well whatever we are doing for the Lord for we are his servants.
As I close this evening and we finish this letter that Paul wrote to the church in Colosse, keep in mind that Paul dealt with the heresy spreading through the church, the works relationship with God, the worlds ideas, the secret mysteries and he concludes his letter by showing them it is only by grace that we are saved and that it is only by grace we continue on. We began with the grace of God in our lives when we were saved, we are kept by the grace of God as we are being sanctified, and in the end, it is the grace of God that will bring us home to glory at last! Praise the Lord for His grace and may we, as His representatives, share the grace of God with others!