Colossians 4:7-18. Today we come to the end of Paul’s letter to the believers in Colosse. The ending is filled with greeting, like all of Paul’s letters and most letters from that time. This final reading can be divided into four sections. The first section identifies the people Paul sent the letter with and also tells us why Paul sent them (there was a mail system in that day so Paul didn’t need to sent anyone with it, but he did).   The second section is greetings from people with Paul to the believers in Colosse. The third section includes a few greetings to specific people in Colosse. Finally Paul ends the letter with a personal greeting.

As I mentioned in an earlier post the letter was carried from Paul to Colosse by two men; Tychichs and Onesimus. In verses 7-8 Paul identifies Tychicus as one of the messengers but he is much more than an errand boy. Paul uses three different words to describe Tychicus, beloved brother, faithful servant, and fellow bond-servant. We all know what a brother is and Paul’s use of it here shows the closeness that these Christians felt for each other, they were family in the best sense of that idea. Next Paul uses a word for servant that first shows up in the church in Acts 6. In verses 1 and 2 the word serve and serving appear. Those words and the one here are forms of the same word. If you read the rest of the story in Acts 6 you will see that some guys were picked to make sure the widows in the church all got fed.   In 1 Timothy 3:8 the same word is used but basically un-translated, “deacons”. It seems to be a reference to an office or permanent “job” that had developed in the early churches. Deacons were servant in the church taking care of peoples needs, and Tychicus was faithful at it. Finally Tychicus is described as a fellow bond-servant in the Lord. This word has the idea of servant but also of willing servitude. The idea is that the person willingly became a servant. We also see that Paul considered him a “fellow” servant, they were in it together and what they were in was Jesus.

So Tychicus was a trusted servant of Jesus and as was Paul. Paul sent the letter with him because he trusted Tychicus to bring news to the Colossians about what was going on in Paul’s life. He wanted the news to be encouraging. Although letters can do the same thing it’s not as good as a real person.

In verse 9 we see that Onesimus is also traveling with Tychicus. If you read the posts on Philemon and the intro for that book you will learn that Onesimus was a slave that ran away from his master. The master was a member of the church in Colosse (for more in this whole master in the church thing see the post from 2 days ago). Evidently Onesimus wound up with Paul and turned his life over to Jesus.   It is interesting here that Paul calls Onesimus a “faithful and beloved brother”. The second part of that is exactly what he said about Tychicus. I’m sure the people in Colosse were shocked to see Onesimus willingly returning with Tychicus and they would have been even more shocked to hear Paul use the same words to describe their faithful old friend and a run away slave. That’s the part of the pint that Paul made in the reading from two days ago though and why he wanted slaves to be good servants of their earthly masters. The change that Jesus makes in people shocks people. Paul also calls him “faithful”, this is more thatn just the fact that he was now a believer it relates to the fact that he was living for Jesus day by day. In the letter to Onesimus’ master Paul makes it clear that Onesimus had been a helper to him. The “one of your number” could be a way of telling the Colossian believers that Onesimus was a believer too (brother also does that though) but it probably is referring to the fact that he was from Colosse. It may contain both ideas. In those days slaves really weren’t counted as people, real members of society, this may have been Paul’s way of informing them that now he was a part of their community (remember Colossians 3:11. See also Galatians 3:28). We see this sort of equality in the fact that the message was carried by him as well as by Tychicus.

In verse 10-14 Paul mentions the guys with him who are sending greetings to the believers in Colosse. In verses 10-11 Paul mentions three guys Aristarchus, a fellow prisoner (this word was only used for a person under arrest). Aristarchus had been a companion of Paul’s during some of his trips around the Mediterranean world telling people about Jesus. He also traveled with Paul from his imprisonment in Israel to Rome. We aren’t really sure why he was a prisoner too. Maybe someone in Caesarea (in Isreal where Paul had been a prisoner) saw Aristarchus (who had been in Jerusalem when Paul was first accused by some of the Jews) and remembered he had been with Paul in Jerusalem and made accusations against him too.

Next he mentions Mark, Barnabas’ cousin. Mark had been one of the original guys who travelled with Paul but for some reason had left him. Later Paul refused to take him along on his second trip. Mark didn’t stop serving Jesus though, he continued on with his cousin, Barnabas. Somewhere along the line Paul and Mark made up and they worked together (as here). Mark was specifically asked for by Paul not long before Paul’s execution (2 Timothy 4:11).

Third Paul mentions a guy named Jesus (his Jewish name) or Justus (his Roman name). Paul then mentions that these three guys are the only Jews with him that are serving Jesus. Considering that the problem in Colosse was with false teachers who were most likely Jewish Paul probably wanted to show that not all Jews were bad guys. In fact Paul might be sending Mark to them and he wanted to be sure that they listened to Mark (v. 10). If they needed and example that in Christ they was neither free nor slave, Onesimus being their reminder of that, maybe theses three guys were their reminder that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek (Colossians 3:11).

In verses 12-13 Paul sends them greeting from One of their friends who had been with Paul for a while too, Epaphras. This was probably the guy who first taught them about Jesus (see the “Intro to Colossians”). It seems like maybe they missed him or though he had forgotten them. If they were having difficulties with false teachers (which they were) they probably missed this faithful knowledgeable old guy. He hadn’t forgotten them nor abandon them he was praying like crazy that they would stay strong in their faith and know just how to live for Jesus (“assured in the will of God”). He was very concerned about all of the churches he had started in the area including Laodicea and Hierapolis (see the “Intro to Colossians”).

Finally Paul includes greetings from Luke (who traveled a lot with Paul, wrote the books of Luke and Acts and probably was Paul’s secretary for many of his books too (think human word processor here)) and Demas. We don’t know much about Demas but the people in Colosse must have know him and he was sending them a greeting. Remember this is a real letter not everything in it has a hidden meaning. Demas does show up in 2 Timothy 4:10 where we are told he has deserted Paul (That’s about 5 years after this letter). It is interesting that when he leaves Paul that he goes to Thessalonica (probably his home town). Thessalonica is in Greece and Colosse is in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). The two towns were maybe 800 miles apart by land (Rome was 1200 miles by land from Colosse). Although people traveled a lot in those days it is amazing how connected the Christians were.

In verses 15-17 we have the third section of Paul’s conclusion to the letter, greetings to specific people. First Paul want the people in Colosse to send greetings from him to the believers in Laodicea. We see that the “church” (the word translated “church” in the New Testament means “those who are called out”. The idea is people who hear God calling to them and join together) in Laodicea is in the house of a woman named Nympha. That was common in those days for a church to be in a person’s house. Nympha gets a particular greeting, but the other believers in Laodicea get the greeting too. In verse 16 we learn that the Laodiceans also got a letter from Paul. We don’t have this letter and have no idea what it is about. Clearly God didn’t intend for it to be a part of his word to all of us for all time. There are other letters mentioned in the Bible that we don’t have either, but we can be sure God made sure we have all he wants us to have. Although the Loadicean letter wasn’t for us Paul did want the Colossians to read it, and share their letter with the Laodiceans. One thing we see here is that God is involved in our day to day lives. Although the Laodicean letter wasn’t for us it did have some meaning for the Colossians and so he made sure that they would read it. One last interesting thought about this part is, if the Laodiceans got a letter from Paul why did the Colossians need to pass on a greeting from him? I think their letter would have had it’s own greeting, like all of Paul’s letters did, so he must have wanted the two church to get a little more in touch with each other. In Hebrews 10:24-25 that author encourage the believers not to give up meeting together as some of them had done. He wanted them to encourage each other. There was some sort of trouble behind the scenes of that letter that was making people avoid church and each other, the author wanted that to stop. Maybe the trouble in Colosse (and probably the whole valley) was making the churches in the valley go solo. Paul wanted them to stay involved in each others lives.

In verse 17 Paul encourages a particular guy in Colosse to be faithful in the job Jesus had given him. The word translated “ministry” is the same word in Acts 2 translated “serve”. It is interesting that some of the greeting are to a group and others are to individuals. Although not everyone in Colosse is mentioned by name I like it that God mentions some by name. God sees the group but he also sees the individuals in it and gives each one of us a job to do.

Paul ends his letter by personally signing it. It was common in ancient time for people to have secretaries who did the actual writing for them. They would dictate the letter and the other person would write it. Some times theses secretaries would edit things like grammar or otherwise help with the composition. Paul had help at least some time when he wrote. At the end of this letter he personally signed it though telling us that he approved everything written there. He also tells them to remember his imprisonment. In yesterday’s post we saw that his imprisonment was sort of a proof of how serious he was about the message of Jesus. Here he may be encouraging them to be willing to pay whatever price they needed to pay to be faithful to do whatever God wanted them to do. They each needed to be “faithful to fulfill their service. Paul ends the letter with grace. Grace is the undeserved gift that they had received from God. A gift of eternity in Heaven with God. Here he wants them to remember it and the hope it had given them. They could face whatever they needed to face if they would keep Heaven in their sights.

I like it that God gets personal, we are known by him, and he gives us each a part in his forever kingdom and in serving him here today. Serving God may cost us but it is worth it. I like it that God doesn’t care where we have been, what family we are from, whether we are guys or girls. He doesn’t care that we have failed (remember Colossians 3:7) because we have all failed. The good news is Jesus paid the price for our sins (1 John 2:2). He has set us free from trying to get to Heaven and has empowered us (through the Holy Spirit in us) to live for him each day just because; because he loved us first (1 John 4:19). We need to remember his gift and faithfully serve him as a act of love and devotion and thanks (Colossians 4:2).

Jesus thank you for dying for me. Thank you for coming back to life and proving who you are and the kind of power you have. Thank you for offering a forever relationship with you to whoever will accept who you are and what you have done for us. Thank you for being a personal God, a God who is here and cares. Thank you for knowing each of us and communicating to each of us personally. Help me listen and help me faithfully serve. And let me remember to be involved with others who love you too, even if it costs me something. Help me keep heaven and you in view.

Colossians 4:2-6. In yesterday’s reading Paul got very specific in applying the truth about who Jesus is and what he has done for us to the lives of the people in Colosse. Whether it was their marriages, their parent-child relationships, or masters and slaves the people needed to remember that their lives were there to teach the world about God and Jesus. In today’s reading Paul makes this focus on the people around us very clear.

In verse 2 Paul tells the believers at Colosse to be devoted to prayer. The idea behind the word “devoted” is one of persistence, prayer needed to be a habit for them. The next part of the verse literally says “being watchful in thanksgiving”. Behind their prayers needed to be the foundation of what they were living for. They had been given a great gift, eternity with God, it was their hope and needed to be the thing that constantly gave shape to their prayers. This doesn’t mean that all they did was sit around saying, “Thank you God. Oh I thank you God. God it’s wonderful that you have a place for me in Heaven.” We certainly need to feel those ways and tell God but that is not what Paul is talking about here.

In verse 3 Paul tells them that when they are praying that they needed to be praying for him too. Specifically that he will have an opportunity (an open door) to tell others about Jesus, the “word” about the mystery of Christ. Remember this had once been a secret or mystery but is was not anymore, and Paul wanted to make sure it wasn’t a secret from anyone. Paul probably used the word “mystery” for two reasons, it implies that the “good news” about Jesus was still a “mystery” (or secret) from some people (and that was no good in Paul’s, or God’s, mind) and second it was one last little jab at the false teachers who wanted to enslave people with their talk of mysteries. God want’s the world to freely know how to be right with him. At the end of the verse Paul mentions that it is because of telling people about Jesus that he is under hose arrest (imprisoned). While the false teachers were cruising around sucking people into their religion (and probably getting money and more from it, see Jude) Paul was paying a real price for teaching the real secret to the world. In verse 4 he asks them to pray that he will have the right words to say when he gets the opportunities.

The way Paul makes his request hints that it is the same thing he wants the Colossians to pray for themselves. They needed to make a habit of prayer. They needed to focus on the great story that they were a part of, the story of God making Heaven available to us through Jesus, and they needed to be asking God to give them opportunities and the words to tell others about Jesus. This is a great follow up to the talk about living lives that give the world little glimpses of God.   In 1 Peter 3:15 Peter told his readers to make Jesus the one and only master of their lives and then to be ready to tell anyone who asked them why they were filled with hope that Jesus was the reason. Peter even ended that verse with words that echo Paul’s request. Peter told his readers to be gentle and respectful, they needed just the right words too.

If there was any doubt about what Paul had in mind when he told them to make a habit of prayer verses 5-6 should make it more clear. Theses verses aren’t talking about the content of the prayer but probably point to the outcome. Just as Paul wanted the opportunity and the words to tell others about Jesus, here in verses 5-6 he uses the similar language to describe what he wants them to do. They need to act wisely toward people who don’t know Jesus yet, who have not given their lives and eternities to him. They need to see these people as an opportunity. In verse 6 we see that the opportunity involves them filling their mouths with “grace”. The Greek word Paul uses here can mean “favor, thanks, or something that gives joy or pleasure”. In the early church it came to have special meaning, it was the “good news” about who Jesus is and what he ahs done for us.

Paul tells them that their words should be like salt. In ancient times salt was used in many ways, it was used as a preservative, it was used as an antiseptic (I used it that way one time), and it was used as a seasoning. Although some Bible teachers like to bring up the preservative idea it doesn’t really fit with the other word Paul uses here “seasoned”. What Paul I saying is that they need to use the “good news” about Jesus in a way that people will say, “Mmmmmm, Mmmmmmm, I want some of that!” The world is filled with people looking for meaning for their lives. They insist that they have worth, it screams at them from the deepest parts of their being (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). That verse tells us we know we were made for more that just a few sucky years here on earth. It also tells us that we can’t figure out the answer on our own. That is why God had guys write the story down, in the Bible (see “The Old Testament Connection”), and that is why Paul wanted tell everyone he could, why he wanted the Colossians to live the story and tell it to others, and why Peter wanted the same for his readers to. The world is hungry, we need to be the ones who show them where dinner is.

Verse 6 ends with Paul kind of telling them it’s a one at a time kind of thing. There is no formula for helping people find Jesus, it personal, and it takes time, thought and prayer.

It is serious that my life needs to be the thing that makes people see that Jesus is the answer to their deepest desire for meaning and purpose. Peter says that we need to let Jesus rule in our lives and that will give us a hope that people won’t ignore. The Colossians had hope too, and Paul complimented them on that. But he too wanted their hope and every part of their lives to be an opportunity to share Jesus with others. Sometimes I don’t have a lot of hope. I get all tangled up in the everyday troubles of life and forget that I’m just passing through. I get frustrated by bills and relationships. I get sucked away from time with God. I want more spiritually and that frustrates me too. But in reality I have everything spiritually, Jesus has made me right with God and I am assured of an eternity in Heaven with God. I need to remember that all the little details of my life here and now need to point others to God. God has brought me this far and I’m sure he will take me all the way to Heaven. When life is filled with troubles and distractions I still need to deal with them but not get frustrated. I need to pray that God will use them as an opportunity for me to tell others about Jesus, but I need to stay focused on Jesus and stay hopeful. Pray that it will be so in my life and yours.

Jesus keep me focused. Help me stay hopeful no matter how gnarly life gets, I’ve never been in jail like Paul and he remained hopeful. He did ask for prayer though. God help the young people I have taught over the years find their peace and hope in you. Let them find the meaning and purpose that we all look for in you. Help the words I have shared in these posts be salt. Help all that I say and do make people say, “Mmmmmmm, Mmmmmm, I want some of that!”. And help me remember to. Fill me with hope and let it shine in a dark and miserable world.