WWUTT 088 Final Greetings (Colossians 4:7-18)

I think I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, but there are two things that you can't do on your own. You can't be married on your own, and you can't be a Christian on your own. We have been called to fellowship with the body of Christ.

And as Paul has written to the Colossians, he means to show them how important they are in the mission's work that is being done. You as a Christian, you are important to this advancement of the gospel also when we understand the text.

You're listening to When We Understand the Text, committed to the sound teaching of the Word of God. For questions and comments, email whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com. And don't forget our website, www .utt .com.

Here's our host, Pastor Gabe.

Prayer, Wisdom, and Gracious Speech in Colossians 4

Thank you, Becky. Colossians chapter 4, starting in verse 2, continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the Word to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. So in these final instructions that Paul gives, we see these instructions given in three parts.

First of all, there is a personal ownership toward the way that a person prays or directs their mind and their hearts toward heavenly things. Be steadfast in prayer, be watchful in it, keeping yourself from temptation, and be thankful.

Pray with a thankful heart, because as we are thankful in all things, filled up with Christ, then we'll not be looking out for things in this world to satisfy us, because we are completely satisfied in our Savior.

Sin flows from an ungrateful heart, so as we express thanksgiving to the Lord, we help to keep ourselves from giving into temptation. Then the next part of the instruction is to direct prayers toward other saints, particularly those who are on mission for Christ, that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak.

All of us should desire to want to communicate the gospel in a clear and understandable way, and to pray that others would be able to communicate the gospel that way as well. Then verses 5 and 6, the third of these final instructions, addresses how we are to speak even with those who are not believers.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that the way that we answer each person would be the way that they need to hear that answer, that they would be able to understand what it is that we are articulating when we respond with an answer for the hope that lies within us, as we read in 1 Peter 3 .15.

So those are the final instructions that Paul has to give. Then in Colossians 4 verses 7 through 18 are his final greetings, and we're going to get all the way through this today and finish our study in the book of Colossians.

I hope that you have enjoyed what we have studied over the course of the last several weeks. The theme of our study has been understanding Christ as preeminent. He is top above all things, and we need nothing else except Christ, completely satisfied in our Savior.

And so your understanding of that has matured as we have looked so intently at this letter that Paul has written to the Colossians. Before getting into Colossians 4, starting in verse 7, let's come to the Lord in prayer.

Our wonderful God, we thank you for these instructions from your apostle Paul, that we might walk in wisdom and make the best use of our time, investing it in understanding the word of God, so that our speech would be gracious, not just toward believers, but also toward unbelievers, knowing how we ought to answer each person.

And Lord, keep us seasoned with salt. As Jesus said of all those who are his disciples, we are the salt of the earth. So help us to be that preservative and that seasoning on this planet in which we walk during this time before we depart and join our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in heaven.

And it is in his name that we pray. Amen. Colossians 4, starting in verse 7, Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.

Tychicus, Onesimus, and the Mission of the Letter

I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts and with him, Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.

Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions, if he comes to you, welcome him. And Jesus, who is called Justice, these are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

Epaphras, who is one of you, a fellow servant of Christ Jesus, greets you always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Heropolis.

Luke, the beloved physician, greets you, as does Demas, give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea and say to Archippus, see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.

I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains, grace be with you. So we're going to talk about some of these names that are listed here, because that's really the whole final greetings here are the list of names that Paul has to mention to the Colossians, including them in this mission work that is going on.

Because remember, if you go back to our introduction to Paul's letter to the Colossians, he had never been to this church before, had never been to Colossae, and so he is addressing a people that he has never addressed and a church that he did not plant.

And so he speaks to them in a different way than he might speak to a church that he is more familiar with, like, for example, the Corinthians or the Philippians. So the letter to the Colossians is unique in that way, but he means to include the Colossians in this mission work that is going on just because we've never met before.

You are still just as instrumental in this advancement of the gospel. So he includes them among these names, saying these people greet you also. We all consider you part of this mission's work. The first name that is mentioned on there is Tychicus.

He will tell you about all my activities, a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. Tychicus and Onesimus were delivering this letter together. They delivered this letter along with Paul's letter to the Ephesians and the letter to Philemon as well.

I'll explain that here in just a moment. So Tychicus was a fellow traveler of Onesimus. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts.

So Tychicus and Onesimus coming there to Colossae and saying, hey, we have seen Paul, here's the letter that he has to deliver you. And then in addition to what Paul says in the letter, they are able to expound with the Colossians on some of the things that have been going on with Paul as he is in prison in Rome.

So then verse nine, we have Onesimus mentioned. With him, Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you, they will tell you of everything that has taken place here. Onesimus was a slave of Philemon's, a bondservant of Philemon's.

And what we know of Onesimus is that he stole from Philemon and then ran away and made it to Rome, the capital city of the world, and just happened to stumble into Paul's presence in his own home. He would have had to have been in Paul's home because Paul couldn't go anywhere being under house arrest.

So he had come into the place where Paul was being held prisoner and was ministered to by Paul and became a Christian because Paul introduced Onesimus to Christ. So then Paul writes to Philemon, again, the letter to Philemon is being delivered at the same time.

Paul writes to Philemon, we talked about this earlier, a man that Paul had introduced to Christ in addition to Onesimus. So he addresses Philemon and Onesimus both as sons since he introduced them to the Lord.

So as he's talking to Philemon, a very short book, Philemon is what, just like 25 verses long or something. So as you read that particular letter, I would encourage you to do so and do that on your own time.

But Paul basically says to Philemon, I could tell you what to do, but I'm going to give you an opportunity to make the right decision on your own, to not treat Onesimus as he deserves to be treated, because under the rules that were given by the Romans, Philemon had the authority to have Onesimus beaten.

He could have even had Onesimus killed because Onesimus stole from him and ran away. So Paul is saying, I could tell you what to do, but I'm going to give you the opportunity in the Lord, giving glory to God, to demonstrate yourself as a brother in Christ, because Onesimus is now your brother in Christ.

He's no longer your bond servant. You are brothers. So you make the right decision and treat him as a brother instead of as a slave, instead of the way that the Roman law would allow you to treat him.

Now, Paul shares something interesting about Onesimus, and I'm going to bring this up here because this is going to come up again later. In verse 10, he says, I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.

Then verse 11 of Philemon, formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to me. This is a play on Onesimus' name because Onesimus actually means useful. But there's another element to this as well, and I'm going to share this coming up in just a moment, but just keep this verse in your mind.

Philemon 11, where Paul says, formerly he was useless to you, but now indeed he is useful to me. Still, I am sending him back to you, Paul says to Philemon, so that you have an opportunity to be reconciled and give glory to the Lord.

So, Onesimus and Tychicus are mentioned here at the start of Paul's final greetings to the Colossians. Tychicus was a native of Asia Minor and was one of the carriers of the letter along with Onesimus.

John Mark, Reconciliation, and Being Useful in Ministry

Then we have in verse 10, Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you. Now, Aristarchus is a name that we've seen come up before. It's mentioned a couple of times in the book of Acts. One of those appearances I know is in Acts chapter 19, when Paul is attempting to preach in Ephesus, but the crowd gets really unruly and they seize Aristarchus and Gaius and drag them away.

Now, we don't really see what happens to them, but we know that they got released eventually because the name comes up again later on. But Aristarchus is another man who has preached with Paul and has been imprisoned for sharing the gospel.

So, then the next name that's mentioned here is Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. Mark is the same person as John Mark, whenever you see that name occur in the New Testament. Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions, if he comes to you, welcome him.

Now, here's where I want to bring that verse from Philemon back in, okay? Let's go to Acts chapter 15, and we'll read the story here of a disagreement that occurred between Paul and Barnabas concerning John Mark.

This is Acts 15, starting in verse 36. After some days, Paul said to Barnabas, let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they are. Now, Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark, but Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

And there arose a sharp disagreement so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. So there's this disagreement that occurred between Paul and Barnabas concerning the credibility of John Mark. Barnabas vouched for John Mark.

Paul didn't think he was trustworthy. Now, Barnabas had also vouched for Paul. After Paul had, well, before when he was Saul and he was converted on the road to Damascus, he was baptized and went from being Saul of Tarsus to Paul the Apostle.

When Paul first appeared before the other brothers and before the other apostles, Barnabas vouched for him. Barnabas said, yeah, I've heard his testimony, I've heard him preach. Here's what he's saying.

I think that his account of the things that have occurred that brought him to this faith in Christ are accurate. According to the testimony, it was also given by the men who are with him. And so Barnabas vouched for Paul.

Here he's vouching for John Mark and Paul won't listen to him. So it causes this disagreement. The two men go in different directions and more people are reached for Christ as a result. But I think that what we see in this story is a mistake that was made by Paul.

And I think that he truly regrets that mistake. Later acknowledged his mistake, was reconciled with John Mark and regretted the way that he was prejudiced against John Mark. Why do I think that? Well, I'm going to borrow a theory that comes from an elder friend of mine at church, one of my elders, Chris Solano, who has talked about the way that Paul uses language concerning both Onesimus and John Mark.

When you go back to Philemon, verse 11, remember that Paul referred to Onesimus as being useful to him. Now that's a play on his name, but there's only one other person that Paul describes as being useful to him.

And that's John Mark. And it's in second Timothy, right at the end of the letter, when Paul says to Timothy, this is Paul's last letter before he is about to be taken away and executed, becoming a martyr for preaching the gospel.

He says to Timothy, when John Mark arrives to you, send him to me because he is useful to me. So he has only described Onesimus and John Mark as useful. And I think that the way that Paul talks to Philemon about Onesimus, and then the way that he talks about John Mark to Timothy, it's as if Paul is saying to Philemon, look, I made a mistake once where I should have treated John Mark as a brother, and I didn't.

I was prejudiced against him. Philemon, don't make the same mistake that I made. Receive Onesimus as a brother. He is useful to you as John Mark is useful to me. I really think that was the conviction in Paul's heart.

Don't try to excuse, as I often hear it said, your disagreements between your brothers and sisters in Christ as being Paul and Barnabas disagreements. Be reconciled and as much as you possibly can, see eye to eye with one another.

Never, never cause any unnecessary conflict. As we read in Ephesians 4, we need to strive toward peace with one another. And in Romans chapter 12, as much as it depends on you, keep the peace with everyone.

And so we know that by the time Paul had written to the Colossians that he had reconciled with John Mark because he speaks of him here, Mark, the cousin of Barnabas concerning whom you have received instructions.

If he comes to you, welcome him. Let's finish up the rest of the names here. The rest of these won't take as long. Jesus, who is called Justice. It's likely that this name is the same one that's mentioned in Acts 1.

I believe it's verse 23, along with Matthias as the two candidates who were going to take over the apostle position, the chosen 12, after Judas had betrayed Christ and hung himself. So Matthias and Justice were the two that were being considered.

Jesus was actually his name, but likely changed his name to Justice so not to be confused with Jesus Christ. But Jesus was a very common name. It was Yeshua, which is also the same name as Joshua. Jesus's real name was Joshua.

These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. So as we understand these men as being Jews because they were of a circumcision group.

Epaphras, Luke, Demas, and the Closing Exhortations

Verse 12, Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you always struggling on your behalf in his prayers that you may stand mature and fully assured in all of the will of God. Epaphras is the one who has come to Paul in Rome and has told him about some of the things that have been going on in Colossae.

Epaphroditus is the guy from Philippi who came to Paul and reported on some of the things that were going on among the Philippians and brought the gift that the Philippians had collected to send to Paul.

They're actually the same name. Epaphroditus and Epaphras are the same name. Epaphras is the short form of Epaphroditus, but it's still two different guys. So anyway, just thought I'd throw that little tidbit in there.

Verse 13, for I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis, which are two towns that are really close to Colossae. So Epaphras struggling for all of these communities to see the gospel advance and to see the Christians protected from false teaching.

Luke, the beloved physician, greets you. Same Luke that wrote Acts and the Gospel of Luke, as does Demas. And we've talked about Demas as a man who would later betray Paul and go away from him. And we read him, talked about again at the end of Paul's letter to Timothy, the second letter to Timothy.

Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea and to Nympha and the church that is in her house. Likely the Laodicean church was meeting in Nympha's home. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

And say to Archippus, who was Philemon's son, see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

So Timothy had written the letter as Paul dictated it, but then Paul wrote his signature at the end. So verse 18 would have been written in Paul's own handwriting. And there you go. That is our study of the book of Colossians.

We will do a complete reading of Colossians from beginning to end tomorrow.

This has been When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabriel Hughes. For all of our podcasts, episodes, videos, books, and more, visit our website at www .utt .com. If you'd like to submit a question to this broadcast, or just send us a comment, email whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com.

And let your friends know about our ministry. Join us again tomorrow as we grow together in the study of God's Word. When we understand the text.