Today we are going to do a wind-up and look at Paul’s final greetings in our walk through Colossians.
This year what will you do? Where are you going? This is a great time to reflect on 2016 and make plans for the path you want to follow in 2017.
We start the year following the path Jesus taught to the Disciples, and of which Paul became one of the strongest supporters.
Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart gave us four things to watch for as we walk through Colossians. The first two are worth pointing out again.
Paul makes it very clear that faith in Jesus Christ is the most important part of life. He urges the Colossians to keep their focus on Jesus, by showing them how thankful he is for their faith, how he is praying for them, and by encouraging them to stand firm in their faith. Paul emphasizes that Christ is the source of all truth, grace and power.
We find that Colossians is very similar to Ephesians, indeed, they may be called the twin epistles of the New Testament. Both tell us that we have a choice: Believe Jesus or not! If we do believe, then God promises to always be there for us. If we chose not to believe, then God cannot be with us, as God is light not darkness. Our disbelief puts us into darkness and away from the supremacy of Jesus Christ.
Paul claims the supremacy of Jesus Christ and so do all who believe – do you?
This letter is like a letter you would write to fellow believers for whom you were praying. Paul had a burning desire to reach, teach and empower all people, so he wrote many letters when he could not travel to them.
When is the last time you wrote a letter of encouragement, or texted or emailed or just called someone to share the love that Jesus gives you for them? You never know when that simple note might be the turning point to save a life or soul. Allow God to lead you in reaching out to those He brings to mind.
If you walk away today with only one thought – be it this: Christ fills your heart with love, for Him and for all people. You are to live like Christ is in everything you do and say. You are to follow Christ’s guidance and not the misleading of the world. Be spiritually full of Christ and you will know the right thing to do. Paul very clearly tells us how to live a holy life. He reminds us of what Jesus taught and how He demonstrated all these rules for holy living. We need to read this letter over several times and let the Holy Spirit guide in what we learn from it.
We should be excited to be a part of God’s family, His body! When we come together it should be to learn from God’s Word and encourage each other in our daily walk through this world.
We went over the ‘Rules for Holy Living’ and I feel that if we are living ‘holy’ then we will treat our relationships with others with the respect and love they deserve. To give up your rights, your need to be important, to be first, to be in control is not easy unless you are living ‘holy’.
Eerdmans Handbook to the Bible, commenting on Ephesians 5:21-6:9, says ‘The Christian wife gives her husband complete respect and loyalty. The Christian husband cares for his wife with unselfish, undemanding love. Each depends on the other, and both model themselves on Christ. Their relationship, in turn, reflects the relationship between Christ and the church’.2
Colossians 3:23 NIV
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
This verse is one we all need to memorize as it applies to everything we do – physical and emotional, work and relationships. When you do it for Jesus, you focus on Him and not those around you.
This is a great letter for all of us to reread many times. Paul is speaking from his heart to those who have found Christ. He is encouraging, reminding and correcting their behavior, all in one letter.
Now let’s look at Paul’s final greetings!
Colossians 4:7-18 NIV
7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.
8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.
Paul is telling the Colossians to accept Tychicus and to hear what Paul is doing for Jesus.
9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
Onesimus was a runaway slave who had become a Christian. Paul gives him credibility so he will be accepted too.
Eerdmans gives this thought: ‘The reference to Tychicus and Onesimus links this letter to Ephesians and Philemon. All three letters would seem to have been sent at the same time by the same messenger’.3
Ephesians 6:21-22 NIV
21 Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.
22 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.
10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.)
Aristarchus was a Jew from Greece who was another longstanding companion of Paul’s and had been involved in the riot at Ephesus (Acts 19: 23-41).4
Eerdmans tells us: ‘It is good to find Mark reinstated after the trouble he caused between Paul and Barnabus (Acts 13:13; 15:36-40)’.5
11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.
Most of those around Paul were Greek Christians.
12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.
This man was a prayer warrior – all leaders for Christ need prayer warriors!
14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.
Luke is considered a Gentile – the only NT writer so identified.6
Eerdmans tells us that Luke stayed with Paul until the end but Demas defected (2 Timothy 4:10-11).7
15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
Home churches were the’ in’ thing in the early Christian church – no big fancy buildings, no assortment of assets – just pure love in action! Eventually church buildings were constructed, but many people gave their homes for services.
Halley’s handbook tells us: ‘They had to meet where they could. It was not until the third century that church buildings came into general use. Yet the church made marvelous growth. Many small congregations are better than a few large ones’.8
16 After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
Eerdmans says, ‘The letter from Laodicea may be the Ephesians’.9
Know Your Bible states ‘Paul mentions a letter to Laodicea that apparently did not make the cut as New Testament scripture.’10
All of Paul’s letters were important for all Christians, so sharing them was a way to reach everyone with the truth of Christ. It also made each group reach out to the other groups, a form of unity.
17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
Archippus may be Philemon’s son (Philemon 2).11
When God gives you a ministry to do, finish it! Make sure that you use the gifts God gives you to tell and show others just who Jesus is.
18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
This is Paul’s confirmation of his authorship, imprisonment and connection to Christ.
Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart end this chapter with: ‘Note also how the greetings function to remind the Colossian believers that they belong to a much larger community of faith, including some mutual acquaintances’.12
They end the book with this summation: ‘What an important part of the biblical story this letter is, by its exaltation of Christ and by reminding us that behavior counts for something – but only as it is a reflection of Christ’s own character and redemption’.13
The Wycliffe Commentary gives this thought: ‘The concern that Paul voices is ever present in the life of the church: the danger is not a lack of spiritual gifts, but spiritual gifts which, because of personal sin, organizational pressures, or non-spiritual influences are smothered, warped, and unfulfilled’.14
Satan wants nothing less than for us to be fighting amongst ourselves. His job is easy if we allow him to influence our behavior. Join with me in prayer for the strength to walk tall and strong for Jesus.
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