Bible Commentaries
Colossians 4

Verse 1

Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven. Colossians 4:1

Verse 1 obviously fits with the ending discussion of the last chapter. Vincent assures us that the best manuscripts do, in fact, attach this verse to the preceding chapter.^(F1) Paul does not say too much about masters here, and a likely reason is that at that time he was sending a letter to Philemon regarding his runaway slave Onesimus, who had become a true believer in Christ. ^(F2) He was obviously facing a delicate situation.

Paul urges masters (Gk. kurion) to do to their slaves what is just and equitable, all the while remembering that they too are under the lordship (kurion) of Christ. Some slaves were hardly worthy of such treatment since some were lazy, ill-tempered, and selfish. No doubt some masters were of the same or worse disposition. However, the Bible tells us of some outstanding slaves and masters as well. Naaman, the Syrian commander and leper, would never have been cured had it not been for the loving and alert Hebrew slave girl who directed him to the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 5:1ff). Then we think of the loving Centurion who went to Jesus and obtained the healing of his sick and suffering slave (Matthew 8:5-13).^(F3)

Verses 2-4

DEVOTED TO PRAYER

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2

This appears to be a very important teaching on the equally important subject of prayer. We are told here that we must be "devoted" to prayer. The Greek word used is proskartereite. Utley tells us that it is in the Greek present active imperative and conveys the idea of persevering in prayer. He says, "Jesus, being God incarnate, was characterized by both public and private prayer, how much more do believers need to pray for the gospel, for themselves, and for one another?" ^(F4)Wall says of this Greek word, it is "a gritty determination not to give up until God's response comes." ^(F5)

My pastor, who is a strong believer in prayer, feels there are three types of devotion to prayer. There is first a level of convenience. At this level we pray only when it is convenient for us. The next level is commitment, or praying when the storm is raging around us. Then after the storm, we often bail out of our prayer mode and continue on with life as usual. Last, there is the level of conviction. Here we maintain a zealous loyalty in prayer and are not willing to falter.

We might wonder how many times the blessed angelic messengers have turned back in their flight because we had given up on receiving our request from the Lord. We must "keep on keeping on" in our prayers. No doubt we all remember the story of the poor man who had nothing to set before his night visitor. He went to his neighbor and asked for three loaves of bread. The neighbor, who was already in bed and whose children were all settled in for the night, refused to get up and grant the request. The poor man did not give up but continued to ask until his neighbor got up and gave him the requested bread (Luke 11:5-10). We no doubt also remember the parable of the unrighteous judge in Luke 18:2ff The judge would not grant a widow's request until she had literally worn him down with her coming. With this, he granted her justice and relief from her enemy.

We need to talk to God continuously and make our requests known to him. F. B. Meyer (1847-1929) says, "Our lives cannot maintain the Godward attitude without prolonged seasons of communication with him through the Word…Intercession will often unlock frost-bitten lips and make our souls glow." ^(F6) The famous British Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) once said, "He who overcomes in prayer has heaven and earth at his disposal."

There are two other words that seem important in this verse. We are also to be watchful and thankful. The Greek word here for "watchful" is gregorountes and it means to keep awake, watch, and be alert. Gaebelein reminds us of the scripture, "Be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer" (1 Peter 4:7 KJV). He continues saying, "… We must watch before we pray, watch while we pray and watch after we have prayed, and watch for the answer, not impatiently, but in child-like faith…" ^(F7)

We remember that night with Jesus in Gethsemane, how he instructed his disciples to "watch," and how they all failed him by going to sleep (Matthew 26:38-46). Imagine that! The battle of the ages was being fought and won in those hours and all Jesus asked of them was that they should stay awake. Today we must realize that another great battle is being fought and won in the spiritual realm. It is a magnificent rescue operation for fallen humanity and the time is running out. It is also an hour of great deception by the enemy of our souls for he also knows his time is short. How urgent it is for us to stay awake and be alert.

Philip Doddridge (1702-1751) wrote the beautiful words to the blessed old hymn, O Happy Day.

O happy day, that fixed my choice
On Thee, my Savior and my God!
Well may this glowing heart rejoice,
And tell its raptures all abroad.

Refrain

Happy day, happy day,
when Jesus washed my sins away!
He taught me how to watch and pray,
and live rejoicing every day
Happy day, happy day,
when Jesus washed my sins away.

I think there is more to be said about "watching" in this postmodern world of ours. In the last half century while we have occasionally watched, the church in the United States has been overwhelmed with many false philosophies, false theologies and even false gods brought in from the East by the famous Beatles and by many other personalities and groups. Somehow, we failed to be on guard, and we allowed the church to be invaded and weakened. Many Christian lives have been hurt and destroyed by this evil invasion.

Of course, we must always be thankful in our prayers and in our lives. Most of us know from experience how it is almost impossible for us to help a person who is ungrateful. How much more this must be true with God, who has supplied us bountifully throughout our lives. He has even made his sun to shine on the just and unjust, and he makes his rain to fall equally upon both (Matthew 5:45).

Years ago, when I was a young preacher I once took a box of groceries to a needy woman. When I entered the house, she hardly looked up from her TV, but told me to set the box on the kitchen counter, which I did. She never bothered to say "thanks," but as I was slipping out the door, I heard her say, still apparently without looking up from the television, "You brought the wrong kind of cereal."

"And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should" (4:3-4). Wiersbe says here, "Paul did not ask for the prison doors to be opened, but that doors of ministry might be opened (1 Corinthians 16:9; Acts 14:27)." ^(F8)

Sometimes we fail to realize how thoroughly the ministry of Paul and others in the New Testament was covered by the prayers of the saints. It reminds us of the old western movie hero who steps out into the line of fire from the bad guys and calls to his companions, "cover me!" There are many times in our own lives today that we need to be "covered" by our praying friends. For several years my wife and I ministered in Israel and all that time we were "covered" with a large group of praying friends back home. Their prayers were of utmost importance to us, and perhaps they even spared our lives on certain occasions.

Paul was so covered with prayer that his ministry made dramatic advances. We see in Philippians 4:22, that his ministry had apparently reached into the very household of Caesar. It seems that much of his ministry advance came about while he was in prison and chained to Roman soldiers.

The apostle needed power to preach the mystery of the gospel. "A visitor at Spurgeon's Tabernacle in London was being shown around the building by the pastor, Charles Spurgeon. 'Would you like to see the powerhouse of this ministry?' Spurgeon asked, as he showed the man into a lower auditorium. 'It is here that we get our power, for while I am preaching upstairs, hundreds of my people are in this room praying.' Is it any wonder that God blessed Spurgeon's preaching of the Word?" ^(F9)

We should take special note of the word "mystery" as it is used again here. Paul had been called up to visit in the heavenly places at least once (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). No doubt, while there, God had revealed to him several mysteries of the faith. We have touched on some of these before but since they are very important, we need to mention them again. In Ephesians 1:9-10, there is the mystery that God intends to gather together all things in heaven and earth in Christ. In Ephesians 3:3-6, there is the mystery that the Gentiles will be heirs together with Israel. Back in Colossians 1:27, we saw the mystery of Christ in us as the hope of glory. How tragic it is that although these mysteries were clearly revealed almost two thousand years ago, we still know so little about them today.

Verses 5-6

MAKING THE MOST OF DIVINE OPPORTUNITIES

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:5-6

Paul cannot long ignore his great mission, which was to evangelize the lost. His concern was that Christians be good advertisements for the Lord in all their words and actions. He desired that they walk in wisdom toward the lost. Surely every preacher has heard the excuse from lost people that they would not attend church because it was full of hypocrites. The sad thing about this lame excuse is that it is probably true on many occasions.

He encourages believers to "make the most of every opportunity" or to "redeem the time" as we note in some versions (ASV, NKJ). We see this same exhortation in Ephesians 5:16, and Wiersbe says that the expression means "buying up the opportunity." ^(F10)The Greek term used here is (exagorazō) and it is closely connected with redemption (cf. Galatians 3:13; 4:5). In the Old Testament it conveyed the idea of buying some person out of slavery. Sometimes this could be a near relative who was bought back or redeemed.^(F11)

Here we are instructed how we are to converse with the lost or those on the outside. Our conversation should be full of grace. Grace is an important and interesting word in scripture. It can mean kindness, mercy and goodwill but it can also include graciousness and attractiveness. Barclay translates this verse, "Let your speech always be with gracious charm…" Wright says of this, "The word 'grace' has, in Greek as in English, the possible double meaning of God's grace and human graciousness." ^(F12)

Paul says also that our speech should be seasoned with salt. This was probably a very relevant statement to the Colossians. Vincent in citing the historian Herodotus relates how in the neighborhood of Colossae there was a salt lake that supplied the surrounding area with salt.^(F13) We know that salt is a purifying and preserving substance and our speech in this evil age should make this putrid world a little more agreeable. Coffman adds another possible aspect to salt. He says, "Despite the fact of most commentators denying it, there is perhaps included here some reference to the judicious use of humor, or wit, in the Christian's speech. Among the Greek classical writers, 'Salt expressed the wit with which conversation was flavored.'" ^(F14)

In Luke 4:22, we see the example of Jesus. It was said of him, "All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips…" Barclay bemoans the fact that "It is all too true that Christianity in the minds of many is connected with a kind of sanctimonious dullness and an outlook in which laughter is almost a heresy." ^(F15)

Verses 7-9

FAITHFUL MESSENGERS

Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. Colossians 4:7

Tychicus was apparently quite a work horse in early Christianity. He was not only a workhorse but a faithful messenger-boy as well. He carried the letter of Paul to the Colossians and apparently also one to the Ephesians (Ephesians 6:21-22). He may have been unknown to the Colossian church, so Paul introduces him. We see that Paul uses this faithful messenger again and again. He helped carry the large offering for the poor believers in Jerusalem (Acts 20:4). He was also Paul's envoy to Crete (Titus 3:12). Then we see him going ahead of Paul to Troas (Acts 20:4).

There is a thing that is striking here, as well as it is in many other places. Paul was a very great personality in early Christianity. He was probably the most important Christian who ever lived in any age, and he certainly did more to spread the gospel and instruct the church than anyone else. Stedman says jokingly that he could have been a great candidate for Pope. Yet, he always considered himself a fellow servant or fellow worker.^(F16) He was just a slave for Jesus, and one in prison at that. God can really use a person when that person bows his life in humility and only wishes to serve and honor God.

There is another thing that is significant here. Lucas sums it up well saying of Paul, "He had a great capacity for sharing his ministry…Paul brought other qualified and mature believers into a genuine partnership with himself…he had a great capacity for supporting his lieutenants." ^(F17)

We must also remark how Paul was diligent to school his lieutenants and teach them to be powerful in ministry. Stedman says, "Four years in a seminary today could not possibly equal one or two years of this intense, personalized training with the apostle Paul himself." ^(F18)It is always the hallmark of a truly successful leader if other successful leaders can be left in his or her wake.

"I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts" (4:8). With each letter to the churches there was a vast amount of personal information and even doctrinal information that needed to be conveyed. Tychicus would fill in all these blanks for the Colossians. No doubt there was also a large security concern, especially since Paul was writing from Rome. The tyrant Emperor Nero was suspicions, jealous, cruel and quite dangerous.^(F19) In the end Paul would die as a martyr under his hand.

What we would all give just to be in just one of these apostolic briefings! No doubt there were many miracle stories that needed to be passed on. It is likely that Tychicus conveyed special in-depth teaching of certain doctrines. He would no doubt pass on information as to Paul's condition in confinement. We can only guess at all the other important and interesting things Tychicus related to the church.

"He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here" (4:9). Onesimus was a slave who had escaped from Philemon. It appears certain that Onesimus had once lived in Colossae with Philemon his master.^(F20)We see from the book of Philemon that Paul was very fond of Onesimus and it is a probability that this runaway was converted under Paul himself. Now Paul is sending him back home to his master, with instructions that he should be treated like a brother.

The influential Syrian bishop, Theodoret of Cyrus (c. 393 – c. 457) says of Onesimus, "Paul would have been reluctant to send Onesimus to the Colossians on his own, since he was an escaped slave and thus perhaps offensive to them; thus, Tychicus was more suitable for teaching and instruction." ^(F21)

Verses 10-15

PAUL'S FINAL GREETINGS

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.) Colossians 4:10

Paul first sends greetings from his faithful friend Aristarchus. This man, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, accompanied Paul on his third missionary journey through Asia Minor (Acts 19:29; 20:4; & 27:2). Aristarchus, it seems, stuck with Paul through some of his most difficult times. He stood with Paul in the dangerous riot at Ephesus (Acts 19:22). He was apparently with Paul throughout his imprisonment beginning in Caesarea and ending in Rome (Acts 27:2). He obviously witnessed the shipwreck in route to Rome and afterward continued on in Rome with Paul.

Next, Paul sends greetings from John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. We know that Mark, after his initial failure as a missionary became very important to Paul (2 Timothy 4:11). He was with Paul for some period in the latter's imprisonment at Rome. Sometime later he was also with Peter in Rome and became Peter's interpreter. He wrote the Gospel of Mark largely from his discussions with Peter and possibly from his sermons and memoirs. John Mark was Jewish but like many others he had adopted the Gentile name of Markos.

"Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me" (4:11). We saw in the previous verse that Mark, the Jew, was working with Paul, who was of course Jewish. Now we see the mention of Jesus Justus, who was also Jewish. Wall mentions the lack of Jewish workers and thinks it might "reflect the growing rift between the church and synagogue as well as between Gentiles and Jews within the church (Acts 15:1-4; 21:17-26; Gal 2:1- 3:5)." ^(F22) Although the Jewish workers in the spread of the gospel were becoming scarce, we can rejoice that the gospel was handed to us Gentiles by faithful Jewish workers.

This seems to be something that the church has forgotten in its long history. The Christian church was born from the womb of Judaism. We must not forget that we are still attached as part of a Jewish olive tree (Romans 11:17-18). Before God's great mystery is completed the Gentile church will once more merge with its Jewish counterpart (Ephesians 3:6).

"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. (4:12). Epaphras was already mentioned in 1:7. He seems to have served as the founder and pastor of the Colossian assembly. However, after his trip to visit Paul in Rome he must have remained there some time, somehow sharing in Paul's imprisonment (Philemon 1:23).

It seems that this man had an unusual spiritual gift, and that gift was intercession. He was always wrestling in prayer for the Colossian church. Once more we run into the Greek word agonizomenos, which means laboring fervently or even agonizing in prayer.^(F23)

Paul says, "I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis" (4:13). Since the heretics at Colossae had no doubt tried their best to demean Epaphras, we see Paul here going to great lengths to build him up. Paul vouched for the fact that he was a hard worker. Other translations read that he was working hard, expressing great zeal, showing deep concern for the church. Barclay feels that Epaphras was actually the overseer of the churches in the city grouping made up of Colossae, Hierapolis and Laodicaea. ^(F24) The three were very near each other in the Lycus Valley. The work that Paul, Epaphras and the others were doing with these churches was urgent. We learn from the annals of Tacitus that all three of these cities were destroyed in the year AD 62 by an earthquake.^(F25)

"Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house" (4:14-15). Luke, like Mark, also eventually wrote a gospel. But unlike Mark he was a Gentile. He is likely the only Gentile who authored a biblical book and he penned Luke and Acts This is also the only place in scripture that Luke is called a doctor.

We can be especially grateful for Doctor Luke. He not only gives us his important gospel but he gives us the Book of Acts, which is a detailed account of the early church. In many instances it is an eyewitness history. For years scholars have noted the "we sections" of Acts When Luke joins with a missionary journey he always uses the personal term "we" (cf. Acts 16:10-16; 20:6-15; 21:1-17). When he is not present, he relates the accounts without the "we." Now we see that Luke was even with Paul in his imprisonment (cf. 2 Timothy 4:11).

In this verse we also have mention made of Demas. Several commentators have noted that nothing is said of Demas, and they feel this is an indication that there was beginning to be some question about his commitment. In 2 Timothy 4:10, we read these sad words concerning this once faithful worker, "for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica…" Like so many so-called Christians today, Demas was focused mostly on the charms of this present evil age and not on the age to come. Coffman mentions an old tradition relating how Demas eventually became the owner of a brothel in the region of Dalmatia. ^(F26)

Scholars have continually questioned whether the Nympha here should be female or male. While most popular translations have Nympha as feminine, a few versions translate the name as masculine (cf. KJV, NKJ). The problem is that both forms of the name are found in extant manuscripts.^(F27) Regardless of whether the name should be Nympha or Nymphas, this is another evidence that the early church met in homes and continued to do so for the first few centuries of its existence (cf. Acts 12:12; 20:8; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Romans 16:5; Philemon 1:2). Bruce says, "Such house-churches were apparently smaller circles of fellowship within the larger fellowship of the city ekklesia [church]." ^(F28)

Verses 16-18

CLOSING INSTRUCTIONS

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. Colossians 4:16

Here we get a good idea of how Paul's letters to the churches were passed around. Scholars think that some letters, like perhaps Ephesians, were circular letters from the outset and that churches made their own copies and inserted their names as the recipients. The letter written to Laodicea does present a bit of a problem. Obviously, we have no such letter in our New Testament. It may be a lost letter of Paul. There is an alleged letter to Laodicea in existence but even as early as Jerome's time (347-420) it was considered a forgery. It seems that the most common explanation of the problem is that Paul was referring to the letter of Ephesians.^(F29)

Calvin remarks about Paul's letters saying, "They were indeed, in the first instance, addressed to particular churches, but, as they contain doctrine that is always in force, and is common to all ages, it is of no importance what title they bear, for the subject matter belongs to us." ^(F30)

Since individuals were not able to obtain personal copies of scripture in these early days, the letters were read publicly in the churches. In another place Paul advises concerning this. He says, "Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching" (1 Timothy 4:13).

"Tell Archippus: 'See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord.'" (4:17). There are only two mentions of Archippus in the New Testament, here and in Philemon 1:2. In this latter instance he is called Paul's "fellow soldier." In light of this reference we can feel that this exhortation is to be interpreted in a rather benevolent manner rather than in the form of rebuke. Jamieson thinks the word, "fulfill," (complete) is a reference to a ministry that is near its close and that Paul is encouraging Archippus to finish out or make proof of his ministry as we see in 2 Timothy 4:5. ^(F31)

There has been much speculation among commentators concerning the relationship of Archippus to Philemon. Since Philemon 1:2 lists him along with Philemon and Apphia, it has been suggested that they made up a family. Utley even suggests that Archippus was the pastor of Philemon's house church.^(F32)

When we look at the ending of this epistle and also at the long ending of Romans, we have to agree that Paul was a people person and a great friend-maker. Wiersbe notes that there are more than a hundred different Christians (including those unnamed) who were associates of Paul in Acts and in his epistles. Twenty-six of those appear in Romans alone. ^(F33) Of course, warm friendships in the Lord, and fellowship in Jesus' love are really what Christianity is all about.

"I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you" (4:18). In most of Paul's letters he used an amanuensis or copyist to write the body of the letter and then it was his custom to apply his signature at the ending in order to authenticate it as a genuine epistle. Alford makes a moving comment here saying, "When we read of his chains we should not forget that they moved over the paper as he wrote (his signature)." ^(F34)