Listen for God’s word to you from Colossians 4:2-6…
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 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. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant[a] in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our[b] circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 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.
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.) 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews[c] among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 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. 14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
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.
17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
Introduction
If you were writing a letter that you knew was going to be your last communication to someone you care about, what would you say? What topics would you focus upon? People’s last words sometimes tell us a lot about the person and their life.
Jason Tuskes was a 17-year-old high school honor student in St. Petersburg, Florida. Jason was close to his mother, his wheel-chair-bound father and his 13-year-old brother, Christian. Jason was an excellent athlete who loved to scuba dive.
He left home on a Tuesday morning to explore a spring and underwater cave not far away. His plan was to be home in time to celebrate his mother’s 42nd birthday by going out to dinner with his family that night.
However, Jason became lost in a cave where the water was murky at best. Then, in his panic, he apparently got wedged into a narrow passageway. When Jason realized he was trapped and almost out of air, he shed his yellow metal air tank and unsheathed his diver’s knife. With the tank as a tablet and the knife as a writing instrument, he wrote one last message to his family: “I love you Mom, Dad and Christian.” Then, sadly, Jason ran out of air and drowned.
The words we speak are so important, they reveal what is in our hearts. Jason knew those were going to be his last words, so he made them count. We don’t often know when we may be speaking our last words—so we need to make all our words ones of encouragement and love.
Paul is coming to the end of his one and only letter to the Colossians. He reminds them twice that he is in prison. He knows what is next: trial before Caesar, and I imagine he is quite aware that after that, the only thing that may be in store for him on this earth is execution. What we have here in Colossians is Paul’s final words to a group of people he cares about, and he signs the letter in his blood, so to speak. Such a closing to a very important letter ought to grab our attention. Paul focuses on four topics: prayer, wisdom, conversation, and people. Let us look at each one in turn…
PRAYER
Paul says, “Devote yourselves to prayer.” Prayer seems to be the first and last thing on his mind, and it’s part of the middle too; in short, prayer is always, for Paul, the foremost activity in the life of the Christian. In 1 Timothy 2:1 he says, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers,intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people…” Paul has prayed for the Colossians at the beginning of this letter, and he has demonstrated to them his life of prayer. Now at the end of the letter he urges them to devote themselves to prayer.
The word for “devote” means to continue steadfastly. It is not difficult to say a prayer occasionally. But to continue steadfastly in a life of prayer throughout one’s daily life, that is a real challenge.
Paul adds to the word for “continue steadfastly”—being watchful and thankful. The word for “watchful” means “to stay awake”. The word reminds us of how the disciples fell asleep on Jesus when he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his death. And Jesus said to them, “Couldn’t you keep watch with me for one hour?” Then he added, “The spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:40-41)
Yes, sometimes our bodies do not cooperate with our spirit. This is why it is important to set aside some time every day, during the best part of the day, when one is most awake, to pray.
But to stay awake means not just to stay awake physically, but spiritually as well. Prayer is how we stay awake to God. And in fact, the whole of the Christian life is about waking up to the reality of who God is and what he is doing in the world and how we can participate with him in his kingdom work.
Expressing gratitude in prayer is another thing Paul emphasizes over and over. Our tendency, as human beings, is to turn downward and inward. Thankfulness in prayer turns us upwardand outward, it lifts our spirits.
Paul goes on to urge the Colossians to engage in a specific type of prayer, in addition to thanksgiving. He urges the Colossians to engage in intercessory prayer, specifically by praying for him and his team of gospel workers. “Oremus pro invicem” are among the great watchwords of the faith… let us pray for one another.
One great pattern for prayer that has been followed by many Christians over the years follows the acronym ACTS which stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. It is interesting to me that Paul reminds the Colossians to engage in both Thanksgiving and Supplication before he closes out this letter.
What, specifically, does Paul urge the Colossians to do in supplication and intercession? He tells them exactly what he wants them to pray for him. First, he says, pray that God may open a door.
It is fascinating to me that Paul does not ask the Colossians to pray that God will open the door of the prison in which he finds himself. God did do that for Paul on one occasion in Philippi and he did it through an earthquake that opened the prison doors. But Paul does not ask the Colossians to pray for that here.
He asks them to pray that God will open a door so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ. Paul does not ask to be released from prison. He asks that he may fulfill his calling, to continue to proclaim Jesus faithfully to the end of his life. Specifically, he asks the Colossians to pray that I may proclaim it clearly.
There is so much in this prayer request that is helpful to us even to this day. Paul’s instructions make it clear how important prayer is in the life of every Christian. His instructions also make it clear that it is not the job of every Christian to preach. But every Christian can pray for the ministry of preaching.
It is so important to pray for open doors. If God doesn’t open the door for his message to go into people’s hearts, then all preaching is basically useless. I would humbly ask that you pray for me that God would open doors for the message of Christ to go forth through me, and all the other wonderful preachers on Cape Cod to the thousands of people who need to hear the good news about Jesus.
Secondly, pray for me that I may make the message clear. You know what they say about fog? Fog in the pulpit, fog in the pew. Pray that I may proclaim the mystery of Christ clearly. And I thank you in advance for your prayers.
WISDOM
The second word that Paul has for the Colossians in closing is a word about wisdom. He says, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”
Paul is clear, not every Christian is a preacher, but every Christian is a witness. You, your life, may be the only Bible that some people read. And so, I say: Make your life good reading! Make your life a good advertisement for Christianity.
CONVERSATION
The next word Paul has for the Colossians makes clear how we can make the most of every opportunity we have with those outside of the Christian faith. It is a word about conversation. While our life, the way we act, is a very important witness to who Jesus is and the difference he can make in a life, our words are important too.
Paul says, “Let your conversation always be full of grace.” Can it be said of us that our conversation is always full of grace? Or do we sometimes gossip? Are we sometimes critical of others in the things that we say? Gossip and criticism are both at the opposite end fromgrace. Do we speak life words or death words to and about others? Grace conveys words of life. Grace makes our conversation flavorful in a good way, just like salt makes a meal flavorful.
Paul also makes a second point about our conversation that is very important. He says that we need to know how to answer everyone. What is Paul talking about? I think he is saying the same thing that Peter says in 1 Peter 3:15. Peter says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”
Are you able to answer the questions non-Christians ask you about your faith? Are you able to give reasons for the hope that you have? While not every Christian is a preacher, every Christian does need to be able to give a reason for their hope in Christ. And when you don’t have an answer to someone’s question the best thing you can say is: “I don’t know the answer to that, but let’s find the answer together.” That gives you the opportunity to do some research and come back to your questioner with an answer.
PEOPLE
The final thing Paul talks about in his letter to the Colossians is not a thing but people. Paulmentions ten people specifically, who are companions of his in the ministry of the Gospel. Paul wants the hearts of the Colossians to be knit to these other folks outside of Colossae who are also important members of the body of Christ.
First, there is Tychicus, the bearer of this letter to the Colossians. Tychicus was an important and trusted member of Paul’s missionary team.(See Acts 20:4; Ephesians 6:21; 2 Timothy 4:12; Titus 3:12.)
Secondly, Paul mentions Onesimus, the runaway slave from Colossae. But Paul does not refer to Onesimus as a runaway slave. He calls him “our faithful and dear brother”. In Paul’s eyes Onesimus has an entirely new status in Christ.
Then we have Aristarchus. Paul callsAristarchus his fellow prisoner. In Acts 27:2 Aristarchus accompanies Paul to Rome on the ship that eventually wrecks on the island of Malta. So, apparently, because Aristarchus travels with Paul to Rome he ends up being in prison with him. We get the impression that it was a bit risky to be a close friend of Paul.
Next, Paul mentions Mark who sends greetings along with Aristarchus. Paul identifies Mark as the cousin of Barnabas. Furthermore, Paul says about Mark, “You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.” This is a huge change of tone for Paul from earlier in his ministry. Mark was the young man who accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, but Mark abandoned Barnabas and Paul in the middle of their journey. When Paul and Barnabas were setting out on their second missionary journey, Barnabas wanted to give his cousin Mark a second chance, but Paul did not. The disagreement was so strong that Paul and Barnabas parted company and went on separate missionary journeys. Paul’s tone and attitude toward Mark has softened by the time he writes this letter and so he urges the church to welcome Mark as one of his fellow workers. This same Mark was close to Peter and later he ends up writing down Peter’s recollections of Jesus and that becomes the first Gospel ever written. Mark’s life proves the truth of Winston Churchill’s statement: “Success is not final;failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Next, Paul mentions Jesus who is called Justus.We don’t know anything else about him.
Epaphras is the next person Paul mentions. We heard of Epaphras in Colossians 1:7 where Paul says that the Colossians learned the Gospel “from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf…” So, it could be that when Paul was preaching the Gospel in the Lecture Hall of Tyrannus in Ephesus, Epaphras heard the good news of Jesus and became a believer. Then he took that good news back to his hometown of Colossae where he shared it with others and a new church was formed. Paul calls him a faithful minister, so it could be that Epaphras was the first pastor of the church in Colossae.
Next, Paul mentions that Luke joins him in sending greetings. Paul calls him a doctor. (See also 2 Timothy 4:11 and Philemon 1:24.) Luke was a traveling companion of Paul, and the early church believed he was the author of the Gospel that bears his name and author of the book of Acts. If that is true, then Luke ended up writing more of the New Testament than Paul or any other author.
Next, Paul mentions Demas who also sends greetings. Demas is mentioned here and in Philemon as being one of Paul’s Gentile fellow workers. He is also mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul’s final letter. And there Paul says about Demas, “because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.” That just goes to show that ministers fail too just like everyone else. We don’t know if Demas continued to “love this world” more than the work of the Gospel. Hopefully, he recovered from this lapse.
The next person that Paul mentions, Nympha, isthe only woman in his list. Paul says, “Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.” So, Nympha hosted the church in her home in Laodicea.
Finally, Paul mentions Archippus who was, apparently, a member of the church in Colossae and a recipient of this letter. Paul says to Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
If you are a Christian, then, like Archippus, you have a ministry, or maybe more than one. And it is important that you and I together complete the ministry or ministries that the Lord has given us. Perseverance is one of the most important qualities of the Christian life.
The last person Paul mentions in this letter is himself. If Paul were like the scuba diver I mentioned earlier, and he had only moments to scratch out a final message on his oxygen tank, that message would consist of these four words: “Grace be with you.” This letter began with grace, and it ends with grace. And there is, perhaps, no more important word that Paul has for us, than grace. Grace is the unmerited favor of God that he gives to us through his Son Jesus, through his life, death and resurrection. And in that gift of grace is wrapped up every other blessing that there is in the whole universe. I pray that you will unwrap that gift of grace, receive it as your own, revel in it, and share it with as many people as you can.
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