Colossians 4:7-9 - Faithful envoys

In his ministry over the years, Paul had developed some relationship with trusted friends whom he co-labored with. They were loyal to him and he highly valued them. He would sent them as his emissaries to people whom he was ministering to but unable to attend to them personally. In these three verses, Paul tells us briefly about the mission of Tychicus and Onesimus.  

According to Acts 20:4, Tychicus came from Asia Minor and traveled with Paul in his third missionary journey. Here the apostle sent him to deliver the letter he had written to the Colossians. He acknowledged him as a beloved brother, faithful minister and fellow servant of the Lord. Besides delivering the letter, Tychicus’ mission was to keep the Colossians informed of all the circumstances about Paul. They were probably facts that he didn’t write in his letter. Tychicus was also sent to encourage their hearts. To Paul he was a reliable and loyal witness and could be trusted to convey information concerning the state of the apostle’s imprisonment.

Onesimus was called a faithful and beloved brother. He was a runaway slave and was recently converted. He was from Colossae, and having acknowledged the Lordship of Christ in His life, was now a beloved brother of Paul and the believers. Together with Tychicus, they would help to keep the Colossians posted of all that was happening to Paul.

From the way Paul expressed about them, we know that the apostle valued faithfulness and spirituality and not wealth or status. These two envoys were sent in Paul’s place to help the Colossians to stay faithful and obedient to the Word of God.

The Lord is faithful. The Apostle Paul was faithful. The two envoys of Paul were faithful. The key to reliability is faithfulness. It is important that we nurture faithfulness in our lives. Be faithful to God, to friends and to the commission God had entrusted to us, and be faithful witnesses of Christ in a lost and troubled world!  

Colossians 4:5-6 – Carpe Diem (Seize the day)

Like it or not, we Christians are known by our behavior. As a believer acknowledges the Lordship of Christ, sanctification and transformation in his or her life takes place progressively. In Christ, believers enabled by the Holy Spirit, begin to cultivate a new set of behavior based on Biblical values.  How believers conduct their lives before a watching world is critical. We can either draw them toward Christ or push them away from Him. Here in these two verses, Paul exhorts believers to walk in wisdom before the watching world.

Although the word time is used for the word opportunity in some versions, the more appropriate word is still opportunity. It suggests the prospect that we are confronted with, to make an impact for the Lord.  We should make the most of any opportunity before it is lost. Remember that every opportunity is God’s given moment. Decision or indecision to seize that moment will determine how quickly we progress in our spiritual journey.

One avenue we all need to handle well is our speech. Paul is calling on us to take care to ensure that we speak not only gracious but also wise words. What we say must be consistent with our belief. People are more inclined to listen to us when what we say are backup by personal integrity. What we are will definitely speak louder than what we say. So let our behavior and speech be congruous. 

Remember, when a matter is important say it clearly and deliberately; when it is urgent, say it slowly and un-hastily; and when it has no value don’t say it at all. Whatever it is, always say it truthfully! Don’t be malicious or slanderous. Words are powerful! Let’s be aware that both life and death is in the power of the tongue.

Colossians 4:2-4 – Prayer and the believers

Prayer is perhaps one of God’s most potent weapons and gifts to His church. Being a prayer answering God, He wants us to co-labor with Him, both for personal progress as well as expansion of His Kingdom. God expects us to pray for ourselves, but He also expects us to pray for His work, especially those whom He has called to serve in the work of the Gospel. This explains why Paul exhorts the believers to devote themselves in prayer.

The word devotion suggests that we not only had to be earnest about prayer but we are also to bring into it our mind, emotion and physique. This very important spiritual exercise should be engaged with our whole being. It requires time, effort and much work. Bear in mind that God is the power behind all our answered prayers. In this spiritual exercise we are His instruments that will trigger the release of the answers to meet our needs as well as the needs of the church. God has the ability to answer, but He wants our participation to bring about the release. The right way to approach prayer is with an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving.

Verse 3 tells us that we are not only to pray for ourselves but to also to pray for all God’s workers who are tasked with delivering the message of Christ. We should pray for doors to be opened for God’s servants to bring the message of Christ freely, truly, boldly and clearly to the people.

God uses prayer to transform both our lives and to shape events of the world. It is the central channel He uses. In prayer we think God’s thoughts, see God’s plan, desire God’s will and love what He loves. No wonder Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians said, “Pray without ceasing.” We must make the time to do it and discover the wonders of prayer for ourselves!

  

Colossians 3:22-4:1 –Slaves/Masters relationship

Although having a slave was a common practice in the days of Paul, it is not indicative that God had created slaves or slavery. However, in these few verses, Paul’s instructions tell us that servants or slaves must be treated with dignity as fellow human beings.

Slaves were called to obey their masters in all things. They must serve not only when they are being watched by their masters but also would not malinger or skive when they are not. If they did not conduct themselves in this way, it would make them merely men pleasers instead of true service providers.

Paul was certain that if a slave truly loved the Lord, he would serve in a way that the Lord would be honored. Although they might be serving their earthly masters, they should serve with the attitude that they were actually serving Jesus Christ their Lord. In fact, in this way, they would then be motivated to serve heartily because they were serving the Lord and not man. Besides, they should serve with the Lord’s ultimate reward in mind. The apostle assured them that rewards await those faithful servants who were diligent in their works.

In Colossians 4:1, Paul then turned to instruct masters who owned slaves. They were exhorted to be just and fair to their slaves. The reason was the fact that they too had a Master. And He is none other than the Lord who sees and  knows everything.

We live in days when slavery is not a common thing. However, we can see this passage in the light of an employer and employee relationship. What sort of attitude must we have as an employer or an employee? What sort of work must we produce to bring glory and honor to God in our workplaces? How should we treat our subordinates at work?

Whether we are a boss or a subordinate, this passage says we must be diligent, be faithful, be fair and just, and serve with the aim to please God and not only to please earthly men. So let’s just faithfully, diligently, fairly and justly discharge our duties!

Colossians 3:18-21 - Healthy family relationships

The place that Christians need to display conduct worthy of Christ the most, should be our family living. That’s the reason the New Testament writings deal with such relationships in several places. Since most families comprise of husbands, wives and children, Paul dealt with two units of relationship: husbands/wives and parents and children in Colossians 3:18-21.

 

In verses 18-19, Paul first called on the wives to be subject to their own husbands. This is a call for wives to be submissive to their own husbands. Submission is an attitude. The wives should do it because this is how God had ordained the order for the wife-husband relationship. God in His wisdom had instituted it this way. Hence it is appropriate and best. Husbands, on the other hand, are called to love their own wives. Husbands must make expressing love toward their wives a constant and consistent practice. “Do not embittered…” is a command put in a negative way. By putting the command this way, husbands are not to resent their wives, become impatient and harsh with them. Paul’s instruction to husbands implies that they are to act considerately towards their wives. Let’s remember that strong homes are built where mutual respect are shown between husbands and wives. Homes will become strong social structures when biblical commands such as these are followed by husbands and wives.
  

In dealing with parents/children relationship in verses 20-21, the apostle first calls on children to be obedient to their parents, as this is well pleasing to the Lord. As long as children have living parents, God expects them to show obedience. If we carefully analyze verse 21, we will realize that it is a call for absolute and complete obedience in all respect and under all circumstances. Paul was saying that God would be pleased when children are found to be in complete obedience to their parents in all areas of their lives. This works on the premise that Christian parents must be godly. But here we also see the fathers particularly being singled out. They were told not to exasperate their children so that they will not be discouraged.
 

What is the meaning of exasperate? Simply put, to exasperate is to provoke to the point of anger. Fathers can exasperate their children by making excessive and illogical demands. Where fathers have shown consideration and understanding, children have found it easier to respond to their encouragements. Hence, Christian fathers should make it their regular business never to dishearten their children but to provide encouraging atmosphere for their growth. 
 

What ought we to do as a wife, a husband, a father or a mother or a child? Here we are given some clear biblical imperatives. Let us be sure to submit, love, obey and never to exasperate as appropriate! All these have to do with our emotional quotient in family living. Be sure to make God’s glory our prime objective in life and these attitudes will not be a chore but a delight!

Colossians 3:12-17 - Cultivating Christ-like characters

In verse 12, Paul started with the connective “so.” This provides the basis for his exhortation here. On the ground that believers are God’s chosen people, set apart unto Himself and dearly loved by Him, to reflect His characteristics would not only be appropriate but also the needful thing to do. The eight characteristics that believers should reflect God are: heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; forbearance, and forgiveness and love. Believers must wear these eight characteristics because they reflect the God we worship and serve.

Notice that all these eight characteristics have to do with relationship within the fellowship. The apostle through God’s wisdom knew that friction would be common in any relationship. These characteristics make it possible for members within the fellowship to accept each other into one’s life. Pointing to God’s example in Christ, Paul called on the believers to be kind to one another; to be forgiving as God had demonstrated His forgiveness through Christ. When we find it hard to forgive another, we should look at how God had forgiven us in Christ. 

In verse 14, Paul specially emphasized the element of love. This is one characteristic believers are urged to put on above all the rest. Why? That’s because love is the center piece and it provides alignment and enables the development of all the other characteristics. Paul calls it the perfect bond of unity. In other words, love puts everything in its rightful and perfect place.    

Having discussed the eight characteristics, Paul then gave three imperatives from verses 15-17. The first is to let the peace of Christ rule in the heart. This is not referring to the feeling of being calm and restful but believers’ peaceful co-existence with others in the body. This peace will make harmonious existence possible. Let this peace be the umpire to bring about happy peaceful acceptance of each other.     

The second call is to let the Words of Christ dwell richly within you and be the source of instruction within the fellowship. Whether by songs or psalms or spiritual songs, we must let Christ’s Words instruct, counsel and exhort us and build in us grateful lives and hearts that are overflowing with thankfulness.    

Finally, we believers are instructed to do everything, be it speech or action, for the sake of Christ’s Lordship. It means we acknowledge His Lordship in all our activities in life. In making Him Lord over all that we do, we would be offering our thanksgiving to God through Him. 

We are in total union with Christ. How we conduct our lives will either magnify or mystify Him to others. In the face of misunderstanding, these characteristics that Paul exhorts us to put on will definitely help us to reveal Christ better.  Ultimately all victories in life is dependent on how much we put on the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Colossians 3:5-11 - Put on Christ

Having established that believers are in union with Christ, Paul continued to deal with the practical implications that status had for the believers’ earthly living. He was showing us believers how to practically live out our heavenly citizenship here on earth. Like changing clothes, dirty ones would be taken off and new and clean ones put on, so also it must be for a believer. We must take off the old sinful behavior and put on new behaviors of a regenerated person made in Christ. Here we are told what must be discarded and what must be developed.   

Those that must be discarded are again placed in two broad groups. The first group is the sinful indulgences such as immorality, impurity or lust, passion or evil desires, and idolatrous greed. Paul’s words here suggested that one should literally slain or put to death these indulgences. He considered greed an idolatry because it makes a person devote his or her soul to something else other than God. The reason they should be scrupulously dealt with is because they are offensive to God. They were the very things that those unbelievers and people who don’t believe in God would indulge in. These were the practices of an unbeliever with dead moral conscience.

The second group would be the sinful intolerances such as anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech and lies. The first three have to do with attitude and the last two with words. From verse 9, we roughly can tell that the habit of lying was peculiar to the old lifestyle of the Colossians. So Paul exhorted them that in Christ, lying should no longer be a feature in one’s life. Being truthful must in fact be the characteristic of every believer in Christ. Why? It’s because as believers we have set aside our old nature and display the new one that’s being renewed in Christ.

How do we display the new nature but by putting on those we need to develop. In our oneness with Christ, our knowledge and experience of Him would allow us to develop sanctified spirituality. This was not an immediate thing. It would be a day to day yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit. As we discard our past nature, and adopt the new one made in Christ, we are being changed. As believers in the Lord, there are no dividing barriers whether racially, religiously, culturally or socially. These barriers are removed in Christ. Believers in Christ only have one focus – Christ Jesus. He is our all and is in us all.  

What’s our focus today? Let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ and give no room for the flesh to display its lust!