The ministry of the new man, Colossians 4:7-18

The ministry of the new man,  Colossians 4:7-18

Last week I remarked about how Paul in his imprisonment is believed to have had a guard chained to him at all times.  And I made note of the fact that the scripture says that as a result of being in close proximity to Paul for many hours every day, every day of the week, for two years, many of the Praetorian guard became believers in Christ.  And I posed the question to you, that those who are in close proximity to you in work or in some endeavor that you are a part of, would they end up becoming a Christian on the basis of your testimony to them for all those hours you spend together?

Well, in this passage, we see more people that were a part of the Apostle’s daily life while he was in prison.  Now this was a prison, yet not like what we might think of today.  It was his own rented quarters, a private house, but in which he was imprisoned and unable to leave.  But it’s evident that he was able to receive visitors there, and perhaps some of them were even able to stay in the house.

So Paul actually had a church in his prison.  And that should serve to be a reminder to us, that the church is not a building, it’s not an organization.  The church does not consist of a lot of programs or special events.  You know, we sometimes see people leave our church because they want more of what they think the church is supposed to be.  And a lot of times it’s something like a church that has a good youth group program, or children’s ministry.  Or they claim they are looking for a way to be involved in a church that has resources like financial or marriage counseling that are better suited to their talents.

But here in Paul’s prison church we see that the church is just people that are committed to Christ, that are committed to one another, and are committed to the spread of the gospel.  Now if you remember in this epistle back in chapter 3, Paul made an appeal to the Colossians to be the church, saying “since you have been raised up with Christ,” or since they had received new life in Christ, keep your focus on things above and not things on earth.  And then Paul gives a series of practical admonitions of how we are to live now as the church.  

The church is made up of Christians.  We are the church.  And so though this section might easily be dismissed as just a series of personal greetings and so forth, I think Paul might also be displaying a group of people from his church, who were living illustrations of what it means to be the church of Christ, whose focus are on things above, and not the things of this earth.  

So I want to try to take each person that Paul mentions here, and give each a vignette of sorts which I hope will show their ministry to the church, which should serve as a model for the church today.

Paul’s first mention is a man named Tychicus. He is a man with a servant’s heart. Paul says in vs 7, “As to all my affairs, Tychicus, [our] beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information.”

The name Tychicus means fortunate.  And he was certainly fortunate because of the time that he spent with the  apostle Paul. He’s mentioned in five different places in scripture, and each time only very briefly.  But from these references we can determine that Tychicus was a faithful servant of Paul throughout his ministry.

We hear initially about Tychicus in Acts 20.  Paul is collecting offerings from the churches in Macedonia for the saints in Jerusalem.  And he is joined by Tychicus in his journey.  In those days journey’s such as this were quite difficult affairs.  You couldn’t just book a ticket on an airline.  Such journeys often took months.  But Tychicus left his home and family to travel with Paul, perhaps to provide security for Paul.  I get the feeling that Tychicus was a very capable man, physically speaking as well as spiritually.  We see Tychicus making many such trips in which he safeguarded something valuable and important for the churches. He had to travel through all kinds of terrain, over the sea, in all kinds of weather, sleeping often out in the open at night, on guard against all kinds of robbers and thieves who preyed upon the traveler.

We see him again in Titus 3:12. Paul sends him to Titus, possibly to relieve Titus as a substitute pastor while Titus visits Paul in Nicopolis.  (Nick Demopolis’s hometown)  That shows that not only was Tychicus very capable physically, but he was capable spiritually as well.  He is able to sub for the pastor, Titus. 

And in 2 Timothy 4:12, we see a similar situation with Timothy. Paul wants Timothy to come to him and bring his cloak and parchments, and he sends Tychicus to hold down the fort for Timothy.  This is probably near the end of Paul’s life, and we can see that Tychicus has obviously matured as a Christian, from just a man with a servant’s heart, to a man that could take the pulpit so to speak from a person such as Timothy who was Paul’s prodigy and who would take up the mantle of Paul when he was gone. 

The first time that Paul was in prison in Rome is when he writes the letter to the Colossians.  And Tychicus has been with Paul at that point about 4 years.  And Paul indicates in this epistle that he is going to send this letter by Tychicus.  But it wasn’t just this letter, but it’s also believed that he carried the letter to the Ephesians as well as the epistle to Philemon.  Just imagine the importance of that trip.  Three of the Bible’s epistles were under the care and guardianship of Tychicus.  Not only does that indicate a servant’s heart, but a faithful man.   A man that would not let anything stop him or deter him.  I can’t help but think of this guy as a former soldier who had been converted and discipled by Paul.  I cannot prove that of course.  But I look forward to meeting this guy one day in heaven.  He was a tough, very capable, disciplined, determined and faithful soldier of Christ who Paul leaned on quite heavily.  Thank God for men like Tychicus. 

Paul calls him a beloved brother, a faithful servant and a fellow bond servant in the Lord.  That’s a pretty high commendation.  In 1Cor. 4:2  Paul speaks of a servant of Christ being a steward, one to whom is entrusted something, and he says in that passage, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”  There is no higher commendation that a man is found to be faithful.

The second man mentioned here is Onesimus.  Paul says he that accompanying Tychicus on this journey is Onesimus, vs. 9, “and with him Onesimus, [our] faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your [number.] They will inform you about the whole situation here.” Onesimus is a man with a sinful past. Now all of us have sinful pasts.  But if we have been raised up with Christ, then our old past should be in the past, and all things have become new.  Onesimus had a past, but he became  a new creation who God can use in His kingdom.

Now if we know who Onesimus is, then we can understand why Tychicus is bringing a letter to Philemon as well as to the church at Ephesus and Colossae.  If you have read the letter to Philemon, then you know the story.  Onesimus was the slave of Philemon who it would seem had stolen something and ran away from Philemon.  That was an offense that in those days was punishable by death.  But as providence would have it, Onesimus ended up in Rome, and somehow or another ended up being led to Christ by the apostle Paul.  

Now when Paul learned of Onesimus’s background, he realized the connection, because Paul had also led Philemon to the Lord.  And furthermore the church at Colossae met at Philemon’s house. That indicates that he was a wealthy man as he would have the biggest house suitable for holding church.  Somehow in his journey’s Paul had  led Philemon to the Lord because he says in the letter, “you owe to me even your own self as well.”  So in the letter, which Onesimus and Tychicus are delivering, are instructions for Philemon to forgive Onesimus, and whatever he owed Philemon from the theft, to charge it to Paul’s account.

What is also very interesting is that there is a letter that has been found which is written by Ignatius, one of the early church fathers just after the death of the apostles, and he is writing to the church at Colossae, in which he mentions the pastor of their church, who is none other than Onesimus.  Imagine that.  A former runaway slave, a criminal, who repents and is restored to his master, and eventually ends up becoming the pastor of the church there at Colossae.  What a wonderful testimony of the grace of God upon sinners, that He is able to make all things new, and use even the least of us as examples of His grace.

Next, Paul mentions a man named Aristarchus, who he describes as my fellow prisoner.  We might say about Aristarchus as a man with a sympathetic heart.  Now Aristarchus’ name appears elsewhere in the New Testament in association with the town of Thessalonica. Aristarchus is mentioned about 5 times in scripture.  You might remember on one occasion he was with Paul in Ephesus, and he and Gaius were arrested.  It seems quite likely that Aristarchus continued with Paul in his ministry because the next time we see him he is boarding the ship with Paul on his way to Rome.  If so, that could be the reason Paul calls him his fellow prisoner.  It would seem that he continued with Paul throughout his imprisonment, and he did so because he was sympathetic towards Paul, and wanted to share his burden.  He was willing to forego his own liberty to help Paul spread the gospel.  

The fourth man Paul mentions is a man whom we might say is given a second chance. Really that is true about all Christians, but we see it illustrated here particularly in the case of Mark. He describes him as “Barnabas’s cousin Mark (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him).” 

You may remember Mark who went with Paul and Barnabas on missionary journey and somewhere along the way he decided he wanted to go back home.  We don’t know the reason but it may have been loneliness or just missing home.  He was a young man. Later, when Barnabas wanted to take Mark along on another missionary trip, Paul wouldn’t hear of it, because he considered Mark a deserter.They ended up getting in such a disagreement about it, that Paul and Barnabas split up, with Barnabas taking along Mark on a missions trip, and Paul taking Silas on another.

Well, by the time of this letter some time has passed, and it’s obvious that Mark has matured as a Christian and is now reconciled to Paul.  In fact, later on Paul will say in 2 Timothy 4:11, “Take Mark and bring him with you, for he’s profitable to me for the ministry.”  That was near the end of Paul’s life.  But what is also very interesting is that somewhere along the way Mark became a prodigy of Peter.  And after years of spending time with Peter God used Mark through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to write the Gospel of Mark.   

So it should be very encouraging for us to see that God is the God of second chances.  Even when we are faithless, He remains faithful.  God is a God of reconciliation, and He has chosen to use us, the weak things, to do mighty things for Him.  

Another man is mentioned here in this closing passage by Paul.  One that I’m sure you have never heard of.  In vs 11, speaking of the coming of Mark Paul adds, “and [also] Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me.” 

I suppose that they called him Justus rather than Jesus because he did not consider himself fit to be called Jesus.  Even though in Hebrew Jesus was Joshua and it was a fairly common name.  But interestingly, the name Justus means righteous.  So we have some indication from his name that this was a man who was committed in his faith.  And that is what we might say concerning Justus, he was a man with a strong commitment. 

Now what gives us that idea is that Paul says Justus and Mark and Aristarchus are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision.  What that indicates is that they were the only Jewish men who were working with Paul. Whenever Paul went into a new area he always began by ministering to the Jewish community.  And it took a lot  of commitment for a Jewish man to leave his people and all the heritage and traditions of the Jewish religion and follow someone like Paul. It would seem that only these three men were all that had come out from among the Jews.  And Paul says that they were a source of encouragement to him.

Let’s look at the next person, Epaphras. Vs. 12 “Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.  For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis.”  We might say that Epaphras was a man of single purpose. 

Epaphras was the pastor of the church at Colossae.  He had come to Rome to tell Paul the trouble that the  false teachers were teaching to the Colossians. And Paul is writing this letter to the Colossians in answer to what Epaphras has told him.  Epaphras is going to stay awhile longer and spend more time with Paul. So Paul says he sends his greeting.

Notice that Paul says this pastor is always laboring for them in his prayers.  A pastor should be a man of prayer and always be lifting up his people before the Lord.  Furthermore, this pastor is concerned that they become mature in their faith.  He is not just interested in filling an auditorium or even with just making converts.  But he is concerned that they know the will of God and are completed in their faith.  Not remaining infants, but mature. That’s the hallmark of a godly pastor. To disciple and shepherd his church.

He says in vs 13, “For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis.”  That word translated as a deep concern is more literally translated as much toil or great pain.  His concern over his church is such that it causes him pain, he suffers because of his deep concern for the church.  And that’s why he labors so intensely in prayer. He contends with God in prayer for his church.  That’s the kind of leadership we see in a man like Moses who regularly went to bat for his people before the Lord, even to the point of wishing that he might be accursed in their place.  Paul said the same thing about his countrymen.  That’s the purpose of a pastor, to see His people come to maturity in Christ.

The next one Paul mentions is Luke.  Now he should be a familiar figure to us all.  Paul says in vs 14, “Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings.”  Luke was a physician.  He attended to Paul.  Paul, we believe, had problems with his eyes.  Some say that it was the result of the Damascus road experience. Some say that the situation with his eyes might have been the thorn in the flesh that he asked God to take from him three times, and God did not.  But God did give Dr. Luke to be a companion of Paul, to minister to him.  God gave Paul his own personal physician. 

Luke is a great illustration of a man who had a talent to offer to God.  And he gave his talent to God, and God took his talent and gave him back a gift that was much greater.  He gave up his practice in medicine, but he gained the privilege of being used by the Holy Spirit to write two of the books of the New Testament; the gospel of Luke, and the book of Acts.  The gift that this man gave to the church, not just of that period, but for over 2000 years is something that cannot be compared to whatever fortunes that he might have given up for the sake of following Christ. 

The last guy that Paul mentions is Demas.  Demas was a man that seemed to be in good standing at that time, but in fact he had a sad future.  In 2 Timothy 4:9, Paul says to Timothy, “Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.”  Demas abandoned Paul because he fell in love with the world.  Demas is like a lot of people in the church today.  They hang in for a while, they are around for a while, but they end up loving this present world more than they love God.  It’s a life in contrast to chapter 3 vs 1, “since you have been raised up with Christ, then keep seeking the things above.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”  But for so many people like Demas, the things of this earth have a greater allure and they end up turning back to this present world and forsake the things of God. Perhaps Demas never was saved, we don’t know.  But he certainly made a bad trade, giving up the eternal rewards of heaven for the temporary pleasures of this world.

Paul closes the letter in vs 15 saying, “Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house.  When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter [that is coming] from Laodicea.  Say to Archippus, ‘Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.’  I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you.

Notice that the church at Laodicea met at the house of Nympha. Laodicea was a neighboring town, sort of like Bethany is to Rehoboth.  So there was a house church in Laodicea that met int he house of Nympha.  We saw earlier that same situation in  Colossae, where they met at the house of Philemon.  Now neither Nympha nor Philemon are pastors, but they probably were wealthy enough to have a large house which served as the meeting place for the church.  But even with a large house, it’s doubtful that these churches had more than 75 people or so in their congregation.  Probably a lot less than that.  

I think that Christianity today has gotten the wrong idea of what a church should look like.  It’s evident from biblical history that those churches were small, intimate groups of people meeting together and serving one another in house churches.  Today the church in America for the most part is the polar opposite.  Pastors don’t even know the majority of their congregations names.  Paul indicates an intimate knowledge of the people in his church and those churches that he had visited.  And I think that kind of relationship is important if you are going to make diisciples, and fulfill the completion of their spiritual maturity as  Epaphras was praying for his church.

The last person we should question is who is Archippus mentioned in vs17? Paul says to him, “Take heed of the ministry which you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it.”   In Philemon we read, “To the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house.”  Commentators believe that Apphia was Philemon’s wife and Archippus was Philemon’s son.  Now Paul calls him a fellow soldier, but that may not be a reference to the military, but to a calling of God on his life to go into the ministry.  And that seems to agree with the context of Colossians where Paul says take heed of the ministry which you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it.  Paul is encouraging him to continue to follow the Lord’s leading in his life. To continue to fulfill the ministry which God has given him to do.  And in a prophetic sense, he is encouraging you and I to fulfill our ministry which we have been given in the Lord.

All of the people here mentioned at the close of this letter have a ministry.  Most of them seem to be fulfilling it.  Demas did not.  He deserted.  Mark deserted for a while as well, but he came back and accomplished great things for God.  Archippus is just starting out it would seem.  And Paul is encouraging him to complete his ministry, to fulfill it.  

We are the church.  We are the people God has chosen for ministry in this community.  I hope you know what ministry you have been called to fulfill. We have all been called to be ministers of the kingdom of God, ambassadors of Christ. I urge you by the Spirit of God to be found faithful in completing your ministry.  And if you are found faithful in the little things, then God will entrust you with greater things.  I pray for each of you today, take heed of the ministry which you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it.