We began this final portion of Colossians with a reminder to “Continue steadfastly in prayer,” being watchful and alert and awake, and being filled with thanksgiving to God (Colossians 4:2). Note all the ways that Paul is thankful in this letter - for believers in the church at Colossae, and for us today, too (1:3-5); for the Heavenly Father qualifying believers, including us, for an eternal inheritance in heaven, through the saving work of Jesus (1:12-14); for the peace with God that Jesus gives us and the Word of God that gives us thankful hearts; and for the opportunity to say, in words and deeds and songs, our thankfulness to God, in the name of Christ (3:15-17).
As they pray, Paul asks the Colossians to pray for him and others in sharing the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus. They need open doors for the Word of God to be shared and the strength and wisdom to share it clearly and plainly - as is still needed today (Colossians 4:3-4). It is the Word of God that is the power of God to bring people to faith, as the Holy Spirit works in and through that Word, delivered by Paul and others and by many still today. Notice how the Book of Acts tells of the living and active Word of God at work in people’s lives: Acts 6:9; 12:24; 19:20, etc. See also 2 Thessalonians 3:1.
It is the “mystery” of God’s love for all people, now revealed in Christ Jesus and what He did for all, that is Paul’s message. Paul needs prayers and strength to keep sharing that good news, even though that message is the reason for his being in prison in Rome (Colossians 4:3). You can read, in Acts 21:27-36, how Paul was in Jerusalem and was attacked by a mob of his fellow Jews, who rejected Jesus as the promised Savior, the Messiah. Roman authorities arrested him. He remained there in prison, with Jewish people plotting to kill him (Acts 22-24) until Paul, as a Jew, but also as a Roman citizen, appeals to be judged by Roman authorities in Rome itself, the capital of the empire (Acts 25). He travels as a prisoner to Rome and is now under house arrest in Rome, only because his is a believing and vocal Christian (Acts 26-28). Being a prisoner in Rome is giving him time and opportunity to share God’s Word with even more people, Jews and non-Jews (Acts 28:17-31). Paul also writes letters to Christians in Colossae, which we have been studying for a long time, and to Christians in Ephesus and Laodicea (Colossians 4:7-9, 16) and to individuals like Philemon, appealing for the freedom of the slave, Onesimus. See also the Letter to Philemon.
As we have heard, Paul also asks prayer for even more open doors for the Word, though it also brings danger and opposition. Prayer works and God works, and soon Paul writes another letter from prison in Rome, the Letter to the Philippians, where he tells of some of those newly open doors, even among Roman soldiers who keep him imprisoned. (See Philippians 1:12-14.)
Paul also reminds the Christians in Colossae (and us today) that all have opportunities to help open doors for the Word of God, by the way that they interact with “outsiders" - people who are not believers in Christ (Colossians 4:5-6). Act wisely and use your time wisely, Paul says, and watch what you say to others. Paul has already warned about negative, harmful ways of speech (Colossians 3:8-9. See also Galatians 5:14-15). In contrast try to speak in a grace-filled way, showing God’s undeserved love to others. Let your words be “seasoned with salt," with tasteful words, including God’s own Word, that will attract people to Christ and the Christian faith. (See Scriptures that talk about being “salt” and “light” as Christians - Matthew 5:13, Mark 9:50, Luke 14:34, and related Scriptures like James 3:13-18 and Ephesians 4:29.) And, Paul says, try to be prepared and know how to answer people who ask you why you are a Christian (Colossians 4:6 and passages like 1 Peter 3: 13-15). This positive witness for Christ can help open doors for others, too, as God works through our own gracious words. So, Paul encourages all of us also to keep keep reading and studying the Word of God and passing it on to others. (Colossians 4:16)
Paul closes the Letter to the Colossians, then, with greetings from many Christians in Rome and to many in Colossae and other cities close by. It is a reminder that the church is not a building, but people, believers of many kinds, with ups and downs and struggles, but still with trust in Jesus and His love. And it is more people still that we seek to reach out to with the Word of God, wherever we are and whoever we are.
We hear of Onesimus the slave and Philemon his master, both now Christians. We hear of Mark, who had conflicts with Paul, but was able to forgive and be forgiven and work right with Paul again and even write one of the Gospels. We hear of Luke, a medical doctor, but also a faithful servant of Christ and author of another of the Gospels. We hear of Demas, who later on had faith struggles. We hear of unknown people who are mentioned only here in this letter. And on and on. (We could do another whole study, just on what we do know about some of these people. If you want me to send you lists of Scriptures about some, let me know.)
What is clear is that every person is important to God, including you. Christ died for all, including you. And your name is added to that list of believers, too, by God’s grace. And as Paul says, in Colossians 2:6, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just aa you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
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