Colossians – Week 10
November 14 – Colossians
Colossians 4:16, 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.
Paul was a prolific letter writer. It is obvious that we do not have copies of all the letters that he wrote. The Colossians and Laodiceans were to swap letters once they received them.
Besides his missionary journeys, this was Paul’s main method of ministry. It was what he did while in jail. It is why he always wanted people around him so they would be ready to take a letter to a particular city and church.
He did not use being incarcerated as an excuse to keep from faithfully serving Jesus. His letter writing ministry was his example of what he said earlier in this chapter.
Colossians 4:3-5, 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. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
He was making the most of the opportunity. This so-called “down time” was being redeemed by Paul to encourage and strengthen the Body of Christ around the known world. He was determined to find a way to let his passion for Jesus and the gospel message to continue to make progress even in the midst of his difficult circumstances.
This illustrates yet another point of God’s Word as found in Paul’s writings.
Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
God was working for the good through Paul’s life because Paul loved Christ and was called according to His holy purpose. God has the ability to elevate us above our circumstances so that we can fulfill his plan and faithfully do his eternal work.
Your current circumstances may seem overwhelming to you, but God is making a way to providentially work and accomplish heaven’s purposes through you. So, keep on loving and trusting Him!
Memory Verse: Colossians 4:17, Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
Question(s) to Consider: Are you facing overwhelming circumstances? How is God working His good through you? Will you trust Him to do so?
November 15 – Colossians
Colossians 4:16, 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.
What do we know about Laodicea?
Laodicea was a wealthy community. It was much larger than Colossae and served the area as a center for banking and finance. Much of the revenues for the city came from the production of textiles. The medical school of Laodicea, associated with the local deity Memn Karou, was also well known. It was only eleven miles down the Lycus River from Colossae. The church there was probably established at the same time as the church in Colossae by Epaphras. (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary of the New Testament)
It was a sister church to the Colossians. They were so close that they may have shared in ministry together. Paul mentions them three other times in this letter.
Colossians 2:1, I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.
Colossians 4:13, I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.
Colossians 4:15, Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
Paul expects the Colossians to communicate with the believers at Laodicea what he is telling them. I am sure he said the same to the Laodiceans about communicating with the Colossians what was in his letter to them.
Paul is teaching that there is to be a spirit of unity within the church as an expression of the Body of Christ, but there is, also, to be unity in the larger Body of Christ between individual church locations. We are not in competition with one another but with the dark and evil forces that want to capture the hearts and minds of people.
May we not only pray for our own church but other churches who are faithfully proclaiming the truth and expressing the love of Jesus in the community. As you drive by other church buildings, you might want to lift up a prayer for the congregation to be faithful and fruitful in their ministry to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Memory Verse: Colossians 4:17, Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
Question(s) to Consider: How often do you pray for your own church? Other churches? Will you do so today?
November 16 – Colossians
Colossians 4:16, 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.
In the book of Revelation, John receives a message to write to seven churches. Some of these churches are being faithful, some seem to have totally gone off course, and some have a mix of good and bad qualities. One of the churches is Laodicea. It appears to have gone off course.
Revelation 3:14-22, “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Lukewarm water is not beneficial for drinking. We either want water that is cold or hot. Lukewarm water represents a complacent compromised faith. It is a faith that has accommodated worldly desires and pleasures. It wants the best of both worlds. It professes faith in Jesus but is not willing to let go of its love for what is in this world.
Laodicea was a prosperous center for banking, textile industries, and its famous medical school. Notice the references to each of these as they are instructed to buy gold refined in the fire, white clothes to wear, and salve to put on their eyes. The Laodiceans said they were rich and had all they needed, but they did not know how wretchedly poor they really were.
Their only solution was to become earnest and repent. The needed to turn away from the direction they were going, get on their knees, confess their idolatry, and totally embrace Jesus once again. From this, we are given the powerful image that has become a painting, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
This is not a message intended primarily for the unredeemed but for the redeemed who have become complacent in their faith and put Jesus on the outside. He is patiently knocking asking to be let back in. If this is you, don’t delay, confess, and rekindle your spiritual fires so they burn hot for Jesus.
Memory Verse: Colossians 4:17, Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
Question(s) to Consider: Do you need to let Jesus back in? Will you do so today?
November 17 – Colossians
Colossians 4:17, Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
Who is Archippus? He appears one other time in Scripture in Paul’s letter to Philemon which was also going to Colossae. Paul describes him as a fellow soldier. In this context, it obviously means a partner who is working diligently to serve the Lord Jesus.
This is to be viewed as a positive encouragement to Archippus rather than a warning to him to complete a ministry that Paul does not specify, and we cannot know. Paul’s charge to Timothy is similar.
2 Timothy 4:5, But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
We participate in how our lives turn out. We do not control the circumstances of our lives, but we can control how we will respond and whether we will remain faithful to the Lord and to the calling He has placed upon us. We must keep our heads in all situations. We cannot allow the difficulties and challenges of life to distract or disrupt us from ending spiritually strong. We must be overcomers not quitters.
Jesus claimed that he had fulfilled His ministry in His prayer in John 17:1-4.
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.”
We bring God glory by finishing the work He has given us to do. The purpose of faithfulness to the very end is so that we never stop bringing glory to God.
The Apostle Paul said about his own life,
2 Timothy 4:7-8, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Are we on track to say the same thing about ourselves and about the ministry we have been given? Are we faithfully following Jesus and completing the work he has given to us? May it be so!
Memory Verse: Colossians 4:17, Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
Question(s) to Consider: How are you faithfully serving the Lord with the gifts, talents, skills, time, and resources you have been given?
November 18 – Colossians
Colossians 4:18, I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
Writing was a far more laborious process than it is now, so Paul customarily dictated his letters and penned a few greetings himself. His personal signature was the guarantee of the genuineness of the letter.
The call to remember his chains was not some plea for pity from a disheartened apostle. Earlier in this letter, he wrote this,
Colossians 1;24, Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
Paul was glad to suffer for Christ, and his bonds were the bonds of the gospel. This call was a note of encouragement for those who may also suffer persecution for their faith as well as another request for their prayer support.
One person interpreted it this way, “Following my example, do not be ashamed to suffer for the truth.” Following Paul’s example requires more than a halfhearted commitment to the gospel. The letter itself becomes a means by which believers can see and experience God’s grace even when things become difficult.
As we have discovered previously, Paul was not so proud that he could not ask for others to pray for him. He knew the power of prayer and the comfort it brings when others intercede on his behalf.
The letter ends as it began, with the simple but profound prayer: “Grace be with you.” “May the fantastic favor of God, all of His lavishing love, and all of His glorious good be with you.”
Grace is all encompassing of life. Once we accept and enter into the grace-filled life in Jesus, it never ceases to draw us closer to God through its transforming power.
When we pronounce, “Grace be with you”, we are asking that God’s very best may be manifested in your life.
Allow me to pray that over you right now, “Grace be with you. May the fantastic favor of God, all of His lavishing love, and all of His glorious good be with you today, tomorrow, and forevermore. Amen.”
Memory Verse: Colossians 4:17, Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
Question(s) to Consider: Who will you write to offer an encouraging word to stay faithful? Who will you bless with the “Grace be with you” prayer?