Colossians 4 Studies

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each chapter is divided into a number of studies and each study or passage has a simple four-Part, verse-by-verse approach, to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Col 4:2-4

A. Find Out:

1. What were they to do? v.2a
   • Devote yourselves to prayer,
2. How were they to do it? v.2b
   • being watchful and thankful.
3. Who did Paul ask them to pray for? v.3a
   • And pray for us, too
4. What did he want God to do? v.3b
   • that God may open a door for our message,
5. With what aim in mind? v.3c
   • so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
6. What did he want them to ask for him? v.4
   • Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

B. Think:

1. Why do you think we need to be watchful and thankful in prayer?
2. What did Paul see that only God could do?
3. What did he need help in doing?

C. Comment:

We have in these three verses a simple straight teaching on prayer.

First of all Paul says “Devote yourselves to prayer” or “persevere in prayer”. Prayer is to be part of our lives as Christians. It is something we need to fix and establish in our lives.

Second he tells us to be watchful in prayer. Watchful means being alert to what is happening around you, taking not of the dangers and the needs of the saints (yourself included).

Third he says be thankful in prayer. It is easy to fall into the trap of using prayer like a shopping list, but in prayer we are to remember all the good things God has done for us and give thanks to Him for them. Thankfulness brings life to prayer.

Fourth, he goes on to detail what he wants them to ask in prayer. He wants prayer for his own ministry but he first asks that God will be able to do what only God can do. When we come to the Lord we need to come in an attitude of faith that asks for the humanly impossible. Having done that we may then ask for the part that we can do, asking that God will help us in it. So, we have three ingredients we need to note here: faith to expect the impossible, obedience to look to do what we can do, and thankfulness to honour God.

D. Application:

1. Does my praying have these three dimensions?
2. Do I see prayer as a doorway for God’s blessing to me?

Passage: Col 4:5-6

A. Find Out:

1. What are we to be towards whom? v.5a
   • Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders
2. What are we to do generally? v.5b
   • make the most of every opportunity.
3. Of what is our conversation to be full? v.6a
   • Let your conversation be always full of grace
4. How is it to be seasoned? v.6b
   • seasoned with salt
5. Why? v.6c
   • so that you may know how to answer everyone.

B. Think:

1. How does verse 5 link in with what has gone before?
2. Why do you think we should speak with grace?
3. What do you think it means to be seasoned with salt?

C. Comment:

Paul had just asked his readers to pray for him so that he might proclaim the Gospel. That immediately takes him to think of people who don’t know Christ – outsiders, people outside the church. He’s got it in mind that he wants all of us to be able to communicate with non-Christians, so he gives some ‘helps’.

First, he says be wise in the way you deal with other people. To be wise means we first have to think about how we relate to them. We are to give careful thought to it, for how we approach people will determine how open to us they will be, how open they will be to hear the Gospel.

Second, he says make the most of every opportunity. He doesn’t say make opportunities but make use of the opportunities that come you way – for they will! Our problem so often isn’t that we don’t know how to open up conversations, but simply that we don’t take the opportunities that arise when people ask questions. That is why he goes on at the end of verse 6 to say about “answering” people. When they ask will we answer? That is the crucial question?

Third he gives guidelines on how to speak. First with grace, i.e. with love, gentleness, respect, acceptance. Second, with salt, with truth, honesty, integrity. These things will open up ways for us.

D. Application:

1. Am I ready to be a witness when people question me?
2. Have I given thought about how to answer people?

Passage: Col 4:7-9

A. Find Out:

1. Who will tell what to whom? v.7a
   • Tychicus will tell you all the news about me.
2. What threefold description is given of him? v.7b
   • He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.
3. Why was Paul sending him? v.8a
   •  I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances
4. With what intended outcome? v.8b
   • and that he may encourage your hearts.
5. Who was coming with him? v.9a
   • He is coming with Onesimus
6. How was he described? v.9b
   • our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you.

B. Think:

1. What was the task given to these two men?
2. What sort of men were they?
3. Why do you think character was necessary for the task?

C. Comment:

As Paul comes to the end of the teaching part of his letter and starts his final greetings and explanations, he is aware that he hasn’t told them much about what had been happening so he simply says, the two brothers coming with this letter will update you – and oh, you can completely trust them with what they tell you.

The leader of the two was Tychicus who is not only a Christian but one Paul feels close two. When Paul speaks of him as a brother that is not the casual way some Christians refer to other Christians. He is a “ dear brother ” – an indication of warmth and endearment, i.e. close relationship. He is a faithful minister – that refers to the enduring ministry he has in his own right – and a fellow servant – that refers to his ability to work within Paul’s ‘team’.

Then there is Onesimus (see Paul’s letter to Philemon) who is also called faithful (enduring testimony) and dear brother, again indicating the feeling Paul has for him. What a testimony!

Their task? To faithfully convey what has been happening to Paul so that the readers of this letter will be encouraged.

D. Application:

1. Would Paul be able to describe you as “faithful”? How about “minister”? How about “servant”?
2. When we have news or information to pass on, do we do it faithfully without exaggeration?

Passage: Col 4:10-14

A. Find Out:

1. Who also wanted to send greetings? v.10,11a
   • 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.
2. What were these three men? v.11b
   • These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.
3. Who also sent greetings? v.12a
   • Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings.
4. What are we told about him? v.12b,c
   • He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
5. What was Paul able to say about him? v.13
   •  I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.
6. Who also sent greetings? v.14
   • Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.

B. Think:

1. What are we told about the variety of men with Paul?
2. What are we told about their activities?
3. What does it say about the world wide church?

C. Comment:

Having just spoken about the two men who will be coming with this letter, Paul now goes on to pass on greetings to the readers from some of the other men who are there with him and who will not be coming with the letter.

In prison with him there is Aristarchus, a Jew and fellow worker with Paul. There is also Mark and Justus, again Jews and fellow workers with Paul. Being Jews with Paul, a Jew, they had been a special comfort to him.

Then there were the Gentile men with him. First there was Epaphras, a gentile from Colosse. Because that was his home he had been especially prayerful for the readers of this letter. There is also Luke, a doctor, and Demas of whom nothing more is said.

So we have Jew and Gentile Christian working together for Christ. Paul is not alone in his ministry. He shares it with these men and is comforted by them. What a picture of team ministry and its benefits we have here.

Finally note the objective of this letter as put as prayer goals of Epaphras: to help the readers stand firm in the will of God, to be mature and fully assured of their position in Christ.

D. Application:

1. Do we see ourselves as workers, part of the body of Christ?
2. Do we have a heat for other people in different places?

Passage: Col 4:15-18

A. Find Out:

1. Where else is this letter to be read? v.15,16
   • Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea… 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.
2. Who is mentioned and in what connection? v.15b
   • Nympha and the church in her house.
3. Who is to be instructed to do what? v.17
   • Tell Archippus: ‘See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.’
4. How does Paul add a personal touch? v.18a
   • I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.
5. What does he ask them to remember? v.18b
   • Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

B. Think:

1. What do these verses tell us about the location of the church?
2. What does it tell us about the interaction of local churches?
3. Check Philemon 2. Who does Archippus seem to be?

C. Comment:

As he finalizes his greetings, he extends them beyond the church in the town of Colosse to the nearby one of Laodicea to whom Paul has apparently already written. So, we first of all see Paul identifying two local churches. Now the one at Laodicea seems to have met in the home of a woman by the name of Nympha. We learnt from v.9 that Onesimus was returning to Colosse so linking this with the letter to Philemon, we see that the church in Colosse met in the home of Philemon, hence the reminder to Archippus who may possibly have been Philemon’s son.

We are given, therefore, a beautiful little picture of the church as it was in this area – meeting in people’s homes and maintaining communication between towns. How refreshing, no denominations, no particular groupings, just believers in that locality meeting together holding no allegiance except to Christ, believers receiving guidance from these apostolic ministries that travelled far and wide establishing and building up the church in local groups. Again, remember many of these believers had never met Paul because he had never been there yet, yet he clearly has a heart for them, having heard much about them from various of the travellers he had met from Colosse.

D. Application:

1. Can we get a fresh view of the church, not as a building but as the gathered believers in the locality?
2. Can we lay down our barriers and come together as one, the church?