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(See Col_3:1-25.)
Col_4:2-6
SECTION IX. PRAYER AND SOCIAL CONVERSE. There are added some brief exhortations of a more general tenor, the contents of which are summed up in the heading given to this section.
Col_4:2
Continue steadfast in prayer, being watchful (or, wakeful) therein, with thanksgiving. "Steadfast continuance" in prayer is specially illustrated in our Lord's sayings on the subject in St. Luke (comp. Act_1:14, where the same peculiar verb is used). In Php_4:6; 1Th_5:17, 1Th_5:18; 1Ti_2:1-15 :l, again "thanksgiving" is associated with "prayer." Wakefulness in prayer is enjoined by Christ in Mat_26:41 and Mar_14:38 : compare the synonymous ἀγρυπνέω , to be sleepless, used in Eph_6:1,Eph_6:2; Mar_13:33; Luk_21:36; Heb_13:17. "To be awake" is to be alive in the fullest sense, to have all the powers of perception and action in readiness. The activity of the soul in prayer is to be both energetic and incessant. "With [literally in, ἐν , not μετὰ , as in Eph_6:18] thanksgiving gives the pervading element or influence, in or under which the prayers of the Colossians were to be offered (comp. Col_1:12; Col_2:7; Col_3:15, Col_3:17).
Col_4:3
Praying at the same time also for us (Eph_6:19; Rom_15:30-32; 1Th_5:25; 2Th_3:1, 2Th_3:2; Heb_13:18). In Ephesians and Romans the apostle implores prayer for himself alone, and dwells on his personal circumstances. Here and in the Thessalonian letters he unites his fellow labourers with him in the request. That God may open to us a door for the word (1Co_16:9; 2Co_2:12; 1Th_1:9; 1Th_2:1). "The word" is the Word of God which the apostle preaches (Col_1:5, Col_1:25; 1Th_1:6; Gal_6:6; 2Ti_4:2; Act_16:6); and "a debt" is wanted, in his present difficulties, through which that Word may freely pass, such as he speaks of in 1Co_16:9; 2Co_2:12 (comp. Act_14:27; Rev_3:8). It is fanciful to give "door" here the sense of "mouth." The "opening of my mouth," in Eph_6:19, expresses the subjective freedom (corresponding to "as I ought to speak," Eph_6:4); "the door for the word," the objective liberty desired by St. Paul in his imprisonment. To speak the mystery of Christ, because of which also I am bound (Col_1:23-29; Eph_6:19; Eph_3:1-13; Eph_4:1; Php_1:12-14; Phm_1:9; 2Ti_2:8-10; Act_20:22-24). Were his prison door once opened, the apostle would be able freely to preach the gospel to the Gentiles—for this "the mystery of Christ" chiefly signifies (Col_1:25-29; Eph_3:1-8; 1Ti_2:3-7.) (On "mystery," see note, Col_1:26.) It is this very mission which makes him long for freedom, that keeps him a prisoner (Col_1:23; Eph_3:13). He is in the strange position of an "ambassador in chains". This "I am bound" (singular) shows that the "for us" of the former clause designedly includes others with himself.
Col_4:4
That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak (Eph_6:20; 2Co_2:17; 2Co_4:1-6; 2Co_5:11, 20-6:10; Rom_12:6; 2Ti_2:24-26; 2Ti_3:10; Act_20:18-21, Act_20:27, Act_20:33-35). This clause qualifies the last; the "open door" is to be asked for the apostle, that he may make effective use of it. The mystery has been made manifest by God in the mission of Christ (Col_1:27; Col_2:15, note; 2Co_5:19, etc.); but that manifestation has to be made known to the Gentile world (Eph_3:9; 2Co_2:14; Rom_10:14). To this end he had received a special manifestation of "the mystery of Christ" (2Co_4:6; 2Co_5:19; Gal_1:15, Gal_1:16; Act_9:15, Act_9:16; Act_22:14, Act_22:15, Act_22:21; Act_26:16-18). How the apostle conceives that he "ought to speak" appears from the parallel passages (see especially 2Co_5:1-21.; 6.; and Act_20:1-38.).
Col_4:5
Walk in wisdom towards those without (Eph_5:15-17; 1Th_4:12; 1Th_5:15; 1Co_10:32; 2Co_4:2; Tit_2:8; 1Pe_2:12, 1Pe_2:15; 1Pe_3:16; Mat_10:16). (On "wisdom," see Col_1:9, note; Col_1:28; Col_2:3; Col_3:16; this was a chief need of the Colossian Church.) "Those without," as opposed to Christians—"those within the pale;" a Jewish mode of expression (Lightfoot): comp. 1Th_4:12; 1Co_5:12, 1Co_5:13; 1Ti_3:7. From a different point of view, they are designated" the rest" in Eph_2:3; 1Th_4:13; 1Th_5:6. This injunction appears in a different form and position in Ephesians. Standing at the close of the writer's exhortations, and followed up by the direction of the next verse, it is more pointed and emphatic here. Buying up each (literally, the) opportunity (Eph_5:16; 1Co_7:29; Gal_6:10; Joh_11:9, Joh_11:10; Luk_13:32; Ecc_3:1-8). In Eph_5:16 the reason is added, "because the days are evil." In Dan_2:8 (LXX) the verb ἐξαγοράζω has precisely this sense and connection, and the idiom occurs in classical writers. The verb is middle in voice: "buying up for yourselves," "for your own advantage." In Gal_3:13 the compound verb is somewhat differently used. The opportunity is the fit time for each step of a well-conducted walk, the precise juncture of circumstances which must be seized at once or it is gone. This wary promptitude is always needful in dealing with men of the world, both to avoid harm from them and in seeking to do them good. The latter thought, it may be, connects this verse and the next.
Col_4:6
(Let) your speech (literally, word) (be) always with grace, seasoned with salt (Eph_4:29, Eph_4:31; Eph_5:3, Eph_5:4; Tit_2:8; Mat_12:34-37; Luk_4:22; Psa_45:2). "Word" ( λόγος ) has its common acceptation, as in Col_3:17; Col_2:23; Tit_2:8; 2Ti_2:17; Jas_3:2. "With grace" ( ἐν χάριτι ) gives the pervading element of Christian speech; as "in wisdom," of Christian behaviour (Jas_3:5). "Grace," here without the article, is not, as in Col_3:16, where the article should probably be read, "the (Divine) grace," but a property of speech itself, "gracefulness" the kindly, winning pleasantness which makes the talk of a good and thoughtful man attractive: comp. Psa_45:2 (Psa_44:3, LXX); Ecc_10:12 (LXX); Sir. 21:16. "Salt" is the "wholesome point and pertinency" (Ellicott) seasoning conversation, while grace sweetens it. The clause which follows indicates that "salt" denotes here, as commonly in Greek (instance the phrase, "Attic salt"), an intellectual rather than a moral quality of speech. In Eph_4:29 the connection is different, and the application more general. That you may know how you ought to answer each one (Eph_4:4; 1Pe_3:15; Php_1:27, Php_1:28; 2Th_2:17). The Colossians were to pray for the apostle that he might "speak the mystery of Christ... as he ought to speak;" and he bids them seek for themselves the same gift of παρρησία , liberty of speech and readiness to "every good word." For their faith was assailed by persuasive sophistry (Col_2:4, Col_2:8, Col_2:23) and by brew-beating dogmatism (Col_2:16, Col_2:18, Col_2:20, Col_2:21). They were, like St. Paul, "set for the defence of the gospel," placed in the van of the conflict against heresy. They needed, therefore, "to have all their wits about them," so as to be able, as occasion required, to make answer to each of their opponents and questioners, that they might "contend" wisely as well as "earnestly for the faith." 1Pe_3:15 is a commentary on this verse: the parallelism is the closer because that Epistle was addressed to Churches in Asia Minor, where the debates out of which Gnosticism arose were beginning to be rife; and because, likewise, "the hope that was in them" was a chief object of the attack made on the Colossian believers (Col_1:5, Col_1:23, Col_1:27; Col_2:18; Col_3:15).
With this exhortation the Christian teaching of the Epistle is concluded. In its third and practical part (Col 3:1-4:6) the apostle has built up, on the foundation of the doctrine laid down in the first chapter, and in place of the attractive but false and pernicious system denounced in the second, a lofty and complete ideal of the Christian life. He has led us from the contemplation of its "life of life" in the innermost mystery of union with Christ and of its glorious destiny in him (Col_3:1-4), through the soul's interior death-struggle with its old corruptions (1Pe_3:5-11) and its investment with the graces of its new life (1Pe_3:12-15), to the expression and outward acting of that life in the mutual edification of the Church (1Pe_3:16, 1Pe_3:17), in the obedience and devotion of the family circle (1Pe_3:18), in constant prayerfulness and sympathy with the ministers and suffering witnesses of Christ (1Pe_3:2-4), and, lastly, in such converse with men of the world, and in the midst of the distracting debate by which faith is assailed, as shall fittingly commend the Christian cause.
Col_4:7-18
SECTION X. PERSONAL MESSAGES AND GREETINGS. St. Paul concludes his letter, first, by introducing to the Colossians its bearer, Tychicus, along with whom he commends to them their own Onesimus, returning to his master (verses 7-9); then, according to his custom, he conveys greetings from his various friends and helpers present with him at the time, in particular from Mark, who was likely to visit them, and from Epaphras their own devoted minister (verses 10-14); thirdly, he sends greeting to the neighbouring and important Church of Laodicea, specially mentioning Nympha, with directions to exchange letters with the Laodiceans, and with a pointed warning to Archippus, probably a Colossian, having some charge over that Church (verses 15-17). Finally, he appends, with his own hand, his apostolic greeting and benediction (verse 18). The personal references of this section, though slight and cursory, are of peculiar value, bearing themselves the strongest marks of genuineness, and decisively attesting the Pauline authorship of the Epistle. At the same time, we gather from them several independent facts throwing light on St. Paul's position during his imprisonment, and on his relations to other leading personages of the Church.
Col_4:7
All that relates to me (literally, the things concerning me) Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant (bondman), will make known to you (Eph_6:21, Eph_6:22; Tit_3:12; 2 Timothy 6:12; 2Ti_1:8; 1Th_3:2; Php_2:25). Tychicus appears first in Act_20:4, where he is called an "Asian" (of the Roman province of Asia, of which Ephesus was capital), along with Trophimus, who, in Act_21:29, is styled "the Ephesian." He accompanied the apostle on his voyage to Jerusalem (A.D. 58), with a number of others representing different Churches, and deputed, as Lightfoot thinks, in conformity with the directions of 1Co_16:3, 1Co_16:4, to convey the contributions raised for "the poor saints at Jerusalem." Trophimus was with St. Paul in Jerusalem (Act_21:29), and so, probably, his colleague (the words, "as far as Asia," in Act_20:4, are of very doubtful authority), he is now with the apostle in his imprisonment at Rome, about to be sent home with these two letters (comp. Eph_6:21, Eph_6:22), and in charge of Onesimus, on whose account the apostle sends a private letter to Philemon. In the interval between the first (present) and second imprisonment (2 Timothy), the apostle revisited the Asiatic Churches (so we infer from 1Ti_1:3), and Tychicus rejoined him; for we find St. Paul proposing to send him to Titus in Crete (Tit_3:12), and finally sending him from Rome once more to Ephesus (2 Timothy 6:12). These facts sustain the high terms in which he is here spoken of. "In the Lord" belongs both to "minister" and "fellow servant." This language is almost identical with that used of Epaphras in Col_1:7 (see notes). Tychicus is "minister" ( διάκονος ), not to Paul himself (Act_19:22; Act_13:5, ὑπηρέτης ), nor in the official sense of Php_1:1, but "of Christ," "of the gospel," or "the Church" (1Th_3:2), as St. Paul himself (Col_1:23, Col_1:25). He is "a beloved brother" to his fellow.believers, "a faithful minister" of the Lord Christ, and "a fellow servant" with the apostle (Col_1:7; Col_4:10; Php_2:25).
Col_4:8
Whom I have sent unto you for this very purpose, that ye may know how it is with us (literally, the things about us), and that he may comfort your hearts (Eph_6:22). The Received Text reads, by a slight confusion of similar Greek letters, that he may know the things about you (see Lightfoot's 'Notes on some Various Readings'). This is the only clause exactly identical in Colossians and Ephesians. There would be great anxiety on St. Paul's account amongst the Gentile Christians everywhere, and especially in the Asiatic Churches, after the ominous words of his address to the Ephesian elders (Act_20:22-25 : comp. Act_20:37, Act_20:38). The Colossians had sent through Epaphras messages of love to him (Col_1:8). To know that he was of good courage, and even in hope of a speedy release (Phm_1:22), would "comfort their hearts."
Col_4:9
With Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is (one) of you (Col_4:7; Phm_1:10, Phm_1:16; Col_1:2; 1Pe_5:12). "In Christ there is no slave" (Col_3:11). Onesimus, like Epaphras and Tychicus, is a brother, to be trusted and loved (comp. Phm_1:10-17). This language strongly supports the appeal of Col_4:1, and would further the purpose of the apostle's intercession to Onesimus' master. And Onesimus even shares with the honoured Tychicus in the privilege of being the apostle's messenger! All things that are happening here they will make known to you (Col_4:7; Eph_6:21). There is, therefore, no need for any detailed account of the writer's circumstances. The solicitude which he assumes that these stranger Colossians (Col_1:8; Col_2:1) feel on his behalf shows how commanding his ascendancy over the Gentile Churches had become.
Col_4:10
Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, saluteth you (Phm_1:2, Phm_1:23; Php_2:25; Rom_16:7). Aristarchus, as a Thessalonian, accompanied the apostle to Jerusalem, along with Tychicus the Asian (Act_20:4), and was his companion at least during the first part of his voyage to Rome (Act_27:2). In Phm_1:23, Phm_1:24 his name follows that of Mark as a "fellow worker" (comp. verse 11) and of Epaphras "my fellow prisoner" (comp. Rom_16:7). "Fellow prisoner" ( αἰχμαλωτός , captive, prisoner of war) differs from the "prisoner" ( δέσμιος , one in bonds) of Eph_3:1; Eph_4:1; Phm_1:9; 2Ti_1:8. The supposition that these men were permitted as friends to share St. Paul's captivity in turn, is conjectural (see Meyer). Possibly the incident recorded in Act_19:29 was attended by some temporary joint imprisonment of St. Paul and Aristarchus. As "a soldier of Christ Jesus," the apostle was himself now "a prisoner of war" (2Ti_2:3, 2Ti_2:4; 2Co_10:3-6); and therefore those who shared his sufferings were his "fellow prisoners," as they were his" fellow soldiers" (Phm_1:2; Php_1:30) and his "fellow servants" (Col_1:7; Col_4:7). And Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, about whom you received commandments—if he should come to you, welcome him (Phm_1:24; 2Ti_4:11; 1Pe_5:13). It is pleasant to find John Mark, who deserted the apostle in his first missionary journey (Act_13:13), and on whose account he separated from Barnabas (Act_15:37-40) ten years before, now taken again into his confidence and friendship. And indeed it is evident that there was no permanent estrangement between the two great Gentile missionaries; for Mark is called "cousin of Barnabas" by way of recommendation. Mary, the mother of John Mark, was a person of some consideration in the Church at Jerusalem (Act_12:12), and through her he may have been related to Barnabas, who, though a Cypriot Jew, had property near Jerusalem (Act_4:36, Act_4:37), and was also highly honoured by the mother Church (Act_9:27; Act_11:22-24; Act_15:25, Act_15:26). Mark is, moreover, a link between the Apostles Paul and Peter. It is to the house of his mother that the latter betakes himself on his escape from Herod's prison (Act_12:12). In 1Pe_5:13 he appears, along with Silvanus (Silos), St. Paul's old comrade, in St. Peter's company, who calls him "my son." St. Peter was then at Babylon, where Mark may have arrived at the end of the journey eastwards which St. Paul here contemplates his undertaking. The striking correspondence of language and thought between St. Peter's First Epistle (addressed, moreover, to Churches of Asia Minor) and those of St. Paul to the Ephesians and Colossians (and, in an equal degree, that to the Romans) suggests the existence of some special connection at this time between the two writers, such as may well have been afforded by Mark, if, leaving Rome soon after the despatch of these letters, he travelled in their track by way of Asia Minor to join St. Peter at Babylon. At the time of St. Paul's second imprisonment, about four years later, Mark is again in Asia Minor in the neighbourhood of Timothy, and the apostle desires his services at Rome (2Ti_4:11). When or how the Colossians had received already directions concerning Mark, we have no means of knowing. His journey appears to have been postponed. The apostle must before this have communicated with the Colossians. The visit of Epaphras to Rome may have been due to some communication from him. "If he should come to you, give him a welcome," is the request the apostle now makes.
Col_4:11
And Jesus, called Justus—the only name of this list wanting in Philemon. Nor is this person mentioned elsewhere. "Jesus" ("Joshua," Act_7:45; Heb_4:8) was a common Jewish name. "Justus" ("just," "righteous") was frequently adopted by individual Jews, or conferred on them, as a Gentile (Latin) surname (comp. Act_1:23; Act_18:7); it implied devotion to the Law, and was the equivalent of the Hebrew Zadok (see Lightfoot). Its Greek equivalent, δίκαιος , is the standing epithet of James, the brother of the Lord, and the head of the Church at Jerusalem; and is emphatically applied to Christ himself (Act_3:14; Act_7:52; Act_22:14; 1Pe_3:18; 1Jn_2:1). Who are of the circumcision,—these only (my) fellow workers unto the kingdom of God, (men) who have been a comfort to me (Phm_1:1, Phm_1:24; 1Th_3:2; Rom_16:3, Rom_16:9, Rom_16:21; 2Co_8:23; Php_2:25; Php_4:3). Aristarchus, therefore, was a Jew, as well as Mark and Jesus Justus. "These only," etc., must be read as in close apposition to the previous clause. This statement accords with the apostle's complaint in Php_1:15-17; Php_2:19-24; but the still stronger language of the latter passages seems to point to a later time when he was yet more solitary, having lost Tychicus and Mark, and perhaps Aristarchus also, and when he had a more definite prospect of release. The title "fellow worker" he frequently confers on his associates (see references). In Phm_1:24 it is applied, to Luke and Demas also. "The kingdom of God" was, in Col_1:13, "the kingdom of his Son;" as in Eph_5:5 it is "the kingdom of Christ and God." On his arrival at Rome, St. Paul is described as "testifying, and preaching the kingdom of God" (Act_28:23, Act_28:31 : comp. Act_8:12; Act_14:22; Act_19:8; 1Th_2:12; 2Th_1:5). On the force of οἵτινες ("men who," "such as"), see Col_2:23; and for ἐγενήθησαν ("proved," "became in point of fact"), comp. Col_3:15. Παρηγορία comfort, a word found only here in the Greek Testament, is a medical term (compare "paregoric"), implying "soothing relief."
Col_4:12
Epaphras, who is (one) of you, saluteth you, a servant (bondman) of Christ Jesus (Rom_1:1; Php_1:1; Tit_1:1; Gal_1:10; 2Corinthians Gal_4:5; 1Co_7:22; 1Th_1:9; 2Ti_2:24; Act_4:29; Jas_1:1; 2Pe_1:1; Jud_1:1; Rev_1:1; Rev_22:3, Rev_22:6). "Of you," like Onesimus (Col_4:9). He was a native of Colossae, as well as evangelist and minister of the Church there (Col_1:7, Col_1:8). "Bondman of Christ Jesus" is the title the apostle so often claims for himself (see references), only here put by him on any one else. Is there an implied reference to Onesimus (Col_4:9), who was "a bondman after the flesh," but "the Lord's freedman" (Phm_1:16), while Epaphras, "the freeman," is "Christ's bondman"? We are reminded again of Col_2:6 (see note). Always striving on your behalf in his prayers, that ye may stand fast, (being) perfect and fully assured in all the will of God (Col_1:9, Col_1:23, Col_1:29; Col_2:1, Col_2:2, Col_2:5; Rom_15:30; Eph_6:11-14; Php_1:27; Php_4:1; 1Co_16:13; 1Th_3:8; 2Th_2:15). Epaphras "strives" ("wrestles") for his spiritual charge, like the apostle himself (Col_1:29, see note on ἀγωνίζομαι ; Col_2:1; Rom_15:30; Luk_22:44). Προσκαρτερέω in Col_2:2 denotes the patient persistence, this word the intense energy, of prevailing prayer. For "stand" (where Lightfoot, Westcott and Hort, and other critical editors read the stronger σταθῆτε for στῆτε ), comp. Col_1:23; Col_2:7; it is four times repeated in the stirring appeal of Eph_6:11-14. For Churches threatened by the attacks of heresy it was above all things needful "that they should stand fast." On "perfect," see Col_1:28; also Col_3:14; the word bears a primary reference to "knowledge," and implies a fully instructed and enlightened condition (Php_3:15; 1Co_14:20; Heb_5:14; Heb_6:1), attended with corresponding spiritual advancement (Eph_4:13). "Fully assured" ( πεπληροφορημένοι , Revised Text) carries us back to Col_2:2 (see notes; on this verb, compare Lightfoot's exhaustive note). It bears the same sense in Rom_4:21 and Rom_14:5; a slightly different one in Luk_1:1. From the tenor of the letter it appears that the Colossians needed a deeper Christian insight and more intelligent and well-grounded convictions respecting the truth "as in Jesus." "All (the) will" is strictly distributive (every will); θέλημα (Col_1:9) differs from our will in having a concrete rather than abstract sense, denoting an act or expression of will.
Col_4:13
For I hear witness to him that he hath much labour ( πὸνον for ζῆλον , Revised Text) for you (Col_1:29; Col_2:1; Php_2:19-23; 1Th_5:12, 1Th_5:13; 1Ti_5:17; 1Co_16:15, 1Co_16:16). Πόνος occurs in the New Testament besides only in Rev_16:10, Rev_16:11 and Rev_21:4, where it means "pain;" in classical Greek it implies "painful, distressful exertion" (comp. κοπιῶ , Col_1:29). It indicates the deep anxiety of Epaphras for this beloved and endangered Church. There is nothing here to point to "outward toil" (Lightfoot), any more than in Col_2:1. The apostle loves to commend his fellow labourers (Col_1:7; Php_2:20-22, Php_2:25, Php_2:26; 2Co_8:16-23). And for those in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis (Col_2:15-17; Col_2:1). The Church in Hierapolis is added to that of Laodicea, singled out in Col_2:1 as a special object of the apostle's concern (on these cities, see Introduction, § 1). Whether Epaphras were the official head of these Churches or not, he could not but be deeply concerned in their welfare. Col_2:17 indicates the existence of a personal link between the Churches of Colossus and of Laodicea.
Col_4:14
Luke the physician, the beloved, saluteth you (Phm_1:24; 2Ti_4:11). This reference to Luke's profession is extremely interesting. We gather from the use of the first person plural in Act_16:10-17, and again from Act_20:5 to the end of the narrative, that he joined St. Paul on his first voyage to Europe and was left behind at Philippi; and rejoined him six years after on the journey to Jerusalem which completed his third missionary circuit, continuing with him during his voyage to Rome and his imprisonment. This faithful friend attended him in his second captivity, and solaced his last hours; "Only Luke is with me" (2Ti_4:11). His being called "the physician" suggests that he ministered to the apostle in this capacity, especially as "his first appearance in St. Paul's company synchronizes with an attack of St. Paul's constitutional malady". St Luke's writings testify both to his medical knowledge and to his Pauline sympathies. His companionship probably gave a special colouring to the phraseology and cast of thought of St. Paul's later Epistles. "The beloved" is a distinct appellation, due partly to Luke's services to the apostle, but chiefly, one would suppose, to the amiable and gentle disposition of the writer of the third Gospel. It is not unlikely that he is "the brother" referred to in 2Co_8:18, 2Co_8:19. Lucas is a contraction for Lucanus; so that he was not the "Lucius" of Act_13:1, nor, certainly, the "Lucius my kinsman" of Rom_16:21, who was a Jew. He was probably, like many physicians of that period, a freedman; and, since freedmen took the name of the house to which they had belonged, may have been, as Plumptre conjectures, connected with the family of the Roman philosopher Seneca and the poet Lucan. And Demas (Phm_1:24; 2Ti_4:10), who alone receives no word of commendation—a fact significant in view of the melancholy sentence pronounced upon him in 2Ti_4:10. His name is probably short for Demetrius.
Col_4:15
Salute the brethren that are in Laodicea (Col_4:13; Col_2:1; Rev_1:11; Rev_3:14-22). Perhaps the brethren in Hierapolis (Col_4:13) were not formed into a distinct Church as yet (comp. Col_2:1). The Church in Laodicea early became a flourishing and wealthy community (Rev_3:17). And Nympha (or, Nymphas), and the Church (literally, assembly) at her (or, their) house. Νύμφαν may be either masculine or feminine accusative. The reading "her" ( αὐτῆς ) is adopted by Westcott and Hort without alternative, and seems on the whole the most probable. The Revised Text follows Tischendorf, Tregelles, Meyer, Alford, Lightfoot, who read "their" ( αὐτῶν ). "His" ( αὐτοῦ ) is evidently a later correction. Lightfoot says, indeed, that "a Doric form of the Greek name (sc. Νύμφαν for Νύμφην ) seems in the highest degree improbable;" but he allows, on the other hand, that Νυμφᾶς as a contracted masculine form (for Νυμφόδωρος ) "is very rare." This person was apparently a leading member of the Laodicean Church, at whose house Church meetings were held (comp. Act_12:12; Phm_1:2; Rom_16:5; 1Co_16:19). "The Church at her house" can scarcely have been an assembly distinct "from the brethren that are in Laodicea." Both expressions may relate to the same body of persons, referred first individually, then collectively as a meeting gathered at this place. Others suppose a more private gathering to be meant, as e.g. of Colossians living at Laodicea (Meyer). Many older interpreters identified this Church with the household of Nymphas. If "their" be the true reading, the expression must include Nympha and her family. Nympha (or Nymphas), like Philemon and his family, St. Paul had doubtless met in Ephesus.
Col_4:16
And when this letter has been read among you, see to it (literally, cause) that it be read also in the Church of (the) Laodiceans (1Th_5:27). For these two Churches were closely allied in origin and condition, as well as by situation and acquaintanceship (Col_2:1-5; Col_4:13). The leaven of the Colossian error was doubtless beginning to work in Laodicea also. The words addressed to Laodicea in the Apocalypse (Rev_3:14-22) bear reference apparently to the language of this Epistle (Col_1:15-18); see Lightfoot, pp. 41, etc. The phrase, "Church of Laodiceans," corresponds to that used in the salutation of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, but is not found elsewhere in St. Paul. And that ye also read the letter from Laodicea. What was this letter? Clearly a letter from St. Paul which would be received at Laodicea, and which the Colossians were to obtain from there. The connection of this sentence with the foregoing, and the absence of any other definition of the words, "the letter (from Laodicea)," make this evident. Nothing further can be affirmed with certainty. But several considerations point to the probability that this missing Epistle is none other than our (so-called) Epistle to the Ephesians. For:
(1) Both letters were sent at the same time, and by the same messenger (Eph_6:21; Col_4:7).
(2) The relation between the two is more intimate than exists between any other of St. Paul's writings; they are twins, the birth of the same crisis in the condition of the Church and in the apostle's own mind. Each serves as a commentary on the other. And there are several important topics, lightly touched upon in this letter, on which the writer dilates at length in the other, Col_2:12 b and Eph_1:19-23; Col_3:12 ("God's elect") and Eph_1:3-14; Col_3:18, Col_3:19 and Eph_5:22-33). On the other hand, the main arguments of the Colossian letter are, as it seems, assumed and presupposed in the Ephesian (comp. Eph_1:10, Eph_1:20 b-23, Eph_2:20 b, Eph_3:8-11, Eph_3:19 b, Eph_4:13 b with Col_1:15-20, Col_2:9, Col_2:10; Eph_4:14 with Col_2:4, Col_2:8, Col_2:16-23).
(3) The words ἐν Εφέδῳ in Eph_1:1 are of doubtful authenticity; and there is much in the internal character of that Epistle to favour the hypothesis, proposed by Archbishop Usher, that it was a circular letter, destined for a number of Churches in Asia Minor, of which Ephesus may have been the first and Laodicea the last (compare the order of Rev_2:3.). In that case a copy of the Ephesian Epistle would be left at Laodicea by Tychicus on his way to Colossae. (See Introduction, § 6; compare that to Ephesians.)
(4) Marcion, in the middle of tile second century, entitled the Epistle to the Ephesians, "To the Laodiceans." It does not appear that his heretical views could have been furthered by this change. Probably his statement contains a fragment of ancient tradition, identifying the Epistle in question with that referred to by St. Paul in this passage.
(5) The expression, "the letter from Laodicea," would scarcely be used of a letter addressed simply to the Laodiceans and belonging properly to them; but would be quite appropriate to a more general Epistle transmitted from one place to another. There is extant in Latin a spurious epistle 'Ad Laodicenses,' which is traced back to the fourth century, and was widely accepted in the Middle Ages; but it is "a mere cento of Pauline phrases, strung together without any definite connection or any clear object" (Lightfoot). Meyer, on the other hand, in his 'Introduction to Ephesians,' pronounces strongly against "the circular hypothesis."
Col_4:17
And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou receivedst in (the) Lord, that thou fulfil it (Act_20:28; 1Ti_1:18, 1Ti_1:19; 1Ti_4:6, 1Ti_4:11-16; 1Ti_6:13, 1Ti_6:14, 1Ti_6:20,1Ti_6:21; 2Ti_2:15; 2Ti_4:5). From the connection of this verse with the two preceding, it seems likely that "the ministry" of Archippus related to the Laodicean Church. Hence he is not addressed directly. If he was, as we gather from Phm_1:1, Phm_1:2, the son of Philemon, whose house formed a centre for the Colossian Church (Phm_1:2), the warning would be suitably conveyed through this channel. In the letter to Philemon, the apostle calls him his" fellow soldier" (comp. Col_4:10; Php_1:29, Php_1:30). Both from this fact, and from the emphasis of the words before us, it would appear that his office was an important one, probably that of chief pastor. This warning addressed so early to the minister of the Laodicean Church is premonitory of the lapsed condition in which it is afterwards found (Rev_3:14-22); see Lightfoot, pp. 42, 43. (For "ministry" ( διακονία ), comp. Col_1:7, Col_1:23; 1Co_4:1, etc. For "received," comp. note, Col_2:6.) "In the Lord; "for every office in the Church is grounded in him as Head and Lord (Col_1:18; Col_2:6; Col_3:17, Col_3:24; Col_4:7; Eph_1:22; Eph_4:5; 1Co_8:6; 1Co_12:5, etc.), and must be administered according to his direction and as subject to his judgment (see 1Co_3:5; 1Co_4:1-5; 2Co_10:17, 2Co_10:18; 2Co_13:10; Gal_1:1; 1Ti_1:12; 2Ti_4:1, 2Ti_4:2). "Fulfil" (comp. Col_1:26; 2Ti_4:5; Act_12:25). This admonition resembles those addressed to Timothy in the Pastoral Epistles.
Col_4:18
The salutation with mine own hand—of Paul (2Th_3:17, 2Th_3:18; 1Co_16:21-24; Gal_6:11-18). So the apostle appends his authenticating signature to the letter, written, as usual, by his amanuensis, himself inscribing these last words (see parallel passages). The Epistle to Philemon he appears to have penned himself throughout (Phm_1:19). Remember my bonds (Col_1:24; Phm_1:9, Phm_1:13; Eph_3:1-21 :l, 13; 4.l; Eph_6:20; 2Ti_2:9). This pathetic postscript is thoroughly characteristic (comp. Gal_6:17). Grace be with you; literally, the grace (comp. Col_3:16). The apostle's final benediction in all his Epistles; here in its briefest form, as in 1 and 2 Timothy. In the Ephesian benediction "grace" is also used absolutely. 2Co_13:14 gives the formula in its full liturgical amplitude.
1. Prayer must be habitual and persistent. "Continue steadfast in prayer—keeping awake therein" (Col_4:2); "Ask ... seek … knock" (Mat_7:7). It is not an occasional exercise of the soul, called forth by special emergencies, but the necessity of its daily life. For that life is a fellowship with God in Christ (Col_3:1-3; 1Jn_1:3; Joh_14:23), maintained on his part by the continual communication of his Spirit (Luk_11:13; Eph_1:13; Eph_2:22; Rom_8:14-17, Rom_8:23, Rom_8:26, Rom_8:27; 1Co_12:4-11; 2Co_13:14), and on ours by the constant responsive utterances of praise and prayer.
(1) Wherever two persons are associated in a mutual life, there must be converse—interchange of thought and feeling and service; so (reverently be it said) it must needs be where the soul is "alive unto God." God and the soul, the all-wise, almighty Father and the human child, all want and ignorance, having speech with each other—that is the life of religion. "The soul is a stupendous want, having its supplies in God" (comp. Php_4:19). Prayer is the expression and the index of the soul's vital appetite. The necessity of prayer, therefore, must be daily and regular in its recurrence. It will have its "set times" and stated seasons, its chronic demands for satisfaction. "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and thou shalt hear my voice" (Psa_55:17; Dan_6:10; Act_10:30); "Seven times a day do I praise thee" (Psa_119:164). It will have its appointed place of privacy. "Enter into thy closet and shut thy door, and pray to thy Father which is in secret".
(2) Prayer being a social as much as a private necessity, concerned with the common as truly as with the individual wants and interests of men, the prayerful Christian will observe, as far as possible, all public occasions for its exercise, whether found in the family, the social circle, the community, the church (the "house of prayer"), or in the events of national life (Isa_56:7; Act_3:1; Act_6:6; Act_12:12; Act_16:13; Act_20:36; Act_21:5; Act_22:17; 1Ti_2:8; Joh_17:1).
(3) But prayer, while it fills, should overflow these limits, and may not be confined within the framework of mechanical habit and fixed order. It should find its way into all the interstices of life, seizing upon its vacant moments and leisure thoughts. Under pressing need, and in the hurry and tumult of business, the soul may send up a short, swift cry for help, as a winged arrow that finds its way to the heart of God. This is ejaculatory prayer. And in the quiet ongoing of ordinary work the mind may the more easily maintain its secret converse with him in whom it "lives and moves and is," making the common incidents of life and the familiar sights and sounds of nature reminders of his presence, and the experience of every hour occasion for some brief act of adoration, or confession, or supplication, or intercession. This is to "pray without ceasing" (1Th_5:17); "to let our requests be made known unto God in all things" (Php_4:6). The soul's hidden life in God is maintained by this activity, even as the life blood of the body is vivified and cleansed from moment to moment by the ceaseless play of the breathing lungs.
2. Prayer must be attended with thanksgiving. The one must be habitual and constant as the other. They are two elements of the same state, two parts of the same act (Eph_5:29; 1Th_5:17, 1Th_5:18). (See homiletics, sect. 1, III. 2 (3).) How unseemly it is to come to God with urgent petitions for new blessings, when we have made no due acknowledgment of those already bestowed! We dare not act thus towards any earthly benefactor. And this thoughtless ingratitude deprives us of those strong arguments and cheering encouragements which are afforded by the remembrance of past mercies. "The Lord hath been mindful of us;" then surely "he will bless us (Psa_115:12), he "began a good work in you," and you may be "confident," therefore, that it is his will to "perfect it" (Php_1:6). God requires and expects that by "offering praise" we should "glorify him" (Psa_50:23), "abundantly uttering the memory of his great goodness" (Psa_145:7). To this end every Christian is ordained a "priest unto God," that he may "offer up a sacrifice of praise continually, the fruit of lips which make confession to his name" (1Pe_2:9; Heb_13:15). And to do this is in itself "pleasant and comely" (Psa_147:1); "Yea, a joyful and pleasant thing it is to be thankful."
3. And intercession must be joined to supplication and thanksgiving. (1Ti_2:1.) "Withal praying for us also," says the apostle. And in so saying he embodies the appeal which our Christian brethren everywhere make to us, especially the ministers of Christ "set for the defence of the gospel" (Php_1:17); and yet more especially our fathers and teachers in Christ, through whom we have received the word of our salvation, and on whose fidelity and efficiency our spiritual life so largely depends. The interests of our own Church in its special circumstances as known to us; the larger necessities of associated Churches, of the Church in our own land, in its colonies and dependencies abroad, in other Christian nations; the necessities of missionary Churches amongst the heathen, and of the sheep of Christ that are "scattered abroad" unshepherded; the great cause of the kingdom of Christ in the earth, connected as it is with everything that concerns the progress and welfare of mankind; the claims of "kings, and all that are in authority;" of those in "sorrow, trouble, need, sickness, or any other adversity;" the wants of "all sorts and conditions of men," and especially of our kinsfolk, friends, and neighbours;—all these demand our intercession and seem to say unitedly, "Withal praying for us also!" In particular, and on behalf of the gospel, the apostle desires the Colossians to pray
(1) that he may have "an open door to speak the mystery of Christ" (verse 3). The world will not willingly open its door to Christ. It will leave him to "stand at the door and knock" (Rev_3:20). It has "no room for him" (Luk_2:7) when he comes to be its guest. Much has yet to be done to "prepare the way of the Lord." But "the prayer of faith" can "remove mountains," and open doors that are fast shut. Obstructions and prejudices are to be broken down; hindrances political and material, intellectual and sentimental, to the progress of Christian truth, are to be overcome. "Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (Luk_3:4-6). And this is to be effected, in great measure, by the prayers of "God's elect" (Luk_18:7), even as the walls of Jericho fell at the shout of Israel (Jos_6:1-20).
(2) But the open door is of little use unless the Church is prepared to enter it. Never, perhaps, were there in the world so many "open doors set before" the Church as there are now, with so few comparatively who are able and willing to enter them. Favouring circumstances—liberty to preach and teach, a waiting people, a willing audience,—all is vain without some one to "speak the word," and to speak it fitly. "How shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom_10:14). And how shall they hear unto salvation if the preacher speaks feebly, or coldly, or confusedly, without "the demonstration of the Spirit and of power"?
(3) The apostle had laboured long and with extraordinary success, "more abundantly than they all" (1Co_15:10); and yet felt his need of the constant renewal of the Divine anointing. Again and again he acknowledges his dependence on the prayers of the Church (Rom_15:30-32; 2Th_3:1, 2Th_3:2, etc.). Nay, even Christ himself sustained his human strength of soul by the constant refreshment of prayer, and sought, in the crisis of his anguish, the watchful sympathy of his disciples (Luk_5:16; Joh_11:41; Mat_26:38). How much more is this needful for us! That ministry alone can be spiritually pure and strong which is drawn from secret fountains of prayer, and which commands the sympathetic intercession of all prayerful hearers.
II. THE CHRISTIAN'S BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS MEN OF THE WORLD. (verses 5, 6.)
1. "Walk in wisdom," says the apostle, "towards those without" (verse 5). Nowhere is Christian wisdom more needed, and nowhere is it seen to greater advantage, than in dealing with worldly men. "Be ye therefore wise as serpents," says the Saviour, in sending his disciples on their mission to the world (Mat_10:16). It is not necessary that "the sons of this world should be wiser for their own generation than the sons of light" (Luk_16:8). This wisdom, while resting on a knowledge of God and of Christian truth (Col_1:9; Col_2:2, Col_2:3), and furnished out of his Word (Col_3:16; Mat_13:52), requires a practical knowledge of men and things. It "cometh down from above," being "asked of God" (Jas_1:5, Jas_1:17; Jas_3:13-18), and is "pure, peaceable, and gentle;" but it has to be practised in a human world and in the service of men as they are; and therefore it must be discerning, well-informed, and practical. The Christian should not be inferior to any man in his own walk of life in the knowledge of his business and of the duties of his secular position. Indeed, his earnestness and diligence, his calmness of temper, and fairness of judgment, and soundness of conscience, and finer sympathies, will usually give him an advantage amongst his fellows: "Godliness is profitable unto all things" (1Ti_4:8). How often earnest attempts to do good miscarry for want of judgment, and the Christian cause is damaged in the eyes of the world by those most anxious to promote it through their unwisdom and narrow mindedness! "I am become all things to all men," said St. Paul, "that I might by all means save some" (1Co_9:20-22). And his bearing towards men of so many different ranks and classes in the strangely mixed society in which he moved, shows that this was no vain boast.
(1) The first condition of success in seeking to influence others for their highest good, next to an earnest desire to do so, is that one should understated them. And this is impossible without pains and study and a large-hearted Christian sympathy. So with the missionary amongst the heathen; so with the minister at home; so with the private Christian seeking to win to Christ his worldly friends or business associates; if he is to persuade men (2Co_5:11), he must understand the truth in its persuasive power, and he must understand men and how they are to be persuaded.
(2) Bat the Christian must be wise for himself as well as for others. His wisdom must be circumspect. It is his first business to "keep himself unspotted from the world" (Jas_1:27); to take care that, being "in the world," he be not "of the world" (Joh_17:14-18). He should have "good testimony from them that are without," especially if he hold any office in the Church (1Ti_3:7)—such a repute as will "adorn his Saviour's doctrine;" and yet he must rejoice if "men say all manner of evil against him falsely for Christ's sake" (Mat_5:11). The wisest and most careful behaviour cannot always avoid suspicion, where malice and slander are busy.
2. To wisdom must be added promptness and alert activity. There must be a quick eye for each opportunity as it arises, and an instant, vigorous effort to take advantage of it. The right occasion makes the right action. A thing well done or well said at one time may be malapropos if timed a little sooner or later.
(1) We must cherish a keen sense of the value and the shortness of time itself—of our own personal lifetime, the single opportunity granted us for doing God's work on earth, the seed time for an eternal harvest, "the day" with its "twelve hours" when the day's work must be done, or left undone for ever (Joh_9:4; Psa_39:4; Psa_90:12; 1Co_7:29; Heb_3:7, Heb_3:13).
(2) At the same time, we must have a proper understanding of the work assigned us, a sense of our individual calling in life, a recognition of the particular "will of God" respecting ourselves as from time to time it may be indicated. We must acquaint ourselves with the conditions of our time and of our work, so that each may be fitted to the other, and that we may not waste our strength by misdirection or "fight as one that beateth the air," but may be able to "serve the counsel of God for our own generation" (Act_13:36).
(3) And, finally, we must be animated by a vigorous, earnest spirit—unhasting, unresting—neither dulled by sloth nor fretted by impatience. So, "as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (1Pe_4:10), we shall turn every moment and every opportunity and every endowment of our nature to the best account, and shall be able "at his coming" to render back to our heavenly Master "his own with usury" (Mat_25:27). And this is "redeeming the time" (verse 5).
3. Where a wise, and wisely energetic, Christian man has the gift of apt and winning speech (verse 6), his Christian usefulness is largely multiplied. Indeed, the ordinary talk of an ordinary Christian, who cannot shine in the brilliant gifts of eloquence or wit, will at least be free from everything foolish and inept, from everything gross and ill-mannered. Though he be but a plain and unlettered man, his conversation will manifest a thoughtful, observant mind, and a pure and chastened disposition. Living a life of prayerful communion with God and with eternal things, "meditating in his Law day and night" (Psa_1:2), he will be "taught of God;" and when he speaks, "the opening of his lips will be right words." It is astonishing how much shrewdness and kindly good sense and helpfulness, how much of the highest and homeliest moral wisdom, drawn from the everyday experience of life and the lessons of nature, is found sometimes in men who know scarcely any book but their English Bible, and have had little culture but that which is given by prayer (Jas_1:5). A simple Christian man of this kind will often know better than the practised scholar "how to answer" concerning his hope, and will baffle the questionings of a clever scepticism. And when fine culture has been employed upon good abilities under the teaching of the Spirit of truth, and large knowledge has been gathered from books and men, the outcome in the man's conversation ought to be something rich and valuable in a high degree.
(1) Attractive speech is one of God's "greater gifts" (1Co_12:31), to be humbly sought and diligently improved and wisely and seriously used. There is none more commonly and lamentably abused. How much that is said in Christian circles would be left unsaid if only that which is "good unto edifying" (Eph_4:29) were allowed to pass the lips!
(2) But this rule by no means forbids kindly humour and the play of wit. The "salt" that "seasons" conversation (verse 6) contains these wholesome ingredients. A dull, uniform gravity is not the most edifying style of discourse. But the purpose and the effect of a Christian man's speech should always be serious, however light and graceful the form which on proper occasions it may assume. The conversation of the social circle is one of the greatest "opportunities" to be "redeemed" for Christ; and is afforded to us all. And especially when we meet those who are not Christians, the prejudiced, the sceptical, the wavering, much may depend on our being "ready" with "the meekness of wisdom" to "give an answer to every man that asketh a reason of the hope that is in us" (1Pe_3:15). The private conversation of the Church in its daily intercourse with the world should be a powerful ally to the public ministry of the Word (verses 4, 6).
Col_4:7-18
I. ST. PAUL'S ASSOCIATES.
1. Tychicus, the faithful messenger. (Verses 7, 8: comp. Eph_6:21; Act_20:4; Tit_3:12; 2Ti_4:12.) His association with the apostle in his last journey to Jerusalem, attended with so many affecting circumstances and terminating in his long imprisonment, seems to have led to a devoted attachment on the part of Tychicus to St. Paul. After returning home, as we may suppose, from Jerusalem, he had journeyed again to Rome, very possibly at the request of the Ephesian Church, to assist and comfort the imprisoned apostle and to bring back news of him. And he returns with these three priceless letters in his charge (Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon), with Onesimus whom he is to accompany as far as Colossae, and as the bearer of reassuring tidings from St. Paul. Again, some years later, when the apostle's friends were fewer and devotion to his cause still more hazardous, we find Tychicus employed on similar commissions.
(1) The apostle has found him to be, what every Christian should be to his fellow Christians, "a brother beloved;" what every officer of the Church, whether in higher or lower capacity, must strive to be—"a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord," faithful to the Lord and faithful in all brotherly love and "good fidelity" to his fellow servants. So Tychicus is a blessing both to the apostle and to the distant Asiatic Churches.
(2) While the Christian depends for strength and consolation in the first place on the fellowship of Christ in the Spirit (2Co_1:3-7; 2Th_2:16, 2Th_2:17; Joh_16:33), yet how precious and helpful is such communion as this with Christian friends at a distance (1Th_3:6-10; Php_4:10; 2Co_7:6), with faithful sufferers in Christ's cause, with those who bring tidings and words of cheer from brethren far off in other lands!
(3) They are, indeed, "brethren beloved" who, like Tychicus, pass from land to land, from Church to sister Church, in honourable ambassage, as "the messengers of the Churches and the glory of Christ" (2Co_8:23).
2. Onesimus, the converted slave. (Verse 9.) His position and character will be more fully discussed under the Epistle to Philemon.
(1) He is commended to the Christian circle at Colossae on account of his character—"a faithful and beloved brother." The apostle had learned to love and trust him, as "the child of his bonds," as "his very heart," for his goodness and proved fidelity and helpful service to himself (Phm_1:10-13). Greatly had he wished to retain him, but it was the servant's duty to return to his master. The qualities the apostle marks in him deserve equal respect from us in whatever grade of life they appear. The master who fails to recognize in his loyal and humble Christian servant "a brother beloved in the Lord," is wanting in the simplicity and elevation of the Christian character, and has yet to learn that "in Christ Jesus there is neither bond nor free" (Col_3:11; Gal_3:28). It was, however, for Philemon and his Colossian friends a severe test of Christian conviction and of their confidence in St. Paul to be required to take back this runaway slave as "a faithful and beloved brother."
(2) He is commended to them by his Colossian origin. "Who is one of you." It is a natural and kindly feeling that prompts this reference. Ties of neighbourhood and early association, as well as those of kindred, are providentially formed, and belong to the divinely constituted framework of human life (Act_17:26). This claim of Onesimus is not destroyed by his being a slave, at the very bottom of the social scale; nor was it forfeited by his misconduct. Now that he repents and returns, he is to be received by his Christian fellow townsmen as one of themselves.
3. Aristarchus, the devoted comrade. (Phm_1:10.) He was a representative of the Macedonian Churches (Act_20:4), who were dearest to the apostle of his children in the faith (1Th_2:19;