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This Archippus is, with good reason, supposed to be the minister at Colosse, in the room of Epaphras, now with St. Paul at Rome. Some think, that in the absence of Epaphras, he was grown somewhat remiss and slack in his ministerial duty; he directs therefore the Colossians to admonish him to the exercise of greater diligence in discharging all the parts of his trust committed by Christ unto him, Say unto Archippus, Take heed, &c.
Observe here, A double charge, 1. A charge of message, Say unto Archippus: The Colossians must say it. St. Paul could have wrote a private letter to him; but they must excite him, yea, say to him to his face, not of him behind his back: It is the people's duty to stir up their ministers to the faithful performance of their duty; the fire of our ministerial zeal doth not burn so bright, but we may need our people's bellows to inflame it; but this must be done with prudence by the people, in a way of exhortation, not by the way of exprobation; so stir up your minister to his duty, that you forget not your own.
Observe, 2. The charge of an office, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received of the Lord, that thou fulfil it.
Here note, 1. A duty enjoined, to fulfil the ministry: But what is that?
Negatively, not to secure the success of our ministry, we may deliver our own souls, though our people's be not delivered; the nurse is not charged with the life of the child, but with the care of the child; she shall be paid whether it live or die: Nor is it absolutely to perform every part of our ministerial duty without the least deficiency; no, we rejoice in the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have done our duty:
Positively, to fulfil the ministry, is to perform all the parts of our duty with care and faithfulness, persevere in diligence, particularly, public preaching and private inspection. A non-preaching minister is no minister, a breastless nurse, a murderer of souls, a bell without a clapper, a cryer without a voice; yet doth not his work lye all in the pulpit, but the greatest part out of it: he is styled a watchman: For what? because he is to watch one hour with his people in a week? No, surely, but because he is to watch over them, and converse with them all the week, upon occasion. Is not the physician to visit his patient, as well as to prescribe his physic? Doth the husbandman cast his seed into the ground, and never come into his fields to see whether it comes up, or how it grows? Verily, our people are great gainers by them too. We may gain more experimental knowledge by an afternoon's visiting our people, than by a week's study.
Note, 2. The means here directed to, for the fulfilling of the ministry, Take heed to the ministry; What doth that import?
1. Take heed to thy study; ministerial abilities are not rained down like manna upon us. The apostles did not study indeed, but one reason was, they had no time to study, they were itinerary preachers.
2. Take heed to thy doctrine, that it be the pure word of God, and delivered purely; not only in opposition to error, but in opposition to levity.
3. Take heed, that is, to thy life and practice, that we may tread out the steps before our people, which they are to take towards heaven.
Note, 3. The motive to stir us all up to the fulfilling our ministerial trust: We have received it: There is the importance of a special favour, and also the importance of a strict account; what we have received, we must give an account for.
2. We have received it of or from the Lord; this implies assistance, that God has called us to it, will assist us in it: Lo, I am with you always to the end of the world; with you to assist, with you to succeed, with you to reward. Let Archippus then, every one in the work of Christ, take heed to the ministry which he has received of the Lord, that he fulfil it.