Colossians 4:1-6 [NLT]
February 13, 2013
Oak Park Baptist Church – Wed Bible Study Series
Colossians Bible Study
Paul’s wraps up letter with Christian Bonding and Prayerful exhortation:
Tychicus listed here in v1 was a faithful companion in the ministry with Paul. We find him listed in four separate letters of Paul – here in Col 4:1:
Colossians 4:7 [HCSB]
[ Christian Greetings ] Tychicus, our dearly loved brother, faithful servant, and fellow slave in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me.
And we find him listed in Eph 6 with an almost identical description about him and what he is doing for Paul and for the Lord.
Ephesians 6:21 [HCSB]
Tychicus, our dearly loved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me so that you may be informed.
Tychicus was a messenger for Paul, sent to give updates on Paul’s situation AND to carry Paul’s correspondence to the people.
He is also mentioned in Paul’s 2nd letter to Timothy. We find here that Tychicus is trustworthy and Paul knows it… Paul uses him on mission!
2 Timothy 4:12 [HCSB]
I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
Ephesus was a church that Paul had planted himself and was well invested in… he would not have sent Tychicus if he was NOT fully trustworthy!
Then we also see Tychicus mentioned in Paul’s letter to Titus…
Titus 3:12
When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me in Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.
Here Paul is contemplating on sending either Tychicus OR Artemas to Crete where Titus was pastor… Titus had been sent by Paul to pastor the church on the island of Crete…
Presumably Paul wanted to meet with Titus one last time before he was to die and did not want the church left alone, so he was going to send someone (either Artemas or Tychicus) to watch over the church while Titus was away.
Paul knew that travel in the winter would require several month’s absence and that would be FAR too long without good solid leadership.
We can see that Tychicus was a willing and humble servant who served the Lord in a manner that was NOT glamorous and was quite difficult.
It seems that if Paul needed someone to deliver a message or report about his situation he went to Tychicus…
Now as I mentioned before travel in the 1st century was NOT the easiest of things. Most people traveled by foot… they walked to wherever they were going.
This means days and weeks on the road, sleeping in the elements with the threat of bandits and wild animals ever present. This meant enduring cold and heat without much shelter.
Other than the Roman roads that made things slightly better, there was really NOTHING glamorous or easy about travel in the 1st century.
But yet here we find Tychicus to be a willing servant… carrying the reports and letters from Paul to the churches who needed God’s word!
Notice how Paul describes him in v7:
First he is called a loved brother… one who is part of the fellowship, one who is beloved by those in the fellowship. This reveals a lot about him as a person. To be loved and respected in the fellowship meant that he GAVE this love and respect to others within the fellowship as well… He was well loved!
Second, we find Paul saying that Tychicus was a faithful servant AND fellow slave in the Lord! This speaks volumes about him and what he meant to Paul and Paul’s ministry for the Kingdom.
Paul wrote ½ of the NT and was probably the most influential person in the church during the 1st 100 yrs of the church. There was NO other person during that time that can rival Paul… Peter, James and John were very influential but Paul was the key figure outside of Christ in the NT…
And here we find Paul calling Tychicus a FELLOW servant… he considered Tychicus equal to him in the ministry…
In other words, Paul understood that what Tychicus was doing was JUST as important in the Kingdom as what Paul was doing, although some may NOT agree with him!
Paul understood that there are NO lowly jobs in the Kingdom, but simply tasks of different types. Tychicus accepted his role in the kingdom and Paul knew his heart and recognized his willingness to serve Christ in whatever manner he could.
The 3rd thing we can see about Tychicus was his work ethic and trustworthy nature. In v7 Paul says that Tychicus will tell them all the news about him and in v8 Paul says that this is the reason he sent him to them!
Paul needed a task done and he could rely on and trust in Tychicus to complete the task at hand! He was thorough in his work and was like that for the purpose of God’s kingdom growing and NOT his own selfish desires!
He was a faithful, hardworking, thorough worker in the kingdom who did not seek any credit for himself, but served out of a love for God and a love for his fellow believers!
The picture drawn here about this dear servant is a picture of what God is looking for in service to Him in today’s world as well. Are we ‘Tychicus-like’ in our service?
Are we faithful, hardworking, thorough workers for the kingdom who do not seek credit for ourselves, but we serve out of a love for God and a love for our fellow believers? What sort of servant are we?
Paul lists several other believers who work with him and how they care for the church in Colossae, especially Epaphras… who we believe was the most likely candidate to have started the church in Colossae.
Finally Paul ends this letter by encouraging these believers in Colossae to share this letter with the church in Laodicea and with the church in the house of Nympha…
Have it read in YOUR church and in the churches of the Lycan valley (Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis) and he encourages them to read the letter he is sending to them as well (although we have NO copy of that letter)
Finally Paul asks them to pray for him in his imprisonment… we know that Paul is not praying specifically for his release because of what he has said earlier in this letter, but I am sure Paul wanted to be free to travel and spread the Good News.
However, he was content in where God had him and was willing to submit to God’s plan and purpose for him regardless of where it placed him!
Paul signs off just as he greeted them by praying grace upon them… In 1:2 Paul says, “…to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae. Grace to you and peace from God our Father.”
In 4:18 he ends his letter with a similar salutation as he says, “…remember my imprisonment! Grace be with you!”
For Paul, GRACE is the key element to Christ! Without the grace we are afforded IN CHRIST, we would be hopeless!
Grace was also what he was teaching these believers when it came to dealing with each other in the fellowship… be gracious to those who are struggling, don’t judge them, help them to get back on their feet!
Finally Paul taught that we should exhibit grace to those outside of Christ. Christ has forgiven US, we must learn to forgive others!
Christ gave himself out of love for the lost… we must love the lost and reach out to them! As a believer, Paul taught that our job is NOT to judge the world, but it is to share the GRACE of Christ… we are not to condemn but we are to seek reconciliation for the lost!
Here Paul mentions grace once again… here his prayer is that God’s grace would continually shine upon this fellowship and that God’s grace would lead them and guide them… Paul desired God’s grace to be evident in our lives so that the world could see Jesus!
This should be OUR prayer today! We should seek to exhibit the GRACE of Christ in our lives in such a way that people see Jesus for who He truly is…
A Savior who wants ALL to come to salvation…
A redeemer who seeks to forgive and NOT condemn…
A God who loves us and wants what is best for us!
In this letter to the church at Colossae Paul taught about many things, but the main focus of his letter was that as believers IN CHRIST we are called to live a life that reflects our relationship with Christ… our lives MUST reflect the One we serve!
I find it highly appropriate that Paul actually gives us a physical example of someone who was living OUT his faith… Tychicus is an example that teaches us to LIVE OUT our faith and let the world know of the Savior we love and serve!
I pray we ALL can begin to live our lives as God has called us to live…PRAY
