Colossians 4:7-18 - Grace Be with You

INTRODUCTION

[READING - Colossians 4:7-18]

Colossians 4:7–18 NASB95

7 As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information. 8 For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts; 9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your number. They will inform you about the whole situation here. 10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also Barnabas’s cousin Mark (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him); 11 and also Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also Demas. 15 Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house. 16 When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea. 17 Say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.” 18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you.

[PRAYER]

It is commonly asserted that the Apostle Paul was a bit of a jerk.

One author has written that Paul had a “steak of arrogance and a tendency to vacillate” (i.e., to be indecisive or hesitant in his opinions or decisions). He went to say that Paul repeated claims of Apostolic authority “reinforced his sense of infallibility and often led him to bully any who disagreed.”

Another said, “No Christian genuinely seeking the righteousness of God should imitate a man like Paul.”

But was Paul really a jerk? Was he really an indecisive, egotistical bully?

Well, I don’t believe that he was and I think we can see proof in Colossians 4:7-18.

But before we get to that proof, let me tell you why its important that Paul be defended on this point.

First, Paul wrote 13 of our writings in the NT (14 if you believe him to be the author of Hebrews).

To conclude that Paul was a jerkish bully would lead us to conclude that most of our NT was written by a jerkish bully—and then we would probably dismiss it.

The systematic presentation of the Gospel in his letter to the Romans? Dismissed.

His pastoral instructions to the church in Ephesus? Dismissed.

His firm correction to the church in Corinth? Dismissed.

His declaration of the preeminence of Jesus in his letter to the Colossians? Dismissed.

All of it dismissed, if we dismiss Paul as a jerkish bully.

I want you to know that Paul was not an arrogant bully so that you continue to see his Holy Spirit-inspired writings for what they are—the Words of God.

Secondly, Paul was changed by the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

He might have been a jerkish bully before Christ, but to say that he continued to be a jerkish bully after Christ would be to diminish the work of grace that Jesus performed in Paul’s life.

I believed grace made Paul gracious, and I think you can see it clearly in this last passage of Colossians.

[CIT] In Colossians 4:7-18, Paul is sending heartfelt greetings, ministry updates, and final instructions to the church at Colossae.

[PROP] In Paul’s words, we see a few genuine marks of graciousness.

Grace ought to make a man gracious. Grace ought to make him courteous, kind, and pleasant.

It doesn’t mean that will be a pushover.

Paul was no pushover.

It doesn’t mean that he will be unprincipled.

Paul had principles.

It doesn’t mean that he will be a compromiser of truth.

Paul was no compromiser of truth.

But Paul was a man saved by grace and changed by grace; He was a gracious man and that graciousness was attractive to others.

[TS] Let’s take at a few of those genuine MARKS of graciousness…

MAJOR IDEAS

MARK #1: The grace of Jesus made Paul a friend of others.

[EXP] It’s apparent from the list of names in this final greeting that Paul had many friends.

Here he lists nine of those friends, and these were not just fair-weather friends; these were also foul-weather friends.

Paul wrote this letter while waiting to stand trial before Caesar in Rome.

“Remember my imprisonment (my chains, my bonds),” he said to them in Colossians 4:18.

It would’ve been very convenient—even reasonable from an earthly perspective—to distance one’s self from Paul while he was under the scrutiny of almighty Rome, but these friends didn’t do that.

Paul had been a friend to them—welcoming, evangelizing, and discipling many of them when they were far from Christ or just babes in Christ, so these nine were friends to him even when it would’ve been easier not to be.

From his words in this passage, we can tell that Paul appreciated and loved these people.

They were His brothers and sisters in Christ.

They were His friends.

[APP] Are you a friend to others? If Jesus is a friend to you, He makes you friendly toward others?

Jesus said to His disciples, “I have called you friends,” (Jn. 15:15).

Jesus is a friend to all those who follow Him.

Jesus was known as a “friend of tax collectors and sinners,” (Mt. 11:19; Lk. 7:34).

Jesus is a friend to all sinners forgiven by Him.

Jesus called Lazarus “our friend” (Jn. 11:11).

Jesus is a friend to all those He raises from death to life.

By grace, Jesus called Paul as a follower; by grace, Jesus forgave Paul’s sins; by grace, Jesus raised Paul to new life; by grace, Jesus was a friend to Paul.

Therefore, Paul was a friend to others.

When Jesus saves us by grace, I believe His gives us the capacity for friendship.

I believe it is a genuine mark of graciousness.

[TS]…

MARK #2: The grace of Jesus caused Paul to depend on others.

[EXP] Paul knew that he couldn’t do it all himself. He didn’t try to do it all himself so that he got the glory.

In this passage, we see Paul depending on Tychicus and Onesimus as they carry this letter to Colossae.

He depends on Aristarchus, Mark, and Justus for encouragement.

He depends on the Colossian church to send a copy of its letter on to Laodicea, and he certainly was dependent on the Laodicean church to send a copy of its letter on to the Colossians.

But especially notice that Paul was dependent on the prayers of the Colossians. This is what he referred to when he said to them in v. 18, “Remember my imprisonment.”

In Colossians 4:3, Paul asked the Colossians for prayer in relation to his imprisonment.

Colossians 4:3 NASB95

3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;

[APP] Grace destroys the pride that fuels sinful independence.

Grace first causes us to lean on Christ for salvation, and then it causes us to lean on other Christians for help.

Leaning is a genuine mark of graciousness.

Do you lean on others or do you try to do it all yourself?

[TS]…

MARK #3: The grace of Jesus gave Paul a concern for others.

[EXP] Because grace made Paul gracious, it made concerned about the well-being of others.

First, in this passage we see that he was concerned about the Christians in Colossae.

He was concerned that they believe the right things concerning the preeminence of Jesus Christ, which is why he wrote this letter to the Colossian believers, but he was also concerned that they know about his situation in Rome.

He knew that they would be concerned about him, so he was concerned to let them know.

He was also concerned that the Colossians welcome Mark if he came to them (v. 10).

He was concerned about the church that met in Nympha’s house (v. 15).

He was concerned about the believers in the areas surrounding Colossae—areas that included Laodicea and Hierapolis (v. 16).

And he was concerned about Archippus (v. 17).

In 2 Corinthians, Paul said that in addition to all of his sufferings for Christ, he had on him "the daily pressure… of concern for all the churches,” (2 Cor. 11:28).

That concern was attractive to others; it was a sure mark of Paul’s graciousness.

[APP] Are you concerned for others? It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the concern of our own lives that we forget to be concerned about other people.

This would have been really easy for Paul as he awaited trial in Rome. He could’ve been focused on his own situation instead caring about the situation of others, but grace made him a gracious man who was concerned for others.

What about you?

Has grace made you gracious; has it made you concerned for others?

[TS]…

MARK #4: The grace of Jesus caused Paul to reconcile with others.

[EXP] In Colossians 4:10 Paul mentioned Mark, Barnabas’s cousin. He said that the Colossians had received instructions or orders regarding Mark.

We don’t know what those instructions were, but when we remember that Mark was the cause of Paul and Barnabas splitting up after Paul’s first missionary journey, we might think those instructions wouldn’t be good.

Mark (a.k.a., John Mark) accompanied Paul and Barnabas on Paul’s first missionary journey as recorded in Acts, but Mark left Paul and Barnabas partway through the trip and returned home.

We don’t know why Mark went home, but we do know that Paul wasn’t happy about it.

When time came for another missionary journey, Paul didn’t want to take Mark along, but Barnabas (the son of encouragement) though Mark should be given a second chance.

The dispute between the men was so sharp that Paul took Silas and went one way while Barnabas took Mark and went another.

In that moment, it didn’t seem like reconcilation was possible.

But apparently reconciliation has taken place because here in Colossians 4:10 Paul told the Colossian believers to welcome Mark if he comes to them.

In 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul told Timothy that as he came to him he was to “Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.”

Before his experience with Jesus as he breathed out murderous threats against Christians and nodded approval at the stoning of Stephen, Paul didn’t seem like the reconciling type.

But grace changed him; grace made him gracious, and genuine mark of that graciousness was reconciliation with others.

[APP] Do you readily reconcile with others? You who have been forgiven much, do you forgive much yourselves?

The grace of God in Jesus Christ not only reconciles us to God; it also reconciles us to one another.

If we refuse to be reconciled with others, then we aren’t letting God’s grace work its way through us like it should.

[TS]…

CONCLUSION

There are other genuine marks of graciousness that we can see in Paul from this passage, but these four should suffice to prove to us that Paul was no jerkish bully.

If the Lord wills, in the weeks ahead we will still be in this last bit of Colossians.

Tonight, we’ve learned that Paul was a gracious man with many friends, and its his friends that have some lessons to teach us still.

[PRAYER]