Colossians 4.3b-Paul Requests Intercessory Prayer for an Opportunity to Communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday February 19, 2017
Colossians: Colossians 4:3b-Paul Requests Intercessory Prayer for an Opportunity to Communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Lesson # 106
Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 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. (NASB95)
“That God will open up to us a door for the word” is composed of the following: (1) conjunction hina (ἵνα), “that” (2) noun theos (θεός), “God” (3) verb anoigō (ἀνοίγω), “will open up” (4) personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ), “us” (5) noun thyra (θύρα), “a door” (6) noun logos (λόγος), “the word.”
The conjunction hina is employed with the subjunctive mood of the anoigō, “will open up” in order to form a direct object clause which presents the content of the intercessory prayer which Paul wants the Colossians to offer up to the Father for himself, Timothy and their companions in Rome.
The noun theos refers to the Father which is indicated by the word’s articular construction which in the New Testament commonly signifies the first member of the Trinity unless otherwise indicated by the context.
The noun thyra literally means “door” but is used here in a figurative sense for making some possible opportunity and is modified by the articular genitive masculine singular form of the noun logos, which means “the message” referring to the communication of the gospel to the unsaved.
This word is in the genitive case and functions specifically as an objective genitive which means that this word functions semantically as the direct object of the verbal idea implicit in the head noun thyra.
With this type of genitive, the head noun is converted into a verbal idea and the word in the genitive is receiving this implicit action in the head noun.
Thus, the idea with this expression θύραν τοῦ λόγου would be “making possible an opportunity for the message.”
The verb anoigō means “to open” and is used in a figurative sense expressing the idea of making possible some opportunity.
Here it is used of the Father opening up an opportunity for Paul and his fellow companions in Rome for them to proclaim the mystery of Christ, i.e. the gospel of Jesus Christ to the unsaved in Rome.
The first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego is referring to Paul, Timothy and their companions in Rome and is used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.
This word is in the dative case and functions specifically as a dative of advantage indicating that Paul and his companions would benefit from the Father making possible an opportunity for them in Rome to proclaim their unique Christian message.
“So that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ” is composed of the following: (1) verb laleō (λαλέω), “so that we may speak forth” (2) noun mustērion (μυστήριον), “the mystery” (3) proper name Christos (Χριστός), “Christ.”
The verb laleo refers to the act of the Paul, Timothy and their companions in Rome speaking to the unsaved in the city of Rome regarding the mystery of Christ.
In other words, this word speaks of them communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ to the unsaved in the city of Rome.
The infinitive form of this verb is an appositional infinitive which is defining for the Colossians what Paul means by an opportunity for his and companions to proclaim their unique message.
The noun mustērion means “mystery” describing Jesus Christ in relation to the unsaved or unregenerate.
Jesus Christ is a mystery to those are not initiated into the Christian way of life, which is accomplished by being declared justified by the Father through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.
Christos defines specifically what Paul means by the term mustērion.
Colossians 4:2 Each of you must continue to make it your habit of being dedicated to persevering in prayer while continuing to exist in a state of being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. 3 Also, each of you at the same time continue to make it your habit of occupying yourselves with prayer on behalf of each one of us. Specifically, that the Father would make possible for each of us an opportunity for our unique message, namely, to communicate the mystery, which is concerning the one and only Christ because of which, I am in fact imprisoned. (Author’s translation)
In Colossians 4:3, Paul issues another implicit command which is also couched in a temporal clause and required that the Colossian Christian community continue making it their habit of occupying themselves with prayer on behalf of Paul and each of his companions in Rome.
Therefore, Paul wants the Colossians to continue being dedicated to persevering in prayer while continuing to make it their habit of interceding in prayer for him and each of his companions in Rome.
His companions would include not only Timothy but also Aristarchus, Barnabas’s cousin Mark, Jesus who is also called Justus, Epaphras their pastor, and Luke according to his statements in Colossians 4:10-14.
Then, Paul identifies for the Colossians the content of the intercessory prayer that he wants them to offer up to the Father for him and his companions in Rome.
They were to pray that the Father would make possible for each of them an opportunity for their unique gospel message (cf. Acts 14:27; 1 Cor. 16:9; 2 Cor. 2:12).
Paul specifies for the Colossians what he means by an opportunity for their unique gospel message by asserting that he and his companions wanted an opportunity to communicate the mystery which he identifies as the one and only Christ.
This “mystery” describes Jesus Christ in relation to the unsaved or unregenerate.
Jesus Christ is a mystery to the unsaved who are not initiated into the Christian way of life, which is accomplished by being declared justified by the Father through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.
Therefore, in Colossians 4:3, Paul wants the Colossians to intercede in prayer for him and each of his companions in Rome.
Warren Wiersbe writes “Paul did not ask for the prison doors to be opened, but that doors of ministry might be opened (1 Cor. 16:9; Acts 14:27). It was more important to Paul that he be a faithful minister than a free man. It is worth noting that in all of Paul’s prison prayers, his concern was not for personal safety or material help, but for spiritual character and blessing.”
In Colossians 4:3, Paul wants the Colossians to intercede in prayer for him by requesting that the Father would make possible an opportunity for each of them to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to the unsaved in Rome.
In relation to the non-Christian, this message which is the gospel, is God’s victorious proclamation of His love in delivering the entire human race from sin, Satan, his cosmic system and eternal condemnation and has reconciled them to Himself through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
This reconciliation with God and deliverance and victory over sin, Satan and the cosmic system that God accomplished through His Son’s crucifixion, burial, death, resurrection and session is received as a gift and appropriated through faith in Christ (John 3:16-18; Acts 16:31; Romans 5:1-2).
The Colossians intercessory prayer would involve the function of their royal priesthood whereas the communication of the gospel to the unsaved in Rome by Paul and his companions would be a function of their royal ambassadorship.
At the moment of justification, God gives the church-age believer two royal commissions: (1) a royal ambassadorship (2 Corinthians 5:20), which represents Christ before the unbeliever and (2) a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:5, 9), which represents himself before God.
