Colossians 4.5-The Colossians Must Continue Conducting Their Lives By Means of Wisdom So That They Make the Most of Every Opportunity
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday March 12, 2017
Colossians: Colossians 4:5-The Colossians Must Continue Conducting Their Lives By Means of Wisdom So That They Make the Most of Every Opportunity
Lesson # 109
Colossians 4:5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. (NASB95)
“Toward outsiders” is composed of the following: (1) preposition pros (πρός), “toward” (2) adverb of place exō (exō), “outsiders.”
The articular form of the adverb of place exō means “the outsiders” and pertains to those who are “outside of a particular group of individuals.”
The word is used in reference to the non-believer or in other words, it is used with reference to those sinners who have not been declared justified by the Father through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
This word is the object of the preposition pros, which means “toward, in the company of, in relation to” since the word is functioning as a marker of association.
Therefore, this prepositional phrase is expressing the idea of the Colossian Christian community associating with the non-Christian community.
“Conduct yourselves” is the verb peripateō (περιπατέω), which means “to live, to conduct one’s life” and the second person plural form of this verb is used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions referring to each of the faithful Christians in Colossae.
Therefore, this word refers to the lifestyle of each of these faithful believers in Colossae.
“With wisdom” is composed of the following: (1) preposition en (ἐν), “with” (2) noun sophia (σοφία), “wisdom.”
The noun sophia means “wisdom” and speaks of God’s wisdom, which refers to the person, work, life and teaching of His Son Jesus Christ and is revealed by the Holy Spirit through the gospel.
Here in Colossians 4:5, this noun speaks of the application of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the sense of the Colossians appropriating by faith their union and identification with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
It is also alluding to applying Christ’s teaching to love one another as He has loved them and is loving them as well as His command to love your neighbor as yourself.
This word is the object of the preposition en, which is a marker of means indicating the means by which Paul wants the Colossians to conduct their lives in relation to the non-Christian.
Therefore, this prepositional phrase is expressing the idea that Paul is commanding the Colossians to conduct their lives towards the unsaved by means of wisdom in the sense of applying or appropriating by faith the gospel of Jesus Christ while interacting with the non-Christian.
The present imperative form of the verb peripateō is a customary present imperative whose force is for these faithful Christians in Colossae to simply continue making it their habit of conducting their lives by means of wisdom while associating with the non-believer.
“Making the most of the opportunity” is composed of the following: (1) noun kairos (καιρός), “the opportunity” (2) verb exagorazomai (ἐξαγοράζομαι), “making the most of.”
The noun kairos means “opportunity” since the word pertains to a favorable circumstance.
The verb exagorazomai and the noun kairos form an idiom which literally means “to buy out the time.”
Together, they express the idea of “making good use of opportunity, taking full advantage of any opportunity, snapping up every opportunity that presents itself .”
The participle form of this verb exagorazomai is a participle of result which would indicate that Paul wants the Colossians to continue to live their lives by means of wisdom while associating with the non-Christian community “with the result that” they make the most of every opportunity.
Colossians 4:5 Each of you continue making it your habit of conducting your lives by means of wisdom while interacting with those who are outsiders so that each of you are causing yourselves to make the most of your opportunity. (My translation)
Colossians 4:5 marks a transition from the commands the apostle Paul issues the Colossian Christian community in Colossians 4:2-4 regarding prayer to instructions in Colossians 4:5-6 regarding their conduct in relation to the unregenerate.
Here in verse 5, Paul orders each faithful member of the Colossian Christian community to continue making it their habit of conducting their lives by means of wisdom while interacting with those who are outside their community.
Consequently, by obeying this command they would be causing themselves to make the most of their opportunity with the unsaved.
Paul’s statements in Colossians 1:3-5 and 2:5 indicate that like all the prohibitions and commands in this epistle, the Colossians were obeying this command here in Colossians 4:5.
The wisdom Paul is referring to here in Colossians 4:5 which was to be the means by which they were to conduct their lives while interacting with the unbelievers in their community speaks of course of God’s wisdom.
It refers to the person, work, life and teaching of His Son Jesus Christ and is revealed by the Holy Spirit through the gospel.
It refers to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In fact, Paul teaches in First Corinthians 1:24 that Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God.
This wisdom speaks of the application of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the sense of the Colossians appropriating by faith their union and identification with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
It is also applying Christ’s command in John 13:34 to love one another as He has loved them and is loving them.
The Lord taught in John 13:35 that by doing so, all people would know that they are His disciples.
This wisdom would also manifest itself by obeying the command to love one’s neighbor as oneself.
By treating the unbeliever as they would themselves, the Colossians would be conducting their lives by means of wisdom with the unsaved.
In Colossians 4:5, Paul is exhorting the Colossians to continue functioning in 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.
At the moment of their conversion, the church age believer was given a royal ambassadorship in which they were to represent the absent Christ who sits as the right hand of the Father and present to the unsaved the gospel message of peace with God through faith alone in Christ alone (2 Corinthians 5:20a).
The believer’s responsibility is to clearly present the gospel message to the unbeliever and the rest depends upon the convincing ministry of God the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-11).
They are also to conduct themselves with respect to the unsaved in an excellent and praiseworthy manner, bringing no reproach to the name of Christ.
1 Peter 2:12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. (NASB95)
As royal ambassadors, believers are responsible for “witnessing” to the unbeliever, which is communicating God’s plan of salvation to unbelievers on a personal basis in two ways: (1) The example of your life (2 Corinthians 3:3; 6:3). (2) Your words (2 Corinthians 5:18-21; 6:2).
Every church age believer as a royal ambassador for Christ has the responsibility to proclaim the gospel to the unbeliever and to conduct themsevles an excellent fashion with respect to them so as to lead them to the Savior.
Furthermore, Colossians 4:5 refers to two stewardships that every Christian will have to give an account for at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church which will be conducted by the Lord Jesus Christ immediately after the rapture or resurrection of the church.
Time: Galatians 6:9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
Talent: 1 Peter 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Treasure: Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure -- pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.
Truth: 2 Timothy 1:13 Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. (NASB95)
Here in Colossians 4:5, we have the stewardship of truth involved as well as the believer’s stewardship of time.