49-56 A Faithful Companion In Ministry

Ephesians 6:21-24

A British newspaper once offered a prize for the best definition of a friend. Among the thousands of answers received were the following:

one who multiplies joys, divides grief, and whose honesty is inviolable

one who understands our silence

a volume of sympathy bound in cloth

a watch that beats true for all time and never runs down

The winning definition for a friend came in and—its pretty good:

“A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.” That really speaks of a companion, comrade—intimate friend, fellow soldier. True friendship is invaluable.

The Bible has much to say about the value of friends:

Proverbs 17:17 NASB95

A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 18:24 NASB95

A man of too many friends comes to ruin, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 27:6 NASB95

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

Proverbs 27:10 NASB95

Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, And do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.

Solomon cuts to the heart of true friendship:

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 NASB95

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

Have you ever thought about who would want to befriend the apostle Paul? I mean—here is a man, frequently thrown in prison. Often beaten, usually scorned and ridiculed. His life hanging in the balance. Who would want to be a friend to someone like that? Certainly your own life would be in jeopardy just for knowing him.

Before we get to The last 4 vs of Eph 6 I want you to turn to

Col 4:7-14

We often overlook the end of Paul’s letters. We read them and think, “well that’s nice, he hasn’t forgotten his friends.” But there is really much more to it than that. This isn’t just a list of Paul’s acquaintances. If we truly believe that “all Scripture is inspire by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”—then this list of Paul’s is much more than meets the eye.

It is an inspired list of the many people who shared his ministry. It is a list of those who have persevered in the furtherance of the gospel. And it’s quite a list:

Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark (cousin of Barnabas), Justus (Jesus), Epaphras, Luke, Demas.

Now Eph 6:21-24

Let me introduce you to Tychicus (mentioned in 5 NT passages [maybe 2 Cor 8:18]).

Now Tychicus is probably not a name you would give to one of your children. His Gk name would be translated “fortuitous” or “fortunate.” I would agree--how fortunate to minister with the great apostle Paul for so many years.

Tychicus is not a prominent figure in the Bible. His name—mentioned only 5 times in the NT gives us a brief but extremely rich profile of the man who served as Paul’s faithful friend & companion. We first meet Tychicus in Acts 20:4. Paul had been some time on his 3rd missionary journey near the end and was in Ephesus and spent 3 years there discipling a few believers and preaching the word of God throughout Asia to Jews and Greeks.

It is said of Paul

Acts 19:11 NASB95

God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,

And the result?

Acts 19:20 NASB95

So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.

Acts 19:21-23—what followed was a mob.

Notice that Paul was anticipating a return to Jerusalem via Macedonia. He intended to collect an offering from the Corinthian church along with one from Galatia and Achaia and present it to the needy believers at Jerusalem. 1 Cor 16:1-9 talks about Paul’s intent. In doing so he had hoped that the union between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians would be strengthened.

20:1-4—he was accompanied by Tychicus.

Willingness to travel with Paul showed his friendship but not only that but truly a servant heart. This journey with Paul would not be undertaken lightly. Travel in antiquity proved to be much more arduous than the luxurious travel we have today.

This trip would:

Take Tychicus from friends, family, and a church for an extend period of time

Hold great danger in traveling with Paul:

many enemies

often warned of those who would cause him trouble in Jerusalem

Tychicus would have heard and known about the problems associated with knowing Paul and traveling with him

As Paul wrote the book of Ephesians—it had been 2 years since arrest in Jerusalem. Since then, he had survived a plot by Jewish leaders to murder him, trials before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa, a traumatic voyage to Rome. Tychicus may have been with Paul this entire time—but definitely with him through his Roman imprisonment.

As Paul was released from prison, Tychicus remained with him and we are told in Titus 3:12 that Tychicus was considered as a replacement for Titus as pastor in Crete. Paul now considered Tychicus—who began as a messenger, now as a candidate to fill in for Titus.

Tychicus endured the first Roman imprisonment with Paul and as Paul was again arrested in Rome, Tychicus remained with him. From 2 Timothy 4:12—as Paul was facing imminent execution, he wanted to see Timothy one more time. Timothy could not leave his congregation at Ephesus without a replacement, Paul sent Tychicus—so Timothy could go to Paul. Paul must have had great confidence in the abilities of Tychicus to rely on him so heavily.

Paul is writing Ephesians from prison during his 1st Roman imprisonment. Tychicus is with Paul—by this time nearly 4 years have passed since he first caught up with Paul in Ephesus.

Paul had great confidence in this man. He trusted him and entrusted him with an important mission. But Paul would not have done so with just anyone. There are several credentials we see of Tychicus in Scripture—credentials that make for a faithful companion in ministry. I’d like to walk thru them with you this morning.

1. Tychicus Was a Beloved Brother

Col 4:7; Eph 6:21

This is a splendid portrayal of who he was. We see the most basic and essential component of Paul’s commendation of Ty. Brother—referring to his faith in Jesus Christ and including him in the family of Christian believers. Undoubtedly, it was not only his faith in Jesus that caused Paul to love him but his usefulness proved to be very special as well. Paul loved him. Paul loved to be with him. Undoubtedly he would miss Tychicus as he sent him to Ephesus & other churches in Asia Minor.

2. Tychicus Was a Faithful Minister

Col 4:7; Eph 6:21

Gr. Diakonos—“deacon” “to wait at a table” and in a wider sense to serve someone in any capacity. Tychicus is a faithful deacon in the truest sense of the word. It is quite revealing of his heart and his attitude as on doing ministry/work of the Lord from the heart—freely not under compulsion.

Certainly he was a servant/minister of the church as well as to Paul himself. Wherever a need was present, a diakonos is quick to meet that need.

Paul also calls him “faithful”—not only to Paul but ultimately to Christ. Tychicus was entrusted & trusted to carryout God’s work.

He was a servant of the gospel, special servant of Christ loyal to his Master in every possible way.

3. Tychicus Was a Fellow Bond-Servant

Col 4:7

The word Paul uses for servant is different than the word he used previously for “minister.” Previously the connotation carried with it the activity of the one serving—the actual work (i.e. the ministry—one willing to do what is necessary in order to fulfill the work of the Lord).

Here, Paul means to say that both he and Tychicus counted it an honor to be “slaves of Christ.” They were totally at the disposal of their Master. A slave had no rights of his own, he was totally submissive to his master, no right/freedoms to act independently of his master’s will or desire.

Christ says (Mk 10:43-45) the one who wants to be the greatest of all must become a slave—complete humility—“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

I believe Tychicus was a man who did not look to his own well-being before deciding on a particular course of action. As he saw the Lord leading him, he was quick to be at the disposal of his Master—whatever the danger. That is why we see him traveling with Paul though constantly in danger.

4. Tychicus Was a Dependable Informer

Eph 6:21; Col 4:7-8

The very reason/purpose for Paul sending Tychicus was not just to deliver this letter to the Ephesians but to inform the people.

Tychicus was sent so that Xns in Ephesus would have up to date information regarding Paul’s affairs. This would include information on his health, his hopes, his future prospects—he instructed Tychicus to share with them “everything” that was happening to him in Rome.

Paul obviously could not write everything down on the small parchment paper he would have used. So it was extremely necessary to send someone he trusted so that information was sent accurately and timely.

5. Tychicus Was a Thoughtful Encourager

Eph 6:22 “comfort”

Col 4:8—Paul also sent Tychicus to encourage the hearts of the Colossian believers. It could have been very disturbing for them to go on without the information that was delivered by Tychicus.

The word for “comfort” is gr. parakaleo (lit “to come alongside) It is translated various places in NT—comfort, encourage, exhort

It has been said that one of the greatest things lacking in our churches today is encouragement. This is one area that every church—no matter how strong its ministries are—can always use more encouragement.

Paul understood how important encouragement is to the believer—another reason Tychicus was sent. He would have been able to come alongside of those believers and give them more information about Paul’s situation but also answer questions they might have had after reading this letter.

You know how it is, when you get a letter you often have questions that you would like to have answered. Maybe its from a relative or a close personal friend and so what do you do—if have email you simply reply and within moments you can have your answers. Or if not, maybe you pickup the phone and call them. Or if you choose, you use the slow way. But however you choose to communicate it might only be a week or so before receiving correspondence.

Well that doesn’t happen in NT times. It would weeks or months to send a message and wait for the reply. They didn’t have phones, email, or even an efficient postal system. Letters were hand delivered. Paul used Tychicus not just as a carrier (by the way Paul & God trusted Tychicus to deliver 3 of the inspired books we have in our Bible [Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon]), but also as an encourager involving—turning people back to Christ, and building them up in their knowledge and love of the Lord (Col 2:2-4).

6. Tychicus Was Available

Someone has rightly said that the best ability is availability. Certainly Tychicus was available to be used in ministry. Paul often relied on Tychicus for important duties. He probably relied on him for even those not so fun/adventurous/exciting ministry demands.

It was not easy for Tychicus to be associated with Paul—the prisoner. It was not easy for him to travel the way he did. But Tychicus made himself available for the Lord’s work and God used him greatly in His work.

Warren Wiersbe once remarked that “Tychicus did not take the easy way, but rather the right way.”

We don’t know what ever happened to Tychicus (3 traditions—pastor of Chalcedon, Colophon, or Paphos in Cyprus). He had learned how to encourage Christians with his teaching, evangelize the lost, and how to serve to the death. It was people like him who took the Asia Minor churches into the next generation and kept them obedient to the apostles’ teaching.

The church needs many more people today who are like Tychicus. How can you be one of them?

Paul concludes this wonderful epistle containing a record of the wealth of blessings believers have from our heavenly Father—concluding with a simple benediction.

This benediction, not unlike others of Paul’s seems to reflect the beautiful themes we have seen throughout the book. Peace, Love, and Faith are recurring truths in the thought of the Apostle. Its no wonder then that Paul would bring those three together and pray that it would be the experience and commitment of every believer.

One thing we know from our own experience, when we apply obediently in the power of the HS the principles of peace, love and faith, that obedience will yield to every believer the blessing and favor of God.

This final phrase is typical of Paul but also has difficulty in translating. Ironside writes:

In the Heavenlies: Practical Expository Addresses on the Epistle to the Ephesians (Lecture XXVI: Prayer and Supplication in the Holy Spirit (Eph. 6:18–24))

And then he adds a very searching word at the very end, “in sincerity.” (NASB with incorruptible love) The marginal translation is “in incorruption.” In other words, those who love our Lord Jesus Christ will manifest it by holy living. It is only thus we show in a practical way that we are one with Him in the heavenly places.

It was the LJC who said

John 14:15 NASB95

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Practical Xn living demonstrates real, incorruptible, sincere, undying love—by following obediently the commands of the LJC.