Fulfill the Ministry You Received in the Lord

6Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. 7All my affairs will be made known to you by Tychicus, the beloved brother, faithful servant, and fellow bondservant in the Lord. 8I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, 9together with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you everything that is going on here. 10Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you received commandments, “if he comes to you, receive him”), 11and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for God’s Kingdom who are of the circumcision, men who have been a comfort to me. 12Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, salutes you, always striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 13For I testify about him, that he has great zeal for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis. 14Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you. 15Greet the brothers who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the assembly that is in his house. 16When this letter has been read among you, cause it to be read also in the assembly of the Laodiceans; and that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17Tell Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you fulfill it.” 18The salutation of me, Paul, with my own hand: remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.

Just as children come home from school and tell their mothers what happened that day, we bring the events of our day to God in prayer, sometimes in repentance. As parents listen to their children, they learn without effort how the day went and which friends they have grown close to. Listening lets them know in detail how their children are doing, which is why conversation in a family matters so much. If we likewise tell God in prayer the joys and sorrows of our day, the countless feelings we had, and the plans we hold, God will see how our souls are faring and help us.

So the apostle Paul told them to watch in prayer with thanksgiving. The reason is that when we draw near to God, he gives us wisdom; we gain the ability to judge the problems we face, and there is less danger of falling into temptation. When we keep close fellowship with God, we live in peace, for we have the faith to trust that he will protect us and answer us.

Because the church was spiritually awake in this way and praying for Paul’s preaching ministry, Paul could give himself to proclaiming the word so that more souls might be saved. Thanks to his fellow workers in the faith, he was able to prepare in prayer and in the word, and God used Paul and the saints, made ready in this way, to spread the gospel by the marvelous work of the Holy Spirit.

Where the Holy Spirit works powerfully, Satan works powerfully too; that is why the apostle Paul was in prison because of people who opposed the gospel. Imprisoned, he was hindered in proclaiming it, so he asked them to pray for him, that he might press on with the gospel. Because Paul had met Christ in person and had been to heaven and back, he grieved that his circumstances kept him from telling the many mysteries he knew. This is how it is: unless God permits it, no matter how hard a person tries, they will not be given the opportunity to proclaim the gospel.

Colossians 4:5-6

5Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

“Those who are outside” are the people outside the church. Believers have been given the calling to save such people, so they must live wisely and well. Because their wrong lives stand in the way of the salvation of those who do not believe in God, Paul urged them to walk in wisdom and redeem the time. Their life in the church and their life outside it should always be the same, for in God they have become wholly different people. Wrong actions and judgments belong to the old man, so for those reborn as the new man, life inside and outside the church cannot help but be the same. That is why God has called them members of Christ and has said they are precious, a people who live for the holy Christ.

I hope you will yield to one another in everything that does not stand in the way of salvation. Unbelievers meet you outside the church, and if you do not consistently live as those who have been born again, the chance to share the gospel slips away. The people of the world do not really know who Jesus is. So rather than taking an interest in the sacrifice and love of Jesus Christ, they look at you first and judge God by what they see. Make evangelism your aim in everything — in the church, of course, but also in society, at home, and even in time with friends — and take care in all you do.

Because you walk with Christ and the Holy Spirit, you can tell whether someone is spiritually hardened or ready to receive the gospel in their heart. Salvation is God’s decision, so if that person is one he has predestined, he will bring them to new birth through many hardships; you need not judge them.

People may well ask us whether we are not being overly zealous. They may even ask how anyone can live looking only to God, when even those who believe in him still have to live in this world. Of course, since our feet are on the ground, there is some truth in that. But our final goal and destination do not change, so we must show an unchanging faith as the apostle Paul did. If our final destination could change, it would be perfectly fine to live differently to suit every circumstance and every person. But we can enter heaven only if Christ opens the door, and so we must live by God’s law. Life lasts a hundred years at most. Everyone must leave this body behind. God has set that law, and he has set the law that souls then enter heaven or hell.

The trouble is that we know this and do not keep it. We know that Jesus called himself the way, the truth, and the life, and we know that the way to heaven is to believe in him. But if our faith and our way of life change with our surroundings and the people we are with, the unbelievers watching have no reason to attend church, and no reason to receive Jesus Christ. Our sincere faith is itself evangelism, and the means by which the Kingdom of God spreads.

If people reject the gospel because believers have lived wrongly, then God’s own children have in fact served as Satan’s fellow workers. God will not call such people his children, and he will rebuke them severely.

Matthew 10:16

16“Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

The one who truly does the work of evangelism is Jesus Christ himself. To Satan, who labored to obstruct the ministry of Jesus Christ, believers who preach the gospel are targets as well. The world they go out into is full of deceitful people, which is why Jesus said it is as dangerous as being sent out as sheep among wolves. By saying this he meant that the world is that hostile to the gospel, and that the spiritual life of those who carry it will not run smoothly. So when believers proclaim the gospel, they must expect mockery and persecution and go about their witness relying on the Holy Spirit. Even on the path behind the Shepherd, wolves lie in wait, so only by relying wholly on Jesus and obeying his word can they be protected.

Jesus told them to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, and he put it in the form of a proverb so that they could understand it easily. The serpent is so crafty, shrewd, and careful that it made Adam and Eve disobey the word of God their Creator. Jesus wanted his people to be as wise as serpents because Satan is always preparing for war, so as not to lose his hold on the children of darkness. Believers who proclaim the gospel of light into the darkness must be all the wiser and bolder, and must meet what comes with spiritual discernment.

When you carry a lamp at night, people in the darkness are hard to see, but the one holding the lamp is easy to see, and so becomes a target. To proclaim the gospel to the world is to be exposed to just that kind of danger. If we are not to be attacked, we must join our strength and shine a light bright enough to dazzle; then Satan cannot attack us, because the light would expose him. Intercession offered together is one way to make that light, but the praise, prayer, and dedication you offer God on your own are also a light that drives back the darkness. That light is power, and with it you can overcome Satan.

A serpent has the patience and persistence to wait until its prey comes. This is because it does not smell with its nose; it smells with its forked tongue, which means it has to lie still until its prey comes close. Disarmed by this patient tactic, the prey wanders about until at last it is bitten and poisoned. A serpent also has the wisdom to slip away quickly when danger comes. So Jesus told us, like the serpent, to escape quickly from the schemes of enemies who hunt us for our lives. In other words, we must not be drawn into the plots of Satan, who spits venom at us. The serpent is wise, but it is also cunning. That is why Jesus said we must be wise like the serpent, yet pure like the dove, if we are not to be deceived by the powers of darkness.

We easily grow proud, thinking God’s power is our own. God gives us power as a tool to keep us from being deceived by Satan, so we must remember that this grace is not our own ability. To live wisely, honestly, and in holiness until the day we enter heaven, we need a pure heart that can beat the body daily and bring it into submission. We must hold fast to the truth that without Jesus Christ we cannot enter heaven, and keep a purity that never loses its thankfulness and humility; only then will cunning Satan fail to bring us down. The child God desires is one who does not mix with a corrupt and fallen world and its culture, but lives on in spiritual innocence.

Interestingly, though, the dove is said to be pure and innocent yet lacking in wisdom, so foolish that it is easily fooled. If we are only naïve and honest and lack wisdom, that is foolishness and ignorance, and it leaves us all the more open to the deceptions of cunning Satan. So Jesus said that only with a faith as wise as serpents and as pure as doves can we keep our salvation.

The apostle Paul told them that, just as salt gives flavor, they were to act and speak fittingly, in grace. Blunt words and deeds that wound others, and empty talk and empty gestures, are evil that cannot escape God’s rebuke. We are to be the salt of the earth. Salt gives itself up to keep other things from spoiling; that service is needed among unbelievers, but it is sorely needed in the church as well, among our brothers and sisters in the faith. We must speak words that wrap them in grace so that they can love the church, and show them love so that they can open their hearts to Christ.

Some people come to church to draw strength from the word, but others love the church because of their good relationships with its members. Some attend because the comfort they receive from brothers and sisters in Christ means so much when working life is hard or personal trouble comes. At times people change churches because relationships have grown difficult, and some even leave God because of a careless remark from another church member. That is why, though our own salvation matters, we must act with all the more humility for the salvation of others. So we must do the work of salt, keeping ourselves out of sight, enduring and sacrificing, so that others can love the church and God.

To redeem the time in wisdom means not to miss the moment to hear the gospel or the moment to share it, and then live with regret. Lazy people say, a little more sleep, a little more slumber, until every opportunity has slipped away. Only those who live wisely in all things, and seize the opportunity by faith when it comes, can receive the reward. A reward is not something you simply wait for; it is given only at the cost of good effort and sacrifice. So we must always strive, with a wise and pure faith, to make every opportunity our own. Only by knowing the word can we recognize the grace God has given, and only by praying can we discern Satan’s schemes spiritually. When we learn to see God’s grace as an opportunity, we can turn that opportunity into a reward and grow to spiritual maturity.

Look at the people of the world: they live so diligently and so busily. They are always creating something new and working as hard as they can. Yet there is no Jesus Christ in their hardworking lives, so they have no chance to receive an eternal reward. If people of the world heard this, they might think it narrow-minded. But this is the law laid down by God, who created the heavens and the earth, and Christ bore the cross to fulfill that law; the world and its people must therefore keep it.

How much time has your life been allotted? No one knows exactly, but everyone will leave this body behind, so we must always keep God’s law and be ready to meet Christ. So Paul did not put himself forward, but showed the humility that lifts up his fellow workers. That they might receive God’s blessing, he wrote their names in letter after letter, and in this way led the churches to honor them, thank them, and love them.

Colossians 4:7,10

7All my affairs will be made known to you by Tychicus, the beloved brother, faithful servant, and fellow bondservant in the Lord. 10Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you received commandments, “if he comes to you, receive him”),

Tychicus, a brother from Asia Minor, traveled with Paul from Greece to Troas on the third missionary journey and helped him. When Paul was first imprisoned in Rome, Tychicus carried his letters to the churches in Asia Minor. Paul honored him, calling him a brother and fellow bondservant of Christ, and one on whom he relied completely.

Paul also said he would send Onesimus, who had been Philemon’s slave; while fleeing to Rome, he met Paul and received the gospel. Paul introduced Onesimus as a faithful and beloved brother.

Aristarchus, Paul’s fellow prisoner, was a Jew who had lived in Thessalonica. After going through the riot in Ephesus, he endured the hardship of being taken to Rome along with Paul. Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus who is called Justus — these three were all of the circumcision, of pure Jewish descent. They came to understand that salvation is received not through the law but through the faith that wholly receives Jesus Christ, and they gave themselves to the work.

Colossians records the names of many believers, such as Epaphras, Luke, and Demas. The apostle Paul calls them by name one by one and sends his greetings because he knows he could never do mission work alone. While Paul was in prison, those outside carried on the mission, ready to die for it. Because the gospel spread through their labors, Paul treasured these brothers and was always thankful for them.

The work of God is never something one person can do. The church is led by the Holy Spirit, so we must cast away the proud thought that nothing can happen without us. When we strive to raise up workers, weak and lacking though they may be, God will help that church to grow.

Colossians 4:17

17Tell Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you fulfill it.”

The church is not a place that runs on one person’s ability or gift. The gifts and ministries we receive differ somewhat, but if we act humbly according to the measure of our faith, God will give us wisdom and fullness and help us work together for good.

Believers must strive to fulfill their ministry completely. In spreading the gospel they may meet problems they never imagined and be put through hardship and the refining fire, but they must endure to the end and fulfill their ministry. Their final destination is heaven, so if they live with a faith wise as serpents and pure as doves until the day they stand before Jesus Christ, God will clothe them in the robe of righteousness on the day they see him.

The ministry of the apostle Paul and the ministries of those who helped him are all precious. If you have received a ministry, you must proclaim the truth honestly and live as Jesus wills, with the humility and gentleness the word calls for. Quarrels arise from the desire to put ourselves forward. If you hold back what you want to say, and wait even when your opinion seems right, the time will surely come when the other person’s error comes to light. We do not proclaim our own words but the word of God, and we do not work by our own ability but clothed with the power of God, so we have no reason to boast or be proud. You cannot receive a ministry just because you want one, nor can you do God’s work just because you wish to. If we do not work according to God’s will, all of it will be taken from us. If we strive for an ever fuller faith and serve humbly in the lowest place, God in his great grace will entrust weak souls to our care.

I hope you will take this to heart as though, together with the saints in Colossae, you had heard the apostle Paul preach in person, and that you will live out your faith by what you have come to understand. Then God will give you greater wisdom and understanding, and a heart that is good, like the dove’s. My earnest request is that you love one another, trust one another, and build one another up in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and that as salt you carry God’s grace and love to others.