Colossians 4:7-18 More than just a roll of credits at the end of the story.

I am continuing to load a backlog of messages. this message was preached in 2023 as the conclusion to a series on the book of Colossians.

 You might think that the passage we had read out to us today is like the credits at the end of a movie. The story has finished and we feel free to get up and walk out on them, they are not really that important, and let’s face it some of them are hard to pronounce... And It’s not like with the Marvel cinematic universe, there isn’t a teaser for the next instalment for those who linger long enough. Why spend a whole sermon looking at this section of the book, this list of names people we hardly hear of. What is just a formality at the end of a brilliant letter?

 We live in a time when journalists more and more use human interest stories as a way of looking at the news, as a lens to explore government policy and the large important stories of the day. How they effect and impact one person, a person like you or I. It makes it personal and accessible for people, apparently it is more effective at getting an audience to react as well, to sway viewers to the viewpoint being presented. This list of people at the end of the letter to the church at Colossae takes the deep and wonderful good news theology that Paul has been talking about and ties it down to it being lived out in the lives of real people, like you and I. NT Wright sums it up at the end of his commentary by saying  “ the gospel is not about abstract ideas but about people; (Te Tangata, Te Tangata Te Tangata, as the Maori proverb goes)  in Jesus the word became flesh; and the God who is the main subject of the gospel is known supremely as the God of Love’.

We have been working our way through Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae. Colossae is a city in the Lycos river valley in Asia Minor, modern day turkey. It’s a city he’d never been to or at least we have no record of his visit. He is writing as a prisoner, probably in Ephesus on his way to Rome. He writes to encourage the church to stand strong, and grow to maturity in the faith, warning then against people who would try and tie them down to hollow manmade philosophies, a Christ plus religion. He writes affirming that Jesus life, death and resurrection is sufficient for our salvation, our fullness of life and our future hope. That our old selves have been crucified and buried with Christ and we are raised to life as part of God’s new creation, and we should live that out in the way we show love to one another, across the social and cultural barriers of the world, that in Christ we are primarily brothers and sisters. The key way we relate to each other is with Christ like service and care. The series is called Colossians; Christ and Christ Alone. 

The passage we are looking at today is really split into four sections. V.7-9 deal with the messengers who are delivering the letter. V10-14 are greetings from Paul’s companions, v.15 is greetings that Paul is asking the church to give and v.16-18 are some final instructions and a blessing. So lets work through the text then look at what it says to us today.

Firstly the messengers.

Tychicus, is listed first and  in Acts we learn that Tychicus was a convert in Ephesus who travelled with Paul to Macedonia and beyond and also with Paul on his fateful trip to Jerusalem. He is mentioned in Ephesians 6:21-22 as the person who delivered that letter to the church. In 2^nd Timothy and Titus Paul instructs his recipients to send Tychicus to Ephesus. He is obviously one of Pauls key leaders. He is described here as a dear brother, a faithful minister and a fellow servant. Paul shows his great love for Tychicus and also that he values him as a co-worker in the gospel. The use of fellow servant or slave reminds his readers after Paul had spoken of slaves and masters that Christian leaders are themselves simply servants. But in giving Tychicus all these titles Paul is also affirming his authority, as the person who delivered the letter was seen as the embodiment of the writer. He would answer the questions and expand on what was said.

The other messenger is Onesimus, who Paul says is one of you, he is from Colossae. We know that Onesimius was a slave in the household of Philemon at Colossae and had run away only to be converted to Christ by Paul. His forgiveness and ability to be involved in Paul’s ministry is the subject matter of the letter to Philemon. We don’t at what stage we are at when this letter is sent. However Paul emphasises the equality of people in Christ here by refereeing to Onisemius as my dear brother, not focusing on the servant part.  Oniseimus’ presence adds a real life edge to Paul’s teaching about new life in Christ and how we should treat fellow Christians with forgiveness and the attributes of love. That is not just virtue signalling but new creation living amidst the messiness of life.

Not only will these people bring the letter, but also tell the church about what is happening with Paul and Timothy. Our in this section reminds us that this letter is from both of these men. It says something about them that they are more concerned with building the church up that letting them know about their own condition and troubles.

In verse 10 Paul moves to bring greetings from six of his companions. Three fellow Jews and then three gentile co-workers.

Aristarchus, who Paul says is a fellow prisoner, we find accompanying Paul in Acts from his time in Thessalonica, in Acts 19:29 we see he was also arrested during the riots in Ephesus and he was with Paul in Jerusalem and all the way to Rome, he I also mentioned in the letter to Philemon. Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. In Acts we learn that Mark’s mother hosted church meetings in Jerusalem. Barnabas wanted to take mark on Paul’s second missionary trip, however Paul was not willing to after he had deserted them on their first trip. This caused the rift between Barnabas and Paul, with Paul taking Silas with him and Barnabas taking Mark to Cyprus. Paul often uses the word faithful when affirming his colleagues and we can see that is something he values. The fact that mark is mentioned here shows that this rift has been healed, again a working out of new creation living in the real lives of people. In other letters Paul will ask mark to be sent to him as he is useful. Mark is also mentioned in 1 Peter as being with Peter in Rome and is traditional seen as the writer of the gospel that bears his name. One often seen as written for a roman audience and with peter as a primary source. Jesus known as Justus, is only mentioned here and we have no knowledge beyond this one mention. He Is like many Jews he has a Hebrew name Jeshua or Jesus and a greek or roman name Justus. Like Saul and Paul, possibly being known as Justus also meant that he wasn’t always known as … no not that Jesus the other one.

These are the only three Jewish coworkers for the Kingdom that Paul has for comfort. Paul’s mission and message of gentile inclusion into the kingdom of God was not universally accepted and here we catch something of Paul pain at the rejection of his message by many of his fellow Jews.

Then we have three gentile companions named.

Epaphras, is acknowledged as he is the person who had bought the gospel to Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis, the three cities in the Lycos valley. Paul affirms his continued concern and hard work on their behalf. His Prayer for them to stand firm and grow into maturity which echoes Paul’s own. Luke, the beloved physician, this is only time in the New Testament epistles that Luke is named, and it is how we know he is a doctor. He is attributed with writing the gospel and the book of Acts, in the ‘we’ passages of Acts there is evidence that Luke is present with Paul, in his journeys, in Jerusalem and in Rome. Demas is the last of Pauls co-workers mentioned, he is also mentioned as a co-worker in the letter to Philemon, then sadly in the later letter of 2 Timothy he is sad to have deserted Paul and gone to Thessalonica, because he loved the world so much.

It is important to see that Paul’s choice of co-workers and companions actually shows his commitment to a cross ethnic church, a place where in Christ there is no Jew or gentile, Greek or barbarian, free or slave, but Christ is all and Christ is in All.

In verse 15 we have Paul asking that greeting be given. First to the brothers and sister in Laodicea, an encouragement that as the church we may be in our isolated communities but we are called to be connected and caring for our fellow Christians around us. Finally to Nympha and the church that meets in her house. Here again we have a silent witness to women in leadership in the New Testament church. Nympha was either a widow or head of the household that hosted a church and or its leader. Just like when Paul writes to Philemon he greets the church that meets in Philemon’s home.

Then in v 16-18 we have Paul’s final instructions. The first is that Laodicea and Colossae swap letters once they have read them. It is early evidence that Paul believed what he wrote was significant and important for all believers and while each letter was occasional to a specific time and place, that the issues each church faced were similar enough for his message to be relevant. What we are doing now by reading Paul’s epistles and working through what they mean and how they are relevant connects us to this early church and Paul’s direct instructions to them. It may just be harder for us to work through how they apply as it is more distant in time and space, not just across the valley.

The church is told to tell Archippus to complete the ministry he has received from the Lord. Archippus is mentioned in Paul’s letter to Philemon as part of his household and church, there paul calls him a fellow soldier in Christ. We don’t know what his ministry was but it does remind us to encourage people in ministry to keep on going and to acknowledge that people are called by God. We in ministry and leadership need that encouragement to persevere and complete what we have been called to do.

Paul then signs off in person. Remember that most of Paul’s letters would have been written by a scribe, but it would have come from Paul and Timothy and here as a mark of authenticity and authority Paul writes in his own hand. He asks the church to remember him in Prayer and his captivity. An encouragement for us to remember those imprisoned and persecuted Christians around the world. Then finishes with a blessing of grace. Grace be with you. As CK Beale in his commentary says in the end “all Paul has said to the Colossians can only be understood, applied and obeyed in the grace of God.”

I want to finish by making three quick comments as to how this applies to us today.

The first is that these names and the amount of warmth and affection with which each is spoken of, shows us of the need for fellowship. Which is not just a cup of tea and a chat after the service. Hear Paul’s use of the word fellow… fellow servant, fellow minister and fellow prisoner, fellow soldier. We are called to be a committed community who together live out and proclaim the gospel. Who work together for that common goal and common good. In the difficult times, times of hardship and suffering, like Pauls imprisonment, amidst the difficult and potentially destructive pastoral and relational issues which can try and divide us. Onisemius who needed to be reconciled with Philemon, mark and Banabas who had fallen out with Paul but were now reunited, forgiveness and grace in action. I can’t help but think it also means being prepared to experience the hurt that Paul did over Demas deserting him, offering all the warmth of embrace and fellowship.

Secondly it is a fellowship across the social divides of the day. The passage speaks to us about being a genuine multicultural church, which is an outworking of being God’s new creation people in Christ.  Paul not only proclaimed that he lived it out, his close companions and fellow co-workers were a natural outworking and expression of that. The people he greeted showed it, I know it’s sadly still controversial but that include women in positions of leadership as well. In his letter to Philemon, which is so closely associated with the letter to Colossae he greets both Philemon and his wife Apphia, whom Paul calls a fellow sister. I want, I long to be part of a church where cultures are welcomed and valued and their distinctive are included as gift into our lives and worship. I’m still blown away by the glimpse Enosa and felicity gave us to the joy and vibrancy of that when their family came and handed him over to us, they shared their Samoan culture and faith with us. At central when Charlotte asks to do a Waiata (Maori for song)  in the service. When we are greeted in Te Reo or Samoan or Hindi or Afrikaans, where men and women work together, young and old. It is a present day manifestation of that new creation people in Christ.

Thirdly, it’s easy when we read these letters and the scripture to kind of get the idea of Paul as the key figure, the hero of the piece. We live in a time when celebrity is valued and people become important and central when they have more than one platform to speak from, we see them on the platform in church, on one or more streaming platform on line. But here we see Paul’s vision of how the church and mission and the spread of the gospel works. It’s not about one person, apart from Christ. We see this community this team committed to the cause of Christ committed to the spread of the gospel and the growth into maturity of the church. You have a part to play alongside each other. They see themselves as brothers and sisters, co-workers, fellow servants of Christ. They value each other’s support and comfort and are willing to encourage each other to carry on in their ministry. Paul is Timothy’s mentor seeking to empower the next generation, Epharas has been discipled by Paul and has gone and planted three new churches, Mark uses his writing skills, as does Luke, and others simply work in obscurity.  We talked about this list being like a list of credits, behind me is the famous credit slide from Citizen Kane where Orson Wells the director producer lead actor and visionary behind the film shares equal billing with camera man Greg Tolland as a way of acknowledging his wonderful cinematography that made Well’s vision come alive.

Finally in closing, Colossians is this amazing wonderful letter speaking of the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ.  In his life, death and resurrection Jesus has done all that is needed for us to be reconciled with God, for us to know and to live a full and abundant new creation life. Has done all that we need for a sure and certain hope for eternity. We have died with Christ, we are raised with Christ we will be raised to eternal life in Christ.it might feel like the credits have rolled on Colossians but the story is not over, it’s your story it’s my story it’s our story. We too need to stand firm in the faith we have received in love for all God’s people, and grow to know the will of God and live in a way that pleases God. We to need Paul blessing on the church in Colossae grace be with you, grace be with me grace be with us… as we put our trust in Christ and Christ alone.