Tychicus and Onesimus
Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here. Colossians 4:7-9
Paul concludes with greetings not just from himself and to the church in general, but from his companions and to various specific people in the church. The final section divides into four:
(1) 4:7-9 Paul introduces the bearers of the letter, Tychicus and Onesimus, the former a senior associate of Paul, the latter perhaps embarrassed to return as a Christian to the town he fled as a pagan (Philemon 10)
(2) 4:10-14 he then conveys greetings from the colleagues who are with him
(3) 4:15-17 greetings to Christians in the Colosse area
(4) 4:18 Paul’s characteristic closing greeting
‘Tychicus’ is the letter’s courier and ‘will tell you all the news about me.’ This young church needs to know how this man who is bearing the torch of the saving purposes of God is going – partly in order to pray for him and partly because their life in Christ is bound up with his and with his work. Tychicus is a good choice as a messenger because he ‘is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord’ (4:7). ‘Brother’ means fellow Christian; ‘minister’ refers to the fact that Christ works in the church through servants like Tychicus and ‘fellow servant’ tells us that, like Paul, Tychicus belongs first and foremost to God. This commendation of Tychicus was standard practice in the ancient world and was probably necessary because Tychicus was accompanied by one of whom the Colossian church might have been suspicious (4:9). He is ‘faithful’ in the sense of being reliable and trustworthy. Paul hopes that through Tychicus a personal link might be forged between himself and the young church: ‘I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts’ (4:8). Paul believes that as the church hears of his work and concern for them, they will gain strength and confidence.
Tychicus ‘is coming with Onesimus’ (4:9) partly to give him moral support and to be there if further explanations are needed to convince the Colossians that he too can be called ‘our faithful and dear brother’ (4:9). The church already knows that he ‘is one of you’ (4:9) and needs to be assured that he is now this in a deeper sense, not just a Colossian but also a Christian. Onesimus and Tychicus together ‘will tell you everything that is happening here’ (4:9), conveying information not only about
God is able to save our loved ones. Onesimus was a slave on the run who through God’s sovereign working came upon Paul and as a result, was soundly converted. If God can track down a runaway slave in the Roman Empire, He can be trusted to bring those you love to Himself.