Day 4 Greetings to Those in the Colossian Church

Greetings to Those in the Colossian Church

Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.

16 After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.

17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”   Colossians 4:15-17

Paul did not often greet by name individual Christians in the churches he wrote to. The main exception is Romans (16:3-16), the only other letter written to a church Paul had not visited. He seems to be taking care to establish relationships with those he has not met. So he writes ‘Give my greetings to the brothers (meaning ‘the church’) at Laodicea and to Nympha and the church in her house’ (4:15). Both Nympha (female) and Nymphas (male) occur in older manuscripts. What is certain is that the early church met in private houses.

After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea’ (4:16). Paul expected his letters to be read out in the assembled church and their content to be authoritative. This is apparent already in 1:24 – 2:5. This is probably the main reason Paul’s letters have been preserved and then added to what we know as the New Testament. Paul intended them to carry in writing the authority which had been invested in him as an apostle. His work as a whole was to lay foundations for the new world-wide people of God (1 Corinthians 3:10,11; Ephesians 2:20) and his letters were designed to function as part of the fulfilment of that commission. This letter, sent to Colosse, was to be (possibly copied and) passed on to the church in Laodicea; the Laodiceans, who had also received a letter, were to pass theirs on to Colosse. The letter we know as Ephesians is possibly this letter. If this is correct, Paul, in prison in Ephesus (or Rome), wrote ‘Ephesians’ as a general letter to the young churches in the surrounding area, including the church in Ephesus as well. Tychicus (Ephesians 6:21) was dispatched with the copy for the churches in the Lycus valley area, with the intention of visiting Colosse after Laodicea. But Paul does not want the Colossian church to be another recipient of a circular letter. So Tychicus takes with him ‘Ephesians,’ ‘Colossians’ and Onesimus (who carries with him Paul’s letter to his master, what we know as ‘Philemon’).

Tell Archippus (who is described in Philemon 2 as Paul’s ‘fellow soldier’ and seems to be a member of Philemon’s household and/or his house-church): “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord” (4:17). Archippus has probably been set aside for a particular ministry within the congregation. If he had already been involved in the ministry with Paul himself, he would be well fitted for the task. The verb ‘complete’ is the same verb translated ‘present … in fullness’ in 1:25. Paul’s desire throughout the letter has been that the Colossian church should grow to maturity and it is fairly likely that the final command would relate to that process. Archippus has received a ‘ministry’ (not an ‘office’ but a task) ‘in the Lord’; he is to find his fulfilment in being the Lord’s agent to bring the church to its fulfilment. He would almost certainly be present when the letter was read, either in the Colossian church or later, when it had been sent to Laodicea. Drawing this public attention to the matter shows how important his ministry call was. It drove home the effectiveness of the matter to Paul.

Because ministry is serving and we are called to serve, we are all called to ministry. Your ministry is wherever you are serving God and serving people. If there’s a need and you can fill it, then serve in that capacity. Don’t wait for blazing lights, visions and angels. They won’t come. ‘See a need and fill it’ is still the starting point for ministry.

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