Paul had just completed his encouragements and his instructions to the church in Colossae with regard to their walks faith and practice, in relationship to Jesus Christ and to their salvation from sin, and with regard to how they ought to live as those who have been cleansed from their sins. And now he was acknowledging several people who were faithful in ministry and who had been an encouragement to him in his work of the ministry:
“Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.
“Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.
“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.
“Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, ‘See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.’” (Colossians 4:7-17 ESV)
What I love about all of this is that this is a wonderful picture of how we are to operate together as the body of Christ in encouraging and in exhorting one another in our walks of faith and in obedience to our Lord and in ministry to one another. And we all need encouragement, don’t we? And not just the feel-good stuff, some of which we do need, too, but the exhortations for us to stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. Amen!
And then what encourages me here is how the people mentioned here were engaged in ministering to one another and how they inquired of one another and sent greetings which let the people of this congregation know that there were people who cared about them and who were praying for them. That is huge! For they didn’t have the internet and social media and cell phones and texting and phone calling like we do. So I am sure it was great for them to hear that there were people who cared about them who were praying.
And I like it that Paul gave the church in Colossae a “heads up” about Tychicus so that when he showed up that they knew who he was and why he was there so that they were not frightened by him, if they did not know him. For this was a time when the church was under persecution, and so there were “wolves in sheep’s clothing” lurking about here and there, and so knowing ahead of time that this man was not one of those must have been comforting to their minds and hearts.
And I like it that these people were to let the church know how Paul was doing, for they most certainly were concerned about him, for he was in prison for teaching the gospel of Christ at this time, I believe. And without the modern means of communications like we have today, they may not have had very current reports, and so they probably got concerned sometimes. And so this would serve to encourage their hearts.
And then I like it that they were encouraged by Paul, not only to share this letter with the church in Laodicea, but that they were encouraged that they should read the letter that Paul wrote to the Laodicean church, too. For they didn’t have our modern means of making copies or sharing them on social media or on the internet, in general, and so they needed to pass them around so that they would each have the same instructions and encouragements from the apostle Paul.
Now what encourages me about all of this is how they were all so involved in one another’s lives in one way or another and how God was using them individually to minister to the body of Christ. Again, this gives us a picture of how we who are part of Christ’s body are to relate to one another, and how we should be giving one another spiritual encouragement for the purpose to help one another to grow to maturity in Christ and to walk in faithfulness to our Lord in holy living. WE NEED ONE ANOTHER!
[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]
Songs in the Night
An Original Work / December 18, 2013
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84
Lord, I praise You forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.
I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!
Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!
I rejoice in His love for me.
I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!
Lord, I thank You for giving me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender mercies now flow within.
Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!
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