Lesson #11

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Colossians

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Lesson #02

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RETURN TO THE LIST OF LESSONS

COLOSSIANS 4
Lesson #11
PAUL’S PRAYER

• Memory Verse Col 4:6

 

• Read Col 4:2-6
• General directions regarding prayer and speech.
  • “Continue in prayer” (2)
    • The phrase “continue in prayer” means = persevere with diligence in prayer.
      • This is a constant, careful dedication and diligence to bring everything before God in prayer.
        • Read Luk 11:5-10
  • “watch with thanksgiving” (2)
    • The word, “watch”, means = to be awake or to be alert.
      • For what do we watch?
        • We must watch for God’s answers to your prayers so you can return to thank Him.
        • The majority of Paul’s prayers started with the phrase, “I thank God for…”
  • Paul asks the Colossian Christians to pray “for us”. (3) To whom does the word “us” refer?
    • Paul usually had other Christians helping him in the ministry. Here he has other Christians with him under house arrest.
      • These men were Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, and others.
  • The nature of Paul’s prayer:
    • Notice that Paul does not say that they should pray that they will be released from prison.
      • There are some theologians that think Paul was asking that they pray for his freedom.
        • I disagree, for Paul’s attitude in life was to preach the Gospel not for personal safety.
        • Paul’s attitude toward life was to be content wherever God put him.
          • For that I do not believe that it mattered to Paul where he was or whether he was free or in bonds.
          • His attitude was that God use him to the maximum to reach others for Christ. Therefore he wanted to be wherever God could use him the most.
          • Under house arrest, Paul was not isolated. He always had people visiting him, and there were always Roman guards.
      • We can see this attitude in that Paul prays for an open door of witness. (3)
        • Besides prayer for an open door of witness, what should concern the Christians?
          • Believers should be concerned with their relationships with non-believers (those that are without).
            • It is not just words that win people to the Lord, it is the Christian’s conduct also. (5)
            • The Christian’s life is his witness of the light of God from inside.
              • Read Col 1:9
        • The time is short and we must “redeem the time”. (5)
          • This phrase means to purchase the time; using our time wisely so as not to miss any opportunity to influence non-believers for Christ.
        • The believer’s speech should be controlled and directed by God so that non-believers will be won to the Lord. (6)

 

• “…Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt…”

 

(6)
• What does Paul mean by these words?
  • This means gracious speech. Paul does not want us arguing heatedly over scriptures trying to beat the Word of God into the heads of those that are strongly resistant.
• The phrase, “seasoned with salt” means = to create a thirst for; to preserve.
  • Therefore, as we reason with people in trying to win them to Christ, our words should try to create a thirst for God that they will seek the answers from us.
    • This reminds us of the woman at the well in John 4. Jesus did not condemn this woman for her misguided religion and wrong thinking. He treated her with respect and at the same time, planting a seed in her that caused her to ask Jesus for the truth.

 

• Read Col 4:7-18 Conclusion
• In closing this book, Paul mentions various people. Who are these people?
  • These people were either under house arrest with Paul or visitors that were free to come and go so that the work of God would continue without interruption. Some of the visitors brought Paul news from the churches he had planted. Other visitors sought news about Paul so that they could pray for him and pass the news to other churches.
    • Tychicus
      • This man was a very close personal friend of Paul’s. He possibly was in prison with Paul and shared his prison cell.
      • Paul calls him a beloved brother, a faithful minister or deacon and a fellow servant or slave.
    • Onesimus
      • Paul says that Onesimus was a faithful and beloved brother in Christ.
      • We will get to know more about Onesimus and his relationship with Paul in our next study, the book of Philemon. Paul has some unusual things to say about this man’s life in the book of Philemon.
      • Onesimus was a runaway slave from Colosse. After having run away from his slave master, Phlemon, he probably came into contact with Paul in prison. He learned about Jesus Christ and received the Lord as his personal savior, probably converted by Paul.
      • Onesimus was there in prison with Paul having been caught by the Roman government.
      • Onesimus and Tychicus together carried the book of Colossians and the book of Philemon back to the church in Colosse.
    • Aristarchus
      • This man was a prisoner along with Paul who also came to know the Lord.
    • Mark
      • This is John Mark, the writer of the Gospel of Mark that was related to Barnabas.
      • Mark had accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey but had become discouraged, quit, and had returned home.
      • Barnabas wanted to take John Mark on their second missionary journey together. However, Paul refused to take John Mark because of his lack of faithfulness. This caused a separation between Paul and Barnabas. They each went their separate ways on separate missionary journeys.
      • Sometime later, in this final journey to Rome, we find Paul and Mark together. Their relationship had been healed.
        • Notice in verse 10 Paul tells the Christians in Colosse to receive Mark. In other words, he is informing the church in Colosse that their relationship had been healed and that he now supported Mark in the ministry.
      • John Mark was a man who had made good after his failure to come back and be strong for God.
    • Justus (Jesus)
      • This man was a Jewish believer that worked with Paul.
    • Epaphras
      • This man was a Jewish believer from the city of Colosse and was currently with Paul.
      • This man was a strong prayer warrior (12).
        • The phrase, “earnestly praying for you” is an athletic metaphor that means = using a tremendous effort, energy, and an intense struggle.
        • He prayed that the Colossian Christians would stand fast, stand tall, stand firm and be solid in their faith so that they would be perfect, complete, and fully mature, having achieved everything that was in God’s will for them to do.
        • He had a “great zeal” for the believers in Colosse, Laodicea, and Hierapolis.
    • Luke
      • Paul calls him, the “beloved physician”.
      • This is Dr. Luke that wrote the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. He was frequently with Paul throughout his ministry.
    • Demas
      • This man later fell away from the Lord.
  • Greetings to those people in and around Colosse:
    • Nymphas
      • This believer had a church that met in his or her house in Colosse.
        • From the Greek it is impossible to tell if this person is a man or a woman.
    • Paul encourages the Colossian church to pass his letters around to the other churches in the area.
    • Archippus
      • This was probably a young man just starting out in the ministry in Colosse. He needed encouragement.
• Paul signs the letter, “by the hand of me” (18).
  • In 2Thesalonians Paul speaks of a forged letter that had been circulated in Paul’s name. This letter caused a lot of problems. (2The 2:2)
• Application:

• We see a lot about Christian relationships in this list of people.
  • We see encouragement and ministry for those in prison.
  • We see prayer for those in need.
  • We see forgiveness in Paul’s relationship with Mark.
  • There is a sincere affection among believers in all the churches of that area in spite of the great distances of that time.
• It is these kinds of personal relationships and involvement that Christians need in churches today.

May God bless you abundantly as you seek to mature your faith.

The End