Chapter 4
Masters are to treat their servants justly and fairly. (Have to remember that we are not talking about slaves in the civil war sense here, but about those working off a debt, and who will ultimately be freed.)
I like this verse. I would that others would pray this for me:
3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison-- 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. [Col 4:3-4 ESV]
There is a similar verse elsewhere that asks for prayer that he be bold. I should memorize both verses.
2024 - It is interesting, and instructive, that Paul does not ask them to pray for his freedom from Rome, nor that his thorn in the flesh would be taken away, or that he be healed from sickness, or protected from societal evils concentrated in Rome. Is there a prayer for these things anywhere in the NT? Instead, Paul asks them to pray that he be effective in carrying out God's will for him - the preaching of the gospel. He asks them to pray that he be a better evangelist, that his words be more clearly understood. This is also what we ought to ask others to pray for us. We need to stop treating God as a genie in a bottle before whom we can parade our "three wishes". We should pray that God would help us, and help others, to live in a way that exemplifies our faith in God, and a way that glorifies Him.
2021-2, These little verses that say so much:
5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. [Col 4:5-6 ESV]
First vs makes it clear that "outsiders" are not to be avoided. We are most definitely to interact with them, and not just as missionaries. But pay attention to the time spent. You don't just hang out with outsiders. You make use of time with outsiders. There's a direction and a purpose when we are with them. Then vs 6 seems to be an extension of that thought. Watch every single word! Make it gracious, even if they cut you off in the grocery store line. Make it tactful, even if you are correcting an employee who is unsaved. Think about the words coming out of your mouth. Say nothing that isn't "going somewhere", and especially, specifically if you are talking to outsiders. These verses go far beyond "Tell the truth, or at least don't lie".
Final greetings are in vss 7-18. Many names are named. Many of the deductions about this letter and Philemon come from reading between the lines of these last verses.
It looks like we get the names of the "mailmen" in vss 7, 8. Tychicus and Onesimus. Probably a bad idea to travel alone, so Paul sent them both. I thought I had read that Epaphras brought this letter, but it does not seem so here. Hmm...in Philemon, Epaphras is named as a fellow prisoner with Paul. Not sure when Philemon was written though. Ah. Epaphrus is mentioned in Col 4:12. He is with Paul and sends greetings. So that settles the mailman question.
***2021 - This verse: 15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. [Col 4:15 ESV] How many places do we see this phrase "in her house" or "in their house". What is this about? Why is it so often a woman who has a church in her house? Why do they have churches in their houses if they are members of "The Church of Colossi"? Why would they be separated??? Later - NOTE: It always says the church is in a house, never in a "home". Don't know if that matters, but it is a distinction. "House" is used 176 times in 153 verses in the NT. I don't think I will find this usage in connection with the church in any of the gospels. That eliminates 122 times in 107 verses, leaving 54 times in 46 verses to be studied. Here are the ones that seem relevant to me:
12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. [Act 12:12 ESV]
5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. [Rom 16:5 ESV] Prisca and Aquila. This letter was written by Paul from Corinth to the church at Rome. The wording implies that Prisca and Aquila had started a church in Rome, because he is telling the Romans to say hello to them for him????
19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. [1Co 16:19 ESV] This is Paul writing from Rome...so again, maybe Prisca and Aquila are there???? Why???? Paul is there, why wouldn't a second church be in his house?????
15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. [Col 4:15 ESV]
2 and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: [Phm 1:2 ESV] Philemon's house is in view. Philemon is sent a separate letter from the one to Colossi, though it came by the same mailman (per MSB notes at the beginning of Colossians. It was a personal letter, so would be separate, but perhaps also had a different city of destination. A small place perhaps.
So it happens three times. Pretty easy to make the case that Aquila and Priscilla and Philemon - two of the three cases - had access to churches already, without needing to start one in their own house. All we know about Nympha is in this one verse in Col 4:15. She is not mentioned anywhere else. Not many clues here, but at least there's more than one.
2021-2, Maybe the church in Laodicea was in Nympha's house because they wouldn't let her use the synagogue, naturally, and maybe there wasn't another building available? Maybe it's as simple as that in all these cases. Might be that no one would rent a building to a group of "cult" members? Maybe the Jews made sure no one would rent to them, so the only choice was to have church in someone's home? In Rome, maybe they didn't allow synagogues at all. And maybe it wasn't all that smart to have a big church with a sign because it made everyone there a target for persecution. It was just smarter to meet in a house. Seems like I may be making a lot bigger deal of this than necessary.