Faithful Servants, Complete in Christ

Transcript

GR 997
3/15/1998
Faithful Servants, Complete in Christ
Colossians 4:12-18
Gil Rugh

Colossians, chapter 4. The Apostle Paul is ready to draw to a conclusion this letter that he wrote from his imprisonment in Rome, and he wrote to remind them of some of the great truths of God?s salvation and the sufficiency of the salvation He has provided in Christ. It is a salvation that provides for our cleansing and forgiveness from sins. It provides for us being reconciled to God so that we, who were once the enemies of God, are now reconciled to God. Because as chapter 1, verse 20 says, “He has made peace through the blood of His cross...” Through His death on the cross He has paid the penalty for our sin and made it possible for us by faith in Him to come into a right relationship with God. This salvation also is sufficient and adequate to provide for us in all of our lives and walk as God’s people. God has provided for us in Christ, everything that pertains to life and godliness.

Now as Paul concludes this letter, he is mentioning certain individuals in two different ways. For some he is sending greetings to people who are at Colossae and the surrounding region, and other people mentioned are with Paul in Rome, and he sends greetings from them. In all of this we are reminded that even though the Apostle Paul is such a prominent figure, he did not minister alone, and the effectiveness of the ministry that God was accomplishing through Paul was carried out in the context of many others joining with Paul in the ministry of God?s truth.

Leave something in Colossians and turn over to 1 Corinthians, chapter 3. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians there was a problem in the church. There the people were fragmenting around their favorite leader. Some people particularly liked Cephas, some people were fond of Apollos, some people liked Paul. So the fact that there were a variety of people involved, even in leadership, was being misunderstood and misused by the church at Corinth, so Paul wrote a reminder. In Verse 4 of 1 Corinthians 3 he said, “For when one says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not mere men?” You are talking as though the ministry is just carried on on the human level, and it was just the action and activity of men that accomplished the work that was being done. “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.”

We want to keep our perspective. There are a variety of gifts, and we are used in a variety of ways, but nothing is accomplished in the work of God apart from His sovereign activity, and we are all together His servants. So our appreciation is of Him and His work in us. But this does not mean that our work is not important, and Paul goes on to say, verse 8, “Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.” So our service and work for the Lord is crucial and essential, and by His grace we will be rewarded for that labor. But in it all, we keep in mind it is God who accomplishes His work in lives, and we are His servants and His instruments.


Come back over to Colossians, chapter 4. So Paul is mentioning servants that God had used and was using, and he mentions these individuals who are being faithful in their ministry and will some day be rewarded by Him for their faithfulness. He has mentioned five men that we have already looked at in verses 7-11, Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark and Justus, and really only one of those five would stand out as prominent to us and that is the man Mark, because he wrote the gospel that bears his name, the Gospel of Mark. So, he is well familiar to us through the gospel that he recorded. Now Paul continues on. We’re going to pick up in verse l2, mentioning individuals that are with him who send greetings, and then he will send greetings to certain individuals. And then as is his practice, he will sign his name with a word of greeting.

Verse 12 mentions a man that was very significant and important to the church at Colossae. That’s the man Epaphras. Verse 12, “Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bond-slave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings...” So Epaphras at this time was with Paul in Rome, but Epaphras is from Colossae, he is a Colossian. Paul identifies him as “one of your number,” meaning he belongs to you, he’s from Colossae. He was very important to the church at Colossae because he was the individual who had brought the gospel to Colossae, the people heard it and believed. So, if you will, he was the founding father of the church at Colossae. Back in chapter l of Colossians, Paul is talking about the word of truth, the gospel, the good news concerning Jesus Christ, God’s son, our Savior, and then he says in verse 7, “Just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.” So here Paul says that they had heard the gospel from Epaphras, and Epaphras was a faithful bond-servant with Paul, “a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,” and would indicate that Epaphras served Christ--he did that by serving Paul. The picture here evidently would have its background in the Book of Acts, chapter 19. You don?t need to turn there, but in Acts chapter 19, Paul carries on a ministry at the city of Ephesus, and Ephesus is a city about 10 miles from Colossae in Asia Minor.

Now in Acts chapter 19, verse 10, we?re told that Paul carried on a ministry of two years in Ephesus, and Acts chapter 19, verse 10 says that during those two years “all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.” So even though Paul himself did not visit cities like Colossae and Laodicea, while he carried on his ministry focused in Ephesus, people went out on Paul’s behalf to surrounding cities and carried them the gospel. Epaphras was one of those individuals. He carried the gospel to the city of Colossae, which evidently was his home city. They believe, and the church was established. He may then have continued on as the pastor of the church at Colossae. Chapter l, verse 8, of Colossians said that Epaphras had informed Paul of the situation at Colossae. So Epaphras had traveled from Colossae to visit Paul in Rome, probably particularly about the false teaching that was confronting the church and needing clarification from Paul on the doctrinal issues involved. So Epaphras is a very signficant, important person even though there’s not a lot of information given about him.

Come back to chapter 4, verse 12. Epaphras is called a bond-slave of Christ just as he was in chapter l, verse 7. He indicates that he was totally committed to his service for Christ, he was a bond-slave. He was a servant, a slave of Jesus Christ. Paul is concerned in his comments about Epaphras to stress his faithfulness, to stress his godliness, to emphasize to the Colossians that he was a man that had the best interest of the Colossian believers at heart, because it was important during this time when other teachers were bringing false doctrine that the church appreciate Epaphras and the leadership role that he was exercising in the body there. So we are reminded that Epaphras was a bond-slave of Jesus Christ. Paul goes on to say in the middle of verse 12, he was “always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in the will of God.”

Epaphras had not only carried on the work of an evangelist, but evidently continuing on in a work of pastoring. He was also a diligent, faithful prayer warrior on behalf of the Colossian church, “always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers.” The word translated laboring earnestly, a word that we are somewhat familiar with in the Book of Colossians, carried over into English, agonize. Agonizomai is the form of the word here--you can hear the basic word, agonize, agonizo, agonize, which is carried over into English. It pictures the toil, the labor that is expended. Often used of athletic contests where two opponents are battling and struggling together. The word denotes serious toil, exertion. And here is Epaphras agonizing, toiling in prayer on behalf of the Colossian believers. They ought to appreciate, even though he is absent from them, that he still has them on his heart, he?s still working on their behalf, working in prayer, if you will.

Turn back to Romans chapter 15. The Apostle Paul asks that the Roman believers pray for him. In Romans 15:30 I want you to see what he says. “Now I urge you brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, [note this] to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me.” That word translated strive is the same word basically we have translated labor earnestly in Ephesians chapter 4. Paul is saying, 'I want you to agonize, I want you to struggle with me in prayer on my behalf. I don’t just want you to mention me in prayer in passing if it comes to mind. I want you to get down and grapple on my behalf in prayer, struggle on my behalf.' And these kind of passages--I think it’s important for us to get a handle on the fact that serious effective prayer is hard work, and that’s why it’s so easy for us to pass it over. Most of our prayer is done in private. You don’t know how much time I spent in serious prayer this week. I don’t know how much time you spent in serious prayer, and so it’s easy for us to pass it over because it just seems so hard. Well, effective prayer can be very hard work. Paul doesn?t say Epaphras has mentioned you in prayer from time to time. He says he has labored earnestly for you in his prayer.

Really I wonder, if we could flash up a month's prayer life of each person and then we characterize that person?s prayer life as Paul does Epaphras, I wonder how many would get the label on their prayer life, “boy, he’s an agonizer in prayer.' 'Boy there’s a person who diligently toils and works in prayer on behalf of others.' I say that as a word of encouragement because sometimes we get discouraged. We say, Well you know, prayer just seems like hard work, I don?t know, it just doesn?t come naturally to me. Well, cheer up. Evidently it didn?t come naturally to Paul if by that you mean it was easy. Evidently, it just wasn’t an easy time of relaxation, where when Epaphras wanted a break from the work of the ministry, he prayed. No, he worked in prayer. I take it if he was laboring earnestly in prayer, there were times when he got done praying he was tired.

So, I would encourage you in your prayer, and a good reminder for all of us, we need people who are diligent, earnest prayer warriors. I really believe, as I reflect upon the ministry, that when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ as believers, we will find that many of the most significant rewards will be received by those who were not doing the most prominent things. Many of those most important people will be those who so faithfully, day after day, toiled and labored in prayer and were never recognized for it. But so much of what is and was and will be accomplished in the ministry was a result of their diligent faithfulness. Often the most diligent prayer workers are the elderly, our senior citizens, and what a great ministry for those who may even be limited physically. But you know it’s so important that we be faithful, diligent prayer warriors. I sometimes am concerned as people go to be with the Lord who may have been diligent prayer warriors, is their place being filled? Are there people earnestly beseeching the Lord on behalf of this ministry day after day after day, more than just saying, Lord bless the ministry of Indian Hills, bless the pastors and the elders and the people and thank you for this food, Amen? It’s fine to talk with the Lord in brief ways about things that come to our mind, but we really need to develop a heart for the Lord and a pattern of being those who labor earnestly for one another in prayer for one another. Especially a responsibility that we as pastors and elders need to take seriously as Epaphras did as well.

Well, he goes on to say in verse 12, and you note there the word always. This just wasn?t remembering a time when Epaphras really was burdened for you. He always labors earnestly for you in prayer. And here was a man who would qualify as a prayer warrior. Maybe one more comment. You know you stop and think, you say, well you know, it’s hard for me. But there are things that do make you a diligent prayer warrior very quickly. If one of your children or grandchildren goes to visit the doctor, and he may have a very serious disease here, there’s a serious problem. All of a sudden I can pray. All of a sudden I pray more than “Lord, take care of the problem and now I got other things to do.” All of a sudden I can become serious and earnest and diligent in my prayer, because this is something upon my heart. One of the motivations in really earnest prayer is a love for those that we are praying for, and that love is the motivating factor in prayer. I think Paul is saying here, “Epaphras really loves you at Colossae, he labors earnestly for you all the time in prayer.” What is he praying for? Well, he wants you to be rich, he wants you to be popular, he wants you to be well thought of in Colossae. Well, I’m sure Epaphras would have been happy for all material blessings and so on, but what’s he really praying for, the focus in his serious, diligent prayer is what? Spiritual maturity and confidence in the will of God. The people who come to maturity in Christ and stand firm for him. That’s the burden, “that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.” That word perfect means mature, complete, you?ve come to the intended end. So it denotes maturity--you may stand perfect, mature in Christ.

Back up to Colossians chapter l, look at verse 28. “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.” That word translated complete is the same word that we have translated perfect over in chapter 4, meaning mature, all that you should be, having arrived at the intended end or goal that God has set for us. “For this purpose also I labor.” There’s our basic word agonize again. Paul uses it again down in chapter 2, verse 1, “For I want you to know how great a struggle,” another form of our word agonize. So you see, Epaphras and Paul shared the same heart, devoting themselves in toil and labor for the spiritual maturing of God?s people. That included the teaching of the Word. That included praying for them. True effective ministry, whatever its form, is hard, grueling work, toilsome labor. Rewarding labor, but toilsome, hard work. He doesn?t want them to be perfect, he wants them to be fully assured in the will of God.

In chapter 2, verse 2, of this letter, Paul had used this expression. He wanted them to attain “to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding.” Full assurance there is not the same word, but it?s a related word to what we have translated fully assured in chapter 4. There was full assurance of understanding, I think a true knowledge of Christ. Here he wants them, in chapter 4, to be “fully assured in all the will of God.” In other words, he wants them to stand fully confident with unshakable conviction in God?s will.

Back up to Ephesians, just two letters before Colossians--Ephesians, Phillipians, Colossians. Turn to Ephesians chapter 4. The letter to the Ephesians was written in the same time period, from the same imprisonment, as the letter to the Colossians was, and Paul elaborates what he?s been saying in chapter 4 of Ephesians. Pick up in verse 11 where he refers to gifts that had been given to the church, and these gifts--apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers--have to do with the verbal communication of the Word of God. These gifts in communicating the Word of God are given “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; [now note this] “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all respects into Him who is the head, even Christ.” You see the picture here? “Being rooted and grounded in the truth of God” becomes nourishment for us, and we develop a maturity and a stability that keeps us from being blown about by every new doctrine that comes by.

That?s the same picture Paul is developing in Ephesians. He wants them fully assured in the will of God. To a person who has developed maturity in Christ and has his feet firmly planted on the Word of God, if you will, there is a stability to that life, he is a discerning person. Is it not true that one of the marks of maturity is stability? You know, our children when they are little have short attention spans, and their attention is easily gotten by this or by that or by something else. And if you?re going to watch a two-year old, you have to have a variety of things you’re going to do with them. But if you have a 22-year old who still has that short attention span and is constantly distracted by all the novelties, you say, That’s a very immature person. So it is spiritually. We?re to grow up in Christ, to have His Word permeate our lives so it is an anchor for us. And every new doctrine that comes down the pike, we?re not blown about. That’s what Paul says Epaphras is praying for these believers--that they might come to spiritual maturity and have full confidence in God?s will.

Something else about us as parents, since I used that as an example. I trust that is the focal point of your prayer life for your kids. I sometimes get concerned that even as Christian parents, we seem to be terribly concerned that our kids do well, and we want them to be successful, and we want them to have the right job, and we want them to make good money and have a nice home. And I sometimes wonder whether even Christian parents aren?t more absorbed with the material prosperity and success of their children than they are the spiritual prosperity and maturity of their children. We ought to examine our prayer life. How diligently, earnestly, and probably tearfully, do we pray for our children and in praying we?re really praying, Lord, if they are dirt poor all of their life, may they be spiritually mature? Lord, may they grow to stability in Christ if they having nothing of this world?s possessions? Would that be satisfactory? Would you be proud of them if they were simply godly people who had all stability in Christ, but had nothing of this world?s possessions or prosperity? We need to be careful, we get distracted. Oh yeah, but I hate to think of my kids struggling. Yes, but I hate to think of . . . we lose perspective on what really matters, and we communicate that in a variety of ways to our children. We want to be sure that our prayer life is marked by focusing on those things that God says are focal points.

Back to Colossians chapter 4. He goes on in verse 13 to say about Epaphras, “For I bear him witness that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis.” You know, Paul seems to be intent. He wants the Colossians to understand how much Epaphras cares for them so that they will recognize that he is a man that can be followed and should be followed in the time of crises. “A deep concern.” The word translated deep concern literally means distress or pain. It?s only used three other times in the New Testament--all in the Book of Revelation where it means pain or distress. It can mean hard work or toil, because hard work and toil usually brings pain and distress. So that?s the flavor of the word. What he?s saying here is, 'Epaphras really is distressed on your behalf.' He?s saying his concern is so deep that it causes him pain. That?s the kind of flavor. Here?s a man who really is burdened for the well being of the Colossians, and not only the church at Colossae, but churches in the surrounding region as well. A man that has their best interest at heart.

He mentions Laodicea and Hierapolis. These are two cities in the Asia Minor region where Colossae is located, where Ephesus is located. These two cities are about 10 miles west of Colossae, and then they are about six miles apart, north and south. So they?re in that region. Epaphras evidently had impacted these communities, these cities as well. Paul wants them to know his concern beyond Colossae, which included the people at Hierapolis and Laodicea as well. And his concern is probably in the context of the false teaching and false doctrine that we studied (particularly in chapter 2 of Colossians) that was infiltrating this region and would be effective over time in leading some of these churches and believers away from faithfulness to Christ. I will mention more about that in a moment.

In verse 14 he mentions another individual that we are well familiar with at least by name--it?s the name Luke. Here he refers to him as “Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings.” Now interestingly as familiar as we feel with Luke, he’s only mentioned by name two other times in the New Testament. He?s mentioned in Philemon 24, Philemon verse 24, and in II Timothy chapter 4, verse 10, Paul’s last letter. But Luke is a very prominent person in the New Testament. He is the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, two very substantial writings in our New Testament. He has contributed significantly to our New Testament. He also was a faithful traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. The “we” sections of the Book of Acts that begin in Acts Chapter 16, verses 10-18, then picking up with Acts chapter 20, verse 5 and going on and so on. For the bulk of the last part of the Book of Acts, Paul’s second missionary journey and Paul’s third missionary journey, Luke is the traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. We call that the “we” sections of the Book of Acts because Luke has joined Paul, and instead of writing like the third person--they went there, they did this—he writes, We journied from here to there, and We did this, and We did that, indicating that Luke had become Paul?s traveling companion.

Interestingly, you may want to use this for a bible trivia question, Luke is a Gentile. We know that in Colossians chapter 4 because in verse 11 Paul said the only ones of the circumcision (the only Jews) were the ones he mentioned there. Then he goes on to mention Luke outside of that, so he indicates Luke was a Gentile, which means that Luke is the only non-Jewish writer of any of our scripture. All the other scriptures, Old and New Testament alike, were written by Jews, but Luke becomes the only non-Jewish writer of New Testament, or Old Testament scripture for that matter. He wrote Acts and Luke. He is called the beloved physician and we become familiar with that title. This is the only place we?re told that Luke was a physician, and here Paul says he’s “the well loved physician,” one that was close to the heart of Paul and one that the Colossians would appreciate as a beloved fellow believer.

Let me say something to you about being a physician in Luke’s day. You’ll appreciate the man maybe a little more. I wrote down some comments from some commentators. Luke was a man of genuine culture. As a doctor he stood in the middle or higher plains of contemporary society. The practice of medicine, an old and venerable profession, had reached the high level of achievement in the days of Luke. By the second century A.D., medical science had more knowledge than at any time in history before the l9th century. The Greeks had developed medicine into an organized science, and the writer Lucier remarks, “Luke was heir to a science of medicine that could compare favorably with any medical practice up to the early part of the last century.” I say that just to get an appreciation of Luke. We find him as Paul?s traveling companion through the last part of the Book of Acts. We find him here as Paul’s companion in his first Roman imprisonment. We find him with Paul in his last Roman imprisonment, as he faces martyrdom. Now here’s a man who comes from the middle or upper level of the society of his day. A man who could be occupying a comfortable position with his profession. Here is a man who is traveling with the Apostle Paul, not a work that is inclined to bring him honor to enhance his profession and his income. You appreciate that Luke was a man of settled commitment to Christ and to Paul?s ministry, and you find him traveling with Paul, being with Paul when Paul is in prison--the difficult times--ministering to people, such a godly man that he becomes God’s instrument to write two major portions of our New Testament. This is a reminder that individuals mentioned by name here briefly in passing, we have a variety of kinds of people who were committed to faithfulness to Christ and service to Him and appreciate, even with the little bit we know personally about Luke of his faithfulness, the sacrifices he was willing to make, even as a professional person, if you will, of his day. To be a faithful servant of Christ and of Paul, we continue to benefit from that faithfulness, because we study the Gospel of Luke and the work of Acts of the Apostles, the history of the early church.

Going on in Colossians chapter 4, the end of verse 14, we meet a man named Demas, and Demas is also mentioned two other times: the same two passages as Luke--Philemon 24 and 2 Timothy 4:10. In Philemon 24 he is mentioned as a fellow worker, joined also with Luke in that passage. Sadly, we know Demas as a man who didn?t finish well, because in 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 10, the Apostle Paul says “Demas has deserted me, having loved this present age” or this present world. A sad testimony. Here?s a man who is joined with Paul in ministry, a fellow worker, who was with Paul during his first Roman imprisonment. But you know what? It got to be too much for Demas and in 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 10, Paul says Demas has gone to Thessalonica. Demas, being a Greek, evidently returned home to Thessalonica. “He deserted me,” Paul says. Here Paul is at the end of a faithful life of ministry and there were others who he started that letter by saying, 'You know, those who were with me from Asia have left me, and Demas has deserted me.' No, it?s not enough to run well--you have to finish well. You know, as Paul writes Colossae, we would mark Demas off as a faithful fellow worker of Paul, a man who seems committed to serving Christ faithfully. But you know what? As is often the case, he wore out, it got to be too much, the cost was too great.

How many people have passed through the ministry of this church, now you bump into them some place. Where are you going to church? Oh, we?re not going anywhere. I can?t believe that. There was a time, remember how active they were, how involved they were and they?ve just dropped out? Well it is sad, but you shouldn?t be surprised. Here?s a man who was joined with the Apostle Paul, personal conversations with Paul, experienced Paul?s ministry, could converse back and forth with Paul, but it got to be too much. He deserted. Paul uses language that makes clear what happened. He doesn’t try to cover for him. “He deserted me.” Be it as it is, sad testimony and a good reminder for us.

One thing, one reason I’m concerned, I want to stay on track, because if you get off track, where will you end up? You know you begin to drift and you get out here and you say, What am I doing? What a price. Demas loved the present world, went back to Thessalonica. What a price he paid for getting entangled in this world and the things of this life and giving up the opportunity for a ministry of eternal significance and importance.

Verse 15, “Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea.” Laodicea comes up three times in these closing remarks, and it?ll come up again in verse 16. So, “Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house.” You read commentaries and there is some discussion whether this is a man or a woman because in Greek the name is the same, whether it?s a man or a woman. The only thing that changes is the accent mark that they put over a letter, and in the original Greek there were no accent marks, so it’s hard to tell. And “her house” becomes a discussion, but the manuscripts vary whether it says her or his. It really doesn’t matter to us, because we know there were godly women who were involved faithfully in the ministry in the New Testament church as well as men, and I assume that probably here we do have a woman, and she had opened her home for the church to meet.

One of the studies done in New Testament houses in Rome said that an average house during that period of time could handle 30-50 people, so you could fit that many people in it. Of course the larger homes could do more. So here is a woman who had opened her house for the church to meet in. Paul acknowledges her, the faithful servant in the church. Doesn’t mean she was the pastor of the church but it meant that she opened her home as the meeting place. What was the ministry of service? Some of you have Bible studies in your home. You know what it’s like. You got to scurry around and get the place ready. Why? Bible study meets here tonight. You know, you got to go out of your way, and in the New Testament times, there would be an added dimension because there was persecution and so on that accompanied the meeting of the church. And now your home gets identified as a meeting site of the church and all of that goes on. Here’s a faithful servant.

You know, small thing, I open my home, I have people in, I have a Bible study in my home. Well, big enough that it got recorded. Here we are reading about it 2,000 years later in the Word of God. I would have loved to have my name here. Boy, just think to have your name in the eternal Word of God. I would say that?s pretty significant. Doesn’t mean that what you would have done would have gotten a lot of acclaim, but it’s enough for Paul to acknowledge. “Give greetings to Nympha and the church that is in her house.”

Just a little side note. There are people now that are in the house-church movement, because they read passages like this and say, Oh the church oughtn’t have buildings, they ought to meet in houses. For the first three centuries of the church they didn?t have church buildings, they met at homes and places like that. That doesn’t mean that church buildings are good or bad, but means that the church does have a meeting place. Some places the church is small and there may not be other options, and they meet in a home, fine. But to say, Oh, the church ought to be a house-church, that’s like saying, Well, the church met in the synagogue or the temple when it began in Acts 2, so therefore you ought to start any churches you?re going to start in a synagogue or a temple. That doesn?t have anything to do with anything. That’s just a historical record. Well, that’s what this is too. I notice even in the Lincoln paper there’s been articles on house-churches becoming a popular thing. I view it like Ephesians 4, every new thing that blows down the pipe, there is some fool that jumps in the wind so he can get blown along. That’s no harsher than some of the things Paul said, so...

Well, go to verse 16. “When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea.” Now here you have Laodicea mentioned twice in this verse, and it was mentioned in two previous verses. As I mentioned, it?s about ten miles from Colossae. We mention this church because we have a letter that will be written about 30 years later, 32 years later, somewhere in there, to the church at Laodicea by Christ in Revelation chapter 3, and we find this church is like Demas--it didn?t make it. And the letter that Christ writes to the church at Laodicea made Laodicea infamous for being a church that Christ could not stomach any longer. In fact, He says, “I’m going to vomit you out of my mouth,” I can’t stomach you any longer, you’re lukewarm. A reminder.

Now let me say something. We?re going to talk about Laodicea tonight. The church at Laodicea did not fail to prosper. It went on to become a very well-to-do and evidently influential church. In fact, it was doing so well it didn?t know it was in such bad shape. But Christ?s evaluation is all that matters. I mention it here because we?re reminded. We say, Lord, we?re on track today, we want to be on track today, we want to be where you want us to be, but you know, if we begin to drift it won?t take long, and that?s the pattern of drift. We weaken the teaching of the Word, we weaken the focus on God?s truth, so the people aren?t nurtured and nourished to maturity. They don?t have the stability. So, we have a generation coming up that has been taught and nurtured in the word. Well, they seem to have a handle on the Word. So, it sort of masks, if you will, the drift that is taking place, but the generation that is being brought up is not being brought up on the same level of serious study of the word and intake of truth and grounding in the word. They are weaker, and so as they take over the ministry, the ministry is much weaker than it was in the previous generation. You raise the next generation, and they are raised on superficial. That?s why I wanted to take two generations and you can roll over a whole denomination.

So, we say, Well, we’re strong, why do we constantly have to battle over doctrine and be so sure we are right? Because where will we be if we give up being sure that we?re on track biblically and doctrinally. Is it enough that we have been on track? No. Was it enough that Demas had ministered with Paul? No. It looms so large in Demas’s life. He deserted. Is it enough that the church at Laodicea was getting a letter from Paul or had gotten a letter from Paul, and they were going to get to read the letter to the Colossians? No. What matters is they wandered, drifted and ended up being repulsive to Christ. We need to be careful, those who have been grounded in the Word, that we don’t think, we know that, that’s enough.” But there are constantly people coming in who need to know it, and we need to be reminded, and the coming generation needs it to be the fiber of their life spiritually. They may need to see us modeling that there is nothing so important as the truth of God and faithfulness to our God. And we never spend too much time absorbing ourselves in the things of our God, so that we finish well, not only individually but as a church.

The letter to the Laodiceans. I take it as a lost letter of Paul. Some believe it’s the letter to the Ephesians. Three major manuscripts, I believe--Sineuticus, Vadicanus and Papyrus 46, if you?re going to do the research--don?t have “at Ephesus” in the manuscripts in the letter to the Ephesian church. So some believe it was a circular letter, and you just filled in the bland of whatever church it was at. You could read your name into the blank. And there are some good men that hold that. I personally think there is compelling reason to understand that the letter to the Ephesians is not the letter referred to here, the letter to the Laodiceans. Doesn’t change anything as far as the inspiration of that letter, but that?s my understanding of the evidence. My understanding is the letter to the Laodiceans was not preserved because God did not intend it to be a permanent part of His scriptural record. There are other evidences Paul refers in writing to the Corinthians to a letter he had written that we know nothing about. But it doesn’t mean that everything that Paul wrote was inspired scripture to be preserved forever. The Spirit of God was directing Paul in some of what he wrote to be recorded in scripture which would be permanently preserved, and God superintended that preservation as well.

All we know is here we do get an idea of what would take place. There were letters to be read out loud in the church. When the Colossians got their letter they would read it out loud, and then evidently they would make a copy, and then pass that letter on to Hierapolis and Laodicea and probably on to Ephesus, and so you see that already it was planned that Paul’s letters would be circulating. Paul says that the letter I write to Laodicea, you read it too. So, if we were in Paul’s day I would be standing up this morning saying, we received a letter this week from the Apostle Paul. I would like to read it to you. And I would begin reading to you the letter to the Colossians. Now over time in dealing with the heresy infiltrating the church there, they would naturally want to study it, evaluate it, so that it would be natural to make a copy to keep for themselves so they could deal with the situations and have a record of what Paul said to go back to. We saw at the end of Peter’s letter that he refers to Paul’s writings as scripture, so there was an early recognition of the supernatural character of these writings. And you note the responsibility of the church to be reading it. This was to be a focal point of the church life.

Well, let?s look at verse 17. We have another individual mentioned here--Archippus. We won?t say much about him, because he?s also mentioned in the opening verses of the letter to Philemon, which we?re going to study together. Evidently a member of Philemon’s family, maybe Philemon’s son, the way the wording is in Philemon. But here Paul has a word of exhortation to Archippus. “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.” Paul had a passion that the young men coming up in ministry would take their ministry seriously and be devoted to it. He wants to be sure that Archippus is encouraged by the Colossian church to fulfill his ministry. Remember in 2 Timothy chapter l, verse 6, Paul told Timothy, “Kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you.” Stir up the fires of the gift that God has given you, Timothy. Well here, “Archippus, fulfill your ministry,” and he wants the church at Colossae to encourage them. It may be that Archippus was taking the role of the pastor here at the church in the absence of Epaphras, and the church is encouraged to encourage Archippus. And I can speak as a pastor, how encouraging it is to minister the Word to a people who encourage me in my ministry. I don’t have to fight for time to study the Word. I minister to a people who encourage me to study the Word, who encourage me in the ministry of the Word by many ways, and how blessed I am as a pastor to minister to such a group of people. I take it this would be part of what was involved in their telling Archippus to fulfill your ministry, keep studying, keep teaching, keep being diligent. It’s a blessing to minister to people who encourage. And a reminder to Archippus. I can’t drag. You know it’s easy, well, you know, 30 years of ministry, it?s time to wind down a little. Well, the Lord will say when it’s time. I’m going to cut off your head. It’s time to wind down. I realize physically we can’t do some of what we used to do; but for all of us, we want to be careful we fulfill our ministry. We don’t want to get to the Bema Seat and have the Lord say, why didn’t you finish your ministry? Oh Lord, I served faithfully for 10 years, I served faithfully for 20. Yea, why didn’t you fulfill it? Why didn’t you complete it? Why didn’t you finish? Well, I thought I had done enough. Where did you ever get that idea? I mean, aren’t we still the servants of the Lord? Aren’t we His slaves? I mean, do I go into retirement in my service to the Lord? “Fulfill your ministry.” A good exhortation for all of us. “Fulfill your ministry,” whatever it is. “Fulfill your ministry.”

Now Paul is ready to wrap it up. “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you.” In 2 Thessalonians 3:l7, Paul said it was his practice in all of his letters to write a personal word at the end. Part of this was to validate his letters. He dictated the letter to a secretary, as we would call it, but at the end, he would take up the quill, and he would write in his own hand a couple of comments. That was the evidence this was a genuine letter. People would get to recognize Paul’s handwriting. They could recognize the handwriting on this letter and the handwriting on this letter. They would say, I recognize that handwriting, that is genuine.

So that was Paul?s practice. “I write this greeting with my own hand.” The whole letter was from Paul, but here in my own handwriting, “Remember my imprisonment.” Probably a reminder and a request for them to keep praying for him as he is a prisoner at Rome. Not just, “don’t forget me,” although that’s there, but probably in back of this is “remember my imprisonment.” It would be a way of saying, keep praying for me during these trying times. And, “grace be with you.” “Grace be with you,” and we’ve sung of grace this morning and grace is God’s unmerited favor. To say “grace be with you” is just saying, I want God to provide for you in every way. May God care for you in every situation. Grace be with you. May you be under the keeping power of God is what he is saying. And the letter is done, and the letter has concluded.

What has he done? As we draw this letter to a close, let me just say in the closing comments--it reminded us that there are a variety of people and a variety of kinds of people involved in the ministry of God’s Word in these days. Some prominent people from the world turn their back on the world to be faithful. Then like Luke, he may not necessarily have stopped practicing medicine. He could have practiced medicine as he traveled with Paul and helped fund their travels. He would have been a great help to Paul. If anybody ever needed a personal physician it was the Apostle Paul--somebody to dress the wounds and probably put the bones back together after stonings and stuff like that. I mean, wasn’t God gracious to give Paul his own personal physician? But a man who could have been prominent in the world, faithful. A woman who opened her home, she carried the gospel to Colossae as Epaphras did, but she opened her home and the church met there, and she provided a setting for the ministry to go on. Epaphras, the man who carried the gospel and was diligent in praying; and we?re reminded that God’s work in the world is accomplished by his servants as His power works through us in our diversity and difference for the accomplishing of the work that only He can do. And this is a reminder to be faithful--a reminder in Demas, a man who evidently at this point of time was faithfully serving and was called a fellow worker in Philemon, but a man who would quit before the end and desert Paul. A reminder in the church of Laodicea who evidently was on track at this time, struggling, probably to deal with the same false teaching, because they are in the same geographical area as Colossae, but a church that is encouraged by its mention here--a church that in about 30 years will be so far gone that it is of no use to Christ. A reminder to us, both personally and as a church, we must be faithful, so that we finish well.

Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the church at Colossae. Thank you for the ministry of so many that you graciously used to accomplish the work that only you could do in the lives of those people and the lives of people in the surrounding region. Lord, our hearts are encouraged as our attention has been drawn to some of these people. Lord, little did they know the importance of the service that they were rendering in those days. Lord, may we be encouraged in our areas of service. Lord, thank you for the many, many who so faithfully give of themselves sacrifically to enable the ministry of this local church, to have it?s impact in the world today. Lord, may we take to heart the testimony of individuals like Demas, who seemed to have been so effective and faithful for time but did not finish well. The church at Laodecia who would wander so severely and drastically from the path you would establish. Lord, may we individually and as a church, be faithful and have a testimony as Paul did of finishing the course, of completing the battle for your honor and glory. In Christ’s name, Amen.