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Commentaries,
Word Studies, Devotionals, Sermons, Illustrations
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AS TO ALL MY AFFAIRS: Ta kat
eme panta:
(Eph 6:21-23)
All the things relating to me
In this final
section of the letter we find the apostle revealing his great love and
concern for the members of the body of Christ, a concern which vividly
illustrates the statement made by the apostle in
Colossians 1:24 (note), namely, that
he fills up that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in his
flesh "for his body's sake." Love for the brethren predominates.
Guy King has an interesting
introduction to this next section in which Paul mentions numerous
individuals by name...
I DARE say you have had the
experience of receiving a letter from a friend, in which he has
enclosed a group photograph of friends well-known to you both. Paul
seems to have done here, in words, something of the same kind. He has
grouped together, in thumbnail sketches, a number of people who are
roundabout him in Rome, and who are all well-known to the church
members in Colossae. How interested they will be in these glimpses, on
that Sabbath morning, in the Assembly, of their far-off comrades in
the Faith, brought so vividly to sight and memory by these spoken
miniatures. I dare say that we, too, may gain interest and inspiration
from a study of their features, for each has a characteristic profile
of his own. Take a good look at them, there in the group, one by one.
(His
Enclosed Group Photograph)
TYCHICUS, OUR BELOVED
BROTHER AND FAITHFUL SERVANT AND FELLOW BOND-SERVANT IN THE LORD: humin Tychikos o agapetos adelphos kai pistos diakonos:
(Acts 20:4;
2Ti 4:12;
Titus 3:12) (Col
4:9,12;
Ep 6:21;
Phil 2:25) (1Cor 4:1-4)
Beloved
brother...faithful servant...fellow bondservant in the Lord - This
designation represents a beautiful threefold commendation of Tychicus.
APPLICATION:
If Paul were writing a letter to
your church, would he give a similar description of your Christian
walk?
Beloved (27)
(agapetos from agapáo = love) means
beloved, dear, very much loved. Agapetos is
love called out of one’s heart by preciousness of the object loved.
Agapetos is used
only of Christians as united with God or with each other in love.
God the Father uses this same word describing Jesus declaring that
This
is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." (Mt 3:17)
In fact the first 9 uses in the NT are of God the Father speaking of
Christ, His beloved Son. This gives you some idea of the preciousness
of the word "beloved"! This truth makes it even more
incredible that Paul described the saints at Thessalonica (and by
application all believers of all ages) as
brethren beloved (agapao) by God, His choice" (1Th 1:4
click for note).
Brother (80)
(adelphos from a = denoting unity +
delphús = womb) is literally one born from same womb.
Literally it is a male having the same father and mother.
Adelphos describes a close association of a group of persons
having well-defined membership. In the NT it often refers to fellow
believers in Christ united by the bond of affection. It can also refer
to a fellow countryman or a fellow Jew. In the present context it
refers to a fellow believer.
Faithful
(4103)
(pistos) (Click for an in depth word study of
pistos) means trustworthy, dependable, reliable. Tychicus
was faithful in duty to himself and to others. He was a man of true
fidelity, which is a word we don't here much in our society any
more but which is defined as
faithfulness to something to
which one is bound by pledge or duty and implies strict and continuing
faithfulness to an obligation, trust, or duty.
Fidelity
is the degree to which an electronic device (CD, radio, television)
accurately reproduces its effect (as sound or picture). Think about
that for a moment!
Servant (1249)
(diakonos from diako = run on
errands) (Click word study on related word
diakonia) is not used in
the technical sense of deacon, but in the sense of servant, Tychicus
being a lovely illustration of one serving the Lord in a lowly place.
Fellow bondservant
(4889) (sundoulos from
sun
= with +
doulos = servant) refers to a fellow
slave who is found in the same conditions as another. They were both
in bondage or bound to Jesus, in the state of being completely
controlled by Him and served Him joyfully as His property.
Vincent
says:
By this term he designates Tychicus
as, in common with himself, a servant of Jesus Christ.
The noun
doulos conveys the idea of the
slave's close, binding ties with his master, belonging to him,
obligated and desiring to do his will, and in a permanent relation of
servitude to another. The will of the doulos was altogether consumed
in the will of another, in this case of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Tychicus is mentioned in four
other places (Acts 20:4;
see notes
2 Timothy 4:2
;
Titus 3:12;
Ephesians 6:21)
WILL BRING YOU INFORMATION: gnorisei (3SFAI)...kai sundoulos
en kurio:
Will bring information
(1107)
(gnorizo from ginosko = acquire
information by whatever means but often with the implication of
personal involvement or experience) means to cause information to be
known by someone, communicating things before unknown or reasserting
things already known.
Paul is going to explain why God
has done so much for us as He has just described.
We first meet Tychicus in (Acts 20:4). Paul was in
Ephesus near the end of his third missionary journey. He planned to
return to Jerusalem via Macedonia, where he intended to collect an
offering. With the offerings from Galatia and Achaia, he would present
it to the needy believers at Jerusalem (cf. 1Co 16:1-9). By so doing,
he hoped to cement the bond between the predominantly Gentile churches
outside of Palestine, and the predominantly Jewish church at
Jerusalem. He also planned to take some Gentile believers from Greece
and Asia Minor as representatives of their churches to the Jerusalem
church. Among them was Tychicus.
Tychicus’ willingness to travel with Paul to Jerusalem shows his
servant’s heart. Such a journey was not to be undertaken lightly.
Travel in the ancient world was far more difficult and dangerous than
in our day. The trip to Jerusalem would be very arduous, and it would
take Tychicus away from his family, friends, and church for a long
time. Along the way, Paul was repeatedly warned that trouble awaited
him in Jerusalem. Although Tychicus must certainly have heard those
warnings, he remained with Paul.
As Paul wrote Colossians, it had been more than two years since his
arrest at Jerusalem. Since then he had survived a plot by the Jewish
leaders to murder him, trials before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa, and a
harrowing voyage to Rome. Tychicus may have been with Paul through
that entire time. He definitely was with him during his imprisonment
at Rome. After Paul’s release, Tychicus remained with him. When Paul
needed a temporary replacement for Titus as pastor of the church on
Crete, Tychicus was one of the ones considered (see note
Titus 3:12). Tychicus,
who had begun as a messenger, was now a candidate to fill in for as
great a man as Titus.
At the very end of Paul’s life, during his second Roman imprisonment,
Tychicus was still with him. Facing imminent execution, Paul desired
to see Timothy one last time. Because Timothy could not leave his
congregation at Ephesus without a replacement, Paul sent
Tychicus (see note
2 Timothy 4:12). Once again, Tychicus’ name comes up as a
replacement for one of Paul’s prominent associates. That speaks highly
of his character.
The writing of Colossians finds Tychicus in Rome with Paul during his
first imprisonment. By this time about four years have passed since
Tychicus joined Paul in Ephesus. Because he is a man of proven
loyalty, Paul has an important task for him: He is to deliver the
letter to the Colossians. Not only does he carry Colossians, but
Ephesians (cf. note
Ephesians 6:21) and probably Philemon as well (cf.
note
Colossians 4:9). The
trip from Rome to Colossae was a difficult one. Tychicus would first
have to cross much of Italy on foot, then sail across the Adriatic
Sea. After traversing Greece on foot, he would sail across the Aegean
Sea to the coast of Asia Minor. After all that, he still faced a
journey of nearly one hundred miles on foot to reach Colossae. That he
was entrusted with delivering three inspired books of Scripture once
again indicates Paul’s trust in him.}
Not only will Tychicus deliver the letter of Colossians, he will also
bring the Colossians information about Paul’s affairs and update them
on his circumstances. That would include bringing them information on
Paul’s health, his hopes, and his future prospects. He would also
encourage their hearts by adding a personal word of encouragement to
what was written in the letter and answering their queries about
Paul’s condition.
Paul next lists three credentials Tychicus possessed that qualified
him to act as Paul’s personal envoy. First, he was a beloved brother
in the Lord. That Paul calls him a brother shows he was one of the
family of believers. His personal character had earned him the
designation beloved from no less than the apostle Paul himself.
Second, Paul describes him as a faithful servant. He never achieved
prominence, but he served in an important capacity as Paul’s liaison
to the churches. He was a faithful steward of his ministry—the highest
commendation Paul could give (cf. 1Cor 4:2). Finally, Paul calls him a
fellow bond-servant in the Lord. He was a diakonos (servant) in
relationship to Paul, but a sundoulos (fellow bond-servant) with Paul
in relationship to the Lord. |
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FOR I HAVE SENT HIM TO YOU
FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE: on epempsa (1SAAI) pros umas eis auto touto :
(1Co 4:17;
2Cor 12:18;
Eph 6:22;
Phil 2:28;
1Thes 3:5)
I have sent (3992)
(pempo) means to dispatch, send, thrust out. When used of persons, pempo means to cause to go. It is used to describe
messengers, agents or ambassadors.
Vincent
comments that pempo is in the so called...
Epistolary (relating to a letter)
aorist.
Tychicus carried the letter.
Wuest explains this further writing that...
“I have sent” is the epistolary
aorist, in which the writer puts himself at the standpoint of the
reader when he receives the letter, and looks at the writing of the
letter which is a present event with him, as a past event. Paul sent
this letter with Tychicus.
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans
or
Logos)
In this concluding section, Paul commends the two bearers of the epistle, Tychicus and Onesimus.
Tychicus is evidently the more prominent postman of the two. No doubt
he would have been astonished to know that the letters he bore,
Colossians and Ephesians (cf notes
Ephesians 6:21;
22), would outlast the power of
the imperial city of the seven hills itself.
THAT YOU MAY KNOW ABOUT OUR
CIRCUMSTANCES AND THAT HE MAY ENCOURAGE YOUR HEARTS:
hina gnote (2PAAS) ta peri hemon kai parakalese (3SAAS) tas kardias
humon:(2:2;
Isa 40:1;
61:2,3;
2Cor 1:4;
2:7;
1Thes 2:11;
3:2;
4:18;
5:11,14;
2Thes 2:17)
That (hina)
introduces a purpose clause. The idea is that you "may come to know".
Know (1097)
(ginosko) means to acquire information by whatever means, but often
with the implication of personal involvement or experience.
Encourage (3870)
(parakaleo from para = side of +
kaléo = call) conveys the basic idea of calling one alongside to
help or give aid. Because a person can be called alongside for many
purposes, the word has a wide range of meanings. They include to
entreat, appeal to, summon, comfort, exhort, or encourage.
The English word encourage
is derived from a root which means “with heart.” To encourage in a sense is to give
a new heart. Shallow sympathy makes people feel worse but true
spiritual encouragement makes them feel better. It builds up. It brings out the best
in people.
Hearts
(2588)
(kardia
from a root word meaning to quiver or palpitate) describes the
seat and center of human life and in the NT is used only figuratively.
The heart is the center of each person from which thoughts, emotions
and
affections flow. Figuratively the heart is often used in a more general
way referring
not only to the inner person and the center of life but also referring
to the mind, where thinking occurs.
For example Jesus describes an
evil slave (who) says in his heart,
'My master is not coming for a long time. (Mt 24:48)
In context the "evil slave" is clearly thinking plotting out what he
will do indicating that heart in this verse is a reference to the mind. The
emotions respond to what goes on in the heart and to what the mind
perceives. The way to control the emotions, then, is through the mind.
When the mind is filled with biblical truth (cf notes
Philippians 4:8;
4:9),
the emotions respond properly. For that reason the Bible counsels to
watch over your
heart with all diligence, for from it flow the
springs of life” (Pr 4:23) |
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AND WITH HIM ONESIMUS OUR FAITHFUL AND BELOVED
BROTHER, WHO IS ONE OF YOUR NUMBER THEY WILL INFORM YOU ABOUT THE
WHOLE SITUATION HERE: sun Onesimo to pisto kai agapeto adelpho
os estin (3SPAI) ex humon panta humin gnorisousin (3PFAI) ta ode: (7;
Phile1:10-19)
Onesimus (3682) (from oninemi = to be of use, to
profit) is the escaped slave of the Epistle to Philemon. Notice that Paul makes no reference to the offence he had committed
against his Colossian master, Philemon, and no call for confession of it
before the whole church. The sin's guilt had been forgiven by God and any
consequences were a private matter between Philemon and him.
Onesimus, the man with
the sinful past, is the runaway slave whose return to his master was
the occasion for the book of Philemon. Philemon was one of the leaders
of the Colossian church, and it is likely that the church met in his
home. Onesimus had been a slave in Philemon’s household until he ran
away and made his way to Rome. There he met the apostle Paul, who led
him to Christ. Now he was returning to Colossae and his master. Paul
wrote to urge Philemon to forgive Onesimus for running away and
defrauding him and to welcome Onesimus as a brother in Christ.
Regarding
Onesimus, Lightfoot writes
The man whom the Colossians had
only known hitherto, if they knew him at all, is thus commended to
them as no more slave but a brother, no more dishonest and faithless
but trustworthy, no more an object of contempt but of love.
Onesimus was a living testimony to the power of the
gospel to
transform a life. Paul tells the Colossians that the man who left
Colossae as a runaway slave now returns as "one of your number".
Clearly he was to be treated as a member of the church, because in
Christ
There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there
is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
(Gal 3:28).
In the present
epistle Paul had reminded the saints at Colossae that the possess
a renewal in which there is no distinction between
Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian,
slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all." (Col 3:11 note)
Paul
in fact shows his high regard for Onesimus
by having him, along with Tychicus, inform the Colossians about Paul’s
situation in Rome.
Vincent
has the following lengthy note on Onesimus in his comments on
Philemon...
Onesimus. The name is
withheld until Paul has favorably disposed Philemon to his request.
The word means helpful, and it was a common name for slaves. The same
idea was expressed by other names, as Chresimus, Chrestus (useful);
Onesiphorus (profit-bringer, 2Ti 1:16); Symphorus (suitable).
Onesimus was a runaway Phrygian
slave, who had committed some crime and therefore had fled from his
master and hidden himself in Rome. Under Roman law the slave was a
chattel. Varro classified slaves among implements, which he classifies
as vocalia, articulate speaking implements, as slaves; semivocalia,
having a voice but not articulating, as oxen; muta, dumb, as wagons.
The attitude of the law toward the slave was expressed in the formula
servile caput nullum jus habet; the slave has no right. The master’s
power was unlimited. He might mutilate, torture, or kill the slave at
his pleasure. Pollio, in the time of Augustus, ordered a slave to be
thrown into a pond of voracious lampreys. Augustus interfered, but
afterward ordered a slave of his own to be crucified on the mast of a
ship for eating a favorite quail. Juvenal describes a profligate woman
ordering a slave to be crucified. Some one remonstrates. She replies:
“So then a slave is a man, is he! ‘He has done nothing,’ you say.
Granted. I command it. Let my pleasure stand for a reason” (6:219).
Martial records an instance of a master cutting out a slave’s tongue.
The old Roman legislation imposed death for killing a plough-ox; but
the murderer of a slave was not called to account. Tracking fugitive
slaves was a trade. Recovered slaves were branded on the forehead,
condemned to double labor, and sometimes thrown to the beasts in the
amphitheatre. The slave population was enormous. Some proprietors had
as many as twenty thousand. (Vincent, M. R. Word studies in the New
Testament 3:518-519). |
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Colossians
4:10
Aristarchus, my
fellow
prisoner,
sends you his
greetings; and
also
Barnabas's
cousin
Mark
(about
whom you
received
instructions;
if he
comes to you,
welcome him); |
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Greek:
Aspazetai (3SPMI)
umas
Aristarchos
o
sunaichmalotos
mou,
kai
Markos
o
anepsios
Barnaba
peri
ou
elabete (2PAAI)
entolas,
ean
elthe (3SAAS)
pros
humas
decasthe (2PAMM)
auton,
Amplified: Aristarchus my fellow prisoner wishes to be
remembered to you, as does Mark the relative of Barnabas. You received
instructions concerning him; if he comes to you give him a [qhearty]
welcome. (Amplified
Bible - Lockman)
Phillips:
Aristarchus, who is also in prison here, sends greetings, and so does
Barnabas' cousin, Mark. I believe I told you before about him; if he
does come to you, make him welcome. (Phillips:
Touchstone)
Wuest: There greet you Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, and
Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you received orders; if
he comes to you, receive him, (Erdmans) |
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ARISTARCHUS, MY FELLOW
PRISONER, SENDS YOU HIS GREETINGS: Aspazetai (3SPMI) humas Aristarchos
o sunaichmalotos mou:
(Acts 19:29;
20:4;
27:2;
Phile 1:24)
Aristarchus (708)
whose name means "best ruler" was a Jewish believer (next verse) had a
Greek name and was a Macedonian of Thessalonica (Acts 20:4;
27:2) who traveled with the
Paul on his third missionary journey through Asia Minor
(Acts 19:29;
20:4;
27:2). Aristarchus
first appeared during Paul’s three year ministry at Ephesus. He was
seized by the rioting mob, who recognized him as one of Paul’s
companions (Acts 19:29) and later preceded Paul to Troas (Acts
20:4-6). A faithful companion and friend, Aristarchus
accompanied Paul on his return trip to
Jerusalem (Acts 20:4), and on his voyage to Rome (Acts 27:4) where he attended the apostle
and shared his imprisonment. As Paul writes Colossians, Aristarchus is still beside
him.
Fellow prisoner (4869) (sunaichmalotos
from
sun = with, together with + aichmalotos = literally taken captive by sword, a
prisoner of war). Note that aichmalotos referred to prisoners
of war. In a
sense Paul is a prisoner in Rome as the result of "spiritual war".
AND ALSO BARNABAS' COUSIN
MARK (ABOUT WHOM YOU RECEIVED INSTRUCTIONS): kai Markos o anepsios
Barnaba peri ou elabete (2PAAI) entolas:
(Acts 12:12;
13:5,13;
15:37-39;
2Ti 4:11;
1Pe 5:13)
Barnabas'
cousin Mark - John Mark had a
very different career in the ministry than either Tychicus or
Aristarchus. A companion of Paul and Barnabas on their first
missionary journey (Acts 13:5), he deserted them when the going got
tough. Acts 13:13 relates the story: “Paul and his companions put out to
sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John left them and
returned to Jerusalem.” Mark’s desertion was later to become a source
of friction between Paul and Barnabas. Barnabas wanted to take his
cousin along on the second missionary journey, but Paul, not trusting
Mark to be loyal, refused. That led to such a sharp disagreement
between Paul and Barnabas that they | | |
