Colossians 4:7-18 ~ Paul's Partnerships in Proclamation

The final greetings in Colossians list several different names of Paul's various gospel partners. Let us first understand the backgrounds of these partners...

Acts 13 and 15 help shine a light on the character or John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. He was one of the partners who followed Paul on his first missionary journey but not being able to withstand the hardship, left for his mother's house in Jerusalem. Yet in Colossians, Paul asked that Mark be welcomed, implying that Mark has proven himself a worthy partner despite his initial act of deserting Paul.

Aristarchus and Jesus called Justus, being men of the circumcision (verse 11), were Jews. Acts 19:29 tells us that during Paul's third missionary journey, Aristarchus was Paul's companion. Being a Thessalonian himself, Aristarchus must have followed Paul when he was in Macedonia, in the region of Thessalonica.

Luke, a physician, would turn out to be the author of one of the four gospels. Being a Gentile himself, his style of writing would be influenced by his non-Jewish background. This was demonstrated by the way he traced Jesus' genealogy all the way beyond Abraham to Adam himself, showing God's plans from the very beginning of mankind and not just starting from the promised Jewish kindred descending from Abraham.

The story of Demas, however, is an unpleasant tale of how he fled Paul and headed towards Thessalonica due to his love with this present world (2 Timothy 4:10). This is sad, considering how Demas was Paul's partner at the times when Colossians and Philemon were written.

Nympha hosted a church in her house while Archippus was also a partner mentioned in Philemon. As Paul never visited Colossae in person, it was Epaphras who brought the Word to the Colossians and who was a fellow prisoner in Christ with Paul (Colossians 1:7, Philemon 23).

Onesimus, on the other hand, ran away as a slave of Philemon to Paul. Paul's letter to Philemon was then to ask him to release and free Onesimus, treating him as a fellow brother-in-Christ. Onesimus would then be the one who traveled with Tychicus, carrying all three letters to the Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon.

Now that we know these ten partners of Paul a little better, how is all these knowledge relevant to us? Firstly, we may emulate Tychicus' example (verses 7-9). Although the proclamation of the gospel may be difficult and challenging, we can be encouraged by Tychicus' fervent passion for the gospel to further encourage and spur others on. We can also take note of Epaphras' struggle and prayers in verse 12. Prayer acknowledges the sovereignty of God and helps us to be united in this gospel partnership. To stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God (verse 12) is to put on the new self (Colossians 3:12-17) in the way we live our lives, opening doors to proclaim the gospel. And just as how Archippus was reminded to fulfill the ministry that he has received in the Lord (verse 17), we need to remind each other of what we are supposed to be doing, that is, to proclaim the gospel. It is not uncommon for us to get distracted from this primary purpose every now and then but this is where such reminders will help bring us back on track.

Last but not least, how wonderful it is for us to have Paul's example to follow: the example of the proclamation of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ through partnership with fellow believers!!

Ps. Blessed birthday to my dearest daddy... =)

Colossians 4:2-6 ~ Our Prayer, Conduct, and Speech

In this opening of Colossians 4, Paul instructed the Colossians not just to pray but to continue steadfastly in prayer (verse 2). In Colossians 1:9-12, Paul emphasized the importance of prayer and the contents of his prayer, that we may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, amongst other things. Verse 3 reaffirms the stewardship given to Paul to declare the Word (Colossians 1:25) - it is prayer that helped Paul understand that this is what God wanted him to do.

In the process of declaring the mystery of Christ (verse 3), Paul asked the Colossians to pray for him that he may make it clear (verse 4). Such clarity of speech is not to be confused with effective communication. Rather, Ephesians 6:18-20 helps paint the context that this clarity of speech is itself the boldness to preach the gospel without fearing persecution or imprisonment.

One should also be watchful in prayer (verse 2). James 4:3-4 warns us of unanswered prayers stemming from our own selfish desire, which is not God's will for us. Hope that is seen is not hope (Romans 8:24-25) but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). We may not see God's glory physically but should know it is within God's good will (for us as well). Therefore, let us pray according to God's gracious will.

When Paul told the Colossians to conduct themselves wisely (verse 5), a parallel can be drawn to Ephesians 5 (whereby Ephesians was a letter written close at the time when Colossians was written). Walking wisely is not to walk like the Gentiles in darkness, indulging in sexual immorality, lies, thefts or corrupting talk. It is not getting drunk but being filled with the Spirit instead. The phrase "making the best use of time" in verse 5 is not necessarily asking the reader to make the most of opportunities in being evangelistic to outsiders but more likely, it is the framework of Ephesians 5 in asking the reader to walk wisely, different from the outsiders.

1 Peter 3:15 tells us to always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks, setting the context for the gracious speech that is seasoned with salt in verse 6 that we may know how we ought to answer each person in defending the gospel. As such, we need to remember that evangelism is not to be limited to the most opportune time or be reduced merely to wise conduct or gracious speech.

Do we resort to passive evangelism to just merely resort to living rightly to convince others of their sins? Are we removing the less pleasant details when evangelizing (e.g. hell, God's judgment) to reach out to others? Paul did not have to wait for opportunity or favourable condition / time to preach (e.g. he was still actively preaching the gospel while imprisoned in Philippi) and neither should we.

In conclusion, Colossians 4:2-6 gives us 3 main instructions:

1. Reflect on our own conduct and speech, not merely for evangelism alone. Our speech should be gracious, showing God's common grace for everyone revealed in the gospel, and seasoned with salt, that we may build others up and care for them.
2. We need to see evangelism as an active task. It is essential for us to constantly read God's Word and reflect upon it while realizing that we are indeed living in these evil last days.
3. Last but not least, we should continue steadfastly in prayer and understand God's will through His Word. We should pray for Him to change us to become children of light, pleasing Him in the way we live our lives.

How's your prayer, conduct and speech lately?

Colossians 3:1-4 ~ United with Christ

New year was only less than a fortnight ago. Did you make any new year resolutions? If yes, how likely do you think you can keep them throughout the whole year? Or do you reckon that other priorities and preferences will soon take over like how you never managed to keep last year's resolutions?

Similarly, the Christian life can sometimes be analogous to new year resolutions. One may start out as a strong Christian, totally eager and keen to learn, grow and serve in every single way imaginable. But what may happen over time is a sad picture of declining enthusiasm as one begins to get lazier be it serving in church, reading the Bible, or praying.

The need for Jesus is then highlighted all the more. Colossians 1:21 tells us that we once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds while Colossians 2:13 shows us how we were dead in our trespasses and the uncircumcision of our flesh. We are helpless here because we do not acknowledge God. We sin and reject God instead of giving Him the glory He deserves. As such, it should not surprise that our due punishment is death itself.

Colossians 3:5-7 lists the various sins resulting from our rebellion against God: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. The "miraculous" thing that follows suit, however, is how Christ cancels our record of debt by nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:9-15). When we submit our life under Jesus' kingship, we are given a new life under Him as we are made alive together with Him (Colossians 2:13).

With this new-found closeness with Jesus, we are then to seek the things that are above (Colossians 3:2). We are told to put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, as well as forgiveness; all of which can be summed up in one word: love (Colossians 3:12-14). How then do we apply this in our lives? More often than not, the way we use our time reflects our priorities. That said, we should also be careful not to make a show out of it like the Pharisees did but to use our time in a godly manner with a sincere heart that pleases the Lord above all.

Colossians 3:3 also puts forth the idea that our life is hidden with Christ in God. What this essentially means is that a Christian's life is secured in Christ. The word "hidden" is contrasted with the phrase "appear with Him in glory" in Colossians 3:4. This then begs the question as to why our life is "hidden" with Christ now - it is simply because the aforementioned "glory" has yet to appear, so we cannot see it physically face-to-face but it will eventually appear when Christ returns. There is assurance and certainty that our salvation is secure in Christ and Christ alone, not anything else.

With such understanding of our unity with Christ, different challenges are then posed to different groups of people. If you are not a Christian, will you consider acknowledging Christ and submitting your life to Him? If you are a Christian, will you put Christ first in all that you do?

Time to consider these challenges and make a stand...

MYC 2010: Holy Spirit - God in Us

This year's Mid Year Conference (MYC) at Merroo Christian Conference Centre was an absolute blast. We explored God's Word to better understand an often-debated topic: the Holy Spirit. We certainly learnt a lot (and left with more questions!) from Genesis to Revelation over the 5 days of seminars, Bible studies, talks, electives and fellowship with over 500 other brothers and sisters-in-Christ. Here are just a few points learnt over those five amazing days of MYC:

Seminars

• The Spirit is the paraclete who works in us and convicts us of our sin and dwells in us when we become Christians i.e. the Spirit and gospel work hand-in-hand
  
• Living by the Spirit involves putting to death things of the flesh and suffering first before sharing in His glory as we become children of God by the Spirit of adoption and co-heirs with Christ
• All laws are ultimately fulfilled in one word: love

Bible Studies (Colossians)

• Paul expounds the gospel of Christ to the Colossians as a basis for them to renounce self-made religion and earthly things but to instead seek things from above, put on love, and to stand firm in the gospel
• Further exploration of Paul's accompanying letter to the Ephesians reveals that the mystery of gospel is that Gentiles are now included as fellow heirs in Christ through the gospel
• God's Spirit is in man - we can lead a new life with a new God-centred heart

Talks

• Jesus Christ is God's exalted Messiah who is the Spirit-empowered King, prophet and servant - He is how we are to be born of water and Spirit
  
• The Bible has dual authorship: God has written His Scripture through His apostles who are inspired by the Spirit
• Subsequently, it is also the Spirit who provides illumination for the understanding of the Scripture, which would otherwise appear as words of folly for we have a spiritual disability (hardness of heart, blind eyes, ears that fail to hear, darkened eyes of the heart), which is both the expression and punishment of our sin
• In Christ, we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places - we need to understand that suffering comes before glory and there is contentment in waiting for the hope to come, hence the need to beware of spiritual experience traps where we may begin to try and manufacture the experience (e.g. speaking in tongues), interpret the experience incorrectly, or give the experience too much authority (when the ultimate authority lies in the Scripture)
• By God's grace, He has given us all gifts for the common good - the list of individual gifts is endless and should not be our main focus but rather be the means of unification for His whole church as we ask, "What does the body need?" instead of "What are my gifts?"
• Every Christian has been equipped by God to serve so we should not be self-centred in our thinking i.e. "I have nothing/everything to offer..."
• The most excellent way to use gifts is love with the goal of edification and building one another up to maturity in Christ
  
• We need to exercise prophetic enthusiasm in communicating the Scripture to others but also prophetic reluctance in claiming to speak God's Word beyond the Scripture
• Participation in the Spirit (or fellowship of the Holy Spirit) allows us an intimate connection with both Father and Son as we participate in God's promises because the Servant King fulfilled the promises and now pours out His Spirit on us - we are then encouraged to emulate and glorify Christ (just as how the Spirit glorifies not Himself but Christ)
• Suffering comes before glory - we are all united in suffering now but we will also be united with Jesus in glory in the future

As mentioned, this is just a "quick list" of concepts covered (when there is actually so much more than meets the eye). Felt like you've missed out by not attending this year's MYC? Fret not, as MYC will be back again next year with a fresh new other topic from 11th to 15th July, 2011 - mark these dates down in your calendar!! ;)