Colossians 4:10

Colossians 4:10 says, Aristarchus my fellow prisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)  After telling the church at Colosse who he was sending to them, Paul continued to tell them about others who were with him, starting with Aristarchus and Mark, his  fellow prisoners.  We don't know much about Aristarchus, but Mark, Barnabas's nephew, had once started on a missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas and had turned back.  This led to a split between them, but now Paul was speaking well of Mark, who also would write the book of Mark.  Just because we may at one point disagree with another Christian doesn't mean that we should let that disagreement rule the way the treat them forever.  Verse eleven adds, And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me.  Paul then concluded by naming Jesus, who was called Justis, who was a Jew, as a fellow laborer, and said those mentioned were his only fellowworkers for the kingdom of God.  Though they were very different in the eyes of the world, they were all joined together by faith in Jesus Christ.  We may all be different in the view of the world, but as followers of Christ we are all united by our faith in Him.  Verse twelve states, Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.  Paul then mentioned Epaphras, who was from Colosse, as saluting them and said that he was always laboring fervently for them in prayer.  We may not thank of prayer as laboring for others, but if we are fervent in our prayers, it should be.  Verse thirteen adds, For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.  Paul said that he would vouch for the faithfulness of Epaphras in praying not only for the church at Colosse, but for the church at Laodicea and Hierapolis as well.  We should never limit our prayers to our home church, but should be fervently in prayer for others as well.  Verse fourteen says, Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.  Paul said that Luke, who was a physician and who would write both the book of Luke and the book of Acts, greeted them.  He did not hold himself to be above them, but considered himself to be a fellow laborer for Christ.  No matter what we may do in the world, we as Christians should always know that with God we are all equal.  Verse fifteen says, Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.  Paul then asked them to salute the brethren at Laodicea and Nymphas, whose home the church at Colosse met in.  Verse sixteen adds, And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.  Paul asked that they read his epistle, or letter at the church at Laodicea, and that they also read the letter written to Laodicea.  This implies that Paul had also written a letter to the church at Laodicea, but if he did, we do not have it.  Verse seventeen continues, And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.  Paul also asked that they ask Archippus to take heed to the ministry that he had received from the Lord and to be faithful in it.  We need to always encourage and support preachers today to be faithful in their calling from God.  Verse eighteen concludes, The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen. Written from Rome to the Colossians by Tychicus and Onesimus.  Paul concluded the letter by asking them to remember him in his bonds and asked that the grace of God be with them.  We need to ask that other Christians pray that we might continue to be faithful to God today, no matter what our status in the world may be.  

Colossians 4:7

Colossians 4:7 says, All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:  Paul said Tychicus was going to come the the church at Colosse and tell them personally how Paul was doing instead of writing it down.  Paul called him aa beloved brother.  He wanted the Christians at Colosse to have a personal account of how he was doing, and since he couldn't go himself, he sent someone that he considered a beloved brother.  No matter how important we may be viewed as by other Christians, we ourselves like Paul must simply consider ourselves brothers and sisters in Christ.  Verse eight adds, Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts;  Paul said he was also sending Tychicus so that he could see for himself how they were doing and bring comfort to their hearts.  We should always have concern about our fellow Christians and check on them when possible to help bring comfort to their hearts.  Verse nine continues, With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.  Paul said he was sending Onesimus, whom he also called a faithful and beloved brother, with Tychicus so that together they might make known to them all the things which were being done there.  Onesimus was a runaway slave that Paul had converted to Christianity and Paul said that he was one of them.  As a runaway slave, it might have been dangerous for Onesimus to go to Colosse, but he was going by faith.  We cannot allow what others once were determine how we view them now if they have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, nor can we allow fear of what may happen to us if we go into the world to share the gospel and support other Christians keep us from going.  Like Paul, we must understand that all those who believe in Christ are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are neither better nor worse than they are.

Colossians 4:1

Colossians 4:1 says, Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.  Paul had just told servants to be obedient to their masters, and now he told masters to treat their servants fairly and justly.  They were to do this because they themselves had a Master in heaven, especially if they were Christians.  Today,  I believe this applies to employers who are Christians.  They should never deal unfairly with their employees.  Verse two states, Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;  Paul called on them to continue in prayer with thanksgiving.  No matter what is going on in life, we should be praying and thanking God for the blessings He sends our way, especially the gift and blessing of salvation.  Verse three adds, Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:  Paul then asked that the believers at Colosse pray for him that he might have doors opened, not to be set free, but to share the gospel.  Our prayer today should likewise not be for personal things, but should first be for doors to be opened for us to share the gospel.  Verse four continues, That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.  Paul said they should pray that he would be able to make manifest, or clear, the word of God as he should speak it.  We also need to be in prayer for preachers and teachers today that they might make the gospel of Christ clear enough so that others might understand it.  Verse five declares, Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Paul called on the Christians at Colosse to walk in wisdom before the lost, those who had not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, so that they might redeem the time that they were here on earth.  They would thereby give the lost no reason to speak against them.  We cannot sound like the lost when we speak to them today and be a good witness for Jesus Christ.  Verse six adds, Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.  Paul called on them to always let their speech be with grace, seasoned with salt.  Matthew Henry says that grace is the salt that seasons our conversation so that it might be savory and preservative to those that we are speaking to.  This applies to all our speech, and not just to when we are speaking with other Christians.  As followers of Christ, all our speech to or about others should be filtered by the gospel of Christ.  We will never reach the lost people of the world if we always speak to them with anger and condemnation. 

Colossians 3:18

Colossians 3:18 says, Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.  This is a simple statement that creates a lot of controversy today.  It is more easily understood when we read the next verse.  Verse nineteen adds, Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.  Husbands are called on to love their wives and not to be bitter toward them.  If a Christian husband and wife love each other, they will both be under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and should want what is best for each other.  The husband is given the responsibility for ensuring that the wife, and the children, are following God's direction.  Verse twenty states, Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Children were told to obey their parents in all things.  We talk a lot today about how they no longer do so, but this has been a problem throughout history.  This was written to the children of the followers of Christ at Colosse, so it is when the children of those who are His followers today do not obey this instruction that we should really be concerned. Verse twenty-one adds, Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.  The instruction for children to obey their parents was followed by an instruction to fathers to not provoke their children to wrath, or I believe to not act like a tyrant with them.  As with the husband and wife, all is to be done by both the children and the parents, the father in particular as the ultimate one responsible to God for the spiritual welfare of the family, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and for the glory of God.  Verse twenty-two says, Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:  Servants were called on to obey their masters, not just by appearing to do so when their master was there, but wholeheartedly.  Though we may not be servants today, we are often employees and we are to do our jobs wholeheartedly, because we represent God as Christians.  Too often we complain and want to do as little as possible when we are at work, and this does not reflect well on God.  We need to be different than the rest of the world at work because we are under the leadership of the Holy Spirit as Christians.  Verse twenty-three adds, And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;  As just discussed,  we as followers of Christ are to do our job heartily as though we are doing it for the Lord.  We are representatives of God no matter if we are gathered to worship Him or if we are out in the community, and we are to live to bring honor and glory to Him.  Verse twenty-four continues, Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.  Paul then said that they were to do this because they would receive the reward of their inheritance from God.  Though we may be paid for working at our jobs, as Christians we are working first for the glory of God and to be a witness for Him to the world, and our ultimate reward will come from God.  Verse twenty-five declares, But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.  Paul said that anyone who did wrong would be accountable for the wrong that he or she did.  We need to think about this as husbands, wives, children and employees.  We are to live under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and I believe that although we have everlasting life if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are still accountable to God for our actions.  Paul then concluded by stating that there is to be no respect of persons, or discrimination against anyone.  As long as we view certain groups of people as less worthy, then we are guilty of discriminating against them.

Colossians 3;12

Colossians 3:12 says, Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;  Paul began to list some of the characteristics of Christians, who are referred to as the elect of God.  They were not the elect of God because of who they were intrinsically, but because they had put their faith in Jesus Christ.  They were holy for the same reason.  As such, they were to be merciful, kind, humble, meek, and long suffering.  As followers of Christ today, we are the elect of God and are to be holy, guided by the Holy Spirit.  Once we are, we should display these same characteristics.  Verse thirteen adds, Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.  Paul continued by saying that they were to forbear, or be tolerant of one another and forgiving of one another if they had a quarrel against one another.  Of course we cannot control how the other person will react, but we are to forgive them no matter if they forgive us or not.  We are to forgive as Jesus Christ forgives us.  He forgives us freely and completely, even though we have nothing to forgive Him for.  His forgiveness is not a tradeoff, and neither should ours be.  Also, when Jesus Christ forgives us, He forgets what He has forgiven us for.  We may not be able to completely remove the memory of what we forgive someone of from our mind, but we should never bring it up again or let it influence how we see the person we have forgiven.  Just imagine how it would be if Jesus still saw us as the sinner that we were before we accepted Him as our personal Savior and Lord, and every time we failed again, He brought up all our past sins that we have already been forgiven of.  Yet, this is how we often react to others, even when we say we have forgiven them.  Verse fourteen continues, And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.  Paul said above all these other characteristics, we are to put on charity, or love, for others.  If we love them with a Christ like love, then all these other things will be a natural outcome.  It all begins with being filled with this Christ like love.  Verse fifteen states, And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.  Paul said that they were to let the peace of God rule their heart.  We cannot truly be ruled by the peace of God if we continue to be at war with our fellow man, especially other Christians.  As Christians, Paul said that we are called to be one body and that we are to be thankful to God for that calling. Verse sixteen adds, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  Paul said they were to let the word of Christ dwell in them richly in all wisdom.  For this to happen, we must study God's word, which is the only way to gain wisdom, since wisdom comes from God.  Paul also said that they were to do this with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with the grace that is in our hearts to the Lord.  If we sing with the grace of God in our heart, we should sing joyously.  Verse seventeen adds, And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.  Paul told the believers at Colosse that they were to do everything, from what they spoke to what they actually did, in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks God the Father through Jesus Christ.  This still applies to us today.  If we do all for the glory of God because we have accepted salvation by our faith in Jesus Christ, then we will have no room for looking down on others nor for not forgiving them if they have harmed us in some way.  

Colossians 3:5

Colossians 3:5 says, Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:  Paul called on the people at Colosse to be mortified by sinful actions, such as fornication,  uncleanness,  inordinate affection, concupiscence, which is strong sexual desire, and covetousness, which were idolatry.  These things were putting earthly desires ahead of God's will, and therefore became idols to a person.  We need to not only avoid these things today, but to be mortified at even the thought of doing them.  Verse six adds, For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:  Paul said these things brought on the wrath of God, because those who did them were disobedient children.  We cannot downplay how much God hates these things today and attempt to excuse or justify them.  Verse seven continues, In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.  Paul then told the Christians at Colosse that they had at one time also walked and lived in these things themselves, but that they no longer were to do so.  We cannot change our past actions, but we can certainly change our current and future ones by the power of the Holy Spirit if we are followers of Christ.  Verse eight states, But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.  Paul then called on the believers at Colosse to put off, or to quit doing several things, including being angry and wanting wrath or malice to come on others, being guilty of blasphemy, which is attributing what God does to someone or something else, and filthy communication coming out of their mouth.  We can easily allow these things back into our life if we aren't careful.  Too often if someone does harm to us, we start to wish that God would punish them or if something good happens, we give credit to our own abilities or to good fortune instead of to God.  Verse nine adds, Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;  Paul told them that they were not to lie to one another, since they had put off the old man, or their sinful nature.  As followers of Christ today, we are to be truthful in all that we say and do.  We are no longer to be guided by our old sinful nature.  Verse ten adds, And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:  Paul said that the Christians at Colosse had put on the new man.  They had been born again and were now to live in a renewed knowledge of what it meant to be created in God's image.  As believers today, we are born again, and once more are to live knowing that we are created in God's image and are to live by His guidance.  Verse eleven concludes, Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.  Paul told them that there was no longer any separation of people by race for those who believed in Jesus Christ.  All were the same by their faith in Jesus Christ.  We are still guilty too often as Christians of making distinctions about people based on race todsy I believe. 

Colossians 3:1

Colossians 3:1 says, If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.  Paul told the believers in Colosse that if they were risen with Christ, or had put their faith in Him for salvation, that they were to seek those things above, the things of God.  Paul said that this was where the risen  Christ sits on the right hand of God the Father.  As Christians, we should still have our focus on things above, the things of God.  Verse two adds, Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  As Paul told them, we are to set our affection, or love, on the things above, not on the things of this earth.  We are not called to seek earthly riches, but to seek heavenly rewards.  Verse three continues, For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.  Paul told them that they were dead to the things of this world and that their life was hidden in Christ.  I believe that too often we as Christians seek the things of this world as proof of Jesus Christ's love for us instead of seeking the things of God as proof of our love for Him.  If we still put a greater value on material things than we do on faithfulness to God no matter what, then we cannot faithfully follow Christ.  We are to be dead to the things of this world because one day, either when we die or when Jesus Christ returns, they will all be left behind.  Verse four concludes, When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.  We are to set our sight on things above because when Christ returns, we will appear with Him in glory.  As Christians, Jesus Christ is the One Who gives us everlasting life with God, and we are called on to live by faith in Him, because we have been redeemed by Him.  We are to be dead to the desires of the flesh and alive to spiritual things.