COLOSSIANS 4:7-17

These verses constitute the final greetings of Paul's letter. As such, they might be expected to yield little theological importance or other food for thought. However, there are a few gems hidden in these verses which are worth exploring. The first thing to point out is the way these eleven verses are bound together by an equal number of repeated words and related concepts. I have graphed them visually below:

                                           Figure 1: Repetition in Colossians 4:4-17

1. make known to you about me (7a)

        2. beloved brother (7b)

                3. faithful (7c)

                        4. minister (7d)

                                5. slave (7e)

                                        6. in the Lord (7e)

1'. make known concerning us (8a)

                                                7. comfort you (8b)

                3. faithful (9a)

        2'. beloved brother (9b)

                                                        8. one of you (9c)

1''. make known to you (9d)

                                                7'. comfort (11)

                                                            8'. one of you (12a)

                                5'. slave (12b)

            2''. beloved physician (14)

            2'''. brothers (15)

                            4'. ministry (17a)

                                             6'. in the Lord (17b)

As you can see above there is a certain degree of symmetry concerning these key words so that (a) items 2-6 appear at the start and end of this passage and (b) 7 and 8 are concentrated within verses 8-12 near the center. In addition to the vocabulary highlighted in Figure 1, the phrase “greet(s) you” appears four times in vv. 10-14, and “read” is found three times within v. 16. This is obviously more than a mere random listing of people who are to be greeted.

Colossians 4:7

Barth and Blanke address the phrase 'concern me' in the following way: “The Greek expression ta kat eme (literally: that according to me) is a customary formula. In Phil 1:12, it is used in a context similar to the one in Col[ossians]. Here, Paul introduces with these words the details of how his captivity has served the advancement of the gospel. Here in Col, he presumably has something similar in mind. The information will reach the Colossians through Tychicus, the conveyor of the epistle.” From this we can deduce Paul was not concerned about his own welfare in prison, but just in the manner God had used his circumstances to reach others for the Gospel.

Colossians 4:7-8 There is a very close correspondence between these verses and Ephesians 6:21-22, with a number of words in exact agreement. “It certainly suggests that the author of [Colossians] copied from [Ephesians.] It is very possible that both epistles were written at the same time or that the author still had the first letter while he was penning the other. It may well be that if Paul were the author of both epistles, as is argued in this commentary, Tychicus took both letters with him when he went to Asia Minor.” (Hoehner) From that comment, you may be surprised to learn that there is even the slightest doubt concerning Pauline authorship; but if so, you are probably not very well acquainted with liberal biblical scholarship.

Colossians 4:9

“Paul urged the church to accept Onesimus. This became a test case for the instructions Paul issued regarding slaves and masters (3:22-4:1) and of whether Christianity could triumph over social and economic distinctions.” (Melick)

Colossians 4:10-11

Seitz says, “Mark is presumably the John Mark of the checkered career we read about in Acts 12:24-25 and 15:37-39. A reconciliation has presumably taken place (2 Tim. 4:11). He ends up with a ministry in Rome according to 1 Pet. 5:13. Mark may well have written his gospel in Rome. Should he pass through Colossae, they are to greet him warmly and receive him.” This favorable mention of Mark helps us flesh out the details of his life and demonstrates not only the fact that God gives believers a second chance once they have fallen, but also shows Paul's forgiving nature.

Colossians 4:10-14 “Some have inferred from the listing of Luke's name separately from 'those of the circumcision' that Luke was a Gentile.” That may well be true, but D.L. Allen, in his book Lukan Authorship of Hebrews spends several pages discussing the various reasons against that common supposition.

Colossians 4:14 “In Col 4:14, Demas...is probably the same as the one named here [Philemon 24], and in Tim 4:10, where he is said to have deserted Paul.” It is reported by two early church leaders, Epiphanius and Photius of Constantinople, that he became a pagan priest. (Fitzmyer) This demonstrates that not all early Christian leaders remained “faithful” to the Gospel.

We can probably all point to Christian pastors who have abandoned the ministry for one reason or another, and sometimes went in the completely opposite direction. I can personally cite six such examples just in the few churches I have attended over the years. We need to keep in mind how stressful and filled with temptation such a position can be, and try to help our pastors rather than causing more difficulties for them than they already have.

Colossians 4:15-16

Seitz holds along with Sumney that v. 16 “provides the clearest evidence for the intentional distribution of Pauline letters beyond their original addresses.” Thus it begins the pattern in which those who take the Bible seriously today are encouraged to take writings originally intended for a relatively narrow audience and search for underlying principles that still have current applicability in our historical context.

Colossians 4:16 The early Reformation leader “Knox...argues strongly for the identification of [the Letter to] Philemon with 'the letter from Laodicea.'” (Orr and Walther). However, Maclean states that “some identify it with Ephesians”

We seem to all have a penchant for wanting to know everything revealed to or written by prominent biblical personages. But keep in mind the injunction against desiring to delve into hidden and secret things, and remember what John said toward the end of his Gospel: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31) Those were the primary goals that the inspired authors of the New Testament had in mind, not to “tickle our ears” with extraneous facts designed to put us in more in the know than those ignorant people around us.

Colossians 4:17

Concerning this verse, Barth and Blanke ask why Archippus was not addressed directly by Paul. They suggest that perhaps he wanted “to avoid the appearance of acting as a 'grand overseer'...Thus the instructions given to the community are intended to have the members teach and exhort each other to perform good deeds, based on his words in 3:16.” If that supposition is true, how different that attitude of Paul's was compared to those church pastors today who continuously engage in self-glorification and rule their congregations with an iron fist.

Conclusion

The above are only the tip of the iceberg as to the spiritual messages found in this passage of Scripture, even where we might least expect them.