Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Colossians 4:7
All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, [who is] a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord:
7 9. Personal Information
7. All my state ] Rather more lit., My circumstances generally. The same phrase occurs Php 1:12. Latin Versions, Qu circa me sunt omnia.
Tychicus ] Cp. Eph 6:21; and our note there. Tychicus is named also Act 20:4; 2Ti 4:12; Tit 3:12. He appears to have belonged to the province of Asia, and probably to Ephesus. He was, evidently, loved and honoured by the Apostle; was beside him, occasionally at least, in his first imprisonment; and was faithful to him to the end. His name, though not common, occurs in inscriptions and on coins belonging to Asia Minor. Wyclif, curiously, has “ titicus.”
See the art. Tychicus in Smith’s Dict. of the Bible; Ellicott on Eph 6:21; Lightfoot here, and p. 11 of his Philippians.
a beloved brother ] Lit., and better, the &c. So in Ephesians. The article indicates a certain speciality; almost as if it were “ that beloved brother, &c.”
faithful minister ] Greek, diaconos. So in Ephesians. On the word, see note above, on Col 1:7; and on Eph 6:21. The word here (and in Eph.) points probably to Tychicus’ personal helping attendance on the Apostle.
and fellowservant ] A designation not given in Ephesians.
On the word see note above on Col 1:7, where Epaphras is similarly denoted. It is interesting to find these two Asiatic saints alike described by their discriminating father in God as eminently known for active unselfish service. Lightfoot gives the fact that the term fellowservant was a customary address, in the early Church, from a bishop to a deacon ( diaconos) ; probably because of its use here and Col 1:7; an interesting instance of the birth and growth of formula.
in the Lord ] His life, and work, was conditioned and animated by his union with Christ and His Church.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you – See these verses explained in the notes at Eph 6:21-22.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Col 4:7-11
All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you.
Christian commendations and salutations
What is in a name! Nothing, is the ordinary reply, but there may be much. The names of Solomon, Alexander, Napoleon, and Paul are associated with important events in history. Each is a record, and stirs up admiration, desire, dislike, or sorrow as the case may be. If the names of great men interest us, those of the good men who shared the labours of St. Paul may also do so. Those labours are more important than the conquests of captains and the speculations of philosophers. Note–
I. The value of Christian friendship. True friendship will–
1. Show a kindly interest in the welfare of its objects. Paul had such an interest in the Colossians and vice versa.
2. Mutual interest will lead to reciprocal communications. Paul could not go to Colossae so he sent Tychicus and Onesimus to inform them of himself and the affairs of Christs kingdom, to comfort them and bring back a report.
3. Distance and difficulty will not be allowed to stand in the way. Colossae was far off and Paul was in prison, but both were surmounted.
4. Written messages will not be allowed to supersede personal communications when the latter are practicable. So Paul sent his Epistle by trusted friends who were charged also with verbal communications, better spoken than written,
II. The propriety of Christian commendations. In naming the two messengers he speaks of them in high terms, but not in the style of fulsome eulogy.
1. Tychicus is
(1) a beloved brother which indicates his relation to the Church.
(2) Faithful minister, or attendant, which indicates his relation to the Apostle as a trusty helper.
(3) Fellow servant in the Lord, which indicates his relation to Christ–a coadjutor of the apostle in the service of the same Master.
2. Onesimus, the whilom runaway slave, is now a faithful and beloved brother a commendation which would secure for him the welcome that he sorely needed.
3. The spirit of this commendation should be cultivated. The true ground of honour is not in a mans social standing, but in his moral worth and relation to Christ.
III. The force of Christian salutations.
1. Christianity sanctifies the commonest things. How common for us to send our respects to some friend through the letter of another. Give him my kind regards, etc. We have only to think of St. Paul as here using the expressions equivalent in his day. Little did these good men think that their simple expressions of affection would be handed down to prove the sympathy and the unity of the Church throughout the world and time.
2. The saluting brethren were Jews, which would show to the Gentile Church that they had learned what the apostle would teach them, not to call anything that God had cleansed common or unclean.
IV. The solace of christian co-operation.
1. Loneliness is very depressing, but the apostle was spared this.
2. Co-operation in labour divides its burden and ensures success.
3. Unity in Christian toil brings the greatest in touch with the humblest, and gives the humblest a share in the glory of the greatest. (J. Spence, D. D.)
Side lights on Church life in the early times
A straw will indicate the direction of a current; a bit of glass will reveal a star; a kick of the foot may discover a treasure; a word, a look, an involuntary movement will disclose the leading tendency of an individual character; so, on the crowded stage of life it is not always gigantic and public scenes that are most instructive, but rather trivial, undesigned incidents unnoticed by an ordinary observer. We learn–
I. Christian sympathy.
1. As fostering mutual interest in tidings concerning the work of God. The apostle, though in prison and separated from the Colossians, does not abate anything of his interest in their welfare.
2. As a source of encouragement and strength in the Christian life. That he might know your estate and comfort your heart.
II. Christian commendation (verse 7)
. The apostle speaks of his two messengers in a way calculated to ensure their favourable reception by the Colossians, and a respectful attention to their message.
III. Christian courtesy. Those who sent their salutations were of the circumcision. The Christian spirit triumphed over their prejudices, and their greeting would be all the more valued as an expression of their personal esteem, their brotherly affection, and their oneness in Christ. That courtesy is most refined, graceful, gentle, and acceptable that springs from a Christian spirit.
IV. Christian helpfulness (verse 11). How consoling is the sympathy and co-operation of a faithful few. (G. Barlow.)
The sympathetic spirit.
I.
II. Christian sympathy will seek and find outlet and manifestation.
1. Pauls heart is touched with sympathy; how can he show it. He is a prisoner. It is true he clings to the hope of revisiting Asia, but sympathy does not like delays. And as he cannot go himself he sends Tychicus as his deputy. Here, as in other things, Where theres a will theres a way.
2. Where there is genuine sympathy the best way for its manifestation will somehow open up. That was the ease here. Tychicus was an Asiatic (Act 20:4)
, and was therefore a convenient messenger. Perhaps he had offered himself for the mission. And besides, Onesimus had to go to Colossae to his master.
III. Christian sympathy is hard to satisfy. When it is at full heat it does not ask how little, but how much it may do. The letter itself indicates the deepest thought and care for their welfare; but this is not enough. Tychicus and Onesimus must be bearers of oral messages of comfort. You manifest sympathy as you run down a steep hill. When once you set off you must go on; only there is this difference, when the foot of the hill is reached you stop, but in the path of love there is no stopping.
IV. The sympathetic spirit will as a rule act wisely. The messenger in this case was the best who could have been selected.
1. He was the beloved brother (Eph 6:21); a brother who had a large heart, and who, consequently, had insinuated himself into the good graces of his fellow Christians. He was a favourite among them, they all liked him, and so he was just the man to send.
2. He was a faithful minister. The apostle speaks from personal experience. Tychicus had taken care of Paul, and was therefore a tried man. His conscience was as largo as his heart; his kindness was not at the expense of his justice. Faithfulness was needed at Colossae as much as kindness, her Paul had a great conflict about that Church.
3. A fellow servant. Whoever went to Colossae must be armed with authority, and therefore Paul places the messenger on the same footing as himself.
V. The sympathetic spirit is both contagious and infectious. Some things are contagious which are not infectious; sympathy is both. Tychicus and Onesimus caught it; it was conveyed to the distant Colossians. I can touch my neighbour and make him sympathetic too, i.e., if there be any affinity between us; and I can also send its electric current to my friend thousands of miles away. It can be transmitted by the simplest implement–a pen.
VI. The sympathetic spirit never fails. It is a form of charity. It is like the sun–only let it shine on, and as it shines stronger and stronger, the hard frost will relax its deadly grasp, winter will disappear, and spring with its flowers and music will come.
VII. We can all acquire the sympathetic spirit. There is nothing to show that Tychicus was a great man. He was not an apostle, but he had a large warm heart. If we cannot render Christ head service we can heart service. (A. Scott.)
Tychicus and Onesimus, the letter bearers
I. Tychicus.
1. The man and his mission. He was probably one of the fruits of the apostles residence in Ephesus. On his way to Jerusalem after the riot he was joined by seven friends. Tychicus was one of the two from Asia; the other was Trophinius, whom we know to have been an Ephesian (Act 21:29), as Tychicus probably was. This was about 58 A.D. Then came an interval of three or four years, and then the apostle is in Rome. Whether Tychicus was with him all the time we do not know, but these verses, written a.d. 62 or 63, imply a considerable period of service. He is now sent to Colossae. The same words are employed about him in the contemporaneous letter to the Ephesians. Evidently, then, he carried both letters on the same journey, and one reason was that he was a native of the province, and probably of Ephesus. You go, Tychicus. It is your home; they all know you. The most careful students now think that the Ephesian Epistle was meant to go the round of the Churches of Asia Minor, beginning with Ephesus. If that be so Tychicus would necessarily come to Laodicea, which was only a few miles from Colossae, and so could conveniently deliver this Epistle. After this we get two more glimpses of the man; one in the Epistle to Titus, when the apostle intended to despatch him to Crete, and the last in 2Ti 4:2 (a.d. 67). Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus, as if he had said, Now go home, my friend! You have been a faithful servant for ten years. I need you no more. Take my blessing. God be with you! So they parted–he that was for death to die I and he that was for life, to live and treasure the memory of Paul for the rest of his days.
2. His character and work.
(1) As for his personal godliness and goodness, he is a beloved brother, as are all who love Christ.
(2) He was a faithful minister or personal attendant. Paul always seems to have had one or two such about him. Probably he was no great hand at managing affairs, and needed a plain common-sense nature to act as secretary and factotum. Men of genius, and men devoted to some great cause, want some person to fill such a homely office. Common sense, willingness to be troubled with small secular details, and hearty love for the chief, and desire to spare him, were the qualifications. Such probably was Tychicus–no orator, thinker, organizer, but a plain soul who did not shrink from rough work if it would help the cause.
(3) He was a fellow-servant in the Lord. As if he had said, Do not suppose there is much difference between us. We have both, as I have been reminding you, a common Master. The delicacy of the term thus given to the commendation is a beautiful indication of Pauls chivalrous nature. No wonder that such a soul bound men like Tychicus to him.
3. Lessons.
(1) Small things done for Christ are great. In some powerful engine there is a little screw, and if it drop out the huge piston cannot rise nor the huge crank turn. There is a great rudder that steers an ironclad. It moves on a pintle a few inches long. If that bit of iron were gone what would be the use of the ship. There is an old jingle about losing a shoe for the want of a nail, a horse for want of a shoe, a man for want of a horse, a battle for want of a man, a kingdom for loss of a battle. The intervening links may be left out–and the nail and the kingdom brought together. What is the use of writing letters if you cannot get them delivered? It takes both Paul and Tychicus to get the letter into the hands of the Colossians.
(2) The sacredness of secular work done for Christ. When Tychicus is caring for Paul, his work is in the Lord. The distinction between sacred and secular, like that of great and small, disappears from work done for and in Jesus. All done for the same God is the same in essence, for it is all worship.
(3) Fleeting things done for Christ are eternal. How astonished Tychicus would have been if anybody had told him that those two precious letters in his scrip would outlast all the pomp of the city, and that his name, because written in them, would be known to the end of time all over the world.
(a) They are eternal in Christs memory, however they may fall from mans remembrance.
(b) They are perpetual in their consequences.
True, no mans contribution to the sum of righteousness can very long be traced, any more than the rain-drop that refreshed the harebell can be traced in a burn, or river, or sea; but it is there. The Colossian Church, with its sisters, is gone; but Christian men all over the world owe something to Tychicus care. Paul meant to teach a handful of obscure believers; he has edified a world.
(4) As the reward is given not to the outward deed, but to the motive which settles its value, all work done from the same motive is alike in reward, however different in form. Paul in the front, Tychicus in the rear, shall share alike at last. He that receiveth a prophet, etc.
II. Onesimus.
1. The man and his character. He is the same as we read of in Philemon. He had been a good-for-nothing servant, and apparently had robbed his master and then fled to Rome. Somehow or other he had found Paul, and Pauls master had found him. And now he goes back to his owner. With beautiful considerateness the apostle unites him with Tychicus, and refers the Church to him as an authority. But with sensitive regard he omits the fellow-slave, which might have hurt, but he cannot leave out the faithful, because Onesimus had been eminently unfaithful. There is no reference to his flight, etc. The Church has nothing to do with these, only Philemon.
2. Lessons.
(1) The transforming power of Christianity. Slaves had well-known vices of which Onesimus had his full share. Think of him as he left Colossae; and think of him as he went back Pauls trusted representative. What had happened? Nothing but this–the message had come to Him. Onesimus! Christ has died for thee and lives to bless thee. Believest thou this? And he believed. It had changed his whole being, He is a living illustration of Pauls teaching, lie is dead with Christ to his old self; he lives with Christ a new life. The gospel can do that. Nothing else can. The gospel despairs of none; none are beyond its power.
(2) The power the gospel has of binding men into a true brotherhood. We can scarcely picture to ourselves the gulf which separated master from slave; Christianity gathered both into one family. All true union must be based on oneness in Christ. The world must recognize that One is your Master, before it comes to believe that All ye are brethren. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Tychicus
was a native of proconsular Asia (Act 20:4)
, and perhaps of Ephesus (2Ti 4:12). He is found with St. Paul at three different epochs in his life.
1. He accompanied him when on his way east ward at the close of the third missionary journey, a.d. 58 (Act 20:4), and probably, like Trophimus (Act 21:29), went with him to Jerusalem. It is probable that Tychicus, together with others mentioned among Pauls numerous retinue on this occasion, was a delegate appointed by his own Church according to the apostles injunctions (1Co 16:3-4), to bear the contributions of his brethren to the poor Christians of Judaea; and, if so, he may possibly be the person commended as the brother, etc. (2Co 8:18).
2. We find Tychicus again in St. Pauls company here, probably towards the end of the first Roman captivity, a.d. 62, 63.
8. Once more at the close of St. Pauls life (about a.d. 671 he appears again to have associated himself with the apostle (Tit 3:12; 2Ti 4:12). Tychicus is not so common a name as some others, but it is found occasionally in inscriptions which belong to Asia Minor, and persons bearing it are commemorated on coins. (Bp. Lightfoot.)
Value of a comforter
But so have I seen the sun kiss the frozen earth, which was bound up with the images of death, and the colder breath of the north; and then the waters break from their enclosures, and melt with joy, and run in useful channels; and the flies do rise again from their little graves in walls, and dance a while in the air, to tell that there is joy within, and that the great Mother of creatures will open the stock of her new refreshment, become useful to mankind, and sing praises to her Redeemer. So is the heart of a sorrowful man under the discourses of a wise comforter. He breaks from the despairs of the grave, and the fetters and chains of sorrow; he blesses God, and he blesses thee, and he feels his life returning; for to be miserable is death, but nothing is life but to be comforted. And God is pleased with no music from below so much as in the thanksgiving songs of relieved widows, of supported orphans, of rejoicing and comforted and thankful persons. (Bp. Taylor.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. All my state shall Tychicus] See the note on Eph 6:21. Tychicus well knew the apostle’s zeal and perseverance in preaching the Gospel, his sufferings on that account, his success in converting both Jews and Gentiles, and the converts which were made in Caesar’s household; he could give these to the Colossians in ample detail, and some of them it would not have been prudent to commit to writing.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you: the apostle drawing to a conclusion, that he at so great distance might certify them of his love to them, and care for them, doth here acquaint them that with this Epistle he was sending two persons of integrity, for their satisfaction and his, viz. Tychicus, an Asiatic, their countryman and his fellow traveller, Act 20:4, whom he sometimes sent to others, 2Ti 4:12; Tit 3:12, who would give them to understand what circumstances he was in, and all his affairs: see Eph 6:21,22.
Who is a beloved brother; whom he recommends to them as being a good man, a brother, as Timothy, Col 1:1, and Epaphroditus, Phi 2:25, beloved of the people.
And a faithful minister; and whom he had experimentally found to be a faithful deacon, in the larger acceptation, or minister, i.e. of Jesus Christ, and his messenger.
And fellow servant in the Lord; and owned as his colleague, or
fellow servant in the Lord, that they might more kindly receive him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. Tychicus(See on Eph6:2).
who is a belovedbrotherrather, “the beloved brother”; the article”the” marks him as well known to them.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you,…. This Tychicus was an Asian by birth; see Ac 20:4. His name signifies “fortunate”, and is the same with “Fortunatus” in Latin, which name is mentioned in 1Co 16:17 whether he is the same person may be inquired. It is said that this Tychicus was one of the seventy disciples, and was afterwards bishop of Chalcedon. However, he was employed by the apostle as a messenger to Colosse, as he also was to Ephesus, see Eph 6:21, to inform the members of the church of his state and condition, how it was with him; as that he was in prison at Rome, for the sake of the Gospel, which he continued to abide by, and held fast the profession of, not being in the least moved and intimidated by what he suffered, being supported by the presence of Christ, and the discoveries of his love; and therefore, though his outward state was very mean and uncomfortable, yet the inward state of his soul was right and good; the inward man was renewed day by day. He might also send word by him what his thoughts were about his deliverance, or his dissolution, and what expectation he had of either of these: and that they might give the greater credit to what Tychicus should relate from him, he gives him the following character,
who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister: the same character is given of him in Eph 6:21
[See comments on Eph 6:21] to which is here added,
and fellow servant in the Lord; he was a “brother” in Christ, being a partaker of the same grace, and in the same spiritual relation; and “beloved” of God, and Christ, of all the churches and saints that knew him, and especially by the apostle; and was also a “minister” of the Gospel, a preacher of Jesus Christ, and a “faithful” one to Christ, to his Gospel, and the souls of men; than which a greater character cannot well be given: and though the apostle was endued with such superior gifts, grace, and usefulness; yet he calls this ministering brother a “fellow servant in the Lord”; he having a commission to preach from the same Lord, and having the same Gospel intrusted with him, and being engaged in the same good work, and having the same ends in view, the glory of Christ, and the good of souls; though he had not equal abilities and qualifications, and was not in the same high post and office as an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Various Salutations. | A. D. 62. |
7 All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: 8 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; 9 With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here. 10 Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) 11 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. 12 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. 13 For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you. 15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. 16 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. 17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it. 18 The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.
In the close of this epistle the apostle does several of his friends the honour to leave their names upon record, with some testimony of his respect, which will be spoken of wherever the gospel comes, and last to the end of the world.
I. Concerning Tychicus, v. 7. By him this epistle was sent; and he does not give them an account in writing of his present state, because Tychicus would do it by word of mouth more fully and particularly. He knew they would be glad to hear how it fared with him. The churches cannot but be concerned for good ministers and desirous to know their state. He gives him this character, A beloved brother and faithful minister. Paul, though a great apostle, owns a faithful minister for a brother and a beloved brother. Faithfulness in any one is truly lovely, and renders him worthy our affection and esteem. And a fellow-servant in the Lord. Ministers are servants to Christ, and fellow-servants to one another. They have one Lord, though they have different stations and capacities of service. Observe, It adds much to the beauty and strength of the gospel ministry when ministers are thus loving and condescending one to another, and by all just means support and advance one another’s reputation. Paul sent him not only to tell them of his affairs, but to bring him an account of theirs: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts, v. 8. He was willing to hear from them as they could be to hear from him, and thought himself as much obliged to sympathize with them as he thought them obliged to sympathize with him. It is a great comfort, under the troubles and difficulties of life, to have the mutual concern of fellow-christians.
II. Concerning Onesimus (v. 9): With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. He was sent back from Rome along with Tychicus. This was he whom Paul had begotten in his bonds, Philem. 10. He had been servant to Philemon, and was a member, if not a minister, of their church. He was converted at Rome, whither he had fled from his master’s service; and was now sent back, it is probable, with the epistle to Philemon, to introduce him again into his master’s family. Observe, Though he was a poor servant, and had been a bad man, yet, being now a convert, Paul calls him a faithful and beloved brother. The meanest circumstance of life, and greatest wickedness of former life, make no difference in the spiritual relation among sincere Christians: they partake of the same privileges, and are entitles to the same regards. The righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ is unto all and upon all those that believe; for there is no difference (Rom. iii. 22): and there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond nor free, for you are all one in Christ Jesus, Gal. iii. 28. Perhaps this was some time after he was converted and sent back to Philemon, and by this time he had entered into the ministry, because Paul calls him a brother.
III. Aristarchus, a fellow-prisoner. Those who join in services and sufferings should be thereby engaged to one another in holy love. Paul had a particular affection for his fellow-servants and his fellow-prisoners.
IV. Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas. This is supposed to be the same who wrote the gospel which bears his name. If he come unto you receive him. Paul had a quarrel with Barnabas upon the account of this Mark, who was his nephew, and thought not good to take him with them, because he departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work, Acts xv. 38. He would not take Mark with him, but took Silas, because Mark had deserted them; and yet Paul is not only reconciled to him himself, but recommends him to the respect of the churches, and gives a great example of a truly Christian forgiving spirit. If men have been guilty of a fault, it must not be always remembered against them. We must forget as well as forgive. If a man be overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, Gal. vi. 1.
V. Here is one who is called Jesus, which is the Greek name for the Hebrew Joshua. If Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterwards have spoken of another day, Heb. iv. 8. Who is called Justus. It is probable that he changed his name for that of Justus, in honour to the name of the Redeemer. Or else Jesus was his Jewish name, for he was of the circumcision; and Justus his Roman or Latin name. These are my fellow-labourers unto the kingdom of God, who have been a comfort unto me. Observe, What comfort the apostle had in the communion of saints and ministers! One is his fellow-servant, another his fellow-prisoner, and all his fellow-workers, who were working out their own salvation and endeavouring to promote the salvation of others. Good ministers take great comfort in those who are their fellow-workers unto the kingdom of God. Their friendship and converse together are a great refreshment under the sufferings and difficulties in their way.
VI. Epaphras (v. 12), the same with Epaphroditus. He is one of you, one of your church; he salutes you, or sends his service to you, and his best affections and wishes. Always labouring fervently for you in prayers. Epaphras had learned of Paul to be much in prayer for his friends. Observe, 1. In what manner he prayed for them. He laboured in prayer, laboured fervently, and always laboured fervently for them. Those who would succeed in prayer must take pains in prayer; and we must be earnest in prayer, not only for ourselves, but for others also. It is the effectual fervent prayer which is the prevailing prayer, and availeth much (Jam. v. 16), and Elias prayed earnestly that it might not rain, v. 17. 2. What is the matter of this prayer: That you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. Observe, To stand perfect and complete in the will of God is what we should earnestly desire both for ourselves and others. We must stand complete in all the will of God; in the will of his precepts by a universal obedience, and in the will of his providence by a cheerful submission to it: and we stand perfect and complete in both by constancy and perseverance unto the end. The apostle was witness for Epaphras that he had a great zeal for them: “I bear him record; I can testify for him that he has a great concern for you, and that all he does for you proceeds from a warm desire for your good.” And his zeal extended to all about them: to those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis. He had a great concern for the Christian interest in the neighbouring places, as well as among them.
VII. Luke is another here mentioned, whom he calls the beloved physician. This is he who wrote the Gospel and Acts, and was Paul’s companion. Observe, He was both a physician and an evangelist. Christ himself both taught and healed, and was the great physician as well as prophet of the church. He was the beloved physician; one who recommended himself more than ordinary to the affections of his friends. Skill in physic is a useful accomplishment in a minister and may be improved to more extensive usefulness and greater esteem among Christians.
VIII. Demas. Whether this was written before the second epistle to Timothy or after is not certain. There we read (2 Tim. iv. 10), Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world. Some have thought that this epistle was written after; and then it is an evidence that, though Demas forsook Paul, yet he did not forsake Christ; or he forsook him but for a time, and recovered himself again, and Paul forgave him and owned him as a brother. But others think more probably that this epistle was written before the other; this in anno 62, that in 66, and then it is an evidence how considerable a man Demas was, who yet afterwards revolted. Many who have made a great figure in profession, and gained a great name among Christians, have yet shamefully apostatized: They went forth from us, because they were not of us, 1 John ii. 19.
IX. The brethren in Laodicea are here mentioned, as living in the neighbourhood of Colosse: and Paul sends salutations to them, and orders that this epistle should be read in the church of the Laodiceans (v. 16), that a copy of it should be sent thither, to be read publicly in their congregation. And some think Paul sent another epistle at this time to Laodicea, and ordered them to send for that from Laodicea, and read it in their church: And that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. If so, that epistle is now lost, and did not belong to the canon; for all the epistles which the apostles ever wrote were not preserved, any more than the words and actions of our blessed Lord. There are many other things which Jesus did, which if they should be written every one, I suppose the world itself could not contain the books which would be written, John xxi. 25. But some think it was the epistle to the Ephesians, which is still extant.
X. Nymphas is mentioned (v. 15) as one who lived at Colosse, and had a church in his house; that is, either a religious family, where the several parts of worship were daily performed; or some part of the congregation met there, when they had no public places of worship allowed, and they were forced to assemble in private houses for fear of their enemies. The disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews (John xx. 19), and the apostle preached in his own lodging and hired house,Act 28:23; Act 28:30. In the former sense it showed his exemplary piety; in the latter his zeal and public spirit.
XI. Concerning Archippus, who was one of their ministers at Colosse. They are bidden to admonish him to mind his work as a minister, to take heed to it, and to fulfil it–to be diligent and careful of all the parts of it, and to persevere in it unto the end. They must attend to the main design of their ministry, without troubling themselves or the people with things foreign to it, or of less moment. Observe, (1.) The ministry we have received is a great honour; for it is received in the Lord, and is by his appointment and command. (2.) Those who have received it must fulfil it, or do the full duty of it. Those betray their trust, and will have a sad account at last, who do this work of the Lord negligently. (3.) The people may put their ministers in mind of their duty, and excite them to it: Say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry, though no doubt with decency and respect, not from pride and conceit.
XII. Concerning himself (v. 18): The salutation of me Paul. Remember my bonds. He had a scribe to write all the rest of the epistle, but these words he wrote with his own hand: Remember my bonds. He does not say, “Remember I am a prisoner, and send me supply;” but, “Remember I am in bonds as the apostle of the Gentiles, and let this confirm your faith in the gospel of Christ:” it adds weight to this exhortation: I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy, Eph. iv. 1. “Grace be with you. The favour of God, and all good, the blessed fruits and effects of it, be with you, and be your portion.”
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
All my affairs ( ‘ ). “All the things relating to me.” The accusative case the object of . The same idiom in Acts 25:14; Phil 1:2.
Tychicus (). Mentioned also in Eph 6:21 as the bearer of that Epistle and with the same verb (future active of ) and with the same descriptive epithet as here ( , the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord) except that here we have also (and fellow-servant). Abbott suggests that Paul adds because he had used it of Epaphras in 1:7. Perhaps goes with both substantives and means faithful to Paul as well as to Christ.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Tychicus. Mentioned Act 20:4; Eph 6:21; 2Ti 4:12; Tit 3:12.
Minister [] . Probably to Paul himself. Compare Act 19:22; Act 20:4. Scarcely in the official sense of deacon.
Fellow – servant [] . Used by Paul only here and ch. 1 7, of Epaphras. By this term he designates Tychicus as, in common with himself, a servant of Jesus Christ. Probably not with a strict, but with a quasi official reference.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP GREETINGS V. 7-18
1) “All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you” (ta kat I eme panta gnorisei humin Tuchikos) “Tychicus will make known to you all the things about me;” Tychicus was from the province of Asia Minor, mentioned in Act 20:4; Eph 6:21; 2Ti 4:12; Tit 3:12.
2) “The beloved brother” (ho agapetos adelphos) “The beloved brother;” the term brother is usually taken to express his relation to the Church. See Eph 6:21.
3) “And faithful minister” (kai pistos diakonos) “and faithful minister, even a worker in common things,” to help provide Paul’s physical needs. The term minister is derived from (Gk diakonos) meaning a physical helper in material things, needs. In such Tychicus had been faithful to Paul.
4) “And fellowservant in the Lord” (kai sundoulos en kurio) “colleague-slave in the Lord;” or fellowservant. Tychicus had been a very close slave-like intimate laborer with Paul in his prison ministry, and delivery of messages to sister churches who had supported him, 2Ti 4:12; Tit 3:12. He is also thought to have been imprisoned with Paul for a time, due to Paul’s use of this term (sundoulos). He had perhaps been arrested, imprisoned, and detained for a while, then released, after which he remained in Rome to work, witness and help care for Paul’s prison needs.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
7 My things. That the Colossians may know what concern he has for them, he confirms them, by giving them, in a manner, a pledge. For although he was in prison, and was in danger of his life, making care for himself a secondary matter, he consults for their interests by sending Tychicus to them. In this the singular zeal, no less than prudence of the holy Apostle, shines forth; for it is no small matter that, while he is held prisoner, and is in the most imminent danger on account of the gospel, he, nevertheless, does not cease to employ himself in advancing the gospel, and takes care of all the Churches. Thus, the body, indeed, is under confinement, but the mind, anxious to employ itself in everything good, roams far and wide. His prudence shews itself in his sending a fit and prudent person to confirm them, as far as was necessary, and withstand the craftiness of the false apostles; and, farther, in his retaining Epaphras beside himself, until they should come to learn what and how great an agreement there was in doctrine among all true teachers, and might hear from Tychicus the same thing that they had previously learned from Epaphras. Let us carefully meditate on these examples, that they may stir us up to all imitation of the like pursuit.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
Col. 4:11. A comfort to me.The word for comfort is only found in this place in the New Testament. It is a medical term, and points to relief given in sufferingthen, by way of ministering to a mind diseased or in trouble, is used of the speech which soothes and calms.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Col. 4:7-11
Side-lights on Church-life in the Early Times.
A straw will indicate the direction of a current; a bit of glass will reveal a star; a kick of the foot may discover a treasure that will enrich successive generations; a word, a look, an involuntary movement will disclose the leading tendency of an individual character; so on the crowded stage of life it is not always the gigantic and public scenes that are most suggestive and instructive, but rather the trivial, undesigned incidents which are unnoticed by an ordinary observer. A reflective mind will pick up material for thought from the most unexpected and unpromising quarters. The apostle has finished the grand argument of the epistle, and shown the importance of certain duties which grow out of the reception of the truths enforced. In approaching the conclusion, he appears to be chiefly occupied with a mass of personal and miscellaneous matters. The few remaining verses contain little else but a series of names, with the briefest qualifying phrases attached. But here and there light is thrown on truths which, though familiar, are all the more strongly impressed on our minds because of their evident antiquity. In these verses there are sidelights thrown on Church-life in the early times with reference to Christian sympathy, commendations, courtesy, and co-operation. We learn:
I. The value of Christian sympathy.
1. As fostering mutual interest in tidings concerning the work of God. All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose; shall make known unto you all things which are done here (Col. 4:7-9). The apostle, though in prison and separated by a long distance from the Colossians, does not abate anything of his interest in their welfare. He had received tidings of their condition as a Church; of their steadfastness, successes, and perils; and he was sure that intelligence from him would be eagerly welcomed by them. He therefore despatched Tychicus and Onesimus, who could furnish more details concerning the apostle, the exemplary spirit in which he bore his sufferings, his profound anxiety on behalf of the Churches and the progress of the gospel in Rome, than were contained in the epistle they carried. A heart, touched with a genuine Christian sympathy, rejoices in the extension of the work of God, in whatever part of the world, and by whatever Christian agency. The mutual interchange of intelligence tends to excite the interest, promote the union, and stimulate the enterprise of the Churches.
2. As a source of encouragement and strength in the Christian life.That he might know your estate and comfort your heart (Col. 4:8). Instead of that he might know your estate, another reading of the original, adopted by Lightfoot and other eminent critics, has that ye might know our affairs. But, as Bishop Wordsworth remarks, the very purpose for which Paul sent Tychicus to the Colossians was not, it would seem, in order that they might know how St. Paul was faring, but that he might know whether they were standing steadfast in the faith against the attempts of the false teachers. Whichever reading is adopted, the practical lesson is the same; both express the reality, strength, and beauty of a mutual sympathy. The presence of Tychicus and Onesimus, the character of the tidings they brought, and the fervour of their exhortations, would encourage and reassure the Colossians amid the perplexities and doubts occasioned by the false teachers. Mutual expression of sympathy and intercommunity of intelligence will do much to comfort and edify the Churches.
II. The appropriateness of Christian commendation (Col. 4:7).The apostle speaks highly of his two messengersnot in terms of extravagant flattery, but in a way calculated to ensure their favourable reception by the Colossians and a respectful attention to their message. Tychicus was a native of proconsular Asia, perhaps of Ephesus. He was well known as an authorised delegate of St. Paul, and is mentioned in other places as being with the apostle (Act. 20:4; 2Ti. 4:12; Tit. 3:12). He is spoken of in this verse as a beloved brother, a faithful minister, a fellow-servant in the Lord. The great apostle, far from taking advantage of his exalted calling and inspiration, humbled himself before the least of his brethren, spoke in the highest terms of their faithful labours, and associated them with his own. Onesimus, a Colossian, is commended as a faithful and beloved brother. It was the more needful he should be thus commended, because if he was known to the Colossians at all it would be as a worthless, runaway slave. Some time before, Onesimus had forsaken his master Philemon, and fled to Romethe common sink of all nationsprobably as a convenient hiding-place where he might escape detection among its crowds, and make a livelihood as best he could. In the metropolisperhaps accidentally, perhaps through the intervention of Epaphrashe fell in with the apostle, his masters old friend. St. Paul becomes interested in his case, instructs him in the gospel, and is the instrument of his conversion; and now he is commended to the Colossians, no more as a good-for-nothing slave, but as a brother; no more dishonest and faithless, but trustworthy; no more an object of contempt, but love. The apostle sent him back to his master Philemon, and it is generally thought, having been set at liberty by his owner, he became a faithful and laborious minister of Christ. Such is the transforming power of divine grace in changing and renewing the heart, in obliterating all former distinctions and degradations, and in elevating a poor slave to the dignity of a faithful and beloved brother of the greatest of apostles. Christian commendations are valuable according to the character of the persons from whom they issue, and as they are borne out in the subsequent conduct of the persons commended. Every care should be taken that the testimonial of recommendation is strictly true. It is putting a man in a false position and doing him an injury to exaggerate his qualifications by excessive eulogy.
III. Suggestive examples of Christian courtesy.Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sisters son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) and Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision (Col. 4:10-11). Aristarchus was a Jew, though a native of Thessalonica. He was with Paul during the riot at Ephesus, and was hurried with Gaius into the theatre by Demetrius and his craftsmen. He accompanied the apostle from Greece to Jerusalem with the collection for the saints. When Paul was imprisoned in Judea, he abode with him; and when he went into Italy, he also went and remained with him there during his confinement, till at length he became, it may be, obnoxious to the magistrates, and was cast into prison; or perhaps he became a voluntary prisoner, that he might share the apostles captivity. What a glimpse have we Here of heroic devotion, and of the irresistible charm there must have been in the apostle in attaching men to himself! Marcus was the John Mark frequently referred to in the Acts of the Apostles. He had been the occasion of a contention between Paul and Barnabas, which led to their separating from each other and following different scenes of labour. Mark had, from cowardice or some other motive, departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them out to the work; and when Barnabas, probably influenced by his affection as near kinsman, wished to take him with them, Paul resolutely refused thus to distinguish a young and unstable disciple. But from the reference here it appears that Mark had repented of his timid and selfish behaviour and returned to a better spirit. Perhaps the displeasure of the apostle weighed upon his mind, and, with Barnabas prayers and example, had brought him to a right view of his misconduct. He was now restored to the apostles confidence, and it appears Paul had already given directions to the Colossians concerning Mark to welcome him heartily if he paid them a visittouching whom ye received commandments: if he come to you, receive him. The third Hebrew convert who united in sending salutations was Jesus, which was also called Justusa common name or surname of Jews and proselytes, denoting obedience and devotion to the law. Nothing definite is known of this person; but the apostle held him in such esteem as to join his salutation with the rest. These three friends and companions of Paul were Jewsthey were of the circumcision; and yet they send their salutations to a Church composed chiefly of Gentiles. The Christian spirit triumphed over their deep-rooted prejudices, and their greeting would be all the more valued as an expression of their personal esteem, their brotherly affection, and their oneness in Christ. That courtesy is the most refined, graceful, gentle, and acceptable that springs from the Christian spirit.
IV. The solace of Christian co-operation.These only are my fellow-workers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me (Col. 4:11). The tendency of the Jewish convert was to lean to the Mosaic ritual, and insist on its necessity in realising the efficacy of the gospel. They thus favoured the false philosophy of the Jewish Platonists, and fell into the errors against which the apostle so faithfully warns in this epistle. The action of the Judaizing teachers and their sympathisers was often a grief and hindrance to him. Of all the Jewish converts in Rome only three were a comfort to him. They thoroughly embraced and advocated the free and unconditional admission of the Gentiles into the Church of Christ, and were devoted and zealous fellow-workers with him in extending the kingdom of God. It is an evidence of the unpopularity among the Jews of the gospel as intended equally for the Gentiles, and of the formidable prejudices and difficulties with which the apostle had to contend in that early time, that there were only three Hebrew converts who were a comfort to him. And yet how consoling is the sympathy and co-operation of the faithful few! Sometimes the noblest men are deserted by timid and time-serving professors, and left to toil on alone in peril and sadness. History records the triumphs of those who have successfully braved the solitary struggle in some great crisis; but it is silent about the vanquished who, with broken hearts and shattered intellects, have sunk into unchronicled oblivion.
Lessons.
1. Christian experience is the same in all ages.
2. True courtesy costs little and accomplishes much. 3. Genuine sympathy is best shown by an active and self-denying co-operation.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Outline of 4:718
F.
Conclusion (Personal notes); Col. 4:7-18
1.
Notes about Tychichus and Onesimus; Col. 4:7-9
a.
Tychicus will make known my affairs; Col. 4:7
b.
Tychicus was sent for this; Col. 4:8
(1)
That you may know our state.
(2)
That your hearts may be comforted.
a.
Onesimus is sent with Tychicus; Col. 4:9
(1)
Onesimus is a faithful and beloved brother,
(2)
They will make known the things here.
2.
Greetings from Pauls companions; Col. 4:10-14
a.
Jewish companions; Col. 4:10-11
(1)
Aristarchus; Col. 4:10 a
(2)
Mar. 10:1-52 b
(3)
Jesus called Justus; Col. 4:11
b.
Non-Jewish companions; Col. 4:12-14
(1)
Epaphras: Col. 4:12-13
(a)
He strives for you; Col. 4:12
(b)
He has much zeal for you and others; Col. 4:13
(2)
Luk. 4:14
(3)
Demas; Col. 4:14
3.
Instructions to the Col. 4:15-17
a.
Salute the brethren in Laodicea; Col. 4:15 a
b.
Salute Nymphas; Col. 4:15 b
c.
Read this epistle also in Laodicea; Col. 4:16 a
d.
Read the epistle from Laodicea; Col. 4:16 b
e.
Tell Archippus to fulfill his ministry; Col. 4:7
4.
Pauls salutation and benediction; Col. 4:18.
7. All my affairs shall Tychicus make known unto you, the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord: 8. whom I have sent unto you for this very purpose, that ye may know our state, and that he may comfort your hearts; 9. together with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things that are done here.
Translation and Paraphrase
7. Tychicus (the man who delivered Ephesians before he came to you) will make known to you all the things involving me. (He is) the beloved brother and faithful servant (or minister) in the Lord (Jesus).
8. (So ask your questions of Tychicus.) I have sent him to you for this very reason, that you may know the news concerning us, and that he may comfort (and exhort) your hearts.
9. Along with (Tychicus I have sent) Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is (now one) of you (though he was a slave). They (Tychicus and Onesimus) will make known to you the things (going on) here (in Rome).
Notes
1.
Col. 4:7-9 tells of Tychicus and Onesimus. Tychicus delivered the letter to the Colossians from Paul in Rome, and he also delivered the epistle to the Ephesians on the same trip. Onesimus was a slave who had fled to Rome. In Rome he met Paul, and was converted to Christ. Paul sent Onesimus back to his master Philemon, who lived in Colossae. Onesimus was given the short epistle to Philemon, which we have in our New Testament. This letter requested Philemon to forgive him and receive him back as a brother in the Lord. Onesimus and Tychicus travelled together to Colossae. (Notice the drawings inside the covers of this book relating to Onesimus and Tychicus.)
2.
Besides their work of delivering epistles, Tychicus and Onesimus were appointed to tell the Colossians all other personal news concerning Paul, and to comfort and exhort the hearts of the Colossians. Quite probably the news from Paul was good news. See Php. 1:12.
3.
Tychicus is referred to several places in the Scripture:
Act. 20:4He helped bear the offerings to Judea. He was from Asia (Ephesus perhaps).
Eph. 6:21-22He delivered Ephesians.
2Ti. 4:12He was later sent to Ephesus on another trip.
Tit. 3:12Paul considered sending him on another mission.
Tychicus is called a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and fellow servant with Paul. (Col. 4:7). This description is similar to that given to Epaphras in Col. 1:7.
4.
Paul introduced Onesimus to the Colossian church here in this letter, along with Tychicus. Onesimus stood side by side with Tychicus.
Notice the honorable titles given to Onesimus: faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you.
The words who is one of you are loaded with emotion and pathos. The same expression is applied to Epaphras in Col. 4:12. Both the preacher Epaphras and the ex-slave are described the same way.
Onesimus introduction to the Colossian church would serve as a powerful incentive to Philemon to receive him back. Phm. 1:10.
5.
Good news from Paul through Tychicus and Onesimus would be a comfort to the hearts of the Colossians. Pro. 25:25.
Study and Review
1.
What is the title of Col. 4:7-18 in the outline?
2.
Who was sent to the Colossians to make known Pauls affairs? (Col. 4:7)
3.
What is Tychicus described as being (3 things) ?
4.
For what two purposes had Paul sent Tychicus? (Col. 4:8)
5.
Who was sent with Tychicus? (Col. 4:9)
6.
How is the one who was sent with Tychicus described?
7.
Why would the statement who is one of you in Col. 4:9 be especially forceful?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(7, 8) These verses present an almost exact verbal coincidence with Eph. 6:21-22, on which see Notes. In the verses, however, which follow, the particularity and detail of this Epistle stand in marked contrast with the brief generality of Eph. 6:23-24. Remembering that the two Epistles were sent at the same time, and that Ephesus was a church far better known than Coloss, we cannot but regard this as supporting the idea of an encyclical character in our Epistle to the Ephesians.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
IV. CONCLUSION, Col 4:7-18.
1. Personal communications, Col 4:7-14.
7. Tychicus With this and the following verses, Eph 6:21-22, is almost word for word. Our only knowledge of Tychicus before this time is that he was an Asiatic, and he appears in Act 20:4, as one of Paul’s companions from Corinth into Asia. He is now his special messenger to the two Churches, bearing a letter to each, and also is charged with verbal communications respecting the apostle’s condition.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Final Salutations ( Col 4:7-18 ).
‘All my affairs will Tychicus make known to you, the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord, whom I have sent to you for this very purpose that you may know our state and that he may comfort your hearts, together with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother who is one of you. They will make known to you all that is done here.’
Paul demonstrates his concern and interest in the church at Colossae by sending Tychicus to them. Tychicus also carries the letter to the Ephesians (Eph 6:21-22), and probably the one to Laodicea (Eph 6:16) which may well have been a duplicate of Ephesians. He was presumably the Tychicus ‘of Asia (Minor)’ who accompanied Paul and others at a crucial time (Act 20:4) and may well have gone with him to Jerusalem as a delegate of his own church with gifts for the poor in Jerusalem. He was a trusted messenger of Paul (2Ti 4:12; Tit 3:12).
‘The beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord.’ He had three qualifications, beloved by Paul as a ‘brother’, faithful in ministry, and united with Paul and his associates as a true servant of the Lord. ‘In the Lord’ probably covers all three qualifications. To Paul all true Christian relationships were ‘in the Lord’. The title ‘fellow-servant’ (slave) was later applied strictly to deacons as against bishops (so the letters of Ignatius in the early second century AD), but that may be a development of the term resulting from interpretation of this epistle. Paul congratulated himself on being God’s servant (slave).
The purpose of his sending is to update them on what is happening to Paul and to give them spiritual strength, to ‘comfort’ them. He is one ‘called alongside to help’.
‘Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother who is one of you.’ We know more about Onesimus from Paul’s letter to Philemon. He was an escaped slave who had made his way to Rome and there been converted by the preaching of Paul, and had become a faithful and beloved brother. But Paul had learned from him his history, and knew that he belonged to a fellow Christian and brother, Philemon. Thus he was determined to return him to his master to right the wrong that had been done. He would return home with Tychicus and the letter to Philemon hoping to be forgiven and accepted there as Paul requests. ‘One of you’ suggests that he was a Colossian. He and Tychicus could have an important impact on the Colossian church as having been companions of Paul and fully aware of his teachings.
‘They shall make known to you all things that are done here.’ They would update the church in Colossae with all that was happening in Rome.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Commendation of Tychicus In Col 4:7-9 Paul gives Tychicus, who was the letter bearer along with Onesimus, a commendation to the Colossians.
Comparison of Parallel Passages – Eph 6:21-24 is almost a word for word parallel to Col 4:7-7. These particular passages serve as the strongest witness to the connection between these two prison epistles. It testifies that Paul wrote them at the same time and sent them by the same messenger.
Eph 6:21-22, “But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.”
Col 4:7-8, “All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts;”
Col 4:9 “With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you” Comments – The Apostolic Constitutions, a collection of ecclesiastical law that is believed to have been compiled during the latter half of the fourth century, gives us a list of the earliest bishops. This ancient document states that there was a man by the name of “Onesimus” who became the bishop of the church at Borea in Macedonia. There is little doubt that this is referring to the same individual, since the names of Archippus and Philemon, which also occur in the epistle to Philemon, are referred to in the same passage.
“Now concerning those bishops which have been ordained in our lifetime, we let you know that they are theseOf Laodicea in Phrygia, Archippus. Of Colossae, Philemon. Of Borea in Macedonia, Onesimus , once the servant of Philemon.” ( Constitutions of the Holy Apostles 7.4.46) ( ANF 7)
In addition, the name of Onesimus occurs in the epistle to Philemon.
Phm 1:10, “I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Final Salutations In Col 4:7-18 we have the final salutation of Paul to the church at Colossi. It is very important for Christian to let others know how they are doing in the Lord. It is a great encouragement to see others being used mightily by God. He first commends Tychicus who bore this letter to the Colossians (Col 4:7-9). He then sends greetings from his co-workers (Col 4:10-14). He closes with a few instructional remarks (Col 4:15-18).
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. Commendation of Tychicus Col 4:7-9
2. Greetings from Paul’s Co-workers Col 4:10-14
3. Closing Remarks Col 4:15-18
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Personal Matters, Greetings, and Concluding Salutation.
The apostle gives a commendation to the bearers of the letter:
v. 7. All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother and a faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord;
v. 8. whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate and comfort your hearts;
v. 9. with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here. The Colossian Christians were naturally eager for authentic information concerning the welfare of the great apostle, and therefore he makes arrangements to supply that. As bearer of this letter he was sending Tychicus, whom he calls a beloved brother and a faithful minister and fellow-servant in Christ. Tychicus received his faithfulness from, and performed his service for, the Lord, and it is the highest form of praise for a pastor or any worker in the Lord’s vineyard if these designations can be applied to him. Tychicus was to supply the Colossians with all the information which they might desire concerning the apostle, all the circumstances of his imprisonment, all the comfort and consolation which he himself clung to and was dispensing to others, in brief, all the news which interests Christians with regard to the work and activity of their fellow-Christians. At the same time Tychicus was to get information concerning the state of affairs in Colossae; for since the Colossian congregation was in danger, Paul was naturally solicitous for their spiritual welfare. Tychicus could address words of comfort and entreaty to them in the name of the apostle. Paul names also Onesimus, describing him as a faithful and beloved brother. This recommendation was so necessary because Onesimus had left Colossae as a heathen fugitive, having escaped from his master Philemon. Having been converted in Rome through the Gospel as preached by Paul, he was now returning to Colossae as a member of the Church, as a brother who now truly belonged in their midst. Both of these men could make known to the Colossians all the things that were happening in Rome, as they concerned the apostle and the course of the Gospel. Note: The lively interest which was shown regarding the welfare of the several churches in the early days of Christianity may well stimulate the Christians of our days to show a greater activity in this respect.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Col 4:7. All my state shall Tychicus declare From comparing this verse with Eph 6:21-22 where Tychicus is mentioned as sent by St. Paul from Rome to Ephesus, which was not very far from Colosse, it may be very probably inferred, that these two epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians, which contain many similar passages, were written about the same time, and might be sent together.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Col 4:7-9 . Sending of Tychicus, and also of Onesimus. Comp. on Eph 6:21 f.
By . Paul expresses the relation of Tychicus as a Christian brother generally; by , his special relation as the apostle’s official servant , in which very capacity he employs him for such missions; and by (Col 1:7 ) he delicately, as a mark of honour, places him as to official category on a footing of equality with himself; while , belonging to the two latter predicates, [171] marks the specific definite character , according to which nothing else than simply Christ
His person, word, and work is the sphere in which these relations of service are active. Comp. Eph 6:21 .
] for this very object , having a retrospective reference as in Rom 13:6 , 2Co 5:5 (in opposition to Hofmann), in order, namely, that ye may learn from him all that concerns me . The following . (see the critical remarks) is explicative; . . in Col 4:9 then corresponds to both. Comp. on Eph 6:22 .
.] may comfort , in your anxiety concerning me, respecting my position. With the reading , the reference would be to the sufferings of the readers; , Theophylact, comp. Chrysostom.
] belonging to . As to this slave of Philemon, see Introd. to the Epistle to Philemon. Paul commends him [172] as his faithful ( , as in Col 4:7 , not: having become a believer , as Bhr would render it) and beloved brother , and designates him then as Colossian , not in order to do honour to their city (Chrysostom, Theophylact), but in order to bespeak their special sympathy for Onesimus, the particulars as to whom, especially as regards his conversion, he leaves to be communicated orally.
] As a Colossian he was from among them , that is, one belonging to their church. Comp. Col 4:12 .
] the state of matters here, to which , Col 4:7 , especially belonged.
[171] and are also connected by the common attribute , and separated from , which has its special adjective. Chrysostom, moreover, aptly remarks on the different predicates: .
[172] And how wisely and kindly, after what had happened with Onesimus! Yet Holtzmann holds that of the whole verse only the name Onesimus is characteristic, and reckons the verse to owe its existence to that name.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
IV. THE CONCLUSION
Col 4:7-18.
1. Personal Intelligence
(Chap. 4. 79.)
7All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord; 8whom I have sent unto you for the same [this very] purpose, that he might know4 your estate, and comfort your hearts; 9With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Col 4:7-8 are the same as Eph 6:21-22, except that here and fellow servant is added after faithful minister, having the same adjective and qualifying clause (in the Lord) as the latter. Thus Paul makes Tychicus prominent not, merely as brother, but also as colleague, not however, ascribing apostolic authority to him (Schenkel). [If the reading be adopted, there is a further variation from Ephesians. Since the Colossian Church was in danger, it would seem more important that Paul should know their state, than that they should know his circumstances, and hence more probable that Tychicus was sent for the former purpose. This is a strong exegetical reason for preferring the reading followed in the E. V.; that he might know your estate. (See Alford and Wordsworth.)R.]
Col 4:9. With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother.On Onesimus, See Langes Comm., Philemon [p. 4, et passim], Paul calls him brother on account of his faith, notes that he s faithful (can be relied upon), and is dear and valuable to him. To recommend him, he places him with Tychicus, who has only an official position in advance of him. , as in Col 4:7, must mean faithful, not believing, (Baehr), which is implied in brother.
Who is one of you.He is thus described and recommended as a Colossian, a townsman of the readers. [He who had been a fraudulent runaway slave is restored as one of themselves, commended thus in an Epistle to be read publicly in Colosse and elsewhere (Col 4:16). How much native truth, courage, and beauty is there in Christianity, which enabled the Apostle to speak thus of a runaway slave, to the inhabitants of that city from which he had fled! What other religion in the world could have done this? (Wordsworth).R.]
They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.[ , things here.R.] In common and in agreement they will make known how it is here in general, as Tychicus will especially inform them of the personal circumstances, on account of which he was sent. This clause is thus readily reconcilable with the well attested reading. [According to the other reading, Tychicus was sent to learn officially concerning them, and to comfort them with his tidings, which Onesimus shared with him. Alford: Is it likely with this re statement (of Col 4:7), that the same should be stated again in the middle of the sentence, which would be the case with the other reading (-)?R.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
Comp. Eph 6:21-22. What was common in faith on the Lord, is much more than what was diverse in station and culture. Even the position of an Apostle was not so exalted, that a Christian was not Pauls brother, and a servant of Christ his colleague.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Starke:A Christian must not regard the former faults of his neighbor, occurring before his conversion, still less reproach him with them, rather praise and esteem the virtues, which God has granted him since.
[Burkitt:Nothing endears persons so much to one another, as religion and the grace of God. These ties are stronger than those of nature. No such love as likeness occasions, especially likeness to God.Happy it is, when the conversation of Christs ministers is such, both in public and private, that they need not be ashamed to have it known, or that the Church may understand it.R.]
[Henry:
Col 4:7. It adds much to the beauty and strength of the gospel-ministry, when ministers are thus loving and condescending one to another, and by all just means support and advance one anothers reputation.
Col 4:9. The meanest circumstance of life, and greatest wickedness of former life, make no difference in the spiritual relation among sincere Christians: they partake of the same privileges, and are entitled to the same regards.R.]
Footnotes:
[4]Col 4:8.The reading -, A. B. and others is better supported than -. In . is erased by another hand and placed over , though afterwards cancelled. [The reading which Braune rejects, (followed E. V.) is best supported by versions and adopted by the following editors: Tischendorf, De wette, Alford, Ellicott, Wordsworth. Griesbach, Scholz, Lachmann and Meyer adopt -. Alford thus accounts for the corrections in . – was the original reading; . 1 inserted ; . 3 erased it, altering to , but correcting it afterwards.R.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
(7) All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord: (8) Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; (9) With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here. (10) Aristarchus my fellow prisoner saluteth you, and Mark, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) (11) And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellow workers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me. (12) Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. (13) For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. (14) Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you. (15) Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. (16) 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. (17) And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it. (18) The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.
I have not interrupted the whole of these verses, as it did not appear necessary to make any break in them; being chiefly speaking of persons, and the Apostle’s affectionate remembrance of them. A short observation is all that will be needful upon the whole.
Tychichus we have an account of, in other parts of Paul’s writings, 1Co 16:17 ; Eph 6:21 ; 2Ti 4:12 . And, it appears from Act 20:4 , that he was a companion of the Apostle’s. The honorable testimony given of him, though short, is beyond all magnificent titles of the great in this world. A beloved brother, a faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord! Onesimus, whom Paul also calls a faithful, and beloved brother, Paul felt so much interest for, that he wrote that very sweet, and interesting Epistle to Philemon, wholly on his account. Aristarchus, it should seem, was a man of Macedon, as the history of Paul’s travels in the book of the Acts relates, Act 19:29 , and Act 20:4 . Marcus, is probably the same as we read of, Act 15:37 , etc. Peter also mentions this man, 1Pe 5:13 . And Paul, in 2Ti 4:11 , and in his Epistle to Philemon, Phm 1:24 . Jesus, called Justus, is probably the same, as the one mentioned of Corinth, Act 18:7 . Jesus is the same name as Joshua, in the Hebrew; and his other name Justus, was given him, it hath been thought by some, on account of his worthy character. Epaphras was noticed in the opening of this Epistle: Col 1:7 . And, from the manner in which the Apostle hath spoken of him again, in the close of his letter, it shews him to have been a zealous, and an affectionate servant of the Church. Oh! that the Lord would send many an Epaphras to his Churches! Luke, the beloved Physician, not beloved so much as a physician for the body, but as beloved of the Lord, and as one of his members; and we have reason to bless God for his services, the Gospel which bears his name, and the Acts of the Apostles, being both from his penmanship. Demas, if the same as mentioned, 2Ti 4:10 , affords an awful instance, how far profession may go, without a work of real conversion of the heart to God. The brethren at Laodicea, and Nymphas, we have no further account of, neither of the epistle from Laodicea, It should seem, that someone had sent an epistle to Paul, from Laodicea; and not, that it was an Epistle, as some have thought, from Paul to that Church. Had it been his, no doubt it would have been written, as all his Epistles were, under inspiration, and consequently have been preserved, and handed down to the Church. What the Apostle directed to be said to Archippus, hath been supposed as implying negligence in his ministry. But had this been the case, surely Paul would not have spared him. And, in his Epistle to Philemon, written much about the same time, he calls him his beloved Archippus. Be this, however, the case, or not, it serves to teach all who minister in holy things, how earnest they ought to be: – first, to know, that like Archippus, they have received the ministry in, and from the Lord: and, secondly, that they fulfil it, Col 4:17 . It should seem, that after Tychicus, or Onesimus, or perhaps both together, had written down (as Baruch did from the prophet Jeremiah’s mouth, Jer 36:18 .) the Epistle; Paul put his name to it, by way of confirmation. But let the Reader observe, how the beginning, and ending, are the same: Grace be unto you, or with you, Amen. So should all Epistles be. And so all are, which God the Spirit indites.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
7 All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:
Ver. 7. All my state shall Tychicus ] See Trapp on “ Eph 6:21 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
7 18 .] CLOSE OF THE EPISTLE.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
7 9 .] Of the bearers of the Epistle, Tychicus and Onesimus .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
7 .] On Tychicus, see Eph 4:21 .
. , as dear to his heart: . . , as his tried companion in the ministry, . , as one with him in the motives and objects of his active work: , as Chrys., . There is a delicate touch of affection in ., which can hardly, in the doubtfulness of the reading, be the work of a corrector. It implies that there were painful circumstances of trial, to which the subsequent also has reference. , Chrys. The objection (Eadie), that thus the will announce another purpose from that enounced above in . ., will apply just as much to the other reading; for any how the must iuclude the . . . But the fact is, that may apply exclusively to the following , without any reference to what has preceded : see Rom 9:17 ; the parallel place, Eph 6:22 ; Phi 1:6 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Col 4:7-18 . COMMENDATION OF THE BEARERS OF THE LETTER, WITH SALUTATIONS FROM HIS FELLOW-WORKERS AND HIMSELF.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Col 4:7-8 parallel to Eph 6:21-22 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Col 4:7 . is mentioned in Act 20:4 , Eph 6:21 , Tit 3:12 , 2Ti 4:12 . He belonged to the province of Asia, and was sent at this time not only with this letter but with the Epistle to the Ephesians. is usually taken to express his relation to the members of the Church, though Haupt thinks it means Paul’s brother. : “faithful minister,” probably to Paul, not to Christ. . goes also with , and since this expresses a relation to Paul it is probable that . does so too. : to be taken with all three nouns on account of the single article.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Col 4:7-9
7As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information. 8For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts; 9and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your number. They will inform you about the whole situation here.
Col 4:7-8 “Tychicus” Paul mentions Tychicus several times (cf. Act 20:4; Eph 6:21; 2Ti 4:12 and Tit 3:12). He was the bearer of this letter, and also of Ephesians and Philemon. Paul sent him to explain his circumstances to the churches of Asia Minor so that they might know how better to pray for him and rejoice with him (cf. Col 4:8 and introduction).
Col 4:8 “hearts” See Special Topic at Col 2:2.
Col 4:9 “Onesimus” Onesimus was a runaway slave converted in prison by Paul. Paul sent him back to his Christian master, Philemon, who lived in Colossae and was well known to Paul (cf. Philemon). In many ways this tension between slave and free was an effective test of genuine Christian love.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
All my state. Lit, all things according to (Greek. kale. App-104.) me.
declare = make known. Greek. pnaricb. See Php 1:1, Php 1:22.
who is a = the.
beloved. Greek agapetos. App-135.
a. Omit.
faithful. Greek. pistos. App-150.
minister. Greek. diakonos. App-190.
Lord. App-98.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
7-18.] CLOSE OF THE EPISTLE.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Col 4:7. , the things concerning me) Eph 6:21.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Col 4:7
Col 4:7
All my affairs shall Tychicus make known unto you,-Paul was a prisoner in Rome, dependent upon the churches to render assistance unto him to live. They sent relief by messengers, each church sending its own messenger. Paul sent in turn messengers to the churches to let them know his condition, how the word of truth prospered, and to instruct the churches in the truth, and bring him word as to their condition. [The association of Tychicus with Paul in his last journey to Jerusalem, attended with so many affecting circumstances and terminating in his long imprisonment, led to a devoted attachment on the part of Tychicus to Paul. At the time this epistle was written he was with Paul in his imprisonment at Rome, about to be sent home, in charge of Onesimus, on whose account the apostle sends a letter to Philemon. In the interval between the first imprisonment in Rome and the second (2 Timothy), Paul revisits the Astatic churches-so it is inferred from 1Ti 1:3-and Tychicus rejoins him; for we find Paul proposing to send him to Titus in Crete (Tit 3:12), and finally sending him from Rome once more to Ephesus (1Ti 6:12).]
the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord:-It is evident that he was one in whom Paul had implicit confidence. He speaks of him here and in Eph 6:22-23 as a faithful brother and minister. Tychicus is minister not to Paul himself (Act 19:22; Act 13:5), but of Christ (1Th 3:2), as Paul himself (Col 1:23; Col 1:25). He was the beloved and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. [He was undoubtedly a lovable man because of his gracious demeanor and his tender solicitude for the welfare of the saints, and at the same time he was faithful in ministering the word of God, rebuking iniquity and comforting the penitent. Such men are rare. In them we see the delightful combination of loyalty to the word of God and seeking the comfort and blessing of the people of God.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Chapter 16 Closing Salutations
Col 4:7-18
All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here. Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sisters son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) 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. 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. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you. Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. 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. And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it. The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen. (vv. 7-18)
This last section, though somewhat lengthy, does not require very much in the way of either exposition or explanation. It is interesting, however, to compare the references to the same person mentioned here with those in other epistles.
We do not know much about Tychicus, mentioned in verse 7, excepting that in Eph 6:21-22 he is again spoken of in almost the same terms. It is evident that he was one in whom the apostle had implicit confidence. He speaks of him in each passage as a beloved brother and faithful minister, adding here a third expression-fellow servant in the Lord. Beloved and yet faithful! What a rare but blessed combination is this!
So often men who seek to be faithful become almost unconsciously stern and ungracious, thereby forfeiting the tender affection of the people of God, even though they may be looked upon with respect as men of principle who can be depended upon to do and say the righteous thing at all cost to themselves or others. Unhappily, in the last instance, they may manifest very little real concern for the peace of mind or comfort of heart of those who disagree with them. On the other hand, many a beloved brother purchases the affectionate regard of the saints at the cost of faithfulness to truth. It is far better to be true to Christ and His Word, and thus have His approval, than to be approved of men and loved because of weakness in enforcing what is according to truth.
Tychicus evidently went to neither extreme. He was undoubtedly a lovable man because of his gracious demeanor and his tender solicitude for the welfare of the saints, but at the same time he was faithful in ministering the Word of God, rebuking iniquity and also comforting the penitent. Such men are rarer than we realize. In them we see the delightful combination of the shepherds heart and the prophets spirit. One cannot but think how alike in character were Timothy and Tychicus. Both were loyal to the Word of God, and both sought the comfort and blessing of the people of God.
In verse 9 Onesimus is spoken of in similar terms. He is called a faithful and beloved brother. It is evident that he did not have the gift that marked Tychicus, but the two characteristics we have noticed were manifest in him. We know much more of his history than of several others mentioned in this chapter. The brief letter to Philemon tells us a great deal regarding him. He had been a dishonest runaway slave. He had robbed his master and apparently wasted his ill-gotten gains before he was brought to Christ through coming in contact with Paul in Rome. Philemon himself had been converted through the same devoted servant, so we may see, in mercy being extended to the thieving slave, a wondrous picture of sovereign grace.
Sovreign grace oer sin abounding;
Ransomed souls the tidings swell!
Tis a deep that knows no sounding;
Who its length and breadth can tell?
On its glories
Let my soul forever dwell.
After Onesimus was brought to Christ, Paul sent him back to his master, offering himself to become his surety in the tender words, If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that to my account; I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it. What a gospel picture is this! It is Christ Himself who has assumed the responsibilities of the penitent sinner. We are all Gods Onesimuses, said Luther. Christ paid our debt that we might be accepted in Him before God.
He bore on the tree, the sentence for me,
And now both the Surety and sinner are free.
And when thus redeemed, it is our happy privilege to serve Him in glorious liberty and say with the psalmist, Truly I am thy servant; thou hast loosed my bonds.
Of Aristarchus, whom Paul here calls his fellow prisoner, we read in Acts 19 that he was a Macedonian traveling with Paul and endangered his very life on behalf of the gospel at the time of the uproar in Ephesus. He is also mentioned again in Phm 1:24 as a fellow laborer with the apostle. His name would imply that he was of the so-called upper classes, an aristocrat of Macedonia, who for the sake of the kingdom of God had renounced his place of prominence in the world to become a bondman of Jesus Christ.
We are glad to see the affectionate way in which Paul here writes of Marcus, the nephew of Barnabas. Years before, this young man had been the cause of serious contention between these two devoted men of God. Paul had lost confidence in John Mark because of his leaving the work and returning to his mother in Jerusalem upon the completion of the evangelistic tour in Cyprus. Barnabas, kindly in spirit and evidently moved by natural affection, wanted to give the unfaithful helper a second chance, but Paul was obdurate. He felt he could not afford to jeopardize the success of their work by again taking with them one who had proved himself a weakling. Which one really had the mind of God, we are not told. But we are thankful indeed to find that Mark made good, as we say, and became a trusted and honored man of God, companion to Peter (see 1Pe 5:13), and dear to Paul as well as to his uncle Barnabas. He is again mentioned in Phm 1:24 as a fellow laborer, and Paul requests Timothy to bring Mark with him, in 2Ti 4:11. The fact that he needed the spiritual commendation of verse 10 would seem to imply that at the time of writing there were some who still stood in doubt of him, but the apostles recommendation would remove all that.
The next name, Jesus, which is called Justus, might well remind us of the humiliation to which our blessed Lord stooped in grace when He became a man in order to give His life for sinners. To us there is only one Jesus. That name is now above every name and shines resplendent in highest glory, unique and precious, a name with which none other can ever be compared. But we need to be reminded that Jesus represents the Hebrew name Joshua and was in common use when our Lord was here on earth. And so we have here a brother otherwise unknown bearing the same name as his Savior, and not only that but surnamed The Just. This latter title was given to men because of their recognized integrity as in the case of Joseph Barsabas of Act 1:23 and an otherwise unknown Justus in Act 18:7.
There is something peculiarly suggestive in the way the apostle eulogizes these brethren whose salutations he thus conveys to the Colossians. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me. It is evident that then, as now, gift and grace did not necessarily go together. There were others who were perhaps energetic enough in service but who were anything but brotherly in their attitude toward Paul.
Of Epaphras we have already had the apostles estimate in 1:7. Here he draws special attention to this mans fervency in prayer. It was he who had come from Colosse to visit Paul and to acquaint him with the conditions that called forth this letter. That he had some ability as a preacher and teacher we know, for it was through his ministry these Colossians had been won to Christ and the assembly formed there. But his greatest ministry was evidently one of prayer. In that he labored fervently, striving earnestly in supplication before God, so deeply concerned was he for the saints that they might enter into the truth in all its fullness and thus in practical experience stand as full-grown and filled full, or complete, in all the will of God. In this prayer Paul joined, as we have seen in 1:9. This earnest apostle of prayer, Epaphras, had not confined his ministry or interest to Colosse, but he bore in his heart, in the same intense zeal, the neighboring assemblies of Laodicea and Hierapolis.
It is most pathetic to compare verse 14 with 2Ti 4:10-11. Here we read, Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you. But in writing to Timothy the apostle says, Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and [hath] departed unto Thessalonica Only Luke is with me. From the day he joined Pauls company (as intimated in Acts 16 where the change of the pronoun from they to us showed that Luke formed one of the party at Troas, vv. 8-9), Luke, the beloved physician, was one of Pauls most devoted helpers. He remained with him to the end and possibly saw him martyred.
Demas and Luke seem to have been intimately associated, for both here and in Phm 1:24 the two names are found together, but upon the occasion of Pauls second imprisonment we learn that the love of the world had been too much for Demas. He found the itinerant preachers lot too hard, and he left the apostle in his hour of need and went off to Thessalonica. There is no hint that he plunged into a life of sin. He may have gone into some respectable business, but the Holy Spirit relentlessly exposes the hidden springs of his changed behavior. He loved this present world. No longer are he and Luke joined in devoted service. Demas had chosen an easier path.
Salutations are sent to the Laodicean brethren, and Nymphas, who was evidently prominent among them and in whose house they met for worship, is especially mentioned. We may gather from verse 16 how the apostolic letters were early circulated among the churches. This Colossian epistle was not only to be read locally but was to be read also in the assembly of the Laodiceans. And a letter sent to the latter church was to be sent on to Colosse. This epistle from Laodicea (observe not to Laodicea) is probably our epistle to the Ephesians, and is generally regarded as a circular letter that went first to Ephesus and then to other churches in the Roman proconsular province of Asia, thus reaching Colosse from Laodicea. We have already seen how important it is to study the two together as they are divinely linked in such a wonderful way.
In verse 17 Paul gives a special admonition to Archippus, also mentioned in the letter to Philemon, who was apparently a servant of Christ ministering the Word at Colosse but had a tendency not uncommon in some young preachers to settle down comfortably and take things easily. To him the aposde sends the message, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it. Promptness and energy are as important in spiritual service as in anything else.
There is an incident related in connection with two leading generals of the Southern Confederacy of America that might well speak to every servant of Christ. General Robert E. Lee once sent word to General Stonewall Jackson that he would be glad to talk with him at his convenience on some matter of no great urgency. General Jackson instantly rode to Headquarters, through most inclement weather. When General Lee expressed surprise at seeing him, Jackson exclaimed, General Lees slightest wish is a supreme command to me, and I always take pleasure in prompt obedience. It is to be hoped that this same spirit laid hold of Archippus, and that he profited by the prodding of the aged apostle.
The epistle was signed in accordance with Pauls usual custom with his own hand. According to the note at the end, Tychicus and Onesimus acted as his amanuenses in producing this letter, but he appended his signature. How much would one give to have an autographed copy of this or any other of his letters! He would have them remember his bonds both as stirring them up to prayer and to remind them that the servants path is one of suffering and rejection.
He closes with the customary benediction, Grace be with you. Amen. This is not so full as that in the last verse of 2 Thessalonians, which he tells us is the token of genuineness in every epistle of his. But as we go over all the thirteen letters that bear his name and the anonymous letter to the Hebrews we see that in every one there is some message about grace at the end. He was preeminently the apostle of grace, and it is no matter of surprise that this precious word should be his secret mark, as it were, thus authenticating every letter. May that grace abound in us as it already has abounded toward us through the abundant mercy of our God.
Grace is the sweetest sound
That ever reached our ears,
When conscience charged and Justice frowned,
Twas grace removed our fears!
We began with grace, we are kept by grace, and it is grace that will bring us home at last.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
my: Eph 6:21-23
Tychicus: Act 20:4, 2Ti 4:12, Tit 3:12
a beloved: Col 4:9, Col 4:12, Eph 6:21, Phi 2:25
a faithful: 1Co 4:1-4
Reciprocal: Act 15:25 – our 1Co 4:2 – that Eph 6:22 – General Phi 1:14 – brethren Col 4:11 – fellowworkers 1Ti 4:6 – a good 1Pe 5:12 – a faithful
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Col 4:7.) , , -Of all that concerns me Tychicus shall inform you-the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord. The phrase is a common one in Greek, as Elsner and Wetstein have abundantly shown. Tychicus is honoured with three appellations. First, he is called the beloved brother, one of the sacred brotherhood, bound together by the tie of a common fatherhood in God. His apostolic dignity did not fill Paul with reserve toward any fellow-believer, but he owned and loved as a brother every one who was with himself in Christ. Besides this common spiritual relationship, Tychicus must have endeared himself to the apostle, and therefore possessed his entire confidence. See under Eph 6:21. He was, secondly, a trusty servant, and as such carried this epistle, and was charged with these oral messages to Colosse and to Ephesus. The term may mean, generally, one who has spent his time and energies in connection with the church and that apostle who was one of its ornaments and bulwarks. In Eph 6:21 he is called, as here, the beloved brother and trusty servant, but the apostle adds in this place a third epithet- -and fellow-servant. Official service of a general nature is implied in , but under this term the apostle speaks of him as a colleague. See under Col 1:7. The words are referred by De Wette to all the three epithets, and by Meyer to the last two of them. The meaning is not different whichever view be adopted. But as the first two names have distinct and characteristic epithets attached to them, and the last has none, perhaps is to be specially joined to it, for the fellowship in service is marked by the common object and sphere of it-the Lord.
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Col 4:7. Thayer says Tychicus was “an Asiatic Christian, friend and companion of the apostle Paul.” Funk and Wagnalls New Standard Bible Dictionary gives the same information, with additional notes that he carried the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, and the same would apply to the present leller. It should be kept in mind that all Paul’s epistles were sent by messengers, since there were no postal arrangements for carrying private letters such as exist in our times. When delivering the epistle to the Colossians, Paul expected Tychicus to give information as to the personal circumstances that his work in the Gospel had caused.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Col 4:7. The things concerning me, etc. See Eph 6:21, with which this verse closely agrees (notice the emendations).
Tychicus; see Introduction to Ephesians, 1,2, 5.
Fellow-servant. This is peculiar to this passage; it gives prominence to the fact that Tychicus had shared with the Apostle in the service of the same Master. Bishop Lightfoot calls attention to the word fellow-servant, as a customary form of address in the early Church on the part of a bishop, when speaking of a deacon, suggesting that this usage is owing to the Apostles application of the term to persons whom he calls ministers (Greek, diaconoi).
In the Lord qualifies both the preceding terms (brother needs no such qualification).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Section 3. (Col 4:7-18.)
Openings of heart.
Perhaps one may best characterize the closing section of Colossians as “heart-openings.” It is in fact the free interchange of brotherly feeling on the part of those who have recognized the place which they have been given with regard to one another. Thus it begins with the provision for mutual knowledge of each other’s state. Tychicus, a beloved and faithful brother, able to enter into such things, is sent from the apostle to convey to the disciples the news as to himself; and to bring back from them the account of their condition. This he realizes as what their hearts would crave for comfort, as united together in the love of Christ.
There follow special greetings and remembrances; as to which there is scarcely much needed by way of explanation, though much may be gained by meditation. The apostle closes with the salutation written with his own hand, certifying the letter to be his own, and bidding them keep in mind his bonds for Christ.
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
Observe here, 1. That although St. Paul had now with him but a few friends at Rome to comfort him in his bonds, yet he spares two of them to visit and comfort these Colossians. See the public spirit of our apostle, who preferred the common good of the church at Colosse, before his own comfort at Rome.
Observe, 2. The persons whom St. Paul sent to them, Tychicus and Onesimus, whom he styles brethren, faithful brethren, beloved brethren: Nothing endears persons so much to one another, as religion and the grace of God. These ties are stronger than those of nature: No such love as likeness occasions, especially likeness to God.
Observe, 3. The design and end of St. Paul’s sending these two persons to them, namely,
1. To make known unto them all things done at Rome:
Mark, All things, without exception, both his doings and sufferings, both in public and private, the apostle was ashamed of neither. Happy it is, when the conversation of Christ’s ministers is such, both in public and private, that they need not be ashamed to have it known, or that the church may understand it.
2. That he might comfort their hearts: But how could Tychicus and Onesimus do this?
1. By making known to them the true cause of his sufferings, that it was for the gospel’s sake.
2. To keep them from discouragement at the report of his sufferings, that they might not be offended at his chain, nor sink under the burden of immoderate sorrow upon his account.
3. To comfort their hearts with the report of that holy joy and cheerfulness which the apostle had in his own spirit, under the present burden of his sufferings. See the note on Eph 6:22.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Closing Greetings
Tychicus was one of those who accompanied the gift bound for the needy saints in Jerusalem ( Act 20:4 ). Paul apparently sent this letter by him to Colossae. He also sent him to Ephesus ( 2Ti 4:12 ) and proposed sending him to Titus ( Tit 3:12 ). The apostle may have sent him to Ephesus twice as it appears he carried the Ephesian letter ( Eph 6:21-22 ). Paul often used the word beloved as an endearing term for his brethren ( Rom 1:7 ; Rom 12:19 ; Rom 16:8-9 ; Rom 16:12 ; 1Co 4:14 ; 1Co 4:17 ; 1Co 10:14 ; 1Co 15:58 ; 2Co 7:1 ; 2Co 12:19 ). He urged the Colossians to consider Tychicus as they would him. They had surely heard of Paul’s imprisonment and would want to know of his condition. Paul told them he had sent Tychicus to learn of their spiritual welfare and to encourage them in their fight with the false teachers. The apostle always tried to help young churches in their growth by such visits ( Col 4:7-8 ; Act 15:36 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Col 4:7-9. All my state The things which relate to myself; shall Tychicus declare unto you See on Eph 6:21. With Onesimus, who is one of you Or, rather, who is from you, as seems to mean; or, who is your countryman; for it does not appear that he could be a member of the church at Colosse before he left his master Philemon, since, it is certain he was converted after that period by the apostle at Rome. See Phm 1:10.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Col 4:7-18. Commendations and Salutations.
Col 4:7. Tychicus: cf. Act 20:4, Eph 6:21, Tit 3:12, 2Ti 4:12.
Col 4:9. Onesimus: there is a touch of gentle humour in this reference to the returning runaway, both in what it says, and in what it omits.
Col 4:10. Aristarchus: cf. Act 19:29; Act 20:4; Act 27:2, Phm 1:24.Mark: the John Mark of Ac. (Act 13:5; Act 13:13; Act 15:36-40), and the author of the second gospel. A reconciliation must have taken place between him and Paul (cf. 2Ti 4:11).
Col 4:11. Jesus: otherwise unknown.who are of the circumcision: Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus Justus are the only Jewish Christians who have worked with Paul in Rome.
Col 4:12. Epaphras: cf. Col 4:17.
Col 4:14. Luke: the author of the third gospel and Ac.Demas: for his subsequent defection see 2Ti 4:10.
Col 4:15. Nymphas: owner apparently of a house where the Christians met at Laodicea. The name may be either masculine or feminine; some MSS read, the church that is in her house.
Col 4:17. Archippus: cf. Phm 1:2; nothing else is known of him. He seems to have been charged with some special ministerial work at Coloss.
Col 4:18. Paul adds his signature (cf. 2Th 3:17, 1Co 16:21), the rest of the letter being written by a scribe.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Verse 7
Tychicus; the bearer of this letter, and also of the one written at the same time to the Ephesians. (Ephesians 6:21.)
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
DIVISION V PERSONAL MATTERS. CH. 4:7-18.
SECTION 15. TYCHICUS AND ONESIMUS CH. 4:7-9.
All the matters referring to me, Tychicus will make known to you, a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord; whom I have sent to you for this very thing, that ye may know the things about us and that he may encourage your hearts, with Onesimus our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. All the things here, they will make known to you.
Col 4:7. The matters referring to me: same words in same sense in Php 1:12. All matters personal to Paul, Tychicus will tell the Colossian Christians. It is therefore needless for Paul to say more about his condition or surroundings.
Minister: see under Rom 12:8. The same word denotes the office of a deacon in Php 1:1; 1Ti 3:8; 1Ti 3:12; and possibly Rom 16:1. But its various uses make it unlikely that standing here alone it has this technical sense. This would require further specification, as in Rom 16:1. Nor is it probable that the word alone would bear the sense of minister of the Gospel or of Christ; as in Col 1:7; Col 1:23; Col 1:25. It is easiest to suppose that Tychicus was Pauls minister or assistant; according to the simplest meaning of the word, e.g. Mat 20:26; Mat 23:11, and the corresponding verb in Phm 1:13; Rom 15:25; Heb 6:10. In this sense Mark was useful to Paul for ministry: 2Ti 4:11. That Tychicus belonged to a band of helpers surrounding Paul, is made likely by the fact that Paul sent him, as here stated, to Coloss, also (Eph 6:22; 2Ti 4:12) to Ephesus twice; and had thoughts of sending him (Tit 3:12) on another mission. An important coincidence with all this occurs in Act 20:4, where Tychicus is one of a small band of companions travelling with Paul. In this last passage he is said to be a native of Asia, of which Roman province Ephesus was the capital: another important coincidence. The above references are our only sources of information about Tychicus. But he was a beloved brother and trustworthy helper. While speaking of him thus, Paul remembers that both himself and Tychicus are servants of one divine Master; and therefore calls him a fellow-servant: same word in Col 1:7. Similar transition of thought in Php 2:22.
In the Lord: embracing probably the entire description of Tychicus: same words in Php 1:14; Eph 4:1; Eph 6:21. The one Master was the surrounding element of the whole brotherhood, of the assistance to Paul, and of the joint service.
Col 4:8. Whom I have sent: so Paul frequently sent to various Churches his trusted helpers: 1Co 4:17; 2Co 9:3; Php 2:19; Php 2:23; Php 2:25; Php 2:28; 1Th 3:2; 1Th 3:5. In this mission, the matters referring to himself were Pauls first thought: Col 4:8. But, remembering that others share his perils and toils and the interest and affection of the Christians at Coloss, he passes from the singular in Col 4:7, touching me, to the plural here: that ye may know the things concerning us.
Encourage your hearts: as in Col 2:2. Thus Tychicus had a double errand, to take information about Paul and his companions and to cheer and stimulate the Colossian Christians.
Col 4:9. Onesimus: only here and Phm 1:10. This passing mention of him receives light from, and casts light upon, the Epistle to Philemon.
See Introd. v.
Faithful or trustworthy: specially suitable as a commendation of a runaway slave.
One of you; implies that in some way Onesimus came from Coloss, either as a native or as a former inhabitant.
All the things here; marks the completion of the matter opened by similar words at the beginning of Col 4:7.
The mention of Tychicus in Col 4:7 and of Onesimus in Col 4:9 links this Epistle closely with those to the Ephesians and to Philemon. The references to Tychicus here and in Eph 6:22 are valuable comments on the character of a good man about whom we know very little. Thus this casual insertion of these two names both helps us to reproduce in thought the surroundings of the Apostle, and affords some confirmation of the genuineness of the Epistles which bear his name and of the historic truthfulness of the Book of Acts.
Fuente: Beet’s Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament
CHAPTER EIGHT
8. CHRIST OUR MASTER
Christ our Master builds us through prayer to service (vs. 12b).
Col 4:7-18; Col 1:7-8
“All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, [who is] a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:”
That would be a nice thing to have Paul say about you in public. In fact it is probably a fine example of what we ought to do now and then for those that serve in the church. Give them recognition for doing a good job. Giving them due respect for being a fellow servant. Seems many pastors act as though all that goes on in their church is due to their hard work, rather than being the sum of all the work of all the people involved in the church.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
V. CONCLUSION 4:7-18
Paul concluded this epistle with personal information and instructions. He did this to bond his readers more tightly to the body of Christ from which they were in danger of separating due to the influence of the false teachers.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
A. The bearers of this epistle 4:7-9
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Paul sent Tychicus with this letter for two primary purposes. He wanted to provide more information about himself and his present ministry than he felt led to record in this letter. He also wanted to encourage the Colossians. In relation to all other Christians Tychicus was a beloved brother. In relation to Christ he was a faithful servant. In relation to Paul he was a fellow-bondslave either both as a prisoner of Rome and to the will of God, or just to the will of God. Tychicus’ name occurs five times in association with Paul in the New Testament (Act 20:4; Eph 6:21; Col 4:7; Tit 3:12; 2Ti 4:12).
"Someone has said that the greatest ability in the world is dependability, and this is true." [Note: Wiersbe, 2:149.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 4
TYCHICUS AND ONESIMUS, THE LETTER BEARERS
Col 4:7-9 (R.V.)
In Pauls days it was perhaps more difficult to get letters delivered than to write them. It was a long, weary journey from Rome to Colossae, -across Italy, then by sea to Greece, across Greece, then by sea to the port of Ephesus, and thence by rough ways to the upland valley where lay Colossae, with its neighbouring towns of Laodicea and Hierapolis. So one thing which the Apostle has to think about is to find messengers to carry his letter. He pitches upon these two, Tychicus and Onesimus. The former is one of his personal attendants, told off for this duty; the other, who has been in Rome under very peculiar circumstances, is going home to Colossae, on a strange errand, in which he may be helped by having a message from Paul to carry.
We shall not now deal with the words before us, so much as with these two figures, whom we may regard as representing certain principles, and embodying some useful lessons.
I. Tychicus may stand as representing the greatness and sacredness of small and secular service done for Christ.
We must first try, in as few words as may be, to change the name into a man. There is something very solemn and pathetic in these shadowy names which appear for a moment on the page of Scripture, and are swallowed up of black night, like stars that suddenly blaze out for a week or two, and then dwindle and at last disappear altogether. They too lived, and loved, and strove, and suffered, and enjoyed: and now-all is gone, gone; the hot fire burned down to such a little handful of white ashes. Tychicus and Onesimus! two shadows that once were men! and as they are, so we shall be.
As to Tychicus, there are several fragmentary notices about him in the Acts of the Apostles and in Pauls letters, and although they do not amount to much, still by piecing them together, and looking at them with some sympathy, we can get a notion of the man.
He does not appear till near the end of Pauls missionary work, and was probably one of the fruits of the Apostles long residence in Ephesus on his last missionary tour, as we do not hear of him till after that period. That stay in Ephesus was cut short by the silversmiths riot-the earliest example of trades unions-when they wanted to silence the preaching of the gospel because it damaged the market for “shrines,” and “also” was an insult to the great goddess! Thereupon Paul retired to Europe, and after some months there, decided on his last fateful journey to Jerusalem. On the way he was joined by a remarkable group of friends, seven in number, and apparently carefully selected so as to represent the principal fields of the Apostles labours. There were three Europeans, two from. “Asia”-meaning by that name, of course, only the Roman province, which included mainly the western seaboard-and two from the wilder inland country of Lycaonia. Tychicus was one of the two from Asia; the other was Trophimus, whom we know to have been an Ephesian, {Act 21:29} as Tychicus may not improbably have also been.
We do not know that all the seven accompanied Paul to Jerusalem. Trophimus we know did, and another of them, Aristarchus, is mentioned as having sailed with him on the return voyage from Palestine. {Act 27:2} But if they were not intended to go to Jerusalem, why did they meet him at all? The sacredness of the number seven, the apparent care to secure a representation of the whole field of apostolic activity, and the long distances that some of them must have travelled, make it extremely unlikely that these men should have met him at a little port in Asia Minor for the mere sake of being with him for a few days. It certainly seems much more probable that they joined his company and went on to Jerusalem. What for? Probably as bearers of money contributions from the whole area of the Gentile Churches, to the “poor saints” there-a purpose which would explain the composition of the delegation. Paul was too sensitive and too sagacious to have more to do with money matters than he could help. We learn from his letter to the Church at Corinth that he insisted on another brother being associated with him in the administration of their alms, so that no man could raise suspicions against him. Pauls principle was that which ought to guide every man entrusted with other peoples money to spend for religious or charitable purposes-“I shall not be your almoner unless some one appointed by you stands by me to see that I spend your money rightly”-a good example which, it is much to be desired, were followed by all workers, and required to be followed as a condition of all giving.
These seven, at all events, began the long journey with Paul. Among them is our friend Tychicus, who may have learned to know the Apostle more intimately during it, and perhaps developed qualities in travel which marked him out as fit for the errand on which we here find him.
This voyage was about the year 58 A.D. Then comes an interval of some three or four years, in which occur Pauls arrest and imprisonment at Caesarea, his appearance before governors and kings, his voyage to Italy and shipwreck, with his residence in Rome. Whether Tychicus was with him during all this period, as Luke seems to have been, we do not know, nor at what point he joined the Apostle, if he was not his companion throughout. But the verses before us show that he was with Paul during part of his first Roman captivity, probably about A.D. 62 or 63; and their commendation of him as “a faithful minister,” or helper of Paul, implies that for a considerable period before this he had been rendering services to the Apostle.
He is now despatched all the long way to Colossae to carry this letter, and to tell the Church by word of mouth all that had happened in Rome. No information of that kind is in the letter itself. That silence forms a remarkable contrast to the affectionate abundance of personal details in another prison letter, that to the Philippians, and probably marks this Epistle as addressed to a Church never visited by Paul. Tychicus is sent, according to the most probable reading that “ye may know our estate, and that he may comfort your hearts”-encouraging the brethren to Christian steadfastness, not only by his news of Paul, but by his own company and exhortations. The very same words are employed about him in the contemporaneous letter to the Ephesians. Evidently, . then, he carried both epistles on the same journey; and one reason for selecting him as messenger is plainly that he was a native of the province, and probably of Ephesus. When Paul looked round his little circle of attendant friends, his eye fell on Tychicus, as the very man for such an errand. “You go, Tychicus. It is your home; they all know you.”
The most careful students now think that the Epistle to the Ephesians was meant to go the round of the Churches of Asia Minor, beginning, no doubt, with that in the great city of Ephesus. If that be so, and Tychicus had to carry it to these Churches in turn, he would necessarily come, in the course of his duty, to Laodicea, which was only a few miles from Colossae, and so could most conveniently deliver this Epistle. The wider and the narrower mission fitted into each other. No doubt he went, and did his work. We can fancy the eager groups, perhaps in some upper room, perhaps in some quiet place of prayer by the river side; in their midst the two messengers, with a little knot of listeners and questioners round each. How they would have to tell the story a dozen times over! How every detail would be precious! How tears would come and hearts would glow! How deep into the night they would talk! And how many a heart that had begun to waver would be con, firmed in cleaving to Christ by the exhortations of Tychicus, by the very sight of Onesimus, and by Pauls words of fire!
What became of Tychicus after that journey we do not know. Perhaps he settled down at Ephesus for a time, perhaps he returned to Paul. At any rate, we get two more glimpses of him at a later period-one in the Epistle to Titus, in which we hear of the Apostles intention to despatch him on another journey to Crete, and the last in the close of the second Epistle to Timothy, written from Rome probably about A.D. 67. The Apostle believes that his death is near, and seems to have sent away most of his staff. Among the notices of their various. appointments we read, “Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.” He is not said to have been sent on any mission connected with the Churches. It may be that he was simply sent away because, by reason of his impending martyrdom, Paul had no more need of him. True, he still has Luke by him, and he wishes Timothy to come and bring his first “minister,” Mark, with him. But he has sent away Tychicus, as if he had said; Now, go back to your home, my friend! You have been a faithful servant for ten years. I need you no more. Go to your own people, and take my blessing. God be with you! So they parted, he that was for death, to die! and he that was for life, to live and to treasure the memory of Paul in his heart for the rest of his days. These are the facts; ten years of faithful service to the Apostle, partly during his detention in Rome, and much of it spent in wearisome and dangerous travelling undertaken to carry a couple of letters.
As for his character, Paul has given us something of it in these few words, which have commended him to a wider circle than the handful of Christians at Colossal. As for his personal godliness and goodness, he is “a beloved brother,” as are all who love Christ; but he is also a “faithful minister,” or personal attendant upon the Apostle. Paul always seems to have had one or two such about him, from the time of his first journey, when John Mark filled the post, to the end of his career. Probably he was no great hand at managing affairs, and needed some plain common sense nature beside him, who would be secretary or amanuensis sometimes, and general helper and factotum. Men of genius and men devoted to some great cause which tyrannously absorbs attention, want some person to fill such a homely office. The person who filled it would be likely to be a plain man, not gifted in any special degree for higher service. Common sense, willingness to be troubled with small details of purely secular arrangements, and a hearty love for the chief, and desire to spare him annoyance and work, were the qualifications. Such probably was Tychicus-no orator, no organiser, no thinker, but simply an honest, loving soul, who did not shrink from rough outward work, if only it might help the cause. We do not read that he was a teacher or preacher, or miracle worker. His gift was-ministry, and he gave himself to his ministry. His business was to run Pauls errands, and, like a true man, he ran them “faithfully.” So then, he is fairly taken as representing the greatness and sacredness of small and secular service for Christ. For the Apostle goes on to add something to his eulogium as a “faithful minister”-when he calls him “a fellow servant,” or slave, “in the Lord.” As if he had said, Do not suppose that because I write this letter, and Tychicus carries it, there is much difference between us. We are both slaves of the same Lord who has set each of us his tasks; and though the tasks be different, the obedience is the same, and the doers stand oil one level. I am not Tychicus master, though he be my minister. We have both, as I have been reminding you that you all have, an owner in heaven. The delicacy of the turn thus given to the commendation is a beautiful indication of Pauls generous, chivalrous nature. No wonder that such a soul bound men like Tychicus to him!
But there is more than merely a revelation of a beautiful character in the words; there are great truths in them. We may draw them out in two or three thoughts.
Small things done for Christ are great. Trifles that contribute and are indispensable to a great result are great; or perhaps, more properly, both words are out of place. In some powerful engine there is a little screw, and if it drop out the great piston cannot rise nor the huge crank turn. What have big and little to do with things which are equally indispensable? There is a great rudder that steers an ironclad. It moves on a “pintle” a few inches long. If that bit of iron were gone, what would become of the rudder, and what would be the use of the ship with all her guns? There is an old jingling rhyme about losing a shoe for want of a nail, and a horse for want of a shoe, and a man for want of a horse, and a battle for want of a man, and a kingdom for loss of a battle. The intervening links may be left out-and the nail and the kingdom brought together. In a similar spirit, we may say that the trifles done for Christ which help the great things are as important as these. What is the use of writing letters if you cannot get them delivered? It takes both Paul and Tychicus to get the letter into the hands of the people at Colossae.
Another thought suggested by the figure of Pauls minister, who was also his fellow slave, is the sacredness of secular work done for Christ. When Tychicus is caring for Pauls comfort, and looking after common things for him, he is serving Christ, and his work is “in the Lord.” That is equivalent to saying that the distinction between sacred and secular, religious and nonreligious, like that of great and small, disappears from work done for and in Jesus. Whenever there is organisation, there must be much work concerned with purely material things: and the most spiritual forces must have some organisation. There must be men for “the outward business of the house of God” as well as white-robed priests at the altar, and the rapt gazer in the secret place of the Most High. There are a hundred matters of detail and of purely outward and mechanical sort which must be seen to by somebody. The alternative is to do them in a purely mechanical and secular manner and so to make the work utterly dreary and contemptible, or in a devout and earnest manner and so to hallow them all, and make worship of them all. The difference between two lives is not in the material on which, but in the motive from which, and in the end for which, they are respectively lived. All work done in obedience to the same Lord is the same in essence; for it is all obedience; and all work done for the same God is the same in essence, for it is all worship. The distinction between secular and sacred ought never to have found its way into Christian morals, and ought for evermore to be expelled from Christian life.
Another thought may be suggested-fleeting things done for Christ are eternal. How astonished Tychicus would have been if anybody had told him on that day when he got away from Rome, with the two precious letters in his scrip, that these bits of parchment would outlast all the ostentatious pomp of the city, and that his name, because written in them, would be known to the end of time all over the world! The eternal things are the things done for Christ. They are eternal in His memory who has said, “I will never forget any of their works,” however they may fall from mans remembrance. They are perpetual in their consequences. True, no mans contribution to the mighty sum of things “that make for righteousness” can very long be traced as separate from the others, any more than the raindrop that refreshed the harebell on the moor can be traced in burn, and river, and sea. But for all that, it is there. So our influence for good blends with a thousand others, and may not be traceable beyond a short distance, still it is there: and no true work for Christ, abortive as it may seem, but goes to swell the great aggregate of forces which are working on through the ages to bring the perfect Order.
That Colossian Church seems a failure. Where is it now? Gone. Where are its sister Churches of Asia? Gone. Pauls work and Tychicus seem to have vanished from the earth and Mohammedanism to have taken its place. Yes! and here are we today in England, and Christian men all over the world in lands that were mere slaughterhouses of savagery then, learning our best lessons from Pauls words, and owing something for our knowledge of them to Tychicus humble care. Paul meant to teach a handful of obscure believers-he has edified the world. Tychicus thought to carry the precious letter safely over the sea-he was helping to send it across the centuries, and to put it into our hands. So little do we know where our work will terminate. Our only concern is where it begins. Let us look after this end, the motive; and leave God to take care of the other, the consequences.
Such work will be perpetual in its consequences on ourselves. “Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious.” Whether our service for Christ does others any good or no, it will bless ourselves, by strengthening the motives from which it springs, by enlarging our own knowledge and enriching our own characters, and by a hundred other gracious influences which His work exerts upon the devout worker, and which become indissoluble parts of himself, and abide with them forever, over and above the crown of glory that fadeth not away.
And, as the reward is given not to the outward deed, but to the motive which settles its value, all work done from the same motive is alike in reward, howsoever different in form. Paul in the front, and Tychicus obscure in the Tear, the great teachers and path openers whom Christ through the ages raises up for large spiritual work, and the little people whom Christ through the ages raises up to help and sympathise-shall share alike at last, if the Spirit that moved them has been the same, and if in different administrations they have served the same Lord. “He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet”-though no prophecy come from his lips-“shall receive a prophets reward.”
II. We must now turn to a much briefer consideration of the second figure here, Onesimus, as representing the transforming and uniting power of Christian faith.
No doubt this is the same Onesimus as we read of in the Epistle to Philemon. His story is familiar and need not be dwelt on. He had been an “unprofitable servant,” good-for-nothing, and apparently had robbed his master, and then fled. He had found his way to Rome, to which all the scum of the empire seemed to drift. There he had burrowed in some hole, and found obscurity and security. Somehow or other he had come across Paul-surely not, as has been supposed, having sought the Apostle as a friend of his masters, which would rather have been a reason for avoiding him. However that may be, he had found Paul, and Pauls Master had found him by the gospel which Paul spoke. His heart had been touched. And now he is to go back to his owner. With beautiful considerateness the Apostle unites him with Tychicus in his mission, and refers the Church to him as an authority. That is most delicate and thoughtful. The same sensitive regard for his feelings marks the language in which he is commended to them. There is now no word about “a fellow slave”-that might have been misunderstood and might have hurt. Paul will only say about him half of what he said about Tychicus. He cannot leave out the “faithful,” because Onesimus had been eminently unfaithful, and so he attaches it to that half of his former commendation which he retains, and testifies to him as “a faithful and beloved brother.” There are no references to his flight or to his peculations. Philemon is the person to be spoken to about these: The Church has nothing to do with them. The mans past was blotted out-enough that he is “faithful,” exercising trust in Christ, and therefore to be trusted. His condition was of no moment-enough that he is “a brother,” therefore to be beloved.
Does not then that figure stand forth a living illustration of the transforming power of Christianity? Slaves had well known vices, largely the result of their position-idleness, heartlessness, lying, dishonesty. And this man had had his full share of the sins of his class. Think of him as he left Colossae, slinking from his master, with stolen property in his bosom, madness and mutiny in his heart, an ignorant heathen, with vices and sensualities holding carnival in his soul. Think of him as he came back, Pauls trustee [representative], with desires after holiness in his deepest nature, the light of the knowledge of a loving and pure God in his soul, a great hope before him, ready for all service and even to put on again the abhorred yoke! What had happened? Nothing but this-the message had come to him, “Onesimus! fugitive, rebel thief as thou art, Jesus Christ has died for thee, and lives to cleanse and bless thee. Believest thou this?” And he believed, and leant his whole sinful self on that Saviour, and the corruption faded away from his heart, and out of the thief was made a trustworthy man, and out of the slave a beloved brother. The cross had touched his heart and will. That was all. It had changed his whole being. He is a living illustration of Pauls teaching in this very letter. He is dead with Christ to his old self; he lives with Christ a new life.
The gospel can do that. It can and does do so today and to us, if we will. Nothing else can; nothing else ever has done it; nothing else ever will. Culture may do much; social reformation may do much; but the radical transformation of the nature is only effected by the “love of God shed abroad in the heart,” and by the new life which we receive through our faith in Christ. That change can be produced on all sorts and conditions of men. The gospel despairs of none. It knows of no hopelessly irreclaimable classes. It can kindle a soul under the ribs of death. The filthiest rags can be cleaned and made into spotlessly white paper, which may have the name of God written upon it. None is beyond its power; neither the savages in other lands, nor the more hopeless heathens festering and rotting in our back slums, the opprobrium of our civilisation and the indictment of our Christianity. Take the gospel that transformed this poor slave to them, and some hearts will own it, and we shall pick out of the kennel souls blacker than his, and make them like him, brethren, faithful and beloved.
Further, here is a living illustration of the power which the gospel has of binding men into a true brotherhood. We can scarcely picture to ourselves the gulf which separated the master from his slave. “So many slaves, so many enemies,” said Seneca. That great crack running through society was a chief weakness and peril of the ancient world. Christianity gathered master and slave into one family, and set them down at one table to commemorate the death of the Saviour who held them all in the embrace of His great love.
All true union among men must be based upon their oneness in Jesus Christ. The brotherhood of man is a consequence of the fatherhood of God, and Christ shows us the Father. If the dreams of mens being knit together in harmony are ever to be more than dreams, the power that makes them facts must flow from the cross. The world must recognise that “One is your master,” before it comes to believe as anything more than the merest sentimentality that “all ye are brethren.” Much has to be done before the dawn of that day reddens in the east, “when, man to man, the wide world oer, shall brothers be,” and much in political and social life has to be swept away before society is organised on the basis of Christian fraternity. The vision tarries. But we may remember how certainly, though slowly, the curse of slavery has disappeared, and take courage to believe that all other evils will fade away in like manner, until the cords of love shall bind all hearts in fraternal unity, because they bind each to the cross of the Elder Brother, through whom we are no more slaves, but sons, and if sons of God, then brethren of one another.