Colossians 4:18
We can try to imagine the scene as Paul dictated his final note to the congregation at Colossae, that cryptic directive about encouraging Archippus to finish the task the Lord had given him. Perhaps the sun was setting and the room was growing darker. Tychicus and Onesimus may have been waiting nearby, their bags packed for the long journey to Asia Minor, to Colossae. As soon as this letter was finished they would put it away safely with the others they would carry—a letter to Ephesus, a letter to the Philippians, a note to Philemon, and, very possibly, a now lost letter to Laodicea. Once Paul had given them the last letter, they could make the final preparations to leave with the light of the next day. Just think what would have been lost if their ship had sunk or that courier bag had been mislaid.
Finally, Paul took the pen from the hand of his amanuenses or secretary and wrote the a few words.
I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my
chains. Grace be with you.
With that the letter to the Colossians is complete.
The commentaries are agreed that Paul added the final note in his own hand to reduce the danger of false letters purporting to be from him making their way into the churches. Some have also suggested that his signature was an affirmation of his concern for his readers. It wasn’t unusual for the “writer” of a letter to do this: copies of ancient letters have been found which have the salutations written in a different hand.
Back before most doctors carried i-pads, I heard of a hospital that had some serious problems because the wrong drugs had been dispensed to patients, all because the pharmacists couldn’t properly decipher the doctor’s handwriting. As a corrective measure the hospital is going to require all doctors writing confusing prescriptions to take a course in penmanship.
I’d like to see one of Paul’s original letters just to discover what his penmanship was like. When Paul himself wrote the final words of Galatians he said, “See with what large letters I am writing with my own hand.”
Paul’s large letters may have been an attempt to stress what he had been saying, they may have been the byproduct of an eye disease he may have had, or big bold letters may have just been his way of writing. In any case, when Paul took up the pen he had a final opportunity to say something to the Colossian church, that church facing a crisis of confidence.
What did he say? He said, “Remember my chains.” Unless you were writing with a manacled hand I suppose those might seem to be strange words to write. Some might wonder if the apostle was lonely and discouraged as he wrote the words. I don’t think so.
Notice this: Paul does not say, “Don’t forget I’m in prison,” he says, “Remember my chains.” What does this mean?
Let’s take a few moments to explore the implications of Paul’s words. As we do so, we’ll discover that how a Christian faces tough times is part of behaving wisely before outsiders.
1) As we consider Paul’s chains don’t forget that some matters are worth our suffering.
What made the false teachings so appealing to some of the Colossians? Part of the appeal may have been found in the fact that there would be an outward compliance with the Jewish customs and rituals. Some of the early Christians, especially those from a Jewish background, were feeling pressure to abandon Christianity and return to full-fledged Judaism. Doing that would make life a lot easier.
Paul’s chains were a reminder that some things are worth the suffering. age which seems to value comfort so highly, Paul might seem out of his mind. Although September 11, 2001, inspired a new wave of patriotism, but there were still those who insisted that there was nothing which would make them willing to die for their country. And there are those who will insist there is no element of their faith for which they are willing to suffer.
We see this attitude work itself out in a variety of ways:
--- We see it demonstrated by the young woman who will abandon the moral teachings of her faith rather than suffer the loss of her boyfriend.
--- We see it demonstrated by the young man who will not speak up for Christ because he does not want to suffer the ridicule of his friends.
--- We see it demonstrated by the Christian business man who will surrender his ethics before he will suffer the loss of a client.
Paul’s chains remind us that some things are important enough to hold on to even if doing so brings suffering our way.
While there are some who will try to escape the troubles associated with being a Christian, there are also those willing to suffer for the faith. Historians tell us that during the past one-hundred years, more men and women have died for the Faith than died in the all previous centuries combined. There are men and women who take their faith seriously.
2) As we consider Paul’s chains don’t forget that there are those who will follow Christ wholeheartedly.
Some commentators suggest that Paul mentions his chains, which they claim represents all the labor and suffering Paul underwent on behalf of other, as a means of proving his right to be heard. Perhaps, but I would rather suggest that his chains are a token of his integrity and faithful service. That integrity and faithful service, in any Christian, ought to merit our respect and our willingness to hear their counsel.
More than that, those who live for Christ with integrity ought to inspire us.
In our age we hear a lot about the demise of Christianity. I have friends who are given to a touch of pessimism. One of them has even suggested that Christianity will be largely gone in the next one-hundred years. I usually try to inject a note of reality.
Study after study has demonstrated that Christianity is growing—perhaps not in the West—but elsewhere in the world. It is growing in South America and Asia. In fact, some of the world’s largest churches are found in Seoul, Korea. Christianity is the fastest growing religion in Africa. There is even an increasing number of converts in the Middle East, in Muslim nations.
All around the world, there are those who are willing to follow Christ wholeheartedly.
Not everyone is willing to settle for a nominal faith.
3) As we consider Paul’s chains don’t forget that such suffering could be in our future as well.
I have no doubt that Paul could see suffering on the horizon for the Colossians. The truth is Asia Minor—the province in which Colossae was located—would be a center of much persecution in the years to come. The larger truth is, in every generation Christians somewhere have been suffering. While Christians in the West were building the magnificent cathedrals which we still can tour their spiritual brothers and sisters in the Middle East and Asia were continuing to suffer.
Our era is no exception.
Just about the time Paul was writing the Colossians Peter wrote his first letter in which he told his readers not to be surprised at the suffering they were enduring or to regard it as an unusual occurrence. It might even be correct to say that persecution is the norm and peace is an exception.
So, if we Christians know peace, we ought to thank God and determine to make the best used of our time, “redeem the time,” as Paul tells the Colossians earlier in this chapter. And, if persecution should come our way, we Christians ought trust God and keep in mind another truth implicit in Paul’s words.
4) As we consider Paul’s chains don’t forget that it is possible to speak a word of grace in the midst of difficulty.
The man whose chains clinked with every word he wrote wanted to give the Colossians the best he could give: Grace.
This was a conventional way to end a letter in the first century but you can be sure that Paul was not using a mere convention. He packed the little word grace with so much meaning. The Amplified Bible tries to capture what he is saying, “May grace (God’s unmerited favor and blessing) be with you!” At a time when he could have been feeling sorry for himself, at a time when no one would have blamed him for feeling sorry for himself, Paul wishes God’s best for others.
McDonald relates this to the content of the letter Paul is concluding. He writes:
“The word grace is as significant at the end of Paul’s letter as it is at the beginning (cf. 1:2), for from first to last Paul’s theme was grace. In neither place has the term a mere conventional use, for at every mention of this word the apostle is summarizing the essential message of the gospel given to him by the revelation of God. The word grace gathers into itself all that Christ is for Christian belief and Christian behavior.” (McDonald, p. 146-47.)
Remember back in Colossians 2 when Paul was outlining some of the practical results of the salvation we have in Christ? Among other things Paul told the Colossians they didn’t need to submit to restrictive dietary regulations. He wasn’t legitimizing gluttony but he was telling them to enjoy their meals with a free conscience. Now, those words came from a man whose daily menu might have been fairly limited. Despite this he told his friends to enjoy the bounty God had given them.
Whatever else he had in mind, Paul is reminding his readers of the power of gospel to sustain in the midst of difficulty. He had proven the promises of Christ again and again. There was no need for resentment toward those whose lot was easier. There was no need to vent his anger because of his circumstances. No need because even in his tough circumstances he knew Christ’s presence.
Sometimes when we face trouble or sickness we turn inward, we begin to think only of ourselves. We become so self-centered that we are oblivious to the needs of others. If you sense that happening to you, remember Paul’s chains. Though they might have chafed his wrists and limited his movements, he still was able to wish God’s best for others.
5) As we consider Paul’s chains don’t forget that no Christian, no matter how capable and prominent, is ever beyond the need for prayer.
Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase captures this idea, “Remember to pray for me in this jail.”
Paul the apostle, theologian, missionary, teacher needed the prayers of ordinary people.
He has already spelled out some of the matters about which he wants them to pray: New opportunities to share the gospel and the capacity to share it with clarity. What else would he want them to pray about? I’m sure Paul would have wanted them to pray for the same matters all of us would have those who pray for us recall as they mention our name to God.
I would want those praying for me to pray for what some might call mundane matters: My health, a good night’s sleep, my safety.
I would want those praying for me to pray for the family I love: My wife, my sons and my daughters-in-law, my grandson.
I would want those praying for me to pray about my relationship with God, that I would remain faithful, listen to his word, be committed to prayer, that my faith might grow stronger.
I would want those praying for me to pray about my work: to pray that my work might bring glory to God—a prayer which applies to pastors but equally to those who may flip burgers for a living.
I would want those praying for me to pray to for my witness: to pray that I might live with integrity, that I might seize the opportunities which come my way, that I might know how to personally present the gospel to the individuals I might meet.
That’s how I would want people to pray for me and I suspect that’s how Paul would have wanted his readers to pray for him.
No one is beyond the need for prayer. No one is so spiritually mature that they may discount the prayers of others on their behalf. Certainly no preacher is so skilled or competent that the prayers of others are superfluous.
CONCLUSION
We have devoted some seven months to Paul’s counsel to Christians facing a crisis of confidence. As we finish, we are facing a significant anniversary: The anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001.
Since that Tuesday morning we have seen young men and women sent to far off lands and placed in harm’s way to protect our liberties. Certainly we can appreciate their willingness to serve whatever our opinion of the wars may be.
Since that Tuesday morning ten years ago we have seen church attendance swell and then go back to normal. In fact, according to a USA Today article from August 22, church attendance has continued to decline as it had been during the decade before the attacks. George Barna found that the number of people who are “unchurched” increased from 24% in 1991 to 37% in 2011. Yes, there was an increase in church attendance after 9/11 but “the rush to the pews was a mere blip in a long-standing trend away from traditional religious practice.” We need an infusion of the confidence Paul felt about the Gospel if we wish to be more attractive to the drifting and indifferent.
. Since that Tuesday morning we have heard many voices, some learned and some merely parroting a politically correct line say that we should all realize that we all believe in the same God.
.
I can just imagine how Paul, the author of this profound argument for the singular character of Christ, would respond.
He would respond, “Did your God, the creator of heaven and earth, become a man so he might rescue us from the quagmire of our sin? If not, we don’t serve the same God.”
He would respond, “Does your God provide you with a salvation which makes you complete in him, which frees you from the drudgery of a multitude of rules and taboos by which you hope to win his favor, a salvation which provides you with the power to live for him freely and joyously? If not, we don’t serve the same God.”
He would respond, “Does your God fill you with loving respect for all others regardless of their race or nationality, whether they are men or women, whether they agree with you are not? If not, we don’t serve the same God.”
He would respond, “Does your God inspire you to share the good news of what he has done on our behalf, to share it through a life of integrity and words spoken with an attractive graciousness? If not, we don’t serve the same God.”
Then, from prison, He would respond, “Does the salvation your God provides fill you with such peace that your spirit may soar even though your body is in prison, does it allow you to endure mistreatment and injustice without being filled with rancor and bitterness, to respond to mistreatment with acts of love not of revenge, to prompt you to pray, not for the destruction of your enemies, but for their salvation? If not, we don’t serve the same God.”
As we complete this study, may we be prompted to make Paul’s goal our own, may we say with him:
“We proclaim Christ,
warning every person,
teaching every person,
so we may present each person
complete in Christ.”
