4:1 Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Further Instructions
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Final Greetings
7 Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.
10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”
18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. (ESV)
2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Prayer is so vital in the Christian life yet it seems to often be one of our greatest struggles as Christians to stay committed to; whatever the case or excuse be we have to stop and realize that it is our lifeline so to speak with God. Prayer is our means of communication and the way in which we fellowship intimately with Him, it is a privilege that we take for granted far too often. To devote means to set apart with commitment, to vow, to consecrate…do we do this? Do we set apart time each day to talk to God, more than just the 9-11 prayers we throw out throughout the day (all of which are important)? Let us take heed to this and devote ourselves to prayer it will transform our lives!!!
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12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
What a blessing it must have been to have someone always wrestling for them in prayer! we should do that too we always need to be supporting and praying for our family in Christ and a awesome way to do that is by praying for them constantly!
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
And like it says here we should devote ourselves to prayer with thankful hearts! We have the ability to communicate with the creator of the universe and of us we MUST use it to stay connected to Christ! Prayer is a huge foundation in the Christian life and if we dont have a solid foundation we will fall!
5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
We must be wise in how we behave and live out our lives in front of the watching world. If we claim to be Christians those people we know who are unsaved will carefully watch how we live. We never want to be the reason that someone gives as to why they don’t want to become a Christian. As I was sharing the gospel with a Catholic friend last month she told me that one of her friends is married to a “Christian pastor.” The harsh and disrespectful way this pastor treates her friend has turned her off to being a Christian. My friend said that so many Christians she knows act just like everyone else but then just pray a prayer and ask for forgiveness and she finds this hypocritical. Paul is warning the Colossians to be wise in how they live their lives so that the gospel they preach will be warmly received and not rejected. Let’s all evaluate our lives today. Do we stand out as different in a good way for Christ, or do we live like everyone else and just say that we are Christians? In order to be effective witnesses for Christ we muct be sure that we live lives of obediencet to God’s Word so that we rep Christ rightly!
3And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
Paul understood that he needed to rely on God for his ministry. He understood that it wasn’t just about doing things for God, it was about joining God in the work God was doing. With the former we can somewhat work on our own, on the other, we are completely dependent on God. Paul prayed for opportunities and then looked for the doors God opened. To be effective in evangelism you and I need to take the same approach.
3And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
We need to pray for open door evangelism, so that we can tell all of the non-Christians the truth! We need to let the non-Christians know about Christ. We should be praying about Evangelism Nights that are coming up!
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Good O’l Paul never fails to cue us, bend our knees and fold our hands in prayer to God. Yet in this prompting, Paul requests that two specific objects be focused on: that of being “watchful” and “thankful”.
Vigilant, alert, or attentive are just a few of the embodied synonyms for watchful. Here, Paul commissions us, be alert, and ready to watch for something. Through the narrowing down of possible choices for what that something might be, a logical person would conclude that Paul is suggesting watching and waiting for Christ to call us (Christians) up in the rapture. What leads me to believe this is that Paul is writing to a large group of Christians, who, if finish the race, will participate in being caught up in the sky with all those who have been saved. Paul is pointing out that we must persist in the prayer of our own sanctification. In 2 Peter 3:11 it reasons: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives”. Another way to say this would be, since our citizenship is not of this earth, let us live as though we belong in the presence of God, which is by nature holy, therefore making ourselves holy.
Paul also requests thankfulness to God. Thank God through prayer, silently shouting in your mind ‘God is Holy’. Let us constantly be in thanksgiving because God’s grace is an abundant river of never-ending blessings. Praise to His name forever and ever Amen!
4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should
My favorite part about this verse is the “as I should.” Paul is saying that it is necessary, a requirement, that we share the gospel. It shouldn’t be, “evangelism is only for those that are good at it,” or “evangelism is not necessary for every christian.” Evangelism is a commandment for all who follow Christ. Let’s use Paul as our example and fearlessly talk about Jesus.
2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
This was a concept that stood out to me from Pastor Mike’s message at church yesterday. As Christians, we are called to pray all the time (1 Thess 5:17) about everything (Phil 4:6) for everyone (1 Tim 2.)
6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
This deals with what we talked about yesterday at True North (Grace up in your face!) Grace should be overflowing in our conversations, especially with nonbelievers.
3And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
4Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
A lot of us spend much of our prayer time on self-centered requests. And even when we do pray for others, this is not the way that we usually pray for them. But it is a necessary part of our prayer lives, and one that we cannot afford to neglect. We should daily be praying for Revival on our campuses – and as school draws to a close, on the beaches of Orange County and wherever else we may be. We need to be asking God for boldness, and that He will give us the words to say, and open the hearts of those who are listening.
I found it interesting how all these people are in jail with Paul! He’s naming them all off in the message and I couldn’t help but think about all those that are being persecuted today, even dying for their faith in Christ and yet here I am, someone who doesn’t have to worry about dying for my faith. And yet, I’m not proclaiming it “as I should”! I should be doing it waaaaaay more than what I do already! Like Ben said this weekend, grace should be overflowing out of my life so that others may see and and want the Lord, want salvation and a relationship with Him! Very convicting for me on my part!
1Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
I think Paul, out of all people, would know what it would be like to be a slave, or “in chains”. Now that he is in jail, he sees it from the other side, what a slaves life is like. It’s probably also helped him realize that he is a slave to the Lord Jesus Christ but its not a bad thing! It’s an honor to be a slave to the Lord buuuuuut if an earthly master is mistreating you, its not that fun is it? It reminds me of how we need to humble ourselves before our God who is going to be glorified whether by rocks, or by us. One way to show this is by treating others better than yourselves. Masters, humble before slaves, slaves, humble before Masters.
6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
this is definitely something that we should be doing. People that are non christians look at out conversation and we need to be good examples. So lets watch our conversations and and be examples to non christians.
2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Talking to God is awesome, but the sad thing is very few tend to pray everyday(actually have a full on conversation). We all usually have the “dear God, thank you for today, amen” type prays, but how would you feel if your best friend came up to you everyday and said “hey” and that was all you heard all day from them. Well its like that between us and God. We need to thank Him and talk/devote ourselves to speaking to Him. (I have a feeling He likes it when we talk to Him) :]
***Remember to talk to your DAD today!!!
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11Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.
This is where my family got the name Justus for my little brother.
18I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
The grace of God is with us God help me be brave in talking to non Christians.
5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
When evangleizing we need to make sure that we are loving but also giving the true message! We need to guard our tounges and watch what we say, but also be very eager to talk to others and like it says here, make the most ofevery opportunity. But in my perspective, this verse isnt just talking about evangelizing. Its just the way we act in general around others. Can everyone really tell your a christian by the way your acting?? We should be asking ourselves this daily to make sure we are doing and saying the right things.
I love how being in jail does not even phase Paul because all he cares about is getting to word of God out to as many people as he can. And he is always asking people to pray for him, as he understands that he can not do it on his own. I have this problem alot where I will never ask people to help me or to pray for me because I figure I can do it on my own. And I sometimes feel that I dont have to pray to God for help because I think I can do it my self. But I need to change that. Also Paul makes sure that people understand to be nice to outsiders.
2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
3And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
4Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Col 4:3-4 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
Even Paul, the ‘super Apostle,’ needs prayer to share the gospel. We, also, should ask for openings with people in our shphere of influence as well as for anyone God may choose to put into our lives. And pray for God to give us the words He promised to give: the living word!
2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Prayer is is necessary in the Christian life and we as Christians should be praying each and every day. It si such a great thing to have because it gives us direct communication with the Lord. Some of us only do it before going to bed. We should be doing in the morning to and also whenever possible. This is so important in our relationship with God.
5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
I was just talking with my friend about this! We as Christians are always being watched. Not only by God but the people around us. Whether they are none believers or believers. But if a non Christian is watching us and we are doing something stupid or against what God tells us to do, they are most likely going to think that thats how christians are. We should come across as positive people and show Gods love everyday. People will notice and some may ask why were like that. Another great way that we can reach out to others
5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders” – great words of wisdom here. In watching how we act around people, we give ourselves the opportunity to evangelize to them. You’re going to have a considerably tough time evangelizing someone if you’re acting the way the world does, and not as a Christian. Next time you’re talking to a non-Christian, consider the way you act! Showing them that you are different is the first step in showing them the grace of the Lord!
I’m thankful to Ben Blakey for holding it down at True North and bringing Grace Up In Your Face! I’m excited about being back and this week to come!
5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
Mmmm! Can you feel this? Making the most of every opportunity…whenever there is an open door to represent Christ we need to jump in. Let’s be praying this week that we will have opportunities to evangelize and invite people to True North!
12Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
Maturity, that is the true goal. It is also called the process of sanctification. Once you give over your life to CHRIST you are not automatically perfect. You begin a battle a struggle for the prize. You gain the will and the desire to move away form the sins of the past. Your new focus is ahead. As Christians we are all on different stages of sanctification. Newer Christians might be struggling more than older Christians; so all with experience should help lose with less.
5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
Great comment Beth L.
! I agree! We need to be the people that we say we are and not be hypocrits. In other words we need to walk the walk more than we talk the talk. Being transparant is an example of being the same person no matter where you are. Just reach out to nonchristians with love and compassion. And let them see the real you and the love of God that shines through you.
5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every oppurtunity.
Whenever we have the chance to evangalize and tell people about Christ we have to speak fearlessly and be bold for Christ. Afterall, it could be our last chance.
We can totaly see that from the first few verses that apart of being ready for God’s return is evangelizing. We need to make the most oof very oppertunity and blod proclaim His goodness so that when He comes back we will be ready!
2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
PRAY PRAY PRAY prayer is vital to are relationship with God. It is a time were we can talk to God and give Him glory for eveything.
5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
These verses are very important. When we are talking to people we need to be making the most of it, making sure thast our conversation reps Christ. Using each and every oprotunity for God’s glory.
5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
We need to be aware that, as Christians, there are always people watching us. If we profess to be Christians, we’re gonna be held to a higher standard. So if they see us messing up, they’re gonna think all Christians are hypocrites. We need to remember that the way we act represents Jesus, so we need to do the right things.
5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Often it is hard to talk to people about Christ, but He makes it easier when he presents us with opportunities, but it is still our choice what to do with these opportunities
2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
this verse commands us to be in prayer. and not the short ones we say at dinner or before we eat, but legitimate talking time with God. we need to be devoted to the cause of Christ, and like Pastor Bobby said, if we call being a Christian a relationship, we need to talk to God! how can we claim to have a relationship with God if we dont even really talk to Him?
5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every oppurtunity.
i really liked this verse, we need to act as christians to everybody if we are claiming it, we need to make the most of every oppertunity and evangalize to anybody every chance we have!!
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
4Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
Let’s be praying everyday that Evangelism night on the 30th would be fruitful for the kingdom of God! And that He would give us wisdom and words to proclaim clearly the message of salvation to the lost that we will meet…
12Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
Preach it Murphy!
Paul’s letters are full of encouragement and instruction. This verse is a great example of the love of Christ being poured out. Praying for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ should be second nature not something we do just when something comes up. We need to be holding up fellow believers in Christ Jesus just as Epaphras did. Does our prayer life consist of wrestling over other believers praying for their strength and maturity? I hope that we have this kind of compassion seen here which is selfless and full of humility. We ought to be thinking and praying about others lives before we think about our own lives.
Col 1:9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, • asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
I like what Ben said this past weekend “Humility does not start with you humility starts with Christ.” Awesome Truth!
6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
My study bible says that full of grace has to do with words that are spiritual, fitting, purposeful, truthful, and loving. And this verse says that all of our words should be that way. For me, I know that I can say a lot of stupid things without thinking. I need to really make it a priority to think before I speak so that I can say words that benefit others and bring God glory.