All for One and One for All (Col. 4:7-17)

OAll for One and One for All
Colossians 4:7-18

INTRODUCTION:
The classical orchestra emerged in the early 1600s in connection with the early development of opera. The orchestra grew in size up until World War I. But, the Great Depression and the war, including World War II, caused the size of the orchestra to stagnate. Today, the orchestra is roughly the same size as it has been since the 1940s, but the size will depend on many conditions.

A modern, full-scale symphony orchestra consists of approximately one hundred permanent musicians:

16-18 1st violinists
16 2nd violinists
12 violas
12 cellos
8 double basses
4 flutes (one piccolo as a specialty)
4 oboes (one English horn as a speciality)
4 clarinets (bass clarinet as speciality; other with high clarinets)
4 bassoons (one with double bassoon as speciality)

5-8 horns
4 trumpets
4 trombones (bass trombone as speciality)
1 tuba
1 kettle-drum
3-4 percussionists
1-2 harps
keyboard player (piano, celesta, harpsichord, etc.)

The only concert I have ever attended was just a few years ago at the Palace when our family went to hear the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. You know what makes an orchestra sound so beautiful. Each player knows his or her part and they play their part exceptionally well; then they know how to harmonize their own individual part into the sound of the orchestra as a whole.

The orchestra is an excellent example of the individuality and the unity that exists, that needs to exist, in the church of Christ if we are going to do more than just exist. If we are going to grow and thrive and honor Jesus Christ as we should, it takes all of us being involved in the work of the church and utilizing our own interests and skills to make that happen.

The apostle Paul is going to illustrate this point in the text we’re going to look at this morning, together: Colossians 4:7-17. Paul was in prison when he wrote Colossians, probably in Rome (as we see at the end of the book of Acts). It is one of 4 so-called “Prison Epistles:” Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. I’ll point out the connection with Philemon in just a moment.

Let’s look at the “orchestra” - or at least part of it - in the church of Christ at Colossae…

TYCHICUS - 4:7-9:
Tychicus (Part #1) is mentioned four times in the NT. The first time he is mentioned is Acts 20:4 where we learn that he, along with six other men, were members of the apostle Paul’s third mission team. We do not know when Tychicus joined Paul’s mission team or when he left Paul’s mission team, since 20:4 is the only time he is mentioned in Acts. It was on that mission trip that Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and he stayed incarcerated until the end of the book of Acts.

The second time Tychicus is mentioned in God’s word is in the “sister-letter” to Colossians: Ephesians 6:21. In that passage, Paul tells the Christians in Ephesus that he is sending Tychicus to them, from prison in Rome, so that they would know how Paul was doing in prison. That text, Ephesians 6:21-22, is very similar to this text, which we’ll study in a moment. Incidentally, Ephesus and Colossae were about 120 miles from each other.

The fourth text which mentions Tychicus is 2 Timothy 4:12. Now, Paul wrote 2 Timothy at the end of his life, from a second imprisonment in Rome, maybe 3-5 years after that first imprisonment. In that passage, Paul tells Timothy that he sent Tychicus back to Ephesus, a second time and Timothy was in Ephesus so Paul was sending Tychicus to Ephesus to help Timothy evangelize.

The last text which mentions Tychicus is Titus 3:12. Titus is on the island of Crete and Paul tells Titus that he’s going to send Tychicus to Titus on Crete to help Titus evangelize. I have a sermon I preached down in KY exclusively on Tychicus and I called him the “NT Postman.” He was always traveling different places, carrying the gospel, and news about Paul, perhaps even carrying some of Paul’s letters with him.

Now let’s look at Colossians 4:7-9 and observe what Paul says about Tychicus:

1. Tychicus is called a “beloved brother.” The apostle Paul never considered himself above anyone else. He also put other Christians on his same level. About 2 1/2 years ago, the church here at Swartz Creek appointed me an elder. Some of our teenagers think it’s cool now they can call me “Pastor Paul.” Well, that’s only partially correct and it’s not a designation I would encourage. Here’s why… although “pastor” is a biblical term (although it is only used once in Ephesians 4:11 to translate the word “shepherd”), the concept of “pastor” in the denominational world is not what the Bible teaches. In the denominational world, the term “pastor” gives the preacher far more authority and control in the church than what the NT will allow. In the NT, the preacher does not have any authority or control over the congregation; only the elders do.
But secondly, I will not use the designation “Pastor Paul” because Jesus condemns the use of religious titles in Matthew 23:8-11. Titles distinguish people, generally in terms of a hierarchy. And, of course, there is no hierarchy in the church. That’s why the Lord’s church does not use titles. Period. Paul called Tychicus his “beloved brother” and that’s what you and I are; we are brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us on the same level with each other.

2. Tychicus is called a “faithful servant.” We have already seen where Tychicus, apparently, had the mentality that whatever Paul or Jesus needed, Tychicus would do. He was a servant. And, he was faithful; that is, he was trustworthy. He had a job to do and he would do it as if Jesus were looking over his shoulder to see if he did the job as Jesus would have him do it.

3. Tychicus is called a “fellow-bondservant.” That is all one word in the Greek language. Bondservant is a different term than the prior “servant.” That word is diaconos, from which we get the designation “deacon.” But this word carries more of the idea of “slave.” But, it has a prefix to it which means “with.” So Tychicus is a slave of Jesus Christ with the apostle Paul. It is a very nice description of a Christian who gives his or her all for the One Master, Jesus Christ.

Here in this text, we see that Paul is sending Tychicus from Rome to Colossae. If you have not been keeping count, in total, Tychicus has been sent to Ephesus, Colossae, Ephesus again, and the island of Crete. He was Paul’s postman. It was such a simple job but it was important.

I told you that I have only been to one concert. Rachel and I were supposed to go to an Alabama concert back in October but it was postponed until April. We love the country music group. They have a song titled “40 Hour Week” in which they sing, “There are people in this country, who work hard every day. Not for fame or fortune do they strive. But the fruits of their labor are worth more than their pay. And it’s time a few of them were recognized. …[they sing thanks for] the one who brings the mail…” In the NT church, that was Tychicus.

Notice in verse 8, Paul says he sent Tychicus to Ephesus for this purpose: that the Ephesian Christians may know about Paul’s circumstances and that Tychicus may encourage their hearts. But, Tychicus was not traveling alone. Paul was also sending Onesimus (Part 2 of the “Christian symphony,” called a faithful and beloved brother, who was a member of the church in Colossae. Do you recognize the name Onesimus? He was the slave who ran away from the church in Colossae, from the slave owner, Philemon. His story is told in the letter called by the name of the Christian slave owner, Philemon. Paul had apparently converted Onesimus to Jesus Christ and then sent him back to his owner and to the church in Colossae.

The two together would inform the congregation of Paul’s situation in Rome.

How about “Parts 3, 4, 5” of our Christian orchestra…

ARISTARCHUS, JOHN MARK, JUSTUS - 4:10-11:
This Christian is mentioned 5 times in the Scripture as well, three being in Acts. The first time he is mentioned is in Acts 19:29 when Paul’s preaching caused a riot in the city of Ephesus. The pagan worshippers, those who insisted on worshipping Diana, rushed into the theater in Ephesus and dragged with them this Christian, Aristarchus. He was one of Paul’s traveling companions on the 3rd missionary journey with Tychicus (20:4 - the second time Aristarchus is mentioned). The Christians in Ephesus would not let Paul go into the theater; they were likely afraid Paul would get killed. But the town clerk finally calmed down the mob.

The third time we see Aristarchus is in Acts 27:2. This chapter details the shipwreck that Paul suffered on his way to Rome to be tried by Emperor Nero. Not only was Aristarchus on that shipwreck with Paul, but so was Luke whom we’ll talk about in just a moment.

Once Paul gets to Rome, he stays there at least two full years during which time, it seems he wrote Colossians (and the other prison epistles). When Paul wrote Philemon, he sent greetings to that Christian from Aristarchus (Phile. 24).

So what does Paul say here in our text about Aristarchus? He was Paul’s fellow prisoner. At the end of the book of Acts, then, we always talk about Paul being in prison, but Aristarchus was also a prisoner with Paul. That shows that Aristarchus was not willing to renounce his faith in Christ, nor change the gospel message, just to avoid persecution. He was also willing to go to jail for preaching the truth of the Gospel. Paul sends greetings to the church at Colossae from Aristarchus, which shows that the church at Colossae knew Aristarchus.

Paul also sends greetings to John Mark, Barnabas’s cousin. Paul did not know if John Mark would travel to Colossae or not but he encourages the church to welcome John Mark. Our first-Sunday-of-the-month sermons this year, of course, are from the Gospel of Mark and I reminded you of John Mark when we began that series on the first Sunday of this month.

John Mark was from the church in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12). His mother was (probably) a wealthy member of the church there; his father (probably) was dead. He went with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Acts 12:25). But he turned back for some reason; he quit (Acts 13:13). When Barnabas wanted to take John Mark on the second trip, Paul insisted “no” so the mission team split into two groups (Acts 15:37-39). But eventually, from the second mission trip until the end of the book of Acts, Paul and John Mark are reconciled and Paul is sending greetings to the Christians in Colossae on behalf of John Mark.

When Paul is in jail in 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul asks Timothy to bring John Mark to him in prison in Rome because John Mark is “helpful” to Paul in his ministry. Paul sends greetings from John Mark to Philemon (vs 24) and we see John Mark working with the apostle Peter in Babylon in 1 Peter 5:13.

The fifth part of our “Christian orchestra” is Jesus, who was otherwise identified as “Justus.” “Jesus” is the Greek name for “Joshua,” the Hebrew / Jewish name. I suspect that this “Jesus” perhaps chose to be called “Justus” so that he would not carry the name of his Savior. Or, perhaps Paul is identifying him as “Justus” so that no one would get the idea that he was talking about Jesus Christ. There are two other men named “Justus” in the Scriptures but they are different individuals: Justus Barsabbas (Acts 1:23) and Titius Justus (Acts 18:7).

“Justus” was, along with Tychicus, Aristarchus, and John Mark, “fellow workers” for the kingdom of God. Back in 1 Corinthians 3:6, Paul wrote, “I planted, Apollos water, but God was causing the growth.” Then in verse 9, Paul writes, “We are God’s fellow workers.” What a wonderful concept and Paul identifies these men, who were all Jews (“of the circumcision”), fellow workers with him “for the kingdom of God.”

He also says these men were an encouragement to him. What does it take to encourage a preacher? Let me get personal for just a moment, please. It encourages me when:

I hear you sharing something you have learned in your personal Bible study
I hear you talking about sharing some Biblical teaching with a coworker
I hear you talking about praying for me or someone else
I hear you talking about doing some act of kindness for someone at work or a neighbor
I see you in worship services
I see you in some church-sponsored activity outside of worship

Mark & Penny drive separate cars so Mark can get here early to serve the 9 AM worshippers That’s encouraging.
Ken & Phyllis drive separate cars so Ken can be here to serve the 9 AM worshippers
That’s encouraging.
Delbert and Gary Marchbanks get here early and spend extra time at the building so they can help serve the 9 AM worshippers. That means Gary and Connie drive separate cars. That’s encouraging.

Men who step up and give an extra few hours a week to serve as deacons encourages me
Women who participate in the Ladies Prayer Breakfast (the next one will be 2/13) encourage me
The different members who come to help with the food pantry encourage me
I am looking at a Christian symphony when I see all these members doing their own thing, in a way that contributes to the growth and unity of the Swartz Creek church of Christ

Let’s continue our study of this Christian symphony in Colossians 4; we have “Parts 6, 7, 8…”

EPAPHRAS, LUKE, DEMAS - 4:12-14:
Now, since in verse 11 Paul writes that the men he just mentioned were the “only” ones of the circumcision, we assume that the next group of Christians were all Gentiles.

Epaphras is named three times in the NT; twice here in Colossians. The other time is in Philemon 23. Epaphras was also a prisoner with Paul in Rome and Paul hopped that he would get out of jail with Paul and travel to Colossae to see the Christians there.

Colossians 1:7 is informative when it comes to Epaphras. He is the one who established the church of Christ in Colossae. Paul says that the Christians there learned the truth of the gospel from Epaphras, his “beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf.”

Here in 4:12, Paul sends greetings to the church at Colossae, from prison in Rome, from Epaphras, one of the members fo the church at Colossae. Rather than identifying Epaphras as a “prisoner of Rome,” Paul identifies him as a “bondslave of Jesus Christ.” But notice how else Paul identifies Epaphras: “always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers.” The word translated “laboring earnestly” is one word in Greek, a word which gives us the English word “agonizing.” Epaphras was agonizing in his prayers for his fellow Christians. Isn’t that a great way to be known? Known as a man of prayer or a woman of prayer. Paul would not have known that Epaphras prayed so constantly if they had not been talking about it.

Epaphras was a praying Christian and he specifically prayed for the Christians, from his “home congregation,” that they would stand perfect, and be fully assured in all the will of God” (vs 12). Notice that Paul says Epaphras had a “deep concern” for the Christians in Colossae as well as for a neighboring congregation, the churches of Christ in Laodicea and Hieropolis. These three congregations were located very close together in the Lycus Valley.

“Christian Orchestra Part 7:” Luke, the beloved physician. Luke is only mentioned three times in the NT. Here, he is identified as a medical doctor whom Paul loved. At the end of Paul’s life, as he is dying in a Roman prison cell, Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:11 that Luke was the only Christian with him. Paul sent greetings to Philemon, from Luke, who was also with Paul in jail both here and now and the second Roman imprisonment.

Luke traveled a lot with Paul. The early Greek manuscripts identify what we know as the Gospel of Luke as written by Luke. The Gospel of Luke was written to the same person and its writing style and vocabulary are similar to the book of Acts so it is easy to presume that the same person, Luke, wrote both books. Luke joins Paul in his second mission trip in Acts 16:10 and stays behind in Philippi while Paul continued traveling. There was a medical school in Philippi so maybe Luke stayed there to do some continuing education. He rejoins Paul’s third mission team in Acts 20:5 and apparently stays with Paul through the end of Acts and probably through the rest of his life since he’s with Paul again at the end of his life in 2 Timothy 4:11.

If you were beaten and bruised with broken bones as much as Paul was, it was probably a great blessing to have a medical doctor traveling with you. I could just see Paul thinking, “You know what; if I preach this message, I’m going to be beaten to a pulp. But, that’s okay, Luke is with him and he’ll bandage me up!”

The next piece of the orchestra we’ll mention here (Part 8) is the Christian named Demas. Demas is mentioned three times in Scripture. He is with Paul in this first Roman imprisonment (Col. 4:14; Phile. 24) but by the time Paul writes from his second Roman imprisonment (2 Timothy 4:10), Demas had deserted Paul, the apostle writes, “having loved this present world.” We don’t know for sure, but it sounds like Demas turned his back on Jesus Christ. Maybe he just turned his back on Paul while he was in prison, which would be bad enough. But it sounds like he deserted Christ.

Everybody does not continue playing in the Christian symphony, do they?

We have two more Christians to mention, the only female in the symphony… Parts 9-10 of the “Christian symphony…”

THE SYMPHONY IS NOT ALL MALE - 4:15-17:
Paul mentioned the church of Christ in Laodicea in verse 13. Paul wants the Christians in Colossae to send his greetings to that congregation. Also, he wants the church to greet another congregation of Christians whether in Laodicea or Colossae, we don’t know. But, this church met in the home of Nympha, a Christian woman.

When they get together, Paul tells them to read that letter, then make a copy of the letter and send it to the church in Laodicea. Also, they were to receive a copy of Paul’s letter (which we do not have) which he wrote to the church at Laodicea, and they were to read that inspired letter as well.

Finally, Paul mentions one more piece of the symphony, a Christian named Archippus. Archippus is mentioned twice; here and Philemon 2. In that text, Paul calls Archippus a “fellow soldier.” We do not know what ministry Archippus served in the church at Colossae, but Paul challenges him to fill it up; bring it to its conclusion.

You and I are members of our own “Christian symphony,” the Swartz Creek church of Christ. We each have unique skills, talents, likes and dislikes that we bring to this symphony.

Take home message: If we are going to make harmony together, it requires us to work together, to “fulfill” our ministry. Let’s raise our level of involvement in the Swartz Creek church of Christ so we can bring greater honor to Jesus Christ.