Increasing in
Knowledge by Walking in Wisdom
Book of Colossians
Chapter 4
Wisdom is the proper
use of knowledge according to the Webster dictionary.
It can also be said
that Wisdom is the opposite of "philosophy".
The absolute truth
of wisdom is that wisdom is one of the names of Jesus Christ the
Messiah!
1Co 1:24 But unto
them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, "Christ the power
of God, and "the wisdom" of God".
1Co 1:25 Because
the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is
stronger than men.
1Co 1:30 But of him
are ye in Christ Jesus, "who of God is made unto us wisdom",
and "righteousness", and "sanctification", and
"redemption":
1Co 1:31 That,
according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the
Lord.
In other words, who
are those who are wise? Those who have chosen Jesus Christ!
If we are walking in
the truth of the Lord, we are walking in wisdom!
If we lack any other
wisdom, we need only to ask the Lord in a prayer of faith.
Jas 1:5 If any of
you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Jas 1:6 But let him
ask in faith,
We should always be
growing in wisdom as we grow in the knowledge of the Lord!
Let's begin:
*****Col 4:2
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
Col 4:3 Withal
praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance,
to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
Col 4:4 That I may
make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
We must always
remember, prayer can move the hand of God if it is a prayer of faith
and in the will of God, but every prayer should begin with
thanksgiving for what God has already done, and this only after
acknowledging the Almighty God, our Heavenly Father.
We are also to keep
watch and be aware of the times we are in, according to prophecy.
We are in the Church
Age yes, but we must be aware of the times and the seasons!
Most important of
all, we are to "continue" our walk with our Lord!
We must pray for our
local church, but also for all the "Body of Christ"!
We should prayer for
others, but we should also desire that others would pray for us. This
is what the "Body of Christ" is all about!
We must also pray
for the lost! The more we pray for the lost, we will realize they are
in great danger of the wrath of God and are in need of salvation. We
do not have the power to save them, but we do have the knowledge to
lead them to Jesus who can save anyone at any time, and anywhere!
We should also pray
for the missionaries, that God would provide their needs, provide
fruit for their labor, but also that God would open new doors for the
"Gospel" of Jesus Christ.
If the Holy Spirit
is working prior to the arrival of the missionary, souls will be
saved!
God will never send
a missionary to a place, He has not already sent the Holy
Spirit!!!!!!
We must certainly
pray for our Pastors!
We should pray that
they should always have liberty to preach the "Gospel".
We should pray that
our pastor has many opportunities to preach the Gospel.
We should pray that
our pastor be filled with the Holy Spirit of power.
We should pray that
our pastor is free to preach the whole counsel of God without rebuke.
We should pray that
our pastor is on fire for God.
We should pray that
God would keep them healthy!
Heb 13:17 Obey them
that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: "for they
watch for your souls", as they that must give account, that they
may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for
you.
SO, it is only those
who have moved on from "babes in Christ" to true disciples
who can walk in the wisdom of the Lord!
*****Col 4:5 Walk
in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
Col 4:6 Let your
speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how
ye ought to answer every man.
Our greatest
witnessing tool, is the way we live out our lives before others, not
just other brothers and sisters in Christ but, also before the lost
of this world.
Christianity is a
daily walk!
Christianity is a
life shaped and controlled by the Lord who is our true "Wisdom"!
Christianity is a
life that by itself is instructive to those who are lost!
A lot of things
could be said about "redeeming the time" but in a true
sense, the Holy Spirit means to make the best use of our time after
we know we are the redeemed of the Lord. (I know I fail in this
things myself)
We are to walk
wisely because the truth is, we are certainly in the army of God but,
we are always walking in the enemies’ territory.
Our greatest attempt
should be for us to be ambassadors for Christ. Remember ambassadors
are sent from a foreign land to improve the relations beteen
countries. We are only pilgrims in this world for our home is in
Heaven!
We are certainly to
be standfast for the Lord, and unmovable in the ways of Jesus Christ!
Our speech must
always be with "grace"!
We know that "Grace"
is the unmerited favor of God and this must be instilled in us so
that when we speak to the lost, we are to understand that they also
must see this unmerited favor of the Lord through our actions and
speech toward them.
Rom 13:7 Render
therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom
to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Rom 13:8 Owe no man
any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath
fulfilled the law.
We will always get
better results if we do not first offend those we are seeking to lead
to the Lord!
A good thought is
this: "these we are witnessing to already know how to be lost,
what they do not know is how to be saved".
Our speech must be
well seasoned with the same "grace" that Lord offered to
each of us!
Pro_11:30 The fruit
of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is
wise.
We must remember
that the key to be a good witness is to "walk wisely" in
your own life!
We must also
understand we do not seek to understand the sinful ways of the lost,
we come to show them the godly ways of the Christian.
We must also realize
that evil company can be infectious!
Psa 106:35 But were
mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.
We do not have to
needlessly expose ourselves to ridicule!
Amo 5:13 Therefore
the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.
Remember as a
Christian we are God's "jewel" and we should always be
radiant before the eyes of others!
If those who are
lost do not see a difference in your life as compared to their own,
they will never see a reason to seek the Lord!
And now Paul begins
to close out this great epistle.
*****Col 4:7 All my
state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and
a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:
Col 4:8 Whom I have
sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate,
and comfort your hearts;
We will see as Paul
closes out this epistle a great list of Christians who traveled with
Paul at one time or another and who were all concerned about this
church and the false teaching that had entered into this church.
This what we have to
do with those who would teach a false doctrine. We must gather
against them with the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Paul begins with
Tychicus.
Some may say who is
this Tychicus, but Tychicus traveled greatly with the Apostle Paul.
He was a native of Asia and you can find his name in the Book of
Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Timothy, Titus and the Book of Acts.
Act 20:4 And there
accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians,
Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of
Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.
Tychicus was so full
of Jesus Christ that he could go anywhere at any time and fill in for
any pastor and be welcomed.
Tychicus actually
delivered the epistles of Paul to the Ephesians, the Colossians, and
Philemon.
He would go on
special missions for Paul. He even went to the island of Crete and
gave Titus a much-needed rest.
He was not only a
beloved brother in the ministry, not only a faithful minister of the
Gospel, but Paul said he was a fellow-slave to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Next was Onesimus:
*****Col 4:9 With
Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They
shall make known unto you all things which are done here.
We know Onesimus as
the escaped slave of Philemon who after meeting the Apostle Paul,
realized after he was saved that he needed to return to his owner and
face the consequences for the things he had done, and he did.
He also became a
beloved brother in Christ to Paul and many others.
Onesimus became a
brother to all the brothers in the church in Philemon's house. We
should point out that there are never to be any social distinctions
in the church.
A slave can sit on
the same pew as the king!
We should also note
that, it is very possible that there were others in this church that
owned slaves and who also witnessed these things.
The poorest person
is to be just as welcome and loved as the richest person.
And we should never
forget how the Lord measures the tithe!
Luk 21:1 And he
looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the
treasury.
Luk 21:2 And he saw
also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.
Luk 21:3 And he
said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in
more than they all:
Luk 21:4 For all
these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but
she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.
You might say well
we would have a better building program with the rich, but the truth
is, we can have a better blessing program with those like this poor
woman this day observed by Jesus Christ, but the church must remain
open to both, so we can learn all these lessons that Christ Jesus
points out to us.
I will say it again,
every step Jesus took, and every word Jesus spoke are great lessons
for us all to learn!
Next was
Aristarchus.
*****Col 4:10
Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son
to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto
you, receive him;)
Aristarchus was a
Macedonian of Thessalonica.
He was one of the
Christians attacked by that mob of Ephesus.
Remember these
Christians were not so much attacked for preaching the Word of God as
they were attacked because a union of silversmiths and metalworkers
who had stirred up the city because they were losing the business of
supplying idols made for the worship of the goddess Diana.
Aristarchus was a
fellow prisoner of Paul while he was in Rome.
This man stood by
his beliefs even if it cost him his life. He also stood side by side
with all other Christians and he would never desert his brothers and
sisters in Christ.
We need more such
men as Aristarchus today.
Heb 13:3 Remember
them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer
adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
Almost everyone
remembers John Mark (Marcus) in this Scripture.
Everyone remembers
how Mark got off to a bad start.
Act 12:25 And
Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled
their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
Mark was a Jew and
the son of one of the many Marys that had followed Jesus.
Act 12:12 And when
he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother
of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together
praying.
This was the house
that was praying for Peter and it was Peter who led Mark to the Lord
for his salvation.
Mark joined Paul and
Barnabas on their first missionary journey, but it seems he may have
been just too young to step out into this evil world.
Act 13:8 But Elymas
the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them,
seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
Act 13:9 Then Saul,
(who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes
on him,
Act 13:10 And said,
O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil,
thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the
right ways of the Lord?
Act 13:11 And now,
behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind,
not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a
mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by
the hand.
Notice it was just
after this event that Mark went back to Jerusalem.
There are many
things in this world that would scare a "Babe in Christ"
where the mature Christian would withstand.
Act 13:13 Now when
Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in
Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
We should also
understand if you have not been called of God to the missionary field
then, it is very hard to be of much use.
The Holy Spirit had
called Barnabas and Paul, but Mark needed to grow stronger in the
Lord, so his faith would not fade, and he did.
Mark later joined
Barnabas when He and Paul felt they could cover more ground if they
split up.
Mark had rebuilt his
reputation and had become very useful not only to Paul but also to
the Lord in the ministry.
2Ti 4:11 Only Luke
is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable
to me for the ministry.
Paul wanted these
Colossians to know this thing. Marcus was to be received as a child
of God and a very valuable member of Paul's team of missionaries.
Paul even had a man
named Jesus, who was called Justus so there would be no confusion!
*****Col 4:11 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.
The name Jesus was a
popular name but as a missionary it would cause confusion because the
Lord Jesus had certainly raised from the dead.
Justus was another
Jew from Rome who had turned to Jesus Christ.
The Jews in Rome
were strict religionist so not many of them were saved.
Act 28:24 And some
believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.
Act 28:25 And when
they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had
spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto
our fathers,
Act 28:26 Saying,
Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not
understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
Act 28:27 For the
heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of
hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with
their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their
heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
This was the final
turning point for Paul to spend his time and effort on the Gentiles
and the epistles began to flow from his hand and others, all inspired
by the Holy Spirit.
I believe this is
also why wrote the Book of Romans, also inspired by the Holy Spirit,
but a place so full of the world and of evil and immorality!
Justice had remained
with Paul in Rome until the very last.
It is time to note
that the Jewish people are so full of religion that they struggle
just as these Roman Jews had done.
Religion is not a
manner of salvation!
Religion cannot make
anyone acceptable to God, because only Jesus Christ can do this
thing!
Mat 5:20 For I say
unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter
into the kingdom of heaven.
The Pharisees were
the most religious of all Jews!
Paul wrote of these
Jews so full of religion in the Book of Romans:
Rom 10:1 Brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be
saved.
Rom 10:2 For I bear
them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge.
Rom 10:3 For they
being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish
their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the
righteousness of God.
Rom 10:4 For Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
We see much of this
still around today, not only the Jews but in many others who say they
are religious.
We can also see many
Christian churches so full of religion they have forgotten the
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Paul moves on to
Epaphras.
*****Col 4:12
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.
Col 4:13 For I bear
him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in
Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.
So far, all the
names mentioned have all been Jews who have accepted the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Paul had this phrase
he used that he always adhered to.
Rom_1:16 For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to
the Greek.
Rom_2:10 But glory,
honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first,
and also to the Gentile:
Epaphras was the
pastor to this church at Colossae and he had gone to Rome to get
Paul's advice on how best to handle the false teaching that was going
on in his church.
Epaphras was a
faithful minister, a faithful servant, and a fellow servant of all
these things to Jesus Christ.
Epaphras was so
committed and so dedicated to take the Gospel to the Gentiles that
Paul called him his fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus!
This pastor reminds
me of our own pastor, he did everything he could, even toiling in
prayer for the members of his church.
Of course, the
church belongs to Jesus Christ and Epaphras knew this also.
Epaphras prayed that
above all, this church would come to know the complete will of God
and then do it perfectly!
This should also be
a prayer for our own church! We already know the revealed will of
God, so this prayer is for something special!
Eph 6:18 Praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Epaphras worked
hard, not only for his own church but for all the surrounding
churches. (Laodicea, Hierapolis)
And everyone loved
Luke.
*****Col 4:14 Luke,
the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.
Luke was also a
Gentile Christian and he was not one of the apostles as many think.
Most everyone knows
that the Apostle Paul has more books of the New Testament accredited
to him, the next being the Apostle John.
Luke is accredited
with the Book of Acts and the Book of Luke and Luke wrote more words
that the apostle Paul, though it is the message that is most
important and not the number of words and Luke has a great message.
The thing we must
always remember is that the Lord says all Scripture is profitable for
us!
2Ti 3:16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the
man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
No one's writings
are of anymore importance than the next because we need the to
complete Word of God to have the greatest understanding of our Father
in Heaven, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Luke was a
missionary and evangelist himself and very valuable to Paul but maybe
his greatest act to Paul, was that as a physician, he kept the
apostle Paul going all those years.
I also personally
believe that it was Luke who penned the words to the Book of Hebrews
as Paul dictated them to him.
Luke was not an eye
witness to the gospel events, but he did investigate these events
from those who were eyewitnesses. so, we can see how accurate the
Gospel's really are when we compare them.
Then we have Demas:
Demas traveled with
Paul for some period of time and was dedicated to the Lord for that
period of time but what is remembered of this man is that he later
turns his back on the Lord.
This is a life of
tragedy because our walk with the Lord is to be daily walk.
He was a fellow
laborer of Paul at one time:
Phm 1:24 Marcus,
Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.
Here in this
Scripture, Paul has nothing to say of him. (and Demas, greet you)
Now he is just known
as someone who quit on God.
2Ti 4:10 For Demas
hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed
unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
Demas forsook the
apostle Paul and Paul said the reason was that he loved this present
world more than the work of the Lord.
This is the same
reason, so many quit on the Lord today!
And Paul continues:
*****Col 4:15
Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the
church which is in his house.
We know that the
church in the city Laodicea has been made famous for the Scriptures
written in the Book of Revelation:
Rev 3:14 And unto
the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith
the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the
creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know thy
works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or
hot.
Rev 3:16 So then
because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee
out of my mouth.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I
stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
What we see that
this church also had a humble beginning in the home of Nymphas.
The thing we should
understand is, that even this church had the opportunity to read and
study the Scriptures of the apostle Paul.
*****Col 4:16 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.
We must understand
the books of the New Testament were all written to the Church and not
to the pastor of those churches.
His job was to read
and teach the Word of God given to him that had been prepared by the
Holy Spirit.
1Th 5:27 I charge
you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.
And the church is
expected to obey these words as all the Word of God!
2Th 3:14 And if any
man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no
company with him, that he may be ashamed.
We should also
understand that just because an epistle is mentioned here from
Laodicea does not mean that Paul wrote an epistle that is missing
because all his epistles were passed from church to church.
And Archippus:
*****Col 4:17 And
say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received
in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.
Archippus, the son
of Philemon had begun his own ministry and was now teaching and
preaching at this church in Colossae.
Every young preacher
needs to be encouraged.
*****Col 4:18 The
salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with
you. Amen.
When we see these
things in Paul's epistles we can know that though Paul did not
actually write all the words in his epistles, he would normally take
the pen in the end and write the last few words.
There were many
reasons for this, but the main thing was that all these Christians
knew that these were the words of the apostle Paul as given to him by
the Holy Spirit.
Remember the church
in Corinth had been given some bad writings that were claimed to be
from Paul because Paul's hands were mostly crippled.
Paul would not allow
this to happen again!
Paul adds for the
Church to remember his bonds as he had previously asked.
Col 4:3 Withal
praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance,
to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
As Christians, if we
cannot be encouraged by the character of the apostle Paul then we
should feel ashamed.
With all the things
that happened to the apostle Paul and he remained true to the Gospel,
our little petty tribulations do not mean very much.
Next week the Book
of Ephesians.
Amen
