“I opened my eyes to find myself lying on my back in a strange bed. Because my head was raised, I could see into the semidarkness beyond the bed. My first thought was that I was in New York’s Grand Central railroad station at night. (I had recently seen a photo of the huge Grand Central hall at night, and I thought I was recognizing that location.) Then I saw, sitting on the left-hand side of the bed, my mother. She was wearing the big flowered overall and dusting-cap in which she used to clean the house. She did not speak, but smiled and gave me a cold drink through the spout of what looked like a small white teapot. Afterward they told me that I went straight back to sleep.
In fact, as I learned when I woke the next, I was nowhere near Grand Central station. I was in the hospital in my English hometown, having had surgery for a depressed fracture of the skull, which was thought to have damaged my brain. What I saw was partly a delusion, for the ward did not really look like the Grand Central station of the photo either by day or by night. The person keeping vigil by my bed had been a nurse in uniform, wearing a frilly headdress, blue frock, and white apron. I saw what I saw (if I shut my eyes I can see it now), but I was not seeing what was there. My shocked and battered brain was playing tricks on me. Reality was different from what I thought it was.”1
That’s how J. I. Packer J. I. Packer opens a chapter in his book Rediscovering Holiness, and it is with that line: “Reality was different from what I thought it was” that he effectively diagnoses a problem I had concerning holiness for a good portion of my life. I’ve noted this before, but most of my life was spent thinking of holiness as something that involved only me. My thinking went something like this: (1) Holiness is achieved when you practice the spiritual disciplines, (2) the spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible intake, fasting, and (of course) solitude are things that are practiced most of the times alone, and, therefore, (3) holiness is very much a personal and private endeavor.
Now, much of that thinking was right. That is to say, holiness does demand that we spend time praying, reading the Bible, fasting, and often it is done alone. After all, it is oftentimes what we do when we’re alone that demonstrates our character. So, holiness does demand many personal and private matters. At the same time, however, those matters that involved only me were only part of the picture of what holiness demands. They were only half of the reality of what holiness means. And, as another J. I. Packer quote reminds us: “A half-truth masquerading as the whole truth becomes a complete untruth.2 Thus, in regards to holiness, reality was different from what I thought it was. Reading the Scripture continued to open my eyes to commands that could not be fulfilled in isolation from other believers and demanded assistance greater than that which I could find in myself alone.
Simply put: it was never the Lord’s design that we attempt to live the Christian life in isolation from other believers. Dare I say that it is impossible to do so. There is simply a strong corporate element to holiness so that holiness can only be pursued in a partial way if it does not involve an individual investing his life in others and allowing them to invest their lives in him.
This reality is quite clear in many cases as we read the conclusions of Paul’s letters. In this letter in which the main characters are Paul on the one side and the Colossians on the other side, we find that in the concluding greetings all kinds of individuals come into the picture. In these twelve relatively brief verses we find mention of Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark (identified as the cousin of Barnabas), Jesus/Justus, Epaphras, Luke, Demas, Nympha, Archippus, and those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. I mean, where did all these people come from?
Perhaps the better question, though, is, “Why are they mentioned?” or “What are we supposed to learn from a section that is, well, just the closing greetings in a letter?” Even dividing up this book, I’ll admit that there was a temptation to throw these verses in with 4:2-6 and just note at the end of that sermon, “And Paul finishes up with some greetings.”
However, I believe these verses do serve to remind us of a few very important realities concerning the Christian life – especially the corporate reality of the Christian life – that I want to point us to this morning. First . . .
I say this because if you didn’t know better, you’d think Paul writes this letter to a group of people who have shared so many life experiences together that they’ve become best friends. I mean, consider some of the notes here. He tells the Colossians that he’s sending Tychicus (who is most likely delivering the letter) “for this very purpose, that you may know how we are” (v. 8). Why is he so sure that the Colossians want to know how he’s doing?
I mentioned to you when I was preaching recently at the church where I spent much of my youth and where my parents are members that it was an opportunity to preach to them and an opportunity for them to catch up on what’s going on in my life. In fact, I went there assuming they’d want me to bring all of my children into the sanctuary at some point, try to remember their middle names, and tell the congregation all about what the last few years have been like. But the reason I assumed they wanted to know is because they watched me grow up from the age of twelve. They watched me walk through my teenage years, share with them that I thought the Lord was leading me to pastorally ministry, and endured my first sermons (which, by the way, I’ve requested they forget). But, again, the reason why I assumed they’d want to know how I’m doing is because they’ve watched me grow up before them.
With Paul, however, he’s writing to people he hadn’t even met in person, and he’s telling them that one of his chief purposes in sending Tychicus to them is so that the Colossians might get a report on how Paul and his team are doing?
Moreover, you might then assume that these men who are closely laboring with Paul are at least childhood friends, fellow Israelites who’ve walked through some good times with him. However, he notes in verses 10-11 that there are only three men with him who are of Jewish birth.
So, what’s going on here? Well, I think this text serves to remind us that the gospel supernaturally produces love between believers. It’s why Jesus tells us that the world will know we are his disciples by our love for one another. Why would love between a group of individuals show that we are followers of Christ? What’s the connection? I think one point of connection is that the powerful working of the gospel is the only explanation for love that exists within a community of people. Just take our group of believers here. There are some of you I didn’t even know a year or so ago that now I love dearly. Each of us can say that, I believe. And I think it’s because when we hear of another’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and devotion for him the Spirit stirs in our hearts love that cannot be explained by anything other than the powerful effect of the gospel.
Therefore, this morning, let’s just delight in that, thank God for that, and labor to see that love grow more and more in this community. Yet there’s something more specific that we’re reminded of in these verses as well.
Just note the number of times Paul mentions in this text someone aiding someone else. We’ve already noted that the Colossians would have found encouragement just by hearing how Paul and the other laborers were doing. We can add to that observant that Paul is not working alone himself. There are at least eight different people that Paul mentions laboring alongside of him or faithfully encouraging him and comforting him. Second, he sends Tychicus to tell the Colossians about Paul and his associates, but he also notes in verse 8 that he’s sending him “that he may encourage your hearts.” So, we have the Colossians relying on Tychicus for some encouragement. Paul then mentions three men in verses 10-11 – Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus who is called Justus – about whom he says, “they have been a comfort to me” (v. 11). He then mentions Epaphras in verses 12-13, noting that he struggles on behalf of the Colossians in prayer and that he “has worked hard” for the Colossians. He even encourages the Colossians in verse 17 to give a specific exhortation and word of encouragement to one individual as he writes, “Say to Archippus, ‘See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.’”
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see in a text like this that Christianity is not intended to be a one-man-show, does it? You see, the reason why the things I can do in my life that do not involve other believers can only be a portion of what is demanded by holy living is because I am called to invest in others’ lives and need them to invest in mine. Let’s take each side of that.
First, we are called to invest in each other’s lives. We are expected to pray for one another, encourage and exhort one another, rebuke one another when necessary, grieve with one another, rejoice with one another, and on and on. This doesn’t mean that you need to pray for every member of the church each day, touch base with each one at least by email, and have each of them give you a report on their well-being – of course not. Again, it’s a corporate effort. So, the picture is better of a consistent effort on the part of every member so that together we are praying for, encouraging, and aiding each other over time.
However, I also want to add that there is an expectation of working hard for one another. Listen to the language Paul uses of Epaphras. He notes that he is “always struggling on your behalf in his prayers” and tat “he has worked hard” for them (vv. 12-13). Because the Christian life is very much lived out corporately, then we shouldn’t be surprised that hard work on behalf of others is demanded.
I mean, we realize that things concerning ourselves require hard work. Each of us, no doubt, has put in much hard work for things in our own lives that required hard work, and we weren’t shocked by it. Life requires hard work. And there may be a thought that if we put in a great level of hard work that it should be for ourselves or perhaps that if we are going to invest in others, it shouldn’t be too heavy of a load. But that idea is simply not based in the Scripture. I think, for example, that we all rejoice at the idea of the prostitute hearing the gospel, coming to faith, and joining our church. And we should. But let’s not think that anything less than personal, time-consuming labors, teaching, and prayers are going to be needed by her as she grows. Yes, we invest in others. Yes, it is hard sometimes. But it’s the Lord’s design.
Now, taking the other side of that investment, we need others to invest in us as well. It’s not a weakness to confess that we need others in the Christian life; it’s simply acknowledging the Lord’s design. But there’s an element of pride in thinking that we don’t need others. Maybe we think, “Well, I should be able to do it myself.” And that’s true in many areas. I am by no means trying to suggest a minimizing of human responsibility so that we choose to rely on others. This isn’t condoning the man who won’t work hard and wants a handout. That is not only unhelpful for our society; it is unchristian. But the Lord’s design in the Christian life is that we will face things that are bigger than us. We will battle sin that hardens and deceives us. And we need others outside of us to help us, encourage us, guide us, and pray for us. Again, this is the Lord’s design.
So, for example, let us share with others when we need help. Let us note ways on Sunday nights in which the people can be praying for us as we seek to honor the Lord in our lives. And we can expect that they will lovingly put in the hard work of praying for us and helping us. Again, it is the Lord’s design that we are dependent on one another for our spiritual growth.
I also want to note another thing along these lines of investing in one another’s lives from this text. In this text, also . . .
I want to note this because we might think that Paul is simply being unoriginal in his writing. After all, turn back to chapter 1 and note some things that Paul says of himself. He notes in 1:9 that he prays for the Colossians, specifically asking that God might fill them wit the knowledge of his will. Then, in 1:28-29 he mentions that he labors so that they might stand mature in Christ and notes that he struggles with all his energy toward this end for them.
Then, turn back to 4:12-13 and see what Paul says of Epaphras. He notes that he struggles on their behalf, in his prayers, so that they might stand mature, fully assured in all the will of God.
Now, are we supposed to read this and think that Paul was just uncreative? Is it that he wanted to tell them what Epaphras was doing and why and he thought, “Man, I can’t come up with anything to say. I guess I’ll just repeat some of the things I said of myself”? I don’t think so.
Rather, I think we’re supposed to see this and say, “That makes perfect sense?” Why? Because Paul was a man who understood the discipleship is founded on imitation. After all, it was Paul who said to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
Don Carson tells the story of an undergraduate student he knew asking a graduate student at the university to disciple him. Finally, the graduate student agreed, saying, “Okay, you can live with me.” This took back the undergraduate student a bit who didn’t think he was requesting to be his roommate, but the graduate student pointed out that if you want to learn to follow Christ from him, then you needed to see how he lived.
This has been the expectation from the time Christ first declared the Great Commission. We are to make disciples of others, and one key way you do that is by allowing them to watch you live unto Christ and allowing them to imitate your actions. By this, I don’t mean, of course, that you want to adopt the same hand-gestures they use when they talk or things like that. That kind of imitation is less than helpful. But one of the best ways to learn how to obey Christ is to watch others do it. Some things need to be taught and caught through observation. So, one way you can invest in someone’s life is just to allow them to be around you as you live unto the Lord.
And as we think about living holy lives unto the Lord, there is one more note that we need to point out from this text. In this text . . .
There are two individuals mentioned in this text that make us think about what we know of them outside of this text. One of them is Demas. He’s mentioned briefly in verse 14, as Paul notes that Demas greets them. We don’t know much more, but we would assume that Demas is a laborer with Paul, someone Paul has great affection for, and someone who is a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.
Yet, if we’ve read 2 Timothy, we know that Demas doesn’t continue along this path. In 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul writes of Demas, “For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.” We don’t know what ultimately happened with Demas. We would hope that he repented. But what we do know is that sometime between the writing of Colossians and the writing of 2 Timothy Demas was lured away by the enticements of this world so that he abandoned Paul.
One reason why we need others who love us, who will invest in us, and who will offer their lives as examples of what it means to follow Christ is because the lure of this world is constant. There is never a time when temptation simply disappears altogether. Satan is like a roaring lion simply waiting to pounce. So, let us not think too highly of ourselves but let the example of Demas sober us up, by reminding us of our need to fight for holiness, employing all the aid we can from our brothers and sisters in Christ.
But there’s also an encouraging example with another individual mentioned in the text – Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. We can remember from Acts that Mark was the one who left in the middle of Paul’s missionary journey, and Paul didn’t want to take him on another missionary journey. And here not only does Paul mention him but we know that in 2 Timothy 4:11 Paul writes, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.”
Perhaps today we have simply been convicted by our selfishness, sin, or lack of faithfulness to our Lord. Maybe we think that we have done little to fan the flame of love toward our brothers and sisters and have instead held to bitterness. Maybe we have walked in our sin without asking others to aid us in the battle. Maybe we’ve been unwilling to labor in others’ lives simply because it is hard. Maybe we’ve provided bad examples of what it looks like to follow Christ – perhaps even with our children. The good news for us is that we can repent today. We can repent and find forgiveness and follow the example of Mark, the cousin of Barnabas.
And the reason there is hope in repenting is because Christ has already lived the perfect life demanded by our God for us. He has died to pay the penalty and bear the punishment our selfish sinning deserves. He was raised on the third day so that if we trust in him we can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. So, let us today repent, ask God for the grace to walk in holiness together as a people, and come to the table, remembering our Lord’s work for us and knowing that just as his grace first came to us in opening our eyes to the gospel, so his grace will be with us as Paul reminds us in the last words of this book. Amen.