Streams of Living Water

Professor Roy Anderson, James Crosby, Philip Green, David Michels, Professor Roger Williams – all of these people (none of whom I know anything about) were Knighted in the 2006 Birthday Honours List. Perhaps there can be no more prestigious earthly roll of honour than to be named on the Queens Birthday list. But there is an even more important roll of honour than that – the roll of honour as working in and for the Kingdom of God. Colossians 4:7-14 record such a roll of honour for us.

We are now approaching the end of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. The sequence of basic thought throughout the book is itself fascinating – Paul began in Chapter 1 and 2 with highlighting the absolute supremacy and highest glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Way of Salvation. He continued in chapters 3 and half-way Chapter 4 by turning the theology of the cross and crown of Christ into practical issues of holiness. And so, for example, at the beginning of Chapter 3 we see the great turning point where Paul tells us that if we are to live holy lives, we are to fill our minds with Christ. Now, in these last 12 verses (4:7-18), he points to those in whom the Gospel of Christ has taken firm root. It’s not just a section of final greetings – some kind of backslapping cronyism – its Paul holding forth those in whom the Gospel hasn’t just been an idea, but a completely transforming influence. These men are living proof that the Gospel really can make sinners into saints. If I was to give these last 12 verses an overarching title it would be this: “The Gospel Really Does Work”.
Tonight, I want to look at the first 8 verses of this last section (4:7-14) because these men are the travelling companions of Paul and the various greetings sent by them, or comments made about them, give us an insight into the various issues surrounding being a working servant of the Living Christ. Next week, I want to look at the last 4 verses where we will see various teachings regarding the relationship between the early Christians and the early Church.
Tonight then, we turn our attention to Colossians 4:7-14 – to the roll of honour – those who are with Paul as he languishes in prison in Rome. This roll of honour exemplifies for us many different principles we need to bear in mind as we serve God in the Church and in the World. I want to group these principles under two headings: first, the Variety of God’s Servants, where we will take a broad sweep of the whole group, and then secondly, the Inspiration of God’s Servants, where we will focus down onto just one of these men – Tychicus, and understand the impact knowing Christ has made upon them.
[A] The Variety of God’s Servants
If the Gospel really does work, then it must work with all different kinds of people – and in this first section we are going to see just how successful the Gospel truly is. There are three levels at which we need to look at the variety of God’s servants.
1. A Picture of Union with Christ – above everything else, I believe that Paul has included these Christians in his roll of honour because they are the living embodiment of the truth that in Christ, we are all equal and that in Him there are no barriers left between people groups. In Colossians 3:11 Paul writes of the renewed image of Christ, ‘here there is no Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and in all.’ This is a new egalitarian world, not based upon the flawed philosophy of Marx and Engels, but upon the living Word of God and the shared experience of salvation by Christ Jesus. There is room for anyone in the family of Jesus Christ – of whatever background or ethnic grouping – and in Him, we are all One. This band of Christians listed in 4:7-14 typifies what salvation can do. Probably 5 of these men were circumcised Jews – Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark and Jesus who is called Justus. The other three, Epaphras, Luke and Demas, are uncircumcised Gentiles. In Jewish rabbinic teaching, the greatest division among human beings was along the lines of Jew and Gentile, circumcised and uncircumcised. And yet, here in Christ, the barrier is broken down – with Jews and Gentiles both experiencing the grace of God in Christ. And remember, the mystery of Christ which Paul has alluded to throughout this book is that Christ is Lord of both Jew and Gentile – and here in this roll of honour, we have the signal evidence of the Universal Lordship of Jesus Christ – Lord of All.
Most of these men were free – it is thought that Mark was from a very rich Jewish family. Yet one of these men, Onesimus, was a runaway slave – you can read about him in the Book of Philemon. Not only does the Gospel destroy ethnic barriers, but economic and class barriers also. It is a Gospel not merely for the middle-classes, but for the upper-classes and the lower-classes. How we need to remember that Christ is Lord not just of the middle class suburbs of Glasgow, but Lord also of the run down housing estates. Some of these men, like Mark, were from Judea – a Jew of Jews – others, like Aristarchus, were Jews from far away – in his case from Ephesus. The Gospel of Jesus transcends geographical barriers also – transforming and saving Judeans, Asians and Greeks. Are we beginning to get the picture here? People often say that Christianity is a Western Religion – as if to say it only really takes hold in societies based in Western Philosophy. But today, there are many more Christians in non-Western cultures than in the West itself. Christ is Lord of European and African, Asian and American. And when that Gospel of His grace takes root, it destroys the barriers which once stood between us – ethnic, economic, class, geography – we become one in Him and brothers together in Christ Jesus – as these men were in Colossians 4:7-14.
2. A Picture of the Forgiveness of Christ – the other evening, at a Bible study, someone was saying that Christians should never admit failure – that we should always be strong. Now whilst of course, we should never try to fail, the wonderful thing about the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that ultimately, it is good news for absolute failures – for those who have made a mess of their lives. And furthermore, it is good news also for Christians, like me, who continue to make a mess. The forgiveness of God through Christ is freely available to the One who asks – the cleansing blood of Jesus covers all our sins and failures. Some Christians may think that they have failed so badly, that God would never want them; but that’s just not true – the apostle John tells us in 1 John 1:7 that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from ‘all’ sin – yours included. Never let your sin keep you from God; rather, let your sin be the goad which pushes you towards God and His loving forgiveness. Among this roll of honour in Colossians 4, we have 8 failures, but three in particular. First, Onesimus, a runaway slave who hated his master Philemon. He had been a dishonest and thieving scoundrel – no doubt he wore a shell suit and a burberry cap, and carried a bottle of Buckfast, as he walked the streets of Rome, far away from his master in Colossae. And yet, while he was there, trying to run away from the master who had come to faith in Jesus, he met with Paul, and was himself converted. This failure came to know Jesus and his life was turned around. He went from chav to Christian, from a slave of a great man to a faithful and beloved brother of great men – so keen to return and face the music back home in Colossae, just so that he could minister God’s Word there as he had learned it from the Apostle Paul. God forgave this failure and made him into a faithful brother.
Secondly, Demas. We don’t know much about Demas. He was probably a Greek from Thessalonica. What we do know is that he was a fellow-worker of the Apostle Paul’s for many years. He worked hard and sweated blood to spread the Gospel over the Roman world of the day. And yet, towards the end of his life, as Paul again languished in a Roman prison, this time not to be acquitted, but rather to be executed, Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 4:10 – “Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica”. We don’t know if Demas ever repented of deserting Paul in his hour of greatest need. Perhaps Demas serves as a warning to us – we don’t really know if he was a Christian or not – we’ll find out one day – but even the greatest of Christians can greatly fail.
Lastly, Mark. Mark was converted through the ministry of the Apostle Peter and was blessed to have the godly Barnabas as his cousin. Mark quickly became a travelling companion of Paul and Barnabas, doubtless growing rapidly in his faith as he spent time with these two remarkable Gospel preachers. But Mark was a failure – early on in Paul’s ministry, he left him because he had been infected by a Jewish-Christian heresy – namely that it was wrong to offer salvation to Gentiles on the condition of faith alone. Rather, Mark and others like Peter, believed that to become real Christians, these Gentiles also had to observe traditionally Jewish religious symbolism – like being circumcised, and eating only Kosher food and so on. Mark had been very wrong, and when Barnabas wanted to take him with them on another missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement and a parting of the ways ensued. And yet 13 years later, Mark is again working with Paul. No doubt, Mark had repented and realised that faith in Christ alone is sufficient for salvation for both Jew and Gentile. Paul held no grudges, for another 10 years later, facing his death in 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul tells Timothy, “get Mark and bring him with you, for he is helpful to me in my ministry.” Mark had screwed up and yet he found forgiveness in Christ and became a heart brother to the Paul who once he had rejected.
God makes servants out of failures. Perhaps you think that you are too much of a failure to ever serve Christ – but you will never be as bad a failure as Onesimus, Demas or Mark – and if they could find forgiveness and renewal, so can you.
3. A Picture of the Variety of God’s Gifts – one of the bad things about our culture is that we often portray a false humility which says, “I can’t do anything”. Perhaps we feel that because we don’t have an outstanding gift, like preaching for example, that we are useless and we can’t contribute anything. Let’s see how that attitude stacks up against the various gifts of Paul’s missionary band:
(i) Tychicus and Epaphras – these were the two senior figures in the Colossians 4 list, senior not because they were the greatest of all, but because they were the least of all – both described as slaves – they were the last of all and therefore the first of all. They both had a specific job in the group – they were Paul’s messengers and delegates. For example, in vs. 8, Paul is sending Tychicus to Colossae on a particular apostolic mission. We find Tychicus being sent by Paul to many different places to relay and message from him or to encourage the Christians there. For example, we find him, on two occasions, being sent to Ephesus (Ephesians 6:21 and 2 Timothy 4:12) and once to Crete (Titus 3:12). We don’t read of Epaphras being sent anywhere but to Colossae. These two men were Paul’s ambassadors – probably the closest thing to what we would call ministers. They had special gifts from God of evangelism, teaching, preaching and encouragement.
(ii) Mark and Luke – these two figures have a different role to play in the group from the others. From the reference to Mark, whose other name was John, in Acts 13:5, where when Paul and Barnabas were preaching in the synagogues of Cyprus, Mark was assisting them, we suspect that Mark performed the function of a teacher of those who had been converted through the preaching of Paul and Barnabas. He was a discipler, a catechist, a teacher. Luke, we read in Colossians 4:14, was a doctor – a physician. He was a man of real class and education, and we might say the first medical missionary, since he went with Paul and the others, we believe, to look after their health. So we have a teacher and a doctor. But Mark and Luke also play another, more important and more obvious role. Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark and Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke. Both were Gospel writers. We owe much to these two men whom God used and inspired in the writing down of the history of the life of Christ. Luke also wrote the book of Acts. These two men, again, had special gifts from God – both, we might say, professionally, and, spiritually.
(iii) Aristarchus and Justus – we don’t know much about the individual giftings of these two men. We know that Aristarchus was caught up in the riots in Ephesus and was severely beaten. In the Book of Philemon, Paul calls Aristarchus ‘my fellow worker’; but we never read of either Aristarchus or Justus having any significant preaching or teaching gift. They aren’t among Paul’s missionary band because they are talented in that way. All we read of Justus is that he was a fellow worker in the Kingdom of God and a comfort to Paul. All we read of Aristarchus was that he was in prison with Paul, again was a fellow worker and a comfort to Paul. What gifts did these men have – we don’t know. What contribution were they making to Paul’s missionary efforts – everything. Apart from being fellow-workers, all they did was to suffer with Paul and to comfort Paul. That was perhaps all they felt they could do and yet without it, Paul’s missionary work and the expansion of the Kingdom of God would have been halted. All Aristarchus did was to suffer with Paul, all Justus did was to be a friend to Paul – and yet they were performing an invaluable task. Perhaps you don’t feel that you are amazingly gifted (although God has given each of us many different gifts) – but you can do this. You can be a friend to those who are on the frontline of mission; you can suffer along with those who are suffering for their faith in Christ. That is a truly amazing service. You might not be an Epaphras, but you can be an Empathizer; you might not be Tychicus, but you can be a friend.
See the variety of giftings and uses of God’s servants, such that even in this exalted band of missionaries, any of us could take our place. Not all of us can formally preach, but we can all agonize in prayer for God’s servants and for the Church. Not all of us can be medical missionaries, but we can befriend and suffer along with those who are on the frontline of mission work. You can fit in here – by God’s grace and equipping, all of us can be involved in the great missionary effort of winning the world for Christ Jesus.
[B] The Inspiration of God’s Servants
Of all those men listed in Colossians 4:7-14, Tychicus is probably the most outstanding. Throughout Paul’s life, Tychicus remained completely faithful. He was himself an Asian, probably of Jewish descent. If there is one phrase which sums him up it would be ‘faithful servant’. There are three notable things Paul says about Tychicus in Colossians 4:7-8:
(i) A Faithful Servant – the word ‘minister’ means servant. When we talk of our ministers, we are talking therefore about those who serve us. Tychicus was a faithful servant. Of course, first and foremost this means that Tychicus had faith in Jesus Christ – for without faith in Christ, no-one can truly serve in God’s Kingdom. It means also that Tychicus was faithful to the teachings of the Apostle Paul – he didn’t swerve from right doctrine or right practice. It also means that Tychicus was faithful to Paul himself – concerned for the welfare of this greatest of apostles, because Tychicus knew that God was working through Paul and he wanted to do everything he could not to get in the way of God’s working. It also means that Tychicus was faithful to the people he ministered God’s Word to – he loved them and looked after them – here we have a servant of God with a Shepherd’s heart, caring for and loving the flock. These are tall standards for any minister, and yet, in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we have the motivation and the strength to live up to them – to be faithful to God, to be faithful to God’s Word, to be faithful to God’s servants and to be faithful to God’s people; and through the promises of the Gospel, when we fail, we have God’s own forgiveness.
(ii) A Fellow Slave – The NIV and ESV translate the latter part of vs. 7 as being ‘fellow servant in the Lord’, but literally they are ‘fellow slave in the Lord’. Paul thought of himself and his workers as slaves. Here is a band of slaves preaching the Gospel and furthering the Kingdom of God. Each of them, apart from Onesiumus, were free men, and yet they had voluntarily become slaves to God’s people so as to preach, teach and serve them. See how leadership in the Church is from underneath – ministers are slaves who must never lord it over the flock – just like Jesus, who didn’t come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. Slaves are at the mercy of their masters – it should come as no surprise therefore to find a catalogue of burned out, depressed and worn ministers, each of whom have expended their last ounce of energy slaving for the good of the flock. Such a man was Tychicus – standing not on his laurels or on his closeness to the apostle Paul, but kneeling down to wash the feet of God’s people. Never wish position and status in the church – not only is it a wrong thing to wish for, but it is a painful thing to wish for – for the status of leadership is the role of a foot-washing slave. Slaves get no recognition and have no rights – are you, am I, fully prepared for what that means – that everyone will have rights except you; that everyone will have the right to criticise except you; that everyone will have the right not to get involved except you?
(iii) A Faithful Encourager – not only does Paul send Tychicus to the Colossians to tell them about how the missionary effort is going, and how he is, but also to encourage them. He wants Tychicus to give them courage. How is he going to do that? He’s not going to give them Christianized pep-talks, rather he is going to tell them about Jesus –about the Jesus who kept going even though the going was so tough; he’s going to tell them about the Gospel which gives freedom and in which there is forgiveness for all their failures; he’s going to tell them about the Holy Spirit who is God’s dynamic presence within the believer – enabling the Christian to press on even in the darkest of days. Even though at times, the Word of God wounds, it only wounds so that it may build up and encourage – and so at very base, the minister of the Gospel is to use the Word to encourage the people.
We may not all be Tychicus’s – we may be Aristarchus’ or Justus’ – we may be failures like Mark or even Demas – but the Gospel works. There is room for you in the Kingdom of God, whoever you are. Are you in Christ tonight? If you are, are you consciously working to extend His kingdom on earth, or are you only feathering your own nest? Come to Christ tonight – you’ll not get on any earthly roll of honour for it, but you’ll get onto the most important list of all – the Lamb’s Book of Life. AMEN