Cultivating a Connected Church
Text: Colossians 4:7–18
[Preached on 16 June 2023 at the IPC UK Presbytery’s June Meeting, IPC Ealing]
‘Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 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.
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), 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. 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. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 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. And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.’ (Colossians 4:7–18)
Introduction
I picked this final section of Paul’s epistle to the Colossians for us to consider today because I wanted us to reflect together on the essential connectedness that we have in the Body of Christ on account of the gospel. As presbyterians, connectedness is something that we value dearly. It is something that we work hard at giving visible expression to. Here in our text today we have before us a snapshot, if you will, of how the gospel of Christ is a gospel of peace that pulls sinners together in order that they might push each other along as partners in bringing the gospel to the ends of the earth. This morning the Word of God is teaching us that because the gospel reconciles us to God and to each other, we must seek to be connected with other believers through mutual prayer and support.
The gospel reconciles sinners to God and to each other
As you may be aware, along with the Epistle to the Colossians, which was likely delivered by Tychicus, Paul also sent a second letter, addressed to Philemon, which was likely carried to him by his former slave, Onesimus.
From that letter, we learn that while he was still an unbeliever, Onesimus had broken his master’s trust by running away, possibly also leaving some debt unpaid. However, by God’s providence, Onesimus met Paul in Rome, heard the gospel preached to him, and became a disciple. Here, as a demonstration of the powerful reconciliation that the gospel brings about, Paul presents Onesiumus not only to Philemon but to the whole church of Colossae as ‘our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you.’ (v. 9)
On a more personal level, we also see how the powerful work of reconciliation took root in Paul’s own experience as he commended another brother to the Colossians: ‘Mark the cousin of Barnabas’ whom Paul numbers among ‘the men of the circumcision … fellow workers of the kingdom of God’ who have been ‘a comfort’ to him. (vv. 10–11). Mark had once broken Paul’s trust also. Just a couple of years ago, he had abandoned Paul and his companions while on a mission in Pamphylia in Asia Minor. At the time, Paul did not deem it wise to keep taking Mark along with them on their missionary journeys. But that was then, this is now. Through God’s providence, and through his cousin Barnabas’ continued encouragement, Mark soon became a fully committed worker in the Lord’s harvest field. Now Paul refers to him as a fellow worker and as a comfort to him.
This is truly remarkable. The gospel that reconciles sinners to God also brings about reconciliation between sinners. The connectedness that we have with Christ as members of his body necessarily reconciles us to one another and makes us members of each other. The gospel cultivates a connectedness between true brothers and sisters who have been brought, by faith union with Christ, into communion with the triune God, and with each other.
Earlier this week at Catalyst a question was asked of whether or not the IPC was an ‘every member a minister church’? To my mind, the simple answer to this ought to be ‘yes.’ Yes, in the sense that, as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17–20, our union with Christ has rendered us all:
- Recipients of the ministry of reconciliation and
- Ambassadors of the message of reconciliation, which is the gospel.
‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.’ (2 Corinthians 5:17–20)
The great and deeply personal hope that the gospel holds out for each one of us is this: if the Holy Spirit is powerful enough to reconcile the profane (that is, us sinners) with the holy (that is, Almighty God), then there is certainly no human relationship that is beyond the pale of the gospel’s reconciling power. This, I submit to you must especially true within the body of Christ.
This reconciliation entails a connectedness with other believers
Because some things are much better told in person than through letters, Tychicus and Onesimus had the task of relating to the church in Colossae how Paul and his companions were doing. They were to give a fuller face-to-face mission update to the Colossians of everything that had been happening in Rome, where Paul was in prison.
‘I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 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.’ (Colossians 4:8–9)
Everything that was taking place in Rome concerned the congregation in Colossae as well. The Colossian believers had as much of an interest in the goings on in Rome as they did the latest developments in neighboring Laodicea or Hierapolis. This is the impression that we get here both with Paul’s assurance of updates through these two men, and his instruction that this letter and the letter from Laodicea be exchanged and read.
‘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.’ (Colossians 4:16)
There was a very conscious commitment among the early Christians to give full expression to the Lord Jesus’ prayer to the Father in the upper room where he prayed that the Church may be one, even as the Son and the Father are one:
‘All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.’ (John 17:10–11)
Last January 5, although it was a little early for us in Manila (it was 4:00 AM in the morning), I and a few of our church members were very glad to have been able to join our brothers and sisters from this side of the world in our Presbytery-wide prayer meeting via Zoom. In fact, several of our members who were not able to join that time were soon also asking me when the next one might be. This is because, as the congregation of the International Presbyterian Church in Manila, we recognize that we are nevertheless part of the same family because of the gospel.
Connectedness within the Body of Christ is of the essence of our identity. Recall how in the Lord’s Supper, we believe that the Holy Spirit is able to unite the signs of bread and wine with the reality they signify so that ‘we do not doubt but joyfully believe that what we receive in that meal is nothing less than the crucified body and shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ If the supper signifies this — our indisoluble union with Christ by faith — how much more is the Holy Spirit able to unite our hearts together? The connectedness that the gospel expects us to have one with another is one that is consonant with the work of the Spirit in uniting us to Christ!
Isn’t it interesting that Paul also sends greetings by way of the Colossians to the believers in Laodicea that met in Nympha house? You see, the gospel PULLS us together. This was the Lord’s prayer for his disciples. It is the natural outworking of the gospel that we should expect and work towards.
The various greetings that Paul’s associates send to the Colossians speak to this sense of union and communion as well. We read of greetings from Aristarchus, Mark, Jesus Justus, Epaphras, Luke, and Demas. These six men, three of Jewish birth and three of Gentile birth — itself a reminder that the ministry and message of reconciliation is for people of all backgrounds and nationalities — were all with Paul in Rome, bringing him comfort and encouragement as they ministered the gospel with him.
Demas, of course, will ultimately abandon Paul on account of his love for this present world (cf. 2 Timothy 4:10). But at this point in Paul’s ministry, Demas was still, for all intents and purposes, Paul’s faithful fellow worker (Philemon 1:24).
This connectedness means mutual prayer and support
The example of Demas’ eventual backsliding and apostasy should reinforce in our minds the need to take seriously our mutual duty to pray and to support one another as brothers and sisters. As of today — June 17, 2023 — by God’s grace, I am yet seeking with all my might to be a faithful worker just as Demas surely appeared to be when Paul wrote this epistle. So, too, I trust, is the case with you. But that you and I would not take the same road that Demas did we need each other’s constant prayers and encouragement.
We need to embrace this important role that we have in each other’s lives. We all need that encouragement, that comfort, that PUSH as we press on as followers of Christ. We all need each other’s constant presence, prayers, and pillaring.
Even more practically, the kind of mutual support that Paul has in view here is also material. Mark, he informs them, will be going on a mission through the region and might pass by Colossae — ‘if he comes to you, welcome him’. (Colossians 4:10) Paul expected the Colossians to welcome Mark and to send him on his way with ample provisions, encouragement, and prayers. In coming to the UK, which I hope to be able to keep doing every June of each year, I have personally experienced the Lord’s gracious provisions through the material support of brothers and sisters both here and back home. And being here with you all, I have also experienced the kind of welcome that Paul urges here.
Our connectedness in the gospel must mean that we would welcome one another just as the Father has welcomed us sinners in Christ. As Glen Scrivener has so beautifully put it,
‘Jesus joins us in our mess so that we can join him in his family.’
This week Sinclair Ferguson reminded us that ‘family’ is not just a metaphor of the communion of the saints, it is its reality. It means that we ought not to just call each other ‘brother’ or ‘sister,’ but we must truly mean it through our actions. We must seek to fill each other’s needs, outdoing one another in love and good works. We must seek out the many ways that we could partner together in the work of the ministry. This is what it would take for us to cultivate a true connectedness as brothers and sisters who have been bought by the blood of Christ and brought into his family.
Several years ago we had a visitor from Australia who was connected to me through the City to City network. She was a doctor who was spending a couple of weeks at a hospital in Manila for training. I will always remember the first thing that she said to me when I picked her up at the airport: ‘I am so glad to know that I have family here.’ It is true, isn’t it? Wherever in the world we go, if we are in the presence of fellow blood-bought Christians, then we are in the company of family.
Another way that Paul urges this connectedness and support is through his command to Archippus to stay true to his calling as a minister. Have a look at verse 17:
‘And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”’ (Colossians 4:17)
The command here appears to be for Archippus, but I think it’s also for the Colossian believers, is it not? Epaphras, who was most likely the church planter and main pastor of the congregation in Colossae, was in Rome at the moment. It would appear that young Archippus was left in charge. Paul gives Archippus a much needed boost and a show of support by reminding him to ‘see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received from the Lord.’ What is interesting her eis that he actually instructs the congregation in Colossae to say this to Archippus. The implication is this: ‘dear Colossians, tell Archippus to be faithful, and you, Colossians — don’t make it hard for the young man! Support him. Pray for him. Encourage him.’
Perhaps Archippus was not as good or skilled of a preacher as Epaphras was, the Colossians should support him by bearing with him as he sought to grow in the ministry of proclamation.
Perhaps, being young in the ministry, he had much need to still gain practical wisdom and experience, so the Colossians should pray for him and encourage him.
It is as if Paul was telling them here, ‘be committed to Archippus’ growth and success as a faithful servant of the Lord in your midst. If he is striving to be faithful, appreciate him and tell him how you are being blessed through his ministry.’
The reality is that we pastors and preachers do not need compliments, but we will be helped by our people’s encouragement. We are helped greatly by the knowledge that our brothers and sisters — with whom we are united in Christ — are praying for us and with us.
When people come up to us after the worship service to give comments on our sermons, we appreciate that. But don’t just say to us, ‘that was good’ or ‘I was blessed’. Rather, tell us how the preaching has helped challenge you to greater faithfulness and service to Christ. Tell us how the preached Word has helped you to understand better the entailments of the gospel in your own life as a Christian. That’s the kind of PUSH that we need.
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, the gospel of Christ is a gospel of peace that pulls sinners together in order that they might push each other along as partners in bringing the gospel to the world.
For us believers, this means that we have a responsibility to cultivate a connected church. A connectedness that flows out of our union with Christ. We must seek to be agents of reconciliation and love towards one another not just within our own congregation but also across the Body of Christ, as much as it relies on us. This is what it means to be truly catholic.
We must actively pray for our ministers and elders, supporting them in the differentiated ways that we can. Finally, being ministers of reconciliation also means that we are to seek to proclaim the good news that God is a reconciling God to all who are as yet outside of Christ. This, I submit to you this morning, is how the gospel teaches us to cultivate a connected church. Amen.
