Winter Springs, Florida Lesson
25
PaulÕs Faithful Companions
Ephesians 4:7-11
INTRODUCTION
Hundreds of years ago Saint Augustine said, ÒWithout God, we
cannot; without us, God will notÓ!
By this he meant that Christians can do absolutely nothing which will
count for eternity without GodÕs sovereign grace and power; however, God has
chosen to release His grace and power through Christians who are vehicles,
means, instruments for accomplishing GodÕs sovereign purposes. All Christians are responsible to do
GodÕs will, to be active in ChristÕs service and involved in furthering the
kingdom of God on earth.
The Apostle Paul saw himself as an instrument of God. ÒI have become all things to all
men so that by all possible means I might save some.Ó (I Cor.
9:22b). This is why Paul
surrounded himself with faithful companions who would also extend the kingdom
of God on this earth. What we have
in Colossians 4:7-18 is a fascinating
list of some of these fellow gospel companions of Paul. These were PaulÕs friends who stood by
him and with him through thick and thin, through good times and hard times,
through great moments of preaching and agonizing months in prison.
We need to grasp the circumstances under which Paul was
writing this letter. Paul was in
prison in Rome, and it was always dangerous to be a prisonerÕs friend, for it
was guilt by association and could mean imprisonment for just being PaulÕs
friend.
This morning we want to give a thumbnail sketch of five of
these companions and tell why they were so dear to the Apostle Paul.
COMMENDING TWO MESSENGERS
4:7-9
Tychicus: The Man With A Message - Trustworthy
(7,8): Tychicus will tell
you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow
servant in the Lord. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you
may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.
Tychicus had been a close associate of the
Apostle Paul for many years. He
was a native of the province of Asia and probably a citizen of Ephesus. Tychicus is
first mentioned as one of the seven companions who accompanied Paul on his
Third Missionary Journey. He was
most likely the representative of his church in Ephesus to carry an offering to
the poor Christians of Jerusalem (Acts
20:4). This man could be
trusted with large sums of money.
He was reliable and responsible and when he was asked to do something,
he did it. Tychicus
was also the messenger or bearer of the Letter to the Colossians and the Letter
to the Ephesians (Eph. 6:21).
2
Paul entrusted these precious documents to this one man because he was trustworthy. To go from Rome to Asia was a long perilous journey. Yet, it was a glorious mission for he delivered two inspired letters by the Apostle Paul to their original destination. What would have happened if Tychicus quit, gave up and felt the letters were unimportant? We probably would not have these two inspired letters today. Thank God for trustworthy Christians!
Tychicus is called a Òdear brotherÓ. He was much loved by Paul. Some think Tychicus
was a personal servant to Paul, a kind of valet, a
reliable person ready to do any job or to run any errand for him. He is called a Òfaithful ministerÓ in
that he was a loyal servant of Christ and a loyal companion to Paul. He wasnÕt always saying negative things
about Paul or trying to oust the Apostle from his place of leadership. He was trustworthy. He could be trusted. He is also called a Òfellow servantÓ or
more literally a Òfellow bondslave.Ó While Paul was famous, he viewed Tychicus as a fellow bondslave,
never considering himself better than any other servant of God.
Notice Paul says he is sending Tychicus
to the Colossian Christians to tell them how things are with Paul and what was
happening in Rome. Everything was
not written down in the letter. In
the letter, matters of faith and doctrine were dealt with, but much was to be
told by word of mouth. Paul also
trusted Tychicus to tell the truth and not exaggerate
or lie. From these things given by
mouth came much oral tradition surrounding the life of Paul. Oral tradition while interesting is not
inspired.
Tychicus was an insignificant man charged with
a significant task - to deliver the
Letter of Colossians. What seemed
to be routine was monumental.
GodÕs ways are not our ways.
He chooses to use the most insignificant people to get His kingdom work
done. ÒBrothers, think of
what you were when you were called.
Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential;
not many were of noble birth. But
God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak
things of the world to shame the strong.Ó (I Cor. 1:26,27).
God chooses insignificant folks for salvation and to get His
work done. He chooses a few
powerful, a few royalty and a few wise but not many. God could choose mostly
the Somebodies if He wanted to but He deliberately
chooses to save and use mostly Nobodies.
Notice that Tychicus was also to
encourage the hearts of the Colossians.
Apparently he was skilled in uplifting the spirits of others. The word ÒencourageÓ means Òto put a
fresh heart in you.Ó Tychicus was committed to building up and not tearing up
the brethren. Remember the
Colossian Christians were being bombarded by the legalistic, antichrist, angel worshipping heresy of the Gnostics. They needed encouragement.
3
Onesimus: The Man With A Past - Loyal (9): He is coming Onesimus, our
faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
Onesimus was a slave who lived in Colosse. His
salve master was Philemon, a wealthy member of the Church of Colosse. Onesimus robbed Philemon and escaped the city of Colosse and drifted to Rome. Undoubtedly Onesimus found himself living in the slums of Rome and involved in the
grossest kinds of immorality. But
the sovereign grace of God was after Onesimus. He was either brought to Paul or thrown in prison for some
crime where he met Paul. The
Apostle led him to Christ (Philemon 10). 0 what a glorious imprisonment! Paul then sent Onesimus as a
Christian back to Philemon. Onesimus had to make restitution for stealing and turn
himself in to Philemon in order to right his life before men, even though it
had already been righted before God.
This was dangerous business because Philemon could mete out terrible
punishment or even death to Onesimus. Onesimus had
to trust God. This is why the
Letter to Philemon was written.
Paul appeals to Philemon to accept Onesimus as
a brother in Christ. Apparently Onesimus was the bearer of the letter to Philemon.
Paul sent Tychicus with Onesimus to assure that Onesimus
would not get cold feet and turn back.
Onesimus was accountable to Tychicus to make sure he humbled himself before Philemon.
In the Book of Philemon, Paul mentions OnesimusÕ
crime, but in the Colossian Letter he calls him Òour faithful and dear
brother.Ó Surely Onesimus had become a voluntary slave to Christ and had a
servantÕs heart towards Paul. He
was a loyal man to Christ and to the Apostle, and desired once again to be
loyal to Philemon his slavemaster.
GREETINGS FROM THREE JEWISH CHRISTIANS 4:10,11
Aristarchus: The Man With A Heart -
Devoted (4: Ida): My fellow prisoner Aristarchus
sends you greetings...
Aristarchus was a Macedonian from Thessalonica (Acts 20:4).
We catch only a few glimpses of this manÕs relationship to Paul. He was there when the people of Ephesus
rioted in the Temple of Diana and was so much in the forefront that he was
captured by the mob (Acts 19:29). He was imprisoned but Paul escaped. Later we find Aristarchus setting sail
with the prisoner Paul on the journey from Caesarea to Rome (Acts 27:2), a very dangerous sea voyage. Such sharing of stormy experiences must
have drawn these two men close together.
Aristarchus was a man who was beside Paul when things were at their
grimmest. Whenever Paul was in trouble Aristarchus was there. He was no Òfair weatherÓ Christian or a
Òfly by nightÓ friend to Paul.
This was truly a devoted companion to Paul and his ministry.
4
Aristarchus is called Òmy fellow prisoner.Ó This may mean that Aristarchus had been
thrown in prison as was Paul for the cause of Christ. However, it may mean that he was such a devoted servant of
Paul that he voluntarily made himself a prisoner so he could take care of the
needs of the Apostle Paul. What
devotion! What sacrificial love! ÒCarry each otherÕs burdens, and
in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.Ó (Gal. 6:2).
Mark:
The Man Who Came Back - Useful
(10b): As does Mark, the
cousin of Barnabas (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to
you welcome him.)
Mark, the writer of the Gospel of Mark, was with Paul in
Rome. This is quite amazing
because there was a time twelve years before when Paul thought Mark was a
deserter from the Christian Faith.
On PaulÕs First Missionary Journey, Paul and Barnabas had taken Mark, a
very young man, with them to be their secretary (Acts 13:5). But in the
middle of the journey, when things got difficult, Mark quit and went home. We donÕt know why he left. Perhaps he was a coward; he may have
been a mamaÕs boy and become homesick; he may have burned out or even had a
lapse of faith. Whatever, he
deserted the Christian cause. When
Paul and Barnabas were about to start out on the Second Missionary Journey,
Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them.
Paul refused to take the quitter again, even though Mark apparently had
genuinely repented. Paul and
Barnabas had a huge argument over Mark, and on this issue they split up and
never worked together again. ÒSome
time later Paul said to Barnabas, ÔLet us go back and visit the brothers in all
the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are
doing.Õ Barnabas wanted to take
John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him,
because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not
continued with them in the work.
They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the
Lord. He went trough Syria and
Cilicia, strengthening the churches.Ó (Acts 15:36-40). Barnabas
took Mark to Cyprus with him and Paul continued on the Second Missionary Journey. Paul had a hard time forgiving Mark but
some where along the line Paul had a change of heart. There were probably three factors which shaped up Mark. First, he had a close relationship with
the Apostle Peter (I Pet. 5:13) and Peter
knew what it was like to forsake the Lord, and he was able to encourage young
Mark back to true commitment to Christ.
Second, Barnabas, MarkÕs uncle, was named Òthe son of encouragementÓ and
surely he worked with young Mark and discipled
him. Third, PaulÕs stern attitude
towards Mark probably shook him to the reality of the seriousness of the
Christian life. Whatever, Mark got
back into good graces with Paul so that Paul in his second imprisonment could
actually say that Mark was useful to him in the ministry. ÒOnly Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you,
because he is helpful (useful) to me in my ministryÓ (II Tim. 4:11).
We might say that Mark got a second chance and he didnÕt
blow it. He made a serious mistake
as a Christian but he came back.
He seemed to have a terrible past but repented and had a glorious
future. In fact, God chose Mark to
the be writer of the Gospel Mark.
5
Paul tells the Colossians to receive Mark. Undoubtedly his reputation as a
deserter spread throughout the Christian community. Apparently Paul was planning to send Mark to the Colossian
Church and wanted them to receive him as a forgiven brother as Paul had done.
Mark is a classic example of how God can use a Christian
after he has seriously sinned.
Mark was a back slider but he changed his mind and heart and came back
to Christ. God in His grace used Mark more after his sin than before
it. MarkÕs example put to rest the
wrong thinking that a Christian is washed up forever if he has done some
serious sin, and God will never use him again. When a Christian sins, it is serious; but if he truly
repents, he can find GodÕs forgiveness and be used of God again; perhaps even
greater than before the sin. It
may take a while for the Christian community to forgive and forget, but they will, and the person may have a greater
ministry than ever.
Jesus Justus: The Man With
A Name But No Fame - Comforting (11): Jesus who is
called Justus, also sends greetings.
These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God,
and they have proved a comfort to me.
Jesus Justus is only mentioned here in all the Bible. We know nothing about him except that he was able to comfort Paul. The word ÒcomfortÓ is that from which we get our English word Òparegoric.Ó Justus had been like a tonic to Paul.
This man Justus was a nobody but he
got his name in inspired scripture because he knew how to comfort people.
Aristarchus, Mark and Justus were Christian Jews. Apparently, these three men alone of
all the Christian Jewish leaders in Rome stood with Paul. All the others wanted nothing to do
with the jailbird, trouble making, Paul.
Paul must have been lonely but he had three good Jewish Christian
brothers who were a tonic to him.
CONCLUSION
Paul was an Apostle and God put good men around him to help
him accomplish the ministry. Paul knew that without a good support team he
could not get the job done for Christ.
As your Pastor, I appeal to you for your help. I cannot do this ministry at HBF
alone. I need trustworthy, loyal,
devoted, useful and comforting elders and deacons to surround me, love me,
encourage me and hold me accountable.
I need a congregation who will help me in my weaknesses and who will
supplement my shortcomings. Above
all I need each of you to pray for me and help me become a more godly man. LetÕs not forget the words of
Augustine: ÒWithout God, we cannot; without us, God will notÓ!
6
This morning we heard of Onesimus
and Mark who sinned horribly before a holy God, but they both found forgiveness
through Christ.
Do you want forgiveness? Have you sinned so terribly that you feel God would never
forgive you? Are you so burdened
with guilt because of sin that you think that God would never accept you,
forgive you or love you? I have
good news for you. The Bible says,
ÒIn Him (Christ) we have redemption through the blood, the forgiveness of sins...Ó
Come to Christ and He will forgive you for every sin you have ever committed or ever will commit. He will wipe the slate clean. He will make you as pure as the driven snow. Only Christ can take a sinful person and give him or her forgiveness, a new heart and a new life. Accept Christ today as your Savior for sin!