Colossians 4:7 Commentary and Bible Study

Here in the seventh verse, the apostle Paul comes to the close of the epistle and he extends greetings from his fellow workers. Paul was seldom alone; he was mostly with his fellow workers who served with him no matter how rigorous the journeys, how great the persecution. Tychicus, was an Asian convert to Christ, among the second generation of Christians. He had been with the apostle Paul in the closing stages of his third missionary journey, some four years before this present imprisonment in Rome. In this first Roman imprisonment, he had joined Paul in prison, not as a convicted person but as a voluntary prisoner. He brought this letter to the Colossians, along with the letter to Philemon and to the Ephesians, and he was a preacher and when he went, he would preach and comfort the church. He was sent to tell them about the remarkable influence that had been accorded to Paul in Rome, so that they would not be discouraged at the fact that the apostle was in prison.What made Tychicus a greatly loved brother? Well obviously, he was a brother by conversion. But to be greatly loved he must have been a man of holiness; he must have lived a godly life. Sometimes tragically that is not all that evident even in a professing Christian. I remember a wife saying to me of her husband, rather hesitantly – ‘I think he loves the Lord.’ Didn’t she know? Was it not obvious to her? But Tychicus he was obviously devoted to the Lord. Then he was valued and helpful. He would get on with background tasks that needed to be done. He was not a man looking for acclaim or notice or glory. And then he was surely a friendly person. A person can be very helpful and very active and yet rather cold, and you do not instinctively find that person loveable. Perhaps even when he was depressed, he did not shed his sadness on everyone around him. He was a truthful man. He could be frank even with the apostle if the occasion demanded. There are some people who will not be frank. They will be nice to you but not really truthful. They might mislead you, thinking they are being polite, but Tychicus was always truthful. Certainly he was a sacrificial man; a generous man with his time and with his efforts. The apostle Paul wanted to send somebody to Ephesus and it could not be done, so at the last minute he asks Tychicus. Tychicus will not hesitate even though it is highly inconvenient and it cuts across his plans. Then he was also a faithful minister. The word minister translates the Greek word for deacon but minister is used rightly in our translation because Tychicus was a servant of the word and of the Lord. Tychicus maintained his private devotion. He never took a mission, never preached without prayer. He cast himself upon the Lord, represented him, spoke of him, and was faithful to him. He was faithful to the word, and was careful and accurate with his preparation, and sought to represent the word as faithfully as he could. He was not just a one note preacher, a one drum person: he would preach the whole range of truth, the gospel, the doctrines, the comforts, and the warnings. And he was faithful to souls. He had a heart for them and prayed for them. He was not an aggressive preacher who just harangued people. He knew how to be firm, but he also he knew how to be deeply sympathetic and consoling. He was faithful to the church, faithful to its order and its peace. And then thirdly he is a fellow servant in the Lord, a fellow slave. That is how the ministers of those days saw themselves; that is how all Christians saw themselves. Now a slave was owned and commanded by his master, and a true Christian is owned and commanded by the Lord. The ministers did not have salaries and stipends in those days any more than a slave would. As Christ provided for them, so they subsisted. Tychicus did not look for prospects, he did not say, I will go Ephesus, I will go to Colossae, I will put up with this because one day I will be the pastor at such-and-such a place and have a nice home. Although things are more settled now, and ministers have regular stipends of some sort, nevertheless they should have the same attitude.