Colossians 4 explained: Final Advice and Warm Greetings

Masters held accountable (v. 1)

This finishes the household instructions from the previous chapter. Paul does not challenge slavery itself, which is hard to read today, but he tells owners to treat slaves fairly because they answer to God as their own Master.

Prayer and wise speech (vv. 2-6)

Paul asks them to keep praying, alert and thankful, and to pray he gets chances to explain the "mystery of Christ": God's once hidden plan, now opened to all peoples, which he is under arrest for preaching. Toward people outside the church they should act wisely and speak with grace "seasoned with salt," meaning thoughtful and lively rather than bland or harsh.

Tychicus and Onesimus (vv. 7-9)

Tychicus carries the letter and will share Paul's news in person. Onesimus is very likely the runaway slave from Colossae named in Paul's short letter to Philemon, now returning home and called a faithful brother.

Greetings from Paul's team (vv. 10-14)

Mark had once left Paul partway through a journey and caused a rift, so asking the church to welcome him points to restored trust. Epaphras, who likely started the church in Colossae, prays hard for them, and Paul notes that of his fellow Jews only Aristarchus, Mark and Justus are working alongside him.

House churches and shared letters (vv. 15-17)

Churches met in homes, and ancient copies differ on whether the host named here was a woman, Nympha, or a man, Nymphas. The Colossians were to swap letters with nearby Laodicea, though that letter is lost and scholars are unsure what it was, and Archippus gets a personal nudge to finish the work he was given.

Signed by hand (v. 18)

A helper likely wrote out most of the letter, which was common then, so Paul adds the closing line in his own handwriting. "Remember my chains" asks them to keep his imprisonment in mind.

Key verse: Colossians 4:6

Something to think about

Who in your life manages to speak honestly and kindly at the same time, and what do you think makes that possible?