Colossians: Part 4 - Ch. 4

Colossae’s Conclusion

As Paul concludes his letter to the Colossians, we see him hit on some powerful reminders for the church to take to heart. This closing chapter may only be 18 verses long, but Paul certainly doesn’t hold back on his instructions for how we should live until the Lord returns. Paul also gives some final instructions to fellow believers who are working on spreading the gospel as well, while he is in prison, which just goes to show that the mission for evangelizing the world must never end. Yes, Paul may be suffering in a prison cell as he writes these letters, but he does so with the knowledge that he is a part of a mission far greater than himself. This must be the mindset that we must have when following the laws of our Lord, and as we seek to be sanctified daily. It does not matter what the world tells us to be; what matters is that we are glorifying God to the best of our ability in all that we do. When discussing one of Paul’s final reminders in this chapter, John Piper says, “One thing is crystal clear from this passage: it is God's will that we pray to him. Sometimes we struggle to know the will of God for our lives. But there are some things that you do not have to struggle to know. One of them is that God's will is that you pray to him.” As you will see, prayer is a huge part of this final chapter that Paul has for the Colossians, and there’s a good reason for it. With that being said, let’s dive into this final chapter to see what we can learn. 

Devote Yourselves To Prayer

To start, this overall idea of prayer is Paul’s reminder right at the beginning of this chapter. Colossians 4:2-4 states, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way that I ought to proclaim it.” There are many things that Paul could end this letter with, but what he decides to hit on first is the idea of prayer. Now, why does Paul tell the Colossians to pray? The first thing he mentions is that prayer keeps us alert in order to have an attitude of thanksgiving. When we pray, we are communicating with the God of the universe who desires for us to commune with Him. Not only that, but we are reminded of how big He is and how small we are by remembering that everything is under His control and out of our control. How could knowing this not lead someone to thanksgiving and humility? Beyond this, we see another reason that Paul tells the Colossians to pray. After stating that prayer is important for remaining thankful to God, he states that the church should be praying for him also, so that there may be more opportunities for him to proclaim the gospel to the lost. Now, obviously, we aren’t meant to pray for Paul like the Colossians did; his time has come and gone. What we should be praying for, however, is that God would open up doors of opportunity for us and our church to reach the lost with the truth and power of the gospel. This is clearly God’s will for all of His saved children because it was Christ’s commission to the apostles when He ascended to heaven. As Christ-followers, we must be a people dedicated to prayer so that we may remain thankful to God no matter what we are going through, and so that doors of opportunity may be opened for the church to evangelize the lost. 

Fulfill Your Mission

Furthermore, Paul even gives instructions on how we are to speak with the lost in order to communicate the gospel to them clearly. Colossians 4:5-6 tells us, “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” It is certainly notable that Paul tells the Colossians to be wise when talking with outsiders. Why is that? Why not just say the first thing that comes to mind, like we do with loved ones? The reason for this is that the lost do not think or believe the same things you do. So when a lost person crosses our path, we must be wise in the words that we use in order that we may be able to win them over to the gospel. This is also why Paul goes further and says that our speech must also be with grace, so that we know how we should respond to each person. This certainly implies that our response to the loss will differ from person to person. We can’t just run around outside with picket signs that say ‘Turn Or Burn’ and expect everyone to respond to that. We must be gracious to the lost, knowing that they are in a situation that we were once in before God graciously saved us as well. 

Lastly, Paul uses the final few verses to instruct fellow workers in the faith and how the church should receive them. This clearly doesn’t apply to us since these workers that Paul is discussing are from his day, but there is, however, a way in which these responsibilities are fulfilled that we can certainly apply to our lives that lines up with the rest of scripture as well. Look at what Paul says in the final lines of this letter in Colossians 4:17-18 “Tell Archippus, “See to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, so that you may fulfill it.” I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you.” May we, as God’s people, understand the ministry that He has set before us so that we may fulfill it. It is very easy, especially in this day and age, to assume that someone else will fulfill what God has called us to do and that it is only our responsibility to go to church on Sundays. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Great Commission applies to us all, and regardless of what gift God has given you to reach the lost, the fact is we must do our best to reach them. I hope that this letter has taught you many things, but overall, I hope you walk away with what Paul has reminded us in this final chapter. May we all devote ourselves to prayer and the evangelization of the lost so that we may glorify God by fulfilling the ministry He has entrusted to us. 

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Sources

[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/

[2] https://www.facebook.com/JohnPiper. “Devote Yourselves to Prayer.” Desiring God, 9 Jan. 2000, www.desiringgod.org/messages/devote-yourselves-to-prayer. Accessed 19 June 2025.