Of course, this first verse in Chapter 4 is a continuation of the thought begun in 3:22. As wives are to submit to husbands, so are servants to submit to masters (or employees to employers). Equally, as husbands are to love and honor their wives, so are masters (or employers) to treat their servants (or employees) equitably, with respect and dignity. Masters are to be just to their servants and treat them with dignity.

Now the subject shifts back to the brethren at Colossae and Laodicea. From this verse until the end of the epistle, Paul makes farewell comments, tells the recipients how his life and the lives of his compatriots have been going, introduces other missionaries, and personally signs the letter.

Paul admonished the Colossians, as well as all Christians, including you and me, to continue in prayer. Do not allow your prayer life to suffer because of your daily routine. Always find time for prayer.

Since Paul and all his fellow laborers have been dead for almost two millennia, there is no use praying for them to have doors opened so that they may preach the Mystery of Christ, which is the Gospel. Since this is the direct word of God to us, we must direct this admonition to today's ministers of the Gospel. Now, by ministers, I do not necessarily mean bishops, elders, pastors, deacons, or other formal clergy. We are all servants of Christ, therefore all ministers. A minister is a servant. Let us pray that we all receive opportunities to witness for Christ, and that, when an opportunity arises, we do not shy away from it. Paul was in prison for witnessing and preaching the Gospel. Today, at least in most of the West, we are not likely to go to prison. Nevertheless, for many Christians in the world, prison, or even death, is a very real possibility for those who share the Gospel with others. Perhaps you are one of those Christians living in a place that is hostile to the Gospel. I pray or you. Let our prayers focus not only on our opportunities, but let them also focus on those Christians in places where the Gospel is prohibited by governments or other adversaries. Let us pray for their opportunities and safety.

Paul's request for prayer was that, when given the opportunity, he would be able to present the Gospel in the most easily understood manner possible. It was correct that he should have spoken in that manner. We should also speak the Gospel in the same manner—clearly. The Gospel is easy to present. You must simply know your own testimony. The best way to know it is to write it down and practice it. Keep it short and simple. Two minutes should be enough time to verbalize it. Here is an example:

That is a brief and clear statement of a person's personal testimony. After that statement, then tell the person how you were saved and how they, too can be saved. You were saved because the Holy Spirit called you and you heeded the call. You put your trust in Christ as your Savior; you believed that He was the Son of God and that He died for your sins, and that He was resurrected after three days, is alive today, and sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for your sins. That is a clear presentation of the Gospel. You can do that anytime, and anywhere the opportunity occurs.

To walk in wisdom is to be circumspect. Those without are the unsaved, that is, the world. We must walk circumspectly, that is, we must be concerned with how the world sees us as Christians. Though I have several differences of opinion with Roman Catholicism, I have seen that much of the press, in its coverage of the death of the Pope, is completely oblivious to the truth about Christians. They have no understanding whatever of Christian life. Thus, by interpolation, many in the world have no understanding of Christianity. From my own experience in the pulpit, I know that the world believes church to be two things. One, they believe it to be an avocation (hobby). Two, they believe that its primary purpose is social work.

To the world, church is a hobby, like being a member of a club, a baseball team, or a bowling league. A hobby is merely a diversion—a spare-time activity. A diversion has limited importance. One may take it or leave it at any time. It is a private activity. It certainly has, or should have, no bearing on the public life of an individual. Therefore, "religion", being simply a spare-time activity, should be left at home and not have a profound effect upon its practitioner. The world believes that anyone that actually takes their "religion" seriously enough to make it a daily part of their lives is a religious extremist or kook and is a danger to society. This is especially true of a practicing Christian. According to the world, true believers in Christ, who practice their religion, are scary and dangerous people.

Unfortunately, too many professing Christians consider church to be an avocation as well. A Christian's vocation, his or her job, is very important. His work is not to be missed except upon the most pressing circumstances. Conversely, going to church has a much lower priority. Most any excuse will suffice to miss going to church.

The mission of the church includes social work, but that is not its primary job. What is the job of the church? It can be summed up in three phrases: Exalt the Savior, equip the saints, and evangelize the sinner. We are to praise and worship God; we are to disciple the saints (Christians) so that they may be able to accomplish the work of the church, and we are to go out and tell others about Christ. Included in evangelizing the sinner is social work. It is difficult to evangelize a hungry, naked, or homeless sinner. We certainly should provide support for the needy. Christ commanded us to do so. Even so, our support of the needy has the underlying plan (NOT a hidden agenda) to lead them to Christ. Social work is therefore a factor in evangelizing the sinner and not the major purpose of a church.

The world believes, however, that church is a benevolent organization dedicated to conducting social work. Our job as a church, as the world sees it, is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless and all the programs that go along with social work. The world feels that the church should stick to its role as a social worker, and not try to force its beliefs upon them. Social work is OK, but evangelization should be outlawed. When the church steps out of the bounds of social work, it must be pushed back into its bounds, and prevented from stepping out of bounds again—by legal means if necessary.

Our job, then, is to be very wise in our walk among the world. We must not give them any ammunition that they can use to discredit Christ. To walk circumspectly is to walk in a way that is heedful of the potential consequences of walking without wisdom. Jesus said, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." (Matthew 10:16) The world wants to devour us just as wolves do. We are to be wise enough to avoid circumstances that would give them opportunity to devour us. Conversely, we are also to be harmless when we are wise. Predators have a natural aversion to snakes because snakes can be deadly. The snake's wisdom comes from its ability to prevent attack by predators. However, the snake can also kill. We are to be wise enough to prevent the world from attacking us, but we are never to be harmful to the world in our wisdom.

To redeem something means to save or rescue from loss, to ransom, or to pay for. The word rendered time in the KJV is καιρον (kairon), the object form of the noun καιρος (kairos), which means time, opportunity, season, age, appointment, etc. To redeem the time means to make the most of the time given us. It can be construed also to mean that we make the most of the opportunities provided us. In fact, the context would indicate that we make the most of the opportunities given us to present the Gospel. Do not waste time or opportunities. They are both precious.

Speak graciously, that is, in a pleasant manner with the listener's interest in mind. In other words, when you have a conversation, be a good listener as well as a speaker. Do not monopolize the conversation. Make the listener is the object of your attention and not yourself.

When you speak, be filled with wisdom, piety, righteousness, love, etc. Be filled with knowledge of the scripture. The saltiness of the Christian is his ability to project Christ and not himself. A salty Christian is a wise Christian, who has understanding of His Lord and can communicate that understanding to others. Therefore, with the saltiness of the wisdom God gives us through the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit, we will be able to answer anyone who questions us about our beliefs. Thus equipping the saints is imparting this saltiness to them.

In the Textus Receptus, the subscript at the end of this epistle states, "προς Κολασσαεις εγραφη απο Ρωμης δια Τυχικου και Ονησιμου" (To Colossae written from Rome by Tychicus and Onesimus). The two mentioned in this paragraph are the very ones who recorded this epistle as Paul dictated it to them. Paul wrote about his status in this epistle and sent the letter with its scribes to the church at Colossae. One reason he sent them was to learn firsthand about the status of the Colossians. He also sent them to comfort the Colossians and relieve their concerns about himself. Tychicus was a member of Paul's company. Onesimus was not only a fellow servant with Paul, but he was also a native of Colossae. The Epistle to Philemon tells us that Onesimus was once a runaway slave. Paul entreated Philemon to put Onesimus' wrongdoing on his (Paul's) account. Apparently, Philemon freed Onesimus to allow him to continue as a fellow servant of Paul. In addition to delivering this epistle, Onesimus and Tychicus would give the Colossians all the details about what was going on with Paul in Rome.

Aristarchus was a fellow traveler with Paul. He was present in the tumult in Ephesus and was grabbed by the crowd and taken forcefully into the theater at Ephesus. He was with Paul in Asia and on the trip to Rome. Mark, the nephew of Barnabas, is also called John Mark. He wrote the Gospel of Mark. The Holy Spirit sent Barnabas and Paul on the first missionary journey. Later, Barnabas and Paul had a quarrel and split up because Barnabas wanted Mark to accompany them and Paul did not. Mark went on the first journey but returned home before the journey ended. Apparently, this was why Paul did not want him to go with them again. Jesus, or Justus is only mentioned here. Jesus was his Greek name and Justus was his Latin name.

Epaphras was probably sent from Colossae to consult with Paul on church matters. It is obvious that Paul had deep affection for him. See 1:7. Laodicea and Hierapolis were cities near Colossae. Of course, one of the letters in Revelation that Christ sent to the churches was sent to Laodicea. There it is symbolic of the lukewarm church of the 19^th, 20^th and 21^st centuries in the west.

Luke wrote the Gospel of his namesake and the Acts of the Apostles. Here we find that he was a physician. Demas eventually left Paul at Rome because he feared for his life (2 Timothy 4:10). All of the above men are mentioned in the Epistle to Philemon: "There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus; (24) Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers" (Philemon 1:23-24).

Colossians 4:15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.

There is some confusion as to the sex of Nymphas. However, the confusion is caused by the corrupt Western or Alexandrian texts. Codex Vaticanus reads "her house". Codex Siniatic and Codex Ephræmi Rescriptus read "their house". Nevertheless, the vast majority of Greek texts read "his house". Westcott and Hort, based on the single reading of Codex Vaticanus, decided to change the sex of Nymphas to female in their Greek New Testament. They rejected the thousands of other manuscripts that contained the reading "his house". Nestle and Aland decided to leave the corrupt reading in their Greek New Testament. This is the Greek text of the United Bible Societies, which is used for many modern versions like the NASB, NIV, CEV, GW, MSG, ESV, etc. Nymphas was a MAN not a woman.

See the remarks at Colossians 2:1.

Archippus is mentioned in Philemon 1:2 as a fellow laborer. This is probably not a rebuke, but an exhortation that He fulfill his ministry.

Paul signed the letter in his own hand.

Like Paul, I wish you grace.