Context No. 2351 of 4322 · Colossians
Context · Reflection
Colossians 4:12-18: in context
12Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, salutes you, always striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 13For I testify about him that he has great zeal for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis. 14Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you. 15Greet the brothers who are in Laodicea, with Nymphas and the assembly that is in his house. 16When this letter has been read among you, cause it to be read also in the assembly of the Laodiceans, and that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17Tell Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you fulfill it.” 18I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.
Paul closes the letter to Colossae with greetings, and among them he pauses over Epaphras, one of their own. Paul says he is always striving for them in his prayers, that they may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God, and testifies to his great labor for them and for the neighboring towns.
The word Paul uses for striving is the language of hard contest, the sweat of an athlete. Epaphras is not in Colossae doing visible work; he is elsewhere, wrestling for them on his knees. Paul counts this as labor worth naming in the record, alongside the physician Luke and the others. Intercession here is not a soft afterthought to real ministry. It is real ministry, costly and sustained, done for people who cannot see it happening.
Whom am I willing to wrestle for in prayer, out of their sight, with no credit for the labor?
Sources
- Colossians 4:12: Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, always striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
- Colossians 4:13: I testify about him that he has great zeal for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis.
- Romans 15:30: I beg you to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me.