Letter to the Colossian Church- 15

Subtitle: Partners in Ministry I

Colossians 4:7-11.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, November 2, 2025.

Paul has wrapped up his letter and is closing it with greetings from those who were with him in Rome.  Though Paul may seem to be singularly important, he continually testifies of the many people who helped him and encouraged him in ministering for Jesus Christ.

It is important for us to understand that people who minister for Christ, even with great scopes of influence, need partners both to help them and to encourage them.

In some respects, these people are partnering with Paul, but in other respects they are all partnering with Christ and his work. 

To partner with God in any endeavor will generally involve partnering with others.  There is a tension between the way God uses others to help us spiritually and those things that we must face and do for ourselves.  Both issues are important.

We all have a part in the people of Christ and also in the ministry of Christ.  Paul may get the press, but he is not trying to hog it for himself.  So, let’s look at some of the men who helped Paul in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Tychicus (v. 7-8)

We do not have a lot of information on Tychicus.  He was with Paul in Rome while Paul was under house arrest.  He is first mentioned in Acts 20:4 during Paul’s third missionary journey. Paul picks up Tychicus as a helper somewhere in the Roman province of Asia (his hometown is never mentioned).  It seems that Paul was continually looking for fellow workers who had a call from the Lord to help in ministry.

Tychicus must have made his way to Rome in order to help Paul during his imprisonment.

Paul used Tychicus several times to communicate with individuals and churches, typically carrying letters from Paul to them.  It is clear that he is delivering this letter to the Colossians.  He is also mentioned in Ephesians 6:21 as the one who delivered that letter.  There is also a mention in Titus that Paul may use Tychicus to deliver that letter.

In all of these cases, Tychicus is not just a mailman.  He is also a brother who can encourage those to whom Paul is writing.

Paul clearly depended upon Tychicus and trusted him.  So, it is no surprise to read Paul’s description of Tychicus as a beloved brother (fellow believer in Jesus) and a faithful servant.  Calling one another “brothers” was an endearment that recognized the family of God that believers were.  His faithfulness as a servant was not just to Paul.  His servanthood was ultimately to Christ.  However, when you serve Christ, you will find yourself serving people.

Paul also calls him a fellow bondservant.  This is a different word that the previous “servant.”  A bondservant was a person who had no will or agency except that of their master.  We know that Paul is a freeman, so this is not about him being an actual slave.  Rather, he is a slave of Christ along with Paul, “a bondservant in the Lord.”

Tychicus would not only deliver the letter, but he would also inform them about Paul’s situation and condition.  Paul is doing well, and God is helping him.  Tychicus could encourage their hearts about Paul’s predicament and the advance of the Kingdom of Christ in the face of Roman imprisonment.

Sometimes we can be more concerned about people than they are for themselves, and that is okay.  The key is communication and prayer for one another.

Onesimus (v. 9)

Onesimus has travelled with Tychicus and was himself from Colossae.  Paul describes him similarly to how he described Tychicus.  He is a faithful and beloved brother.

This is the same Onesimus as that in the letter of Philemon.  It is generally thought that this personal letter to Philemon was sent at the same time.  At some point, Philemon must have made his personal letter to be public. 

Onesimus was Philemon’s bondslave.  He had run away and somehow ended up in Rome.  It is clear that though Philemon was a Christian, Onesimus was not.  Onesimus became a Christian, probably through interaction with Paul.  Paul then sent Onesimus back to Philemon, his master.  In that letter, Paul encouraged Philemon to accept Onesimus as a brother in the Lord.  He even stated that he would cover all that Philemon had cost him in running away.

This idea of not kicking against your station in life, i.e., being a slave, but using it for Christ, is puzzling to the modern age.  It is part of the call to let your relationships be transformed by Christ.  It may be that a slave was Christian and a master wasn’t.  The slave would be encouraged to serve their master as if serving the Lord.  It was also possible that a master would be Christian while a slave was not (as in the case of Philemon).  The master would be encouraged to treat the slave fairly as we saw earlier in this letter, remembering that they have a heavenly master to whom they will give account.  When both are Christians, they would both be challenged to serve to honor Christ in their commitments to one another.

By the way, it is interesting that Paul does not use the language of servant and slave with Onesimus like he did with Tychicus.  He could have, but in this case, he emphasizes that he is a fellow brother.

Aristarchus (v. 10)

At this point, Paul sends greetings from those who remained with him in Rome.

We first hear about Aristarchus in Acts 19 where Paul is in Ephesus during the third missionary journey.  Demetrius the silversmith had stirred up a mob.  They couldn’t find Paul, so they seized Gaius and Aristarchus.  They brought them before the magistrates.  They were eventually freed, but we see that Aristarchus has faced difficulty for the cause of Christ.

He is from Thessalonica, the capital city of Macedonia.

Paul tells us that Aristarchus is imprisoned with him.  It is unclear if he was arrested as a co-conspirator with Paul or if he simply volunteered to be arrested with him in order to help Paul in this time.  It is fairly clear that he accompanied Paul to Jerusalem where he was arrested and then put on a ship for Rome.

Aristarchus is another faithful man serving the kingdom of Christ in spite of adversity.

Mark (v. 10)

Paul sends greetings for Mark who is not mentioned as being a prisoner too.  This is the cousin of Barnabas who is no doubt also the young man they took on their first missionary journey.

In Acts 13, we are told that John called Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem.  There was no reason presented at the time.  However, in Acts 15 as Paul and Barnabas prepare to leave on a second missionary journey, there is a dispute about letting Mark join them.  This dispute becomes so sharp that Paul and Barnabas decide to part ways. 

Paul clearly believes that Mark is not someone who can be trusted.  This makes it clear that Mark had abandoned them earlier.  Barnabas wants to help Mark grow in working for the Lord without fear. 

This passage becomes one of the places where we see that Mark went on to prove himself to the apostle Paul.  They made amends, and Paul depends upon Mark without reserve.  2 Timothy 4:11 is another place where Paul asks for Timothy to bring Mark with him who is “useful to me for service.”

Was Paul too hard or was Barnabas too soft?  I am not sure that we should try to solve that.  There are good reasons why both took the stand that they did.  However, God’s purpose can be found even in our disagreements.  Our conflicts and reconciliations are part of not knowing everything.  Perhaps, God was using that disagreement to create two missionary teams.  

Regardless, we see Paul sending word that Mark is to be welcomed (as a faithful brother) because they would know of his prior reserves about Mark.  They are to welcome him.

It is important for believers to leave room for reconciliation down the road when there are disagreements and conflicts.

Jesus who is called Justus (v. 11)

Paul sends greetings from a man named Jesus who is also called Justus.  Of course, this isn’t Jesus the Christ, but a man who had the same name.  Perhaps, this is why he went by Justus.

We know nothing else about Justus.  However, Paul describes him, Mark and Aristarchus as fellow workers for the Kingdom of God who are of the circumcision.  This is not a reference to the Jewish Christians who were teaching that Gentiles had to be circumcised to follow Jesus.  He does use the term that way in certain letters.  In this case, Paul is using the word to refer to the Jews as a whole.  They saw themselves as the circumcised as opposed to the Gentiles who were not circumcised.

There were no doubt other Jewish Christians in Rome, but these three were the only ones who came alongside of him and helped him in the ministry.

This brings up a side issue regarding the apostle Peter.  Roman Catholics have presented through the years that Peter went to Rome as early as the 40s and was the Bishop of Rome, setting up the Church there.  They then extrapolate that Peter passed his authority on to the next bishop of Rome and so one, creating a long line of succession of the apostolic succession.  This is the foundation of their argument for the primacy of the Bishop of Rome, or the papacy.

Those who reject papal authority, or primacy, sometimes try to prove that Peter was never in Rome until his execution under Nero.  This passage begs the question of whether or not Peter was in Rome.  If he was, he would be a fellow Jew working for the Kingdom of God.  They believe that it is logical to infer from Paul’s statement that Peter could not have been in Rome.

It is possible that this is true, but I believe it is making Paul’s words say too much.  Paul calls them “fellow workers.”  Peter and Paul both had powerful ministries that did not intersect very often.  They are both working for Christ, but it is possible that Paul is using “fellow worker” in a narrower sense.  Paul may only mean those who are actively helping him with what he is doing.  Peter would be doing what the Lord is leading him to do separate to Paul.

I am not persuaded either way.  I think this is a weak verse to use for both ideas.  I would say this.  There are no passages that give any implication that Peter was the head Apostle of the Church and that all of the other Apostles gave him first place.  There is also no idea that Peter would pass down such an authority before his death.  In fact, this would be a line of argumentation that would have worked for Caiaphas.  Christian heritage does not guarantee that one will have the calling of their grandparents, and a Christian office does not guarantee that one will have the same spiritual authority as previous officers.

We will have some more people to introduce next week.  Yet, let’s see these as those who have proved to be an encouragement to Paul (vs. 11).  They are not just helpers in the ministry.  Paul needed encouragement.  I am sure that the Spirit of Christ encouraged him internally.  However, Jesus also used faithful brothers to be an encouragement to Paul.  Whenever you see someone who is being used greatly in ministry, never forget this simple truth.  They need people to minister to them too!

God help us to work together for the sake of the Kingdom of Christ, the Son of God’s love!

Partners I audio