One afternoon author Patsy Clairmont found herself on an airplane, sitting next to a young man. She had already observed something about this young man when she was being seated. He called her “Ma’am.” At the time she thought, “Either he thinks I’m ancient or he’s in the military.”
She decided the latter was the most likely, so I asked, “You in the service?” “Yes, Ma’am, I am.” “What branch?” “Marines.” “Hey, Marine, where are you coming from?” “Operation desert Storm, Ma’am.” “No kidding? Desert Storm! How long were you there?” I asked. “A year and a half. I’m on my way home. My family will be at the airport.”
She then commented that he must have thought about returning to his family and home many times while he was in the Middle East. “Oh, no, Ma’am,” he replied. “We were taught never to think of what might never be, but to be fully available right where we are.”
All Christians are in God’s service and that is exactly what he wants us to do: be fully available for him wherever we are. We have all received our marching orders from Jesus, our commanding officer, to make disciples of all nations. He expects us to be good soldiers and fulfill the mission of the church!
We have all heard this before! We know that we are supposed to make disciples, but many of us still struggle to do it. Why? I suspect that many of us lack confidence because of a lack of training. Colossians 4:2-6 provides us with the knowledge and encouragement we need to fulfill the church’s mission. It is like basic training for discipleship!
In this passage Paul continues to challenge the Colossian Christians to live out their faith in Jesus Christ by fulfilling the outward mission of the church. He has already told them that the new life in Christ is marked by a change in their internal character and relationships. Remember, he told them to put to death the vices of the old nature and to clothe themselves in the character of Christ: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, forgiveness, love, etc. (3:5-17) He also told them that their marital, parental, and workplace relationships ought to be characterized by mutual submission, love, obedience, encouragement, hard work, and fairness.
Now that he has dealt with the more internal aspects of the new life, he focuses on the external mission of the church—that is, leading others to this same new life in Christ. He specifically mentions two practices that drive the mission of the church: prayer and wisdom. Both of these practices were vital not only for the success of the church, but also for its survival. Prayer and wisdom would protect the church from the attacks of the false teachers that were roaming wild in Colosse and would help them make disciples of all nations.
Paul’s commands are just as relevant for us today as they were for the church 2000 years ago. If the church is to survive the onslaught of attacks from our anti-Christian culture and help people experience the new life that Jesus offers, we must be devoted to prayer and be very wise in the way we deal with non-believers. In these short six verses, Paul gives us the directions and encouragement we need to advance the mission of the church. So, let’s lace up our boots, strap on our helmets, and do some basic discipleship training!
1.) Prayer for the Mission of the Church (1-4)
As Paul leads the Colossians through basic discipleship training, he introduces them to four different types of prayer: diligent prayer, watchful prayer, thankful prayer, and intercessory prayer.
Diligent Prayer (1)He begins with a straight forward imperative command to the church “devote yourselves to prayer.” This does not mean some type of increased intensity in prayer; rather, it means to pray with greater consistency and diligence. Paul didn’t want them to pray occasionally, but he wanted them to devote their whole hearts to frequent prayer.
If we expect our prayers to have any effect in our lives and on the world, it cannot be haphazard and sporadic. We shouldn’t just pray when we experience difficulty, we must devote ourselves to prayer all of the time. Sure, it is easy to pray when we are hurting or a loved one is suffering. We are naturally drawn to prayer when we have a big decision to make or our lives are falling apart, but what about when life is relatively normal? How often do we pray when nothing major is going on? How devoted are we to prayer?
Watchful Prayer (1)
Paul also describes the way the Colossians should pray as “watchful.” This refers to the unknown hour of the Lord’s return and the end of the world. While they pray they should always be alert and ready for Jesus to come back at any moment. This should create a sense of urgency in their prayer lives.
We should also have this sense of watchfulness and urgency when we pray. It seems like many Christians today have forgotten that Jesus is coming back. The past 2000 years of history have lulled us to sleep, but we must always be on guard and ready. We will not be here forever and our time grows shorter every day. The imminent return of Christ should create a sense of urgency when we pray for ourselves, families, church, and community. How watchful are your prayers?
Thankful Prayer (1)
Another attitude that Paul wanted the Colossians to exhibit in their prayer lives was thankfulness. It is not surprising to find thankfulness here because it is a major theme that Paul weaves throughout the book of Colossians. He wanted them to use their prayers to thank God for all he had done for them, namely giving up his own Son so that they could experience this new life. Like watchful prayer, thankful prayer would propel them to fulfill the mission of the church.
When we think about all God has done for us, prayers of thanksgiving should be pouring from our lips. He has forgiven our sins, delivered us from hell, and blessed us with meaning and purpose in life. He has blessed us with a mind, body, health, family, a job, a home, food, and a million other things. What are you thankful for? Do you take time to thank God in your prayers?
Intercessory Prayer (3-4)
In verse 3 Paul moves from the general prayer life to intercessory prayer. He asks the Colossians to pray for him. (That is what intercessory prayer is: praying for people.)
A 20-year-old daughter earnestly prayed before climbing into bed: “Dear God, I don’t ask anything for myself, but I do pray for my mother. Please give mother a handsome son-in-law.”
Paul was sitting in prison awaiting trial. His opportunities for ministry were severely limited so he gives a specific prayer request: “that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Through prayer, he knew that God could open a door to advance the gospel message. It could be presented clearly.
Dolores Cummins of Lindale, TX, describes a time before she met her husband: “The air was cold that December night. Church bells reminded us to pray for boys trapped in the Battle of the Bulge. I was 15, but I remember hearing a voice saying, ‘Your future husband is in that battle–PRAY!’
“A year later, I met Robert. We started dating, and later we married. To my amazement, he related his experience of lying facedown in a beet field during that battle. The Germans bayoneted nearly all of his fellow soldiers, but they simply stepped over him, sparing his life. We are now celebrating our 52nd wedding anniversary.”
Have you ever wondered about others’ prayers for you? I mean, do you ever wonder who prays for you? What do they pray for? What effect have their prayers had? We will most likely never know the answers to those questions, but isn’t it interesting to ponder? Who do you pray for?
2.) Wisdom for the Mission of the Church (5-6)
Just as Paul knew that prayer was essential for advancing the mission of the church, he knew that wisdom was just as important. How once acts toward outsiders directly impacts how they receive the gospel message. As a minority in a hostile environment, Christians were concerned about the impressions they made on outsiders.
Paul didn’t want the Colossians to be fearful, threatened, or isolated. He wanted them to “make the most of every opportunity” they had to make disciples. Notice that he does not say “force opportunities”. Paul wanted the Colossians to recognize the opportunities that God had given them to share Christ.
Gracious Speech
After the Colossians recognized these opportunities, Paul wanted them to pay special attention to their speech. First, their speech is to be gracious. Civility and graciousness can overcome the misgivings and preconceived notions of non-believers and make them more receptive to the message. Gracious speech stands in stark contrast to cocky arrogance and judgmental words.
Our experience of God’s grace should guide our speech. We must be bold and uncompromising when we share our faith, but it should be tempered with gentleness, kindness, and humility. Before we can make disciples, we need to make friends and build rapport.
We do well to remember what it was like before we knew Christ. What was it that we needed to hear? What was it that touched our hearts? We should respect others and speak to them the way Jesus would. Is your speech filled with grace?
Salty Speech
Second, the Colossians’ speech is to be salty. In our modern idiom, salty speech refers to language that is laced with profanities. This is obviously not what Paul means here. “Seasoned with salt” was used to refer to clever, witty, and amusing speech. As salt adds flavor to food and makes it taste better, so clever words add flavor to the gospel and make it more palatable. A person’s saltiness will prevent them from being boring.
British comedian John Cleese said: “If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. And if I can [make you] laugh at a particular point I make, by laughing at it you acknowledge it as true.” Mark Twain once said, “When the mouth is opened with laughter, pop in the pill of truth!”
Many people believe that being a Christian means to be “tedious, boring, and dull.” Unfortunately, many Christians do their part to confirm this attitude by being “tedious, boring, and dull.” A wearisome, dreary, and lackluster presentation of the gospel can do immeasurable harm. Godliness is not be equated with stodginess! Now some of us are naturally more charming and charismatic than others, but there is no excuse for being irrelevant, especially when it comes to the gospel. We can all add a little flavor to our speech.
Intelligent Speech
Third, the Christian’s speech is to be grounded in the faith. They need to be ready for those who are curious about the faith or who challenge it. This does not imply that a Christian needs to know everything about the faith to be able to effectively share the gospel, but they should be able to clearly articulate the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection and answer the fundamental questions of the faith. Gracious, salty, and intelligent speech are all ways of employing wisdom in sharing the gospel with outsiders and advancing the mission of the church.
Again, you don’t have to be a pastor or theologian to share the gospel with a non-believer, but you should be able to give someone a basic understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. This should be an incentive for all of us to grow in our knowledge of the Bible and be grounded in the faith. We should be able to engage someone in a conversation about faith.
All too often Christians arm themselves with pat answers and canned clichés, but can’t think any deeper. For instance, if someone asked you, “Why are you a Christian?” what would you say?
Paul commands us to live out our new life in Christ by fulfilling the mission of the church. We fulfill the mission of the church by making disciples, and we make disciples by being devote to prayer and being wise with the opportunities God gives us. Now that we have received our marching orders, let us do our part to fulfill the mission!