“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery [hidden truth] of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.” Colossians 4:2-4.

“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” Colossians 4:5-6.

Colossians 4:2-4 has been added for context, we will concern ourselves with Colossians 4:5-18 in this post.

To walk in wisdom toward those who are outside is referring to the unsaved persons around us and with whom we work or our neighbors.

We are to use wisdom when dealing with people, not are all friendly towards the gospel, and all people are different, so prayer, even a short one before dealing with others is a good rule.

By short prayers, it is meant ones put forth in your heart on the fly. You do not need to kneel, close your eyes, or speak out loud, nor does it need to be fancy; “Father help me deal with this person wisely, in Jesus’ name, amen” will do.

Anyone with whom you are dealing should be brought up before the Father during your prayer time if possible. Use your spiritual weapons of prayer and knowledge of God’s word; do not just bumble through life.

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:16.

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16.

As we walk in wisdom redeeming the time remember this. There are 86,400 seconds in a 24 hour day; no matter what you do, they tick on second by second, you need to sleep, you need to work, you need to relax, but use those seconds wisely.

All of us have been allotted so many of them, and when they are up, they are up. Go to an occasional movie, the park, to Disneyland.

God has given us all things to richly enjoy, but do not forget Him, use as much of your time as possible to pray, study your Bible, go to church, associate with other Christians, and talk to others about Christ.

“Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am. Indeed You have made my days as handbreadths [a short unit of measure], and my age is as nothing before You; certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.
Selah [pause, or stop and consider]
Surely every man walks about like a shadow; surely they busy themselves in vain; he heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them.” Psalm 39:4-6.

And let this sink deep down into your heart, the only thing that you will take out of this world will be the things that you have done unselfishly for Christ. Everything else will disappear like vapor coming from your cup of coffee.

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” James 4:13-14.

“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt…” Colossians 4:6a.

Gracious speech seasoned with salt; grace in speech is pleasant, charming, lovely, sweet; kind words expressed, not to curry favor, but to convey a pleasant spirit.

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.” Proverbs 15:1-2.

“A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” Proverbs 15:4.

“The lips of the wise disperse knowledge, but the heart of the fool does not do so.” Proverbs 15:7.

“A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!” Proverbs 15:23.

Your speech is to be gracious, yet at the same time God’s truth must be held forth plainly when the need arises. Salt is a preservative and the gospel preserves the soul from hell.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16.

Most folks kind of glaze over when they start reading names or genealogies but some of you may find them interesting once you have read the Old Testament through a couple of times and then read the genealogy of Christ.

Names will sometimes jump out at you and you will think, I know that person, and their story will flood through your mind giving many things a context that you had never seen before. I know it sounds dumb, it is not for everyone, yet it can be fascinating.

One of my favorite examples of this is Tamar who is mentioned in Matthew 1:3 read the story of this courageous, determined woman in Genesis 38.

The following are more examples of names that we tend to read over without further thought.

“Tychicus, who is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts…” Colossians 4:7-8.

Tychicus was one of those who brought this letter to the Colossians, he is also mentioned in Ephesians 6:21 and in Acts 20:4-6.

“…with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here.” Colossians 4:9.

Onesimus is one of those who delivered this letter and is the subject of the book of Philemon, he was the slave who stole from his master Philemon and ran away.

In time Onesimus crossed the path of Paul in Rome and accepted Christ as his savior through the preaching of the apostle. The book itself is an appeal for mercy to Onesimus which he must have delivered to his master in person.

“Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision [Jews]; they have proved to be a comfort to me.” Colossians 4:10-11.

Aristarchus is mentioned in Acts 19:29, 20:4, 27:2; Mark the cousin of Barnabas is the writer of the gospel of Mark. Nothing is known of Jesus who is called Justus.

“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis.” Colossians 4:12-13.

It is likely that Epaphras was the evangelist and founder of the churches of Colosse, Hierapolis and Laodicea. It was his report of the condition of the church to the Apostle Paul that prompted the letter to the Colossians.

“Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.” Colossians 4:14.

Luke the beloved physician a Gentile wrote the gospel of Luke and the book Acts. Such nice things cannot be said for Demas.

“Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica – Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.” 2 Timothy 4:9-10.

“Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house. Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, ‘Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.’ This salutation by my own hand – Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.” Colossians 4:15-18.

Archippus, who is mentioned in Philemon verse 2, may have been the son of Philemon and Apphia.

“Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house…” Philemon 1-2.

With this we close the letter to the Colossians.

“Grace be with you. Amen.” Colossians 4:18c.

Colossians 4:5-18 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 3-25-14, updated on 6-10-20.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.