Open your Bibles up to Colossians
chapter 4. We're in the last chapter of
our study of the book of Colossians, and we're slowly making it to
the end. But there's a few nuggets scattered throughout these last
portions. And our text tonight will be
found in verses 7 and 9 of chapter 4, but I'd like to read the context,
so we'll go back to verse 5, and we'll read verses 5 to 9
to get the context of the verses. And the name of the message is
Faithful and Beloved. Faithful and Beloved. Walk in
wisdom toward them that are without redeeming the time. Let your
speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you
may know how you ought to answer every man. All my state shall
Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother and a faithful
minister and fellow servant in the Lord. whom I have sent unto
you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate and
comfort your hearts. With Onesimus, a faithful and
beloved brother, who is one of you, they shall make known unto
you all things which are done here. Now last week we looked
at verses five and six of this chapter, where we are to walk
in wisdom to those who are without. walk in wisdom to those who are
without. We looked at how those who are
without are the unsaved all around us, who watch us every day, and
how we interact with others, and even how we respond in certain
circumstances. And I know this to be true because
before I was saved I used to watch folks who professed to
be Christians. I really did. Just to see if
they were really truly saying what they believed. And unfortunately
I was the biggest hypocrite of them all because meanwhile I'm
looking at someone else and comparing myself to them. And even in religion,
that's what happens in religion too. As Henry Mahan said, in
religion, it gets even worse. You've got one person comparing
themselves to another. And he says, that's just one
worm comparing himself to another one. Let's look to Christ. When we look to Christ, there's
no comparison, is there? We're all. We're all at His feet. We're all sinners. All of us. So that's the great leveling
field. Our Lord and King, the Lord Jesus Christ. But we were
exhorted to be wise in our conduct as well with those who are without,
which is to be alert and guarded. Remember, we looked at the Greek
a little bit in there, and it was about to be alert and guarded
when we talked to others about Christ. and we are to avoid disputes. We're to avoid debates and disputes
that can go on and on and on and simply point them right to
Christ. The guys know now, they just say, well, it's all about
Christ with you, isn't it? And I'm like, yep, they already know
now. That I'm not gonna get in endless debates with them about
things that they, what they think, what they think the scriptures
say. No, let's look at what these
scriptures say. That's what's most important.
So we're to be guarded when we talk to others. We're to avoid
disputes and debate. All that does is just consume
our time. That's all it does. It just consumes our time. Endless
debate. You won't get anywhere with,
you can't, Could anybody convince you about Christ before the Lord
saved you? He couldn't, me. But the Holy Spirit's the one
who convicted us, isn't he? And the Holy Spirit's the one
who showed us who Christ was. And the Holy Spirit's the one
who showed us our desperate need for him. And it's through the
preaching of the word that he does it. And we also, when we
witness, so we talk to people about Christ, but that's who
we are to bring to the forefront, is Christ and Christ alone. Christ
and Christ alone. We also saw that Again, we're to avoid disputes
which consume our time. And again, it just leads to endless
debate. And we're to be watchful of situations where we can be
ensnared by the enemies of Christ too. because they're trying to
ensnare you, they're trying to catch you in something, they're
trying to catch you saying one thing and doing something else.
So we are to avoid those situations. We also saw that we are to redeem
the time when the Lord opens the door for us to speak, we
tell them about Christ. A lot of times I wait for people
to ask me questions. They ask me a question, they're
gonna get an answer, right? So they might not like it, but
they're going to get an answer. So we're to wait for the Lord
to open the door for us to speak about him and to proclaim. All
we do is proclaim what Christ has done for us. I'm a sinner
saved by grace. I couldn't save myself. He saved
my eternal soul. He did it all. He purchased me
on Calvary's cross. Remember, we looked at different
points and different things that we can say. He rose again for
my justification. He is my all in all. Just point
him right to Christ. Point him right to Christ. And
also just use the scriptures. Use the scriptures. Don't give
them your opinion, point them to the scriptures. And we saw
that we are to season our speech with grace, with the unsaved
and with the brethren too as well. Paul exhorts us, look it,
let your speech be always with grace. Verse six, seasoned with
salt that you may know how you ought to answer every man. Always
with grace, not just in church, but when we're with the brethren.
And when we're without the brethren, we're to always season our speech
with grace, always. So we know how we are to answer
every man. And may God, the Holy Spirit,
give us grace and strength to do this, to do this. May he guide
us. Now, although the apostle had
a few friends at this time, just a few friends in Rome to comfort
him, he was in bonds. Now tonight he's going to bring
forth and he sends two of those who were a comfort to him in
Rome. Well, he was in bonds. Now imagine
that you're in bonds, you have a few people with you and you
send two of them. That's how much of a heart he
had for the Church of God. That's how much it was so important
to him, the gospel and God's people, that they would be built
up and edified in Christ. So he's sending two of those
who are there to comfort him and to minister with him. We're
going to see these are fellow people, fellow laborers in the
gospel. We'll see that. Look at verse
seven. All my state shall take us declare unto you who is a
beloved brother and a faithful minister and fellow servant in
the Lord. So, no, Paul is sending a beloved
brother. It says he's sending to class
with this letter, a beloved brother and a faithful minister. and
a fellow servant in the Lord. A fellow servant in the Lord.
No doubt these two dear brothers brought much comfort to Paul
while he was in bonds. No doubt. Just think of the fellowship
we have when we get together and we're talking. And the fellowship
and how our hearts burn within us when we talk about our King
and our Lord. Now that would have been a great
comfort. Here he is. He's either in bonds and in chains
or he's under house arrest. but he's got fellow brethren
there to comfort him. And he's sending two of these
faithful brothers, two of these faithful brothers to Colossus. He sends them forth to the church
at Colossus. And later on, we're going to
see later on in the text, we're going to see why he did that.
He identifies why he did that. The first dear brother he brings
up is here in verse 7, Tychicus, who, according to various commentators,
was a native of Asia Minor. Turn, if you would, to Acts 20.
He was a native of Asia Minor. He's mentioned in Acts 20, verse
4, with several other brethren. Now, I did the proper pronunciation
for these names, but please forgive me if I mispronounce a few names
here. So, Acts 20, verse 4. And they're accompanied in him
into Asia, Sopotar of Berea, and of the Thessalonians, Aris
Sotakos, and Sakadondas, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timetheus
of Asia, and Tychicus, and Trophius. So he's mentioned there in Acts
20, verse four. And he's also mentioned over
in 2 Timothy 4, 12, where he sent to Ephesus, where he sent
to Ephesus. I'll read it to you. You don't
have to turn there unless you want to. It says, and Tachikos have
I sent to Ephesus. So evidently he was a faithful
preacher, a faithful brother in the Lord. And he was used
of the Lord. And Paul had enough trust in
him and confidence in him to send him to other churches, to
send him to other churches. He accompanied the apostle at
the close of his third missionary journey, which is there in Acts
20, verse four, which we read and how and he was now again
with the apostle near the end of of the first Roman captivity. And he appears again with him
at the very end of the apostle's life when the apostle is sending
him to Crete in Ephesus, which is in which is in 2 Timothy 4.12,
and it's also over in Titus 3.12. Titus 3.12 says this, when I
send Artimaeus unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come
to Nerochilus, for which I am determined there to winter. So
evidently, again, he was a faithful brother. and it's evident that
he was a minister of the gospel and a dear friend and a co-laborer
of Paul in Christ. Let's look at our text again.
All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother
and a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. We see here
in this verse Tychicus' character before us and work brought forth
before us here in the scripture. He's a beloved brother, it says,
And he's a faithful minister. And he's a fellow servant in
the Lord. So we see his character bought
forth here. And Paul uses an enduring term here when he calls
him a beloved brother. That's a very, very endearing
term, a very endearing term. In relation to the to the whole
Christian church, he is a beloved brother in Christ, Jesus, our
Lord, and to Paul, he is a very beloved brother as well. because
they're fellow laborers and co-laborers in the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Turn if you would to Rome, Romans,
Rome, I'm sorry. I got Rome on my mind because
of what I was looking at there. Romans chapter one. Do you know
that God's people, God's people, the elect of God, are called
the beloved of God? You who are saved are beloved
of God. And you being beloved of God
from eternity. That's what that one's thinking.
Vicki and I were talking about that at dinner. I said, I'm looking
across the table at someone who's beloved of God from eternity.
Isn't that wonderful? I'm looking at you who profess
Christ. You who are born again, blood-washed
saints. You're beloved of God from eternity. And scripture
declares that you're beloved of God. Look at Romans chapter
one, verse seven. This is absolutely marvelous.
To all that be in Rome, beloved of God. Beloved of God. Called to be saints. He calls
us, beloved, with an effectual calling. An irresistible calling. Because we're the beloved of
God. We're the ones who God the Father gave to Christ in eternity. There's nothing in us that merited
that. There's nothing even in us that
merited us to be called the beloved of God, except for the love of
God in Christ manifested to us. It's wonderful. It's wonderful. To all that be in Rome, beloved
of God, called to be saints, grace to you and peace from God,
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we have grace
and peace with the Father? Through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Oh, my. And again, we are not the beloved
of God for any loveliness in us, or because of our love for
God, because we do not love God before he saves us. And we are
not beloved on account of our obedience and our righteousness,
because all our righteousness is like filthy rags in the eyes
of the Lord. Oh, but, but beloved, turn if
you would to Deuteronomy 33, 12. We are beloved of God because
of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Look what scripture declares
in Deuteronomy chapter 33 verse 12. You know that we dwell safely
in Christ. We dwell safely in Christ. Deuteronomy
chapter 33 verse 12 and end of Benjamin, he said, the beloved
of the Lord shall what dwell safely. So dwell in safety by
him. We dwell in safety by our Savior,
by Christ. And the Lord shall cover him
all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.
What are we covered in? The precious blood of Christ.
Our Lord keeps us in safety. He holds us no matter what we
go through in this life. He keeps His people, the beloved
of God. And they shall dwell safely by
Him. By Him. And the Lord shall cover Him
all the day long. And He shall dwell between His
shoulders. So the beloved of God, they dwell safely in Christ. They dwell safely in Christ.
And we are called the beloved of God. Let us remember this.
We are called the beloved of God through the free favor and
the sovereign will of our great God. We are called the beloved
of God through the free favor and sovereign will of our God
and by His pleasure. By His pleasure. It's by the
will of God and the pleasure of God that His people are saved
in Christ Jesus. And He saved us by what? His
grace. Right? His grace. His grace. Why? Because he loved us before
he called us. He loved us before he called
us. We were the beloved of God in
eternity. He loved us from eternity. And
he will love his people to the end, into everlasting. It never ends. His love never
ends. Never ends. And it is his love for his people,
which is the spring and the source of all the blessings of grace
which we have in Christ Jesus. Remember Ephesians 1, 4 says
all spiritual blessings are in Christ. It's all because of him. It's all because of him. Our
rest is in Christ. We've ceased from our labors
for our justification before God. And who are we justified
by? Who are we justified by faith
in? Christ. So that means then that those
who aren't trusting Christ aren't justified. But the believer is
justified by faith in Christ. And it's God who gives us that
faith. Salvation's of the Lord. It's of the Lord. It's His doing.
It's His doing. Now, Tychicus was a beloved,
he was one of the beloved of God. Scripture declares that. He's one of the beloved, he's
a beloved brother. He's a beloved brother. He's
one of the beloved of God. And if you're saved, So are you. You're one of the beloved of
God. It's wonderful. It's wonderful. And then he refers
to Tychicus as a faithful minister. He's a faithful minister. He
preached and proclaimed him. Christ and him crucified. He's
a faithful preacher. It's God who makes him faithful.
It's God who gave him the message. It's God who teaches him the
things of Christ. But he's faithful to proclaim those things. He's
faithful to proclaim them. He proclaimed Christ and Him
crucified. And here he is sent to Colossus, no doubt, to proclaim
Christ. Because he's a faithful minister.
Paul knows if he's sending him there, he's going to proclaim
Christ. He's going to proclaim Christ. And then what will happen? God's
people will rejoice, won't they? Don't you rejoice when Christ
is preached? It makes our hearts glad, doesn't it? We rejoice. Oh my, our eyes get lifted to
our Savior and off the things of this world, which is all around
us all the time, beating us down. And then we look to Christ and
it all just fades away. And our hearts rejoice. And then
to think that we are the beloved of God. My goodness! It's wonderful for us. It's absolutely
wonderful. Makes the heart sing. Makes the
believer's soul sing. Matthew Henry says this about
faithfulness to Christ and the cause of Christ. He says, faithfulness
in anyone is truly lovely and renders him worthy of affection
and esteem. Tychicus was esteemed for his
faithfulness, but not because of anything in him, beloved.
Anything he's done, all because of what the Holy Spirit... And
remember this, we've looked at this through the study. It's
the Holy Spirit working in him, isn't it? Remember Paul said
that? He says, it's the Spirit working
in me. And think of it, the gifts of
the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, it's not our work. It's
the work of God. It's the work of Him working
in us. And it's marvelous. So he's a faithful preacher.
Take a kiss is a is a faithful preacher. He proclaims Christ
and him crucified. Look, it also says that he is
a fellow servant in the Lord. He's a faithful minister and
a fellow servant in the Lord. He's working right alongside
the apostle Paul. Right alongside him in Christian
labor. for the Lord Jesus Christ. And God's preachers, let us always
remember that God's preachers were servants. We're servants
to Christ. So are all God's people. We're
servants to Christ. We're bond slaves, right? Are we not bought with a price?
The precious blood of Christ. We're His. We're not our own.
We're His. But we're fellow servants, one
to another, one to another in Christ. We all have one Lord. Now all
the gospel preachers around will tell you too, we all have the
one same Lord, the same gospel. And we as God's people, we all
serve the same Lord, don't we? Same gospel. We have the same
Father. It's wonderful. Same Holy Spirit
in us who's regenerated us. And wherever God places his preachers
in the vineyard, They will labor in the gospel and he will give
them the ability to preach. His brother Henry Mahan said,
God makes the preacher. God makes the preacher. No man
can make himself a preacher. God has to work and move and
builds the preacher. And it's true with all of the
servants, all of them, all of us. It's him working in us, beloved. And we labor wherever He places
us in the vineyard. We grow and we learn as the gospel
is preached. We grow and we learn in the knowledge
and the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we ascribe to Christ
all the glory. We give it all to Him. I wouldn't
know nothing unless God taught me. Everything I know about Christ
and about God, the Holy Spirit has taught me through the scriptures
and through the preaching of the Word. And I know it's so
for you too. We can't claim anything. We can't
claim it. He's taught. We're taught of
God, as John says in John chapter six. They shall be taught of
God. And we are. We're taught of him.
Again, notice they're also faithful, or fellow servants. And this
is, think of this. This is the Apostle Paul writing. He's one of the greatest preachers
that ever lived. Okay, now see here the humility
of Paul. He doesn't ball himself up, does
he? He doesn't say, well, I'm the top guy. He doesn't say that,
does he? And here he is talking about Tychicus and says, he's
a fellow servant. He sees him as a dear brother,
a faithful brother. That's how gospel preachers are.
We see ourselves as nothing, nothing. Someone asked me one
time, well, what would happen when I was in Oregon? They said,
well, what would happen if you died? What would happen to the work?
I said, well, either God would just raise up another preacher, or that'd
be the end of it. But he don't need me. This is
his work. This work is his work. This church
is his people. We who gather together, we're
his people, aren't we? All a preacher is is a mouthpiece.
And don't get me wrong, we love to proclaim Christ, and it's
a great honor and a privilege, but God doesn't need none of
us. The fact that he uses us is amazing. Isn't it? The fact
that he gives us an opportunity to talk to others about him is
absolutely stunning. But he does. He uses sinners
to tell other sinners about Christ. He uses, I like one grace preacher. He says, we're mercy beggars.
We're all mercy beggars. Tell other beggars where to find
bread. Isn't that wonderful? It's true. It's true. It's wonderful. Oh my goodness. And that's why
we're here. For the gospel to go forth, isn't
it? That's why. because the Lord has saved us.
And we desire the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to be preached
and proclaimed. And it goes forth in the power
of the Holy Spirit, accomplishing what it will, what it will. We
might not always see the results, but trust me, it's accomplishing
something. It's accomplishing something. It is. My goodness. My goodness. So may we remember
that here is the Apostle Paul, one of the greatest preachers
that ever lived. And he's telling us about a dear, faithful brother
who ministers with him and who is his fellow servant. Again,
he's not vaulting himself over to us. Not at all. My. That's a that's a reminder to
we preachers to not get not get too full of ourselves. Lord,
keep us where we're where brother Bruce Crabtree said, you know
why Christians go through? You know why sometimes the Lord
takes us through times of sin where we're where we're struggling
and stuff. To keep us resting on him. To
keep us relying on him. That's why. To keep us going
to him, because we all struggle, we know it, we all struggle with
sin. Keeps us looking to Christ, doesn't it? Keeps us looking.
Oh my, my goodness. What a great Savior we have.
What a great Savior. And may we always remember, beloved
of God, that we are all fellow servants. All of us here are
fellow servants. All of us. All of us. That we're
all bond slaves for Christ. We who are purchased by the precious
blood of Christ. We're bond slaves for Christ.
We all have one master, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. And
again, this is his church. This is his work. And remember
this, too. Ponder this. Each one of us who
believe, and even unbelievers who come to hear the gospel,
each one of us is here by divine appointment and by divine decree. Isn't that wonderful? Oh my,
by divine appointment and by divine decree. And we are here,
we who believe are placed here. And let us remember this too,
because remember, it's not just about the preacher preaching
the gospel. We are our work together. We are fellow laborers in the
gospel. We are fellow servants in Christ, all of us. Every one
of us is important to the work here. Every one of us. We are fellow laborers, and we
are here for the furtherance of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's why we're here. So that
his gospel will be proclaimed, and that sinners, by the power
of the Holy Spirit, if it's his will, shall be saved and bought
out of bondage. And it's wonderful. It's absolutely,
so we are fellow soldiers, as Paul says, too. We are fellow
laborers, and we are fellow servants, bought together by the providence
of God from different walks of life and different personalities.
But yet here, God has brought us all together, and it's marvelous,
because we're saved by the same blood. We're saved by the same
Savior. We're saved by the same Redeemer.
We're regenerated by the same Holy Spirit. We have the same
Father, and we all like to rejoice. in our great God and Savior,
don't we? The Lord Jesus Christ. It's wonderful. It's wonderful, beloved. So may
we always remember that we're all fellow servants, bought together
by the God's sovereign will and decree for the furtherance of
the gospel. And so we see Paul didn't vault
himself up. He didn't look for a following,
did he? Not at all. Not at all. He's sending these
two men away, although they're a great comfort to him, he's
sending them, knowing that they're gonna be a blessing and a benefit
to the work of Colossus, because it's under attack by false teachers. And so he sends them, and we're
gonna see why. Again, we'll see why. But Paul doesn't vault himself
up or look for a following. No, he pointed his ears to Christ,
beloved. And those who would read these
letters, who did he point them to? We've seen all through this
letter, he's just exalting Christ, the supremacy of Christ, the
all-sufficiency of Christ. He points his hearers and his
readers right to Christ. And then he's doing it to us
even now. Here we are thousands of years
later reading the same scriptures, and he's pointing us to Christ.
It's wonderful. It's wonderful. Paul had one
desire, one aim, to preach Christ and Him crucified. So Paul and
Tichitus, they not only bonded together as a brother in the
Lord, but also as the Lord's ministers. And I know there's
a special bond between God's preachers, there is. It's a problem
sometimes when you have three or four preachers get to a conference,
we all stick together like glue. That's why sometimes we'll only
have one or two, because otherwise we're, and it's not that we don't
want to talk to them, but we don't get to see each other very
much, and so we start just, we get lost in our own talk. So
that's why it's nice to have one or two, and everyone mingles
together, and so it's a real blessing. But I've seen, I've
been at conferences with four or five preachers, and they just,
they're like a magnet together. And it's, like I say, it's not
anything to be offended by, but it just happens. It just happens. So Paul felt the joy and the
love for Tychicus. He's a beloved brother. He's
a faithful laborer in the gospel. He's a fellow servant. And there's
a love and a bond in Christ. Now a fellow servant, one commentator
says this, a fellow servant here before us is a good title for
those who are gospel preachers. Because we preach not ourselves. We preach not ourselves. Scripture
said, but Christ Jesus, the Lord in ourselves, your servants for
Jesus sake. So that's a good title. That's
a good title for God's preachers. And all God's preachers are servants
of the most high and all God's people are servants of the most
high. We are one in Christ. And preachers are to be loving
and condescending, watching over the flock. Be faithful to preach
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to be loving and
condescending to one another. We are to support one another
in ministry and in prayer. And we are to esteem others better
than ourselves. Better than ourselves. Let's
look at verse eight. It says, whom I have sent unto
you, now here's the purpose, for the same purpose that he
might know your state and comfort your hearts. So Paul sent Tychicus
to let them know how he was doing. and also to find out how they
were doing, and no doubt to report back to him, maybe in a letter,
so that he sent them to be a comfort to them, and then also in them
writing back to him, it'd be a comfort to him to hear how
they're doing, to hear how things are going. So he sends a faithful
brother, a faithful preacher, who's going to let him know what's
going on. You can let them know what's going on. And like I said,
these folks are under attack. Now, what is the one thing that
gospel preachers are supposed to do? Turn, if you would, to
Isaiah 40. Well, one of the things, not
the one thing, but one of the things. Isaiah 40. And no doubt,
no doubt, this was on Tichokousa's mind, no doubt. Isaiah 40, verses
1 and 2. Look at this. This is what God
admonishes his preachers to do. This is what God admonishes his
preachers to do. And this is only done through
the preaching of Christ. Look at this. Comfort ye, comfort
ye my people, saith your God. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. My people, note that. His elect,
his people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and that's the church, and cry unto her, and that, that what?
Her warfare's accomplished. Oh, she's laid down her arms.
Warfare's over. The warfare is over, beloved,
and that her what? Look at this marvelous statement
that her iniquity is pardoned. Oh, what comfort that brings
God's people to know that all our sins, all our iniquities
are forgiven. They're all pardoned in Christ
Jesus and by his precious blood. For she have received the Lord's
hand double for all her sins. Oh, my. So God's God's children,
God's people. they are comforted under the
preaching of the gospel. And think of this, they're under
attack at this church, right? The Gnostics have come in and
they're attacking, there's a three-pronged attack going on. And what a comfort
it would be for them to have a faithful gospel minister come
in and preach Christ to them. Comfort you, comfort you, my
people, say it. Oh my. Tell her that her warfare is
accomplished. Tell her that her iniquity is pardoned. My goodness. What a great Savior we have.
What a great Savior we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. What a
message gospel preachers have. It's a message of hope, beloved.
We have a message of hope. We have a message of forgiveness.
We have a message of pardon, and it's all in Christ Jesus
our Lord. A message that the law and justice
of God is satisfied. A message of redemption, that
all our sins are forgiven by the precious blood of Christ,
bought and paid for. There's nothing left for us to
pay for. It is finished. It's finished. Oh, a message. And then we also have a message
of future glory. After we leave this earth, we
will spend eternity with our King. Eternity with the one who
purchased us with his own precious blood. What a message. What a
message of hope we have. And it's all because of what
Christ has done. It's all because of what Christ
is on. He lived the perfect life as our substitute. He shed his
blood as a payment for our sins. He left heaven to redeem our
souls. He died upon the cross as a propitiation for my sins
and for yours if you believe. He rose from the dead for our
justification and to show that God was satisfied with his sacrifice
on Calvary's cross. He did it all. What a message. And we were hopeless at one time,
weren't we? When God showed us what we were
and what we are, we were hopeless. Lord, what shall I do? And then
the Holy Spirit revealed Christ to us. Oh, my. Comfort ye, comfort
ye, my people. Your warfare is our conscience.
Your iniquities, pardon. Oh, my, what a Savior. What a
message of grace we have in Christ Jesus, our Lord. My, and no doubt,
this would bring great comfort, great comfort to God's people.
Great comfort. And so, he was also to make known the
affairs of the apostle and of the church at Rome. Look at our
text, it says in verse 7, All my state shall Tychicus declare
unto you. So he was to let them know at
Colossus his state in Rome. He was to let them know what
was happening to him. He's to declare that to them.
And think of this, beloved. The Colossians would hear all
by the word of his mouth. They would hear from someone
who had been with him. And this, Tychicus would bring
before them Paul's state. And he would proclaim that Paul
was in prison. But beloved, he was right. where God's divine providence
had placed him. And that's what Tychicus would
proclaim to them. He's right in God's hands. He's
right where God wants him. And he would tell the Colossian
saints that Paul was doing just fine because God's working all
things out together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. My, and they
loved Paul. They loved him. So no matter
what these saints, and think of how much that would administer
to these saints' hearts too, right? Because again, they're
under attack by the Gnostics. Think of how that would administer
to their hearts. Here comes Tychicus, and he reminds
them that all things were purposed by God for his glory. And for their eternal good. And
they would be comforted by his preaching. And they would be
solidified in their faith, right? They'd be built up in their faith,
wouldn't they? and they'd be given strength and grace to fight
the Gnostics, to say, you're wrong. I'm complete in Christ. I'm complete in Christ. My. Let's look at verse nine. Now,
here's another brother that's bought out. Onesimus. I used to call him Onesimus,
but he's not Onesimus. He's Onesimus. So, he looked
at me funny. I used to, for years, I called
him that. It's Onesimus, and he's a faithful brother. He's
a faithful and beloved brother, scripture declares, who is one
of you. Now there's a little key right
there. They shall make known unto you all things which are
done here. So the scriptures declare that
Onesimus is a faithful and beloved brother, and he's one of them.
Now, no doubt Onesimus is the same runaway slave of Philemon,
the letter in Philemon. Paul writes a personal letter
to Philemon about a slave who's run away named Onesimus. And
this is the same slave, Onesimus. And his conversion is recorded
in the epistle to Philemon, who lived in Colossus. Philemon was
a member of the church in Colossus. So he would receive this letter,
and he'd also receive the letter, personal letter to him by Paul.
So verse nine says, with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother,
who is one of you, they shall make known unto you all things
which are done here. So he's a native of Kloss, because
the scripture declares, who is one of you. Now think of this. He was a runaway slave. Some
think that he stole, they don't know what he stole, but some
people think that he stole something off Philemon Money, or there's
various, it doesn't, scripture doesn't give us what he took.
that he stole something off Philemon and then he fled. Okay, now think
of this. He grabbed whatever he grabbed
and he took off, right? But by God's sovereign will and
by God's sovereign decree, he's in Rome. And who happens to be
in Rome at the same time? Oh, the Apostle Paul. And somehow, by God's decree,
they are brought together. And he hears the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ preached and proclaimed. And the Lord saves
him, opens his heart, regenerates him. He's born again. He's granted
faith to believe and repentance to turn to Christ. And he is
saved. He's a new creature. He's a changed
character. Now, look at what our text says.
He's a totally changed character. Because our text says, the faithful
and beloved brother. A faithful and beloved brother.
He's totally changed. He's a new creature in Christ.
He's been born again to the Holy Spirit of God. And he's now trusting
and resting in Christ alone. And he's a faithful and beloved
brother now. He's one of God's sheep from eternity. Philemon
didn't know that when he took off on him. He probably thought,
man, that's scoundrel. Oh, God's amazing grace. God's
sovereign will. working all things out for his
people. So he was before unfaithful,
now he's faithful. He was lately an object of contempt
and dislike, but now, in Christ, he's an object of love. He's
an object of love. The repentance of a sinner, one
commentator said, is a fact to be gratefully recorded. His former
sins ought to be no disparagement to his present standing and repute. When God forgives, man should
not impute. When God forgives a sinner of
all his sins, they're forgiven. They're forgiven. It's wonderful. Remember in Isaiah? Her iniquity
is pardoned. My, my. So the sending of Onesimus
and the fact that Paul identified him as a faithful brother, beloved
of the Lord, was no doubt meant to be a powerful support for
the plea of reconciliation, for the plea of reconciliation between
Paul and Philemon, which we see, or between Onesimus and Philemon,
which we see in the personal letter of Philemon, written to
Philemon about Onesimus. Notice in verse 16 of our text, it says, and when this epistle
is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church,
of the Laodiceans that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. This epistle, and think of this,
I bet you all those folks in that church knew who Onesimus
was. I bet you they did. And this epistle is to be read
in their presence, that he's a faithful and a beloved brother
in the Lord. What reconciliation Paul puts
forth, eh? What forgiveness Paul puts forth
before the church. So by sending Onesimus with Tychicus,
Paul is telling the Colossians, including Philemon, whom he wronged,
that Onesimus is a transformed man. He's a transformed man. My goodness. He's been transformed
by God's sovereign grace. He's transformed, beloved. God's
grace is transforming grace. And now he's living up to the
meaning of his name, which means this, profitable or helpful.
That's what Onesimus means, to be of use. And here we see in
Onesimus, just as with every one of God's blood-bought saints,
saved by the grace of God, by divine providence of God, we
see in him God's transforming grace. Again, he fled, he fled Colossus
to Rome and came under Paul's preaching and he was converted
to Christ. Think about yourself. Were you searching for Christ
when God found you? I wasn't. And I know scripture
says we're all like lost sheep wandering around. We weren't
looking for Christ. But he came and sought us, didn't
he? He sought us. Shepherd came and found his lost
sheep. And that's the hope we have in preaching the gospel.
It goes forth and it will accomplish its will to harden some and then
to save some. But oh my, when God the Holy
Spirit regenerates a sinner, we flee right to Christ, don't
we? And we are transformed people. We are new people, new creatures
in Christ. New creatures in Christ. And
then think of this. Paul, by God's divine providence,
sent Onesimus back to Philemon. He's sending them back to Philemon,
instructing Philemon to receive Onesimus, and we see that if
you read the epistle of Philemon, you'll see that. He instructs
him to receive him, not only as a penitent servant, but as
a beloved brother in Christ. And Onesimus was sent with Tychicus
by God's divine providence to let the Colossian saints know
that all was well with Paul. and to give us, to give an account
of the two things that were being done in the area where Paul was.
And think of this, he sends two of them, why? Because two witnesses,
right? Truth is established in the mouth
of two witnesses. And so there he goes, he sends
two witnesses. Two witnesses. They might not have believed
Onesimus, but here's Tychicus. He can attest to Onesimus' faithfulness. He's a beloved brother in Christ,
too. And then they report to the church at Colossus, all the
things that are going on with Paul in Rome. And then we know
that they're going to tell Paul, too, what's going on in Colossus. And no doubt. They would be rejoicing when
they're with the saints of God. Now, note, too. That at the bottom doesn't say
this on my in my Bible, but on my sword, it says at the bottom
of the letter These two faithful brethren are mentioned as they
who wrote the letter. Paul dictated it to them. The
Holy Spirit's the author, but they wrote it. Tychicus and Onesimus. And Paul was in prison, and he
sent Tychicus and Onesimus to declare his state again to the
Colossian believers to inform them of what was done in Rome
and what was being done in Rome. And he sent these ministers that
they might comfort and encourage the believers at Colossus. Turn,
if you would, to 1 John, chapter 5. Now Tychicus was sent to comfort
the saints at Clos and to preach Christ to them. And again, they
were under attack by false teachers who had crept in. False teachers
who said they had superior knowledge to others and that only they
could impart this knowledge. God's preachers, we preach Christ
and Him crucified. knowing that the Holy Spirit
is the only one who can teach you the things of Christ. Look
here in 1 John, chapter five. So the Colossian believers were
under attack by false preachers, and Tychicus would come and preach
Christ alone. And what would he set forth before
the Colossian believers? To combat the attack of the Gnostics. No doubt, He would put forth
Christ, right? He would put forth Christ before
them. Look at 1 John 5, verses 10 to 11. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave
of his Son. And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal
life. And this life is in his son.
He that hath the son hath life, and he that hath not the son
of God hath not life. But look at those last two verses. But look at I want us to look
at 11. Look at this. And this is the record that God hath given
to us eternal life. This line. Is in his son. This line. is in His Son. And in the next verse it says,
He that hath the Son hath life. What kind of life? Eternal life.
It's spoken of in the verse before. And he that hath not the Son
of God hath not life. They do not have eternal life.
Contrary to what religion says, not everyone goes to heaven.
No. Those who do not have Christ
do not have eternal life. But those who are being redeemed
by the precious blood of Christ, undeserving sinners, hath life
in this life, hath eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
So if someone comes to you, if someone comes to you and tells
you that salvation is in this church or that church, just keep
these words ringing in your head. This life is in His Son. His life is in the Son. If someone comes to you and says
that salvation is by baptism and that you're saved by baptism,
there's a whole movement out there that believes that. Just let these words ring in
your head. This life is in His Son. This life is in His Son. It combats all error, beloved.
If someone comes to you and says that salvation's in the law,
again, let these words ring in your head. This life is in His
Son. This life is in His Son. And these two faithful men mentioned
tonight, the beloved of God, they rested and trusted in Christ
alone, and they let this precious truth ring in their heads, this
life is in His Son. That's who their trust was. That's
who their rest was. That's who Tychicus preached
and proclaimed. That's who he was, a faithful
minister of the one who has eternal life, the Lord Jesus Christ. And what comfort the believer
can find in these words, these words. Salvation is no way dependent
upon me or by my works, but it is wholly and totally completely
in Christ Jesus the Lord. And as the scripture proclaims,
this life is in His Son. And beloved, we are complete
in Christ. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee
for Your goodness and mercy and grace to us. O Lord, may we leave
this place rejoicing, we who are redeemed by Your precious
blood. O Lord, Life, eternal life is in you and you alone.
And he that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the
Son hath not life. Oh, Lord, we just pray that you'd
be glorified by the preaching of your word. And let us remember
these precious truths that we've heard tonight and let them be
sweet to our soul for this week and honey to our soul as we think
upon them and meditate upon them through this week. All glory
and honor and praise to thee. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.