Body Life

Q. How many Baptists does it take to change a lightbulb?

A. 100. One to change the bulb, and 99 to attend a potluck supper following the changing of the bulb service.

Q. How many Episcopalians does it take to change a lightbulb?

A. Four. One to change the bulb. One to bless the socket. One to pour the sherry. And one to offer a toast to the old lightbulb.

Q. How many Charismatics does it take to change a lightbulb?

A. Five. One to change the bulb and four more to bind the spirit of darkness in the room while the light’s out.

Q. How many Lutherans does it take to change a lightbulb?

A. We’re not sure, but they’ve appointed a committee to study the issue and report back at the next meeting.

Q. How many Presbyterians does it take to change a lightbulb?

A. Presbyterians never try to change burned out lightbulbs. The lightbulb was obviously predestined to burn out, and you can’t do anything about predestination.

Q. How many televangelists does it take to change a lightbulb?

A. Honestly, we’re not sure, but for the message of change to continue to go out, please keep those donations and checks coming in.

Q. How many Amish people does it take to change a lightbulb?

A. What’s a lightbulb?

The Body of Christ is a diverse group, and it’s fun to celebrate our differences. If we were all the same, the church would be a pretty boring place.

We have been studying the Book of Colossians about how to be a Christian in a non-Christian world. Today, we’ve come to the 13th and final session of our study. It’s a session about what I would call Body Life.

One of the keys to being a Christian in a non-Christian world is to recognize how important other Christians are to your own spiritual well-being. You can’t live the Christian life alone. You can’t be a follower of Jesus in isolation from other Christians. You need the fellowship of others in the Body of Christ, and they need you.

And this truth is beautifully illustrated in the life of the Apostle Paul. You know, we often think of Paul as a great spiritual giant—a man who lived a magnificent life way up on a spiritual mountaintop. We tend to think of him as a loner—like a pioneer missionary going into uncharted territory with the Gospel message.

And yet that picture is basically false. Paul was a man who surrounded himself with people. Remember that old song by Barbra Streisand—”People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.” Well, by that definition, the Apostle Paul must have been one of the luckiest men alive, because he had tons of people in his life.

Paul was not only a great risk-taker, he was a great friend-maker. There are over 100 people mentioned in the NT who were friends and associates of Paul—26 of them in Romans 16 alone. Paul was networking with other Christians before they even invented the word. Why? Because he knew that you can’t live the Christian life alone.

In Colossians 4, there is a list of some of the friends of Paul. And what I’d like to do today is take you through that list and find out what kind of friends Paul had. What kind of people they were. What they added to Paul’s life, and how he impacted theirs.

Now I’ve divided the list up into five categories: the friends who conveyed; the friends who stayed; a friend who prayed; a friend who strayed; and the friends who obeyed.

1. The friends who conveyed.

On June 24, 1940, in the darkest hour of the Second World War, the British cruiser Emerald set sail from Scotland with a very unusual cargo in her hold. It was the height of the Battle of Britain, and the Nazi armies were poised to invade England at any moment.

In the face of this grave threat, Winston Churchill committed his government to one of the greatest financial gambles in history. He had decided to risk sending all of Britain’s gold across the Atlantic to Canada to prevent it from possibly falling into the hands of Adolf Hitler.

The cruiser Emerald was carrying the first of those shipments. Stashed in her hold was roughly $500 million worth of gold bullion, coins, and other securities. Some of the ship’s decks were actually sagging under the weight of the load.

The Emerald was followed across the Atlantic by numerous other shipments. When these ships arrived in Halifax, they were unloaded in strict secrecy and cover of darkness. Their precious cargo was placed on armored trains and taken to Ottawa where it was stored in the basement of a small, ordinary-looking office building on Wellington St. And during the years of the war, that office building held more gold than any place in the world, with the exception of Fort Knox.

The amazing thing is that Churchill’s great gamble, which ultimately transferred almost $10 billion worth of Britain’s gold across the Atlantic to Canada, was completely successful. Not one shipment was lost in spite of the fact that the German U-boats virtually owned the North Atlantic at the time. During the time of the transfer, 134 Allied ships were sunk, but not one of them was a gold carrier.

Now I tell you that story to tell you this: for all of the value of the cargo on those ships, no more precious cargo has ever been carried than that which was entrusted to the two young men we read about in Col. 4:7–9.

Tychicus and Onesimus—Paul calls them faithful, dear brothers—were carrying not only Paul’s greetings to the Colossian church, but three of the original manuscripts of the NT. As they travelled that dangerous 500 mile journey from Rome to Asia Minor, they had in their knapsacks the letter of Paul to the Colossian church; the letter of Paul to the Ephesian church; and the letter of Paul to Philemon. Think of the enormous impact those letters have had over the past 2,000 years. If even one of those original manuscripts were around today, any museum in the world would pay a king’s ransom to have it.

What kind of men were they to be entrusted with such an important mission? Well, Tychicus was a faithful minister; a fellow servant of Paul. He’s mentioned in the book of Acts, Ephesians, Titus and 2 Timothy, and it seems as though he had been a friend of Paul’s for a long time.

The thing that stands out about him is that he was faithful. You could depend on him. Someone has said that the greatest ability in the world is dependability. Tychicus had it. How about you? Can people count on you? Are you a faithful friend?

And then there was Onesimus. He was a slave who had run away from his master. Stolen from his master. Both of those were capital offences in the Roman Empire. He was probably pretty young, and frightened. He made his way to Rome—probably to lose himself in that crowded city—but he somehow came in contact with Paul and became a follower of Jesus Christ.

Now he was going to go back to his master to make amends—you can read about the details in the book of Philemon. He was making a new start, and Paul was ready to give him the chance to do that. He had confidence in Onesimus; he believed in him. And even more, he had seen God’s grace do a work in that young man’s life.

How about you? Is there a young person you can encourage the way that Paul encouraged Onesimus?

These were the two friends who conveyed Paul’s letters from Rome. But then there were four friends who stayed in Rome with Paul. They are Aristarchus, John Mark, Jesus Justus, and Luke.

Benjamin Weir was a Presbyterian missionary to Lebanon. Back in the tense days of the 1980’s, he was kidnapped by terrorists. He was blindfolded and chained to a radiator in a dingy Beirut apartment. The days and weeks and months dragged by, with no release in sight. As he thought about his wife and family, he wondered if he would ever see them again. All he could do was pray.

As he prayed, Benjamin Weir determined that whatever the outcome of his situation, he would thank and praise God for his blessings. One day, he reached down and felt the chain that was chafing against his leg, and he had an idea. He would count the links in the chain, and for every link, he would name something for which he could thank God.

As his fingers ran slowly over the links of the chain—the very symbol of his captivity—Benjamin Weir began to count his blessings one by one: his salvation, his relationship with the Lord, his wife, his family, his health, the foam mattress he had been given to lie on, the privilege of prayer… and on he went, one blessing for every link of the chain. By the time he was done, Benjamin Weir was no longer a prisoner. He was still chained in that dingy apartment room, to be sure, but his spirit was free.

Paul was in jail, too. And Aristarchus was there with him—he calls Aristarchus his fellow prisoner. You know that expression “a fair weather friend”? Well Aristarchus was a “foul weather friend”. He went through a lot of stuff with Paul.

He was there when the people of Ephesus rioted against Paul in Acts 19. He was with Paul when the ship on which they were sailing to Rome got caught in a Nor’easter, broke up and sank. He and Paul and the others dragged themselves ashore on Malta like drowned rats. And now, here he was with Paul again, in prison.

Are you the kind of friend who’ll be there on when the going gets rough? Aristarchus was.

And then there was John Mark. You probably know the story about John Mark. At one time, Paul thought that John Mark was a quitter, and didn’t want to have anything more to do with him, because John Mark had bailed out on one of Paul’s earlier missionary journeys.

But people change—because God changes them. And Paul was willing to recognize that, and to forget the past, and to welcome John Mark back into his circle of friends again. In fact, John Mark became a trusted, valuable friend for the rest of Paul’s life.

How about you? Anybody you need to rebuild some bridges with? Mend some fences with? We need to give God credit for being able to change people.

Jesus Justus is a man we know hardly anything about. He’s only mentioned here in the Bible. He was Jewish. His Hebrew name was really Joshua. Jesus is just the Greek form of that. And Justus was his Roman name.

The only thing we know about him was that he was a comfort to Paul, as it says in v. 11. The word comfort that is used there in Greek is the word “paragoria”. It means to soothe, or to relieve. There is actually an old-fashioned English word for medicine, or ointment. It is the word “paragoric” and it comes directly from this Greek word.

Are you a soothing, relieving influence on the people around you? Or are you an irritant? Do people smile when they see you coming? Or do they want to run? Jesus Justus wasn’t a famous person, but he was a comfort to Paul.

Another friend who stayed with Paul in Rome was Dr. Luke. Of all the people around Paul, Luke was probably his best friend. Paul calls him his “dear friend” in v. 14. That’s unusual, because Luke was a Gentile. Remember, Paul had grown up a strict Jewish Pharisee—someone who would cross the street rather than let even the shadow of a Gentile fall upon him.

And now here was Luke, a Gentile, one of his closest friends. That’s what having Jesus Christ in your life does for you. He takes away the racism, the prejudice.

I think that one of the reasons Luke was such a good friend of Paul’s was that he was intelligent. Like Paul, he was an educated man. Not just because he was a medical doctor. He was an extremely good communicator—articulate, eloquent. I can just see the two of them sitting around the campfire engaged in deep discussions together.

Luke was a tremendous writer. The best Greek in the NT was written by Luke. He could express ideas superbly. In fact, God used this man Luke—a Gentile—to write more of the NT than even Paul, if you actually count the words of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts.

He was a doctor, a historian, a writer, an adventurer—you had to be that to hang around with Paul! But most of all, he was a friend. At the end of 2 Timothy, which Paul wrote at the end of his life while he was in a dungeon awaiting execution, Paul said “Only Luke is with me.”

Do you have a friend like that? Maybe a better question to ask is “Are you a friend like that.” Because if you want to have friends, you’ve got to be a friend.

Then there was a friend who prayed. Epaphras was his name. He was the man who was responsible for the founding of the Colossian church. Look at what Paul says about him in verse 12:

Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.

One of the greatest things that you can do to be a friend is to pray. Just a couple of weeks ago, someone said to me “Pastor, I’d like to be able to pray for you. If you ever have any prayer concerns—anything you’re going through—I’d like for you to feel free to give me a call. I’d like to support you in prayer.” That’s friendship.

There were four things true about Epaphras’ prayer life:

1. He prayed constantly - he was always wrestling in prayer. It wasn’t just a flash in the pan. The ministry of prayer was a consistent part of his life.

2. He prayed fervently - he wrestled in prayer. The Greeks used that word to describe how an athlete trains for competition—he strains, he labors, he sweats. Luke used that word to describe how Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was a wrestling in prayer.

3. He prayed personally - Paul told the Colossians that Epaphras wrestled in prayer “for you”. And not only for the Colossian Christians, but also for the churches at Hierapolis and Laodicea. He prayed for specific people. General praying about general needs—“God bless everyone”—isn’t really praying.

4. He prayed strategically - he prayed for their spiritual growth. He prayed that they would stand firm in the will of God, that they would be mature, and that they would be fully assured in their relationship with Christ.

Epaphras was a friend who prayed. Are you?

Then there was a friend who strayed. His name was Demas. He’s listed in the Bible three times: here; in Philemon 24; and in 2 Timothy 4:10. When Paul wrote this letter, Demas was part of his inner circle of friends. But 5 years later, when Paul wrote 2 Timothy, he wrote “Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me.”

If you’re going to be a friend, and seek to build friendships, sooner or later you’re going to get stung. Because people are people. Somebody’s going to let you down. You’re going to be rejected; left in the lurch; disappointed.

Demas had his personal priorities wrong. He loved the world more than he loved the Lord. And that made him cut and run out on someone who was counting on him. Listen, if God isn’t the #1 priority at the center of your life, you’re going to let a lot of people down. Demas was a friend who strayed.

Then there were some friends who obeyed.

First there was Nympha, a lady who was obedient to the Bible’s command to exercise hospitality. This woman was so hospitable that she allowed the church at Colosse to meet at her house every week. Ladies, how would you like to have all of us in your living room every Sunday? I’ll tell you one thing—Nympha probably wasn’t one of those women whose house has to be perfect before she can have company.

1 Peter 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Romans 12:13 Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Then there were the Laodiceans. Look at what Paul says in v. 16: After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.

Over in 1Timothy 4:13, Paul commands Timothy to “devote himself to the public reading of Scripture…”

When we gather together for worship, it is important that we read the Scriptures together. God’s word is the basis of our faith. It has tremendous power to convict and change and heal our lives. We need to hear it. We need to read it.

The early church circulated the letters of Paul which God had inspired. They made copies of them. They read them publicly. So the Laodiceans had a letter that they were supposed to read—maybe it was the letter that Paul had written to the Ephesians; then they were to swap letters and read the one that Paul had sent to the Colossians. And we assume that they obeyed this command.

Then Paul talks about a man named Archippus in v. 17: Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord.”

Archippus is mentioned at the beginning of the book of Philemon. Paul calls him “his fellow soldier”. Many scholars think that Archippus might have been the son of Philemon, and perhaps a pastor or an elder in the church at Colosse.

At any rate, Paul challenges him here to complete the work that God had given him to do. What was that work? We don’t know. But it is significant that Paul cared enough about him to exhort him to do what he knew God wanted him to do.

A true friend in Christ is someone who cares enough about you to want God’s best for you. And a true friend will tell you the truth about yourself, and exhort you, even when that might be difficult for you to hear. The Bible says “faithful are the wounds of a friend.” Paul exhorted Archippus to obey God’s will for his life.

So there we have it. We have come through the book of Colossians. We have found that the Colossians were living in a world much like ours—a non-Christian world, where God’s values and the Bible’s principles were held in low esteem. We have looked at the theology of the Christian life, and we have looked at the practical application of it in the home, in marriage, in family life, and out in the workplace.

And we’ve seen that if you are a Christian, you’d better build some solid friendships with others in the Body of Christ. Don’t try to go it alone—don’t be isolated in your faith. The Apostle Paul wasn’t a Christian loner. He had many people around him that he relied upon, that he leaned on. And you and I need those kind of people, too.