1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father………4:15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
Comment: I got a letter yesterday stating ‘Hi, Barry’ and ending ‘Kind regards, Jacob’. Obviously I had to look at the end to see who it was from. I know a Yakob in Ethiopia but I couldn’t think of a Jacob who sprang to my mind who was a good friend who would address me like that. It wasn’t a very long letter and it was nice and I soon recognized that I had met him once and that he writing to me to ‘butter me up’ in the hope of getting business. I will remember him in case I want to do his type of business which I don’t at the moment! It was a modern casual business letter.
With Colossians I don’t have to look at the end to see who is writing to me. I know who the authors are and I suspect that Paul is the main one of the two. I know who Paul is and basically what he is writing to me about. His greeting is a bit more than ‘Hi’. Modern man will probably not know the richness of the meaning of the word ‘grace’ but church people in Paul’s day would have known that it meant something like ‘God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense’ or the thought contained in that Acronym. And peace isn’t a very good translation of ‘shalom’ which means something like ‘total wellbeing throughout your living’! He calls the recipients of the letter saints and brethren, blessing them in the Name of God ‘our Father’ and the Lord Jesus. Much better than ‘Hi’!
At the ending which is quite effusive, the word ‘brethren’ is used – which although derived from the word ‘brother’ is a non sexual word. ‘Brethren‘ is more meaningful than ‘brothers’. It is generally used for members of an organization, especially a religious body, whereas the plural brothers is used in the familial sense as well as for larger groups. Colossian and Laodicean Christians were brothers in a very rich and deep sense. Paul puts aside his computer (amanuensis) and writes the final words in his own handwriting!
1 Corinthians 14: 9 – So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air.
Prayer: Thank You that, as the behind the scenes author of this book, You made it so clear to us!
As I read it! 