Starting is easy, but finishing takes endurance, and God cares deeply about how we finish. In Colossians 4, Paul shows that failed and broken people can be made new, and that faithfulness means completing what God has put in our hands.
Starting is exciting, but God is deeply interested in how we finish. Through the names in Colossians 4, God calls ordinary, redeemed people to live awake, stand firm and finish the work.
Key points
Live awake and walk wisely. Devote yourself to prayer, ask God for an open door in hard places, and let your words be full of grace and salt.
We don't stand alone. "It's just me and Jesus" is a lie. Jesus cares for us through His people, who encourage, challenge and pray for us.
Your past and failures don't have to define you. Onesimus was made useful again, and Mark went from dropout to restored co-worker. Chad shared how God took him from university dropout and drunk driving to a fully restored life.
Fight for people in prayer. Like Epaphras, wrestle in prayer for others to stand firm and mature, not simply for an easy life.
Finish your work, from acceptance. No one else can do your work. Jesus finished His, so we work from God's love, not for it.
Key scriptures
Colossians 4:2–4: Paul prays for an open door for the gospel
Colossians 4:5–6: conversation full of grace, seasoned with salt
Philemon 1:10–11: Onesimus, once useless, now useful
2 Timothy 4:11: "Get Mark", because he is helpful
Colossians 4:12: Epaphras, always wrestling in prayer
Colossians 4:17: Archippus told to complete his ministry
John 19:30: Jesus declares "It is finished"
Takeaways
Pray "God, use me in this" rather than "get me out of this", and be ready when a door opens.
Choose someone to wrestle for in prayer this week instead of complaining about them.
Ask what God has already placed in your hands, then finish it.
Starting is exciting, but finishing takes perseverance, determination and endurance. As much as we love beginnings, God is deeply interested in how we finish. In Colossians 4, Paul closes his letter with what looks like a list of credits, but hidden in those names are stories of faithfulness, failure and restoration.
God doesn't build His kingdom with perfect people. He takes broken, ordinary people with histories and regrets, redeems them through Jesus and gives them something meaningful to do. From this chapter come three calls: live awake and walk wisely, stand firm, and finish the work.
Key scriptures
Colossians 4:2–4: Paul, in chains, asks for prayer for an open door for the gospel
Colossians 4:5–6: Wisdom towards outsiders, and conversation full of grace, seasoned with salt
Ephesians 5:15: Living wisely and making the most of every opportunity
Colossians 4:7–9: Tychicus and Onesimus sent to encourage the church
Philemon 1:10–11: Onesimus, once useless, now useful
Colossians 4:10: Greetings from Aristarchus and Mark
Acts 15:39: Paul and Barnabas part ways over Mark
2 Timothy 4:11: "Get Mark", because he is helpful in ministry
Colossians 4:12: Epaphras, always wrestling in prayer
Colossians 4:17: Archippus told to complete his ministry
John 4:34 and John 19:30: Jesus came to finish the Father's work, and declared "It is finished"
1 Corinthians 16:13: Stand firm, be courageous, be strong, do everything in love
Live awake and walk wisely
Paul says to devote ourselves to prayer: not occasionally, not as a last resort, but with persistence and discipline, our lives continually orientated towards God. Being watchful means prayer should make us more aware of what God is doing in the world, not shrink everything down to our own situation.
Pray for the open door
Chained in prison, Paul doesn't ask to be released. He asks for a door for the message of Christ.
"His biggest concern is not, get me out of here. It's, God, use me in here."
There is nothing wrong with asking God to change our circumstances, but there's another prayer to learn: God, what door are you opening in the middle of this? It might be a difficult workplace, a hard season or a conversation that needs to happen. Pray for the door, and be ready when it opens. The goal isn't that people notice us, but that they encounter Jesus.
People are watching
Once doors open, others watch how we live: how we speak to our spouse, conduct business, treat the waiter who spills our coffee, and talk about someone who isn't in the room. Our life in Christ should be something people can see, not just something we say.
Our words should be full of grace and salt: not bland, arrogant or aggressive.
"We can be completely right about Jesus but wrong in the way that we represent him."
Jesus spoke differently to Nicodemus than to the woman at the well, and differently to Peter than to the Pharisees. He knew the person, the moment and what was needed. That's wisdom.
Stand firm
Paul's name is on the letter, but he never did ministry alone. One of the lies of modern Christianity is "it's just me and Jesus". One of the ways Jesus cares for us is through His people, who encourage us, challenge us, and pray for us, "especially when you're being an idiot".
Onesimus: God can redeem your past
Onesimus had been Philemon's slave and had left him, with a wrong unresolved. Under Paul's ministry he met Jesus. His name is associated with being useful, yet his life had become useless, until Jesus restored purpose to it. Paul now calls him "our faithful and dear brother", not runaway slave.
"Sin distorts and Jesus restores."
Grace doesn't pretend the past didn't happen, but it says your past doesn't have to dictate your future. God can make you useful again.
Mark: failure doesn't have to be final
Mark left Paul and Barnabas mid-mission, and later the two leaders split over him. Years on, Paul writes, "Get Mark… he is helpful to me." The dropout became a restored co-worker and a gospel writer: the bounce-back boy.
Chad shared his own story: from university dropout, bar fights and community service for drunk driving, to a law degree, a business, a beautiful family and a life God has fully restored. The enemy loves turning an event into an identity, but Jesus isn't done forming you.
"Your failure is part of your story, but it doesn't have to be the title of your story."
Epaphras: fight for people in prayer
Epaphras was always wrestling in prayer: struggle, effort, contest. Many of us will fight with people before we will fight for people. Some battles won't be won by another conversation, only on our knees. He prayed that the church would stand firm and be mature, not simply that life would be easy.
"Sometimes the resistance is part of the formation."
Finish the work
"See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord." Like a runner two hours into a race, much of faithfulness happens long after the excitement has gone. Nobody else can be the husband or father you're called to be, or obey the conviction God placed on your heart.
"Someone else can do a work, but they cannot do your work."
Most callings are lived in ordinary places: around dinner tables, in offices, in small acts of obedience nobody applauds.
From acceptance, not for it
Jesus received His work from the Father and finished it on the cross: "It is finished." We don't complete our assignment to earn God's love.
"We don't work for acceptance. We work from acceptance."
Takeaways
Change your prayer from "God, get me out of this" to "God, use me in this", and be ready when a door opens.
Watch your words and conduct, letting grace and salt shape how you speak to others.
Refuse to let your worst chapter define you; get back up by the grace of God.
Choose someone to wrestle for in prayer this week instead of complaining about them.
Look at your hands and ask what God has already placed there, then finish it.
Reflect and discuss
Where might God be opening a door in the middle of a difficult situation you're facing?
Is there a past failure you've allowed to become your identity? What would it look like to bounce back like Mark?
Who are the people who can encourage, challenge and pray for you? Where are you trying to do life alone?
Who do you find easier to fight with than to fight for in prayer?
If your name appeared in Colossians 4:17, what would come after it?
A written record of the teaching. Search it with your browser’s find (⌘F / Ctrl+F).
Morning everyone, and welcome to the beginning of the end. No need for panic. It's not as dramatic as it sounds. It's just the beginning of our service and it's the end of our series in Colossians.
And although we have an amazing chapter to finish this series off with, I know that finishing something is not always as exciting as starting something. So think about it. Starting something's always exciting, right? The start of a new year, the start of a new job, a new relationship, even the opening scene of a movie is exciting. And there's excitement in starting because the story is still ahead of us and anything feels possible.
But finishing feels a little bit different, because starting doesn't require much more than enthusiasm. But finishing often requires perseverance and determination and endurance, because somewhere between the excitement of starting and the satisfaction of finishing, things can get a little bit challenging. And as Paul closes his letter in Colossians 4, he shows us what it looks like to finish well.
So think about how many things in life we begin well. We begin marriages with convictions. We begin raising children with convictions and promises. We begin following Jesus passionately. And we even begin assignments that God places before us. But somewhere between starting and finishing, sometimes life can get a little bit challenging.
We get tired, we get distracted, we get disappointed. Sometimes we fail at something or we hurt someone. Sometimes somebody hurts us. And sometimes what God called us to do simply just becomes difficult. And the first thing I want us to think about today is that as much as we love beginnings, God is deeply interested in how we finish.
So let's have a look. For three chapters, Paul has shown us who Jesus is, what he's done for us, and how that should change the way that we live our lives. And then he reaches chapter 4, and suddenly there's just a list of names everywhere. Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark, etc., etc. And it kind of feels like the closing of a movie where it's just credits running.
And like we just said, the beginning of a movie is exciting, but who of us ever stays around to read the credits? One person. That's not normal, sir. But when the credits roll around, we get up and we leave as quickly as we can, right? Like some of you after a preach.
But sometimes there's something hidden in the credits. And if we look closer, there's something extraordinary hidden in these names in chapter 4. Because these aren't just names. These are stories of faithfulness, of failure, and of restoration.
And when we look at these stories, we see that God doesn't just build his kingdom with perfect people. He takes broken and failed people, ordinary people with histories and regrets and people that have messed up, and through Jesus, he redeems them. He restores them and he gives them something meaningful to do. So today, we're not going to skip the credits, because we might just find ourselves amongst these names.
And as we read today, Paul is going to reveal three things to us, and that is that we should live awake and walk wisely, we should stand firm, and we should finish the work.
So let's read Colossians 4:2. Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
And notice that first word there, devote. Not pray occasionally, not pray when all else has failed, but devote. Devote yourselves to prayer. That word means that there's persistence and discipline. And it pictures people whose lives are continually orientated towards God.
So devote yourself to prayer. And then Paul adds, being watchful. In other words, stay awake and pay attention and look around, because prayer isn't supposed to make us less engaged with the world around us. Prayer should make us more aware of what God is doing in it.
And how often when we pray, it just becomes our little world, and the rest of the world can wait for a second, and we just invite Jesus into our world. Come into my situation, look at my problem, change my circumstances. But prayer should make us aware of what God is doing in the world.
And just look at Paul's prayer request. Remember where he is. He's a prisoner in chains because he's been preaching Christ. Now, if that were you, what would you ask the church to pray? Guys, please get me out of here. Pray that the charges disappear. Pray that my circumstances change.
And there's nothing wrong with those prayers. But listen to Paul's prayer. Pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ. Paul is behind a closed door, and he's asking God to open another one. Not the prison door, but a door for the gospel.
Imagine that. He's chained. His circumstances are not what he would have chosen. But yet his biggest concern is not, get me out of here. It's, God, use me in here.
And I don't know about you, but that challenges me, because much of our prayer life can become, God, change my circumstances. God, fix my difficulty. Remove this problem. Make it easier. And sometimes God does. But perhaps there's another prayer that we need to learn, and that is, God, what door are you opening in the middle of this?
Maybe it's your difficult workplace that's an open door. Or maybe it's the difficult season that you are going through that's an open door. Maybe it's that conversation that you need to have that is an open door. But Paul says, open the door and be ready when it opens.
It says, pray for the door, but be ready when it opens. Because we can wait our entire lives for the perfect circumstances and we can completely miss the opportunities that God is placing in our current circumstances.
And Paul doesn't only pray for an open door. He says, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ. And that's the purpose of doing God's work. It's not simply opportunity. It's Christ. The goal isn't that people notice Paul. The goal is that people encounter Jesus.
So devote yourself to prayer, being watchful. Paul is saying, live awake.
And we read verse 5. Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. So here Paul is saying, pay attention to how you live, because once God opens that door and he presents opportunities, other people are going to start watching. People that don't believe what you believe are going to start watching when life doesn't go your way.
Your colleagues are watching. Your children are watching. Your family is watching. They watch how you speak to your wife. They watch how you handle your husband. They watch how you conduct business, how you talk to the waiter that spills your coffee, how you talk about somebody that's not in the room.
So be wise in the way you act towards outsiders, because our life in Christ isn't merely something we say. It should be something that other people can see.
And then in verse 6, Paul says, let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt. Grace and salt. Not bland or arrogant or aggressive, but grace and salt. And that in itself is challenging, because we can be completely right about Jesus but wrong in the way that we represent him.
Grace and salt. So make the most of the opportunities God gives you. And when that door opens, speak with grace and know how to connect with the people in front of you.
And Jesus did this beautifully. If we look in the book of John, he didn't speak to Nicodemus the same way that he spoke to the woman at the well. And if we look in Matthew, he didn't speak to Peter the same way that he spoke to the Pharisees. He knew the person. He knew the moment. And he knew what was needed. And that's wisdom.
Ephesians 5:15 says, be very careful, then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity. So live awake and walk wisely. Pay attention to God. Pay attention to other people. And pay attention to opportunities, because God may already be opening doors for you that you haven't even noticed.
Then we get to Colossians 4:7 and Paul starts naming people. Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark, Epaphras, Luke, etc. And when we look at these names, something becomes very clear, and that is that Paul may be the name on the letter, but Paul wasn't doing ministry alone.
And we have the strange tendency to turn Christianity into stories about individual heroes. Paul, Moses, David, Rory, Steven, we look at the person. But when we read this and we look at Scripture, we constantly see communities that were carrying the mission together.
And if we read chapter 4, we see that even Paul needed people. Some people carried letters, others prayed, some people travelled with him, other people opened their homes.
And one of the lies of modern Christianity is that it's just me and Jesus, you know. Hey, how you doing? I'm good, I'm good. You know, it's just me and Jesus. I'm all good. Don't need anything else. Hey, do you need some help with your struggles? Thanks for the offer, you know, but Jesus has the wheel. It's just me and Jesus.
And yes, you do need Jesus. But one of the ways that Jesus cares for you is through his people. You need people who know when you are struggling. You need people who can challenge you, people who can encourage you, people who can tell you when you're being an idiot, and you need people who can pray for you, especially when you're being an idiot.
So Paul didn't finish his journey alone, and neither should we. So I want to introduce you to a few good men that walked with Paul.
If we read 4:7: Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
And this is the first of a few good men, Onesimus. And if all we had was the book of Colossians, we'd read that and we'd move on. Onesimus, faithful brother, next name. But there's a whole story behind that sentence, because we find Onesimus in the book of Philemon, or Phi-lee-mon if you want to be posh. We'll go with Philemon today.
But Philemon was a Christian, and Onesimus had been his slave, and at some point Onesimus had left him. And Paul's letter strongly suggests that there was an unresolved wrong between them. And somehow Onesimus ends up with Paul, and under Paul's ministry he encounters Jesus.
And here's the beautiful part. The name Onesimus is associated with being useful or beneficial. And Paul makes a deliberate play on his name in Philemon. Philemon 1:10 says, I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
So don't miss that. The man whose name means useful had become useless. So his name said one thing, but his life was telling a different story, until he encountered Jesus.
And now Paul says he is useful again. And it's almost a name change. Not because Jesus rearranges the letters in his name, but he restores purpose to his name, to the meaning of the name. He becomes what he was supposed to be. And isn't that what the gospel does?
Sin distorts and Jesus restores. Sin takes things that God created for a purpose and it twists them. Our relationships, our sexuality, our work, our bodies, our ambitions, our gifts, and even our identity. But when we encounter Jesus, he begins the work of restoration.
And look at how Paul describes Onesimus now. He says, our faithful and dear brother. Not runaway slave. His history didn't disappear. He knows exactly where he came from. But grace doesn't pretend the past didn't happen. Grace says your past doesn't have to dictate your future.
Maybe some of you feel like there are years of your life that were useless, that you wasted time and opportunities, or you hurt people, or you made decisions that you regret, or you just drifted. Maybe you've even allowed your worst chapter to become your identity, and somewhere along the way you started believing, maybe that's just who I am.
But the gospel says your failure doesn't get the final word. Jesus does. Jesus has the incredible ability to take a life that has gone completely in the wrong direction and restore purpose to it. And Onesimus walked into Paul's life carrying a broken story. And eventually Paul sends him back carrying a new identity, our faithful and dear brother.
And I think some of you here today need to hear this. God can make you useful again. Not because your past didn't happen or your sin didn't matter, but because the grace of Jesus is bigger than the chapter you thought disqualified you.
Verse 10. My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. Mark. Any Marks here today? Any Marks? Over there. There we go. Some baggage that comes with that name. Not yours. His. Maybe yours, but Jesus can restore. Yeah.
So, Mark had travelled with Paul and Barnabas on their missionary work, but Acts tells us that Mark left them and returned home at some point. And we aren't given every single detail, but whatever happened, Paul clearly wasn't impressed, because at a later stage when Barnabas suggests that they take Mark with them again, Paul says no. So in Acts 15:39 it says, they had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.
Now think about that. We have Paul and Barnabas, these two incredible leaders and missionaries, church planters, men who have served together, and they have such a fallout over Mark that they go their separate ways. Barnabas takes Mark and Paul takes Silas, and off they go.
Now imagine being Mark in that story. You are the reason that Paul and Barnabas split. Not exactly the testimony you want to be giving in church, right? Hi, I'm Mark, and I caused an apostolic fallout. It's not ideal.
Imagine people talking in the streets. Hey, that's Mark. Which Mark? You know, that Mark. The guy who quit the work, that Paul wouldn't take again. That's not a great reputation to have.
But if Acts 15 were the last time Mark appeared in Scripture, we'd probably just remember him as the guy who couldn't handle the mission. But thankfully, when we fast forward years later, Paul is getting close to the end of his life. He's imprisoned again, and he writes to Timothy, and we get this beautiful sentence. 2 Timothy 4:11 says, get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
Get Mark. The same guy. The man Paul once refused to take with him is now the man that Paul asks for near the end of his life. Get Mark. Why? Because he is useful to me.
Somewhere between Acts 15 and 2 Timothy 4, Mark transformed and he matured and he became dependable again. He bounced back, and we remember him as the man associated with the Gospel of Mark. Now think about that trajectory. Missionary dropout, source of conflict, restored co-worker, gospel writer.
The quitter became useful and the disappointment became dependable. The man Paul wouldn't take became the man Paul specifically requested. And how's that for redemption? That's why we call Mark the bounce-back boy. And some of us need to learn how to bounce back.
You failed. Okay, what happens next? You made a mistake. Okay, what happens next?
Some of you know my story. I went from a university dropout, partying six nights a week, getting into bar fights on Sunday mornings when I should have been in church, getting locked up for drunk driving and having to do community service. If you've ever wondered why the Paul Kruger Museum floors are so shiny, that's me.
I went from that to getting a law degree, starting my own business, having a beautiful family, with an amazing job that takes me all over the world. And now, instead of being in clubs on Sunday mornings, I'm at church on Sunday mornings, living a life that God has fully restored. And I want to tell you that's only by the grace of God. And if he can do that for me, he can definitely do that for you.
And the enemy loves turning an event into identity. You quit becomes you're a quitter. You failed becomes you're a failure. You sinned becomes you are beyond restoration.
And to quote the great theologian Rocky Balboa, it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. Because the question isn't whether we've fallen. We all fall in life.
Mark doesn't seem to spend the rest of his life saying, well, that's just who I am. He grows, and years later, Paul sees a completely different man. And some of you are allowing a previous version of yourself to define the person you believe you can become. And Jesus says, don't. He's not done forming you.
Your failure is part of your story, but it doesn't have to be the title of your story. Mark teaches us that there is life after failure and usefulness after disappointment, and that there can be faithfulness after quitting. And sometimes the testimony isn't, I never fell. Sometimes the testimony is, by the grace of God, I got back up again.
Verse 12. Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you. And I love this word that Paul has chosen, wrestling, because often prayer can sound very gentle. Sitting in a quiet room with a coffee, soft music playing, you have your journal.
Epaphras didn't get that memo, because Paul says the man wrestles. And that word carries the idea of struggle and effort and contest. And there are things happening in the kingdom of God that require us to get serious in prayer. Serious and dangerous.
A couple of months ago I got my wife to start jiu-jitsu classes with me. And I thought, hey, this is an exciting start, as we spoke about, because I've got a little bit of experience in this and I'm going to show her what I know and this is going to be fun. And halfway through our first class, she gets me into a chokehold. And right before I pass out, luckily I'm able to tap out.
And I remember getting up from the mat, looking at my coach with a smile on my face. But in my head, I was thinking, this is a problem, because she's dangerous. And I can tell you something else about her. When it comes to prayer, she's dangerous.
We should become serious and dangerous in prayer. Paul says he is always wrestling in prayer for you. And this is another thing that challenges me, because it's very easy to talk about other people, and it's easy to complain and analyse other people and tell other people what other people should be doing differently.
Epaphras wrestles for people. And many of us will fight with people before we will fight for people. We'll argue, we'll complain, we'll send that message. We'll be sitting in the car, standing in the shower, rehearsing what they did wrong. But have we ever wrestled for them before God?
Imagine somebody describing you like this: he is always wrestling in prayer for us. Your children should have somebody wrestling for them. Your marriage should have somebody wrestling for it. Your friends and your church should have somebody wrestling for them. There are battles in other people's lives that will not be won by another conversation. It requires us to get down on our knees.
Paul says Epaphras prayed that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. Stand firm. Epaphras wasn't merely praying, God, make their lives easy. He was praying, God, make them mature.
And that is not often the same prayer, because sometimes maturity comes through the thing that we are asking God to remove. Sometimes the resistance is part of the formation, and God isn't simply trying to take you out of the storm. He's busy forming Christ in you while you are going through it.
So Paul has told us to live awake and walk wise and stand firm. And then we get to the final name I want us to notice, and also one of the most confronting lines in this chapter, because Paul is about to say something to one man that I believe all of us need to hear.
Colossians 4:17: tell Archippus, see to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord. And we don't know exactly what happened, whether Archippus was discouraged or distracted or just tired, or if Paul was just offering words of encouragement. But whatever the circumstances, the instruction is clear. Archippus, God gave you something to do. Complete it.
Remember, starting is exciting, but finishing looks a bit different. Starting has energy and enthusiasm, and finishing requires perseverance and endurance. And again, think about how many things in life begin with excitement. A marriage, a business, a qualification, a commitment, a calling. We love beginnings, but much of faithfulness is what happens long after the excitement of beginning has disappeared.
We have a lot of runners in this church. So remember, you need people to tell you when you're being... I mean, people to encourage you, right?
Think about before your race in the morning. The sun's not even up at the starting line. There's hundreds of people around. Everybody's excited. There's music going in the background. You're super excited because you have your brand-new outfit on and you've got the new shoes with nanotechnology, which in your head makes you run faster than you'll ever be able to. And the guy next to you is excited for your shoes. And off you go.
Two hours into that race, nobody's excited. You're not even excited about your shoes anymore, because the only thing going through your head is, why does everything hurt so much? Just get me to the finish. And in that moment, Paul says, get it done.
So, in other words, take responsibility for what God entrusted to you. There are things in your life that nobody else can be faithful with on your behalf. Nobody else can be the husband or father that you've been called to be. Nobody else can obey the conviction that God placed on your heart. And nobody else can steward your gifts or live your obedience.
There are assignments God gives us that cannot be completed by someone else. Because someone else can do a work, but they cannot do your work. And perhaps the question isn't, what great thing am I going to do for God one day? That was my question a lot. But perhaps the question is, what has God already put in my hands, and am I being faithful with it?
Put your hands out like this just for a second. Put your hands out and look at your hands. Look at your hands and ask that question. God, what have you put in my hands, and am I being faithful with it?
We sometimes imagine calling as something spectacular, but most callings are lived in ordinary places, around dinner tables, in your offices, in small acts of obedience that nobody will ever applaud. And Paul says to Archippus, finish it.
And that word finish takes us straight to Jesus, because Jesus also received the work from his Father. In John 4:34, Jesus says, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. So Jesus knew he had an assignment.
And then eventually we find him on a cross, betrayed and beaten and mocked, with nails through his hands and his feet, bearing the weight of our sin. And in John 19:30, Jesus speaks: it is finished. Probably the three most important words ever spoken. It is finished.
Jesus didn't say, I tried. He didn't say, I got most of it done, or, I hope this is enough. It is finished. The debt of sin was paid and the sacrifice had been offered. And the work necessary for our salvation was complete.
And we have to understand the order here, because Paul isn't telling Archippus to finish his work so that God will save him. That's not our life in Christ. We do not complete our assignment to earn the love of God. Jesus finished the work of salvation before we ever began our work of obedience.
And you've heard this before. We don't work for acceptance. We work from acceptance. We don't serve hoping that eventually God will say, okay, you've done enough, now I love you. The cross has already declared the depth of his love.
Jesus finished the work that only Jesus could finish. And because he did, we are free to give our lives faithfully to whatever he places in our hands. So I'm not trying to prove myself to God. I'm responding to what God has already done for me. The cross says it is finished. And then Jesus places something in our hands and says, now be faithful.
So perhaps Paul's message to Archippus is a message some of us desperately need. Don't abandon what God gave you simply because it became difficult. And this is where Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 16:13 fit perfectly, because he says, be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. That's how we finish.
We live awake and walk wisely. We stand firm when obedience becomes difficult. We have the courage to take responsibility. We tell the truth. We apologise. We forgive. We try again. And we do it all in love.
Because finishing well isn't about being the loudest or strongest or most impressive person in the room. It's about remaining faithful to Jesus and to what he has placed in your hands.
So we've looked at Onesimus, Mark, Epaphras, Archippus. A few good men. Different men, different stories, different assignments, and yet together they give us a beautiful picture of our life in Christ. Onesimus tells us God can redeem your past. Mark tells us failure doesn't have to be final. Epaphras tells us to fight for people. And Archippus tells us to finish the work faithfully.
And faithfulness isn't about recognition for what we do. It's about being able to stop praying, God, get me out of this, and maybe start praying, God, use me in this.
Second, where do you need to stand firm? Maybe you've fallen, or maybe you've just become tired. Maybe you're carrying the shame of a previous chapter. And Jesus says your worst chapter doesn't have to be your last chapter. So get up, stand firm, be courageous, be strong, and do everything in love.
And finally, what do you need to finish? What is the thing? What is the assignment that you've received from God? What obedience have you delayed? What responsibility have you neglected? Or what conversation have you been putting off that you need to have?
If Paul were writing Colossians today and your name appeared in verse 17, what would come after it? Tell Archippus, see to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord. Tell Stephanus. Tell John. Tell Butch. See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.
And one of the greatest ways we honour the one who said it is finished is to faithfully finish what he has given us to do. Amen.
