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someone else’s letter

Colossians 4:7-18 (JDV)

Colossians 4:7 Tychicus, our dearly cared about brother, faithful assistant, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you everything about me.

Colossians 4:8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are and so that he may encourage your hearts.

Colossians 4:9 He is with Onesimus, a faithful and dearly cared about brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

Colossians 4:10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin (concerning whom you have received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him),

Colossians 4:11 and so does Jesus who is called Justus. These alone of the circumcised are my coworkers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a slave of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in every preference of God.

Colossians 4:13 You see, I testify about him that he works hard for you, for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis.

Colossians 4:14 Luke, the dearly cared about physician, and Demas send you greetings.

Colossians 4:15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the congregation in her home.

Colossians 4:16 After this letter has been read at your gathering, have it read also in the congregation of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

Colossians 4:17 And tell Archippus, “Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it.”

Colossians 4:18 I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Favor be with you.

someone else’s letter

Paul’s closing greetings are easy to skim past, but they reveal something essential about how the gospel actually moved through the ancient world. Paul never worked alone. Every letter he wrote, every congregation he encouraged, every mission he undertook was supported by a network of coworkers, friends, messengers, hosts, and fellow sufferers. His long list of names is not filler; it is a window into the communal nature of Christian ministry. The gospel spread through teams, not heroes.

These final paragraphs also remind us that this letter was never meant to stay in one place. It was written for the congregations in and around Colossae, but Paul expected it to be copied, carried, and read aloud in other communities—Laodicea included. And he expected the Colossians to read the letter sent to Laodicea as well. Scripture was always meant to circulate, to be shared, to be heard by many voices in many places. The early church treated these writings as living words, not private correspondence.

That pattern continues in the way we receive Scripture today. The whole Bible is God’s gift to us—not just the passages we quote often, not just the verses that feel familiar or comforting. When we limit ourselves to our favorite sections, we shrink the richness of God’s revelation. There are treasures in genealogies, wisdom in obscure prophets, encouragement in forgotten letters, and depth in passages we rarely visit. Paul’s closing greetings themselves are a reminder that every line of Scripture carries meaning, even the ones that seem merely historical or incidental.

When we open ourselves to the full breadth of God’s “divine library,” we discover connections we never noticed, themes that echo across centuries, and truths that shape us in ways we didn’t expect. The Spirit speaks through all of it. The Bible is not a collection of isolated fragments; it is a unified story, a shared testimony, a communal witness to God’s work in the world.

Lord, open our minds to your truth in every book of your divine library. May we receive the fullness of your Word with humility, curiosity, and joy.