Colossians 4:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

NIV: 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.

NASB: Epaphras, who is one of your own, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, always striving earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

CSB: Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant 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 everything God wills.

NLT: Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will of God.

KJV: Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

NKJV: Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

Verses 12 and 13 are both devoted to Epaphras. According to this letter, Epaphras is from Colossae. He helped start the Colossian church and was highly respected there (Colossians 1:7). At some point, Epaphras traveled to Rome to visit Paul and was there at the time this letter was written. Epaphras sent personal greetings to his fellow believers in the letter, since it would be delivered by Tychicus and Onesimus.

Paul also makes note of Epaphras' loyal efforts in prayer for his hometown. Specifically, Epaphras has been praying that the Colossian believers "may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God." God desires maturity (Colossians 1:28), which is a reference to the spiritual strength of our thinking (1 Corinthians 14:20). Paul develops this theme in Ephesians also, stating, "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ" (Ephesians 4:15).

Colossians 4:7–18 ends Paul's letter to the believers at Colossae in his typical fashion. Most of Paul's letters begin with an introduction, transition from ideas into applications, and then end with general news and greetings. Here, Paul specifically mentions the town of Laodicea, which was about 12 miles away from Colossae. He also refers to several fellow Christians, some of whom are mentioned in other letters as well, including Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark, Epaphras, and Luke.

The first verse of chapter 4 is actually the last thought from Paul's prior comments about bondservants and masters. After this, Paul gives the Christian perspective on conversation. The way believers speak has a large impact on the effectiveness of our message. Paul then ends his letter with news and messages between various Christian ministers. Among these are names which Paul mentions again in other letters, such as Tychicus, Epaphras, Archippus, and Onesimus.

Prior chapters in this letter established the supremacy of Christ, provided counters to false teaching, and gave instructions for Christian living. Chapter 4 completes these instructions with a general command regarding Christian conversation. Paul then ends the letter with news and comments related to various fellow Christian believers. This follows the general pattern for Paul's letters: introduction, theory, application, personal news and farewell.

The book of Colossians describes Christ as superior to all other teachers, faiths, and philosophies. In this letter, written from prison, Paul once again tackles false teachings. Among these errors are claims that Christians need to give up all physical enjoyments, that they should worship angels, and that they need to rely on the wisdom of an elite few. These problems are consistent with an ancient heresy known as Gnosticism. In response, Paul explains that Christ is supreme, and sufficient for our salvation.