Eternity 103 - Fulfilling The Ministry You Have Received To subscribe to the free Eternity Daily Bible Study click hereor go to: http://www.aibi.ph/articles/eternity Colossians 4:15-18 LITV (15) Greet the brothers in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the assembly in his house. (16) And when this letter is read before you, cause that it be read also in the Laodicean assembly, and that you also read the one of Laodicea. (17) And say to Archippus, Look to the ministry which you received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it. (18) The greeting by my hand, Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen. These verses have caused New Testament scholars much anguish..where is the lost epistle to the Laodicean church? There must be many of Paul's writings that have not been preserved. Perhaps the Laodiceans were so "lukewarm" that they did not bother to treasure it! Again we get a glimpse into church life in the NT. The church met in houses "and Nymphas and the assembly in his house" across a city such as Colossae or Laodecia. Obviously in these places there would be many more believers than could fit in one house so there were probably many house-churches networked together with elders in each city acting as supervisors of the cell groups just as Paul told Titus to set in place elders in each city. The city networks each then get an epistle which is read in the various cell groups, and perhaps, where possible at large gatherings. The city-churches are networked across regions such as Asia. The epistles are passed around with the Laodecians getting to read the Colossian epistle and vice-versa. So individuals belong to cell-churches, which belong to city-churches, which have elders and leadership and which are networked across regions. It was a pattern not unlike the Internet in its ability to communicate. The authenticity of the epistles was guaranteed by Paul's apparently distinctive signature "The greeting by my hand, Paul". One theory is that Paul had an eye ailment (Galatians 4:13-15) that caused him to write in large letters (Galatians 6:11) and have rather unique handwriting. "2 Thessalonians 3:17 LITV (17) The greeting of Paul by my hand is the sign in every letter; so I write.". The eye ailment caused Paul to use a scribe known as an amanuensis to do the writing at Paul's dictation for most of the letter with only the signature being added by Paul. The scribe for the epistle to the Romans apparently was one Tertius who added his own greeting "Rom 16:22 I, Tertius, the one writing the epistle, greet you in the Lord." In the midst of these final greetings Paul adds an exhortation to Archippus.Archippus is addressed in Philemon as "a fellow-soldier" meaning a Christian worker. This is confirmed here where he is addressed as one having received a ministry in the Lord. He was probably the brother of Apphia, the wife of Philemon. According to Lightfoot this family of Onesimus, Philemon, Apphia and Archippus were all stoned to death during the reign of Nero. (Source International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia) Archippus was told to "Look to the ministry which you received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it." Whether tiredness, discouragement or apathy or some distraction had overtaken Archippus we do not know. Rather we know what he was to do next - to pay attention to his ministry to fulfill it. Not to wander away into other things. "Look to the ministry which you received in the Lord" means firstly that ministry is not a choice, it is not something we choose to do or not do. It is a precious gift which we receive from God and should pay attention to. Paul even said "woe unto me if I do not preach the gospel". Ministry is not something we can forget about when it gets tough or put aside when fame and fortune beckon. A ministry is a destiny and we should fulfill it. There are three things we should pay attention to in ministry. The first is our own character and the second is our doctrine and teaching of the word of God. "1Ti 4:16 Give attention to yourself and to the doctrine; continue in them, for doing this, you will both deliver yourself and those hearing you." The third is the quality, diligence and Christ-centeredness of our ministry "take heed how you build" (1 Cor 3:10-15). We are to be holy, we are to be scriptural and we are to be focussed, diligent and centered on the gospel. Its easy to think that one's ministry is "so small it doesn't count" and to feel that if you give up no-one will notice. But Paul did notice! He had an eye on his fellow-soldier and pulled this one back into the ranks and into service. If you have a ministry - pay attention to it, look to it, put your energy into it. Do you supervise others? Then encourage them to stay on task! Blessings, John Edmiston Asian Internet Bible Institute http://www.aibi.ph free online bible courses.