The power of speech is a gift from God, and it must be used the way God ordains. In the Book of James, the tongue is compared to a bridle and a rudder, a fire and a poisonous animal, and a fruitful tree and a fountain (James 3). These three pairs of pictures teach us that the tongue has the power to direct, the power to destroy, and the power to delight. The tongue is but a little member of our bodies, but it can accomplish great things for good or for evil.
Prayer and worship are perhaps the highest uses of the gift of speech. Paul was not ashamed to ask his friends to pray for him. Even though he was an apostle, he needed prayer support for himself and his ministry. If a great Christian like Paul felt the need for prayer support, how much more do you, and I need this kind of spiritual help! In these few words, Paul described the characteristics of a satisfying and spiritual prayer life.
Paul did not ask for the prison doors to be opened, but that doors of ministry might be opened (1 Cor. 16:9; Acts 14:27). It was more important to Paul that he be a faithful minister than a free man. It is worth noting that in all of Paul’s prison prayers, his concern was not for personal safety or material help, but for spiritual character and blessing.
The proclaiming of the Word of God is a great privilege and a tremendous responsibility. You do not have to be an ordained preacher or a missionary to share God’s Word. Even in your daily conversation you can drop the seed of the Word into hearts, and then pray that God will water that seed and bring forth fruit.
1 Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. 5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. (NASB)
Key Takeaways:
- Believers should pray with diligence, awareness, and thanksgiving
- Knowing the truth about Christ calls us to live lives of prayer, wisdom, and faithfulness
- Believers should share the gospel with clarity, wisdom, and grace and pray for help to do so
Closer Look
Verse 1: Paul does not concern himself only with servants or employees. Employers also have a duty not to take advantage of employees. While the bondservants were to work for the Lord, masters were to treat or provide (“give deliberate care”) for their bondservants with what is just (dikaion)[1] and fair (isotēta, “equitable”).[2] After all, masters themselves are responsible to the Lord, their Master in heaven, who treats them fairly. How much better when Christian employers treat their employees well for the Lord’s sake, knowing that they too have a Master in heaven. If employers today manifested this kind of compassionate and impartial care for their employees, certainly their employees’ motivation to work would radically improve.
Verse 2: Paul not only practiced a mature prayer life (cf. 1:3–12) but he also prescribed it for all believers. They should devote themselves to (lit., “persist, continue in”; cf. Rom. 12:12) prayer. Prayer is not a spiritual luxury; it is essential for growth. Prayer is something so easy to do and beneficial, yet it is oven overlooked until all other options have been tried. Prayer, is vital to one’s spiritual health as breathing is to one’s physical health, should be continual (1 Thes. 5:17), not casual. Paul encourages the Colossians to be diligent in thanksgiving and prayer, especially praying for himself and his coworkers as they worked at spreading the gospel. Even the apostle Paul requested and needed the prayers of others to support him. In our praying, a Christian should be alert (“watchful, aware”) against spiritual drowsiness caused by attention to the world[3] and by the deceits of the devil (Eph. 6:16; 1 Peter 5:8). Alert literally means “stay awake” and refers to an attitude of being spiritually alert. Using the same term, Peter encouraged his readers to “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8, NASB). Believers need to be alert because Satan wants to devour them. Colossians tells believers to be alert because false teachers want to deceive them. Believers need to be aware of the evil forces which seek to tantalize and capture them.
An attitude of thankfulness should always accompany prayer,[4] because it places a believer in the proper attitude and perspective before God (cf. Rom. 1:21).
Verses 3–4: Pray for us was a request Paul often made of his readers.[5] Paul’s request was not selfish; it was that God would open a door (cf. 1 Cor. 16:9; 2 Cor. 2:12) through which he could clearly minister the gospel message, that is, the mystery of Christ,[6] for which he was imprisoned.[7] Even while in prison, Paul felt his need of prayer for God to open the door for the opportunity to spread the gospel. Remember, the Good News of salvation (“mystery of Christ”) for all which can be known and experienced only through Christ. He desired not only an opportunity to preach but also clarity in preaching: “that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” Paul’s concern is to make the message clear and plain. This is something all of us need to pray each day. That in all we do and say, we proclaim the gospel message clearly and boldly. And, we live out the gospel message in our conduct.
Verses 5–6: Completion or perfection in Christ includes not only one’s private (and prayer) life but also one’s public life. To grow this dimension of one’s life in Christ, Paul told believers to conduct themselves with wisdom (or be wise in the way they act). This wisdom (sophia; cf. 1:9; 28; 3:16), which is God’s, not man’s (cf. James 3:13, 17), should be evident to “outsiders,” that is, those outside the “household of faith” (cf. 1 Cor. 5:12; 1 Thes. 4:12; 1 Tim. 3:7). Also, Paul’s readers should make the most of every opportunity.[8] They should be ready “in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2) to proclaim Christ. Early Christians were often viewed with suspicion, distrust, and disdain. They were considered atheists because they would not worship the gods of Rome and Greece. Many labeled them as unpatriotic because they would not burn incense before the images of the emperor. Some accused the early Christians of participating in orgies because of their talk of “love feasts” (Jude 12). Others harbored suspicions that Christians were really cannibals because they talked about eating and drinking the blood and the body of the Lord. With such misrepresentations of Christian belief and practice running rampant, it was very important for misunderstandings to be dispelled by the virtuous and impeccable lives of Christian believers.[9]
In addition, their speech or conversation[10] should be always with (i.e. full of; literally, “in”) grace (“gracious, pleasing”; cf. Col. 3:8–9) and yet “seasoned with salt” (i.e., pure and penetrating).[11] In this way, they could answer (“respond”) everyone who asked about “the reason for the hope” (1 Peter 3:15) they had. Christ was full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14). Christians are to be gracious, pleasant, approachable, and courteous. Salt was used for two purposes in Paul’s time. It was used as a preservative to keep food from spoiling. This would mean the believer’s speech is to be free from corruption, wholesome. Salt was also used as an additive to give flavor to food. If this meaning lies behind the figure, then the believer’s speech is to be interesting, witty, tactful, and appealing. Perhaps the best understanding of the reference to salt is that the believer’s speech is to be both wholesome and appealing.
[1] BDAG – “pertaining to being in accordance with high standards of rectitude, upright, just, fair.” Strong’s 1342.
[2] BDAG – “state of matters being held in proper balance, equality,” or “state of being fair, fairness.” Strong’s 2471.
[3] Matt. 24:42; Acts 20:31; 1 Cor. 16:13; 1 Thes. 5:6
[4] (Phil. 4:6; Col. 1:12; 3:16–17; 1 Thes. 5:18)
[5] Rom. 15:30; Eph. 6:19; 1 Thes. 5:25; 2 Thes. 3:1
[6] cf. Eph. 3:4; 6:19; Col. 1:26–27; 2:2
[7] cf. Phil. 1:7, 13–14, 16; Col. 4:18; Phile. 1, 9–10, 13
[8] literally, “buy up [exagorazomenoi] the time” or “redeeming the time.” BDAG – “to gain something, especially advantage or opportunity, make the most of.” The mid. ἐξαγοράζεσθαι τ. καιρόν Col 4:5; Eph 5:16 appropriately expresses choice in perilous times (ὅτι αἱ ἡμέραι πόνηραί εἰσιν) make the most of the time or opportunity in the sense ‘take advantage of any opportunity that comes your way’. (The context of Col. 4:5 relates to opportunity for evangelism; Eph 5:16 to avoidance of anything that interferes with understanding of the Lord’s will.)
[9] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 1568.
[10] logos, “word, discourse, talking.” BDAG- “a communication whereby the mind finds expression, word.”
[11] BDAG – “speech seasoned w. salt to make it interesting and fruitful”