Colossians 4:3
as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
as you pray also for us
This phrase emphasizes the communal aspect of prayer in the early Christian church. The Greek word for "pray" here is "proseuchomai," which implies a deep, earnest communication with God. Paul is urging the Colossian believers to include him and his companions in their prayers, highlighting the interconnectedness of the body of Christ. This reflects the early church's understanding of prayer as a powerful tool for support and encouragement, transcending physical boundaries.

that God may open to us a door for the word
The imagery of God opening a "door" is significant. In the ancient world, doors symbolized opportunities and access. The Greek word "thura" is used here, which can mean a literal door or a metaphorical opportunity. Paul is asking for divine intervention to create opportunities for the gospel to be shared. This reflects a reliance on God's sovereignty in evangelism, acknowledging that it is God who prepares hearts and circumstances for the reception of His word.

so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ
The "mystery of Christ" refers to the previously hidden truth of the gospel, now revealed through Jesus Christ. The Greek word "mysterion" indicates something that was once concealed but is now made known. Paul often uses this term to describe the gospel's revelation to the Gentiles, a radical and transformative message in the first-century context. This proclamation is central to Paul's mission, emphasizing the inclusivity and universality of the Christian message.

for which I am in chains
Paul's reference to being "in chains" underscores the cost of discipleship and the reality of persecution faced by early Christians. The Greek word "halysis" refers to literal chains, symbolizing imprisonment. Despite his physical confinement, Paul remains committed to his mission, viewing his suffering as part of his service to Christ. This serves as an inspirational reminder of the resilience and dedication required in the Christian walk, encouraging believers to remain steadfast in their faith despite challenges.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Paul
The apostle who authored the letter to the Colossians. He is in prison at the time of writing, emphasizing his dedication to spreading the Gospel despite his circumstances.

2. Colossians
The recipients of the letter, a Christian community in the city of Colossae, located in modern-day Turkey. Paul writes to encourage and instruct them in their faith.

3. Mystery of Christ
Refers to the Gospel message, which was once hidden but is now revealed through Jesus Christ. It encompasses the salvation available to all, both Jews and Gentiles.

4. Chains
Symbolic of Paul's imprisonment, which he mentions to highlight the cost of discipleship and the perseverance required in spreading the Gospel.

5. Open Door
A metaphor for opportunities to share the Gospel. Paul requests prayer for these opportunities, showing his reliance on God's providence in his ministry.
Teaching Points
The Power of Prayer in Evangelism
Paul emphasizes the importance of prayer in creating opportunities to share the Gospel. Believers should regularly pray for open doors in their own lives and the lives of others.

Perseverance in Ministry
Despite being in chains, Paul remains focused on his mission. Christians are encouraged to persevere in their calling, regardless of circumstances.

The Mystery of Christ
Understanding and proclaiming the mystery of Christ is central to the Christian faith. Believers should seek to deepen their understanding of the Gospel and share it with others.

Reliance on God's Providence
Paul’s request for an open door highlights the need to rely on God’s timing and provision in ministry efforts. Trusting God to provide opportunities is crucial.

Unity in the Body of Christ
Paul’s request for prayer from the Colossians demonstrates the interconnectedness of the Church. Christians should support one another through prayer and encouragement.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Paul's request for prayer in Colossians 4:3 challenge your current prayer life, especially regarding evangelism?

2. In what ways can you identify "open doors" in your own life where you can share the Gospel?

3. How does understanding the "mystery of Christ" impact your personal faith and your approach to sharing it with others?

4. Reflect on a time when you faced obstacles in your faith journey. How can Paul's perseverance in chains inspire you to remain steadfast?

5. How can you actively support others in your church community in their efforts to proclaim the Gospel, as Paul sought support from the Colossians?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Acts 14:27
This verse describes how God opened a door of faith to the Gentiles, similar to Paul's request for an open door in Colossians 4:3.

Ephesians 6:19-20
Paul similarly asks for prayer to boldly proclaim the Gospel, showing a consistent theme in his letters of seeking divine assistance for evangelism.

2 Corinthians 2:12
Paul speaks of a door opened by the Lord for his work, reinforcing the idea that God orchestrates opportunities for ministry.
An Exhortation to PrayerU.R. Thomas Colossians 4:2-4
Conditions of Success in PrayerE.S. Prout Colossians 4:2-4
Prayer and PrudenceR. Findlayson Colossians 4:2-6
The Life of Prayer and SympathyR.M.e Colossians 4:2-6
Doors Shut and OpenBishop D. Wilson.Colossians 4:3-4
Ministers Dependent on the Prayers of the PeopleH. Melvill, B. D.Colossians 4:3-4
Prayer for MinistersH. Melvill, D. D.)Colossians 4:3-4
Prayer for the Apostle and His CompanionsT. Croskery Colossians 4:3, 4
Revival Through PrayerG. Barlow.Colossians 4:3-4
The Door of UtteranceBishop Alexander.Colossians 4:3-4
The People's Prayer and the Minister's WorkColossians 4:3-4
People
Archippus, Aristarchus, Barnabas, Christians, Colossians, Demas, Epaphras, Justus, Luke, Marcus, Mark, Onesimus, Paul, Tychicus
Places
Colossae, Hierapolis, Laodicea
Topics
Account, Bonds, Bound, Chains, Christ, Declare, Door, Forth, Imprisoned, Making, Message, Mystery, Open, Prayer, Praying, Preaching, Prison, Prisoner, Proclaim, Sake, Secret, Speak, Truth, Utterance, Withal
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Colossians 4:3

     5251   chains
     5299   door
     6694   mystery
     7742   missionaries, support
     8426   evangelism, motivation

Colossians 4:2-3

     8493   watchfulness, believers

Colossians 4:2-4

     7028   church, life of
     8619   prayer, in church

Colossians 4:3-4

     7754   preaching
     7757   preaching, effects
     8498   witnessing, and Holy Spirit

Library
Without and Within
'Them that are without.'--COL. iv. 5. That is, of course, an expression for the non-Christian world; the outsiders who are beyond the pale of the Church. There was a very broad line of distinction between it and the surrounding world in the early Christian days, and the handful of Christians in a heathen country felt a great gulf between them and the society in which they lived. That distinction varies in form, and varies somewhat in apparent magnitude according as Christianity has been rooted in
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Thirtieth Day for the Holy Spirit with the Word of God
WHAT TO PRAY.--For the Holy Spirit with the Word of God "Our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance."--1 THESS. i. 5. "Those who preached unto you the gospel with the Holy Ghost sent forth from heaven."--1 PET. i. 12. What numbers of Bibles are being circulated. What numbers of sermons on the Bible are being preached. What numbers of Bibles are being read in home and school. How little blessing when it comes "in word" only; what
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

Marcus, My Son
'... So doth Marcus, my son.'--1 Peter v. 13. The outlines of Mark's life, so far as recorded in Scripture, are familiar. He was the son of Mary, a woman of some wealth and position, as is implied by the fact that her house was large enough to accommodate the 'many' who were gathered together to pray for Peter's release. He was a relative, probably a cousin (Col. iv. 10, Revised Version), of Barnabas, and possibly, like him, a native of Cyprus. The designation of him by Peter as 'my son' naturally
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

The Name Above Every Name
'Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.'--ACTS ii. 36. It is no part of my purpose at this time to consider the special circumstances under which these words were spoken, nor even to enter upon an exposition of their whole scope. I select them for one reason, the occurrence in them of the three names by which we designate our Saviour--Jesus, Lord, Christ. To us they are very little more than three proper
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Conflict and Comfort.
"For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts may be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ."--COL. ii. 1, 2. Although he was in prison the Apostle was constantly at work for his Master, and not least of all at the work of prayer. If ever the words
W. H. Griffith Thomas—The Prayers of St. Paul

Prayer and Fervency
"St. Teresa rose off her deathbed to finish her work. She inspected, with all her quickness of eye and love of order the whole of the house in which she had been carried to die. She saw everything put into its proper place, and every one answering to their proper order, after which she attended the divine offices of the day. She then went back to her bed, summoned her daughters around her . . . and, with the most penitential of David's penitential prayers upon her tongue, Teresa of Jesus went forth
Edward M. Bounds—The Necessity of Prayer

Twenty-Eighth Day that all God's People May Know the Holy Spirit
WHAT TO PRAY.--That all God's People may know the Holy Spirit "The Spirit of truth, whom the world knoweth not; but ye know Him; for He abideth with you, and shall be in you."--JOHN xiv. 17. "Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost?"--1 COR. vi. 19. The Holy Spirit is the power of God for the salvation of men. He only works as He dwells in the Church. He is given to enable believers to live wholly as God would have them live, in the full experience and witness of Him who saves
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

Author's Introduction,
In Which the Sources of This History Are Principally Treated A history of the "Origin of Christianity" ought to embrace all the obscure, and, if one might so speak, subterranean periods which extend from the first beginnings of this religion up to the moment when its existence became a public fact, notorious and evident to the eyes of all. Such a history would consist of four books. The first, which I now present to the public, treats of the particular fact which has served as the starting-point
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

We Shall not be Curious in the Ranking of the Duties in which Christian Love...
We shall not be curious in the ranking of the duties in which Christian love should exercise itself. All the commandments of the second table are but branches of it: they might be reduced all to the works of righteousness and of mercy. But truly these are interwoven through other. Though mercy uses to be restricted to the showing of compassion upon men in misery, yet there is a righteousness in that mercy, and there is mercy in the most part of the acts of righteousness, as in not judging rashly,
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

From John Yeardley's Conversion to the Commencement of his Public Ministry.
1803--1815. John Yeardley was born on the 3rd of the First Month, 1786, at a small farm-house beside Orgreave Hall, in the valley of the Rother, four miles south of Rotherham. His parents, Joel and Frances Yeardley, farmed some land, chiefly pasture, and his mother is said to have been famous for her cream-cheeses, which she carried herself to Sheffield market. She was a pious and industrious woman; but, through the misconduct of her husband, was sometimes reduced to such straits as scarcely to have
John Yeardley—Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel

"And Watch unto Prayer. "
1 Pet. iv. 7.--"And watch unto prayer." "Watch." A Christian should watch. A Christian is a watchman by office. This duty of watchfulness is frequently commanded and commended in scripture, Matt. xxiv. 42, Mark xiii. 33, 1 Cor. xvi. 13, Eph. vi. 18, 1 Pet. v. 8, Col. iv. 2; Luke xii. 37. David did wait as they that did watch for the morning light. The ministers of the gospel are styled watchmen in scripture and every Christian should be to himself as a minister is to his flock, he should watch over
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Epistle xxxii. To Anastasius, Presbyter .
To Anastasius, Presbyter [1714] . Gregory to Anastasius, &c. That a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things (Matth. xii. 35; Luke vi. 45), this thy Charity has shewn, both in thy habitual life and lately also in thy epistle; wherein I find two persons at issue with regard to virtues; that is to say, thyself contending for charity, and another for fear and humility. And, though occupied with many things, though ignorant of the Greek language, I have nevertheless sat
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Exhortations to Christians as they are Children of God
1 There is a bill of indictment against those who declare to the world they are not the children of God: all profane persons. These have damnation written upon their forehead. Scoffers at religion. It were blasphemy to call these the children of God. Will a true child jeer at his Father's picture? Drunkards, who drown reason and stupefy conscience. These declare their sin as Sodom. They are children indeed, but cursed children' (2 Peter 2:14). 2 Exhortation, which consists of two branches. (i) Let
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Mental Prayer.
"Pray without ceasing."--1 Thess. v. 17. There are two modes of praying mentioned in Scripture; the one is prayer at set times and places, and in set forms; the other is what the text speaks of,--continual or habitual prayer. The former of these is what is commonly called prayer, whether it be public or private. The other kind of praying may also be called holding communion with God, or living in God's sight, and this may be done all through the day, wherever we are, and is commanded us as the
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

Meditations of the True Manner of Practising Piety on the Sabbath-Day.
Almighty God will have himself worshipped, not only in a private manner by private persons and families, but also in a more public sort, of all the godly joined together in a visible church; that by this means he may be known not only to be the God and Lord of every Singular person, but also of the creatures of the whole universal world. Question--But why do not we Christians under the New, keep the Sabbath on the same seventh day on which it was kept under the Old Testament? I answer--Because our
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

How the Gospels came to be Written
[Illustration: (drop cap B) Early Christian Lamp] But how did the story of the Saviour's life on earth come to be written? We have seen that many years passed before any one thought of writing it down at all. The men and women who had really seen Him, who had listened to His voice, looked into His face, and who knew that He had conquered death and sin for evermore, could not sit down to write, for their hearts were all on fire to speak. But as the years passed, the number of those who had seen Christ
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

Of the Words Themselves in General.
We come now to the words themselves, wherein Christ asserts that he is, 1, "the way;" 2, "the truth;" 3, "the life;" and, 4, "that no man cometh to the Father but by him." In them we learn these two things in general. First, The misery of wretched man by nature. This cannot be in a few words expressed. These words will point out those particulars thereof, which we will but mention. 1. That he is born an enemy to, and living at a distance from God, by virtue of the curse of the broken covenant of
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Gen. xxxi. 11
Of no less importance and significance is the passage Gen. xxxi. 11 seq. According to ver. 11, the Angel of God, [Hebrew: mlaK halhiM] appears toJacob in a dream. In ver. 13, the same person calls himself the God of Bethel, with reference to the event recorded in chap. xxviii. 11-22. It cannot be supposed that in chap xxviii. the mediation of a common angel took place, who, however, had not been expressly mentioned; for Jehovah is there contrasted with the angels. In ver. 12, we read: "And behold
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

"Be Ye Therefore Sober, and Watch unto Prayer. "
1 Pet. iv. 7.--"Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." We now come to consider the coherence and connexion these duties have one to another. First, Prayer is the principal part of the Christian's employment, and sobriety and watchfulness are subordinate to it. "Be sober, and watch unto prayer." (1.) Prayer is such a tender thing that there is necessity of dieting the spirit unto it. That prayer may be in good health, a man must keep a diet and be sober, sobriety conduces so much to its
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Parables Exemplified in the Early History of the Church.
"To Him shall prayer unceasing And daily vows ascend; His Kingdom still increasing, A Kingdom without end." We have seen that our Lord described in His Parables the general character and nature of "The Kingdom of Heaven." Consequently, if the Church established by the Apostles under the guidance of the Holy Ghost is "The Kingdom of Heaven," it will necessarily be found to agree with the description thus given. Let us therefore now consider how far the history of the Church, in the Acts of the Apostles
Edward Burbidge—The Kingdom of Heaven; What is it?

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