Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here. Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me. 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. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you. Colossians 4:7-14

Often when we think about Paul’s Epistles and all the Churches he has helped plant, we don’t think about all the workers behind the scenes that helped make this happen. The Apostle Paul was a great teacher, preacher, and writer, however has was just a human , just like us. He wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything , of course without God, but also without the rest of the body of Christ, the Church, his brothers and sisters in The Lord

Here we see Paul list several names just for the Church of Colosse, some recognizable like Luke and Barnabas. And some other not so familiar names like Tychicus and Onesimus. However, every one of these Christians played a vital role in building Gods Kingdom, because everyone of them are part of the body of Christ.

Paul does some extensive teaching on the roles in the Church , such as 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, ect. As Paul has stated, the hand is not greater than the foot, and vice versa. Everyone in the body of Christ, the Church, has a role and purpose. Nobody is greater than anyone else.

As Jesus said “Whoever desires to be great, must become your servant” (Matthew 20:26) This should be the attitude of the Church, its not about me , its all about we. Even in my own life, I noticed when I collaborate with other Christians, the Holy Spirit seems to be working more effectively. When we break off and try to accomplish things on our own, we struggle and usually fail. The body of Christ was meant to live and work together, not to separate and compete.

I love reading this acknowledgement from Paul of every brother and sister’s hard work and dedication to the Kingdom of God. As the Bible says “a three strand cord is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12) We are the Body of Christ, We are the Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it in Jesus name , Amen!