Lord not only said "pray", but "watch and pray" (Mark 14: 38). We must be alert to see

the Lord's hand working in our sphere of witness and service.

Last of all, Paul asks prayer for himself for "utterance" and "boldness, as I ought to

speak". The message was the "mystery of the gospel" (Eph. 6: 19, 20), not just how God

can save a sinner, though that is wonderful. What a lot believers and expositors miss who

put this one meaning on the word `gospel' wherever it occurs in the N.T. The Lord has

good news for His redeemed children as well as for sinners. The tremendous revelation

given to the Apostle and made known in Eph. 3: and Col. 1: goes far beyond salvation,

although it rests upon it. So wonderful was it that Paul's one aim was to "enlighten all"

(3: 8, 9) as to its content and riches, and in the Colossian letter we are told that God

wishes this to be made manifest to His saints (Col. 1: 26, 27). It was this `good news'

hitherto kept secret (a mystery) that Paul asked for prayer that he might boldly proclaim

and make known, and it was for this truth he was "an ambassador in chains" (20).

Instead of looking at himself as the prisoner of Nero, he preferred to see the situation

from the Divine standpoint, and regard himself as God's representative at the imperial

court of Rome.

He now assured the recipients of this epistle that Tychicus would visit them and

give all the up-to-date news concerning his circumstances. This is almost identical with

Col. 4: 7 and shows that Tychicus was evidently the bearer of the Colossian epistle as

well as this one. He was a native of the province of Asia according to Acts 20: 4, and

here he is Paul's special envoy to the churches of this region. The Apostle closes the

epistle with peace, love, faith and grace; wondrous spiritual gifts upon which it is indeed

profitable to reflect and to experience. His last words are "Grace be with all them that

love our Lord Jesus Christ in uncorruptness" (24 R.V.). He finishes as he began with

grace, and leaves as his last thought, that of resurrection, for "uncorruptness" is

practically synonymous with "immortality", and is put on at resurrection (I Cor. 15: 53,

54). It is in resurrection when the exceeding riches of this epistle will be enjoyed by

those who are graciously favoured to be members of the Body of Christ. The height,

depth, length and breadth of revelation in this epistle are not eclipsed by any other part of

Scripture, and nothing less than this is what God wants His child to embrace by faith,

rejoice in, and live out in practice day by day, according to His rules laid down in

chapters 4: to 6:  This is a challenge indeed, which believers can only ignore to their

eternal loss. Are we willing to honestly face up to it day by day?