I, Paul, write this greeting by my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
We have come to the final verse of the book of Colossians. We give glory to God for his sustenance throughout, as I wrote commentary on each verse by God's grace. Next up is the book of Philippians, which will begin immediately.
But now to the final verse.
This greeting by my own hand
Paul put a personal touch in the letter. It serves as a signature, showing that the content comes from him and can be trusted as coming from him, so that the church can be protected from deception.
One of the challenges of writing in the first century was a flurry of writings bearing the names of apostles, but the church did not recognize any of them as scripture. But Paul did not stop writing just because deceptive words were circulating.
In another place, he referred to a pretend letter that seemed to have come from him and was causing consternation among the believers:
2 Thessalonians 2:2: Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to be easily shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes.
Paul wrote letters addressing questions a certain church asked him (1 Corinthians 7:1). However, for the people of Thessalonica, that passage provided credible evidence that a deceptive letter may have been in circulation.
The result was that they were shaken and disturbed.
Paul said that disturbance could come from different sources: spirit (many through some form of revelatory experience), a message (someone verbally articulating an argument in their midst), or a letter.
God does not want you shaken from the truth.
God had marked Paul out not only by signs and wonders but also by the imprisonment and sufferings that he endured in Christ’s name, and the breadth of his ministry impact could not be hidden.
And that goes for the other apostles. So, if someone could mimic the apostle and write something demonic like “the resurrection has passed,” then the church could suffer incalculable damage.
No wonder bringing together the body of letters clearly traceable to the apostles became a priority for the church.
It was important to have trusted written sources since the apostles would not live forever. Imagine how much the church cherished this letter, which they could trust represented the very mandate of Jesus Himself!
Much damage can come from falsehood, but the opposite is true for the truth—much good has come as the seed of the word of God has been planted everywhere. The power of the truth cannot be overestimated. Jesus said: The truth shall set you free (John 8:32).
Remember my chains
Why “remember my chains” just after Paul had mentioned his signature? It was because the chains were actually an authentication of his ministry. No pretender could be in prison like Paul was.
Jesus said the hired hand would run when he sees the wolves (John 10:12-13).
When Paul was saved, he was clearly told about the level of suffering he would suffer for Christ (Acts 9:16). The Bible gives us an idea of Paul’s suffering throughout his life.
Even though Paul suffered and died, his letters are shaping the church now, just as spirits, messages, and written documents purportedly from God have been circulating since then. We need to differentiate lies from truth.
Though the chains were supposed to silence Paul, they did the opposite. The same is true of Jesus. Though His death on the cross was supposed to silence Him, He rose from the grave. He is Lord of ALL (Romans 10:12).
“Remember my chains” is also a note telling people to behave themselves so that what they hear about them will not cause him more pain. He said something similar in his letter to Philemon, drawing attention to his chain to extract good behavior from him (Philemon 1:9-10).
Grace be with you
Those were the final words of this letter. It was a prayer, but also an identity. Grace is the identifier of the Christian faith. It is the mark of the new life in Christ. It is God’s favorable disposition to us in Christ Jesus. Paul could not find a better phrase to close the letter. It was a benediction, after the word had proceeded in the letter for a long time. Glory to God!
