The Speech of the New Man (4:2-6)
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Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God may 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; in order that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person. (4:2-6)
When our Lord told the Pharisees that “the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart” (Matt. 12:34), He gave an important spiritual principle: Speech will reflect the kind of person one is. Because the tongue can speak so easily and is difficult to control, a person’s speech becomes the truest indicator of his spiritual state (cf. Matt. 12:37).
The Bible has much to say about the speech of both the redeemed and the unredeemed mouth. The unredeemed mouth is characterized by evil (Prov. 15:28), sexual immorality (Prov. 5:3), deceit (Jer. 9:8), curses (Ps. 10:7), oppression (Ps. 10:7), lies (Prov. 12:22), destruction (Prov. 11:11), vanity (2 Pet. 2:18), flattery (Prov. 26:28), foolishness (Prov. 15:2), madness (Eccles. 10:12-13), carelessness (Matt. 12:36), boasting (Rom. 1:30), false doctrine (Titus 1:11), evil plots (Ps. 37:12), hatred (Ps. 109:3), too many words (Eccles. 10:14), and gossip (Prov. 26:22).
In contrast, redeemed speech is characterized by confession of sin (1 John 1:9), confession of Christ (Rom. 10:9-10), edifying speech (Eph. 4:29), talk of God’s law (Ex. 13:9), praise to God (Heb. 13:15), blessing of enemies (1 Pet. 3:9), talk about God (Ps. 66:16), wisdom and kindness (Prov. 31:26), and gentleness (Prov. 15:1). It takes as its model the Lord Jesus, who spoke instructively (Matt. 5:2), graciously (Luke 4:22), blamelessly (Luke 11:54), and without deceit (1 Pet. 2:22).
In 4:2-6 Paul continues the discussion of the new man in Christ that he began in 3:5. In 3:5-17 he discussed the personal characteristics of the new man. In 3:18-4:1, he discussed the home life of the new man. In this passage he broadens the scope of his discussion to include unbelievers (cf. 4:5). He focuses especially on the speech of the new man, because that is something the watching world will look at carefully when it evaluates Christianity. Next to the thoughts, attitudes, and motives, it is also the most difficult area for believers to control.
In an ancient story, it is said that Bios, a wise man of ancient Greece, was sent an animal to sacrifice. He was instructed to send back to the donor the best and worst parts of the animal. He sent the donor the tongue. The tongue is indeed the best and worst of man. James agrees with that evaluation:
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they may obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Behold, the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder, wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. Behold, how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Neither can salt water produce fresh. (James 3:2-12)
In his discussion of the speech of the new man, Paul puts the emphasis on four areas: the speech of prayer, the speech of proclamation, the speech of performance, and the speech of perfection.
THE SPEECH OF PRAYER
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. (4:2)
It is fitting that Paul begins with prayer, because it is the most important speech the new man can utter. Prayer is the strength of the believer’s fellowship with the Lord and the source of his power against Satan and his angels (cf. Eph. 6:18). Through prayer, believers confess their sin, offer praise to God, call on their sympathetic High Priest (Heb. 4:15-16), and intercede for each other. Prayer from a pure heart (Ps. 66:18) is to be directed to God (Matt. 6:9), consistent with the mind and will of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 6:18), in the name of Christ, and for the glory of the Father (John 14:13).
In 4:2, Paul touches on an often overlooked aspect of prayer, that of perseverance. Devote yourselves is from proskartereō, a compound word made up of kartereō (“to be steadfast,” or “to endure”) with an added preposition that intensifies the meaning. The verb means “to be courageously persistent,” “to hold fast and not let go.” Paul is calling strongly on believers to persist in prayer. They are to “pray at all times” (Eph. 6:18; cf. Luke 18:1), “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17), and be devoted to prayer (Rom. 12:12). By so doing, they follow the example of Cornelius (Acts 10:2) and the apostles (Acts 6:4).
Praying at all times is not necessarily limited to constant vocalizing of prayers to God. Rather, it refers to a God consciousness that relates every experience in life to Him. That does not, however, obviate the need for persistence and earnestness in prayer. Such persistence is illustrated repeatedly in Scripture. The 120 disciples gathered in the Upper Room “were continually devoting themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14). The early church followed their example (cf. Acts 2:42).
Our Lord told two parables illustrating the importance of persistent prayer:
Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God, and did not respect man. And there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ And for a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, lest by continually coming she wear me out.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now shall not God bring about justice for His elect, who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them speedily.” (Luke 18:1-8)
And He said to them, “Suppose one of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he shall answer and say, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened.” (Luke 11:5-10)
The point of both those parables is that if unwilling and sinful humans will honor persistence, how much more will our holy, loving heavenly Father?
Virginia Stem Owens wrote the following about wrestling with God in earnest prayer:
Christians have always interpreted the splitting of the temple veil during the crucifixion as symbolic of their liberation from the mediated presence of God. Henceforth they were “free” to approach him directly—which is almost like telling someone he is “free” to stick his head in the lion’s jaws. For once you start praying there is no guarantee that you won’t find yourself before Pharaoh, shipwrecked on a desert island, or in a lion’s den.
This is no cosmic teddy bear we are cuddling up to. As one of the children describes him in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, “he’s not a tame lion.” [Jacques] Ellul is convinced that prayer for persons living in the technological age must be combat, and not just combat with the Evil One, with one’s society, or even one’s divided self, though it is also all of these; it is combat with God. We too must struggle with him just as Jacob did at Peniel where he earned his name Israel—“he who strives with God.” We too must be prepared to say, “I will not let you go till you bless me.”
Consider Moses, again and again intervening between the Israelites and God’s wrath; Abraham praying for Sodom; the widow demanding justice of the unjust judge. But in this combat with God, Ellul cautions, we must be ready to bear the consequences: … “Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint, and he went away lame. However, the most usual experience will be God’s decision to put to work the person who cried out to him…. Whoever wrestles with God in prayer puts his whole life at stake.”
Awful things happen to people who pray. Their plans are frequently disrupted. They end up in strange places. Abraham “went out, not knowing where he was to go”…. After Mary’s magnificent prayer at the annunciation, she finds herself the pariah of Nazareth society…. How tempting to up the stakes, making prayer merely another consumer product. How embarrassing to have to admit not only that prayer may get you into a prison, as it did Jeremiah, but also that while you’re moidering away in a miry pit there, you may have a long list of lamentations and unanswered questions to present to your Lord. How are we going to tell them they may end up lame and vagrant if they grasp hold of this God? (“Prayer—Into the Lion’s Jaws,” Christianity Today, November 19, 1976, pp. 222-23; italics in the original)
That stands in marked contrast to the glib, self-centered prayers of our day. Much of the contemporary church has lost its reverence for God. He is too often viewed as a sort of cosmic automatic teller machine. If we punch in the right code, He’s obligated to deliver what we want. The Lord might well ask the twentieth-century church what He asked the rebellious priests of Malachi’s day: “‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 1:6).
True prayer often involves struggling and grappling with God, proving to Him the deepest concern of one’s heart. Prayer is to be a persistent, courageous struggle from which the believer may come away limping.
Such prayer gives the believer a holy boldness to pray forcefully when convinced of God’s will, as the following example shows.
In 1540 Luther’s great friend and assistant, Friedrich Myconius, became sick and was expected to die within a short time. On his bed he wrote a loving farewell note to Luther with a trembling hand. Luther received the letter and sent back a reply: “I command thee in the name of God to live because I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church…. The Lord will never let me hear that thou art dead, but will permit thee to survive me. For this I am praying, this is my will, and may my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God.”
Those words are shocking to us, but they were certainly heartfelt. Although Myconius had already lost the ability to speak when Luther’s letter came, he recovered completely and lived six more years to survive Luther himself by two months.
There is a tension between boldness and waiting on God’s will. That tension is resolved by being persistent, yet accepting God’s answer when it finally comes.
True prayer also involves keeping alert. In its most basic sense, that means to stay awake and not fall asleep during prayer. While in Gethsamane, Jesus “came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak’” (Matt. 26:40-41). It is impossible to pray while sleeping. Christians should choose times when they are awake and alert to pray.
Paul’s thought here, however, is broader than mere physical alertness. He also means that believers should look for those things about which they ought to be praying. Christians sometimes pray vague, general prayers that are difficult for God to answer because they do not really ask anything specific. To be devoted to prayer requires something specific to pray for. We will never persistently pray for something we are not concerned about. And to be concerned, we must be alert to specific needs.
A third element in prayer is an attitude of thanksgiving. This is the fifth time that Paul has mentioned gratitude in this epistle. Believers are to be grateful for salvation (1:12), for growth (2:6), for fellowship with Christ and His church (3:15), for the opportunity to serve (3:17), and, here, for the guarantee that God will answer prayer in accordance with His purpose. That, of course, is what is best for our good in time and our glory in eternity.
When believers pray, they can begin by being thankful for the following spiritual blessings and privileges. First, believers are to be thankful for God’s presence. In Psalm 75:1, the psalmist writes, “We give thanks to Thee, O God, we give thanks, for Thy name is near.” Second, believers are to be thankful for God’s provision. Adrift at sea in the midst of a raging storm, Paul nevertheless was grateful to God for the food He provided: “He took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all” (Acts 27:35). Third, believers are to be thankful for God’s pardon. Paul said in Romans 6:17, “Thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed.” Christians should be grateful for their salvation. Fourth, believers are to be thankful for God’s promise: “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57; cf. 2 Cor. 2:14). “For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us” (2 Cor. 1:20). Finally, believers are to be thankful for God’s purpose: “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
THE SPEECH OF PROCLAMATION
praying at the same time for us as well, that God may 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; in order that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. (4:3-4)
Paul turns from prayer, which is speech directed to God, to the proclamation of the gospel, which is speech directed to people. Having exhorted the Colossians to pray, he gives them a specific request, to pray at the same time for us as well. The plural pronoun us probably includes the list of Paul’s friends and co-workers that begins in 4:7. The content of Paul’s request was that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ. A door in the New Testament usually refers to an opportunity. In 1 Corinthians 16:8-9, Paul writes, “I shall remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” He later wrote to the Corinthians of the door that had opened for him at Troas (2 Cor. 2:12).
Believers are to pray for open doors because it is God who opens them. At the end of Paul’s first missionary journey, he and Barnabas reported to the church “all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27). In Acts 16, after several doors had been shut, “a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a certain man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us’” (v. 9). Upon seeing the vision, Luke writes, “immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them” (Acts 16:10). Revelation 3:7 describes Jesus as the One “who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens.” That was literally the case when God opened locked prison doors and freed Peter to preach the gospel (Acts 12:1-11).
Paul desired an open door so he could speak forth the mystery of Christ. As already noted in the discussion of 1:26-27, the term mystery refers to something hidden in the Old Testament but manifest in the New. In the present context, it refers to the content of the gospel. Paul asks the Colossians to pray that he would have an open door to speak the full truth of the gospel.
It was for the sake of the gospel that Paul was imprisoned. In Jerusalem, at the end of his third missionary journey, he was falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the area of the Temple forbidden to them. He was rescued from the angry crowd by the Romans and eventually sent by them to Felix, the governor of Judea. After languishing in custody for two years, Paul exercised his right as a Roman citizen and appealed his case to Caesar (Acts 25:11). Following a harrowing voyage, during which he was shipwrecked following a violent storm, he reached Rome. The book of Acts closes with Paul under house arrest there (Acts 28:16, 30).
Paul’s imprisonment did not spell the end of his ministry. It was during this period that he wrote Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon. He also evangelized those he came into contact with, whether the mob in Jerusalem (Acts 22:1ff.), Felix (Acts 24:10ff.), Herod Agrippa (Acts 26:1ff.), Roman soldiers (Phil. 1:13), members of Caesar’s household (Phil. 4:22), or members of Rome’s Jewish community (Acts 28:17ff.). Paul’s activity during his imprisonment in Rome is summed up in Acts 28:30-31: “He stayed two full years in his own rented quarters, and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.” For Paul, there were no devastating circumstances, only unique opportunities.
Paul further asked the Colossians to pray that when God opened a door for the gospel, I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Ought can be understood in two ways. First, it refers to the compulsion Paul felt to preach the gospel. That was a constant burden in his life. To the Romans he wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). In 1 Corinthians 9:16 he said, “If I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”
Second, ought to speak refers to the mandate for using the God-ordained method of presenting the gospel. Paul preached the gospel by “solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). “Solemnly testifying” is from diamarturomai, which means to give a thorough and complete testimony. The gospel should be proclaimed clearly, boldly (Eph. 6:19), wisely (Prov. 25:11), and graciously (Eph. 4:15).
There are three popular kinds of evangelism that this instruction precludes. First, experience-centered evangelism is inappropriate. It focuses not on delineating the gospel message from Scripture passages, but on a person’s testimony of personal feelings and experiences. The obvious danger in this method is that people may not really understand the gospel at all, yet respond to what was said emotionally and think they are saved.
A second kind of evangelism to be avoided is ego-focused evangelism. This evangelism sells Jesus as the panacea for all of life’s problems and as the source of earthly comfort, well-being, and prosperity. It promises that continual happiness and freedom from struggle are available through Him in this life. In short, it is man-centered, not God-centered. Although salvation does bring joy and peace, the gospel does not guarantee a life without difficulty. Paul warned that “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Jesus told the disciples that “a slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20; cf. Matt. 5:11, 44; 10:23). In fact, Jesus promised, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
A final form of evangelism to be avoided is expedience evangelism. This wrong method of evangelism uses high-pressure tactics, manipulation, cleverness, emotional stimulation, or technique to force commitments. It, too, often results in false professions of faith (Matt. 13:19-22; cf. James 2:14-26).
Paul wanted people to pray that he would speak as he ought to speak, as God wanted him to speak. That should be our prayer for everyone who proclaims Christ.
THE SPEECH OF PERFORMANCE
Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. (4:5)
What believers are gives credibility to what they say. As already noted in the discussion of 1:9, wisdom involves properly evaluating circumstances and making godly decisions. Believers are to exhibit a carefully planned, consistent, righteous Christian life.
If those who say they are believers live as fools, outsiders or unbelievers (cf. 1 Cor. 5:12-13; 1 Thess. 4:12; 1 Tim. 3:7), will denigrate the faith and shun the gospel. Only if believers live wisely will the watching world see the power of God at work in them. Be warned: believers can live like fools. One way is by living for money. Paul warns against that in 1 Timothy 6:9: “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.”
Another way to live foolishly is to live the Christian life legalisti-cally. Paul said to the Galatians, “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:1, 3). Jealousy and selfish ambition, being the opposite of wisdom, are other ways even believers can express foolishness (James 3:16).
On the other hand, there are several sources for wisdom. First, worship: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov. 9:10). Second, prayer: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). Third, Bible study: “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another” (Col. 3:16). Fourth, godly instruction: “And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ” (Col. 1:28). It is only through walking in wisdom that believers’ words will mean anything. The early church had none of the modern means of advertising the gospel, such as TV, radio, tracts, books, magazines, or bumper stickers—and fewer of the scandals and hypocrites. Yet by living out the truth of the gospel in their personal and corporate lives, they turned their world upside down. May that be said of us.
Living a godly life also involves making the most of the opportunity. Moses prayed in Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom.” Opportunity is fleeting. Life is short, and every day more people die without Christ. “Night is coming, when no man can work” (John 9:4). Our Lord may return at any moment. Paul expressed the urgency of redeeming the time in Romans 13:11-14:
This do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
The time is now for believers to speak with their lives.
THE SPEECH OF PERFECTION
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person. (4:6)
Consistency of life must be followed by consistency of speech. Paul is not speaking here of preaching the gospel, but general conversation. Believers’ speech must always be with grace, as was Christ’s (Luke 4:22). There is no place for those things that characterize the unredeemed mouth. Whether undergoing persecution, stress, difficulty, or injustice, whether with your spouse, children, believers, or unbelievers—in all circumstances believers are to make gracious speech a habit. To speak with grace means to say what is spiritual, wholesome, fitting, kind, sensitive, purposeful, complementary, gentle, truthful, loving, and thoughtful. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:29, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
The speech of the new man must also be seasoned … with salt. It is not only to be gracious, but also to have an effect. Salt can sting when rubbed into a wound (cf. Prov. 27:6). It also prevents corruption. Believers’ speech should act as a purifying influence, rescuing conversation from the filth that so often engulfs it. Salt also adds flavor, and the speech of the new man should add charm and wit to conversation.
Believers must also know how to respond to each person. They must know how to say the right thing at the right time. In Peter’s words, they must be “ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (1 Pet. 3:15).
The speech of the new man is vitally important: “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well” (James 3:2). Unlike the ungodly, who say “Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?” (Ps. 12:4), we as believers should echo the prayer of the psalmist in Psalm 141:3: “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”