Colossians 4:17 records Paul’s charge to Archippus: “And say to Archippus, ‘See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.’” What was this ministry that Archippus was to fulfill?
Archippus was the son of Philemon and Apphia, and their church met in their house (Philemon 1–2). Being a son, he was likely not old. However, being given a ministry significant enough that a whole church would call him to fulfill it (“say to Archippus”), he was likely not very young. Perhaps he was in his 30’s or 40’s like Timothy and Titus (cf. 1 Tim 4:12; Titus 2:6–8, 15).
“Ministry” could refer to many things, and being a “fellow soldier” (Philemon 2) could indicate participation in the gospel ministry in some way (cf. Philippians 2:25). Digging further into the New Testament, however, perhaps can gather a few clues to suggest specifically what this ministry may have been, though we cannot be certain.
First, this ministry was something that Archippus had “received in the Lord” and something that he had to “fulfill” in the context of the Colossian church. Paul did not directly tell him to fulfill his ministry but told the church to tell him so, holding him accountable to his task. If his role was pastoral, this would be akin to a church holding its pastor accountable to lead them in the Lord.
Second, Paul similarly commanded Timothy, “Fulfill your ministry,” a command that involved regularly preaching the Word and evangelizing the lost (2 Timothy 4:5; cf. 4:1–5). Moreover, Paul’s title for Archippus as “our fellow soldier” might correspond to Timothy’s ministry as Paul told Timothy to “share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” with an “aim to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Timothy 2:3–4). If these parallels between Archippus and Timothy are so, Paul could be telling Archippus to serve as a Christian leader in the Colossian church.
Third, Epaphras, the pastor who began the church in Colossae, had left to join Paul in prison, so perhaps Archippus was leading the church while Epaphras was away (cf. Colossians 1:7–8; 4:12–13).
Fourth, Tychicus and Mark were leaders in the early church and would join Archippus and the Colossians for a time (Colossians 4:7–10), likely encouraging them from the Word as well. However, Tychicus would also travel to Ephesus, and Paul only says to welcome Mark. The brief but firm command to Archippus alone at the close of this letter and that among other notable individuals seems to suggest some sort of significant ministry in the Colossian church.
Summarizing the above, it could be that Paul wanted the Colossian church to call upon Archippus to fulfill his God-given pastoral ministry among the Colossians while Epaphras was away. Archippus was to be a good soldier of Christ who preached the word, suffered as necessary, and gave the gospel to the lost.1
- See especially William Hendriksen, Exposition of Colossians and Philemon (New Testament Commentary 6; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1964), 197–99. [↩]