Chapter
1 2 3 4
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Colossians 4:9

ESV and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.
NIV He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
NASB and with him is Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your own. They will inform you about the whole situation here.
CSB He is coming with Onesimus, a faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.
NLT I am also sending Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, one of your own people. He and Tychicus will tell you everything that’s happening here.
KJV With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.
NKJV with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here.

What does Colossians 4:9 mean?

Along with Tychicus (Colossians 4:7–8), Onesimus is also tasked with helping deliver this letter to the Colossians. Onesimus was a runaway slave, once owned by a Christian named Philemon (Philemon 1). Philemon had come to faith in Christ through Paul's influence in Rome. During this same trip, Onesimus also delivered the letter Paul wrote to his master, living in this same city. History records that Philemon granted Paul's request to free Onesimus (Philemon 1:15–18), who later served as a church leader.

Paul accepted Onesimus as a fellow believer in Christ, despite being a runaway slave. At that time, this was not only violation of social rules, it was a crime punishable by death. Onesimus was also from Colossae, which is why Paul could claim he "is one of you." These two men—Onesimus and Tychicus—were bringing additional news not found in Paul's written letters. It is intriguing to speculate what additional information these men shared during their visit with the Colossian Christians. We are left with four brief chapters, yet their spoken teachings and reports probably included many hours of additional information.
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