Colossians 4:3 — A Prisoner Because of the Secret

3 praying at the same time concerning us also, that God should be opening for us a door of the word, to speak the secret of Christ, because of which I am bound also,

The first thing that stands out is that Paul does not call on his readers to pray for his release, but for an open door for the word. That is because his imprisonment is inseparably connected with the message entrusted to him.

Paul declares that he is a prisoner because of the secret of the Christ. From Acts, we know why. His fellow countrymen could not tolerate his proclamation that the wall between Israel and the nations had been broken down. Consequently, the distinction between Jew and Greek no longer mattered (Eph. 2:14; Col. 3:11). It was precisely that message that landed him in prison. That is why Paul calls himself in Ephesians 3:1 “the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you, the nations” and immediately connects this there as well with the secret made known to him (Eph. 3:3, 4).

Paul did not regard his chains as a failure of his ministry, but precisely as its consequence. He therefore does not ask God to change his circumstances, but that the Word might run freely. Not an open prison door, but an open door for the Word was Paul’s priority. Though he himself may be bound, “the word of God is not bound” (2 Tim. 2:9).

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