Meanderings Concerning Nympha and Archippus

We find ourselves now at the end of Colossians.  The second half of the last chapter, chapter 4 is devoted to personal greetings and admonitions.  These are portions of the Bible that are frequently glossed over.  Case in point:  ever heard of either Nympha or Archippus?

5Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters who are in Laodicea and to Nympha and the church that meets in her house. 16And after you have read this letter, have it read to the church of Laodicea. In turn, read the letter from Laodicea as well. 17And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord.”

Colossians 4:15-17 (NET)

Nympha, a woman of Laodicea, was apparently the leader of the Laodicean church; it met in her house.  This is the only time she is mentioned in scripture.  Nympha must have been a rather wealthy woman, to have a house large enough to host a small church.  There is some disagreement as to whether Nympha was a woman or a man.  Most modern Bible scholars agree that her name was changed to the masculine sometime during the Middle Ages by Catholic scribes who assumed they were looking at an editing error.1  Colosse and Laodicea were small towns, close together, which is why Paul directed that they share letters with each other.  I am fascinated by the apparently missing "Laodicean Letter" from Paul, as it is mentioned in verse 16 but was not preserved in perpetuity, nor was it incorporated into our holy, scriptural canon.

As for Archippus, the admonition from Paul to him is one for all Christians.  You are a Christian, but you aren't in "ministry", (diakonian) you say?  Wrong.  Every Christian is, or should be, a minister (diakonian).  I don't mean in the ecclesiastical, vocational, full-time occupational sense.  But, if we all are given spiritual gifts when we become Christians, how else would we use them, exercise them, except in "ministry"?

Here's the thing:  I don't think the Lord ever expected us to sit around and just be "takers".  A friend of mine's blog today was titled, "A Good Deal".  Salvation through Jesus Christ is "the best deal of all"!  If we really believe that, how is it that we do things like hire a pastor full-time and then expect him to do all the "ministry"?

Certainly, Paul did not believe that such "delegation of ministry" is scriptural!  Otherwise, why would he send that message to Archippus?  And, who was this dude, anyway?  It appears that he was just a "regular dude", not some mega-church leader.  He is mentioned in Philemon 1:1-2 as being a "fellow soldier" with Paul.  The word "ministry" in the Greek is "diakonian" or "diaconate" or "deacon", in the English.  But, it is used in a more general sense, not to indicate that Archippus was an actual "deacon".  Some have postulated that he was the leader of the Colossian church.  That may have been the case, as he is mentioned in practically the same sentence as Nympha, the leader of the Laodicean church.

Regardless of these meanderings and speculations, let's pray for each other, that each of us clings close to Jesus for the remainder of our days and that we boldly, courageously step out to fulfill the callings He has given to each of us.  Brick by brick....building on the Cornerstone, the firm foundation who is Jesus Christ, our Savior!

Sources:

1
http://newlife.id.au/equality-and-gender-issues/stephanas-man-or-woman/

2
http://biblehub.com/text/colossians/4-17.htm