Colossians Study – Session 10
CrossPointe Community Church – Denton, TX
April 7, 2013 - Larry Reynolds, Teacher
Colossians 3:1-4:6 is a description of the life to which God
calls believers. In this section Paul
lists five things that believers should do:
1. Seek
and set your minds on things above (3:1-4)
2. Slay
and put away the vices of the old nature (3:5-11)
3. Put
on the virtues of the new nature (3:12-17)
4. Behave
becomingly in family relationships (3:18-4:1)
5. Be
faithful in religious duties (4:2-6)
4.
Behave becomingly in family relationships (3:18-4:1) – The preceding paragraph dealt with general attitudes
and characteristics which should be in the lives of Christians. This paragraph makes specific application of
those general attitudes and characteristics.
It is important to understand that this paragraph is talking more about
responsibilities than privileges. As you
read this, focus more on what you are to do than what the other person is to
do.
Two broad principles underlie this section on
Christian relationships:
a. Christian
relationships are built on reciprocal obligations – It is never the Christian way for all the duties to
fall to one side of the relationship and all the privileges to the other
side. Husbands have as great an
obligation as wives. Parents have as
great obligation as children. Masters
have as great an obligation as slaves.
This was an entirely new and revolutionary concept in the 1st
century world. It is essential to
understand the reciprocal nature of the relationships mentioned in this
passage. Both parties must fulfill their
obligations for the relationship to work properly.
b. Christians
recognize that all relationships are “in
the Lord” – Jesus is a
partner in all Christian relationships and that changes the dynamic of the
relationship.
With those two things in mind, want to quickly explore
three common relationships that Paul touches on in this passage. In each case Paul spells out the main
obligation/responsibility of the parties in the relationship.
Husband/wife
relationship (verses 18-19)
·
“Wives be
subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” (18) – This is one of the most misunderstood and
misused verses in the Bible. I want to
make it clear that this verse is not saying the wife is inferior to the husband
or subservient to the husband. The
parallel passage in Ephesians 5 makes it clear that the submission in the
husband/wife relationship is a mutual
submission. Paul begins that
passage by saying, “…be subject to one another in the fear of Christ…” (Eph.
5:21) The key to understanding that
phrase is understanding the verb “be subject.” The verb had two meanings. It was a military term meaning “to line up under” like soldiers would
line up under their commanding officer.
Some take that to be the meaning here.
But since we are to be subject to each other, interpreting the verb that
way would mean that every Christian must line
up under every other Christian, which really makes no sense. The other way the verb was used was to mean “having an attitude of humility and
selflessness.” It is just the
opposite of asserting yourself. It means
to graciously defer to another. I think
that’s the meaning here. The wife is to
graciously defer to and respect her husband.
That does not mean the husband should not graciously defer to and
respect his wife. But Paul is
recognizing a special need in men, the need to be respected and taken
seriously.
·
“Husbands,
love your wives, and do not be embittered against them.” (19) – This speaks to a special need in the lives of
women. While generally have a driving
need to be respected, women generally have a driving need to be loved. This verse does not mean that wives should
not love their husbands. It does mean
that husbands should take great care to make sure their wives feel loved. As one person rightly said, “There
would be a lot more submissive wives if there were more loving husbands.” The phrase “do not be embittered against
them” is just an expression of love.
It means husbands should not be harsh, sharp, unkind toward their wives.
Parent/child
relationship (verses 20-21)
·
“Children, be
obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.” (20) – The foundation of this duty is the 5th
commandment which instructs us to honor our fathers and our mothers. The phrase “in all things” is
limited by our highest obligation which is to God. There could be a rare situation where one’s
higher obligation to obey God would take
precedence over one’s obligation to obey his/her parents.
·
“Fathers, do
not exasperate your children, that they may not
lose heart.” (21) – The
word translated “fathers” can mean parents in general. The idea behind this phrase is do not be
impossible to please. While parents must
discipline their children, they must also encourage their children.
Master/slave
relationship (verses 22 – 4:1) –
Interesting that Paul devotes only two verses to husbands/wives and
children/parents, but he devotes five verses to masters/slaves. I think there are two reasons for that. It is estimated that nearly 1/3 of population
of the ancient world consisted of slaves.
Many Christians came from this population. How to relate to their earthly masters was a
big issue. Also, this letter was sent
back to Colossae along with Onesimus, a
run-a-way slave, whose master, Philemon, was in the church at Colossae
While the NT neither condemns nor condones slavery, it
does attempt to modify it. And, it puts
in place some principles which eventually led to the destruction of slavery.
·
Verses 22-25 are
directed toward slaves. There are some
principles here about how Christians should approach their work, whatever their
work may be. Basic thrust of all that is
that God's people should do their work
with diligence. Look at some of the
phrases:
o
"external
service" (literally "eye-service")
‑ Means doing the minimum necessary to
get by...working with no real enthusiasm
or diligence...
o
"merely
pleasing men" ‑ Working just
to please person or people for whom
working...see no larger purpose in
work...fail relate work to God's call on life…
o
"sincerity
of heart, fearing the Lord" ‑
Do your work in such a way that it will
stand the scrutiny of the Lord...
·
Verse 4:1 is
directed toward masters. Colossians 4:1
contains an idea which would have been viewed as nothing less than revolutionary
in the 1st century world... “Masters, grant to your slaves justice and
fairness...”...there was no such requirement of masters by 1st
century law...they were completely free to do whatever they wanted to a
slave...but that’s not way should be among God’s people...
o
“justice” - Often used in NT describe one’s standing before
God...not enough live up to conventional community morality in relation to
co-workers...must do what is acceptable to God..
o
“fairness” - Simply means to do what is right...
Point is we are to treat our co-workers in right way...for
employees, that means giving an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay...for
employers, that means compensating those who work for us fairly and treating
them with dignity and respect...
5. Be
faithful in religious duties (4:2-6)
1)
“Devote
yourselves to prayer” (2) - The
word translated “devote” in first part of v.2 carries idea of
holding steadfastly to something...the verb is a compound word which literally
means “to hold fast and not let go” or “to be courageously
persistent”...therefore, the phrase “devote yourselves to prayer”
means to be steadfast in your prayer life...don’t give up on prayer...don’t
become discouraged...don’t quit...keep at it on a regular basis... the Living
Bible renders the phrase, “Don’t be weary in prayer, keep at it.”
[TLB] What does a devoted prayer life
look like?
·
“keeping
alert” - The phrase literally
means, in its most basic sense, “to stay awake physically”...we’re not
going to pray with much power if we’re dozing off in the middle of prayer... But
think there’s a deeper meaning to the phrase “keeping alert in it”
than mere physical alertness...think it means our prayers should not be
mechanical or careless...we should carefully think through what we take before
God...one commentator translates the phrase “keeping alert in it”
as “give your whole mind to it” [TCNT]...
·
“with an
attitude of thanksgiving” - Point
is, every prayer should contain an element of thanksgiving...don’t see how it
is possible to turn to God in prayer without being thankful for the incredible
privilege of coming into His presence and for all that He has done for us...prayer
and gratitude go hand in hand....where there is no gratitude there will be no
prayer...and where there is no prayer, there is no gratitude...
·
“that God
will...” - What want you to see
in that is that Paul asked that they pray for something concrete and
specific...too often our prayers are vague and general, not asking for anything
in particular...but when look at the prayers in the NT and especially at the
model prayer (which is often referred to as the Lord’s Prayer), it’s clear the
NT teaches us to pray for specific things...in the Model prayer Jesus mentioned
a number of specific requests...
--give us our daily bread...
--forgive us our debts...
--do not lead us into temptation...
--deliver us from evil...
2) “Conduct yourself
with wisdom toward outsiders…”
(5) – The word “outsiders”
refers to those who are outside the fellowship...I believe the term can refer
to both unbelievers and believers who, for whatever reason, have fallen away
from the church...there is both a positive and negative side to this command...
--on the negative side, we are not to do anything to
further alienate and antagonize those who are outside the fellowship...
--on the positive side, we are to live in such a way
that others will be attracted to us and to the Lord we serve...
Nietzsche,
the German philosopher, said, “I will believe in the redeemer’s God if I
can see Him in the redeemed.”...and the truth is the only thing some
people will ever know about the Lord to Whom we claim allegiance is what they
see of Him in us...
3) “…making the most of the opportunity…” (5) – The phrase is more literally translated “redeeming
the time”...
--”making the most” is a term borrowed
from the market place...it means to snap up a bargain...to take advantage of a
sale or special deal...
--”opportunity/time” doesn’t mean time
in the sense of seconds, minutes, and hours...it means an occasion for acting,
for doing something significant...
4) “…let your speech…” (6) – In addition to watching how we walk, we must
watch how we talk… our speech should be—
--Gracious - The verse says, “Let
your speech always be with grace...”...gracious speech is speech which
is kind, encouraging, uplifting, pleasant, attractive...
--Interesting - The verse says our
speech should be “seasoned, as it were, with salt”...I like
salt...as a matter of fact, like salt so much it can be bad for my
physically...salt makes bland, boring foods tasteful and interesting...and our
speech as followers of Christ should be interesting...of all people, we
certainly should have something of value and of interest to add to a
conversation...
--Appropriate - The last part of the
verse says, “so that you may know how you should respond to each
person...”...it is important that we learn how to say the right things
at the right time...Scripture tells us in I Peter 3:15, “Always be
prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that
is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence.”...and the Lord
reminds us in the gospels that it is the Holy Spirit living in us who enables
us to do that...
Colossians 3:18 – 4:6 deals specifically with
interpersonal relationships and outward conduct. Why do you think the Bible has so much to say
about such things?
