Colossians part 4

“Losing Sight of Jesus”

Review:

The supremacy of Christ

Jesus alone

Paul continues to point us to Jesus

Keeping Christ the center of home, work, and community

Look with me now in Colossians chapter 3 beginning in verse 18.

[Col 3:18-25 ESV] 18 “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.

20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

[Col 4:1-6 ESV] 1 Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison-- 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

The Supremacy of Christ in the Home

Paul establishes proper relationships between spouses.

Wives are to submit to husbands “as is fitting in the Lord.”

Husbands are to love their wives “as Christ loved the Church” (Ephesians 5)

Paul describes the parental relationship with children.

Children are to obey

Parents are to raise their children without provoking them to discouragement.

The Supremacy of Christ at Work

Next, Paul then extends his teaching to the workplace.

Employees are to work as “unto the Lord”

Bosses are to treat their employees “justly and fairly”

The Supremacy of Christ in the Community

Paul then transitions to prayer.

He encourages steadfastness with “being watchful and thankful”

He asks for prayer in providing opportunities to clearly proclaim the gospel.

Finally, Paul addresses our relationships with those who are “outside the faith.”

Walk in wisdom

Make the best use of time

Speak with grace, seasoned with salt, have an understanding of how to answer.

What can we learn from Paul’s teaching?

Lesson #1: What happens in the home affects every part of life.

When the home is out of order, every part of life feels the tension.

Once again, the enemy’s desire is to sow division and discord between husband and wife, parents and children.

If a root of rebellion is accepted in the home, the ripple effects will pour out into all other relationships.

We cannot afford to allow our homes to become occupied with the deception of the enemy for the sake of establishing disunity, division, dissension, and animosity.

How can we safeguard our homes against the attempts of the enemy?

Raise a banner of praise.

Go throughout your house and worship. Scripture instructs us that “God inhabits the praise of His people.”

Establishing a presence of praise in worship invites God’s throne into your home.

It is to welcome the authority and power of Christ into the place you have the most important relationships.

Cover one another in prayer.

I have heard several times throughout my ministry, “I do not feel covered.”

The aspect of “covering” is providing a protection over our families.

This is not fear based, but it is an acknowledgement and acceptance of God’s divine covering for you and your family.

[Psa 91:1-4] 1 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

Invite the Comforter into your home.

Scripture declares, “where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

Inviting the Holy Spirit into our homes establishes the peace of Christ in our midst.

Specifically invite the Holy Spirit in the areas of tension and conflict.

Ask the Holy Spirit reveal to you anything that should be removed from the home that has afforded the enemy an entry place.

Establish Biblical truth.

Scripture must be our foundation for faith and practice.

We must [Pro 22:6 ESV] 6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Although children at times can and do turn from their training in Scripture, we are assured that the planting of God’s Word in their hearts will not return void.

Lesson #2: We must maintain proper work relationships.

For many of us, work is where we spend the majority of our time outside the home.

Especially today when we have the ability to work from our computers that extends our working hours.

In addition, often our work relationships become like family to us.

Paul addresses our work relationships as he provides us with instructions for both employer and employees.

For the employee Paul encourages:

To “work heartily as for the Lord and not for men.”

To me this would indicate that followers of Christ should have the strongest work ethic of all employees.

Paul also instructs the employee to “not work as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.”

We are to work fully engaged whether being watched or alone.

Sincerity: “not self seeking, openness of heart through generosity.”

Fearing the Lord would indicate that our work is in recognition and honor of the Lord’s blessings to us in both strength and ability.

He is our provider and supplies us with everything we need spirit, soul, and body. In response, we surrender our work back to Him for His name’s sake.

For the employers:

Bosses are to treat their employees justly and fairly.

Once again, the follower of Jesus should be the best example of a boss to their employees.

This teaching of the apostle Paul’s is very practical for our daily lives.

Although we may not have the exact situations Paul’s audience had at the time of his writing, the instruction of God’s Word is readily available to equip and empower us for proper relationships in the home as well as the workplace.

Lesson #3: Everything leads to mission.

Whether at home, at work, or in the community, our perspective must continually remain focused on proclaiming the Good News of Jesus.

When we have established proper relationship with our families, co-workers, and neighbors, we are then positioned to share the gospel message of Christ.

If however we have damaged our relationships with others, then the power of the gospel message becomes ineffective due to the fact that our daily lives speak louder than anything we may say.

Prayer is the key to opening doors of opportunities in sharing the gospel.

Paul states: “continue steadfastly in prayer . . . pray for us that God may open to us a door for the word.”

The implication is that without prayer, doors will remain closed.

In the book of Revelation, Jesus speaks to the church of Philadelphia; “behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.”

This is Christ’s invitation to the church to recognize and walk through the door He has provided.

The same holds true for us today.

We must pray for divine doors of opportunity and the boldness of the Holy Spirit to speak the gospel message as Christ’s provides the open doors.

This corresponds with Paul’s final instruction to the church that their “speech should always be gracious and seasoned with salt.”

When we lose sight of Christ’s mission, we become distracted with the demands of work and life.

The next thing we realize is that our speech loses grace and can become cutting rather than seasoned with salt.

As we go to work, come back home, and go out into the community, we must always remember that we are on mission.

We may earn a paycheck from work, but we are on mission.

We may live in our homes and love our families, but we are on mission.

We may enjoy friendships and attend various fun activities, but we are on mission.

We can never afford to lose sight of Christ’s mission for it is the calling of the believer’s life.

In summary:

The building of faith begins in the home.

Our work ethic is a direct witness to others about our relationship with Christ.

Prayer is the glue that holds relationships together.

God opens doors in response to prayer, and we must walk through the openings as He provides.

The mission of Jesus must remain on the forefront of our hearts and minds.