Masters and Slaves
Letters from Prison • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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We come now to the end of the letter we know as Colossians. This letter that Paul wrote to the church of Colossae, a group of people he had never met. He has spent the entirety of this letter encouraging the people, of reminding them to keep Jesus as the focus. He has reinforced the reality that Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. That Jesus is one with the creator God, this God of Abraham. He speaks to some heretical teaching, and he implores them to leave behind the sinful ways they used to live and to keep their minds and actions focused on the things of God.
Before he closes the letter, he speaks frankly to the group that would be hearing these words.
He speaks to our roles, both in a familial sense as well as a societal one.
Beginning in Colossians 3:18-21
18 Wives, submit yourselves 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 embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.
What is the foundation of a society? The family. The people in your home. How my wife and I interact with our kids and how you interact with your spouse and your kids and parents.
Let’s lay out the foundation of a family. Bring verse 18 back up
18 Wives, submit yourselves 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 embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
Wives, submit to your husband, as is fitting in the Lord. How we feeling about that verse, ladies? The idea here is not subjegation. Not inferiority. Biblical submission to God is not us groveling. Like in Genesis when it says that Abraham believed the Lord it was counted to him as rightousness.
It has to do with trust. In my own relationship with Bethany, I’m not concerned whether or not she loves me. Not in the same way she is is, anyway. She wants to know I love her. She wants to feel it.
I want to know if she respects me. If she trusts me. I want to feel that. That doesn’t mean I’m always right. It doesn’t mean my way or the highway. I think one of the worst things in our culture is treating men like children. That tears men down faster than almost anything else, because it shows a complete lack of respect.
And what happens is that when men are given that trust, very often they grow into it. Submission is about respect and trust. Men want to be with woman that respect and trust them.
Husbands. Love your wives and do not be harsh. Why does he have to include that? Because men can be harsh. Angry. Violent. And we need our family to submit, not in the Godly way, but in the tyrannical sense. This word love is agapate, which is unconditional, sacrificial love. And this command to not be harsh is, literally, don’t become embittered, or irritated, or resentful toward. But to come home and exhibit what Paul already talked about earlier in the letter.
To exhibit compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. In our relationship as husband and wife. It’s really a very similiar thing expressed in slightly different ways. It’s showing our spouse, through our actions, that we value them. It starts with our relationship.
And THEN, children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Amen! Get the kids back in here, I’ll say it again.
Any parents ever have your kids ask you something, one parent says no, so they go ask the other parent?
I told my kids “Your mom and I are on the same team. Always. You’re not always on our team. I want you to be, but you are trying to turn mom and me against each other, which will never work. You can be on the same team and me and mom, but not when you’re doing that.” It’s always, you are against us or with us, but we are always with each other.
That doesn’t mean we don’t have arguments and get angry. But I’ll tell you what, Bethany has lived this way the whole time I’ve known here. She has always given me her respect and trust, and I have tried to love her and never treat her harshly. With that foundation, our children obey us in everything. Not entirely. But it makes all the difference when you and your spouse are united.
When parents are united and want what is best for the kids, then obedience is in the best interest of the child as well.
But again, there’s an even higher expectation. He doesn’t finish there. Father’s, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. NLT says don’t aggravate them. ESV says don’t provoke.
Don’t cause discouragement. Where they lose heart, or feel crushed through criticism or impossible demands.
He really puts the onus on each person in the household to rise above what they’re doing. To show love and respect.
And then he does something interesting, he goes beyond blood.
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
Now a couple things. When he is talking about slaves here, this term can include a couple different things. Someone that owes a debt. But also forced labor. And slavery had nothing to do with race. There were a variety of reasons somebody would be in this situation, like being unable to pay back a loan. Nevertheless, it’s a vulnarable position. You can imagine each person reacting as they heard these things being read. Maybe a little bitterness. He goes on.
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
This is all of us, right? We might not be bond servants, but kind of. Most of us have a boss. How do we work? What are we like when no one is watching? We are called to work for the Lord, not work based on the character of the one we work for. But then, a step further.
25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism. 1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
There is not favortism. Whether you are master or slave, you are equal in God’s sight. And how you treat those under you, that is how you will be treated. Harkening back to Jesus and the parable and the ungrateful servant.
He has a message directly to husbands, wives, kids, masters, and servants, or workers. Basically, to everyone.
It boils down to what Jesus says, doesn’t it?
12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
The golden rule. Treat others how you want to be treated. But often we need specifics, or just where to start.
The kingdom of Jesus is about true equality. And the way he established the church is a mirror or our relationship with God. We are the bride of Christ. We submit and trust Him, and He treats us with sacrificial love. We are his children and obey him. We owe him a debt and are slaves, bondservants to Christ, and so we work sincerely for Him, and He treats us with compassion and respect.
In a world full of hierarchy and expectations, we keep seeing the playing field be flattened in Christ’s kingdom.
As we close this chapter on Colossians, we have some questions to ask.
As a husband. Do I love my wife sacrificially and encourage my children? As a wife, do I show my husband trust and respect? As a child, do I obey my parents or do I oppose them for no other reason than disrespect? As a boss or someone with workers, do I treat them well and fairly? And as a worker, do I honor the Lord with my work?
He ends the letter with some final greetings, and we will end with his final instructions to the church.
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
In all of our actions and words, starting in our homes and extending into our workplace and beyond, let it all reflect our relationship with and belief in Jesus as the messiah. Let the gospel be known through our testimony because we have been changed from the inside.
If Christ has changed us from within, let the world see.
