A New Mindset: Christ in the Home

Scripture Reading Colossians 3:18-4:1

Opening Prayer

Introduction

Biblical principles always run counter to the morality of the world.

Sometimes they appear very similar, such as in the commands not to murder or commit adultry

Sometimes they or more clearly oppositional as is the case today

Additionally, there are times when Biblical principles exist in apparent tension with other Biblical principles, as is the case today.

This is complicated by the fact that the Biblical principle in tension with today’s text is one that is similar to one held by the world and so it is one that many Christians have struggled with.

The principle is that God has created men and women differently, and has established certain authority structures, and so there are different roles to be practiced.

This is in tension with a Biblical principle found in Galatians

Galatians 3:28 ESV

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Exposition 1 Wives and Husbands (18-19)

Colossians 3:18–19 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.

1. Wives

The call to submission...

...is equally a call for husbands to lead well

...does not mean inferiority of women

…does imply that men and women are different

…does mean submission

…does not allow for abuse or supersede the authority of our Lord or His Word

As is fitting in the Lord

Balance to the Scriptural call to equality (Liberating principles)

2. Husbands

The call to Love...

…does mean that husbands must put the wife’s needs and desires above his own

…does not equal submission

...does, in practice, have a balancing effect on the call for wives to submit

…sometimes requires tough love

(Do not be harsh with them) The call to gentleness...

…does mean that a man’s authority in the home is to be used in a non-harmful way

…prohibits abusive acts towards a wife

…calls for even tough love to gentle

…facilitates submission

Exposition 2 Children and Parents (20-21)

Colossians 3:20–21 ESV

20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

Exposition 3 Slaves and Masters (22-4:1)

Colossians 3:22–4:1 ESV

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. 1 Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

This passage brings to mind a question...

Does the Bible support slavery?

The answer to that is “no” but if not, and if in fact, biblical principles lead to the conclusion that slavery as an institution is sinful, as I would conclude, then why does this passage and others like it seem to support it?

The answer is that they do not but instead, as one commentator put it, these passages...

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: Colossians and Philemon 4. The Lordship of Christ in Earthly Relationships (3:18–4:1)

simply address an institution that happened to be a significant element of ancient society. For various reasons, some theological and some practical, the New Testament writers do not attack the institution of slavery as such. (See the Introduction to Philemon, 369–78, for more on this point.) The household codes are practical and specific: they require believers who occupy these roles to relate to each other in certain ways. Whether those roles should continue or are endorsed by the author or by God is simply not in view. Other biblical texts make clear enough that marriage (wives and husbands) and the family (children and fathers) are to endure as long as this world lasts. There is nothing even approaching any such endorsement of slavery, however.

Exposition 4 Overall Mindset

Christ is Lord in the home and this makes our home lives different than the world’s