God's Good Design (Part 2)

Introduction

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Long before the Wright brothers stepped onto the scene, for centuries before, human beings were fascinated with flight and many inventors sought to design a machine that would allow people to travel through the air. Many of them were incredibly ridiculous looking.

Some inventors attached wings to bicycles (show picture – pic 1).

Some would attach wings to their arms and jump off a large cliff (show picture – pic 2).

One of my favorite stories is that of a man named Marquis de Bacqueville, who in 1742 woke up one morning telling himself that this is the day that I’m going to finally fly. He attached large paddles to both his hands and his feet and from a high point on the top of his mansion he leapt flapping his hands and legs wildly trying to fly over a river next to his home (show picture – pic 3).

A large crowd had come to witness this attempt at flight. For a moment he seemed to have some control but within seconds he crashed onto the deck of a barge crossing the river and broke his legs.

It was finally in 1903 that the Wright brothers figured out the right design to allow human beings to fly (show picture – pic 4).

And from that point forward inventors were able to build on that design and improve the way human beings travel in the air which obviously led to safe air travel rather than crashing into a river like Marquis did.

Last week we looked in Colossians 3:18-21 at God’s good design for human flourishing primarily within marriage and family relationships.

And so, a healthy and thriving marriage happens, by God’s grace, when husbands love their wives (as Christ loved the church) and wives submit to the loving leadership of their husbands.

And so, for husbands, loving means:

Leading

Sacrificing

Caring

And for wives, submitting means:

Supporting

Respecting

Following

In verses 20 and 21 we saw God’s good design for families, and we broke it down simply by saying last week that a healthy family, by God’s grace is one where parents lead, and children follow.

And so, parents set the pace in the home and kids, your responsibility given to you by God is to follow the leadership of your parents. As long as your parents are not leading you away from the goodness of God, your role is to follow them. And this is for your good and for your joy.

How do we know this? Because God is the designer. He spoke life into existence. He is the creator of marriage and family and so he alone has the right to speak into it and tell us how life works best.

When we step outside of his design. Meaning, when husbands are not loving their wives, when wives are not respecting their husbands, when children set the pace in the home rather than the parents, we’re like Marquis de Bacqueville. We’re thinking we can fly by just placing some paddles on our hands and feet and flapping them as hard as we can. But the result will never lead to flight, it will also lead to us crashing.

Now, we’ve come this morning to another hard text. Just as last week’s text began with the two words, “wives, submit” today’s text opened with the words, “Bondservants, or slaves, obey.”

So, what’s going on?

Christians are often embarrassed by Scriptures’ seeming indifference toward slavery. And so, what do we do with it? Well, with difficult texts we begin with foundational truths that we know about God.

We know:

God is just.

God is fair.

God is loving.

God is good.

And so, anything that he says is for our good.

With difficult texts we also embrace it and don’t shy away from them just because they’re hard. We assess it honestly. And so, let’s say it. Regarding slavery in ancient times, the Bible does not condemn it outright. But at the same time, we need to rightly understand slavery in the ancient world as it was practiced then and not how we know it now through our cultural lens.

What I mean by that is slavery in the ancient world was not about race. Now today, that’s all we understand slavery to be. Slavery as we know it today was all about racial oppression. It’s about stealing human beings and selling them. Now, this modern view of slavery is clearly condemned in Scripture.

Exodus 21:16, Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.

And so, ancient slavery, though still not part of God’s good design for human flourishing was something different than we know it today.

For example. Many people would sell themselves into slavery to escape poverty. Slaves in ancient times did much of the work in the cities, there were often well educated and could climb up the cultural ladder of success. They were the accountants, tutors, household managers and some were even physicians.

Others entered slavery because they owed a debt that they couldn’t repay. And so, they would work off the debt knowing that there was coming a day when they would be free again.

Now, I also want to be careful here and not paint some rosy picture of slavery because slavery was still awful and dehumanizing. Masters often treated their servants harshly and as possessions and not as image-bearers.

And so, yes, Scripture does not outright condemn slavery, but it never condones it either. It’s never celebrated, it’s never elevated. And that’s because the purpose of Scripture, the aim of Jesus’ live was not to be a political revolutionary. That’s not why he came. Though his followers wanted him to be that Jesus’ mission was not to overthrow Rome and create an earthly utopian society. His goal was to pay the penalty for sin which had created the culture of slavery.

Jesus bridged the divide between us and God the Father through his death and that now through faith in Christ, we have new hearts, we are a new people who now through our lives of glad submission to Christ the King bring about social change; justice as we seek the welfare of the city and the good of all people for the glory of God.

You know who led the charge in the 17 & 1800’s to abolish the Slave trade? A Christian British politician named William Wilberforce.

He once said,

“A private faith that does not act in the face of oppression is no faith at all.” – William Wilberforce.

Because of Jesus, there’s now a way toward right relationship with God which changes how we live, love and serve one another. And so, though Paul doesn’t encourage political revolution, he did encourage slaves to gain their freedom if possible. “If you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.” – 1 Cor. 7:21.

Paul writes to Philemon, a Christian who was a master over a servant named Onesimus. Philemon was a believer who treated Onesimus kindly and graciously. Onesimus was not a believer and took advantage of Philemon’s kindness. He stole from him, and escaped. While in Ephesus, he comes across Paul, hears the gospel, and is saved and becomes a dear brother to Paul. Paul’s letter to Philemon is to welcome back Onesimus, not as a bondservant, but as a brother. That’s heart change, that’s transformation, that’s what Christ accomplished on the cross.

And so, what we’re reading here is:

God’s design for working relationships.

And this is God’s design in the midst of brokenness in the world today. Again, remember that Scripture’s purpose is not to show us how to overthrow oppressive governments or enact political revolution but rather how to live as salt and light in the darkness.

Though slavery in the ancient world was not part of God’s good design, Paul writes to Christians on how to live as light while awaiting the return of Christ when all things will be made new again.

In our jobs today, there’s difficulty, there’s strife, there’s tension, there’s difficult or even cruel bosses over us. Our responsibility as Christians is not to lead a revolt but to peacefully serve and work to the glory of God understanding that, as Paul says in verse 23,

Colossians 3:23, Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

And so, though cruelty and oppression is not part of God’s design for work, our response as believers in the midst of hardship reflects God’s good design which leads to flourishing. Here’s a couple takeaways.

1. We work for the Lord, not for men.

This means, as Paul lays out, our work is not ultimately to be done to please people. Meaning, that if you only work hard when someone is watching you, then you are failing to work for the Lord. In fact, it’s revealing your true character. True godly character is seen when no one is around to witness it.

2. We work hard always regardless of the size or scope of the task.

Whether the job before us is big or small, whether it will be seen by many people or very few, we work with all our strength and with excellence.

Ecclesiastes 9:10, Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.

3. We work for a greater reward than just a mere paycheck.

That’s what Paul addresses in verse 24. Our earthly inheritance or measly paycheck for our work pales in comparison to the inheritance we have in Christ. Remember Colossians 3:2, “Set your mind on things above, not on things that are on earth.”

This is a reminder that our ultimate hope and joy is not found anywhere on this earth but is wrapped up in the person of Jesus.

4. Those in leadership must care for those in their charge as Christ has cared for you.

Just as husbands follow the example of Christ in how they love their wives, those in leadership positions need to lead those under them in the way Christ has led them. Which means a boss should be the leading servant, not a dictator. A boss seeks to build up, encourage and develop those under them. A boss speaks with grace, kindness, and humility, not just barking orders and directives. Remember, those who work for you have souls and are image bearers of God.

As we wrap up here this morning, know this: God’s design is for our good and for the good of others but following Christ will not lead you into earthly prosperity and fame.

What’s Paul say at the end of verse 3, chapter 4? “On account of which I am in prison…” Paul’s writing this letter from a prison cell in Rome. His faithfulness to living in God’s good design did not bring him human accolades and rewards, it landed him in prison because of his witness of Jesus Christ.

And yet, even through suffering and hardship, he wasn’t pushing political revolution. Is it wrong when governments oppress their people? Is it wrong when governments imprison people because of religious beliefs? Yes, but Paul isn’t advocating here for an overthrow of the Roman government. What’s he say?

Colossians 4:2, Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Verse 3,

Colossians 4:3, Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ.

Verse 5,

Colossians 4:5-6, Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Let me give you three quick takeaways as we go on how to live in a broken world for the glory of God.

1. Abide

2. Strategize

3. Strive

Abide.

Rest in the sufficiency of Christ.

Strategize.

Look for opportunities for gospel proclamation.

Strive.

By God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, strive to live in a way that brings glory to God’s name.