Colossians 3:18- 4:1
Colossians 3:18- 4:1
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Christian Home
18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.
20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.
21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
Colossians 4
1 Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
My Thoughts:
We see Paul giving the same advice to the Colossians as he gave to the Ephesians. Wives submit, husbands love, Children obey, and fathers do not provoke. So if you read Ephesians 5:22 – 6:9 with us then you are going to get the same thoughts.
- So let’s start with (v. 18) we read “18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.”
- So what does this mean? Does it mean that wives have no say in the home and should just do what they are told? “NO” it does not. This type of submission is not the type given by someone of lesser value, but rather someone of equal standing. A voluntary submission in the respect in which the man was qualified by his Maker to be head (Gen 3:16)
- I do think that both men and women should see this passage as a reflection of our relationship to Christ. If you cannot treat the one person on this earth which loves you, with all their heart, with the love of total submission than how can you love Christ that much?
- So I see this as a test. A test of love for not only your spouse but test of love for Christ.
- In (v. 22) we read “Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.”
- We have talked about how we do our Jobs and insuring that we do our jobs as Christ would have us do, not just because we need the money but as a chance to be a witness for Him.
- Many people had slaves back in Paul’s time and even many of the Christians as well. Some people may ask how a Christian can have slaves. But I see it as these men where living according to their measure of spiritual understanding and their sense of Christian responsibility. We must remember that being a Christian is not like a light switch that we turn on and when we do we see everything. Once the Holy Spirit puts a spark of truth in your heart it takes time for it to grow in to bonfire.
- The question should be; how did the owners treat the slaves after they became Christians?
- Let’s finish with (v.4:1) “Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven”
- And to close we seeing that Paul is not letting the masters off the hook as well. He is telling them that they to have a master and they will be judged but their actions and the way they treat their slaves.
- I have heard that Paul should have out right condemned slavery, but I think Paul knew what he was doing. If he had said “No more slavery let everyone go”. What would have happened? Nothing, most of the owners would have not come to Christ and the why they treated the slaves would have been just as bad or worse. But by laying out principles on how to deal with them, over time we would see a remedy to the evils of servitude
Thought of the Day
Many couples are united in wedlock in a rosy fog of optimism. Blinded to the shortcomings, each sees only the other’s good points. But as the excitement of the new marriage wears off, they drift to the opposite extreme and view these same traits as faults. Someone has called this “reverse reasoning,” giving the following examples: “She married him because he was ‘strong and masculine’; she divorced him because he was a very ‘dominating male.’ He married her because she was so ‘fragile and petite’; he divorced her because she was so ‘weak and helpless.’ She chose him because ‘he knew how to provide a good living’; she left him because ‘all he thought about was the business.’ He married her because she was ‘steady and sensible’; he divorced her because she was ‘boring and dull.’” – H. G. Bosch
Personal Reflection and Discussion
- Do you live as a testimony to Christ?
- What do you think Paul meant in (vv. 24, 25)?
- What other things do you see in the text?
Prayer Activities
- Call your Partner and discuss this devotional.
- Continue to have a prayer list and continue to praying for them.
- Pray with them and ask for the following;
- For God to help you see with open eyes.
- For God to strengthen you during the tough times in your marriage
- For the individuals on your pray list.
- Let’s use (Ecclesiastes 7:1-2) for today’s prayer verse.
About bobh6
40 Days of study 
I am taking sinus medication and my head is in a fog so please bear with me. I try to live as a testimony to Christ. People who know me know that I am a christian. I don’t know how they perceive this though. Some think I am a Jesus freak, while others probably avoid me because God ususally comes up. Most, fortunately, know I love the Lord and TRY to do His will. When I was working in the beauty shop, we were told not to talk religion or politics. I did both, but I tried to do it in a loving way. I pray I did not turn anyone off to God. I always tried to make every one feel special and feel like they are worth knowing. I know I like to hear that myself. 🙂 As for verses 24 and 25 Paul is saying we will be rewarded for loving and living for our Lord. Unfortunately, those who choose otherwise will also be rewarded but with fire and eternal death.
Well Rosi you are worth knowing and those of us who know you are grateful to have you for a friend. Christ is love and when we love we become a little closer to Him.
Vrs 22-24 shows God judges whether we do something or not, but rather the motives of our heart…not with eyeservice but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord and reminds them in vrs 24 that they serve the Lord. God is really after the deeper person, the one connected with the mind, body, and soul…not just the flesh. We need to train ourselves to think on the spiritual, looking at the bigger picture. In that way we see God’s mercy extended toward us in that He looks at us with love, as a Father judging his son.
opps What I should of said in the first the sentence; God doesn’t judge solely on what we do or don’t do,