Children
Children, verses 20 and 21. First up, he takes up children. Verse 20: “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” Obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Now, as you will remember, I’m sure this is very closely echoing Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 1, which commands the children again to obey their parents. This is—and in Ephesians chapter 6, he makes this explicit—that this is just an extension of the Fourth Commandment, which is honor. Children, honor your parents. Honor your parents.
Well, if you’re a child living at home, in particular, honoring your parents entails obeying them, and that’s what Paul is emphasizing here. The extent of the requirement: obey your parents in everything. Now, he doesn’t give any qualifications here. Of course, it doesn’t mean that a child has to put up with abuse or whatever. But still, broadly speaking, everything. Obey your parents in everything. The command is for children to be compliant to their parents’ commands always and all the time. And the reason given is: this pleases the Lord. We saw last time he’s directing all of these to an explicitly Christian context. And so as a service to God, out of worship to God, children, obey your parents. This is your calling in life, children. In your position at home, to please the Lord, you must obey your parents.
Now the question comes up often: how long must they obey their parents? Well, Paul is addressing the household here pretty clearly. So at least as long as the children are in the house. That might be complicated a little bit more. In that society, often there were multiple generations living in the same home, and still they were to honor their parents always. But at the very least, and it’s clear here, Paul is addressing young children who are in the household with their parents, and they seem clearly in view.
Now, I’m not teaching children this morning, I’m teaching adults, but I want to say this already before we go on to the next command, fathers. Parents, you must teach your children to obey. That’s their role in the home as unto God; they are to obey their parents. Teach your children to obey, and in fact, insist on it. In our home, we would never, out of principle, we would never allow one moment of disobedience or disrespect to parents to go unchecked. Doesn’t mean they always got a spanking for it, but it does mean we never let it go unchecked. And I think that’s in keeping with this. Children, all the time, in everything, obey your parents. And parents, it’s your job to teach your kids that.
Now one other thing I want to mention before I move on from children is, and I say this every time I come across a passage like this, like in Ephesians 6. This letter from the Apostle Paul was read publicly to the church at Colossae. So you can imagine it. “Hey, we got a letter from the Apostle Paul today. That’s going to be our sermon for today. We’re going to read this letter from Paul.” And Paul, in that letter addressed to the church, commands the children specifically: “You children, obey your parents.”
Well, you can see the underlying assumption in that, and that is that the children are with their parents in church. They’re not off in children’s church somewhere. Now, there’s a lot of discussion we could do on that, and I don’t want to get sidetracked on it forever, but that is the norm, that children will be with their parents in the gathered assembly of the church. We have parents here who have proven that times have not changed that much and children have not changed that much. It can be done successfully. Having children in the church can be done very successfully. I know there are plenty of people who have said, “You just can’t. You just can’t have your young children in church. It just can’t be done.” Well, it can. It can. We’ve got parents here who have proven that. And I’m glad for that. I think the problem is not so much that children have changed, but parents have changed. All right, so we have children in the congregation hearing this command from the apostle, that your role before God in the home is to obey your parents.
Fathers
Then in verse 21, he addresses fathers. “Fathers, do not provoke your children lest they become discouraged.” Now we mentioned last time that in each of these pairs—three pairs of relationships—the one in the authority position is commanded to be gentle and to be in care for the ones under their authority. Here we have that here with fathers. Don’t provoke your children lest they become discouraged.
Now, the term “fathers” can be used broadly to speak of parents and not just the fathers. But I suspect that primarily fathers are in view because normally fathers are the chief disciplinarians in the home. And the fathers perhaps are the most likely to abuse that position of authority in a way that’s discouraging to the children. In that society in particular, there was the authority of the father that was absolute. Even in the Roman society, often the father would have the authority of life and death. And given that human nature is what it is, that position of authority is going to be abused.
And Paul is commanding that there must be a difference with those who are in Christ. That you, yes, your children must obey, but don’t provoke your children lest they become discouraged. So he regulates their authority. Exercise your authority, your leadership in the home, but do it with care and concern. Lest they become discouraged, don’t exasperate your children. Don’t exercise your authority in a way that will confuse them, frustrate them, or discourage them. Don’t be overly harsh in the administering of discipline. Be consistent with it. By all means, both parents ought to be absolutely together in the administering of discipline, particularly in the presence of the kids. If they want to discuss some difference, they should do that privately. That’ll confuse the child, too. But the point here is to administer your leadership in a way that’s not harsh. Discipline in love. Don’t be inconsistent or frustrate the child. So parental authority, yes. And children must obey, yes, but parents with tenderness and with concern for the children. That should be expanded on at great length. We’ve done that before. I think we took a couple of weeks on that back when we went through Ephesians. You can check with that if you’d like.
Master And Slave
All right, let’s move on to the next pair of relationships here, and that’s the master and slave. Chapter 3, verse 22, all the way through chapter 4 and verse 1.
“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. Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. The wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong that he has done. There is no partiality. Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a master in heaven.”
All right, what’s translated here as “bondservants” probably has in view just that: a bondslave, probably the domestic slaves that were there in the home commonly in that day. When you see bondservants here, you should not automatically think of 19th-century America with its race-based and often very cruel slavery. But still, the idea here is that of ownership and control of the person. Very often, these slaves, these bond slaves or indentured servants in the home, were treated very well. They were given a broad spectrum of authority in different respects, often treated very well because they were a valuable and an integral part of the home. So we have records of slaves in that day being schoolteachers, house managers, stewards over the business affairs of the farm or the ranch or whatever, even some who became doctors.
So we should not automatically think here of 19th-century United States slavery. But all of that said, often it was cruel. And often the masters were cruel. And human nature being what it is, you know it was, and sometimes very cruel. But still, there was a difference that in that day, most slaves would expect that at some point they would receive their freedom. That wasn’t forced on them. And freedom, in fact, was not always desirable. But it was assumed that they would reach it at some point. So there is some significant difference between the bond slaves that we find here and what we normally think of first off when we hear the expression. We think of it in terms of 19th-century United States. But still, often that position of authority, owning a slave, a bond servant, often that was abused.
And so Paul has to admonish the masters as well. Before we go any further, I think it’d be good to just back up and take a larger question. Can we surmise from this that Paul endorsed the institution of slavery? “Bond servants, obey your masters in everything.” Is Paul endorsing the institution of slavery?
And a few points here I’d like to make quickly on that. One, we must not equate what Paul addresses here with 19th-century United States slavery. I’ve already mentioned that. Second, we should notice that Paul never endorses the status quo. He never endorses it as such. He recognizes it, and he addresses the situation as it is. And he addresses how, given this institution and given this condition that you’re in, how being a Christian ought to affect the way you behave in that situation. But he doesn’t quite endorse it. He recognizes it and deals with Christian responsibility within it. Number three, Christians were then a tiny minority in the powerful authoritarian state of Rome. And to even imagine overthrowing the institution of slavery, it just would have been impossible. Paul is not calling for a revolution in society here.
And in fact, this is a fourth one closely related: the apostles never write to transform society as such. They don’t write to transform society as such. They exhort us to recognize that the world is the world; the world will behave like the world. And he wrote to establish a new community within the world and within that society, and insofar as you’re able then to make an effect on the society and transform it, all the better. That is in fact what happened with 19th-century slavery in the West, both in England and in the United States.
And yet, in what Paul writes here, he writes some things that seriously undermine the institution of slavery. He writes to both the masters and the slaves as members in the congregation. And he writes to them both to be respectful toward the other. And in that respect, his commands to both the slave and the master have a way of relativizing the master’s position over the slave. So he commands the master to treat his bondservant justly and fairly and with concern. He reminds both of them, both the master and the slave, that they are accountable to another master, a master in heaven. And it has a way of flattening the relationship, relativizing it, at least in the church. He reminds the masters that the slaves have earthly masters. He reminds the masters that they have a master in heaven. So it’s not just an unqualified, “your master.” You’re a master working under another master, and you have a responsibility in the way you administer your authority toward those under you.
And then also, we should consider what Paul writes in the accompanying letter that he sent to Colossae, and that is his letter to Philemon. Some months ago, you remember, we took a Sunday morning and worked through Philemon. We saw the background there that Onesimus was a slave run away from Philemon. And Paul writes to Philemon, who’s a leader in the church there at Colossae, with these letters hand-delivered at the same time. And I’ve tried to imagine—you might remember my saying it—the knock at the door one day and Philemon answers the door and understands it is Onesimus who had run away. And Onesimus says something like, “Before you say anything, please read this.” And Paul then deals with Philemon and how he should treat him. He doesn’t quite tell Philemon to give Onesimus his freedom, but boy, he does everything but. And it reminds him of how he should be treated equally as a brother and so on.
In fact, why don’t we look at Philemon quickly. Look at verses 15 and following. Philemon, verse 15: “For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant, but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.”
Now, can you imagine getting that letter from the Apostle Paul? He doesn’t say, “Let him go.” He said, “Receive him as you receive me.” Well, what does that mean? Well, it obviously has some real implications for how he is now to treat Onesimus, who has offended him. Verse 16: no longer treat him as if he were a slave, no longer just a slave. He’s a beloved brother, both in the Lord and in the flesh. Well, if all of that, how much longer can you really consider him a slave? Verse 17: welcome him like you would me. That further undermines the institution of slavery. Verse 21: “Confident of your obedience, I write to you.” What was the obedience? Well, it was to receive him like you would me. “Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.” Well, it’s difficult not to believe that the relationship now between Philemon and Onesimus was never again the same. If Philemon, like Paul expects, will comply with what Paul says, their relationship has been changed forever.
So in short, on the question of whether or not Paul endorsed the institution of slavery, we can say: one, Paul did not quite condemn the institution of slavery absolutely. But neither did he endorse it. And in fact, he calls masters to show their slaves the love of Christ, and insofar as they did, the system, the institution of slavery itself, would have been so thoroughly transformed that the ultimate abolition of the institution became inevitable. And I think that’s how it worked out in history. This laid the groundwork, and it took us sinful Christians some while to recognize how to work that out in our relationships, but eventually that is what came.
All right, now I mentioned that Paul is dealing here with categories of at home and at work. He doesn’t quite say “employees in the workplace.” He says “bond servants.” And it is important, before we go any further with that kind of application, it is important to recognize the difference between a bond servant and an employee. They are not the same. There’s limited control. An employee has the freedom to quit and leave. In a given economy, that might be easier said than done, but still it’s a significant difference. There are bond slaves on the one hand who are owned and controlled by the master. There are employees that are responsible to their employers, but not owned and controlled by them absolutely, and they’re free to leave. So it’s a significant difference that we have to keep in mind. The parallel is not exact.
But there are principles, I think, that overlap. And very often pastors will go to a passage like this, say, on Labor Day weekend or whatever, to preach on the responsibilities of employers and employees. And I think handled in the right perspective, that is a very legitimate application of the passage. It’s entirely warranted to see the overlapping principles.
So let’s look through it again, beginning with verse 22 and the slaves. “Bond servants, 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. Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ, for the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.”
Now the first thing to notice here is that Paul is commanding the bondservant—or if we want to make application in our own context, he’s commanding the employee—to consider his work a divine calling. That’s very important to this. Consider your work a divine calling. So he says, “Do it as for the Lord.” He reminds him in verse 24, “You are serving the Lord Christ.” So here he elevates any menial tasks or menial job; he elevates it considerably. You are working in that position; you are working ultimately for the Lord Christ, not your employer.
Now this is one of the primary grounding pieces of the Protestant doctrine of vocation. The Reformers were intent to press this doctrine of vocation. The word “vocation” simply means a calling. And they were intent to press that believers are to live out their faith, not just in church, but in society, in culture, in the state, in the workplace, and in the home—that is your calling. Whatever position you have in life, that’s your calling. That’s your vocation. And in that vocation, you are to serve the Lord in it.
And so while the Roman Catholic Church, on the one hand, had the sharp distinction between secular work and religious work—sacred work (of course, the only sacred work is being one of us, the ministers, priests, and everything else is secular)—the Reformers wanted to say, “No, no, no, no, no. You’ve made a distinction where there is none. And in fact, it’s a harmful one to make.” Everyone has a calling before God in whatever position you find yourself in life. That’s your calling. Be faithful in it. And that makes that work a sacred task. Do it as for the Lord and not for men.
1 Corinthians chapter 7, Paul writes in that context: whether you’re a slave or free, man or woman, married or not, in that calling, be faithful to the Lord. So the Reformers then came along and said, “No, every man and woman in Christ is a priest.” There’s a priesthood of believers. We’re a priest before God ourselves. All of life is to be rendered to God. And we sometimes can then serve God by serving our neighbor, by serving our master, by serving our employer, by serving in the home and whatnot. So God calls each of us to our own role in life and to be faithful in it. Martin Luther would make some particularly close applications for this to make sure his hearers got the point. He would talk about the mama changing the baby’s nappies, changing her diapers as to the Lord. This is God’s calling for you at this point. Be faithful in it and serve God by serving your home.
All right, so in this way then, your work, whatever it is, has been elevated in its significance significantly. Because now it is not just working for the paycheck; it’s not just working for your boss; it’s working to serve the Lord faithfully in this calling where He has given you. And that’s equally applicable to the pastor, the missionary, the farmer, the homemaker, the doctor, the contractor. This has application to how we cast our vote, I think, and how we show our influence in society, cultural involvement. All of life is to be rendered to God and be a service to Him. And in that sense, all of life has become sacred.
You’ve heard me complain before about the way we today use the word “worship.” We come to worship Sundays. That kind of language is never used in the New Testament. And there are lots of reasons I’d like to… one of these days I’m going to spend an hour with you on that. One of the problems with it is that it sections off one aspect of life as worship and the rest of life is not worship. What Paul is insisting on here is that… and this is the way the word “worship” is often used in the New Testament: that living for God, to glorify Him, that is worship. We worship in the way that we live, bowing before God as it were, submitting to His commands and living to His glory.
The word “worship” certainly doesn’t mean singing. That’s one aspect of worship. But worship is not singing. Singing is one aspect of worship, but worship is not singing. I’ve often thought we have the expression that really irks me: “We have worship in our services; we have worship and then preaching.” And I think, well, if preaching is not an aspect of worship, what is? It seems to me that it ought to be the height of our worship and the way we hear from God. I won’t get any further with that except to emphasize again that Paul is insisting here that all of life is worship. All of life is brought before God in serving Him. And that’s the way, in fact, the New Testament uses the terminology of worship.
Well, that’s the larger thinking then that Paul applies to the slaves. “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. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
Notice especially here: “not by way of eye service as people pleasers.” Not working on the job so as to curry favor with the boss, but working on the job first to please the Lord Jesus. Now, if you do that faithfully and rightly, there’s no doubt your boss will notice, and that should be good for you in terms of the position in the job and in the workplace. But the first order of reference is to the Lord Jesus, working for Him. Or to use another term here, he is your earthly master. He’s just the secondary master. Work primarily for Christ. So be faithful, be dependent, be enthusiastic, do honest work. If you’re paid by the hour in particular, you work 60 minutes to the hour. You give what you’re getting paid to do because you’re working for a greater master. That’s our divine calling. As I say, without doubt, the earthly master will notice that too, and that could end up in your favor, and that’s great if it does. The first point of reference is Christ.
And then he gives a warning, verse 25: “For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong that he has done. There’s no partiality.” What’s the wrong in view? It seems to be connected with the behavior of the slave or employee; at this point, it seems to be what’s in view. So any wrongdoing—stealing time, pilfering, not giving an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. It’s never right to be wrong, to do what’s wrong, he says here, and there’ll be no special consideration given to you for it. God is not partial in this, and the judgment will be by the books.
Then finally, chapter four and verse one: “Masters. Masters, treat your bond servants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a master in heaven.” So the command here is: be fair. Don’t abuse your position. Don’t take advantage of it. You pay what is honest and due. You give what you’ve said you’d pay. Be equitable in it. You masters, or here, you employers, treat your employees honestly and fairly.
Now what’s curious here—we’ve got a few minutes left—Paul gives significantly more attention here to the slave-master relationship than he does to the husband-wife or to the parents and children. He gives more attention to the slave-masters than any other. Why would that be? And I wonder—I can’t say it because Paul doesn’t quite say it—but I wonder if part of his reasoning for that is the special consideration at Colossae. You’ve got Philemon and Onesimus. And Paul is addressing that situation. You can imagine as this letter is read to the congregation that morning in church, Philemon and Onesimus both sitting there hearing this. There would be then, I think, some considerable church pressure brought on both Onesimus and Philemon. “Onesimus, you’re not entirely off the hook here. What you did was wrong. And Paul has asked for you to be restored and all of that, but what you did was wrong. Here’s the commands for you.” But “Philemon, you’ve got some responsibilities as a Christian too.” And I think Paul might, just might have been addressing that particular situation in a broad congregational way here in Colossians, but then in Philemon addressing it to Philemon himself.
All right, again, slaves and masters are not—they are not—employees and employers, but the larger category of vocation and serving Christ in the vocation that you have certainly has bearing on both employees and employers as well. So employees, to make the application here: employees, recognize that you’re working for Christ. Be dependable, be honest, don’t cut corners. You should have a heart not just to make the paycheck, but to earn the paycheck and not to steal the time. Employers, you recognize that you’re working for Christ too, and that ought to show in the way that you treat those under you. Always honorable, always with an understanding that you’ll not abuse your position, but to treat them fairly.
Bottom line here, Paul is saying, if we apply this to employers and employees, Paul is saying there ought to be a noticeable and an evident distinction between Christian employers and employees and all others. We work for Christ. Paul is telling us here: faithful living before God, serving Christ, has application in the workplace, in the home, and in everything else. So having died with Christ, having been raised with Christ to a new life, it shows itself in virtually every detail of Christian living.
All right, any questions on this?