Colossians 3:18-4:1
18 Wives, submit 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 provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 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.
4:1 Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Dear Members of Trinity,
As we continue our summer sermon series studying the letter of Colossians together, we arrive at a portion of Paul’s letter that often creates unsettled feelings and discomfort for modern readers. This week in worship we will be reading Colossians 3:18-4:1.
There are two specific words that usually draw up strong emotions as we read and hear them. The first is the word submit and the second is bondservants.
Let us look at the Scriptural usage and context of these words so that we may understand them rightly and in a God honoring way.
Submit
In Colossians 3:18, Paul uses the phrase, “wives submit to your husbands.” A very real reason this passage causes such strong emotions is because it has sadly been misused and abused to cause great harm and mistreatment of women – certainly not something that Paul or Jesus would support or promote.
Paul uses the word, hypotássō, that is translated in this verse as, “submit.” Some quick Greek grammar that will help us in understanding the heart of Paul’s words. When hypotássō is in the middle voice, as here, it often means “to submit voluntarily.” The nuance here is relational ordering, not forced domination. It is a chosen alignment within a relationship.
We see this same word used to describe the ministry of Jesus and His relationship with both Mary and Joseph, and God the Father.
After Jesus was found teaching with great authority in the temple as a child, He declares to Mary and Joseph that God the Father is His father. However, the following verse tells us this about Jesus and His relationship to Mary and Joseph (despite Him having great authority and being the Son of God): “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them.” (Luke 2:51)
In 1 Corinthians 15:28, as Paul is teaching about the resurrection and return of Christ, he writes describing the relationship of Jesus and the Father:
“When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.”
In all three, the nuance is voluntary, relational alignment, not inferiority of nature or value.
Bondservant
The second word that stirs up strong emotions when read is the word “bondservant,” which appears in Colossians 3:22 and Colossians 4:1. In some English translations instead of the word “bondservant” you will find the word “slave.” This rightly causes concern and strong emotions.
The Greek word used here is “doulos.” This word is used throughout the New Testament to describe various relationships.
In John 13:14-16, Jesus describes himself and His love and service for the disciples using the word “doulos.”
“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant [doulos] is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”
When it comes to their relationship to Jesus and their service of Him, Paul describes himself and Timothy as “doulos” in Philippians 1:1.
”Paul and Timothy, servants [doulos] of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I also want to share with you a few quotes from Dr. Paul E. Deterding found in his commentary on Colossians from CPH.
“Under Roman law slaves possessed the right to protest to the authorities when their masters treated them cruelly.” // Deterding, Colossians
“Slaves performed not only menial, physical labor but also served in “white collar” professions such as artisans, administrators, tutors, doctors, writers, and scholars.” // Deterding, Colossians
“Slavery was taken for granted in the Roman Empire during NT times…with perhaps 85-90 percent of the population of Rome consisting of people who were slaves or of slave origin.” // Deterding, Colossians
“The master/slave relationship encountered by Paul was, in some significant ways, closer to our modern employer/employee relationship.” // Deterding, Colossians
When it comes to the church and the Kingdom of God we are equally loved and given the gift of God’s grace regardless of gender, social standing, or ethnicity.
“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.” // Galatians 3:28
“Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” // Colossians 3:11
“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” // 1 Corinthians 12:13
Finally, a passage from 1 Corinthians 7:20-22 helps us achieve a fuller understanding of Paul’s view on the matter.
“Let each of you remain in the situation in which he was called. Were you called while a slave? Don’t let it concern you. But if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity. For he who is called by the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called as a free man is Christ’s slave.”
Grace + Peace
Pastor Mark Wood
