Hope Bible Church

Reflecting Christ’s Lordship in Our Relationships, Part 4
Colossians 3:22
Pastor Andy Chulka

With verse 17 in mind, in the next several verses Paul will use the illustrations of family relationships to show his readers what doing “everything in the name of the Lord Jesus” looks like.

The lordship of Jesus Christ must be displayed in all areas of the Christian’s life, especially their family life.

Paul uses 3 pairs of relationships to illustrate what the lordship of Christ practically looks like in the lives of a Christians.

I. The Wife and Husband Relationship (3:18-19)
II. The Child and Parent Relationship (3:20-21)
III. The Bondservant and Master Relationship (3:22-4:1) - THIS WEEK & NEXT WEEK

You might have noticed that Paul spends more time and text (5 verses!) on this relationship between bondservants and masters than he does on the relationships between wives and husbands or children and fathers (parents).

One reason that is certainly valid is that along with this letter, Paul was sending the runaway slave, Onesimus, whom Paul had led to Christ in Rome, back to his master, Philemon

Paul wanted to make sure that no Christian slave misunderstood Onesimus’ conversion to mean that he could rebel against his master; and, that no Christian master abuse his authority over his slave.

Slavery was an established institution in Paul’s day and the slave/master relationship was so common in the ancient world.

Historians tell us that during this period there were some 60,000,000 slaves in the Roman Empire, making up about half of the population.

When we hear this word, “slavery,” many of us might think slavery in terms of what it was like in the USA.

However, according to Dan Wallace, professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary: “Slavery in the first century was quite different from slavery in early American history.”

So, if there were so many slaves in the Roman Empire back then, why didn’t the church oppose slavery and seek to abolish it?

The apostles did not see themselves as advocates for social change but as proclaimers of the good news of Christ.

Just because there are no passages encouraging the elimination of slavery does not imply that the apostles condoned it.

Again, Dan Wallace points out that there are passages in Paul that speak to the issue of slavery, and they at least plant the seeds of freedom that accompany the gospel.

Dan Wallace asks, “Is the NT about social change first or is it about change of the heart? As much as I believe that Christians should become involved in several aspects of society (we are, after all, ‘the salt of the world’), when we exchange the gospel for a merely social agenda we contaminate our mission. I believe there are social implications of the gospel that are quite extensive, but let us never forget that our primary task in relation to the world is not to change political structures, but to offer forgiveness of sin in the name of Jesus Christ.”

The timeless principles set forth can help the Christian understand his place as a believer in the workplace.

Whether you’re an employee or an employer, if you will practice what Paul spells out here, you will have many opportunities to be ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ in the workplace. (SJC)

Paul tells “bondservants” or “slaves” (CSB, NASB, NIV) to “obey (same word as in verse 20) in everything those who are your earthly masters” rather than rebel.

Our running theme, beginning with Colossians 3:18 has been: The lordship of Jesus Christ must be displayed in all areas of the Christian’s life, especially their family life.

And now we see that this is also true in our employment.

Christians ought to be the best employees ever, why?

Because they are “fearing the Lord” (verse 22d).

Christ is the Lord of our lives, our relationships, and our work!

And Paul emphasizes this truth by repeating “Lord”five times:

1. “Fearing the Lord” (v. 22).

2. “work heartily, as for the Lord” (v. 23).

3. “from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward” (v. 24).

4. “You are serving the Lord Christ” (v. 24).

5. “you also have a Master [same Greek word, “Lord”] in heaven” (Col. 4:1).

That means that if our “earthly masters,” our bosses, our employers, tell us to do something, whether we like it or not, as long as it doesn’t go against God and his Word, we are to obey, because ultimately that pleases Christ, our “Master in heaven” (4:1).

The Greek term for "eye-service" is a combination of the words for "eye" and "slave." (PN)

We are to work diligently whether our boss/employer is watching us or not, because ultimately the Lord is watching us and he is ultimately the one we want to please, we are not to work to be “people-pleasers.”

Therefore, we work with “sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.”