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“Christ At Home And Work” • 5.18.14
• Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- Paul's letters usually begin in the realm of
heaven, in the highest of heights, providing doctrine that enriches our minds, challenging
them to comprehend the amazing nature of God.
- We share in a rich theology together that we
will not exhaust on this planet!
- Oh, but it's true that we live on this
planet! Last week, Paul descended from the heights and depths of eternity and
met us in the breadth and width of our existence.
- What we believe about Jesus is meant to meet
us on the street, to change the life that we live. Verses 1-17 of chapter 3
unveiled our principle, practical response.
- Today, Paul continues into our private life! What
are the implications of your belief when it comes to your marriage, your family
and your employment?
- Is God concerned about what happens in your
home and from 9-5 on weekdays? Let's find out! This section very simply breaks
into three parts.
I. Wives And Husbands (v.18,19)
II. Children And Fathers (v.20,21)
III. Bondservants And Masters (v.22-4:1)
Text
I. Wives And Husbands (v.18,19)
•
Colossians 3:18 : "Wives, submit to your own husbands,
as is fitting in the Lord." : In the
family of God, women who are married are commanded to submit to their own
husbands. Every church letter contains the same instruction.
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The word "submit" is a military term, meaning to arrange oneself
behind another in support, yielding to another as the functional, in this case,
God-ordained, authority.
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It's has nothing to do with spiritual, intellectual or ministerial inferiority.
It is a matter of reverent order, which according to one commentator, even
points to a voluntary position!
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Two high ranking military officials accept the offices that they have been
given, but one will be responsible before God to final decisions.
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After giving what she feels to be her best wisdom from the Lord, she makes the
conscious decision, despite her feelings or her husband's competence, to order
herself behind her husband!
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Notice the specificity involved. Wives are to submit to their own husbands.
Women who are married are not to be treated as less than equals in the Kingdom
of God.
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They are equally saved and valued by the Lord, for they are bought with the
blood of Christ as are men! They may function differently in the church, but
they are vital to it's success nonetheless!
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Believe it or not, the Lord has set this up this way, especially on this point
of submitting only to their own husband, because of the great value of a
woman's willingness to minister.
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There are many who would seek to take advantage of that desire to minister, but
often without considering the cost to the woman's family. Understanding God's
order helps alleviate this.
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In Numbers 30:6-8, God's law stated
that a woman who entered into a marriage with rash vows in tact, could be
overruled by her husband.
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He is there to protect her from giving into rash impulses that may even be
spiritual in nature.
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Some find this very frustrating because of the nature of some husbands.
"They never want to do anything spiritual!" That might be the case. But
to submit to them is fitting in the Lord.
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This word is translated this way in every major translation! It's simply
spiritually fitting, becoming, for a wife to do this!
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This becomes a point of vital importance for those who are single and
considering marriage. Can I minister as I am called under this man's
leadership? Do I trust him enough to allow that?
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For those who are already married, there isn't a choice any longer, at least
not a free choice. To choose not to submit for a married woman is disaster
waiting to happen!
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Experience has shown that there are women who married without considering this,
either because they were not saved, or were not aware of this Biblical order.
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A wife in such a state will be tempted to look at her unavailable plight and be
devastated emotionally before the Lord for the lack of ability to help in such
cases. But that isn't the case either!
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You are being most spiritual when you are accepting of the role that He has
given to you!
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Notice also the limitation given in this final phrase. You are not to submit to
your husband in things that are not of the Lord. If he asks you to indulge his
pornography habit, you need to say no!
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If he asks you to lie, steal or cheat, you have no business and no excuse to
submit to that kind of request.
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At the end of the day, injunctions regarding submission to authority, whether
it be wives to husbands, children to Fathers or citizens to governments carry
one caveat: Only in the Lord!
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The disciples taught us well by example when in Acts 4:18,19 they refused to capitulate to the Sanhedrin, who told
them not to speak in the name of Jesus.
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"We'll let you judge: Should we obey man or God!" That's the standard
for each of these commands to obey human authority. It only goes to the border
of disobeying the Lord!
•
Colossians 3:19 : "Husbands, love your wives and do not
be bitter toward them." : Husbands, you are commanded
to love your wives. If you boiled it down, wives and husbands are given one
command apiece. There isn't any more than that in the Word of God!
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These are the essentials, the building blocks, the most important words that
God has for married couples: Wives, submit. Husbands, love!
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Perhaps it can be rightly said that submission does not come natural to the
wife in the same way that love is not natural to the husband.
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But that isn't to say that we aren't capable of complicity. This is why it's a
matter of command! We can both choose to follow the Lord in what He has
commanded us.
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In the case of the Colossians, Paul is quick and to the point. Husbands, love,
agape your wife! Make a choice to seek out her very best by giving all of
yourself for her!
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In Ephesians 5, Paul explained that
this love was to be measured by Christ's love for the church! How did He love
the church? He gave Himself for her.
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This sacrificial, self-denying love is to be the kind of love that you strive
to exemplify toward your wife!
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Look out for her best interest. Protect her. Provide for her. Show her you care
about what she cares about. Be willing to make adjustments to ease her mind and
even her body.
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In the end, if you feel you need help, be wise and ask her to help you! Believe
me, she's ready for the question!
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Now, it is interesting here that he has to command them to love them AND not be
bitter toward them, a word referring to a turned or irritated stomach.
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Several other translations render this phrase, "Don't be harsh with
them." Don't speak or treat them as you would treat a man or a person that
you barely like! Love them!
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In the exercise of your leadership, love them and when they don't think like
you or see things the way that you see things, don't lord it over them with a
bitter or harsh attitude!
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"Oh, she's just thinking like a woman!" Well of course she is! How
else is she going to think!?
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Your leadership, like her submission, is not about agreement to change one
another, but an agreement to help the other see what they are unable to!
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A wife by virtue of the fact that she thinks like a woman gives an invaluable
resource to her husband who can only think like a Man!
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A wife or a husband, is like a left hand to their spouse. They complement the
strength of the dominant hand! Husbands, don't let your leadership denigrate to
a bristling irritation. Love her!
II. Children And Fathers (v.20,21)
•
Colossians 3:20,21 : "Children,
obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children,
lest they become discouraged." : Paul's
address of the children begs the question: "How did they receive this?
Were they not in Sunday school?
-
It's very likely that they would have been sitting in, listening themselves to
what the Apostle Paul said. We do our kids a great disservice by thinking that
they can only receive "kiddy truth!"
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Yes, we may need to take some time or creatively present certain truths, but
they need to hear God's Word and to see that it's a priority in our lives as
well.
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Now, at the same time, his instruction to them personally follows along with
what he told them in every other letter and in virtually every other part of
the Bible: Obey your parents!
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"Obey" speaks of a doorman listening for the door, ready to respond
to the knock. Obey them in all things. Be known for your ready obedience toward
them.
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Life never needs to be more complicated than that for children. Obey your
parents when you live in their home and as you grow up and move on, honor them
well. Why?
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This attitude brings God pleasure. He loves to see this in us! It blesses Him
and that should be enough for us!
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If it's not, remember that His Son, our Lord, exemplified this characteristic
above them all! He obeyed even unto the death of the cross and on that cross,
He assigned care for His mother as well!
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Before the Fathers can celebrate and agree, Paul commands them not to provoke
their children. Other translations use the words "embitter,"
"exasperate" or "aggravate."
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In Roman times, a Father had absolute power over his children, in extreme
cases, over their very lives! Consequently, children cowered in fear before
their Father.
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Is that the way that we are to look at our Father, who holds our very life in
His hand? Does God want us to live in fear of His vengeful hand? There needs to
be a reverence for sure.
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But God's Fatherly love is tender toward us, compassionate, ever patiently
drawing us to follow His Spirit's lead. Christian Fathers must learn to lead in
that same way regardless of culture!
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A Christian Father is to guide, but with a gentle hand and an individualized
approach toward each child's inclination.
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Paul tells them that they aren't to practice provocation, lest the children lose
heart in trying to obey and please!
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In the same way that a husband's harshness is counterproductive to a submitting
wife, so also is a provocative Father counterproductive toward their obedient
children!
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Be fair, reasonable, sensible with your kids. Discipline them according to
their own bents and encourage them according to their own gifting!
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Spend twice as much time affirming the positive as you do correcting the
negative!
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Paul knows that men have a tendency to simply over power all in their path,
either with brute force or bitter words.
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Men, we would do well to examine our methodology and remember that we have a
privilege to lead wives and children in the things of the Lord!
III. Bondservants And Masters (v.22-4:1)
•
Colossians 3:22-25 : "Bondservants,
obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as
men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it
heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will
receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord
Christ. But he
who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality." : Paul moves into the work week. Christianity is not something
that affects only you or your family at home. It continues into your work
environment.
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Some would try to convince us that the work place is entirely secular and thus
a place where faith cannot be exercised. Wrong! A Christ that doesn't affect
our work is no Savior at all!
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Every part of human life is forever transformed by the presence of Jesus
Christ! That definitely includes our jobs!
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Wisdom must be attached to bravery, which must be attached to a readiness to
serve the Lord's interests, but never at the expense of an agreed upon work
schedule.
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Bondservants, slaves, members of the Roman workforce, be ready to comply in all
things that your Masters, employers, bosses call you to do.
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As I've already stated this would necessarily exclude the compromise of legal
statutes or faith initiatives. This is why Paul calls them "masters
according to the flesh."
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There are necessary limitations to what they can ask you to do, unlike the Lord
who is both Lord of your body and spirit!
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Everything within the context of your employment and service to the company,
Paul tells us, is to be obeyed and carried out wholeheartedly. Do it with
everything you have!
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Understand here that Paul is exhorting a slave labor force, whose work was
generally either a payment of a debt or a penalty for being a conquered foe,
but not really a career path!
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Your labor has been a matter of choice! How much more should we who have agreed
to a wage exhibit these characteristics?
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Perhaps you have come to realize that the job that you have conflicts with your
ability to faithfully follow the Lord in the callings that you know He has
given you.
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Don't stop working or try to work in a way that violates your work agreement!
Pray and apply around. Perhaps the Lord has another job waiting for you. Trust
Him with your provision!
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But the more things change, the more they stay the same! There were those who
worked hard when supervised, but were unmotivated at other times.
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These are people whose lives are set upon pleasing men. That is a non-Christian
way to work. Christians are to work with singleness or integrity, reverencing
God above men!
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He's the One who opened the door for your employment and has given you the mind
and body to perform it!
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You and I are commanded to do our work with all that we have, doing it not for
the sake of our human employer or paycheck, but for the Lord!
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When we please the Lord first, we will be the greatest benefit to our employer
and to their company! And we get the double blessing of being paid and storing
up reward from the Lord!
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Serve the Lord in your work and He will reward you. But notice also, that he
who does wrong will also be "rewarded." God doesn't play favorites!
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I remember some justifying their lack of hard work simply because they were
Christians and that it didn't matter. Your witness matters. Your Lord cares. He
won't let it slide!
•
Colossians 4:1 : "Masters, give your bondservants
what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven." : There is a difference in a Christian boss and a non-Christian
boss, especially in the Apostle's days, when slaves were thought of as tools.
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There were no worker's rights or compensation for injury. If a slave was unable
to perform their duties, they were simply killed, thrown out with the garbage
and replaced with another.
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For Paul to address Masters at all, suggesting any kind of reform in the
slightest degree was virtually unthinkable. To command them in the following
way was nothing short of revolutionary!
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Treat them justly and fairly. Be reasonable with your demands and be equitable
in your treatment. Treating them right and in an honest way was simply beyond
imagination!
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Slaves were sub-human in the eyes of the world! But these traits demand that
the Masters view their slaves as actual, valuable human beings equal to
themselves!
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A question came my way this week, in which a sincere young person asked why it
was that the Bible condoned slavery. My answer was that it did not condone it,
but reported it as a reality.
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Additionally, I answered that it was not the primary objective of the Word of
God to change the World socially. The primary objective of revelation is to act
redemptively toward the human soul.
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Put bluntly, the Lord isn't interested in social reform. That doesn't go far
enough!
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Saved souls change the world one idea at a time! Christian masters treating
their slaves in a just and fair way, recognizing their value in Christ before
God, took the teeth right out of that system!
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Imagine the even more bizarre picture of a slave leading a church filled with
Masters at a church service and then perhaps laying hands on them in prayer
before work on Monday!
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What a truly powerful gospel! Masters, heed the call of your God to treat them
just and fair. Why? Because you have a Master in heaven! He hears the heart of
your workers!
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God will always be looking out for the plight of the unjustly treated and it's
important that a Christian boss treats their employees in a manner that pleases
God.
Conclusion
- The Lord
changes each of our lives and orders us in such a way as to change the culture
around us.
- Imagine the
impact on your daughters and fellow ladies when they see you submit to your
husbands. Likewise, think of your sons, who see their Dad loving and
appreciating his bride!
- Consider in a
world of rebellious children, how much your obedience and honor to your parents
stands out like a light in a dark room!
- Look down the
corridor of time and see the affect of a nuturing relationship between Father
and Son, born out of obedience to your Father.
- Wrap your
mind around this: You work as hard as you can everday with a joy that seems out
of place. Who doesn't want to know wht that's the case?
- What a
testimony to have: Your workers love you because you serve them and care for
their needs! This is the heritage and the identity that God wants for your
private life!
- All I need to
say now is go seize it! Obey Him and watch Him change your world!
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