Colossians 3:18-4:1 is a marvelous passage which describes how to have successful, pleasing relationships in every area of your life. Relationships in the home are used as the illustration to show how it ought to be in all of our relationships. The home is used because that is where the best and worst of human interactions occur. We interact in tremendous intimacy in the home. There we find great occasion for understanding, misunderstanding, love, hate, forgiveness, unforgiveness, patience, impatience, etc.
and etc. In the home, the mask comes off; the guard comes down and our true character shows itself.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. 20 Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart. 22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. 4:1 Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven. (Colossians 3:18-4:1
NASU)
I hope you noticed the Christ-centered focus of the passage. Be subject as is fitting in the Lord. Be obedient for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Obey with sincerity of heart not to please men but in fear of the Lord. All of you serve the Lord. Earthly masters grant fairness and justice because you have a heavenly Master. When the passage finishes with the individual instructions, it gives one last instruction addressed to the whole group. Whatever thing you do, do it as if you are serving the Lord. Rewards come from the Lord. It seems clear to me that looking at these instructions individually is taking them out of context. The point is that wives, husbands, fathers, children, slaves, and masters (in other words every single one of us) have exactly the same role. We are to live to please the Lord. And furthermore, we do not have to guess what this entails. The passage gives specific individualized instructions for pleasing the Lord.
One other point in this passage jumps off the page as I read. I see nothing here about “my rights”. I only read about “my responsibilities”. My home, my workplace, my whole world will be transformed if I focus on my responsibilities not my rights. In fact, the Bible teaches me that I renounced all my so-called rights when I turned my life over to Christ. I am no longer my own, I was bought with a terrible and a wonderful price. My relationships in every area of my life will be right and good when I focus on pleasing the Lord, fulfilling my responsibilities to Him without being concerned with any so-called rights. As an unbeliever living in rebellion to God, I had only one “right”. That was the right to split hell wide open and remain there for all eternity. As a believer in Christ, I have only one “right”. That is the “right” to live for His pleasure. Everyone around me will benefit. pastorsteve8800@gmail.com