Lesson #10

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Colossians

September 21, 2015

Lesson #01

January 20, 2010

Lesson #02

January 20, 2010

RETURN TO THE LIST OF LESSONS

COLOSSIANS 3:17-21
Lesson #10
THE CHRISTIAN NATURE OF PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

• Memory Verse: Col 3:23

• Read Colossians 3:17-21 Christian Family Relationships
  • The over-riding principle in verse 17:
    • Do all as unto the Lord
      • Whatever we do or say should be as a representative of Jesus Christ that lets our relationship with Christ affect everything, how we live, how we act, how we react, how we relate, how we work, how we love and how we obey.
      • We recognize God’s will and authority over us in all our relationships and activities.
  • This over-riding principle applies especially to family relationships:
    • Husband and wife relationships:

Husband’s Role (Christ’s Role)	Wife’s Role (Church’s Role)
The head and authority	Submission
The savior of the wife and home	Subject to
Love to the point of giving himself
To nourish
To cherish
Leave his parents
Be joined to his wife in love	Reverence
Purpose	Results
To sanctify his wife (set her apart to make her a better person)	So that she will be without spot or wrinkle
To cleanse her by the word	So that she be holy and without blemish

• A Mutual Relationship
  • What does the word “submit” to your husband really mean?
    • This scripture does not mean that all women are to be in subjection to all men.
    • This scripture does mean that a Christian wife must submit to her own husband.
      • This word relates to a relationship and a flow of authority within the family.
        • True submission through love brings peace and personal power. It is accomplished by an act of the will. When a woman voluntarily submits out of love, God gives her grace and power in her life.
        • If a man wants a woman to submit to him, he needs to demonstrate love and not command submission.
    • Background:
      • In the Roman Empire and under Jewish law, a woman was a thing, a possession with no legal rights. The husband had all the privileges and rights while the wife had all the responsibilities and duties.
    • The New Testament message of Jesus Christ:
      • For the first time, God teaches that there is to be a reciprocal obligation in the home, the husband initiating and giving love and the wife responding with submissive love.
        • This obligation actually places the husband in true subjection to God for the husband is compelled by love to fulfill every claim which the wife may place upon him for support, sympathy, protection, and happiness.
        • This obligation places the woman under submission as a response to his love.
        • Therefore love and submission are actually mutually given. The husband is the initiator of love and the wife is the responder through submissive love.
        • This true love relationship makes it impossible for the husband not to respond to the wife in providing for her and caring for her in love.
          • He is commanded not to be bitter.
          • The word bitter means = harsh and unfeeling.

• What does the word “obey” mean?
  • Obey means = to harken at the door, or to answer the door as one who responds to a knock on the door and then listens to the message given.
• The parent and child relationship (20-21)
  • Background:
    • Under Roman law, a father’s power over his children was absolute. He could sell his children into slavery or prostitution. He could beat them, sentence them to death, or even carry out a death sentence over them with no recrimination.
    • Christianity brought a reciprocal love to this relationship.
  • Children must obey their parents:
    • With our definition of “obey” above, children are to be open to their parent’s demands. They are to listen to the words of their parents and try to understand the reason for them.
  • Fathers (as well as mothers) are not to treat their children so harshly as to provoke them to discouragement.
    • In other words, discipline of children should break the child’s rebellious will but not break the child’s spirit. A broken spirit produces discouragement, bitterness, low self-esteem, and hatred.

• Read Col 3:22-4:1 The Christian Workplace
  • Why does the New Testament not specifically attack slavery or even suggest the abolition of it?
    • Slavery has economic consequences that affect all of that society in which slavery exists. Because of that, the Bible does not abolish slavery but lays a foundation of principles that ultimately makes slavery impossible on a personal level.
      • For example, if a slave treated his master as one given to him in authority by God, and the master treated his slave as a brother, the relationship of master and slave would be transformed into a family relationship.
        • The book of Philemon is the example.
      • In reality the spread of Christianity in the world ended slavery and the slave trade in many parts of the world.
  • Applying the master and servant relationship principles to the workplace:

 

• “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God.”

 

(22)
• “Eyeservice” (22)
  • This is the kind of work that you do when the boss is watching you.
    • By human nature, the level of the quality of work is greater when the one in authority over you is observing your work because you are trying to please your boss.
    • That which is a true demonstration of a person’s attitudes is the quality of work he does when the boss is not watching.
      • This should be the Christian attitude.
        • Remember the over-riding principle of doing all to the glory of God.
        • Instead of pleasing the boss, the Christian should be pleasing God.
• “Singleness of heart” (22)
  • In purity and sincerity with integrity, this is the opposite of double-dealing and hypocrisy.
    • The Christian will always do his very best no matter who is watching.
    • “whatever you do” = no matter how little, how mundane, or how insignificant is the work that you do, you will do it as though it is the most important thing in the world.
      • You will do it “heartily” (23)
        • Heartily means = out of the soul.
          • In other words, you put your whole heart and strength into the job.
• The reward for this kind of attitude and actions toward your work:
  • Because the slave or the employee is serving God, God will reward with a full portion for what is the true worth of the work done.
  • Both the master (the employer) and the slave (the employee) are accountable to God. The Christian is ultimately serving God and not men.
• Summary and Application:
  • If you have never considered that God is your authority, your husband, your employer and your King, your actions and attitudes will reflect human reasoning.
  • If you have learned that the Christian serves God in all that he does, your actions and attitudes will reflect the glory of God in all of your relationships.

HOMEWORK
COLOSSIANS 4
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Aplication of Col 3
  • Think about the principles discussed in Chapter 3.
    • Do all as unto the Lord. (3:17)
    • Do all with enthusiasm pleasing God, not men.” (3:23)
  • Consider your life and make a prayerful commitment to change the following in order to conform to these principles.
    • Your marriage relationship.
    • Your family relationships.
    • Your work relationships.

 

• Preparation for Col 4
• Read Col 4:2-18
  • Make a list of the principles that relate to a faithful Christian walk as exemplified by Paul.

 

• Memory verse: Col 4:6