January 22, 2017
 

Colossians

Colossians 3:18 - 4:18

Colossae:
- small agricultural town
- in modern day Turkey
- about 110 miles inland from Ephesus
- very simple little city
- part of the tri-cities: Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis 

Colossians 3:18-21
Instructions for Christian Households
18 Wives, submit yourselves 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 embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

The Bible saying that a woman should submit to a man, is not about sexism or dominance, it is about the man protecting the woman.  Men are NOT better than women and Women are NOT more important than men… We just have different roles.

The NIV Application Commentary says this:
“The verb “submit” does not convey some innate inferiority but is used for a modest, cooperative demeanor that puts others first. It was something expected of all Christians regardless of their rank of gender.”

20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

Obedience is not based how much sense the directions seem to make, it's based on submission: cheerfully, quickly and completely.

21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

“embitter” - cause (someone) to feel bitter or resentful

This means that parents need to teach, rebuke and discipline their kids, but don’t go so far as to crush their spirits and make them bitter or resentful people.

The National Conference of State Legislature says:
“Up to 80 percent of children in foster care have significant mental health issues, compared to approximately 18-22 percent of the general population.”

22% of foster kids deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
15% - Major Depressive Episodes
12% - Modified Social Phobia
11% - Panic Disorder
9% - Generalized Anxiety Disorder
4% - Alcohol Dependence
4% - Drug Dependence
3% - Bulimia

Parenting your kids is not a small calling!

Proverbs 22:6
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Colossians 3:22-4:1
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.

Why would we obey human authority?

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

This isn’t only about how we treat peoplet... its about obeying our authority because God put them there, and we’re really obeying Him.

Regardless of how our authority is, we obey cheerfully, quickly, and completely just like we are doing it as working for the Lord, not for human masters as long as what they say is not unBiblical.

1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

We also must treat people that we are responsible for correctly and fairly in everything because every good leader is also a follower.

Colossians 4:2-6
Further Instructions
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

This is Paul and Timothy wrapping it up and saying, alright, we’ve told you what God told us to tell you… “Now make good choices!”

- Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
- Pray for us, too that God may open a door for our message, and that we may proclaim it clearly
- Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders
- Make the most of every opportunity
- Let your conversation be always full of grace

Colossians 4:7-18
Final Greetings
7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.

10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
16 After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

That’s part of what is so cool about the early church: The community between believers was so genuine and real even when they didn't know each other. They were a part of something so much bigger than themselves.

And even beyond that, we see Paul as this major player in the church, but he has a great team:

Tychicus: traveled with Paul, and delivered messages for him while Paul was in prison
Onesimus: was a slave of Philemon who got saved, and was set free and seems to have become Philemon’s good friend
Aristarchus: traveled with Paul and was arrested with him
Mark: one of Jesus’ 70 disciples who wrote the Gospel According to Mark
Barnabus: one of the fathers of the church who traveled and lead much like Paul did
Justus: a Jewish man that worked with Gentiles in the early church
Epaphras: most likely a disciple of Paul who planted the Colossians church
Luke: a doctor who traveled to share the gospel and wrote the Gospel According to Luke
Demas: a fellow worker for the gospel
Nympha: a woman who hosted a house church in Laodicea
Archippus: a leader in the church at Colossae

1 Corinthians 12
1 There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ.
…
16 And suppose the ear says, “I am not an eye. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear?
…
27 You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it.

This is not about us, it’s about Jesus and his purposes on the Earth, and what we see in this book is not individuals who are attempting to “be better” on their own….

We see a humble, teachable, passionate group of people:
- Working TOGETHER towards maturity in Christ
- Studying TOGETHER to refute false teachings
- Working TOGETHER to identify sin in their lives and walk in righteousness
- Intentionally living TOGETHER in healthy relationships submitting to one another and seeking God’s Authority

This is what we’re called to be as the church!

Communication Card
- I will read through Colossians again this week.
- I will take Colossians 3:18-4:1 to heart this week and evaluate how I respond to people in my life.
- I will spend time praying for the Church as a whole.