Focus: - [[Colossians 3]]:18 - [[Colossians 4]]:1 # Notes from elsewhere ## [[2025-10-26 Colossians 3.18-4.18 Lecture Notes]] - Why this set of relationships? 1st century household (husband == father == master) - In each case, the first column carries a responsibility for the second column (love wife, support children, be fair to slaves) - mirrors how [[Christ]] is our master -- [[Jesus]] is even further right in this table - The [[Bible]] isn't necessarily talking about the extreme cases, just what should be done in a normal household situation -- say upfront that safeguarding still applies etc. Don't try too hard to get the verses to say safeguarding though - In the other direction, the relationship from right column to left column is a bit less unified - [[Paul]] is not trying to erase these relationships here (though do note v. 11 "Here there is no...slave or free") - The household relationships are an easy microcosm to demonstrate how to reorientate entirely towards the [[Lord]] - Everyone is at least one of these things, so it gives everyone something to take away from it - This may very well be a study where you get bogged down in the particulars. One way to draw this back is to say "If we imagine a best-case scenario where this is working well, doesn't it look good?" ## [[Zondervan NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible]] - Life in the new age begins at home, where anger often surfaces and gratitude often evaporates - This section affirms that the family is one of the primary contexts for faith formation and for living out one's faith - [[Paul]] addresses three pairs in the household and insists that the more powerful of the pair show concern for the less powerful - Motivation for this is distinctively Christian: [[Christ]]'s lordship ([[Paul]] mentions "the [[Lord]]" 6 times) imposes itself over all aspects of our lives - Wives, husbands are the basic unit of the household - Christian wives are voluntarily told to put themselves under the authority of their husbands by treating their submission as part of the service they owe to [[Christ]] - Compare [[1 Corinthians 7]]:3-4 ("The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.") # More notes ## Structure Breakdown | Less responsible/powerful | More responsible/powerful | | ------------------------- | ------------------------- | | Wife | Husband | | Children | Fathers | | Slaves | Masters | ## Author's Purpose - This is all generally good advice, the main question is why is [[Paul]] saying this bit here, for the people of [[Colossae]]? - To ground everyday life to [[Jesus]]! # Questions (What, why, apply) ## Context (10 min) - [ ] How does today's text follow on from last week's passage? - Rather abrupt, link not obvious - [[Colossians 3]]:1-4 -- [[Colossians]] have died and been raised with [[Christ]] so they should set their hearts and minds on things above - [[Colossians 3]]:5-17 -- practical rules for transformed living - Emphasize v. 17 - [ ] How is today's passage different from [[Colossians 3]]:5-17 in writing style and focus? - Shorter punchier instructions in pairs - Focus on home "normal" life, outside church context ## Overview (15 min) - [ ] What are the categories of people named in this passage? - Wife/husband, children/fathers, slaves/masters - [ ] So why talk about this set of people? Why not "chefs" and "patrons", or "goalies" and "strikers"? - Core units of the household - Husband/father/master was probably same person (head of household) - [ ] This seems like generally good advice: "Children, obey your parents!". The local pagans are probably also saying similar stuff. Why is [[Paul]] emphasizing this here for the [[Colossians]]? - Reorienting common household structures towards [[Christ]]'s lordship - False teachings emphasized spiritual or ascetic practices that promised spirtual fullness apart from ordinary life, but [[Paul]] re-grounds ordinary life to be rooted in [[Jesus]] ## Wife/husband (10 min) - [ ] What does it mean for wives to "submit" to husbands? Why not "obey" like in v. 20? - Greek *hypotasso* lit. "under arrange" has active and voluntary sense w/ underlying willingness to put oneself under leadership of another - **"as is fitting in the [[Lord]]"** - not a statement on conditionality; it's a reason to submit - Much like [[Christ]] himself - Direct group to read [[Philippians 2]]:5-8 - [ ] What's the call for husbands and how is it different from the wife's? - Self sacrificial love (*agape*) like [[Christ]] himself shows - [[Ephesians 5]]:21-25 goes more in depth on this subject, but note only v. 21: "Submit to one another...". Does this mean that husbands are not to submit to their wives? - Conversely v. 14 -- are wives not supposed to love their husbands then? - [[Paul]] still doesn't explicitly command husbands to submit their to their wives, and still maintains [[God]]-given order within family - But order doesn't mean superiority (see the Father vs the Son) - [ ] Why does [[Paul]] write this for the [[Colossians]]? What is significant about v. 18 and 19 given the culture [[Paul]] was writing in? - Greco-roman culture always assumes husband is "only fully legal person in family" - Addressing wives directly, plus command husbands to love self-sacrificially is counter-cultural ## Slave/master (10 min) - Note that slaves covered many categories of work in the greco-roman world, from hard forced labour of prisoners to voluntary service into trusted and respected positions - [ ] What does [[Paul]] command the [[Colossians]] slaves as to how they are to do their work? - Obey "earthly lords" in everything, as though working for *the* Lord ## Conclusion (15 min) - [ ] In our lives, who are slaves and who are masters? How should we relate to this passage? - [ ] What would it look like practically for you to follow the principle of "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord?" v. 23 - [ ] How should the attitude that [[Paul]] is commanding here affect your day-to-day relationships? Give examples from family or work life where greater submission to the lordship of [[Christ]] is needed # Summary - In their household relationships, [[Colossians]] are to work out the implications of their new life in [[Christ]] and demonstrate his lordship in these relationships in practical ways - We too must work out the implication of our new life in [[Christ]], to be lived out under his all-encompassing lordship in the diverse cultural settings that [[God]] has placed us in