Colossians 3:18–4:18

0:01 Well, good morning again. My name is Brandon Schaefer. I am the Associate Pastor for Discipleship here at Third Avenue. So if you're a guest, glad you're here. You're not getting Greg Gilbert this morning. I think you've probably already put that together, but just in case you haven't, Greg's not here. So you get me. I love every chance I get to preach here, though. It's a joy to get to preach to this church and open up God's Word together. So take a Bible and open up to Colossians chapter 3. We'll be in Colossians 3 beginning in verse 18.

0:33 That's page 984 in one of those Red Pew Bibles. So if you don't have a Bible, if you are maybe perhaps not even a Christian and you're here with us this morning, we're very, very glad that you're here with us. What we're going to do over the next several minutes is open up the Bible to this certain passage and look through it together and see what it has to say. We believe the Bible is God's Word, and as Christians, we're going to submit to its teaching. So you'll find where we're going to be on page 984 of one of those Red Pew Bibles. So Alex mentioned that it was under a previous presidential administration that we actually began this series in Colossians so, so many years ago. More importantly, perhaps, it was actually before the pandemic. So I don't even know if you can remember those times. I mean, that seems like such a long, long time ago and a world ago, but this was, if I remember correctly, we began Colossians chapter 1, verse 1, the Sunday before it all went down. So I think this finally concludes the pandemic, is what I'm getting at.

1:36 So here we go. Sorry it's taken so long. Maybe we should have just gone through Colossians faster and the pandemic would have ended, but alas, here we are. So speaking of 2020, though, all the way back at the beginning of that world, my family and I made the, I think, mostly foolish decision to buy a puppy. Yeah, for years we thought that was going to be something we should do, that we wanted to do, and by we I mean everyone but me and my family. And so we went ahead and did that because, well, what else are you going to do when you can't leave your house for a while?

2:08 So little did we know, though, how much owning a dog would actually mean. Oh, of course we knew you got to feed it you need to potty train it but I think we thought that's really all there was to it that that you just teach the dog how to do those things and you're good to go well you know shortly after we bought the dog we figured out there's a whole lot more to owning a puppy than just that I mean you they've got whole stores devoted to these things right that I've just driven by for years and years and years and have not even noticed but you walk into a pet smart for instance and it's i mean there are aisles of chew toys like what kind of chew toy does your dog need or prefer i don't know just one of them please um you know and then our dog we had a little cocker spaniel he his hair grew so fast uh he we actually spent more money on his hair than on the rest of our family's hair combined right getting a haircut for that little animal socializing the dog in the midst of a pandemic right when literally we're told to stay apart from one another and we actually need to be close together so that our puppy learns what it means

3:11 to be around other humans and just on and on and on but the most ridiculous part clearly easily the most ridiculous part of owning a puppy for us was the fact that we had to go get his nails done right I mean one time very early on and this was our our mistake but one time early on we decided we were going to clip his nails which I think is what most of you who have dogs probably do to your dogs. We decided we were going to do that, though, and our little dog hated that. In fact, tried to bite Cindy, tried to bite me, and I swore I was going to break things around there. We'll just leave it at that if he did it again. So we realized the only way to actually accomplish this is to take him in and to have someone, to pay someone to do his nails for us, for this little creature, right? I mean, we just, we had no clue how much owning a dog would mean for us. We thought we understood, right? But there was just so much more to it. Well, there are things like that in this life. There are things that end up demanding more of us than maybe we

4:15 had initially thought. If you're a new parent, for instance, you know what I'm talking about, right? Having a baby is way more demanding than you even thought it would be. Of course, it's filled with all the joys that come along with it, but it's actually way more difficult than you even thought it would be, and in all the ways you don't even understand, right? So there are things like that, and for us, having a dog just meant way more than we had accounted for. It just changed our lives. Well, Paul here in the letter of Colossians has been pressing a certain issue from the very beginning. All the way back to the very beginning of chapter one, he's been pressing a certain issue on the minds and on the hearts of the Colossians and I think what he's showing now is that that issue has meaning it has bearing even for some perhaps surprising areas of their life certainly some areas of their life that maybe they had not accounted for yet and that's what we're going to see in our text this morning but since it's been this now years-long running tradition or running series let me bring us up to speed very quickly on where we even are in the book of Colossians so

5:18 I know it's a little herky-jerky to go from 2 Corinthians to Colossians, but it'll help us if we get a little bit of an idea of what we've seen so far in this book. So this is written by the Apostle Paul, right? He's in prison. He did not start this church, it seems. It's actually probably planted by Epaphras. So Epaphras is someone we're going to run into in our text here today. We've already seen him in other places as well, but it was probably planted by Epaphras who would have been from Colossae, went back and planted that church. Nevertheless, Paul's not been there. He's not had the chance yet to meet these Christians face-to-face, eye-to-eye, and tell them the things he wants to tell them. So he writes this letter to them. He very much cares about them, and he wants them to mature in the faith, to continue to grow in the faith. And so to that end, he does everything to press in on them. There's one thing, one primary thing throughout that letter, and it's this, that christ is lord that that jesus alone is the lord of the universe so you can see that from the very beginning of the letter right chapter 1 verses 15 through 23 kind of a famous passage if you've got

6:24 any familiarity at all with the bible you you would know a passage like this this is a pinnacle of of who it is of who jesus is kind of a huge mountaintop text describing who jesus is and the point of all of that is that Jesus is supreme, that he is the ruler over the universe, right? But this isn't God's plan B. That's important for Paul to kind of point out. He wants the Colossians to know that all of this is not like God said, uh-oh, things have gone awry down on earth, and so I'll send my son Jesus to make it all better, because after all, he's the Lord of the universe. No, he points out in a few different ways that there's this age-old mystery of who would come and crush Satan and bring blessing to God's people and surprise the answer to that mystery is Jesus so from the very beginning it's been Jesus who was planned to come to do this to redeem God's people and to bring them all each and every single one of God's people to himself and then he kind of turns back in chapter three and pivots back to the Colossians and he's trying to help them understand that look as you grow the way

7:28 that you'll grow is not by you know doing certain really overtly religious things the way that you'll grow in the faith is by looking to the cross right it's almost ironic it says the way that you'll you'll grow in the faith is by looking at the one who suffered for you who died for you and there you see his glory and there that's where your eyes should be Colossians and so after that he kind of goes on and says look so if you want to grow you look at the cross and then you remember that you've got a new heavenly identity your life is now hidden with christ in heaven well it's huge that's big right that's massive that that's that's huge big theological language for them to swallow and he says trying to bring it down a little bit more for them he says so then in everything that you do in word or deed you do it all for this one you do this all for Jesus and that's where we pick up our passage today so Colossians chapter 3 verse 18 we'll read all the way through the end of the

8:33 book verse 18 wives submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord husbands love your wives and do not be harsh with them children obey your parents and everything for this pleases the Lord fathers do not provoke your children lest they become discouraged bond servants obey in everything those who are your earthly masters not by way of eye service as people pleasers but with sincerity of heart fearing the lord whatever you do work heartily as for the lord and not for men knowing that from the lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward you are serving the lord christ for the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done and there is no partiality Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a master in heaven.

9:23 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.

9:56 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts. And with him, Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions, if he comes to you, welcome him, and Jesus, who is called Justice. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, greets you as does Demas. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans and see that you also read the letter

10:56 from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. So the structure of this passage is fairly straightforward. You can see it breaks down into three basic chunks there. So from the very beginning of what we read, chapter 3, verse 18 through 4, 1, there's this, it's following right on the heels of an extended discussion in chapter 3 about the new heavenly people and how they're to live. And this brings all of that down to a very practical level right you live holy lives as christians within the context of your closest relationships and then verse 2 verses 2 to 6 that section begins to look outward so that we're looking at the household and now all of a sudden we're looking outward beyond the the family and the house to a lost world and then the last section is verses 7 through the end of the letter of verse 18 at that final section you're going to be tempted to think it's just a series of greetings, right? This is just kind of wrapping up the book, but Paul's actually doing

12:00 way more than that right there. He's showing the mutual dependence that Christians have on one another as they ultimately rest their dependence on the Lord. So what's governing all of these sections though, those three chunks, is what we've seen time and time and time again throughout this letter. It's the drumbeat behind everything that Paul said, is that Jesus is Lord, right? It shows up in a powerful practical way here, but it's the same thing in all three of these sections. It's the underlying reality. It's Jesus is Lord. So our main idea then today for the sermon is this.

12:35 Our confession that Jesus is Lord changes every one of our relationships. Our confession that Jesus is Lord changes every one of our relationships. And we see that in three different ways kind of three different realms of relationships that we're going to explore that come from those three different sections of the passage so number one verses 3 18 through chapter four verse one we see that in our closest relationships number two from verses two to six we see that with those outside the church and then number three verses seven through the very end among other christians in churches so you can think of it maybe in another way that's inside outside and then between so number one we see how our confession that Jesus is Lord changes our closest relationships over the last several weeks we've had quite a bit of trouble with our minivan it's a 2012 it's got 140,000 miles I intend to drive that thing for a lot longer than

13:40 than just now and so every little trouble that it has I need to go get it fixed I've taken it into our mechanic a guy that we've gone to for a few years now and every time he wants to call me back and explain to me what's going on with it. Frankly, I'm not a mechanic. I don't know what he's talking about. I don't understand why he's telling me the things that he's telling me. I just want him to fix it. And at the end of the day, what I really care about is how much is it going to cost me? Right? That's all I care about. When I see that it's him calling, he could just say the number, right?

14:10 It's $850. And okay, we could just move on from there. I don't care what's wrong with it. If it needs to be fixed, it needs to be fixed. I'm going to drive this vehicle, right? I just care about how it's going to affect me, how it's going to hit home finally. I think that's a natural tendency, right? We all tend to do that type of thing. We want to know how things are going to affect us most importantly or most dearly or perhaps in our checkbook, if we're being honest. And I think that's exactly how the readers of this letter would have felt. They would have said, Paul, these are all great things.

14:43 These first two and a half chapters that you've written, this is incredible stuff. grand, amazing stuff. But what does it mean? What do I do with it now, Paul? What do you want me to actually do in light of all of this? And to answer that, Paul points them to their closest relationships, right? The ones that they have within their household. Run back up to chapter three, verses one through four. So this is, you know, the beginning of the argument that he's making before our section today. And he says this, if then you've been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Man, that's just rich stuff, amazing stuff. What does it mean? Paul, you're telling me that all this otherworldly type of stuff, what does that mean for me here now? Well, Paul makes it

15:44 clear that all of that stuff, all that stuff that's otherworldly in its feel, it actually starts in the home, right? So that passage is dealing with this big picture, and now Paul's trying to walk it back down to the very nitty-gritty parts of our lives. And the way he does that is by taking us to the integral parts of what would have been just a normal ancient household. So notice the pairs there. You've got a husband and a wife. You've got a father and a child. You've got a master and a slave this is just what a typical household would have looked like in that time so there would have been a husband and a wife there would have been children there would have been slaves and and more on that piece in particular in just a little bit so just hold on to that but they would have had all of those different people living together in one house it's even widely thought that there was an existing literary form that would that would be used to address those types of relationships so there would have been a kind of a standard way of thinking about of talking about the ancient household. So why does Paul do that? Why does he grab a hold of that

16:45 thing and try to use it? I think he's saying this, that if this is how we think of the household and those relationships, if it's kind of this thing, right? Well, then let's talk about how Christianity affects that thing. And look at how he does that. Look back at verse 18. Wives, submit to your husbands as is fitting in the lord verse 20 children obey your parents and everything for this pleases the lord verse 22 bond servants obey in everything fearing the lord verse 23 work heartily as for the lord and not for men verse 24 knowing that from the lord you will receive an inheritance verse 24 you are serving the lord christ and finally verse 1 masters treat your bondservants justly and fairly knowing that you also have a master or a lord it's the same greek word underlying that you see what he's done seven times in just nine verses really just in this one

17:45 small paragraph essentially paul's hammered home the reality that jesus is lord he's doing the same thing that he's been doing. And it's not that he's just Lord, but that his lordship has an effect on those relationships. Wives, your submission to your husband is based on the fact that Jesus is Lord. Children, your obedience, it's connected to the fact that Jesus is Lord. Bond servants, your work, your service, your inheritance, it's all connected to the fact that Jesus is Lord. And then finally, masters, you are not the final master. You're not the final lord you too have a lord jesus and so all of your actions as a master they're connected to the fact that he is lord but it's what he says in each one of those pairs right if he's doing that kind of at a bigger level it's what he says to each one of those pairs in particular that might be even more helpful for us so let's take a few minutes to step through each one of those so first husband and

18:47 wife what was he talking about here with the husband wife relationship verse 18 wives submit verse 19 husbands love right off the bat right out of the gate Paul just comes firing at us right in our ears as a as a culture our ears just kind of perk up and are probably set on fire by that type of language right submit love we wish we could just wish that away or maybe come up with an argument that well paul was just beholden to you know some certain cultural thing in his day and he didn't even really believe in himself and he was just kind of forced into saying those things but this isn't new or unique to paul's day right this goes further back even than Paul. He's not a product of his day when he's arguing this. Like one of the key things to note here is that Paul's not just coming up with stuff on his own. He's not just dealing with a Colossian

19:48 problem in particular, something that's happening in that church that he needs to address in particular. No, he's basically reaching all the way back to Genesis chapter 3 and the curse brought on all of humanity because of Adam and Eve's sin in the garden. You remember what happens there? Do you remember what happens in Genesis chapter 3? It's there as the curses for Adam and Eve's rebellion against the Lord are being handed down one after the other that Eve is told that her desire would be contrary to Adam's. In other words, at least in part, what that means is that she would no longer joyfully submit to him.

20:23 She would be contrary. Everything about her desire would be contrary to Adam's. And obviously, that same problem existed all the way then into the Colossian church. look paul's not simply forcing those wives into some evil system of subjugation he's pointing out that in their sinfulness they'll struggle to keep their desire from being contrary to their husbands they'll struggle to submit to and trust their husbands they'll have to fight against wanting to rise up against their husbands in the home just as wives have done ever since the fall of our ancestors back in genesis 3 look but now they're christians right now they've recognized jesus's lordship and so that relationship paul is saying that relationship of husband and wife especially as wife submitting to husband it needs to line up with that reality now that they're christians it needs to line up with the way that the lord has ordered it all the way back to the very beginning of creation looking on the other side of that relationship the husband is to love his wife and not be harsh

21:25 Adam was always to lead and love and care for Eve his wife but never to do so with harshness and Paul I love this in Ephesians in the parallel passage to this Paul even makes this sort of no-brainer argument kind of no duh argument that look husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies if if the two are connected together right if the two have become one flesh you don't treat your wife poorly because after all she's a part of you you don't treat yourself poorly therefore you don't treat your wife poorly it's just this sort of don't you get this argument it's very straightforward I love what he's doing there she's literally a part of you of course you shouldn't be harsh with her but it seems like he's going even a little further here right he's not just saying don't be violent or don't be openly unloving he's saying don't be harsh right at times harshness is even within it's a way of saying it's a way of looking it's a way of speaking. You may speak the right things, but do so harshly. You may do the right things, but do

22:28 so harshly. Paul's just as worried about the internal actions of the husbands as he is the external actions as well. So a few words here then to the married people among us, and I don't know, just by looking around, we're close to half, let's say, half married, half single, even just eyeballing it here in the room, but for the married people in particular right now, wives, wives, you are to submit, but not obey like children and slaves. Like, that's important. That is a qualitative difference. Paul uses a different word on purpose there. As one theologian put it, submission is not submersion. So then what is it? What is submission? What is biblical submission?

23:17 You can read books and articles for days, right, about this type of topic, but I think you can summarize it like this. Submission is actively putting yourself under the authority of another, right? It's you placing yourself under the authority of another, and wives, in this case, and it's your husband. It's not husbands, right? It's not every husband there is. It's your husband. So, wives, are you fighting against that created order in your heart? Does this idea of submission sound good to you?

23:52 Do you see it as biblical, even? Look, what's your understanding of submission as a woman, as a wife? Well, certainly I hope that it's not that you have to do anything and everything your husband says. Just run back up through chapter 3 and you can see very quickly, very easily that the call for all Christians is to live as a new heavenly being here on earth. And so if he, your husband, says something that doesn't line up with that, obviously you don't have to submit in that.

24:25 There's still a high bar for what our lives together are even to look like. In fact, if you're in a relationship that consistently or flagrantly violates the commands of scripture, if you're in physical danger then submitting to your husband sisters is not look like giving yourself over to abuse you should seek help and you should do so immediately but that situation those types of situations aside submission does very much look like putting yourself under the authority of your husband for this is how the lord created it and on the flip side of that husbands You don't love your wives only because she does a certain thing for you.

25:05 You love her because your love is to reflect Christ's love for the church. It's to be sacrificial. Look, your love is not based on a condition. Men, husbands, your love to your wife is not based on a condition. It's based on a covenant of love and joy and affection that you made when you married your wife. That's the complete opposite of being harsh, right? And frankly, even though our hearts don't want that at times and maybe even often, that's what we're called to do. So, husbands, what is your goal in loving your wife?

25:37 If you had to sit down and kind of write out, this is my goal today, this is how I want to love my wife, this is what I think it means to love my wife, what would that look like? Well, let me offer this. I think our goal as husbands should be to see that our wives grow in their love for the Lord. Right? You want to know how to demonstrate love for your wife? you'll do things that actively help her have a greater devotion to Jesus and a deeper resolve to obeying his word. You know why it's that simple in so many ways? Because everything else is going to flow out of that.

26:09 If your focus is on anything else, it's going to fall short of this, which is the most important thing. Husbands, your goal is to help your wife have a greater devotion to Jesus, to encourage her in that way, to gently lead her in that way. but a quick word then to singles in the room so if there's say again we're half and half and we're we're especially a very young church as a whole what about the singles did you guys just check out for the past few minutes I hope not if if you're single right I'm guessing that 99.999% of you are looking to be married hoping to be married at some point someday maybe you're looking for a relationship currently, maybe you're even in one right now. Either way, if you're in one or if you're looking for one and you can't see yourself doing this type of thing with that person, if you can't see yourself submitting to and loving that type of person, you should probably get out of that relationship. Look, putting a ring on the finger is not going to magically make

27:13 all of that go away. It's not going to magically change those circumstances. I get it. You don't submit in love now because you're not married, you've not taken that covenant, you should not do those things yet. But if the trajectory of that relationship doesn't appear to be headed down that course, brothers, sisters, you should probably consider getting out of that relationship even now. If submitting to that person, sisters, if loving that person, brothers, is not something you could ever see yourself doing. But Paul doesn't stop there, right? That's wives and husbands. He says more. What about the father and the child? Well, this one's very straightforward. Let's just jump straight into that one. Children in here. So I'm thinking, you know, I know most of the kids took off, real little ones took off for gospel project or were never in here, but I know there's some youth. I know there are still other children here in the room. So children in here, specifically those of you who live with your parents, right? So school-aged children, listen, listen up. Think

28:13 of all the reasons that Paul here could have listed as to why you should obey your parents why why should children obey their parents well you could say well they're the authority that he's placed in your life they love you they want what's best for you simply because mom and dad tell me that it's right yet what what does Paul appeal to here why does Paul actually urge children to obey their parents. What does it say? Because this pleases the Lord. Look, children, again, especially if you're being raised in a Christian home and kind of by and large you can trust your parents to be pushing you toward good, godly things, it's not ever, ever in your life going to be more straightforward or any easier for you to do something that explicitly, the scriptures say pleases the Lord than it is right now. You simply need to obey your parents. That's it. You need to obey your parents. Your obedience matters, and not just, you know, because your parents want

29:15 you to, and it's not just because then it keeps a nice, peaceful, easy, calm home, and not for the reputation of your family. No, it matters to the Lord. It pleases Him when you obey your parents. You want to know what to do in this stage of life, children then, young ones here in the room. You want to know what to do now that will please the Lord. You obey your parents because you're building up a muscle that will serve you the rest of your life. There will always be an authority in your life. There are always authorities in our lives, always people that we have to obey and submit ourselves to.

29:49 And you as a child have it very easy right now if you're being raised in a Christian home. You simply need to listen to your mother and your father and do what they say. And it pleases the Lord. What a sweet gift. What a wonderful thing to know. And on the flip side of that, fathers. And I think we can safely expand that out to include mothers for much of what is going on here. The flip side of this is that you understand, that we understand how living in light of Jesus' lordship changes our parenting.

30:21 It just radically changes our parenting. So you know well, if you're a parent, the temptation to push and to push and to push your child to obey, right? And you could even argue that, well, look. Look at Colossians 3, right? You should obey me. It's the right thing to do. But you might just push so hard that you actually discourage your child's obedience. Look parents, your words, your life, your actions, they can all work together to paint a picture for your children of heaviness, of unattainable goals, of it never being enough, of gracelessness in your home.

31:03 Parents, this should not be. Obeying you, especially fathers leading out in this, obeying you should be a joy, not a curse. Not because you say and do only easy and happy things, but because you point them to godliness, because you point them to the ways of the Lord. Look, fathers in particular, your words don't just simply have power to cause a bad day, right, for your kids to have a bad moment. Your words can actually pour out bitterness and stir up and provoke anger and make them resentful of you and of the gospel.

31:41 Parents, make sure this doesn't describe you. Make sure that your hearts are not so intent on encouraging a certain form or type or appearance of obedience, but make sure that your hearts are intent on pushing them to the Lord and his grace in their lives. The next set of relationships that Paul addresses is perhaps the most tricky one. frankly, it's the master and slave relationship. So a few very important notes for us to understand on this as we move forward. Number one, when thinking about this relationship, first and foremost, this institution of slavery has no immediate parallel in our culture, right? Here in America in 2023, it does not have an immediate parallel. And this is not even like 19th century slavery that that might have popped up into your head when you heard the word slave that's not what

32:41 paul is discussing here slavery in the ancient mediterranean world was was very much a way of life does not make it right but it was so much more integrated into the way of life where many commentators will even say it was an overwhelming majority of the population that would have been considered a slave of some kind so this is not a small demographic this is actually the majority of the demographic um while that doesn't make it right it does show how there could be slaves in the homes of christians in the first place right number two in that world there was no real way to launch a successful attempt an assault against slavery right there just wasn't in fact it seems that for christians then the best thing probably for them to do was to make sure that slaves were treated justly and fairly like like the text says right and that they were given human dignity so the hope would even be that if they became free that they would most likely stay under the provision of a master somewhere, someone who could provide for them. So Paul goes on to talk about this in 1 Corinthians 7, saying that if you become free, right, so he's got a category for

33:44 becoming free, but given the economic reality of the ancient world, they were still going to need provision somewhere. So perhaps they would even, as a freed person, be in that same relationship with the same master even as a freed person number three paul is not affirming slavery he's just not doing that here in fact he's going out of his way to address the slave something that was incredibly radical right the philosophers of the day didn't even consider slaves to be rational or moral beings let alone people who could have a relationship with the lord jesus and paul just completely upends all of that by addressing them here. And lastly, number four, nevertheless, all this is true, and then those slaves would have lived with their masters as a part of that ancient household, kind of all in the same house together. They most certainly were not family, right? This is still very much relationship of one person doing what another person tells them to do and doing only what that person tells them to do. All right, so what do we do with it, right?

34:49 If that's kind of the preamble to all of this, if that puts slavery in the ancient world into maybe a little bit clearer light, what does that mean for us? Well, praise God, we don't have anything like that in America in 2023. That is a good thing, right? That is a gift from the Lord that our society does not look like that. And yet, what are we to do? Well, I think the closest thing we have, and it's several steps removed from this, is that relationship of an employee and an employer, right?

35:22 We have a boss over us. If you've got a job, you've got a boss over you. And for many of us in this room, you are a boss, and you've got people underneath you. And the good news of the gospel should be like a chemical reaction to all of that, right? So you've got a job, and apart from the gospel, it's just merely a job. You just go, you earn a paycheck, you bring money back home. That's it. but you add the gospel and submission to the Lord Jesus to that mix, and all of a sudden you've got something completely different. That's what Paul is trying to show us here. Friends, in your jobs, in whatever work you do, you work for the Lord.

35:56 You don't finally work for your boss. You don't finally work for that company. You don't finally work for the money. You work for the Lord. You know that from this text that one day you'll get an inheritance that will far surpass any pat on the back, any job promotion, Any paycheck that you could possibly get. And employers, on the flip side of that, that small amount of authority you have, however much it is, wherever you sit on an org chart, it didn't come from you. It doesn't come from the boss above you, finally. You have a master over you.

36:28 You have a lord over you. So employers, bosses, be sure that you treat your employees justly and fairly, like the text says here, not according to the ways of the world, not according to the ways that the secular world place or workplace operates. So look, if you get to the end of this section from 3.18 to 4.1, if you get to the end of this section and you still think you're the Lord of your little empire, you've just flat out missed the point.

36:59 Paul has pushed so hard for so long now to show us that Christ Jesus alone is Lord. And in fact, in every one of our closest and most significant relationships, that should be clearly seen. But he doesn't just stop there. He goes on. So number two, point number two, a little more quickly, talks about our relationships with those outside the church. So one of the greatest things about Google is that you can research anything, right? You can find out anything that you want to know. One of the worst things about Google is that you can turn that weapon against your own body, right?

37:31 By that, I mean, if you've ever Googled what does this symptom mean, you found out in no more than three clicks from that question that you're going to die, right? You will die probably within the hour, right? It does not depend on what symptom you have. You can find out that it is a symptom of something deadly, and you should go to the ER immediately. So, friends, this happened to me last year. I was like seconds away from going to the ER, and Cindy stopped me, thankfully. It is crazy how when you begin thinking about something, it becomes more and more true in your mind and more and more consuming of your time and your mind.

38:06 I think that's one of the weird things about us as a people, right? You tend to point out our problems and our symptoms, and we tend to think about those problems and those symptoms all the more and more, and it kind of cycles down into despair. Well, that's the exact same cycle here that Paul is determined to stop. He's just looked at the ancient household and said, here's all the problems, here's the things we need to fix. Here's how we do this. And he knows we're going to just go headlong into that. And he says, nope, there are actually other things you have to consider too. So look at verse two. There's this sudden change from what we're just talking about. Why does Paul make that shift there?

38:40 Why does he suddenly turn what we're talking about? Well, he's turning our attention to those outside the church. He's now wanting us to look up outside the church. And really this is for the first time in the letter, at least in the sense of what we're to actively do to those outside the church not just avoiding false teachers but what are we supposed to do for those people it's fascinating what he tells them to do what does he say he says we're not to attack them we're not to avoid them we're actually to take the gospel to them right and to pray that the gospel would go forth verse three pray also for us that god may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of christ like in paul's mind for all the emphasis on christ as lord that shouldn't create an insular community sure it has implications for us as individuals and within our houses but it also causes to lift our eyes up and to see what else is out there that's what paul is asking the colossians to do he doesn't ask them to pray that he'd be released from prison or to pray for more spiritual blessings he's not afraid to do those things he does in other places but here he says no pray persistently pray steadfastly for what pray for what he's saying this if the message of

39:51 the gospel as he calls it here the mystery of christ if the message of the gospel is true if it's true for you then it needs to be proclaimed to others as well right they're there to pray that opportunities would come for paul to speak the gospel if jesus is lord for you colossians then he's actually Lord over everyone. He's Lord over everyone everywhere. And they need to hear that. Friends, this is true even in this room this morning. Jesus is Lord over every single one of us in here.

40:25 The letter to the Colossians has made that abundantly clear. Jesus rules over the entire universe from the smallest thing to the largest galaxy. Jesus holds it all together. and that's stunning right truly incredible but that same jesus is not just some sort of cosmic steward right he's not some sort of manager of the universe just kind of making sure it all stays there no he's king he's lord over everything but the bible makes it clear that we we down to the very last one of us have all raised our fist in rebellion against this king this one who rules the universe and because of that we deserve punishment we deserve death and yet and yet miraculously shockingly right as the mystery becomes clear for us we see that's not what's offered to us in the gospel instead what's offered to us in the gospel and in this mystery that paul proclaims it's that jesus the very son of god lived and died in your place right suffered in your place was raised again and now sits in heaven so that by faith you can come to him

41:27 and have a new eternal identity as a Christian. Look, we turn from our rebellion, we turn from our sin, and we turn to Jesus and trust him. And we're given all these things that Paul talks about here in chapter three. We're given a new identity. Our life is then hidden with Christ in heaven. Friends, those of you who are not Christians in the room, that's the mystery. But it's a mystery that's now made clear. What you need to do with it is you need to trust Jesus and turn from your sin and find salvation you need to do that even today but Paul doesn't just say to pray for the gospel to go forth and that's not it look at verse five or to walk in wisdom or six or to let their speech be gracious like those are all things that we know to do as a Christian right you can just start lining out these things you should do this you should do this you should do this but why is it so difficult for us why if we know those things

42:30 why do we struggle with those things i think the answer is still in that that passage it's because we don't see prayer as the first step in all of that we we try to evangelize but without prayer we try to proclaim the gospel but without praying we try to be wise with our time but without praying about that but when we stop praying for evangelism in particular especially for the evangelistic efforts both of those of others within our church as well as for our own evangelism becomes all the more burdensome doesn't it friends we can draw a direct line i think even in this passage between how much time we spend praying for the gospel to go forth and how faithful we are in evangelism friends prayer is the first step in evangelism so when that unofficial request comes into your inbox we'll pick on something easy what do you do with it right there's like 40 emails a day i get

43:30 it there's a ton of them but what do you do with that one is that just another delete you know just swipe and delete friends just in the past three or four days there's been like three or four evangelistic prayer requests that have come into our inboxes from fellow members? What do you do with those? You stop and pray maybe even a few times throughout the week for those things? Or perhaps even more pertinent, do you come to the PM service eager to pray for evangelistic requests? Look, the work of praying is not just aimed at individuals here, it's a corporate matter.

44:05 We as a church pray for evangelism. We as a church are encouraged to proclaim the gospel. If it's not already your habit, even as Alex mentioned earlier, let me encourage you to make it the first part of your habit by coming to the PM service, even tonight, that we might pray for evangelistic requests together. But Paul doesn't just stop there, right? He says, okay, it's the gospel and the good news of Jesus being Lord is going to shape your household. It's going to shape the way you look outside, but it also shapes the way you look at other Christians and other churches. So lastly, point number three, among other Christians and churches, briefly here, we have a tendency here to think that these are just like movie credits, right? That this is just the very end of the letter, just kind of scrolling by, it's just names, names, names. I don't have to really pay attention, but you know, kind of like a Marvel movie, if you don't wait to the very end, you're going to miss out on something that snuck in at the very end. You've got to make it all the way to the very end of this as well and

45:08 see what Paul is doing here. So look at who he names here. He's got just a laundry list of names. Verse 7, Tychicus. Verse 10, Aristarchus and Mark. Verse 11, Jesus, and not Jesus the Christ, but Jesus who's called Justice. Verse 14, Luke and Demas. None of them, by the way, are from Colossae, so they're all outsiders. Then verse 9, Onesimus. Verse 12, Epaphras. They appear to be from Colossae. And then verses 15 and 16, he mentions a church in Laodicea and a church that meets in Nympha's home.

45:39 What is he doing with this? What are these people doing? Well, they're encouraging. They're reporting. They're working alongside. They're comforting. Epaphras, he says, is laboring on their behalf. He's working hard to see them grow in the faith. What's important about all that? Why would he mention these? Well, I think it's this. Paul knows, believes, and expects for the Christians there in Colossae to be encouraged in their mutual dependence on other Christians. Tychicus is going to encourage them.

46:10 Epaphras is going to pray for them. Those men have been a comfort to Paul, and he thinks they will comfort the Colossians as well. Like this whole letter, as we've said now a few times, this whole letter has been about driving home the reality that Christ is Lord. Right? That there's full sufficiency. He's got final authority. he alone is Lord. And yet, right here at the very end, Paul is also quick to point out that even in light of that, believers still depend on one another. You see why he can say that? Do you see why he can make that argument? It's the same thing. It's because Christ is Lord. Look at how he describes these men. Tychicus is a fellow servant in the Lord. Onesimus is a faithful brother, right? Not by kin, but in the Lord. Aristarchus, Mark, and Justice are fellow workers for the kingdom of God.

46:57 Epaphras is a servant of Christ Jesus. Look, friends, this has huge implications for us as a church and for you as a member of this church. We should be thinking of others in this church by those same types of terms. Maybe you don't use those terms, right? It might be weird to go up to a brother today and say, you are a fellow servant, right? You are a fellow worker for the kingdom of God. And yet, those categories should be how we think of one another in this church. When was the last time that happened? when was the last time maybe even a fellow member that you don't know at all or you know very rarely you thought of them as a fellow worker in the kingdom of god you thought of them as a brother in christ thought of them as a servant of christ jesus or is it just that person that sits on the other side of the room that you don't know anything about friends membership membership in a church is far more than just throwing your name on a roll, right? It is a new relationship with other Christians

48:00 in the local church. It's a category shift, thinking of one another in these types of ways. But it's also more than that, what's going on here in this passage. Notice, again, who's on that list. It's Christians from other churches. It's Christians from other areas. Look, we're not the only church. We're not the only Christians, and that's a great thing. We pray every Sunday for other churches and for Christians in other places in the world. It seems here that we're to have meaningful relationships with those churches.

48:34 So, for instance, that's why this week we've sent seven of our members to Ras Okaima to celebrate what's going on there in a decade of partnership with them and the ways they've encouraged us and the ways we've encouraged them. It's why we've sent people out and we continue to partner with churches like River City Baptist Church in Richmond, Hunsinger Lang Baptist Church here in town, Twin Falls Community Church in Idaho, and Temple Hills Baptist Church in Maryland, right? It's why we pray and we send teams to a church in Central Asia and to work going on in Southeast Asia. It's why we've happily sent off members who've gone out to pastor in other churches all over the U.S. and the world.

49:10 Friends, those are not just relationships that should be taken lightly. And we don't pat ourselves on the back as though we cause them to happen or as though we can take credit for the good that's happening in those churches. No, of course not. But in light of this passage, those are the types of relationships that we should have as a church and all because Christ has now given us a new way to think about how we relate to other Christians and other churches. So friends, because Jesus is Lord, we as a church, we as a church trust that we can be a comfort and an encouragement and a help to other churches who confess that same truth just as we think they can be an encouragement for us. So as Christians then, we confess that Jesus is Lord. That's what this has all been about, this entire letter, that reality. But it's not just a theological one. It's a deeply practical one. It's one that changes every single one of our relationships. So from our home, from the way we

50:11 relate to others in our household, to the way we relate to those outside the church who are not Christians, to the way that we relate to other Christians and other churches, every single one of our relationships is shaped by this reality. Church, let's be sure today that our relationships match up with our confession that Jesus is Lord. Let's pray. Father, this morning we thank you that Jesus is indeed Lord. We thank you that as the ruler of the universe, he loves us and he cares for us.

50:46 He's called us to himself. Oh God, we praise you for the gift of salvation through our Savior Jesus. We pray though that in every single one of these categories of relationships that we've looked at from your word this morning, from those in our family and in our households and in our employment, to those with people who are not yet Christians, to those who are in other churches and even in other places of the world that you would cause our hearts to understand how we are to relate to them because Jesus is Lord. God, we pray that you would do that work in us and we pray it all in Jesus' name. Amen.