Date: November 11, 2025 Lord’s Day: 44
Series: Colossians the Mystery of Christ Title: The Loving Order
Text: Colossians 3:12-23
Apostles Creed
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
This is the Reading of God’s Word
Colossians 3:12-23
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 18 Wives, submit 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 provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, 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. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
Introduction
A much younger version of me hiked a very good portion of the Appalachian Trail. I was thinking about that several day ago and these thoughts popped in my head.
Not everyone is a hiker. In fact, I do not think I am a hiker any longer. I enjoyed the freedom of it. This led me to think, what could be done with hiking to make it more attractive?
Some of the first thoughts that came into my head were they could build some restaurants. Can you imagine the outcry? Can you imagine how silly that would be. But yet, at the same time it is true.
If they built some Chick-fil-a’s, Popeyes, Applebees right on the trail, It may increase the number of people interested in hiking.
What if they built some Holiday Inn express or Hampton Inn and Suites? The trail is 2200 miles long and goes through many cities and even very close to NYC. So there are some hotels and places to eat along the way. But there are 100 mile sections that are remote and have no access to a town.
So what if on those stretches they put some places to eat and sleep? The outcry would be loud and deserved.
One does not start a trip on the A.T. to get to McDonald’s. Trips on the A.T. are to get away from these sorts of places. It would be absurd to consider such a thing. If this were to happen, at that moment it would no longer be the A.T. It would just be any other place America.
Yet this exact same thing happens in the Christian church. Again, I speak in generalities with no specific accusation at Donnel’s Creek.
There are often people who desire to bring the things of the world into the church. The desire (and the reality of what is happening) in what some are calling churches, is let us build things that are not in the word. Allow us to erect some of these things that we like – things we don’t want to let go of and change – and it is at that point that it ceases to be a church.
This is the beauty of the word. Our passage from Ezekiel 36 to which I often refer: This word is one method in which the Spirit works. It turns our heart, a heart that is rock hard and resistant to God, into this soft substance in which it can be shaped.
Those things that are of the world are fallen, corrupt and anti God. These are the things for which we must be shaped.
It is like this piece of play dough here. I am taking this play dough and shaping it into a bowl. I am the one shaping it. It is my mind that comes up with this idea, I am going to shape you into a bowl or a cup or an ash tray (that is what most of our art projects from school ended up being).
Yet, what if this piece of play dough said to me, I do not want to be made into this. Make me into a pitcher. What if it said, make me into a book end?
This is the clay telling the potter what it wants to be. It is absurd, yet there are scattered here and there through this country this morning this is absolutely is what is taking place.
This is the desire I have for us with this passage today. That in all things we all God’s word to shape us. That we do not turn God’s word into what is attractive to our flesh.
I put this cactus out here this morning and you may think, why is this cactus up here on stage. What crazy thing has Matthew planned for us.
This was the mental image I had while working through this text. I have not been here a year yet and some of you may have read ahead in Colossians and found this text. Here we are.
Wives submit. Slaves obey. How is he going to handle this text. This is why the picture of the cactus came to mind. Because how do you handle a cactus? How do you handle a cactus? Carefully. You will end up stuck and hurting. Some just prefer to not hold the cactus at all. We can skip right over this passage right?
The answer to that is no. If it is in the text we will address it.
We will not address the text as the world does. Why be afraid of God’s word unless we have been building McDonald’s on the A.T.?
What is this text saying? What does it mean when it says, wives submit to your husbands? What is this about slaves? Does this not make the Christian faith look archaic or place it in some very bad light? Why doesn’t Paul encourage the readers of this letter to FLEE the slave owner?
We will address all of these issues but first let us seek the Lord’s blessing?
Slaves?
My desire here is to go to the end of the passage first and address that because it will greatly aid us in understanding the first part of this passage.
What did he mean here by slaves? This passage, along with the book of Philemon and the companion passage in Ephesians is used by critics of the Christian faith.
What we bring to the table in our culture when slavery is mentioned is the slavery that was in the early part of the country. Does Scripture condone this?
The answer is no. The early abolitionists founded their argument against slavery in Scripture. William Wilberforce, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Jay, Thomas Paine and Fredrick Douglass were not just against slavery, they used Scripture to justify their position.
There were different types of slavery.[1] I can list several here, some of them were good and some of them were ungodly. We have briefly discussed these in the adult Sunday class in the past year so for some this is a repeat.
Types of slavery both good and bad:
- Employee & Employer – There are some people who have a knack with money. They are just naturally talented and gifted with investing and being at the right place at the right time. They see a need and fill it and work hard. Contrary to the socialist thieves of our day, they are not stealing anything or taking advantage of anyone, they just are gifted in this way. In the past, a man may have seen that he does not have this gift and see that gift in another person and they make an agreement. The one works for the other. Today we call it an employee and employer relationship.
- Abandoned – There would be at times unwanted children. Parents would take them to abandoned places such as garbage dumps and other remote areas and left exposed to die. This was common in Roman time and it was called infanticide by exposure. Philosophers and Christians were great critics of this. Often, the government would raise these children and they would forever be owned by the government never to be free.
- Debt & Debtor – There were occasions where someone need a loan and it would be arranged. If there every came a time when the debtor could not pay the loan, they would make arrangements to work off the debt. You even see this scenario play out in the Proverbs (22:7)”The ruck rule over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lende” The debtor would simply make an agreement, I will work for you for such and so and when it is complete the debt is paid.
- Spoils of War – It was not uncommon after a victory in war to take those alive and put them to slave labor. This was frequently done.
These are some of the examples. There are others but not all slavery was bad. Roman records indicate that almost half of the population were slaves. They represented all professions and social classes. There were household servants, laborers, teachers, doctors and managers who were slaves.
It is simply untrue to say that Scripture supports what we had early in our history. Exodus 21:6 says that the penalty for that type of slavery was death.
Maybe now you can see how the early founding fathers mentioned previously used Scripture to support their position. This slavery topic is not as cut and dry as it would seem to be.
We come to this passage in Colossians and view it in a whole new light. Paul was not referring to what we had in early America.
Go back to 2:12, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with one another, forgiving one another. Put on love, which binds everything together, let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, let the word of Christ dwell, teaching each other, doing ALL things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. . . .”
Understanding The Context
So here is the issue – my translation puts a title there, a heading. It says, “Rules for Christian Households.” What an interruption! Right there in the middle of the thought.
This is all one context. This is not a new thought. This is a continuation of a thought.
Put on these things. Here is how you treat each other and why. As said before, Paul is writing to Christians instructing them how to be Christian.
“Whatever you do in word your deed to all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Here is an example of how I have misinterpreted this passage for decades. Mainly because of this heading “Rules for Christian Households”. It says something similar in every translation. (NKJV The Christian Home, NIV Instructions for Christian Households, NASB Family Relations)
You may think I am making a big deal of nothing. The title does not help because it makes it appear as if it was a new thought.
I have looked at Col 3:17, “whatever you do . . .do all in name of the Lord” in 2 ways. 1. Life worship. That worship is not just something we do here at the Creek on Sunday AM. Your LIFE is to be worship.
I have also interpreted it as 2. Whatever your job is, teacher, welder, carpenter, farmer, gas man . . . do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. That we are all working for the Lord.
Even these headings which have been mentioned are proper, just poorly placed.
How you may look at that and say, “Those things are true.”
Let me share this with you. There is only ONE interpretation of a passage. Now there are many APPLICATIONS. There maybe a dozen or a hundred applications of the passage. But when it comes to interpretation, there is only ONE. That is it.
Those two things I mentioned are applications. They are valid. They are true. But it is not the interpretation of this passage.
The context is, slaves, because of putting on Christ . . chosen, loved, kindness . . forgiving, in peace . . because of this serve your masters. Whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. This is a continued thought. Do not let the heading (added by the book publisher) throw you off.
He goes through this list: wives, husbands, children, slaves masters. Because of 12 through 17 here is how it looks for you. This is how it plays out.
We can’t allow culture, who does not even believe in this Bible, has no regard that it is the word of God, to come in a cherry pick verses and stir up controversy.
“How in the world can you Christians believe in slavery? What about you women . . . submit? What is this submission thing? That is crazy talk!”
They have no idea what they are talking about.
If you come to this passage in Colossians and think it is a cactus passage, the you are unaware the impact culture has had on your thinking. You are more prone to build McDonalds on A.T. This is the result of the transgression in the Garden of Eden.
The Beginning of the Issue
Before the fall there was total unity. The case can be made that the perfect unity between the trinity was there at creation between Adam and Eve. It was a perfect union. Can you imagine that? There was absolutely no strife.
This is not because the man was better than the woman. This passage in Colossians 3 is not about man better than woman. It is clearly a passage of God is molding us, God is shaping us and this is how it looks, husband, WIFE (not woman), children, slaves and masters.
Can you see that in its framework?
Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and in Genesis 3 we have the confrontation with our Lord’s judgement upon those guilty. To the woman, he said, “I will increase your pain in childbearing. . . your desire shall be for your husband but he shall rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16)
The original language here (also used in Genesis 4:8) indicates that she will be in opposition of the male headship. This will be an ongoing struggle. This will result in damaging conflict in marriage.
This rebellion that exists in marriage points all the way back to the Garden. You most likely did not know this.
Eve was not the only one affected by this. Adam will also abscond his responsibilities as the leader of the relationship.
So does this play out? Paul writes the same advice to the Ephesians. Remember, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians were all written at the same time as Paul was in prison.
“Wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church . . . Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:22-23, 25)
That is a heavy call. Here is how I am like Adam, I would rather trade. Loving your wife as Christ loved the church is a big hill to climb.
I have stood between a man and woman as they get married. I address this issue because it needs to be addressed. Our culture wants to overlook it. Let’s just skip this passage.
No, let’s look at it square in the eye because what woman, what sane woman, what Christian woman would hate it if her husband loved her like Christ loves the church?
Men, it is a high call. It is far more difficult to live up to our task than for the women to submit. But when we are loving like this, with the Spirit changing us, molding us, the roles in a marriage are much easier to accept.
We have no issue with SUBMISSION in any other area in life. We really don’t. We understand that the boss is over us as a role. Does not mean he or she is a better person. Does not mean that he or she is a more valuable person. We are equal. They have a role, we have a role.
We have no issue with parent to child. This passage shows the relationship of parents having headship over the children. Culture doesn’t look twice at this . . .but that word . . .submit.
Military, we have no issue there. There are various ranks. In God’s eyes is the private less important than the four star general? No. Equal status as a human being.
However, we get to marriage and when headship or leadership has been assigned by God, from creation (this is a creation ordinance) there is a negative reaction.
Yet sin has invaded all relationships and this is undeniable. You may ask questions:
- What about abuse? (God absolutely does not want this)
- What about past injustices? (arrogance, credit cards/Ms. Elizabeth)
- My husband isn’t worth submitting to. (prayer/church/may be right)
Sin has not just affected the marriage relationship, it has affected everything. Men who draw back from loving their wives properly. As Christ loved the church. There is your standard.
Jesus submitted. The call from Paul is for Husbands to be like Christ in their love and wives to be like Christ in their submission.
Jesus submitted and was equal with God. Philippians 2:5-10 we are encouraged to have the mind of Christ “who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped by made himself nothing, taking on the form of a . . .slave.”
You see that? Jesus was equal with God, submitted to the point of a slave. It goes on to mention that Jesus submitted to the death on a cross. This, men is the love we are to have for our wives. Love her as Christ loved the church. You would give your life for her.
Isn’t this a beautiful passage? My words are not directed at any one person Today. I would never do that from the Pulpit unless absolutely necessary.
My words are encourage us to not permit culture to remove the beauty of it. Do not allow that to happen. We take our cues, our direction, our affections from Christ and His word.
[1] For further study on this topic John MacArthur has an outstanding book and sermon series entitled “Slave” on GTY.org.