seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Colossians 4:1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
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.
7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant[a] in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our[b] 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[c] 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.
a. Colossians 4:7 Or slave; also in verse 12
b. Colossians 4:8 Some manuscripts that he may know about your
c. Colossians 4:11 Greek only ones of the circumcision group
This is from the easy English site.
Slaves and masters are equal as Christians. Christ is Lord and master of everyone. So, both slaves and masters have to obey their master, Christ. Slaves should obey all their human master’s commands. But they must not do anything that is against God’s laws. Christ has more authority than masters have in this world. Slaves felt that they were not important people. Nobody respected them. But Paul told them to accept their circumstances. In John 13:1-17, Jesus did a slave’s job. In Matthew 20:28, Jesus said that he had come to this world to serve people.
In Paul’s days, many masters were very severe. They made their slaves work very hard. Often slaves became weak and then they died. Slaves did not have any rights. Masters owned the slaves. Masters sold the slaves that they did not like. Christian masters now had to behave in a different way. They had a master in heaven. He was good and he was fair. Therefore, they should behave like him.
Christians did not meet in a special building at this time. Instead, they met in people’s homes. The Christians read aloud Paul’s letter in their meetings. This was how they learned more about Christ and about the Christian life. Then they took the letter to other churches. And they read what Paul had written to other churches. Paul wrote many letters to different churches. However, they lost some of the letters. We do not have the letter that Paul wrote to Laodicea. But some teachers of the Bible suggest that it may be the letter to the Ephesians.
This chapter didn't talk to me. Sometimes I read and read and read and then I have to decide what the topic is.... and then how to pull that topic out. Today was different. It opened like it was the fourth page of a letter written on prison stationary and the topic from page 3 didn't all fit on page 3 so he finished it on page 4... and then did his closing. Masters be kind to your slaves. That's the topic. On top of that... it's not even about the slaves... it's about the masters.... Christian Masters.... Christian Bosses.
Back in the days of Paul... it was legal to work a man to death. A slave was no longer a fellow human.... A slave was property... like a hammer or a screwdriver. Slaves weren't all humans of a certain color in those days. This is not a black white thing. There were Jews, Greeks, and Romans who were slaves. If a human got themselves and debt and couldn't pay their way out of it.... they had to become slaves. If a parent got into debt, they would sell their children. Debtors prison was a real thing. Human life didn't amount to much unless you were one of the head dogs or a master of some dogs of your own.
Paul said things are different for Christians. We are all top dogs... right under our Brother Jesus. Paul said.... all humans are equal because of their faith in Jesus.
Some time ago... I talked about my friend's brother. They lived up on the hill. Their dad was a Captain in the Navy. My dad was under his command. Their mom lived in an iron lung. They also had a couple of horses... which I just loved as a kid. There were a couple of girls.... that I played paper dolls with. There was one boy... and he played with those little green army soldiers all the time. He would set up huge war scenes and then pretend the battle was taking place... he was controlling everything... some of his little green soldiers were supposed to die. That's how it was. They had no value on their own... they were just one of hundreds of other little green army soldiers. When he got a new bag of little green soldiers... they were counted.... but then they had no value until they were mutilated or they died... and then they would be counted again..... in a different tally. All those soldiers had one master.... my friend's brother.... and none of them had any value during the battle... they were used... moved.... destroyed or lucky... but not one of them had more value than another.
That's how the slaves were treated in those days.... but.... some of the masters of Paul's day... found out about Jesus. Some had given their lives over to Jesus. Some of those rich guys were like the master that Paul was talking about on page 3. Paul said the master and her female slave were both beaten for their faith. As they were being sentenced and marched to their beating... the master held the slaves hand. They were going to suffer equally. They were no longer slave and master... they were two humans standing up for the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah.
Paul is explaining that although our life isn't perfectly perfect when our head comes out of the Baptismal Pool... a change does take place. A master would still be a master... but they are not the top dog anymore... they are equals. When God was sculpting them... much like the machine stamping out all those hundreds of little green soldiers.... there were none bigger than another.... each, while unique, was loaded up with individual talents and plans..... but equal to the next. When God was sculpting a Roman Soldier it received the same number teeth, lips, nose, eyes, hands and feet as the Jewish slave. Each was unique but equal to God.
Paul said.... now that these people had become Christians... they were still Master and Slave but now... the slave was no longer just property. Now the Christian Master would recognize the Christian slave as a Brother or Sister in Christ. The relationship had to change. Masters were called to show Jesus in their everyday work... and that would mean that picking up a whip and beating a fellow Christian to death was not the thing to do anymore.
Paul said... put the whip away... these are your brothers and sisters.
