seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Colossians 3:18 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.
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.
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.
This is from the commentary, and these verses jump over to the next chapter.Wives, submit to your own husbands: This defines the sphere of a wife’s submission — to her own husband. The Bible never commands nor recommends a general submission of women unto men. It is commanded only in the spheres of the home and in the church. God does not command that men have exclusive authority in the areas of politics, business, education, and so on.
Husbands, love your wives: Paul’s words to husbands safeguards his words to wives. Though wives are to submit to their husbands, it never excuses husbands acting as tyrants over their wives. Instead, a husband must love his wife, and the ancient Greek word translated love here is agape.
Not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God: We are always tempted to work just as hard as we have to, thinking we only have to please man. But God wants every worker to see that ultimately, they work for Him. Therefore, they should do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. God promises to reward those who work with that kind of heart.
Being vigilant in it with thanksgiving: We are to be vigilant in prayer, but always praying with thanksgiving for the great things God has done.
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside: The Christian life isn’t only lived in the prayer closet. There also must be practical, lived-out Christianity, which lives wisely toward those who are outside. How we speak has a lot to do with this, so we must let our speech always be with grace.
In other words, Behave!Paul's been telling us, when Jesus comes back, He's going to take us to His place. We'll be welcome there. It'll be our new home! We're adopted children of the Lord God.
Meanwhile, we have to Behave while we are stuck here on earth for a while longer.
We're no longer lost souls. We have accepted Jesus as our Savior. We have accepted Jesus as our Heavenly Brother. We are Christians.
We are indeed Special!
We are called to act better because we know better.
My mom used to tell me... "You know how to behave! Now Behave!"
Paul didn't think he could be clearer... but my mom made it crystal clear!
Now Behave!
