Alive in Christ: Christ at Home and Christ at Work

We're continuing our series in the book of Colossians.

Paul is writing this letter to this new young church in the little town of Colossa.

And he's asserting the absolute supremacy of the resurrected Jesus over all other gods, religions, worldviews, spiritual systems.

Because of Jesus' resurrection, he gives his followers new life.

He gives them a new nature.

He writes in the beginning of chapter 3, you have been raised with Christ.

And so in chapter 3, he unfolds what this new nature looks like.

Two weeks ago, we heard how Paul was pressing this truth into our personal lives.

He wrote, to put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you, and to put on the new self, which is being renewed in the knowledge after the image of its creator.

Last week, we heard how he expands what this new nature looks like in community with each other.

Today, in this passage, Paul is pressing that reality into the home network.

If you're paying attention, that first reading, you might have noticed a couple words.

It might have grabbed your attention.

The words submit, obey.

And for many of us, they bring up negative emotions, defensive postures.

Why is that?

Why is that?

So I knew this was coming, this passage, a couple weeks ago.

And at first, I thought, this is what I'm going to say.

We just don't like the word submit.

Because we don't like to submit.

We are rebellious people, not liking to submit.

We need to submit to God.

And I thought, that's probably not very pastoral, even though it's true, not the great pastoral approach to take.

So I thought, why don't you try being empathetic?

So I tried empathy.

That didn't work.

So I asked other people what they thought.

Just got their input.

And, you know, after talking to them, I realized, you know, I have the experience it takes to understand why these words are difficult.

I think we have a hard time with the word submit because we associate it with the abuse or misuse of power.

Many of us have been on the receiving end of an abuse of power by a parent, a boss, a spouse.

And some of us have been on the giving end of it.

I know I have.

I worked at a church ten years ago as a director of music in Florida.

And I was noticing that it was my friend that was the sound technician week after week.

And I thought, oh, he really likes working with me.

So I asked him, so what happened to the other sound technicians?

And he said, nobody else wants to work with you, Dan.

I was impatient, impetuous, like a child.

I was misusing authority and power.

Okay, so I know that the word submit is difficult because of an abuse of power.

Another problem we face is that we know this passage and others like it in the Bible themselves have been abused.

And it's affected us personally.

And again, the misuse of the scripture affected my family.

My parents came to faith in their mid-30s.

And they joined a church that was one of the only gospel-preaching churches in town.

So we had people of all types in our church.

And they were very excited to learn about the Christian faith and about Jesus.

So people would come and bring books of various kinds.

And one time this guy came and he brought a couple books.

And he sat in our living room.

And my parents were full of questions.

My dad had a couple questions.

And then my mom asked a question about baptism.

She said, why are there different kinds of baptism?

What are they?

And crickets.

Complete silence.

And the guy had his Bible.

And he opened it up very slowly and deliberately.

And said,

As in all the churches of the saints,

the women should keep silent in the churches.

For they are not permitted to speak.

But should be in submission as the law also says.

He closed his Bible.

And my mom asked the question,

because she was new to the faith,

and she hadn't baptized my brother or myself,

and was wondering if she had done something wrong by not doing that.

So on top of the shame,

she was already feeling about that.

A new shame.

Double shame.

By the misuse and abuse of a passage of scripture.

And I don't even know the guy,

but I'm still having to work to forgive him.

Yeah.

Not a scene from The Handmaid's Tale.

That happened in my living room.

So those inside the church and outside the church

have used these passages to reinforce cultural patterns of oppression

that we are born into and live with every day.

But it doesn't mean that we should jettison them.

As a matter of fact,

I think that as we look intently into this passage,

we're going to love it.

Embrace it.

First, we need to ask God for help

as we tackle this together.

So let's pray.

Lord, would I not misuse or abuse this passage?

Would you give me wisdom as I speak?

For we would hear your voice

and what you would have to say

to the church in Washington, D.C.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

The Bible is full of imperatives.

Do this.

Do that.

Sometimes the Bible has instructions or commands

that don't seem very clear.

Some are very clear.

So we hear, do not steal.

Like, that makes sense.

We have a good idea why we shouldn't steal.

Other instructions are less clear

or they tend to,

it seems like,

they contradict other instructions in the Bible.

The wise person diligently searches the scriptures

to make sense of these instructions.

And there's a way to do it.

One way to do it is to find it in its context,

to place it in a large narrative.

In this book, After Virtue,

the philosopher Alistair MacIntyre

tells a hypothetical story that's very short.

You're standing at a bus stop.

And a young man next to you

leans over.

And he's a complete stranger.

He leans over you and says,

the name of the common wild duck

is Histrionicus,

Histrionicus,

Histrionicus.

And that's it.

That's all he says to you.

Now, the meaning is very clear

and it's actually right,

from what I know.

But you have no idea why he's saying it.

Because it's out of the blue.

It doesn't fall into any narrative or story.

It's just this random comment.

Like, perhaps he's mentally ill.

But perhaps, like, there's a bigger story

that this account fits into.

Perhaps it's a case of mistaken identity

where he thought you were the one

who asked him a question at the library

the day before.

You had asked,

or he thought you had asked,

what is the name of the common wild duck?

And so now he thought he's seen you the next day

and he tells you.

Or he is just leaving his psychotherapist's office

who's encouraging him to come out of his shyness

by talking to strangers.

What should I say?

Oh, say anything at all.

Well, that would explain why he said that.

Or,

or he's a spy.

Or he's a spy

and he's waiting at a prearranged rendezvous

and he's just uttered the code sentence

which will identify him to you

as contact.

Now, in each of these scenarios,

the thing he says makes sense

once it's put into a narrative.

The narrative also determines

how you respond to it.

So if we want to make sense of Paul's instructions

and how to respond,

it would be good to understand the narrative

into which they are placed.

So,

you can start at the beginning

or even before the beginning.

Before the world was created,

God existed as one God

and three persons

enjoying from eternity past

a dance of mutual love

and delight.

He then created the world good

and he made man in his own image

male and female.

And they would also experience

a life together of mutual love and delight.

He instructed them to be fruitful

and multiply

and to get to work

caring for the garden

in which they were placed.

So at the very beginning,

we see the institutions of marriage,

family, and work.

Interesting that Paul addresses those

in this passage too.

And then came the fall.

Wanting to be like God,

Adam and Eve disobeyed God

and everything broke

and fell apart.

Instead of mutual love and affection,

marriage became a power struggle.

Family life immediately suffered

as brother turned against brother,

literally.

And work became toilsome

and backbreaking

as thorns and thistles grew up.

And very soon thereafter,

email was invented.

Jump ahead to Paul's day

and humanity

had experienced millennia

of humans owning other humans.

Wives, children, and slaves

had varying degrees of status,

but most often

they had the status of property.

Now many philosophers

in the centuries leading up to Paul

had things to say

about the relationships

within the family.

And when I say family,

I mean the household,

parents, children, and servants.

If you had noticed

a change in tone

or in style

in this passage of Colossians

from the passages

that we've read

in the past few weeks,

it's because Paul's using

a specific format

or a genre.

It's called

the household codes.

And this format

is also found,

this structure is found

in other ancient writing.

Aristotle wrote,

the science of household management

has just three divisions.

one of the relation

of master to slave,

one of paternal relation,

and one of the conjugal relation.

For it is part of household science

to rule over wife and children.

Philosophers saw

an orderly universe,

and so they based their teaching

on the laws of nature.

This is the way the world is,

so this is how you should order your life,

to be in harmony with nature.

In reference to the household,

Plato wrote,

the stronger should rule

and the weaker should be ruled.

Now what Paul does here

in Colossians

is he takes this format,

the household codes,

a genre,

if you will,

that already existed

outside of Paul's writings,

but instead of looking

to nature

for determining

how various members

of a household

should relate to one another,

Paul bases these

household codes

on the new nature.

Christ has given you

a true humanity

based on a divine pattern,

lived out not in self-assertion,

but in self-giving.

The institutions of family

and work that were created

good and wholesome,

but were broken by the fall,

are renewed by the power

of Jesus' resurrection.

One last thing to say

about the context

is that Paul is writing

to a very specific community

and a very specific time

and a very specific empire.

He's not remaining abstract,

but he's getting very concrete.

This is what new life looks like

in a small town,

in the exurbs of the Roman Empire.

And I'll refer more to this later.

But having looked at the context

and narrative,

let's look at these verses.

After.

Grab this.

A general observation first.

That what makes this setting

in Colossae

similar to our own day

is that Paul is pressing

the reality of living

new resurrection life

into the place

where we are most ourselves.

Into the place

where we are most ourselves.

In other words,

it is most likely at home

that you are to be short-tempered

and say perhaps mean things

to your family members,

the ones you love the most.

Things that would cause you

to lose friends

or maybe not be able

to keep a job.

But for some reason,

and you know this,

this is where we tend

to be ourselves.

In our family.

Or among our housemates.

When we look at these verses,

and if we were to take out

the subjects and the objects,

what we're left with

are statements of submissive love

and sacrificial love.

Ultimately, Paul does not require

of one member

anything that he doesn't require

of another.

All members of a household

are to do as Paul earlier

instructs the church

to put on compassionate hearts,

kindness,

humility,

meekness,

and patience,

bearing with one another,

forgiving each other

as they had been forgiven

by the Lord.

Let's look at these three pairings.

The first is wives and husbands.

There's generally two ways

of viewing verses like these

in scripture.

The first is an egalitarian view.

And egalitarianism sounds like

what you think it is.

That is,

there is an equality

between male and female.

Men and women are fully equal

in the church

and in the family.

And egalitarians would point

to a verse like

Galatians 3.28.

There is neither Jew nor Gentile,

neither slave nor free.

There is neither male and female,

for you are all one

in Christ Jesus.

Okay?

Egalitarianism.

On the other hand,

a second view is called

complementarian.

Complementarianism says

much of the same thing

that male and female

are equal in terms of value

and in every way.

There's just a differentiation

in roles.

And they would look to

the Trinity.

Equality in the three persons

of the Trinity.

But a differentiation in roles.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And they would point to a verse

like Ephesians 5.23.

Which says,

For the husband is the head

of the wife,

as Christ is the head

of the church.

And one finds both

of these views

in Anglicanism,

in our tradition,

in our denomination

called the ACNA.

But with either view,

the outcome of these verses,

I would suggest,

is the same.

Because Paul says

in Ephesians 5.21,

the beginning of the household codes

in that letter,

a sister letter,

the letter to Colossians,

he writes there,

that husbands and wives

are to submit to one another

out of reverence for Christ.

Submit to one another

out of reverence for Christ.

And there we find freedom.

Freedom in submission.

C.S. Lewis wrote that

if the home is to be

a means of grace,

it must be a place of rules.

The alternative to rule

is not freedom,

but the unconstitutional tyranny

of the most selfish member.

The opposite,

the alternative,

to rule,

is not freedom,

but the unconstitutional tyranny

of the most selfish member.

And if we're with ourselves,

and we really know ourselves,

and we see the depths of our hearts,

we realize that we

are the most selfish member.

I, I know this,

I'm the most selfish member

in my family.

I'm the most selfish member

of this church.

But I find freedom

in submission.

We find freedom

in submission

to each other

or in relationships

and ultimately to Christ.

That frees us

from tyranny of self.

If we could properly

associate submission

with freedom,

we would probably

love the word.

If someone is truly

laying down their life

for us,

submitting to them

doesn't sound like

such a bad idea.

Now, single people,

there's a lot of you here.

And this,

this also applies

generally to life

with each other

in community

and to life

with your housemates.

Submit to one another.

And it should also

clue you in

as to the kind

of person

you are to marry

if you foresee

that in your future.

Now, too often

it's attractiveness

that determines

the kind of person

we want to marry.

Wouldn't it be great

if I could be seen

on that person's arm?

When we read

Paul's instructions,

it should make us

ask about

a potential mate.

Will this person

prefer me

over themselves?

Could I submit

to this person's

preferences

and character?

In doing so,

could we be

of one will

with each other,

experiencing

a life of mutual love,

delight,

forgiveness?

And for those of you

who are married,

submitting to each other

means dying

to one another.

Let's look at

the next pairing

of children

and parents.

It's notable

that children

are dressed at all

in verse 20.

This is a letter

written by

a spiritual giant

intended to be

read aloud

to the whole

gathered church

in Colossae

and then the children

hear,

hey kids,

here's something

for you.

Paul says

children should obey.

You know,

the kids probably

knew that,

right?

That they should obey.

And yes,

that's important.

Yes,

Paul wants them

to obey.

But I think

this command

is for the

adults' benefit.

And by placing

children first,

when children

hear their name

first,

Paul is telling

the adults

that children

are equally

members

of this congregation

as the adults.

Not an afterthought,

not a nuisance,

but brothers

and sisters,

what a beautiful

picture Paul is

painting of a new

humanity

where children

are held

as equals

of adults.

And then there's

parents.

Now the text

says fathers,

but we can read

parents here.

And the kids,

by the way,

as this letter

is being read

aloud,

their attention

has been gotten

and so they're

paying attention

and they hear

that parents

are not to

provoke their

children lest

they become

discouraged.

Now parents

had the right

in this culture

to exasperate

their children

whenever and

however they

wanted to,

and Paul

says,

stop it.

Quit it.

And the children

hear that and

think,

well,

I could obey

a parent like

that.

A parent who's

not going to

exasperate me

and embitter

me.

And let's

quickly apply

this,

parents,

and for many

of you who

foresee yourselves

being parents

someday,

as parents,

your children

do wrong

things.

And they will

do wrong

things.

That's what

kids do.

The temptation

at that

point is

to,

well,

actually,

after they

do the

wrong thing,

often we

as parents

get angry.

That's what

parents do

too,

right?

And then

we have to

apologize.

And the

temptation is

to qualify

the apology,

to say,

son or

daughter,

what you

did was

wrong.

I was

right to

correct you,

but wrong

in the way

I corrected

you.

I was

right to

correct you,

but I

shouldn't have

raised my

voice.

And I

would

suggest,

and this

is good

with each

other too,

that we

never qualify

our apologies.

That's just

always we

say,

son,

I was

wrong.

I should

not have

raised my

voice.

It was

ugly,

and I'm

sorry.

I think

children

know when

you're

qualifying your

apologies.

They can

see through

that.

And I

think that's

a little

embittering.

Let's look

finally at

bond servants

and masters.

Now,

the words

bond servants,

servants,

and slaves

are all

translations of

the same

word,

doulos.

Some slaves

served

voluntarily.

Most were

considered

property.

On one

hand,

one might

expect Paul

to say the

whole system

is unjust

and should

be

dismantled.

Slavery

is condemned

in the

Bible.

Man

stealing

is

harshly

condemned.

Kidnapping

is harshly

condemned in

the Old

Testament.

American

slavery would

have been a

capital crime

in the Old

Testament.

On the other

hand,

we need to

consider again

the context

and narrative.

as much

as one

third of

the population

of the

Roman Empire

were slaves.

Christianity

was already

an extremely

insignificant

minority.

For Paul

to call

for equality

or justice,

to call

for the

dismantling

of the

current system

which included

masters and

bond servants

would have

led nowhere.

As a matter

of fact,

it would

have been

seditious

fanaticism

to try

and destroy

the fabric

of the

empire's

economy.

Had word

gotten out

that a

letter had

been written

which said,

masters,

free your

slaves.

If they

don't free

you,

rise up

and resist

your

masters.

If a

letter had

been written

like that

and read

aloud in

a little

congregation,

that

congregation

would have

been wiped

out.

Christianity

was like

a really

small,

minority,

insignificant

population.

So what

Paul does

here is

more subtle

and it's

radical.

Again,

he addresses

slaves first.

In this

day,

one would

not have

expected

slaves to

be addressed

at all.

But Paul

gives them

first order

of preference.

Paul here

is proclaiming

equality.

It's not an

abolitionist text,

but it

plants the

seeds for

what would

eventually

grow into

what men

would believe

one day,

that all

men are

created equal.

Each one

has equal

dignity,

for they

are each

made in

the image

of their

creator.

What Paul's

listeners are

hearing is

that master

and slave

are brothers.

Can you

just imagine

after these

were read,

children have

been addressed,

the bond

servants have

been addressed.

I can just

imagine the

reader, he

gets to the

end of this

part,

and before

we're

late to

our

bosses.

In our

work, we

are not to

be people

pleasers, for

we are not

working for

men at

all.

When a

Christian does

his work, we

are free from

what Paul

calls eye

service.

We don't

present a

slick version

of ourselves

or our

work that

is inauthentic,

but work as

if Jesus is

their boss,

aiming to

please him,

offering our

best.

work.

I think a

good contrast

between a

cursed view

of work and

a Christian

view of

work is

found in

the movie

Chariots of

Fire.

Harold

Abraham is

one of the

sprinters that

the movie

covers.

This is one

of the things

he says,

I'm forever

in pursuit,

and I don't

even know what

I'm chasing.

Does that

sound like

your job?

Later he

says,

in one

hour's time

I will be

out there

again.

I will

raise my

eyes and

look down

that corridor

four feet

wide with

ten lonely

seconds to

justify my

existence.

Does that

feel like

your life

at work?

Work

justifying

your existence.

Work

being this

toilsome,

frustrating

pursuit.

On the

other hand,

there's

Eric Little.

There's a

point in the

movie where

he's having

a conversation

with his

sister,

and he

and his

sister have

felt for a

long time

they would

be missionaries

to China.

She's

struggling with

the decision

to be a

sprinter,

and he

says,

I believe

God made

me for a

purpose,

but he

also made

me fast,

and when I

run,

I feel his

pleasure.

When I

run, I

feel his

pleasure.

When I

fill out

spreadsheets, I

feel his

pleasure.

When I do

taxes, I

feel his

pleasure.

When I

paint, when

I compose,

when I

trim the

vineyard, I

feel his

pleasure.

That's what it

means to work

for the Lord

in sincerity

of heart,

confident in

the inheritance

that Christ

had already

secured for

him.

We're

about to

close.

What Paul

is pressing

into the

community,

into family,

and into

work, are

the implications

of sacrificial,

submissive

love.

We must,

however, first

admit that

submission of

any kind is

an act of

the Holy

Spirit.

It's

antithetical to

our fallen

nature, and

perhaps insane,

and even

dangerous,

in relationships,

unless you

are ultimately

submitting to

Christ and

trusting him

for your

personal safety

and benefit.

Submission

doesn't make

any sense in

our culture,

but it makes

a lot of

sense if your

ultimate aim is

to be like

Christ, and

you're trusting

that God is

using everything

in this life

to that end.

When I just

said be like

Christ, what I

mean is we

imitate the

one who, in

eternity past,

said,

Father, I'll

go.

Father, I'll

obey.

I'll give my

life for those

whom I love,

fully,

sacrificially,

unto death,

so that they

can have life,

to be sons and

daughters in our

household, and

live in love to

one another.

It's him,

Christ, that we

submit to.

It's him we

obey.

In the name of

the Father, and

of the Son, and

of the Holy

Spirit.

Amen.