Video Transcript: Unity in the Church

Welcome back to the biblical studies lectures on prison epistles. So far we have been looking at the basic introduction of the prison epistles. And with the lectures prior, we covered chapter one. We covered some key things about chapter one, the greetings, we looked at the prayers of thanksgiving and we narrowed down to look at some key components of that chapter. In chapter two we began to look at the relationship between the first part of chapter two and the latter parts of chapter one, and then I drew your attention to the fact that chapter two verse one to five, could be read along with the end of chapter one. And so when you pick up a commentary on Colossians, you may actually see that commentators will spend a lot of time making the case for which, chapter two verses one to five, belong to the end of chapter one, so that they become one paragraph. 

As we discussed it, I also pointed out to you that we can also look at it as a separate paragraph. And if we do that, then we are seeing Paul focusing on his ministry and the essence or significance of his ministry. We moved on and I spelt out what I consider to be a clear thesis statement of what is going on in Colossians. I called it the hearts of the matter. Perhaps, that is not even my word. I think it was Douglas Moo who was someone who first used this expression if I can recall correctly. The heart of the matter is were we see in Colossians chapter two verse six to seven. Paul spells out as you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. Being rooted, founded and established in him and then he goes on to say, as you were taught. And then we moved on to look at how this foundation relates to the false teaching and the activities in the church. So we spend some time looking at that in one of the earlier lectures. 

In the lecture prior to this one, we began to look at chapter three. And we look at how establishing the basis of their beliefs and their grounds in Christ naturally lead to what we call the imperative, where they have been asked to do some specific things to live out what they have been told or taught. I began by actually drawing your attention to some interesting contrasting patterns, that should be something you should put on or perhaps wear as a hat as you begin to read chapter three, such as the heavenly and earthly contrast, the call to put to death and to make alive, the contrast between the old and the new. You probably remember how I drew your attention with some interesting images where you have skeleton and a little child, you have an older man and a little baby. I went on to actually draw your attention to what needs to be killed and stripped off and highlighted the fact that some of the things that we put off our sexual or all of it are sexual in nature, and the things to strip off seem to take the connotation of anger. Soon after that I also reminded to you that in this church, in this community of faith, when you kill or strip off what needs to be killed and stripped off, there is no cause for distinctions that are based on ethnic race and social structural issues. And so perhaps it may stand out in your mind about the Scythians. The most, the society that is perhaps most or least respected, demeaned, downtrodden because of where they come from, and their cultural norms that others did not respect. 

We go to look at the new self and what needs to be put on and the fact that they are grounded in a particular identity and consequently for the call to mutual responsibility follows. You probably remember that I put on a screen for you, which is where we ended in the last lecture. So people who are set apart, people who are holy, people who have been beloved, are called to this mutual responsibility to let there be to seek, to make love prevail, to let the peace of Christ reign in their hearts, and to develop an important virtue in the ancient world that we don't talk about it as virtue anymore. The virtue of gratitude, and obviously, a call to let the word of Christ dwell in them. From here we are reminded of verse 17. So let's go quickly from 16 to 17. 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 thanksgiving in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. 

So here we find Paul admonishing the church to teach and admonish one another. The follow up of the mutual support, we need one another. But here what he is asking for is very interesting. He did not say instead of false teachers influencing the whole church let us get some great teacher, let us call the great teachers of the land to come together and let's sit down and have them teach us. No. He's suggesting that the members of the community can teach one another. The word admonish here, they can also encourage one another. And they should do it in all wisdom. And interestingly, in terms of the power of admonishing he says they could do that in singing. Well, you don't want to try that if you are not good in singing like me. When I begin to sing, well, it probably sounds like a bunch of frogs, just singing and once in a while the rhythms and all that seem to go right. I don't sing, so I may not be one of those to encourage in singing. But Paul says, even in singing, you may admonish one another. To strengthen the community and the sense of mutual support that is in the church. He also asked them to do all this with gratitude. This is where you see Paul actually arriving into something that we normally don't talk about a lot in church. And we don't even like talking about it because it makes it look like everybody has a role in it. And the truth be told, some of us don't want to do a lot in the church. But Paul's point is that for us to be able to build a firewall against the influence of false teachers or diffuse or eject the influence of false teachers, we need this mutual support, teaching and admonishing one another. 

And in verse 17, is what I call the great challenge. It is a great challenge and it goes like this. And whatever you do in word, so whatever you do in terms of speech, or indeed do everything in the name of the Lord. Giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Whatever you do in word, know that you are doing it in the name of the Lord. In terms of your speech, know that people are observing your speech along the lines of someone who transact business in the name of the Lord Jesu. In your conduct, remember he told us to strip off and put on some stuff. He's actually reminding, whatever you do, should be seen as being done in the name of the Lord. Let’s pause the word name. The word name here does not just carry the sense of a badge. The word name in the Greek sense can translate reputation, license. So we are doing it in the name of the Lord, bearing the reputation of the Lord. In other words, when our speech goes far away beyond what Christ will do or say, we are actually sending him wrong reputation as a result. When our conduct subjects the name of Christ to mockery, then in fact, we are not doing it in the name of the Lord. Paul says in speech, or in deed, you should do this in the name of the Lord. 

Now here we come to the end of chapter three, the last paragraph of chapter three, beginning to touch on family issues. Unlike modern family, imagine the ancient family like this. Imagine a husband and a wife and imagine so many children. Also imagine slaves. Let me just talk about the children for a minute. The children could be children, which include children of the man from a previous marriage, or they could be children that were born with the woman in the house as a wife. Slaves, we know that slavery was very, very common in the ancient world. By the way, may I to actually not to be so irritated all this stuff, by the subject of slavery because in ancient world slavery was part of the society. It was everywhere, and anywhere and it was not the same as the concept of slavery that will later be known in the trans Atlantic slave trade. So let us not switch our minds to the history of African American or the history of slavery from Africa to the rest of the world. Don't go there yet. Just hold on to the thought of slavery in the course of this discussion, and I'll clarify some things to you. 

So let's begin to look at Paul’s admonition. This is a church that in the beginning, he has actually told them that God is their Father. They are brothers and sisters in the church and Jesus is also the Son of God and their fellow brother. So they are in the family. Now, a church that as I mentioned earlier, meet in people's home, are now going to be admonished to make sure that life in their home are lived according to the Christian conduct that is spelled out in verse 17 that in wherever they do or say they should do in the name of the Lord. Let's begin to look at what he has to say. Well, we like to say woman first right, so Paul seem to listen to that. So he starts with the woman. So he starts, wives, in Greek the wives. And then he goes on with the word that not many women like to hear the S word. Submit. Woman, submit, and I guess if you are a husband today, and you read just the first line of verse 8 and say, it is Paul's word in Colossians three verse 18 that wives submit to your husbands, you will actually get the kind of picture I have on the screen for you. You will not make your wife happy, that’s in case you don't understand what is going on in the picture. Because I don't know many women today who want to hear the word submit. 

Suddenly students remind me, class, after class. We don't like the word and I like to say it's interesting that we're allergic to some words. But let's just look at that word a little bit more closely. In Greek, the word is in a construction that we don't have in English. Paul’s word calling for submit is not somebody imposing submission on the woman. But he's actually calling the wife, the word can also translate woman. So by the way, if you have a Bible that says woman or wives, the Greek word can translate woman as well. And he says if you translate wife or woman, well, ladies, you have no choice anyway. Yeah, I mean, it's everywhere you go is that, it's a woman. It's feminine. Okay. So, women, voluntarily submit to your husband. Not that your husband is calling you, pounding on you, pestering you to submit. But as a Christian whose words and deeds have to be in the name of the Lord voluntarily submit for your husband. Does that help? Someone would say that helped them as long as he's not gonna say I want you to submit it, maybe that'll help.

But imagine a church in your home and they come there for fellowship. Husband and wife are fighting all the time. Children causing all kinds of commotion in the house. Definitely that will not exemplify and bring the reputation that we would like to have in the name of Christ. So wives, it is biblical, submit. But remind your husband that the Bible does not ask him to remind you that you should submit. For the Bible ask Paul's audience right in Colossae to voluntarily submit to their husbands. It is the right thing to do. By the way, I would explain how this submission and instruction to the husband play out both in Colossians and later on in Ephesians. And in Ephesians, you may actually see this and sit back and say, Wow, if this is what it means that maybe I should be relaxed about it. Or perhaps you will say, Well, this is a man talking. He thinks it should be easy for the women. Paul says women to submit voluntarily as it is fitting to the Lord. In fact the basis for their submission is an agreed code of conduct for those who are in the Lord. And so you can say if you submit in that manner, you will know the kind of submission that is fitting to the Lord. Not fitting to your male son, not fitting to some male figure trying to suppress you, not fitting your husband that’s trying to nag you but fitting to the Lord. 

The heart of submission is not a power game. In fact, the nature of this language is an attitude of heart. It's an attitude that is saying, I am eager to submit under authority of some sort. I am eager to work in a framework where I am not controlling the show necessarily. You can read power into it, but it's a relational dynamic, more than a power relationship. And as you do so, remember, the criteria is to do with us fitting to the Lord. For the husband, flowers is not enough, unless true love is the framework within which the flowers are given. I'll give you an example. I grew up in Ghana where actually buying flowers for women was not part of the culture that I was growing up with. I bet  my wife an American and when we were dating, I used to be all this stubborn guy you know I had no clue that flowers are important. And I'll have this friend who told me you know flowers work. But fella I said no back home, we just go to the backyard and we can cut flowers. We can just cut it and give to people if they like it and people don't care too much. Flowers means something if you plant it and all that. I soon realized when I started buying flowers for my girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife though that was important to her, it was more important that she knows I love her for who she is, and I'll be there for her. 

That is not to say, make no mistake, that she didn't like the flowers. She occasionally reminded me especially when we have guests and they bring flowers along. But my love for her was more important. The instruction of Paul to the wife is, in the same way he asked wife to submit the husband should love the wife. And what is the basis for that? He says don't be harsh. Let's read this’ll: husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Because you may be the head of the household. But be careful that you have measured attitude in the way you treat your wife. Imagine a wife submitted to a husband, a husband, loving so much to the standard that he would never say anything harsh to the wife. He would treat the wife with respect and dignity showing all the love that she needs. I am inclined to believe that a husband who is that loving will make it easy for like a wife to submit and a wife who is so submitting will make it easier for a husband to love. Again the mutual responsibility for unity is now moved from the church as we saw earlier on into the three to this part, where it is now at the macro level in the family how this mutual support would exist. 

So if it makes sense, would you like to join me in reading this aloud. Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Does that make sense now? Do you not like the S word? Hey husbands, are you now prepared to love and not just say I'm just trying to be romantic? But let me remind you about how society was handling some of these husband wife dynamics so that he would actually understand the essence of what Paul is doing here.  Jewish historian Josephus has this to say, Josephus is quoting scripture as the basis of his argument in his against appian. For says the Scripture a woman is inferior to a husband in all things. Let her therefore be obedient to him; not so that he should abuse her, but that she may acknowledge her duty to her husband, for God has given the authority to the husband. A husband, therefore, is to lie only with his wife, whom he hath married; but to have to do with another man's wife is a wicked thing, which, if anyone ventures upon, death is inevitably his punishment. No more can he avoid the same who forces a virgin betrothed to another woman or entices another man's wife. The law, moreover, enjoins us to bring up all our offsprings and forbids women to cause abortion of what is begotten, all to destroy it afterward. And if any woman appears to have to have so done, she will be a murderer of her child, by destroying a living creature, and diminishing human kind. If anyone, therefore, proceeds to such fornication or murder, he cannot be clean. 

Josephus sounds harsh. But you know, I think about African culture. Some women will be happy with this and say yes, he says you cannot go for another woman. But the point I'm trying to make here to you is look at the tone. The woman is inferior. The woman is to be obedient. The husband has this role with only restrictions on how he relates to someone else. Paul, on the other hand, asked the woman to voluntarily submit and the husband not to show power or this restraint in relation to others, but to actually show the love as we will see in Ephesians, a love that is modeled after Christ's love for the church. Just in case you still want to know this a Jewish framework just around the time of Paul. If you also want to know how philosophers around the time thought about his relationship and the dynamics of relationship let me remind you about what we have from the Demosthenes Oration 59. 

He writes, For this is what living with a woman as one’s wife means – to have children by her and to introduce the sons to the members of the clan and of the deme, and to betroth the daughters to husbands as one’s own. Mistresses we keep for the sake of pleasure, concubines for the daily care of our persons, but wives to bear us legitimate children, and to be faithful guardians of our households. This is a typical Greek style. You can have a wife, you can have a mistress with the wife's permission. You can even bring a concubine to live in the house. You may have a child with the concubine, and the wife will know about it, but that concubine’s child will be an illegitimate child. So the wife should be happy that she's a wife. Paul says no, you will not go that far at all. As we will see in Ephesians he will actually restrict marriage to that one man, one woman and restrict the relationship to that alone. He will say submit wives, husbands, love your wife, and do not be harsh. Do not be harsh. Do not be harsh in asking her to submit and then he will turn to children. 

Let's take a look at verse 20 on that. Children, Paul writes children obey your parents in everything for these pleases the Lord. Obey your parents in everything for these pleases the Lord. The background of this perhaps it will help you to understand a few things about ancient Mediterranean culture. The husband is known as the head of the household. The wife is the chief operating officer of the household. In other words in a given household, there could be about 20 people counting the husband, the wife, the children and the slaves. The wife is responsible for managing the affairs of how business is conducted. The husband is the overall head of the household and children are obliged to obey their parents. Now, if that is not enough, you also want to understand the part of culture what we call the unwritten code of honor and shame in the ancient culture. In ancient culture in a family, family honor was very important. And so members of the family have to conduct themselves in a way that will keep the family honor intact or even end the family more honor. 

I give you an example. If there are young women in the household, and someone violates them sexually. It brings dishonor to the family and indicts the men in the household for not being able to protect the woman. Owner of the household is fragile if children are not going to behave well. It is in this framework that Paul would say, children have to obey their parents. But what part of it is, they have no choice. This is a place where Christ is Lord. Remember that to obey them as it pleases the Lord and as you obey them in everything. An interesting word switch in Colossians if you notice, where it talks about obedience, you say obey the parents. When he talks about who should not embitter the children, it refers to customarily the one who is responsible for discipline – the father. The father is responsible for discipline. 

Now in America now we can’t talk about corporal punishment without thinking about children and social welfare people coming after somebody. Even with some of the cultures that are not so developed today, you have this in them, the part of the man’s responsibility is to ensure discipline. So when you are misbehaving in a house and you’re a child, mom is likely to tell you, I will tell Dad when he comes. And you would like to do everything to bribe mom so that she doesn't tell dad, because dad is the one who is going to discipline you. And Paul picks on that and says fathers do not embitter your children because they will become discouraged. I hope you're beginning to appreciate, to some degree, the framework within which Paul is working here constructing what is fitting for the Christian family. He's not asking the wife to be abused when she submits. He's not asking the husband to lord it over his wife and his household when he loves his wife. When he asked the children to obey he did not actually put the children in some kind of restrictive mood to the extent that the father can do whatever he likes with the children. But he limits the traditional powers and control of the father to say, do not embitter his children. Do not make them discouraged. 

Then you go on to another group of people that are in the household. Children have heard what they need to do. Fathers who are responsible for discipline know how to handle these children. Now, Paul, is going to go on to address slaves. I will draw your attention soon to the fact that in the average city of ancient Greco Roman world at the time of Paul, we are told that where it is mostly Latin speaking or Greek speaking, we will have between 30 and 30% of the population made up of slaves. Most homes will have slaves. The early church will work within that framework. So having that at the background let's begin to read the next instruction that Paul has to give. From verse 22, slaves obey in everything, those who are truly or maybe I should read what you have on the screen there. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything and do it not only when their eye is on you, and to carry their favor. But with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Jesus you are serving. 

Verse 7 anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs and there is no favoritism. And then he turns to masters. Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair because you know that you also have a master in heaven. Let me just bring your attention to slavery of the time and make a few points from this. Bob has this to say on his commentary on 1 Timothy. Ancient slavery was a variegated phenomenon. Private slaves could be found in great misery, grinding flour in chains at a mill or in relative prosperity working on their own in small businesses, hardly different in most respects, from your free neighbors except that all of their profits were at the disposal of their masters. Public slaves could be important government officials in some cases or menial attendants in the public baths. 

Pliny the Elder, described the slavery of the time and I capture these words for you to comprehend. But at the present day, (this is the time of Paul, note the dates) these same lands are tilled by slaves, whose legs are in chains by the hands of malefactors and men with a branded face. One scholar recently described this situation in these words. To be sure, not all slaves were so abused, but the countless, often casual, references to beatings, floggings, canings, and execution of slaves constitutes a vocal witness to dark and hopeless existence of a slave in antiquity. The reliance of physical punishment was due, in part, to the fact that slaves have no property that could be confiscated or money to surrender. So having said this slavery, as Paul talks about should be seen in these terms. The average city like Ephesus will have 30 to 35% of the population made up of slaves. Colossae which was a smaller city but we expect that it shouldn't be so different in terms of proportion. You also want to note the fact that the early Christians did not make it their ambition to make radical social reform. 

Think about it in these terms. If you have a city of 5000 and you have Christians who are 100, for instance, what do you think what happened if they launch off a campaign to change the institution of slavery which is rampant in society? Do you think they will survive? What we know is that the early church did not plan or intend to change the social structure of slavery. Paul admonishes how slaves could behave, and masters could treat this slaves in a way that will actually come across at least to the people of the time as a more humane way of dealing with people. You may also note something in this text. Slavery was actually couched as a duty, a religious duty. 

Now recently, in a conversation on New Testament ethics, the subject came up on what things are explicitly supported or forbade in the New Testament, and what are encouraged but not observed in modern days. And the subject was quite to be specific related to the issue of homosexuality. The person I was talking to was quick to ask me a question about what the Bible says about slavery. And how come we do not look for slaves and ask slaves to obey? I had a quick answer a response and perhaps that will make sense as you think about their issues addressed in Colossians. First, we do not have the slavery institution in the fabric of society, we have as in the ancient world. Second, we have more Christians in some of our society, to influence policy and to not even make slavery part of our social fabric. Third, it is quite unfair to begin to say if the Bible says slaves should obey their masters then everything the Bible condemns should be something we should thrown away. Then we may have to decide what will be the christian ethics and what will not be. That is not negating the complexity of issues of ethics that we have to deal with regularly. What Paul is saying here is this: that which is traditionally part of how society functions should be looked at in this way.

Slaves should learn to obey their masters and they should not have any reservation. They should obey their masters in everything and they should do so, look at the language there. They should do so not because the master is on their back, pressurizing them in the same way that I told you about the wives instruction, the husband's instruction, that the slaves should take it upon themselves to assume some Christian moral responsibility to do what is right. Not just to please the earthly master. By the way, in Greek, it is very interesting to see the language when he talks about the lord, or the master of the slave and the fact that they both have a master in heaven and how that plays out as if to say, you know what, you are a steward, from a master up here watching over you, that you do this as slave, your master is actually a steward with a higher master overlooking what he's doing to make sure he does what is right. 

So all of you in it, please do your work and do what you need to do in a responsible way. Nothing in Colossians would have come across as abusive by the time Colossians was written. It may not be as great a piece to read in our time, but note what is asked of the slave. They should not do this, just to seek the Masters favor. But as you do this with sincerity of hearts with reverence for the Lord, the word to be to do it in the fear of the Lord, in obedience to the Lord to defend because of the wishes of God, one would do this not because they feel so under compulsion to do so. But they want to do this because they understand that that is the right thing to do. Whatever you do, referring to the slaves, work at it with all your hearts. 

You may recall me explaining the word heart earlier on in the discussion. It's not about only emotion, but your center of life, your center of reason, the seat of the emotions, the place from which to will, to do it with all your heart and if you like our heart with all your mind and soul as you would do it to the Lord. Don’t do it thinking that you're doing this to please your affluent masters. You look at language, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord. The one who will reward the slave for the good work at this time is the Lord. Maybe I should pause here to say it's true that this particular passage was used in the 19th century in particular, to justify mistreatment of slaves. I should say there’s still slavery in some parts of the world today and some people would wish to have a text like this to justify them. But we should be careful not to assume that. That is what Paul is doing here. That Paul is using this to pick up and set up a framework for which the Christians would abuse people in society. No, his aim here is to actually admonish people in the household to live at peace with one another. A place where the church will come and meet and people where Christ and living as Christians will actually serve as a good model for the rest of society. 

And then look at what he says to the masters. Masters, you are not off the hook. Nobody wants to tell a master with this because what a slave is both a slave is property. A slave has one main responsibility to do the master’s wishes. Or Paul says, no, master, you have responsibility to provide for your slaves with what is right and fair. In other words the Christian Master is challenged to actually treat the slave with fairness. And then he will go on even to say that they should do this because they know that the master in heaven is observing what is going on. Think about it. If you were to treat a subordinate and you know that you have a fair and a just master, observing what you are doing, through a cctv or through a camera, or by his or her very presence, how would you treat your subordinates? The answer in my view will be simple. You will try to be as fair as possible. You will try to be as kind as possible. You’ll try to get everybody to do what is right knowing that from your heart, from your conscience, you are doing what is right and also the subordinate is doing what is right. Imagine Paul in this context. So it is in this context that Paul in chapter 4 verse one calls the slave master to do that. 

He will then go on before he concludes this letter in chapter 4 to encourage them with these words that I’ll expound in the next lecture. Continue on steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray for us, that God may open to us a door for the Lord, 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 towards outsiders, making the best use of your time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt so that you know how you ought to answer each person when you are approached. As we close the lecture on chapter three, let me draw your attention to a few things that have been developed in this discussion. The church has been called to this mutual responsibility and a strong sense of unity. The unity is built on what they need to do in the community of faith. And then Paul brings it out to the family setting on how internal workers in individual households can influence the unity and solidarity in the wider church. If husband and wife are in good relationship and if parents are in a good relationship with children. If slaves in the family are at peace with their master, then from there when they all meet various families meet in the household, there will be unity. 

Paul’s words may not sound so appealing to some of you. But let me remind you about the last words in chapter three and main virtues he spells out. Wives voluntarily submit to your husbands. Husbands love your wives. Children obey your parents. Fathers, do not exasperate your children. Slaves, do your work with all your hearts, with all your mind, do what you need to do as if you were doing it for the Lord who will reward you. Do it without reservation. And masters know that whatever way you treat your slaves your heavenly Master is observing. He will reward fairly and he calls all of us to accountability. As you see how Paul is developed this, he has built a strong cushion against the influence of false teaching and has moved on to very strong relationship building enterprise in the church where people will do what God would like them to do. And as he does that note what keeps coming up again and again and again and again. Christ be the center, the Lord be the center. It should be fitting as the Lord and by the way, all these things are being supervised by a master. And as we all do this and live out in the end, God will be glorified. The church will be an example to society. 

And as we'll see in the next lecture, it will actually help the church to be a positive witness to the world outside. That way some will come and even ask some questions and you'll be able to give them good answers. Their very lives will show that indeed they are living a good life. They will make opportunity out of every time God gives them and in the end, the church will be the light in a world that we know from chapter one is described in terms of darkness. Thank you very much for following up in this lecture. And I hope that as we learn together, you will actually grow as we are growing. And I hope Colossians become one of your favorite books as you think about it. May I suggest something for you for the homework. Could you just now sit and relax. Pick up your Bible and start reading Colossians chapter one through two through three and begin to look at how this book begins to look like. Because as we get to the closing it helps to bring all this together in your mind and begin to see what Paul is conveying to the church who were under threat of infiltration of false teaching and false teachers. Thank you very much. And I look forward to a wonderful study together in this biblical studies series. Thank you

This is Dr. Dan Darko in his lecture series on the prison epistles. This is session number six, unity in the church, Colossians chapter three.