Text:<\/strong> Colossians 3:18-4:1<\/p>\n Paul gives a very similar statement to this one in Ephesians 5:22. If the husband is to be head of the family, then it follows that the wife is to follow her husband’s lead. Paul said that submission is fitting in the Lord. In other words, a wife submitting to her husband is right and proper in God’s sight. To refuse to follow your husband’s lead is to rebel against God. Paul is not saying that only Christian wives are to submit or that wives should only submit to Christian husbands (I Peter 3:1). Women who are seeking to please the Lord will do as the Lord directs.<\/p>\n In the Greek text, “as is fitting in the Lord” is actually in the imperfect tense, indicating an action that has been taking place and is still not completed.<\/p>\n Husbands are to love their wives. The Greek word agape<\/em> refers to love that comes from duty or dedication. It is a love that is given even if it is not returned. This is the type of love that Christ showed for us (Ephesians 5:25-30).<\/p>\n However, Paul also warns that husbands are not to allow themselves to become bitter toward their wives. The Greek word pikraino<\/em> implies becoming harsh or sharp in the treatment of another person. Thus, a lack of love can cause a husband to treat his wife harshly (Matthew 7:12; I Peter 3:7).<\/p>\n Children are to obey their parents as long as what is being asked of them is not against God’s teachings. Notice especially that Paul said, “in all things.” Declining to eat peas is not a sin, nor is avoiding taking a shower a sin, but parents tell their children to do these things because they are good for the child. To intentionally not do what is asked would be rebellion. Twice in lists of moral decay, Paul mentions that people are disobedient to their parents (Romans 1:30; II Timothy 3:2).<\/p>\n In Ephesians 6:1, Paul tells children to obey their parents and proves his point by quoting the command to honor your parents. Therefore, honoring your parents means obeying them. Such obedience is pleasing to God (Colossians 3:20).<\/p>\n Fathers are told not to provoke or exasperate their children “lest they become discouraged” (Colossians 3:21). This can happen when fathers make so many demands and find so many faults that the children lose all hope of being able to please their fathers. Nor are fathers to be so unfair and unloving as to provoke the children to wrath (total rebellion -Ephesians 6:4; not just “unhappy” over being punished – Hebrews 12:11). This is the way God treats men (Isaiah 57:16; James 1:5).<\/p>\n The Roman society made significant use of slave labor, so it is not surprising that some Christians were slaves (I Corinthians 7:22). Like children, slaves are told to obey their masters in all things. While modern society doesn’t make use of slave labor, the principles laid down can be applied to employees of a company. An employee should obey his boss so long as what is asked of him does not violate God’s laws.<\/p>\n An employee should work for his boss just as he would work for Jesus. Unlike any earthly boss, Jesus is always watching what is done. He should give his best effort even when the boss is not present (Ephesians 6:5-8). He should give sincere effort, not do his tasks simply to win favor. He should be performing his duties with respect for those over him (Titus 2:9). Our behavior in the workplace is a reflection on our Lord.<\/p>\n Even if we have a bad boss, we know that the ultimate reward for service comes from the Lord (I Peter 2:18). If we give a poor performance, we will receive the just consequence because our Lord is impartial. Notice that it is like our lives in general. We are not held accountable for the sins of other people, but we are held accountable for our own actions (Ezekiel 18:20; Jeremiah 31:29-30).<\/p>\n Note that Paul said to work heartily. We are to give our full effort (Ecclesiastes 9:10), so don’t waste your talents and opportunities. Sometimes goals cannot be achieved without us giving all we can give (II Chronicles 31:21; Jeremiah 48:10). A slack worker is a destructive worker (Proverbs 18:9). Be a self-motivated worker (Proverbs 16:26).<\/p>\n Those in authority have limits on their actions. Bosses are to treat their employees justly and fairly, just as they wish to be treated by God. A good example is Boaz. “Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, ‘The Lord be with you!’ And they answered him, ‘The Lord bless you!’<\/em>” (Ruth 2:4). This was, apparently, a standard greeting (Psalm 129:5, 8). However, it demonstrates the proper attitude of a master toward his servants (Ephesians 6:9).<\/p>\n The key is to remember that in all our service, we ultimately and truly serve our Lord Jesus Christ. The master, or boss, should view himself as a servant charged with responsibilities by the Lord Himself.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tColossians\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Relationships Text: Colossians 3:18-4:1 Family Relationships – Colossians 3:18-21 Wives (Colossians 3:18) Paul gives a very similar statement to this one in Ephesians 5:22. If the husband is to be head of the family, then it follows that the wife is to follow her husband’s lead. Paul said that submission is fitting in the Lord.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":55641,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-57865","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8209,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/preparation-for-a-lifetime\/submission\/","url_meta":{"origin":57865,"position":0},"title":"Submission (Preparation for a Lifetime)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Submission No concept today seems more controversial than the biblical teaching of submission. Our society values independence and the thought of submitting to anyone else is distasteful. Yet, men and women live submissive lives. Our society would not function without submission. Submission is the complementary state to leadership. If one\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19937,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/because-of-the-present-distress\/","url_meta":{"origin":57865,"position":1},"title":"Because of the Present Distress","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Because of the Present Distress Staying Unmarried\u00a0(I Corinthians 7:25-35) In regards to those who have never married, the Lord has not given commands, which must be followed. Instead, Paul is going to give advice to be considered but does not have to be followed. This does not mean the advice\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70458,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/bid-the-older-women-train-the-young-women\/train-the-young-women-to-love-their-husbands-and-to-be-submissive\/","url_meta":{"origin":57865,"position":2},"title":"Train the Young Women to Love Their Husbands and to be Submissive","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Lesson #2 Train the Young Women to Love Their Husbands and to be Submissive (Titus 2:4-5) by Barbara Roush In Genesis 2:18 and the following verses, we learn of God's original role for women. God said, \"It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8214,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/preparation-for-a-lifetime\/respect\/","url_meta":{"origin":57865,"position":3},"title":"Respect","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Respect Paul tells us that each wife must have respect or reverence for her husband (Ephesians 5:33). The word means to give honor, respect, or obedience. The same word is used in other passages to tell all Christians to fear God. The word fear is the same word used for\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22728,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/survey-of-the-bible\/survey-of-the-bible-colossians\/","url_meta":{"origin":57865,"position":4},"title":"Survey of the Bible – Colossians","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey of the Bible - Colossians Text: Colossians 2:1-7 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The letter to the church in Colossae is one of the four letters Paul wrote from prison while in Rome. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was written about the same time as Ephesians and Philemon and were delivered by the same messengers - Tychicus\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55667,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/christ-in-you-a-study-of-colossians\/introduction-to-colossians\/","url_meta":{"origin":57865,"position":5},"title":"Introduction to Colossians","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Introduction to Colossians Text: Colossians 1:1-2 Purpose The church is facing pressure to accept Jewish doctrines (Colossians 2:5; 8, 16-17, 20-23). Paul is countering that everything needed is in Christ, not in the Old Law. All knowledge is in Christ (Colossians 2:2-3) and Christ fully represents God (Colossians 2:9-10). Thus,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/57865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/57865\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Family Relationships – Colossians 3:18-21<\/h2>\n
Wives (Colossians 3:18)<\/h3>\n
For Discussion:<\/h4>\n
\n
Husbands (Colossians 3:19)<\/h3>\n
Children (Colossians 3:20)<\/h3>\n
Fathers (Colossians 3:21)<\/h3>\n
For Discussion:<\/h4>\n
\n
Work Relations – Colossians 3:22-4:1<\/h2>\n
Slaves (Colossians 3:22-25)<\/h3>\n
Masters (Colossians 4:1)<\/h3>\n