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Week 4
Colossians 3:18-4:18
Professor James D. G. Dunn
Household Rules (3:18-4:1)
Household rules are a characteristic fea-
ture of the later New Testament writings
(cf. Eph. 5:22-6:9 and 1 Pet. 2:18-3:7),
probably reflecting or based on codes of
‘household management’ that were widely
followed. Because the earliest churches
usually met in members’ houses, it was
important that such meetings were beyond
suspicion. So such rules were important,
not only for good order in Christian meet-
ings, but also for the reputation which such
meetings would attract.
It is important to note that the first to be
addressed are wives, not women generally,
and not husbands. Characteristic of the
time, wives were regarded as subordinate
to their husbands; in Roman law the ‘father
of the family’ (paterfamilias) had absolute
power over the other members of the
family. Here however, we should note the
Christian addition – ‘as is fitting in the Lord’
(3:18).
The husbands’ corresponding duty is to
love their wives, where the word ‘love’ is
the distinctively Christian term (agapan)
used particularly of Jesus’ self-giving on the
cross. Such love is never ‘harsh’ (3:19).
Children were technically the property of
the father, and were in fact no better off
than a slave (as Paul noted in Gal. 4:1-7).
So it is unsurprising that the exhortation to
children (3:20) is the same as the exhorta-
tion to slaves (3:22), except that obedience
is called for in relation to both parents. The
equivalent exhortation to the fathers is
simply that they should not ‘provoke’ their
children, a surprisingly negative summary
of paternal responsibility (3:21).
It is also noteworthy that slaves are directly
addressed, the assumption being that the
household slaves would be in the congre-
gation addressed by Paul. The word used
for their masters is the same as that used
for Christ (‘lord’); hence the qualification –
‘your earthly masters’; their responsibility
to earthly masters does not distract from
their loyalty to Christ (3:22).
They are to perform their role wholeheart-
edly, including when no one is watching
them. Their motivation: that they are doing
it for the Lord (3:23). Their primary relation
is not with their masters but with the Lord,
and they can be assured that they are his
heirs. Under Roman law slaves could not
inherit anything, so Paul’s reassurance was
a reminder of their higher status in God’s
eyes (3:24). The assurance of God’s impar-
tiality – wrongdoers, whatever their status,
will be paid back for the wrongs they have
done (3:25) – must have been tremendous-
ly reassuring in a society where as many as
50 per cent were slaves.
Also notice the final counsel to masters, in
effect reminding them that they too have
obligations to their slaves. They were not
mere chattels to be disposed of as their
owners chose, but should be treated ‘justly
and fairly’. Even, or especially, hard-nosed
masters should remember that before God
they too were but slaves (4:1).
PREACHING POINTS
Do the ‘household rules’ still provide a
good model for today?
with the confidence and assurance that
their resources in Christ are more than
equal to the potential challenges (4:2).
Colossians is one of the most ‘thankful’
documents in the New Testament (1:3, 12;
2:7; 3:17; 4:2).
Characteristic of Paul is the request that
prayer should be for his missionary work.
What he had in mind is well illustrated in
Phil. 1:12-14. It is striking that he should
see his imprisonment as an opportunity
to share the gospel and to proclaim the
‘mystery’ whose unveiling was one of his
primary responsibilities (1:25-27) (4:3-4).
It is notable that the final exhortation is di-
rected to the Colossian believers’ relations
with their non-Christian neighbours and
those they encountered at work and in the
market place. The probably small group of
believers in Colossae needed to be both
circumspect in their dealings with others
and to be ready to respond graciously
when questions were raised about their
own faith (4:5-6). The picture is clearly
of a Christian group who did not shut
themselves away from the world, but were
thoroughly engaged in their community.
PREACHING POINTS
How would you characterize and illus-
trate speech ‘seasoned with salt’ (4:6)?
CONCLUSION (4:7-18)
Concluding exhortations (4:2-6) Maintaining Communication
(4:7-9)
Paul regularly rounds off his letters with a
sequence of exhortations. Here in Colos-
sians, his first request is that they should
be persistent in prayer. They should keep
alert, not in a spirit of fear or anxiety, but Tychicus was one of Paul’s closest associ-
ates, numbered behind only Timothy and
Titus (Acts 20:4; Eph. 6:21; Tit. 3:12). More
than 50 of Paul’s close associates and ‘fel-
low-workers’ are mentioned in his letters,
at least 10 of them women. The warmth
of the reference (‘beloved brother’, ‘faithful
servant’, ‘fellow slave in the Lord’) should
not be missed (4:7). Likewise the reason for
his mission to bring news how Timothy and
he were faring; the personal bonds were
important (4:8).
The party being sent to Colossae included
Onesimus, the principal subject of Paul’s
letter to Philemon (Phm. 10) – a letter well
worth reading at this point. The (former?)
runaway slave is also counted a ‘faithful
and beloved brother’ (4:9).
Greetings (4:10-17)
As usual Paul signs off with a sequence of
greetings. Aristarchus, from Thessalonica,
described as a ‘fellow worker’ in Phm.
24, was a close companion in Paul’s later
journeys (Acts 19:29; 20:4; 27:2) and now
a ‘fellow prisoner’ (4:10). It is notable that
Mark, the earlier ‘failure’ (Acts 15:38-39),
was evidently redeemed later on (2 Tim.
4:11; Phm. 24) and possibly acted as a
mediator between Paul and Peter (1 Pet.
5:13). The language suggests that relations
were still somewhat strained (4:10).
The reference to Jesus Justus reminds us
that ‘Jesus’ (the Greek form of ‘Joshua’) was
a common name among Jews. ‘Those of
the circumcision’ may simply refer to Jews,
or since the phrase is used elsewhere for
Jews who were hostile to Paul’s mission
(Gal. 2:12; Tit. 1:10), Paul is possibly
reminding the Colossians that there were
several of his fellow Jews who supported
his Gentile mission (4:11).
Epaphras was probably an evangelist of
Colossae and the other cities of the Lycus
valley (1:7-8; 4:13), who now shared Paul’s
imprisonment (Phm. 23). His prayers for
the Colossians were notably that they
should ‘stand mature’ and determined to
do what God wills (4:12). The image of his
prayers as a struggle (‘wrestling’) should
not be missed. For more on Laodicea see
Rev. 3:14-22.
Luke ‘the beloved physician’ was a com-
panion to Paul on his missionary journeys,
a ‘fellow worker’ (Phm. 24), and Paul’s final
companion (2 Tim. 4:11). Demas was later
regarded as a deserter, ‘in love with this
present world’ (2 Tim. 4:10) (4:14). As was
characteristic for the first two centuries,
churches met in homes, where the house-
holder, in this case Nympha, would be the
congregation’s leader (4:15).
The exchange of letters to different
churches helps explain how the influence
of Paul’s letters must have spread (4:16).
Sadly, we do not know what the ‘ministry’
or ‘act of service’ was with which Archippus
had been commissioned (4:17; cf. Phm. 2).
PREACHING POINTS
Of those greeted and greeting, who
do you most identify with?
A personal greeting (4:18)
The brevity of the final note (cf. 1 Cor.
16:21-24; Gal. 6:11-18) and the plea to
‘Remember my chains’ suggests that Paul’s
imprisonment was becoming more severe.