COLOSSIANS 3-4 I WILL HONOR JESUS IN MY RELATIONSHIPS2019 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Colossians 3-4 I Will Honor Jesus In My Relationships

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2019. All right, so tonight we'll be continuing on here in Colossians chapter 3. Let's read through the passage together and then dive into the message that God has for us. Verses 17 through chapter 4 verse 1 is our passage for tonight. And so starting in verse 17 of Colossians 3, it says this.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, submit to your own husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

Verse 1.

Chapter 4, verse 1.

Here as we come to this portion in Colossians chapter 3, continuing to consider the foundations for Christian living. We've been looking at these letters of Paul and learning some serious and important doctrine, but understanding that it's not just doctrine for us to know, but it's doctrine for us to then build our lives and our actions and our behavior upon. And here as we pick it up in verse 17 of chapter 3, we're really continuing on from last week's passage.

As we looked at the first half of chapter 3 last week, the title of the message was, I will do everything that I do for Jesus. And Paul was taking all of the doctrine that he'd been sharing about how you are complete in Christ, how you have everything that you need, and that he fulfills your every need. And our response to that then is to, well, to use those resources that he provides and to use the new character, the new nature that he gives to us,

and then to live out those lives for him and for his glory. And we looked last week, as Paul explained, we have a promise of future that is full of complete glory, that God has a perfect future, that we could not come up with a better future for ourselves than the future that we have promised to us in Jesus Christ.

And we saw how Jesus provides for us a complete deliverance. He pulls us out of the past and sets us free from the burdens of guilt and sin and all the gunk and the mire that he pulls us out of. It's a complete deliverance. There is no more deliverance that you could provide for yourself that would be better than the deliverance that you have in Jesus Christ.

And then we saw how Jesus loves us completely, how he has given himself for us. And so our response then, again in verse 17, Paul says, whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving him thanks to God the Father through him. And so Paul says, look, putting all this together, because Jesus loves you, because he's promised you a glorious future, because he's delivered you completely from the past, do everything that you do in his name.

his glory or for his glory with his nature, with his character. Now this idea of whatever you do, now Paul is going to kind of tag on to that and give some example whatevers. Specifically looking at some day-to-day relationships that we have and our interactions with one another. And he's going to build on this idea of whatever you do and considering these home and workplace and family relationships.

And so I've titled the message tonight, I will honor Jesus in my relationships. For Jesus, I will relate to people, well, the way that he's called me to, and in a way that honors him and glorifies him. And we could think about these things and look at each of these relationships and think, well, I would like to honor Jesus in this relationship. I would like to honor Jesus in this way, but I just, you know, I'm not there yet. And

We considered last week the idea of a puzzle. I think it's a good illustration for us to consider. You might not think of yourself as a complete husband or a complete wife or a complete worker or boss or child or parent. You might think there's some pieces lacking. But the point that Paul is making here is that, no, you have all the pieces in Christ. All the pieces are there. They're not all yet put together. They're not all yet connected together. But all the pieces are there in Jesus.

And so we have a responsibility then to seek out the placing of those pieces so that where we see those lacks in our relationships,

That we would seek out in the Lord how to fill those gaps and what he wants to provide and the way that he wants to work so that we can honor him in the relationships that we have with the people around us. And so we're going to walk through these relationships and consider what Paul says here in this passage. The first relationship, the first point and way that we honor Jesus in our relationships, point number one, I will submit to my husband for Jesus.

This is found in verse 18. Now, obviously, I'm reading this, and it maybe sounds funny that I will submit to my husband for Jesus, right? But looking at the role of the wife, we're going to just look at this as if I was a wife. I'm not, and this isn't any kind of political statement or anything, but just to walk through these things in a way that hopefully it would grab hold of your heart and that you would consider what the Lord has for you. And so let's look at verse 18 again.

It says, wives, submit to your own husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Now you might notice that Jeff is sitting here with us in the back row tonight. He can't always make it out Wednesday nights. It's real tough because he works real far away and it's long days, but this is Jeff's favorite verse in the whole Bible. So he told me, I need to be here tonight to hear you teach on this verse.

Wives, submit to your own husbands as is fitting in the Lord. So the first relationship that Paul begins to address here that we would honor Jesus in our relationships is, well, talking about the wife and relating to her husband. And it's a good reminder for us to consider tonight that it's God who invented marriage.

And as much as we might wrestle with and discuss and dispute and debate different concepts about this verse, the important thing to note is that God invented marriage. He is the one who created it. He originated it. He knows how it works. He knows how we work and he knows the way that he has called us to relate to one another in a way that is good and honoring to him.

And so each member in the family has a particular role. And here the wives is highlighted in particular, wives submit. Now the word submit, it means to arrange under. It's really a military term that describes the idea of relating to authorities in the chain of command. It's an authority structure.

And it's not a statement of value. It's not a statement of intelligence. It's not, you know, you might have an authority over you in the military. The chain of command, you know, might not know things that you know, right? That's understood. But the point is you respect the office. You respect the role and you are submitted to that authority. In a similar way, God has orchestrated a particular order within the home.

And the husband is to be the head of the home. He's to have that position of headship over the home. And so then the wife, in order to honor Jesus for his name and for his glory, well, the wife is to submit to that authority, to that position of

Pastor Thomas Constable says,

And so anyone who takes this as a slight or an offense, you're not understanding the instruction and the prescription here in the scriptures. It's not about superiority. It's about order. And so wives are to submit, to honor, to respect the authority that God has given to that role. Even when perhaps they're

That authority is held by someone who knows less, is less spiritual, is less intelligent, makes dumb mistakes, does foolish things or sins in any way. I would encourage you ladies to keep in mind the Bible gives some pretty tough examples when it comes to this concept and the relationship of husband and wife. In 1 Peter 3, Peter says...

In this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.

And so Peter presents the example of Abraham and Sarah as a pattern, as a reminder, as a model for this relationship that is to be had and this respect that is to be given. Now, Abraham made some boneheaded decisions sometimes, but Sarah was there with him in that and she obeyed Abraham. And you could, you know, have some ideas and thoughts about that. But here, Peter holds it up as an example of

He goes on to say she called him Lord. Now that means a little bit different today than it did for her to call him Lord, okay? Today, the word Lord is really only used in the context of discussion about God and Jesus. But that's not how the word was used when Abraham...

was called Lord by Sarah. Back then, it was just a way of saying like, sir, or mister, or boss, or something like that. So if you want to call your husband boss, that's great. No problem. That's a biblical thing, right? It's just...

a word, I'm just kidding, but if you want, you know, some people, you talk to random people on the phone, and it's like, hey boss, what's up? You know, it's just like a way to address someone respectfully, and that's what is being expressed here. And so, Sarah is an example of submitting words

Now, verse 18 also says, And it's important to note that this is not talking about a general submission of all women to all men. And some people have taken those kinds of concepts way out of line and out of context in the scriptures, out of the Bible. It's not a forbidding of women to be in any kind of authority in any area of life.

some, you know, hold to those things as well. But here the submission is clear. It's limited to in your own home, you are to be submitted to your own husband. But then he goes on to say in verse 18, as is fitting in the Lord. He says, look, this is fitting in the Lord. This fits well. It comes to the idea that, well, this is to honor the Lord.

This is pleasing to the Lord, and it's an expression of your love and your respect for the Lord to relate to your husband in this way. Pastor David Guzik puts it this way, "...as is fitting in the Lord does not define the extent of a wife's submission. It does not define the limit of a wife's submission. It defines the motive of a wife's submission."

It means, wives, submit yourself unto your own husbands because it's part of your duty to the Lord. Because it's an expression of your submission to the Lord. It's fitting to the Lord.

in the Lord. It's pleasing to him. And so wives are to have this heart, this approach to their relationship with their husband. I will submit to my husband for Jesus. Maybe not for him. Maybe he doesn't deserve it. Maybe he's not worthy of it. Maybe he's not smart enough. Maybe, you know, he's a dummy, all of that. But for Jesus, Lord, for you, as difficult as this is, I can submit myself to honor you as an expression of my love for you. I will submit

Submit to my husband for you. Now, verse 19, Amy's favorite verse gives us point number two. I will love my wife for Jesus. Verse 19 says, husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.

So again, God is the one who invented marriage. He created some specific roles and ways for us to relate to one another and roles for us to fulfill within the institution of marriage so that we can experience the ideal of what he created and what he meant marriage to be, but also so that we can honor him and represent him in the relationship that we have with one another.

And so on the part of the wives, there is that role of submission that the Lord instructs. On the part of the husbands, now God instructs and commands us to love our wives. Husbands, love your wives.

The word love is the word agape, which we are familiar with, but also often misunderstand. We might describe, you know, agape love as perfect love or God's love and those kinds of things. And there's some, you know, some truths inherent in that. The whole idea of agape love is separate from romantic love, separate from emotional love. It's

It's really born in sacrifice. I often describe love as doing what is best for someone else. And I think that sums it up pretty well. Husbands are to do what's best for their wives. But the idea of agape is to do what's best for your wife, even at your own expense, sacrificially. Even if it costs you, you're to put her needs first and what is best for her first.

above your own needs and desires and wishes. Pastor David Guzik puts it this way, agape love gives and loves because it wants to. It does not demand or expect repayment from the love given. It gives because it loves. It does not love in order to receive. The word has little to do with emotion. It has much to do with self-denial for the sake of another. And so here's a good challenge, a good call, a good

High calling for us husbands, you're to love your wives in this way. Not because you want to. I mean, I hope you want to. But even if you don't want to, that doesn't change the call and the commission. Even if you don't feel like loving, you're to love your wives in this way.

Even if you don't get anything in return, even if there's not, you know, a reciprocation of what you would think or want or expect from the kind of attention or devotion that you are giving, this idea of loving your wife is, well, to always do what is best for her in every case without exception, even if it costs you and it's self-denial for the sake of your wife.

Now, I would balance that out to just point out that love doesn't mean always doing what a person wants or asks for. Sometimes what we ask for is not what's best for us. And so, husband, you are to have a kind of a long-term perspective, an eternal perspective, and then be willing to say, I will sacrifice to do what's best for you.

eternally, to do what's best for you, to do what God desires for you, to do what he would like to fulfill and carry out in your life. Well, he goes on here in verse 19, he says, and do not be bitter toward them. Love your wife and don't be bitter towards her. This idea of bitter, you could think about it in a few different ways, but connecting it to the idea of love is that, well, I tried that

I tried loving my wife. I tried doing what's best for her, but I didn't get, you know, the results that I wanted to get. And there can be oftentimes a bitterness that grows and that develops as a result. And so there is this harboring of bitterness. There is this bad attitude and sourness towards your wife because sometimes

She didn't respond. She didn't, you know, reciprocate. She didn't react the way that you wanted to in the things that you gave towards her, the things that you did for her in the way that you loved her. Again, Pastor David Guzik says, This is important, husbands.

Do not be bitter towards your wife, no matter how she treats you. Love your wife, no matter how she treats you, no matter how she responds, no matter what she gives in return, no matter how you feel about it. You might feel like you don't have all the pieces to be a complete husband, but you do in Jesus. You might feel like you don't have all the pieces to be a complete wife, but you do in Jesus. You might be saying, how on earth can I submit to Jesus

this guy. How can I fulfill that when it's so difficult? I mean, I want to, but he just makes it so hard. If only he would see things my way, then it'd be easy for me to submit to him, right? That's not really submission. That's something else. We always submit to people whenever they agree with us, right? The disagreement. And when we see things differently, that's the real test of submission. And you might feel like, I don't have all the pieces, but you do. You

You are complete in Jesus Christ. You have everything that you need. And when you find yourself struggling and wrestling with this role in this relationship, ladies, you need to seek the Lord to find out how to put those pieces in place and submit to your husband for his sake. That is for the sake of the Lord, for his glory and his honor. And husbands, you might feel like you're lacking some pieces.

How on earth can I love this lady? I mean, she just frustrates me to no end. And I try to help her and I try to do what's good for her. And it's like, she just like fights against it. Like she doesn't want what's good for her. She doesn't want, you know, and it's so, how can I do this? I'm so frustrated. I'm so embittered. You have all the pieces. You have everything that you need, but you need to seek the Lord and find out how to put those pieces in place. He's provided what you need to love your wife and

Now, these are just two verses. Real quick, simple instruction for the wife. Real quick, simple instruction for the husband. Simple to declare, not necessarily simple to follow, right? But you get the point.

Listening to Damian Kyle teach on this, he said, this is not the only instruction that could ever be given on marriage, but these are the two essentials. You cannot get these wrong and do marriage right.

So I would encourage you to revisit these essentials often. There's a lot of other things we could talk about, you know, communication and finances and, you know, all kinds of things. But these are the two essentials. And you got to get these right. There's other things you got to get right too. But these are the two. If you get these things wrong, nothing else in your marriage will go right because this is the way that God has designed it.

And you know, it's an important thing for us to take care of and to maintain because marriages are under attack. The enemy wants to destroy marriages and our relationships to each other. I just performed a wedding a couple weeks ago and in doing so, I was looking over my files of different weddings that I've performed and been part of. And as I was looking over that, I just started kind of doing like a little mental math and just doing the math in my head. It

Seemed about a half of those marriage ceremonies that I've been part of, those couples are no longer together. You know, we've heard those statistics for years, right? 50%, you know, marriages end in divorce. But it was interesting to just kind of reflect on my own experience and my own interaction and thinking about the different couples that, you know, we've, you know, been part of in that way. And your marriage is under attack. You need to do some work to honor the Lord through it.

So wives, submit to your husband. Husbands, love your wife. Do it for Jesus. Even if you can't do it for them, do it for Jesus. He's worth it and he's given you everything that you need. Well, moving on to the third point, going on to verse 20 now. I will obey my parents for Jesus. Verse 20 says, children, obey your parents in all things for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.

Continuing to look at the family, the home, and the family structure, Paul now addresses the children. And he's addressing those who are children within the home. So, you know, we're all children in the sense that we have parents, but what he's talking about is the idea of minors, or those who are still living under the home and the authority of their parents. And he's talking about those who are children within the home.

And they are to have this particular kind of relationship. Now, children are to always honor their parents. There is an honor that is due and right and appropriate, no matter what age we are. But also, for those who are still at home, for those who are under the household or the authority of their parents, the Lord says, here's how you honor Jesus.

In your relationship with your parents, you obey them in all things. Obedience. You do what they say. You take their word and you put it into practice. Now, obviously, there is the exception where, you know, something that you're instructed, this goes with any authority, whether it's the government or the workplace or within the home. Anything that, you know, would cause you to violate God's instruction, well, you must obey God rather than man.

But aside from that, God says in all things, children, there's a few children in here, you're to be obedient to your parents. You're to do what they say. If they tell you, here's the curfew, if they tell you, here's the bedtime, if they tell you, here's the days you go to school, if they tell you, here's the time that you're going to watch Star Wars, whatever they tell you, you're to be obedient in all things.

And similar to our previous discussion, you may not feel like obeying your parents. You may not think, well, there's just no way I can do what they're wanting me to do, what they're asking me to do. And there's just no way. Well, all the pieces are there. And if you're struggling with obeying your parents, you need to be running to Jesus and seeking the Lord about how those pieces fit into place because he has given you everything that you need to honor him in that way and expressing your love to the Lord in that way.

By submitting to your parents and obeying your parents in all things. And notice he goes on to say here in verse 24, this is well pleasing to the Lord. The real question when it comes to obedience to your parents is, do you want to be pleasing to the Lord? Now, if you're really honest, when you're disobedient, it might just be because you don't really care about pleasing the Lord. But if you're considering and desiring to please the Lord, then you're

Well, that's going to be lived out. And of course, there's going to be a lot of kids who would want to say, I desire to please the Lord, but I disobey my parents, right? I'm not going to do what you say, but I still want to please the Lord. And there can be this, you know, expression. Similarly, a husband can say, I love the Lord, but I don't love my wife. Well, that's not consistent. That's a lie. It's not genuine. It's not the truth. The reality is when our desire is to honor Jesus,

Wives will submit to their husbands. Husbands will love their wives. And children will obey their parents in all things. Because we love him. Because he's most important to us. And because we find all that we need in him. And so I will honor Jesus in my relationships. Between husband and wife. From children to parents. And now parents to children. In verse 21 we get point number four. I will encourage my children for Jesus.

Verse 21 says, fathers, do not provoke your children lest they become discouraged. Fathers, do not provoke your children. Now, when he says fathers here in verse 21, I would not suggest that you moms tune out. The word fathers here is also translated parents in other places. In Hebrews 11, verse 23 says,

It tells us, by faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents. Same word. It wasn't just his dad that hid him, but it was his parents, his mom and dad. And it is common, and you might think of that like in Spanish, right? Los padres, right? It's masculine, but it refers to both the mom and the dad. And so in a similar way, it's possible that

Perhaps likely that when he says fathers here, he's not just addressing the dads exclusively, but referring to the parents as a whole. And he's saying, parents, do not provoke your children. Don't provoke them. Now, this word provoke, it means to stir up.

And oftentimes, you know, provoking can be a provoking to wrath, right? That stirring up to anger. But there's also things that are good results of being stirred up. You know, you can be stirred up to love. You can be stirred up to serve. You can be stirred up in a variety of ways. And so when he says, do not provoke your children, obviously the connotation is in a negative way, but it's not just in the realm of anger. It's, well, in...

A realm that ends in discouragement. He says, lest they become discouraged. Pastor Thomas Constable says, what is in view here is the habitual provoking of children by insensitive parents, especially fathers. Some provocation is necessary in disciplining, but ceaseless irritation causes children to become discouraged, sullen, angry, and even hateful.

And so there's this balance that needs to be sought. There's this balance that needs to be found. I think it's interesting what he says. Some provocation is necessary. To discipline your children, to raise them and disciple them, there is going to be some provoking necessary. But there can also be provoking that is excessive. He describes it as a ceaseless irritation. There can be a provoking, a stirring up to provocation.

And perfectionism that can result in discouragement and sullenness and angry and hateful, you know, there can be a provoking to, well, it's often, you know, been observed that parents often like to try to live, you know, their dream of a life through their children and make their kids do what they always wanted to do. That stirring up, that provoking may not be appropriate. Right?

There is the idea of training up a child in the way that he or she should go, right? And there is a provoking that is important, that is good for stirring them up towards what God has for them. But there has to be that balance and that carefulness that it's not a provoking of something that is not good and does not result in things that God desires for them because the end result will be they will become discouraged. Pastor Warren Wiersbe says, "'Discouraged children.'"

It's something to consider. It's something to pay attention to. If this relationship is not handled well, then the children are especially vulnerable targets. And our enemy roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. So parents, I would just remind you, there is a great responsibility there.

Maybe you want to provoke your children because they provoke you. We were talking about while we were with my family how I was really good at provoking my sister, right? We're good at that as families, right? And we get under each other's skin and we know how to get under each other's skin, right? And that's a dangerous tool. We need to be careful. Do not provoke your children unless they become discouraged, unless you leave them vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy, right?

for the name of Jesus, for the honor of Jesus, to glorify Jesus. Don't provoke your children. Encourage them. Build them up. Seek out what's best for them and God's plan and purposes for them. Pastor Warren Wiersbe says, "...in such a home, the child finds refuge from battles, and yet strength to fight the battles and carry the burdens of growing maturity."

He finds a loving heart, a watching eye, a listening ear, and a helping hand. And so there's a great encouragement for the home. Wives submitting to their husbands for Jesus' sake, for his name, for his glory. Husbands loving the wives for the name of Jesus, for his glory. Children obeying their parents to honor the Lord and represent him. And parents to encourage and build up and strengthen their children.

As an expression of their love for the Lord and to help their children to know the Lord and to walk with him. Moving on to verse 22, now we get point number five this evening, and that is, I will obey my boss for Jesus. I will obey my boss for Jesus. Now, there's a few retired people in here. You guys can tune out. But for the rest of us, verse 22 says, bond servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh.

not with eye service as men pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. Here Paul addresses the bond servants. Now, talking about bond servants and masters, this is a little bit foreign to us in our present day, in our present age, in our present society, right? But as Paul addresses slavery here, I would...

Point you back to, you know, throughout history that slavery was not invented in America. And as much as, you know, that's such a touchy subject here, slavery has existed since close to the beginning of creation. And in Roman times, it was the norm. The majority of the people you would see, you know, about the city as you would go from place to place or whatever, they were bond servants or slaves, right?

Now, slavery in the Roman Empire could be, you know, the worst case scenario that you imagine in your head of what slavery is. That existed in the Roman Empire, right?

But that wasn't necessarily the norm. Slavery could also be much more like what we would look at today as the employee and employer relationship that we're used to seeing. And so there was a huge range that was covered under this idea of bond servants and masters. Now for us today in our particular society, we can look at these things and

we'll immediately apply it to that employee and employer relationship and understand this is instruction for us. And so here's what God says to us. Obey in all things your masters according to the flesh. That is human authorities that are placed over you in the workplace. Those are your masters and you're to obey them. And you think about how many times the Lord is commanding obedience here in this passage.

He tells the wives to be submitted. He tells the children to obey. And now he tells the bond servants to obey. And that highlights something important to note. You know, Jesus said that in order to find our life, we need to lose it. In order to gain what we desire, we also have to give up. We have to let go. In order to live, we have to die to ourselves.

And this whole idea of obedience and submission that is found as instruction to us throughout the scriptures is not just oppression upon us, but it's really a call to reflect the character and the nature of God. Think about that. Obedience and submission in our lives is a reflection of the nature and the character of God. Pastor David Guzik puts it this way.

The Father exercises authority over the Son, and the Son submits to the Father's authority. And this is in the very nature and being of God. Our failure to exercise biblical authority and our failure to submit to biblical authority isn't just wrong and sad. It sins against the very nature of God. When we have authority, for example, husbands in the home or parents in the home or masters in the workplace,

When we submit to authority or don't submit to authority, when we're under authority in the home or in the workplace, our responsibility to fulfill that role of having authority or submitting to authority is important, not just as random instruction that God has given, but as a reflection of this is the very nature of God. And sometimes we're representing the Father, and sometimes we're representing the Son.

But either way, we are called to represent God well, to honor him in the way that we live and in the way that we behave. And in the workplace, well, that manifests itself as obedience to my boss. And you can apply all the things that we've been talking about previously, you know, submitting to authority. Sometimes the person in authority, you know, is a real bozo. And maybe you shouldn't call them bozo, but they are. And it's, oh, how can I submit to, how can I be obedient? And

Paul says, look, this is something that you need to do in honor of the Lord. You need to be obedient to your boss, not because of their brilliance, but because they're in that place of authority that God has placed that authority in your life. And so for Jesus' sake, for his name, you might not be able to do it for your boss, but can you do it for Jesus? Yes.

And he goes on to make sure this is a real and sincere obedience. He says, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in sincerity of heart. Now, being your boss with eye service is, you know, as long as the boss is looking, you're doing what the boss asked you to do. But if the boss is away...

If the boss is out of town, if the boss is out of the room, you know, then, well, I'm going to do it my way because my way is a better way to do it, right? I'm going to do what I want or I'm going to do what I think or I'm just going to goof off and go have a coffee because my boss isn't here to see whether or not I'm actually doing the work that I'm supposed to be doing, right? That's eye service. Amending your behavior, changing your behavior depending on whether or not your boss is there, present, and able to see what's going on. But here God says...

Whether or not somebody's watching you, whether or not they have a camera in the corner, you know, to make sure you're doing your job, whether or not they're physically there present, in sincerity of heart saying, you know what, I'm going to be as obedient to my boss as I can be as a representation of the Lord and to honor the Lord. And he finishes the verse saying, fearing God. See, all of this is connected to our relationship to God. All of this is connected to our fellowship with God. And if we don't fear God, we're

Well, we may or may not be obedient to our masters. But if we do fear God, then we will be obedient to our masters. We will be submitted to those authorities that God places in our lives. It might be a challenging thing. We might feel like, I don't have all the pieces to be that employee. I don't know how to be that employee. I don't know how to relate to my boss in that way. I don't know how to... Well, all the pieces are there. But you need to seek Jesus.

Find out how to put those pieces in place. He has what you need to obey your boss, to be submitted in a way that honors the Lord. You need to find it in him. Seek the Lord for how to live that out in a way that honors Jesus. Jesus is worth it. What he has given us deserves our honor in this way. Now, the next few verses are attached to this passage.

instruction to bond servants, but also applies overall. And so we're going to skip over verses 23 through 25 and come back to those at the end. But let's jump down to chapter 4, verse 1-12.

Here's point number five. I will obey my boss. No, that's already did that. Point number six. I will treat people fairly for Jesus. I will treat people fairly for Jesus. Verse one says, masters, give your bond servants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a master in heaven.

And so now Paul addresses the other side. We talked about the bond servants in relationship to the masters, like we did with husbands and wives, children and parents. Now the other side of the bond servants, now we address the masters. It's interesting to note here that Paul doesn't say, masters, set all of your slaves free. There's some discussion that we can have around that, and we're not going to tonight, but

It's important to consider these kinds of things. And if you want to dig into some more insights on slavery and this whole concept, I would encourage you to check out 1 Corinthians chapter 7, where Paul talks about those who are enslaved. And he says, look, if you have an opportunity to be free, well, go for it. But also, if you're a bondservant, well, that's okay. You can be a bondservant in Christ and for Christ. And so, you know, don't

Stay in that position if you have an opportunity to get out, but also don't let your position be something that worries you or troubles you. The Lord knows, and he can get you out of that if he wants to. But then also the book of Philemon is another great resource because there Paul is addressing a master, right?

where there was the slave that had run away, Onesimus, that Paul had encountered. And he sends Onesimus back to Philemon with this letter and, well, gives him some instruction for how to receive him and what that relationship should look like. And so it gives us some great understanding and some important things to consider. So here now we're addressing the master's.

And Paul's agenda here wasn't to change all of society, not that he was in agreement with masters and slavery and all of that, but just working within the parameters that were already there. Here's the way that God would have you to relate to those who are your bondservants. And how is that? Well, he says, give your bondservants what is just and fair. Paul was concerned with their wages, how they were treated.

Give them what's right. Give them what is fair. Pay them appropriately. Give them the resources or the benefits that are appropriate, that are right, and that are fair for the labor that they are doing. It's a biblical principle, right? If you don't work, you don't eat. The worker is worthy of his wages. That God firmly believes in the hard work, the labor that earns and deserves work.

wages and reward and results that come as an investment from the energy that was put in. It's a biblical concept. It's a thing that God keeps. You reap what you sow. It's a thing, a law that God has established. There's a problem because sometimes those who have authority, masters, well, they decide, you know, I can hold back a little bit of what is earned or deserved and

and keep more for myself. And they're in a position of power. They're in a position of authority. So they're able to get away with not giving what is just and fair. I think this is important for us to consider whether or not we are directly, you know, bosses and supervisors in a workplace thing. But as I worded the point, just treating people fairly for Jesus is something good for us to consider.

It's something that I discovered when I was working freelance for several years. Through the process of that, I learned to appreciate work in a different way. And I learned to value work and time in a different way than I had previously. Not that I didn't value it before, but when you're working freelance, you encounter things like people wanting you to do stuff for them for free. And that happens all the time. Well, hey, I can't pay you right now, but listen.

This work that you do for me, it's going to get you so much exposure. And I have so many friends who have work that you can do for them. And so, boy, you do this job for me and I'm going to get so much work coming your way. That promise is given regularly, consistently. And there are always people who are trying to take advantage of those who will fall for that kind of thing and do work for free. And there's an appropriate time to be generous and do work for free.

But we should not be those kinds of people who are trying to get other people to do work without giving what is right and fair. Through that season of freelance, I learned to value my own work and time, but also to value other people's work and time.

And so I think about it differently when I hire someone to, you know, work on my yard or do things for me, draw up, you know, things. When I contract someone to do something, it's important that we consider what's right, what's fair. Not, hey, paying people less than they deserve is not good stewardship. You can think about it. I'm just good with my money, right? And so I just, you know, nickel and dime. That's

That's not a way to honor Jesus necessarily. We do need to be good stewards, but there's the balance of, hey, we need to treat people rightly and fairly. In the context that Paul is talking about here in masters and bond servants, understand it's not just in payment, but we are to treat people justly and fairly, even when we have the advantage of power, authority, status, finances, whatever it might be, that balance.

That we're to treat people in a way that honors the Lord. And so if they're, you know, our employees or we supervise them or we are hiring them for some job, that we treat the person in a way that honors the Lord and they have what's right and fair as a result. He goes on to say,

He connects this idea with you have a master and you're going to give an account. And you know, the golden rule is do unto others as you want them to do unto you, right? Well, the platinum rule is do unto others as you want God to do unto you, because that's what's going to happen. You're going to reap what you sow. And so the way that you treat others who are under your authority, is that the way that you want God to treat you? Or do you want God to be generous, to bless, to do what's right and fair for you?

Well, let's finish it up with the final thought here in verses 23 through 25 of chapter three. And here's the final point. I will always do my best for Jesus. And here, again, it applies directly to the bond servants or it's connected, but really applies to the whole thing. In verse 23, Paul says, "'Whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ.'"

But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality. Paul kind of reiterates verse 17, whatever you do. So apply this across the board, all of your life, all the things that you do. He says, do it with your heart. Do it heartily. Give yourself to the work that you do, to the activities that you're involved in, as to the Lord. So that if you're mowing the lawn, you're saying, Lord, I'm doing this for you.

And if you're driving to work, you're saying, I'm doing this for you. And if you're washing the dishes, Lord, I'm doing this for you. And if you're, you know, whatever it is that you're doing, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men. You're not doing this for your husband. You're not doing this for your wife. You're not doing this for your children. You're not doing this for your boss. You're doing this for the Lord. So do it heartily. Everything that you do, live your life with that attitude, with that mindset, with that heart, right?

He goes on to say, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward. So wife, you might look and say, well, I'm submitting to my husband, but I'm not getting anything for it. Well, you're not going to get anything for it from your husband, perhaps. But that's okay, because you're not serving him, you're serving the Lord. And husband, you might say, well, I'm trying to love my wife, but I'm not getting anything in return. You may not ever get anything in return for your love towards her the way that God instructs you to, but it's the Lord who rewards you.

And children might say that towards parents and parents might say that to children. Bond servants might say, I'm not, you know, getting paid what I deserve. I'm working hard. I'm, you know, doing what the boss says, but they don't pay me appropriately. And the Lord says, keep doing it heartily. Ask the Lord. You're serving the Lord and know that God sees what you're doing. He sees the efforts you're putting in and you will receive from him the reward that's appropriate because you serve the Lord Christ and you're not serving man.

Even in your relationships with one another, you're not serving man. You're serving the Lord. So honor the Lord in those relationships and do your best. But he gives the warning, goes along with that in verse 25, but he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done. And there's no partiality. And so you walk through all these different relationships. If you don't do what's right and you don't honor the Lord, wife,

God's going to deal with you. And there's not going to be partiality because you can make Bambi eyes and make him feel bad, right? No, no partiality. You don't submit to your husband, you'll be repaid. And the Lord will deal with that. Husband, you don't love your wife, and the Lord will repay you. The Lord will deal with you according to what you have done in your dishonor of him in your relationship to one another. Children and parents, employee, employer, all of our relationships, when we dishonor the Lord,

God says, I'll take care of that. It'll be repaid without partiality. So there's great incentive, motivation for us to honor Jesus in our relationships because we're really serving him. And when we fail to do what he's instructed us to do, when we fail to relate to one another the way that he has instructed us to relate to one another, we dishonor him and we deserve repayment. We deserve to be dealt with accordingly. But when we take those pieces that he's given to us and

And we are the complete man or woman, husband or wife, child, parent, employee, employer. When we're putting those pieces in place in honor of the Lord and to serve the Lord, there's also great reward. You have what you need. You have everything that you need. And you have every reason to honor Jesus. So honor him in all of your relationships, in all that you do, always doing your best to glorify him. Let's pray. Lord, we...

Consider your word and it's challenging. There's a lot of areas here that we could be convicted in and challenged by and think that it's impossible to do what you've asked. And yet, Lord, we know according to your word that we are complete in you. And so, God, I pray that you would help us to seek you. And Lord, not to try to live out these things in our own strength and with our own resources, but Lord, would you fulfill those needs that we have and those gaps that we have and help us

to see through your eyes and to have your heart. Help us to have your nature and character, to put on the nature of Christ, Lord, that we might represent you well and honor you. Lord, for husbands and wives, I pray, Lord, that you would strengthen them first in their love for you, Lord, that they might, in expression of that love, relate to one another in a way that represents you, in a way that others would know your love.

your character, even the submission that's found within the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the relationship, the way that you relate internally, Lord, I pray that you would help us to reflect that. For parents and children, we pray, God, for great wisdom for parents, Lord, that they would provoke in a way that brings encouragement, that they would stir up in a way that helps and builds up, and that there would not be the discouragement and the open vulnerability, Lord, that the enemy would prey on the children.

and god i pray for those in the workplace employees and employers help us lord to represent you well whether we have authority or under authority but help us to serve you in all that we do we pray this in jesus name and we pray you have been blessed by this bible teaching the power of god to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and bible study resources