Colossians ~ Part 6

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Carnality and Spirituality ~ Part 3

Putting On Yeshua

3 ¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

God’s chosen people. This phrase is found at Romans 8:33 and Timothy 1:1; see also Mattityahu 24:31,

Mark 13:27. As Colossians 3:10–11 make clear, Gentiles who have committed themselves to God and the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua, have been grafted into Isra’el (Ro 11:17–24) and, together with Jews who have made the same commitment, are co-sharers in what God has promised (see also Ephesians 2:11–3:11). However, this does not mean that—as a otherwise valuable commentary says about this phrase—“Isra’el was God’s chosen people, but under the new dispensation the Kehilah has inherited that role.”

¹³ Bear with one another; if anyone has a complaint against someone else, forgive him. Indeed, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive. ¹⁴ Above all these, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together perfectly; ¹⁵ and let the shalom which comes from the Messiah be your heart’s decision-maker, for this is why you were called to be part of a single Body.

Shalom here means something more like “wholeness” than “peace.” The Messiah’s wholeness or “oneness.” His interest is to do the judging, deciding, controlling, and ruling in the heart of Believers (compare Philippians 2:1-13)

And be thankful—¹⁶ let the Word of the Messiah, in all its richness, live in you, as you teach and counsel each other in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude to God in your hearts. ¹⁷ That is, everything you do or say, do in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

The words teach and counsel express the means by which the Gospel is to dwell among Believers. Wisdom, singing, and gratitude characterize the manner of this teaching and admonishing. Verse 17 is similar to 1 Corinthians 10:31: “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.” Doing everything in the name of the Lord Yeshua means doing it in obedience to Him.

Be Messianic in Relationships

In The Family

¹⁸ Wives, subject yourselves to your husbands, as is appropriate in the Lord. ¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives and don’t treat them harshly. ²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything; for this pleases the Lord. ²¹ Fathers, don’t irritate your children and make them resentful, or they will become discouraged.

Sha’ul, in this section, showed how doing everything in the name of the Lord applies to every member of a household. Early Believers adopted and modified this format for describing appropriate behavior of members in a Believer’s household (Ephesians 5:21–6:9; Titus 2:2–10; 1 Peter 2:18–3:7).

Among Masters & Slaves

²² Slaves, obey your human masters in everything, not serving only when they are watching you, to win their favor, but single-heartedly, fearing the Lord. ²³ Whatever work you do, put yourself into it, as those who are serving not merely other people, but the Lord. ²⁴ Remember that as your reward, you will receive the inheritance from the Lord. You are slaving for the Lord, for the Messiah. ²⁵ Don’t worry—whoever is doing wrong will be paid in kind for his wrong, and there is no favoritism shown. 4 ¹ Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly. Remember that you, too, have a Master in heaven^{. [1]}

Some interpreters believe that slaves in the ancient world might have been habitually lazy since they did not profit personally from their labor. Why work hard when you gain nothing personally? Sha’ul offered an extensive rationale for exhorting Messianic slaves to obey their earthly masters in everything: (1) slaves are to work even when unsupervised, because they are ultimately serving the Lord rather than a human master; (2) their service to the Lord will be gloriously rewarded in eternity; and (3) God does not discriminate when it comes to punishing bad behavior. Sha’ul exhorted masters to deal justly with their slaves because they are slaves of God.

In our next post, we examine Sha’ul’s Letters to the Saints, continuing in Colossians.

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^[1] Colossians 3:12–4:1.