Colossians 3:1-25

Continuing on from chapter 2:

Colossians 3:1-4:

^3:1Therefore since you were raised-up-together with Christ you must seek-after the-things above where Christ is sitting-down in (the) right-side of God, ^.2you must think the-things above, not the-things on the earth, ^.3for you died and your life was hidden² together with Christ in God – ^.4whenever Christ may be manifested, (who is) your life, then also you will be manifested together with him in glory.

Paul writes: following-on from what I have already written, if/since in-fact you (holy-people, sanctified-people, Christians, saints, children of God) have already been raised up together with Christ (been caused to rise up in conjunction with the Christ and with one-another, jointly) you must presently and actively seek-after the-things above (look for the things which are above, up, those upward things – referring to the things in and pertaining to the heavens, God's realm) where Christ (the Anointed-one, the Messiah) is sitting-down (seated) in the right-side of God.

The phrases "out-from the right-sides" and "with/by/at/in/to the right" are sometimes used literally, as being at the right-hand side or the right hand of someone or something. This can also be used metaphorically referring to a place or position of authority, power, honor, blessing, grace, approval, and excellence; being an extension of the power, etc, of the one whose side he/she is at. It is also used as the agency whereby someone is placed into such a position, or given one or all of these. Christ is presently seated within the sphere of action of, and continuing at, God's right-hand side because this is where God placed him when He raised him up from among the dead-people.

You must think the-things above (you must have the thoughts in your mind of the things originating from above, referring to all that God and the Lord Jesus Christ have made known, made available to us, and made us to be in Christ), not the-things on the earth (you must not think the things originating from upon earth, referring to the fleshy, natural and the devil's realm). In truth, you died (you have previously died because spiritually you now have accomplished everything that Christ has accomplished) and your life – your life (the new life which you now have, your holy spirit-life) was hidden and continues hidden (your life has already been hidden and it is still hidden, concealed and protected) together with Christ in God (in conjunction with Christ within God). Nothing or no-one can break-in and hurt or destroy your holy spirit-life.

At whatever time that Christ will be manifested (evidenced, brought to light, shown-forth), Christ who is your life (he is the true life of all holy-people because we have the spirit of Christ within us – at whatever time that the Christ will be manifested) then at that time also you will be manifested in conjunction with Christ in glory (within importance, splendor, renown). Colossians 1:27 taught that the spirit within all holy-people is the spirit of Christ and he is the hope of glory. Here again, Paul reminds us that Christ, who is our life, will definitely, at a still-future time, be made manifest to all (the specific time has not been revealed by God), and when that will come to pass we will also be manifested together with him in glory.

Our true life is not our natural and fleshy soul-life, which is evidenced by our breathing, nor is it our career at work, nor is it our wife or husband or children or pet dog or cat. No! It is the resurrected Christ who is our life. We holy-people do not have any other true life except the life of Christ in us, the hope of glory.

[Reference: Psalm 110:1; Romans 6:2-14, 8:2-25; I Corinthians 15:20-57; Galatians 5:24; Ephesians 1:20, 2:6, 4:4; Philippians 3:20 and 21; Colossians 2:12 and 20; I Thessalonians 4:13-17; I John 3:1 and 2.]

Verses 5-7:

^.5Therefore you must make-dead the limbs, the (limbs) on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, intense-yearning, and covetousness which is idolatry, ^.6for because-of these-things comes the wrath of God, ^.7in which also you walked at-some-time when you used-to live in these-things;

Paul continues by teaching how all of us holy-people ought to behave ourselves because of having already received the gift of holy spirit, which includes all that God has made us to be in Christ.

Therefore you must actively make-dead (put to death, cause to be dead as a dead-body) the limbs on the earth (referring to the activities of the members of your fleshy body operating upon and proceeding from the earth – as opposed to where you are living spiritually which is in the heavenlies in Christ because you are all limbs of the one spiritual body of Christ). This does not mean that you should kill every limb of your physical body and thus die yourselves, but it means to once and for all treat those fleshy activities as being dead even though you are still physically alive on earth at the moment waiting for Christ to come and gather all holy-people together with him – if something is dead then it cannot affect your everyday living.

The activities carried-out by the limbs on the earth, which you must make-dead once and for all, are:

fornication (wrongful sexual activity or relations),
uncleanness (the state of not being free from mixture of that-which is against God, being mixed with something else, having impurity from God's viewpoint mixed with you),
passion (pathos, emotional affection, experience, suffering, here referring to fleshly affection),
intense-yearning (strong-desire fixed or attached upon certain objects other-than God and the things of God, lust – some Greek texts also include the word "bad" which fits in this context), and
covetousness (a constant-wanting to have more than what God provides, it is greed, always grasping and reaching out to get something else more than what is right),
- this is what is idolatry (practicing the rites and rituals of worship and service to so-called 'gods,' instead of only worshipping and serving the one-and-only true God Who is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ – putting someone or something else as "Number One" in your mind and walk, thus usurping God's rightful place in your everyday living).

In truth, it is on account of these things listed above that God's wrath is presently coming, not on Christians but on those people and spirits which reject God's words and therefore reject everything the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished. The wrath of God is a lasting-angry-vengeance, like the heat of a burning fire - this is not a spur-of-the-moment thing on God's part because He has foretold regarding the consequences of unbelief and rejection of His Word all through the ages.

It was within the sphere of action of the things listed above that also you walked (you who have since then become holy-people walked, which is literally: you moved the feet around, went on foot; figuratively: you walked around during the everyday living of life, you behaved or conducted yourselves in that manner) during a past time (before you received the gift of holy spirit) when you used-to live in these-things (imperfect tense: when you were continually living within/among these things described above, but you do not live, spiritually, in these things anymore).

At the end of verse 6 above, some Greek texts also include the words "on the sons of the un-persuasion" which would indicate that verse 7 could begin with: in/among whom also you…."

[Reference: Romans 1:18-32, 4:19; Galatians 5:19-21, and 24-26; Ephesians 2:2-6, 5:3-6; I Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9.]

Verses 8-11:

^.8but now you must put-away-from-yourselves, even you, all-things: wrath, rage, badness, blasphemy, shameful-wording out-from your mouth; ^.9you must not lie into one-another; having unclothed-away the old man together with his practices ^.10and having clothed-yourselves-with the new (man), the (new man) being newed-up into full-knowledge according to (the) image of the (One) having created him ^.11where there is not in (him) a Greek and a Judean, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman – but Christ (is) all-things and in all-people;

But now – when? – emphatically at the present time you (who have become holy-people) must put (place, set) away from yourselves – emphatically you – all the following things:

wrath (in this context referring to the lasting angry vengeance which is contrary to God's will),
rage (an intense passion or heated-outburst from the mind as a sudden flame from a burning fire),
badness (all forms of being bad, that-which is contrary to God's will),
blasphemy (calumniation, evil-speaking, a treating with lack of Godly reverential-respect for God and His will among you),
shameful-wording (the collection of words that are shameful, in the sense of being indecent, ugly and deformed because they are not in accordance with God and His Word, spoken) out-from your mouth;…

…you must not lie (speak a falsehood) into or directed to one-another.

Doesn't this really emphasize the truth that it is up to every Christian by freedom of will to do what God says? Yes, it does: you put them away from yourselves – you must not lie. God's gift of holy spirit does not dominate anybody, it does not force anybody, it does not control anybody, it does not strike anybody down on the ground shaking or unconscious! Every Christian has freedom of will to believe and do what the only true God says, or not believe and not do what God says in the walk/behavior category.

How is it available for holy-people to be able to walk as God wants all of His children to walk (to behave ourselves during the everyday living of life awaiting Christ's coming to gather us all together with him)? All of us holy-people have holy spirit-life within us, which is the primary requirement since the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), and therefore in the spirit category:

You have already unclothed-away (gotten out-of and away-from what was being on or over you, as stripping off one's garments and putting them away – having unclothed-away) the old man in conjunction with his practices (that man that has existed for a long time, since the fall of Adam, the first man, which is the man consisting-of the fleshy-body and its soul/breath-life and including everything that emanates from this "old man" such as his way of thinking and behaving without holy spirit-life, the old man together with his doings, his habitual actions done in the process of accomplishing something for himself)…

…and (also, in addition)…

you have already clothed-yourselves-with (put-on as a garment by going inside of it, enveloped yourselves with) the new – what? – the context indicates: the new man (figuratively referring to the holy spirit-life within you which is the spirit of Christ in you, Christ being the second and last man; this word "new" emphasizes that this new man has only lately originated, it was recently established, it is fresh, it was not there before, it is not compared to anything which was formerly there),
- the new man presently being newed-up into full-knowledge (being caused to be made new with an upward motion, not a downward motion; this word "new-up" emphasizes being newly-made and different from what was previously in effect, new because it is different from that which had been formerly, new because it replaces the old, new compared to what was there before; being continually renewed with a view to, directed to, regarding full, clear and exact personal knowledge).

All holy-people have already received holy spirit-life which is the new man (refer to verses 1-4 above). We don't have to do anything else to receive it because we already have it. Our holy spirit does not get bigger and bigger, nor does it wear-out or get old and need to be replaced every day, nor does it become "more spiritual" – this is not what Paul is saying. But day after day our holy spirit continues to receive information from God or the Lord Jesus Christ regarding different situations and topics as we live our everyday lives – it is being newed-up and what it receives is different compared to what it had the day before (II Corinthians 4:16).

Colossians 3:10 is different from the verses of Ephesians 2:15 and 4:24 in-that the context of the verses in Ephesians is different and those verses use the word translated "new" comparing the new man to what was previously in effect. This explains why Paul uses the words "new" differently in the Ephesians passages to the Colossians passage above even though he is figuratively referring to the same holy spirit-life within every holy-person, which is the spirit of Christ.

You holy-people have already in the spirit category unclothed-away the old man together with his practices and you have already clothed-yourselves-with the new man, the new man being newed-up into full-knowledge. This full-knowledge is in accordance (conformity and proportion) to/with the image (icon, resemblance, representation) of the One having created him (God is the One Who has already brought this new man into being, into existence) where there is not in him (not within the sphere of action of the new man) the following:

a Greek person (one who is of the Gentile Hellenistic background) and
a Judean person (one who is of the Judean/Israeli background),
a person who is circumcised (physically indicating that he wants to keep the law of Moses and old covenant) and
a person who is uncircumcised (physically indicating that he does not want to keep the law of Moses and old covenant),
a barbarous person (meaning a non-Greek, because the Greeks referred to people who did not speak their language as barbarians),
a Scythian person (one who is extreme in barbarism),
a slave (a person who is in bondage or servitude to other men),
a freeman (a person who is at liberty from bondage or service to other men),…

…but (contrary to such racial, genealogical, class, career-track, educational or intellectual divisions) Christ is all-things and in all-people.

All holy-people have already clothed-ourselves spiritually with the new man, the new man being newed-up into full-knowledge according to the image of the One (God) having created this new man (holy spirit which is the spirit of Christ) where there is not in him, and therefore not in us, a Greek and a Judean, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman – but Christ is all the things God has made him to be and Christ is within all holy-people.

Christ is the image of God (Colossians 1:15). God by His grace gives information, strength, power, etc, to Christ who by his grace gives information, strength, power, etc, to every holy-person via the new man within every holy-person, which is the spirit of Christ in us (Colossians 1:27). Christ is the head of his body, the church, and we holy-people are all limbs of the one spiritual body of Christ.

[Reference: Romans 6:4-6, 10:8-12, 12:2-5; I Corinthians 12:12-14, and 15:21, 22, 45-48; II Corinthians 4:16; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 1:21-23, 4:20-32, 5:4; Colossians 1:15, 2:10-12.]

Verses 12 and 13:

^.12therefore you must clothe-yourselves-with – as selected-people of God, holy-people, also having been loved^1,2 – inner-parts of pity, benevolence, humbleness-of-mind, meekness, patience, ^.13holding-yourselves-up-with one-another and graciously-forgiving yourselves if-ever someone may have a cause-for-blame towards someone, according as also the Lord graciously-forgave you thus also you (must graciously-forgive),

Even though in the spirit category every holy-person has unclothed-away the old man together with his practices and we have clothed-ourselves-with the new man which is the spirit of Christ in us, and Christ is all-things and in all of us, Paul continues about the walk/behavior category.

He writes: following-on from what I have just written, you must clothe yourselves with (put-on as a garment by going inside of it, as though putting on clothes, enveloped yourselves with)….

Before continuing with the list of what holy-people must clothe ourselves with relative to the walk/behavior category, Paul explains that we do this:

as selected-people of God (God's chosen-out or elected people),
holy-people (people who are holy, sanctified, set-apart from the state of being common, defiled or unclean against God, having come into the state of corresponding to the essence of God – we have already received holy spirit-life),
also you have been and are still loved with God's kind of love by God.

Next Paul continues with his list referring to "you must clothe yourselves with"…

inner-parts of pity (literally: insides; figuratively referring to the inner affections, inner-self, feelings, emotions, attitudes, compassions relative-to the subjective tender feeling of unhappiness or distress on seeing the ills being experienced by others),
benevolence (kindness, supplying what is appropriately needed for use in specific situations),
humbleness-of-mind (humility or lowliness of the mind’s thoughts, in the position of having humble-thinking relative-to what God says and the things of God),
meekness (tender-receptiveness or receptivity towards God and the things of God),
patience (long-suffering, long-forbearance towards or with others, long-temperedness).

You must continue holding yourselves in an upright-position with one-another (putting up with, enduring and sustaining each other, all inclusive) and graciously-forgiving yourselves (bestowing unmerited favor, gracing yourselves, and in this context it is the grace of forgiveness, willingly give forgiveness to one-another including yourself, not only forgiving others but also forgiving yourself with gracefulness) if it should happen that someone of you would have a cause-for-blame (a fault found) towards someone among you, according as also the Lord graciously-forgave you in this manner also you must graciously-forgive.

All holy-people have believed what God says regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9 and 10), and so we have received the gift of holy spirit which is the spirit of Christ in us. God has graciously forgiven us in Christ. Spiritually we have no sin and cannot sin because our holy spirit-life does not sin against God – but in the walk/behavior category we do not always do what God wants us to do towards one-another and so we must grace ourselves, bestow the grace of forgiveness to ourselves.

[Reference: Romans 8:33, 12:1; II Corinthians 2:6-11; Ephesians 4:2 and 32, 5:1; Philippians 2:1; Colossians 2:13.]

Verses 14 and 15:

^.14but the bonding-together of the completeness is the love¹ on all these-things, ^.15and the peace of Christ must give-the-prize in your hearts into which (peace) also you were called in (the) body and you must become thankful.

The word “bonding-together” means that-which binds together with a band or fetter as making prisoner, that-which causes things to be bound in conjunction with one-another as making a bundle, the binding-togetherness. The word “completeness” means perfectness, that-which has ultimately arrived at its state of completeness, its ending-issue.

The word "love¹" or the verb "to love¹" comes from the Greek word agape which is God's kind of love. To love with His love means to love the same way as God loves, to manifest God's love towards another, whether it is towards God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, yourself, your Christian neighbor, or towards anyone else. God tells His children today (all who have the spirit of Christ within us) how to Godly-love by means of His previously-revealed written Word and also via our holy spirit-life whereby we receive information from Him regarding how to love in different specific situations. It is the carrying out of God's commandments, His Word, which is the correct usage or way to manifest God's kind of love according to His will (refer to I Corinthians chapter 13 and I John 5:1-3). It is not the same as the brotherly or friendly kind of love, nor is it the same as the emotional/feelings/sexual kind of love.

Paul continues:

but the bonding-together of completeness presently and actively is the Godly-love resting or based upon all these things that pertain to holy-people,
and the peace of Christ (Christ's peace, the tranquil-harmony belonging-to and proceeding-from Christ) must give the prize (umpire, like the giving of a palm or garland which is awarded to the victor by the adjudicator in the sporting-games, Christ's peace must umpire, not your personal, fleshly, natural feelings or emotions or decisions, etc, nor someone else's – but the peace of Christ must give the prize) in your hearts (within the center/core of your beings, the seat of your personal selves) into, with a view to, directed to which peace also you were called (invited) within the body [some Greek texts include the word "one" – in one body, referring to the one spiritual body of Christ]
and you must become thankful (cause yourselves to come to pass to be people who voluntarily express well your gratitude for the grace already bestowed to you).

[Reference: Romans 12:5; I Corinthians 10:17, 12:12-14, chapter 13, and 16:14; Ephesians 2:13-18, 4:3; Colossians 2:18 and 19.]

Verses 16 and 17:

^.16The word of Christ must indwell in you wealthily in all wisdom teaching and admonishing yourselves, with psalms, hymns, spiritual songs in the grace singing in your hearts to God, ^.17and every thing if-ever you may do in word or in work all-things in (the) name of (the) Lord Jesus, being thankful to God (the) Father by means of him.

The word of Christ (the spoken-account pertaining to and issuing from the resurrected Christ, the Anointed-one, the Messiah) must presently and actively indwell in you wealthily (inhabit, house within you richly – this is not an inactive or passive dwelling, but active to the degree of 'wealthily' during the everyday living of your lives). How? In all wisdom (within the sphere of action of all/every skillful or expert application of personal knowledge regarding Christ) teaching and admonishing yourselves (you must be instructing and putting yourselves in mind of the word of Christ, both individually and collectively, each one to himself/herself and each one to/with other limbs of the one spiritual body of Christ at the appropriate times), with/in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs within the grace (the unmerited favor bestowed by God and the Lord Jesus Christ upon you) singing in your hearts (the center of your beings, with everything you've got) to God. To Whom? God – even if you are among a group of holy-people your focus and attention must be towards God, not towards the choir-leader, or the tuning of the piano, or anyone else, or anything else.

Psalm – the Greek word transliterated into the English "psalm" refers to a song that is spoken in different tones while accompanied by a stringed instrument being touched, twanged, plucked, or played in commemoration of mercies received from God (receiving mercy is when God withholds merited or deserved judgment from you). To sing a psalm is not the kind of singing done in our modern day where the drums are thumping and the voice goes from one extreme to the other! It is similar to how King David sang his psalms, which are recorded in what is known as the Book of Psalms. Since the day of Pentecost, all people who have received the gift of holy spirit can psalm with our holy spirit, or with our mind understanding the words being psalmed.
Hymn – the Greek word transliterated into the English as "hymn" refers to a song that is sung in praise of/to God.
Song – this Greek word may be transliterated into the English as "ode" and refers to a song being sung in celebration and thankfulness whether it is for a special occasion, a battle, harvest, etc.

Here in verse 16, the kind of songs/odes Paul is referring to is spiritual, referring to the truth that all holy-people have the spirit of Christ within, and these songs/odes are sung by freedom of will in accordance with your holy spirit-life, whether you sing with the spirit (with tongues) or with the mind (with words your mind understands).

And every thing (all/everything, whatever that something may be) if it should happen that you would do (perform that something) in word (within a spoken-account) or in work (within a deed, an action), all things (every one of them) at whatever time you do them must be in the name of the Lord Jesus, being thankful (expressing your gratitude) to God, Who is our Father, by means of him (through our Lord Jesus Christ).

When reading the phrase "in the name of" – we should understand that when God talks about something being done "in the name of" something or someone else, it incorporates the fullness of everything involved with the one named. Regarding the name of the Lord Jesus, it includes all that the name of "Lord" and the name of "Jesus" represent and stand for. "In the name of the Lord Jesus" gives emphasis to Jesus being the Lord/Master, and means: within the cause and sphere of action of all the authoritative-power, ability, workings, etc, that God gave to Jesus when he raised him up out-from the dead-people, and gave him the name that is above every other name, designating the resurrected Jesus being Lord and Christ (refer to Acts 2:21 and 38; 3:6 and 16; 4:7-12, and 30; Romans 1:3 and 4; Ephesians 1:19-23; Philippians 2:9-11; II Thessalonians 3:6).

To Whom must holy-people/Christians give thanks? God. We must be being thankful to God Who is also our Father in the name of our Lord Jesus.

[Reference: Acts 3:6 and 16, 4:7-12, 16:25, 27:35; Romans 8:11; I Corinthians 14:15, 27 and 28; II Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 5:18-20; Colossians 1:12 and 28.]

Following in the same context as verses 16 and 17 above, Paul specifically addresses two categories within the church in Colosse as he continues to teach them how to walk (behave, conduct themselves during the everyday living of life) because they are holy-people:

1. the Christian family relationship, and

2. the Christian work relationship.

He begins with the Christian family relationship:

Verses 18-21:

^.18Wives, you must subject-yourselves to (your) husbands as fitting in (the) Lord; ^.19husbands, you must love¹ (your) wives and you must not make-yourselves-bitter towards them; ^.20children, you must obey (your) parents according to all-things, for this is well-pleasing in (the) Lord; ^.21fathers, you must not stimulate your children in order that they may not lack-a-willing-mind;

The wives (women - translated "wives" depending on the context), you are to subject yourselves (cause yourselves to be in submission, to be arranged in the position of being underneath in the walk/behavior category by the freedom of your will) to your husbands (adult-males, grown-men - translated "husbands" depending on the context; not other people's husbands) – in what context? As fitting in the Lord.

The Greek word translated "fitting" here is an impersonal verb that is active in the imperfect tense, which usually denotes an action that used-to be continually done during a past time-period. Therefore here, being used in the context of how holy-people ought to behave at the present time-period, it emphasizes that the action of wives subjecting themselves to their husbands is relevant to our present physical living arrangement only because we still have our fleshy bodies; it is not relevant to the spirit category because we all have received the same holy spirit-life (refer to verse 11 above and Galatians 3:28). It was fitting continuously during past time and, because we still have our fleshy bodies, it is still fitting (it distinguishes, it suits, having come up to an appropriate level, convenient, pertinent) within the sphere of action of the Lord Jesus Christ. We should live our everyday lives according to God and our Lord Jesus Christ while we await Christ's coming to gather us together with him. Wives, you must subject-yourselves to your husbands as fitting in the Lord.

The husbands, you must actively Godly-love your wives and you must not make yourselves bitter (not cause yourselves to be pointed, sharp, keen in the sense of being piercing and pungent, acrid, it is cruelly-painful to the recipient of it) towards/with your wives. The husbands make their own decisions not to cause themselves to be bitter towards their wives by the freedom of their own wills.

The children (male and female), you must obey your parents (hear what your parents say, listen-attentively, then carry-out what you hear) in accordance with all things (verses 16 and 17) – why? In truth, this is well-pleasing in the Lord (goodly agreeable, acceptable and gratifying within the sphere of action of the Master, the Lord Jesus Christ).

Isn't it great to see and realize that God's Word is not only for the "grown-ups," the moms and the dads! God's Word also speaks directly to the children in the Christian family and these children also have a responsibility to believe and obey what God says. The moms and the dads ought to teach their children what God says so that their children will know what God says.

The fathers, you must not stimulate your children (not arouse, excite, irritate or provoke them into action in the bad sense of stimulating them to fight) – why not? For the purpose and result that your children would not lack-a-willing-mind (so that they won’t be without-passion of mind, become disheartened and so lack enthusiasm in their endeavors to do dad and mom's will which ought to be God and the Lord Jesus Christ's will in every situation).

Within the Christian family, with the husband/father doing God's will and his wife doing God's will, then whatever the wife would say and do with their children would be according to her husband, the child's father. Therefore, the activities of the wives are also included in the usage of the word “fathers” in verse 21. (Also, it may be interesting to note: Exodus 2:1-3; Acts 7:20; Hebrews 11:23.)

It is up to the freedom of will of each member of the Christian family to walk with and for God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

[Reference: Matthew 22:30; Ephesians 4:31, 5:21-6:4; I Peter 3:1-7.]

Next we read Paul's teaching by revelation regarding the close working relationship that holy-people/Christians should have with the Lord Jesus Christ and with one another.

Verses 22-25:

^.22slaves, you must obey (your) lords according to flesh, not in eye-service as man-pleasers but in singleness of heart being fearful (towards) the Lord, ^.23that-which if-ever you may do you must work out-from (your) soul as to the Lord, not to men, ^.24having known² that you will receive-to-yourselves from (the) Lord the repayment of the inheritance, you must serve-as-slaves to the Lord Christ, ^.25for the (person) doing-unrighteously will bring-to-himself that-which he did-unrighteously, and there is not a reception-of-face;

The slaves - slaves? To be a "slave" was quite an honorable and responsible position to hold. However, today in the minds of some people the word "slave" has been changed from God's original design of a working-relationship to what mankind twisted, corrupted and perverted it to mean as a position of demoralization or degradation, etc. But we who are students of God's Word must consider this word "slave" as God considered it at the time of Paul's writing of this letter. A slave is one who is bound to serve his master. This service as a slave meant that his whole being was at the service of or in service to that one master, not serving anybody or anything else! During the time-period of the writing of the Bible, a master was obligated to take-care of his slave (bond-servant) and the slave was obligated to do all his master would ask of him. It was a mutually-beneficial relationship between the master and his slave.

The slaves (who are holy-people, today perhaps called 'employees'):

you must obey your lords according to flesh ('lords' emphasizes their dominion and authority; your masters who are also holy-people but who are your lords in the flesh category, today perhaps called 'employers'; hear what your employers say, listen-attentively, then carry-out what you hear in the work/service relationship),
not obeying them in eye-service as man-pleasers (which is only rendering what appears to be genuine service under the master's eye when he is watching, but it is actually counterfeit, just as the people who do things for the sole purpose of constantly seeking to please mankind, other human-beings, desiring to 'look good' by doing those things which are acceptable to whoever is watching)
but on the contrary, in singleness of heart (within plainness of the center of your being, straight-forwardly without any double-meanings, false motives or intentions on your part) being fearful towards the Lord (having fright, being afraid at the consequences of the performance of any wrong behavior, and therefore manifesting the awe and respect that is rightfully due and ought to be shown towards and pertaining-to the Lord/Master who is the Lord Jesus Christ – some Greek texts have the word "God" instead of the word "Lord" here).

If it should happen that you do (perform) some action, you must work that thing (expend your energy doing that task) out-from your soul (outwards from the interior of the life of your physical body which is evidenced by breathing, soul-life, breath-life, what allows you to move and work, etc, figuratively referring to your being, including your character and disposition, yourselves, put yourselves into what you're doing having received the instructions from your master according to flesh) as doing that task to/for the Lord Jesus Christ, not doing it to/for men, mankind. Why? Because you already know and you still know (perceive, see) that you will receive to yourselves from the Lord (you will take away from the one giving who is the Lord Jesus Christ to yourselves, receive to yourselves in-full) the repayment of the inheritance (that-which is given back to you in the place of, instead of, what was received from you by the giver-back who is the Lord, the requiting pertaining-to the assigned-lot, the heir's portion which is rightfully due to you).

You holy-people must presently and actively serve as slaves (serve in the position of being slaves, bound-people carrying-out your appropriate service) to/for whom? The Lord Christ (emphasis being placed on the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Master and he is the Anointed-one, the Messiah). Being Christians we are to serve the Lord Christ no matter what activity we are doing, which of course ought to be in alignment and harmony with him, and therefore also with God and His Word. In truth, the person doing-unrighteously (acting unjustly, doing wrong) will bring-to-himself (he will receive or take and carry with himself what he will acquire from the Lord Jesus Christ as compensation or reward) that-which he did-unrighteously (past tense because at the time that he will bring it to himself his unrighteous-deed will have already been done by him), and there is not a reception-of-face (a reception of outward-appearance).

The Lord Jesus Christ continues to do God's will, and therefore there is not a reception of face (outward appearance) at rest beside, at or with him. The reception or taking of a person's outward-appearance is neither in God’s nor in the Lord Jesus Christ's power or judgment, because it is neither with God nor with Christ to be utilized by them. The Lord does not receive the face or countenance which is presented or turned to his eye to be seen by him, like an actor on stage would wear a mask and present it forth to take-on the outward-appearance of another person to make the audience think of him in a different way. The Lord Jesus Christ does not have partiality or favoritism based on a person's outward-appearance. He is not a receptor or respecter of persons, of faces, of "masks," even when there is no intention of pretence on the part of the one presenting himself before the Lord Jesus Christ or before God.

[Reference: Deuteronomy 10:17; I Samuel 16:7; II Chronicles 19:7; Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11, 12:11; II Corinthians 5:10; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:14, 6:5-9. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (²) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]

Next, Paul teaches regarding the lords (masters, employers) in the Christian work relationship - however, this part of the letter has been put into chapter 4, so, let us continue….

Colossians Chapter 4