Christ Preeminence is Detailed to the Colossians Volume 38

Paul's Exhortation to Masters/ Employers & Slaves/Employees & Summation to All

Colossians 3:22-4:1 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. KJV

In the days that this letter was written to the Church @ Colosse, slavery was as common then as we find today in this country many individuals and businesses employing illegal immigrants in various jobs that pay them very low wages. Paul was writing to people (even in the Church) who no doubt were slave owners. So, he now begins to instruct those slave owners and the slaves themselves on what their responsibility to one another should be because of them belonging to Christ. For we Christians today it would equate to the relationship between employer and employees, so he begins by saying, "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:" (Colossians 3:22) (KJV). Paul tells the slaves/employees to not only obey their masters/employers when they are present, but also when they are absent from their presence by using the English word 'eyeservice' which is translated by the Greek word ophthalmodouleia (only used here and one other time in the entire New Testament) meaning sight labor, that is, that needs watching over constantly; slackness or the quality of being laxed and neglectful. In other words, Paul wants these Colossian believers that were slaves or just employees to be mindful of working hard for their masters/employers as if they are working for our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ and not just for the human being they serve on the earth, but with sincerity, seriousness, and singlemindness, wanting to please God and not man because of reverence for God and fear of God just as the Prophet Nehemiah showed as documented by him with these words, "Also, in the twelve years after I was appointed to be their governor in Judah, from the twentieth to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, neither I nor my kin ate the food allowed to [me] the governor. But the former governors lived at the expense of the people and took from them food and wine, besides forty shekels of silver [a large monthly official salary]; yes, even their servants assumed authority over the people. But I did not so because of my [reverent] fear of God." (Nehemiah 5:14-15) (Amplified Bible). Note: "When we are obedient to God and do not evil, then we do not fear man, but when this is flipped and we disobey God and do evil in His sight, for some strange reason we forget our reverential fear of God and then fear man (this is odd, but true from century to century concerning man)."

Paul declares to them that whatever work they have been assigned to do must be done right as if they were a master craftsmen designing and constructing the place or building they would live in themselves by saying, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;" (Colossians 3:23) (KJV). Their/our work was to be done with such spirit and vigor and enthusiasm and enjoyment as if they were working for our Lord Jesus Christ and not their master/employer as the following Proverbs clearly teach, "He becomes poor who works with a slack {and} idle hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich." (Proverbs 10:4) (Amplified Bible) & "The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slothful will be put to forced labor." (Proverbs 12:24) (Amplified Bible) & "The slothful man does not catch his game {or} roast it once he kills it, but the diligent man gets precious possessions." (Proverbs 12:27) (Amplified Bible) & "The appetite of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the appetite of the diligent is abundantly supplied." (Proverbs 13:4) (Amplified Bible) & lastly, "Do you see a man diligent {and} skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men." (Proverbs 22:29) (Amplified Bible). Nevertheless, no matter the amount of their compensation as an employer or their physical and emotional treatment as a slave the child of God can count on and be sure of the facts associated with the very next verse which reads as such, "Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." (Colossians 3:24) (KJV). The English phrase 'ye shall receive' is translated by one Greek word apolambano meaning to receive (specifically in full, to take or to get hold of. In other words, even though it is our duty to serve the masters/employers with diligent work for our benefit down here on the earth, yet it is our heavenly inheritance that far outweighs, outshines, and outlast any amount of earthly wealth, property, jewels, stocks, bonds, minerals, oil, etc. that we could accumulate down here when we are joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17) and do own and will own all that He (Christ) owns and all the universes, planets, stars, galaxies, etc. all belong to Him, Hallelujah! follows that truth.

Paul warns these Colossian believers and we believers today of the Omniscient (all-knowing) God whom we serve and belong to Jesus Christ Who sees all that we do, good and bad as he declares with these words, "But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons." (Colossians 3:25) (KJV). The English phrase 'he that doeth wrong' is translated by one Greek word adikeo meaning to be unjust, that is, (actively) do wrong (morally, socially or physically): - hurt, injure, be an offender, be unjust, (do, suffer, take) wrong. The English phrase 'respect of persons' is translated by one Greek word prosopolepsia meaning partiality, that is, favoritism: In other words, God (Jesus) will reward the unjust and in jurist person according to their actions and He (Christ) will show no favoritism to any person including His children, He will never be unfair to one while favoring another over the others as we found very clear in what He said to and did to King David for his sin of adultery and murder, "Then Nathan said to David, You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king of Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added that much again. Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, doing evil in His sight? You have slain Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife. You have murdered him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because [you have not only despised My command, but] you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. [Fulfilled in II Sam. 16:21, 22.] And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord {and} given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child that is born to you shall surely die. Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's widow bore to David, and he was very sick. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted and went in and lay all night [repeatedly] on the floor. His older house servants arose [in the night] and went to him to raise him up from the floor, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. And on the seventh day the child died. David's servants feared to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, While the child was yet alive, we spoke to him and he would not listen to our voices; will he then harm himself if we tell him the child is dead? But when David saw that his servants whispered, he perceived that the child was dead. So he said to them, Is the child dead? And they said, He is. Then David arose from the floor, washed, anointed himself, changed his apparel, and went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept while the child was alive, but when the child was dead, you arose and ate food. David said, While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live? But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:7-23) (Amplified Bible). The Master/Employer must simply treat his slaves as our Lord Jesus would treat them and the Employer is to pay his employee wages that will lead to him/her being able to take care of their families and treat them with honor just as our Lord Jesus does, not making them work in horrible working conditions, but being mindful of them as they are of themselves, in so doing they please the Lord Jesus Christ.

"It sanctifies a servant's work when it is done as unto God - with an eye to His glory and in obedience to His command, and not merely as unto men, or with regard to them only. Observe, We are really doing our duty to God when we are faithful in our duty to men. And, for servants' encouragement, let them know that a good and faithful servant is never the further from heaven for his being a servant." Matthew Henry

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…