Spring Harvest’s ‘Route 66 Through the Year’ is designed to take readers on a tour through each of the 66 books of the Bible over the course of a year, with each day’s reading featuring a short passage and comment written by a variety of Spring Harvest speakers.
I have contributed notes for this week on Colossians, looking today at 3:18-4:18.
Read: Colossians 3:18-4:18
Regardless of where we might stand on the interpretation of the so-called ‘household code’ in 3:18-4:1, the passage portrays a Christianity that is whole-life, relationships that are two-way, and a motivation that is Christ-centred.
Paul’s ‘whatever you do’ in 3:17 already makes it clear, but the section that follows reinforces the fact that Christ’s rule extends to the whole of our existence. The gospel is worked out in our mundane, daily life, wherever we are – in the domestic sphere and in the public sphere, at home and at work.
In addition, the passage reminds us that relationships are reciprocal, that duties belong to both parties. Wives and husbands, children and parents, slaves and masters are equal in being treated as members of the Christian community and in being called to treat others as responsible human beings to whom they are related in some way.
Finally, every aspect of our life and relationships – whether of family or work – is redefined in relation to Christ. And this fits with what we have seen throughout Paul’s letter. Faced with the challenges of following Jesus in an indifferent or hostile society, Colossians orients us around the word of the gospel and the majesty of Christ, showing who Jesus is, what he has done, and how that works out in the everyday lives and relationships of ordinary men and women.
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