Introduction
Paul has been teaching us that believers have taken off Adam’s old humanity which was corrupted because of Adam’s sin in the beginning; and we’ve put on Christ’s new humanity. And we need to work this out in practice in our daily lives. And that means getting rid of the old sins which linger on in our lives. Those old sins — which still make an appearance in our lives — belong to Adam’s old, fallen humanity. They don’t belong to Christ’s new humanity. And so, we need to get rid of them. And we get rid of them with the help of the Holy Spirit, who is at work in our lives to renew us in God’s image and to restore us to what we were meant to be. Just as someone might renovate a classic car and restore it to its former glory, so the Holy Spirit works in us to renew us to the way we were meant to be before sin entered the world through Adam. When Christ comes again, he will renew our bodies as well as the heavens and the earth; but for now, he’s renewing us inwardly by his Spirit.
And the sins which linger on in our lives and which make an appearance in it, our sins which divide us. And Paul mentioned things like sexuality immorality and lust, which divide families; and greed, which makes us resent our neighbour; and anger and rage and malice and slander and abusive language and deceit. These things divide us. So, we must get rid of these practices, because they don’t belong in those who have put on Christ’s new humanity. And instead we’re to put on compassion and kindness and humility and gentleness and patience. And we’re to bear with one another and we’re to forgive one another. And above all, we’re to put on love, because love binds us together in unity. And we should let peace rule our hearts. When sin rules our hearts, we’re divided from one another. But when peace rules our hearts, then we’re able to live peacefully with one another.
So, we’re to get rid of the old sins which tend to linger on in our lives; and we’re to clothe ourselves with all these virtues and practices which are fitting for those who have put on Christ’s new humanity and who are being renewed by his Spirit.
And Paul went on to teach us about living as God’s people in the home. Wives are to submit to their husbands. Husbands are to love their wives. Children are to obey their parents in everything. And fathers are not to embitter their children, lest they become discouraged.
And we spent the last two weeks thinking about husbands and wives and parents and children. Wives are to submit to their husbands and husbands are to love their wives. because marriage is a picture of Christ and his church and their relationship which will be consummated in the life to come when Christ’s church will be made perfect and will be presented before him as a radiant bride; and they will live together in eternal happiness. And so, a happy marriage on earth points to the hope of the gospel, which is eternal life with Christ our Saviour.
And then, when it came to parents and children, I described that old photo of me and Rachel as a toddler. We were walking through a field after a church picnic. And the ground was very uneven and there were bumps and dips for a toddler to stumble over or fall into. And so, I had to hold on to her hand to keep her from falling and to lead her in the right direction. And she had to keep hold of my hand and let me lead her. And that’s a picture of parents and children. We’re on our way to eternal life in the presence of God. That’s where we’re all headed, so long as we believe in the Saviour. But there are dangers on the way and there are trials and troubles which can make us stumble and fall. And so, to help us, God places us in a family. And he commands parents to take hold of their children’s hands and to lead them gently along the right path. And he commands children to take their parents’ hands and to let them lead you. And for this to work as it should, parents and children both have to do their part: parents must lead gently; and children must follow obediently. If parents don’t lead, or if children don’t follow, the children may fall or get lost. And so, whereas the modern western world tells children and young people to let go of their parents and be yourself, God in his word tells children and young people to hold on and to follow them.
So, those are some of the things we’ve been thinking about over the last three or so weeks. Today we come to what Paul has to say about living as God’s people in the workplace. Paul says in verses 22 Colossians 3:
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything….
And then he says in verse 1 of Colossians 4:
Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair….
Of course, you’re maybe thinking that Paul is not talking about the workplace, because he’s addressing slaves and masters. And maybe you’re thinking that this doesn’t apply to people in the workplace, because we’re not slaves and my boss is not my master.
However — and I’ve said this before — it’s important to understand that slaves in the ancient world were often treated well and did important work. When we think of slavery, we tend to think of slavery in the United States, when slaves were sent out to work in the fields where they picked cotton in the deep south all day long. It was hard labour and it was relentless. And they were often treated brutally, because they had no rights and were treated as less than human. In fact, they were treated as the owner’s property and he could do what he wanted with them. That tends to be what we picture in our minds when we think of slavery.
Slaves in the ancient world could also be treated brutally; and their lives could also be miserable; and their work could also be hard and relentless. But others were treated well and they were given important and skilled work to do. The historians tell us that slaves could serve as doctors and teachers and managers. So, when you were ill, the GP was someone’s slave. When you went to school, the teacher was someone’s slave. Or think of Joseph from the Old Testament: he was sold into slavery by his wicked brothers; and he became Potiphar’s slave in Egypt. But do you remember? Potiphar put Joseph in charge of his household and he entrusted to Joseph’s care everything he owned. Joseph was a slave; but he ran the household; he was a manager.
Many of the slaves in the ancient world were doing the same kind of work that we do. And often they were treated well. Like us, they had time off from their duties; and they could enjoy time with their family. So, the distance between slavery in the ancient world and employment in the modern world is not as great as we might first imagine.
And if you think about how much time we spend at work — and some of us have to spend more time at work than we do with our family and friends — you’ll understand that though we’re not slaves, nevertheless we have in common with ancient slaves a requirement to work long hours. And just like them, we have to work long hours. There’s no way round it: we have to work and we have to work long hours.
The gap between slavery in the ancient world and employment in the modern world is not as great as we might first imagine. And so, what Paul says here to slaves and master applies to workers and their bosses.
Creation and fall
Before we get into what Paul says in Colossians, let’s think more generally about what the Bible says about work. And it starts in the beginning when God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden. The Tree of Life in the Garden signified God’s promise to Adam and Eve and their descendants of eternal life in the presence of God. That was the eternal destiny which God set before Adam and Eve in the beginning. However, that eternal destiny did not rule out their earthly calling, which was to fill the earth and subdue it. They were to fill the earth by increasing in number. So, they would fill the earth with people who would come from them. And they were to subdue the world. In other words, they were to go out into the world which God had made and they were to work it and develop it. And so, when God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, he told him to work it and take care of it.
So, God set before Adam and Eve the hope of eternal life in his presence. But he also called them to fill the earth and subdue it. And he wrote his law on their hearts to guide them in their life and work together. However, when Adam disobeyed God’s command regarding the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, sin came into the world and spoiled God’s good creation. And so, after they sinned, God announced to Eve that, while she will continue to have children, giving birth to her children will now be painful; and, while she and Adam will continue to love one another, their love for one another will be spoiled by the desire to rule over one another. And so, home life will be disturbed by sin. And God announced to Adam that the ground will be cursed because of him and his work will now be hard and difficult and frustrating. The ground will still bear fruit, but it will also produce thorns and thistles. And while Adam will still be able to produce food, it will be a struggle for him. And so, work will be disturbed by sin. And from that time on, their hard and difficult life will surely end in death.
And what happened to Adam affects us all, because Adam was the head of the human race. And so, we all inherit Adam’s sinful nature so that we’re born into the world as sinners. That means that sinning comes naturally to us. And therefore it’s natural for us to commit those sins which Paul has been writing about and which divide us. Families are divided. Workplaces are divided. The whole world is divided, because we’re sinners who sin against one another. And instead of loving the Lord with all our heart, we disregard the Lord and his will for us. And instead of loving our neighbour as ourselves, we are selfish and self-seeking.
Common grace
And yet, the world is not as bad as it could be; and we are not as evil as we could be. After the flood, God promised to uphold the world and not to destroy it again with a flood; and he promised that one season will always follow another. And God continues to cause the rain to fall and the sun to shine and the crops to grow. And God continues to send workers into the fields to work them and to take care of them and to produce what we need. He restrains our natural inclination to sin so that people are able to live together and to work together. And he gives us the knowledge and skill and the expertise and the desire to work and to shape the world around us and mould it and to develop it.
And so, even before the flood, we read that Cain was a farmer who grew things; and Abel was a shepherd who raised sheep. Later we read how Cain built a city. We also read of Jubal who was the father of those who played musical instruments. And we read of Zillah whose son made tools of bronze and iron. So, despite our natural inclination to sin, the Lord preserved the world he created and he enabled people to live together and to work together and to make new things and to develop the world around them.
Renewal
But God had something even better in mind, because not only did he intend to restrain our natural inclination to do evil, but he also intended to call a people to himself and to renew us by his Spirit. And so, he announced the coming of the Saviour who would make peace for us with God so that we could receive his Spirit to renew us in his image. And when the time was right, the Saviour came, who is Jesus Christ the Lord, God’s Only Begotten Son, who became one of us and who gave up his life on the cross to pay for our sins; and who shed his blood to cleanse us of our guilt. And through faith in him, we are pardoned and accepted by God and given the hope of eternal life in the presence of God, which is the eternal destiny which God had in mind for us when he created Adam in the beginning. And he gives us his Spirit to renew us inwardly in his image and to help us to get rid of our old sins and to do God’s will here on earth. And so, having pardoned and accepted us for the sake of Christ who died for us, God sends us out into the world to work for his glory and honour.
Faith and works
The last thing to say before we turn back to Colossians, is to repeat what I said at one of our Harvest Thanksgiving Services earlier this year and to underline for you once again the proper relationship between faith and works. We believe that we are pardoned and accepted by God through faith in Jesus Christ, who did everything necessary to reconcile us to God. By nature, or by birth, we are under the wrath of God, because we all inherit Adam’s guilt and his sinful nature. Since we inherit his guilt, then the moment we’re born, we are already regarded by God as sinners who deserve to be condemned. Since we inherit his sinful nature, then sinning comes naturally to us. Instead of working for God’s glory, we work for ourselves. Instead of seeking to do his will, we are self-seeking and selfish. This is what we are by nature or by birth.
But God so loved the world, that he sent his Only Begotten Son into the world to be our Saviour. Christ took the blame for us when he died on the cross; and whoever believes in him receives forgiveness and peace with God. And so, we have peace with God and the hope of eternal life through faith in his Son. We don’t deserve it. We cannot earn it. There’s nothing we can do for God or give to God to make up for what we have done wrong. Salvation — peace with God and eternal life — is something which God gives to us and which we receive through faith in his Son. We receive it through faith and not by our works.
However, once we’ve received salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, we’re to work for God’s glory in the world. We’re to go out into the world and live for him, not to obtain salvation, but in order to demonstrate our gratitude for the salvation which Christ has obtained for us. And so, instead of living for ourselves, instead of being self-seeking and selfish, we’re to serve God in the world and work for his glory by obeying him and doing his will in the home and in the workplace. We’re not working for him to earn our salvation. We have already received salvation by trusting in Christ. But we work for him, because we’re grateful for what he has done for us. And this takes us to Colossians.
Slaves/Workers
Paul says to slaves in verse 22 that they’re to obey their earthly masters in everything. As I said at the beginning, what he says to slaves applies to workers today, because the gap between slaves in the ancient world and workers today is not as great as we first imagine. And, of course, this also applies to students in school or college, because the school or college is your workplace. That’s where you work.
And so, what is God’s will for workers today? God’s will for workers today is to obey your boss. Do what he or she says. And do it in everything. That is to say, ‘in everything’ in the context of the workplace. Your boss hasn’t the right or authority to interfere in your life outside the workplace. And, then, if your boss asks you to do something which God forbids, then you’re to obey God and not your boss. However, assuming your boss is not asking you to do anything which the Lord forbids, then you’re to do what your boss asks — and not just when it suits you, or when you agree, but in everything. Your boss is the boss; and God’s will for you is to do what your boss says.
And Paul says to do it, not only when their eye is on you, and not only to win their favour, but to do it with sincerity of heart and with reverence for the Lord. We all know people who work hard when the boss is watching them; but as soon as the boss leaves the room, they slack off. We all know people who do that, and perhaps that’s what you’ve been doing as well. Or when the teacher leaves the room, the whole class stops working and everyone begins to talk to their neighbour. But God’s people are not to be like that. We shouldn’t only work hard when the boss is around in order to win their favour.
And this is because we’re not ultimately working for our boss. Who are we working for ultimately? We’re working for the Lord. And since we’re working for him, they we should do our work with sincerity of heart. ‘Sincerity of heart’ means something like ‘singleness of purpose’. And our single purpose at work — what we’re aiming for in the workplace — is to honour the Lord our God. We’re to do everything with reverence for him, not wanting to offend him in any way.
And so, Paul says in verse 23, whatever you do in the workplace, work at it with all your heart. People sometimes says that their heart is not in it. They can’t be bothered doing something, because their heart isn’t it in. But, says Paul, you’re to do your work with your whole heart. Your whole heart should be in it. And you should put your whole heart into it, because you’re working for the Lord and not for men or women.
That’s the attitude we should take when we go into work. We should say to ourselves: ‘I’m working for the Lord.’ Some Christians think they only serve God when they’re doing some church-based activity. Or they’re only serving God in the workplace when they’re talking to their colleagues about faith in Christ. But Paul makes clear that we serve God in the workplace, and not just in church. And serving God in the workplace means doing what our boss says and putting our whole heart into the work.
And Paul gives us a reason for working with all our heart and for working for the Lord. It’s because we know that we will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. Since he says that we receive it ‘as a reward’, then that tells us that we do not earn it or deserve it. If that were the case, then he would have said that we receive an inheritance as payment. But since we receive it as a reward, then it’s clear that we don’t deserve it, but it’s a gift from him.
And the inheritance, of course, is eternal life in his presence, which is a greater reward than any earthly master could give to his slave; and it’s a greater reward than any earthly boss can give to us. No earthly master can give us eternal life. But that’s what Christ gives to us. And so, out of gratitude for his kindness to us, we should work for him in the workplace with all of our heart. He’s the one we’re serving. And we serve him by doing what our earthly boss tells us to do.
Since Christ our Saviour is kind and generous, and since he’s merciful, then some slave or some worker may think that it doesn’t matter what I do, because Christ will overlook it. I can laze around at work, because Christ will forgive me. And so, Paul warns disobedient workers in verse 25 that there is no favouritism with the Lord; and the person who does wrong will be repaid for what he or she has done. Though true believers will never lose their salvation, nevertheless if we continue to disobey the Lord and do not confess it or turn from it, then we can expect God to discipline us in this life. Just as a father will discipline his son when his son is disobedient, so our Heavenly Father will discipline us when we disobey him. And so, we mustn’t think we can laze around at work or at school or at college and assume that God will overlook it. He will forgive us because of Christ. But first he may have to discipline us so that we will turn from our sin.
And so, what is God’s will for you? How should you live as his people in the workplace? God’s will for you is to do your work with all your heart and to do everything your boss tells you to do. You’re to do your work in this way, because when you go to work or into school or into college, you’re there to serve the Lord. You’re working for him ultimately.
Masters/Bosses
And in verse 1 of chapter 4, Paul turns to masters. And this applies to bosses today: to employers and supervisors and managers. Paul tells them to provide for the people under you what is right and fair. That is to say, treat them justly and fairly. Don’t mistreat them. Don’t be unkind to them. Pay them appropriately. Don’t show favouritism to one group of workers over another. Treat them all fairly.
And do this, because you know that you have a master over you in heaven. In the ancient world, some masters may have thought that they can do what they like to their slaves, because they don’t answer to anyone. But we all answer to someone. We all answer to God. And just as God will discipline workers who are disobedient, so he will discipline bosses who mistreat their staff.
Conclusion
Believers have taken off Adam’s old humanity. We have put on Christ’s new humanity and we are being renewed inwardly by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. And since this is true, we must get rid of the sins that tend to linger on and which divide us. And we must put on those virtues and practices which are appropriate for the Lord’s people. And when you go into work, you should remember that you’re serving the Lord. You’re working for him. And workers work for him by doing what their earthly boss tells them to do. And bosses work for him by treating their workers fairly.
God’s good world has been spoiled by sin. But God is at work to renew his creation. He will renew is completely when Christ comes again. But until that time, he begins in us. He renews us in his image by his Spirit. And in this way, he enables us to do our work for his glory.
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