Commentary on Colossians 3:18-4:1 - Slavery, Submission, and Women's Rights

These verses in Colossians 3 have been used to prop up slavery, promote a view of woman that is degrading at best, and promote a paternalistic worldview. But can they even be used this way? Is that what they mean?

There are a few things that one must keep in mind when reading this passage.

1.Paul is addressing laws and customs that in his time existed in Roman society.

For example, the oldest living male in the family unit had ultimate say in Roman law. He could even go so far as putting a son to death for not obeying, and this rule did not melt away when the child reached adulthood, but existed until the patriarch's death. And when that patriarch died, the next oldest male in the family took over.

When a man's daughter married, that patriarchal authority was transferred from her father to her husband. He now had legal authority to have full control over her.

In the same way, slaves were under absolute control of their masters. There were almost no laws in Asia Minor about the way a master was obligated to treat his slaves. Not that they had the resources to pursue their master even if there were laws. Slave, women, and children did not have much in the way of legal recourse in the Roman Empire.

So, when Paul talks about the relationships with masters and slaves, wives and husbands, children and fathers, he is talking about God's response to the present reality of Roman law. This does not mean that God's desire is for slavery, bigotry, sexism, or misogynistic patriarchy. These verses assume the reality that there will be slaves, or women, or children who would either submit to these obligations or go to prison/be put to death if they rebelled.

So, it makes sense that Paul would address this situation as these issues were very much on the minds and hearts of his audience. This does not mean that Paul is intending to say that God wants this present reality to exist, any more than a psychologist trying to counsel a woman with an abusive husband wants the abuse to continue. Neither is attempting to discuss the ideal world, but rather both are attempting to provide a response to the situation their listeners find themselves in.

But what about the slave owners in Paul's audience? If Paul is against slavery, sexism, and controlling patriarchy why not just come out and say it? This brings us to our next point.

2. We have to read Paul's current situation into this passages.

Paul is writing the book of Colossians from a Roman prison where he has been tortured because he is being accused that Christianity and specifically his missionary work was trying to bring down the Roman government. He is not able to write openly; his letters are being read by the guards. If he had wanted to declare the Roman systems of slavery, misogamy, and paternity unethical, he would have been unable to do so -- at least in this letter. It's a wonder Paul was even able to say the things he did in this letter, for even the ideas that masters must treat slaves ethically, husbands must live their lives sacrificially for their wives, and that fathers must not exasperate their sons are revolutionary concepts for their time -- and even more so for having gotten past the Roman censor!

3. We have to take Paul's other works into consideration when reading this passage.

Yes, Paul make much less revolutionary claims in the book of Colossians, however this is one of Paul's books where he was not allowed to speak openly about these issues as he his works were being vetted by the establishment before being sent. Some of Paul's other works make much stronger claims. For example, in the book of Galatians, Paul says:

There are neither Jews nor Greeks, slaves nor free people, males nor females. You are all the same in Christ Jesus.

In another book, Paul deals solely with the issue of slavery. Paul writes to a man named Philemon, which is also the name of the book, about one of Philemon's slaves, a man named Onesimus, who had run away and accidentally met Paul. Paul claims he has no ability to force Philemon's hand but argues that Philemon should release Onesimus, since Christ has equalized all men.

So, in Paul's other works he clearly argues against keeping slaves and for equality among the sexes. In only one of his works is Paul unclear about his position about the relationship between powerful men and women, children, and slaves: the one written under the watchful eye of the Roman government while he was under lock and key.

4. We have to read the Jubilee into these passages.

The Jewish people like all ancient peoples had slaves, but Jewish slavery was not like other forms of slavery. Most forms of ancient slavery, was much like American slavery -- permanent and based upon ethnicity or nationality. No, Jewish slavery was for a set amount of time, and when it was over a slave walked away with a size-able portion of his master's assets. It's almost exactly like the system that the American government uses to compensate those serving in the military (except in the military, you get the bonus at the beginning).

Paul, a trained and learned Jew, would be expecting his readers to reference his remarks to Jewish-style slavery (not American or Roman styles of slavery)!

Furthermore, Jewish law required that every seven years, every slave-owner is required to release his slaves and give them a portion of his herds, crops, and land. The New Testament did not release Jews/Christians from the obligation of the Jubilee. In fact, it was the very thing that Jesus claimed to be fulfilling on a national level! Jesus declared at Nazareth a final permanent Jubilee.

Interlude: But why would God allow Jewish slavery in the first place? Why not just outlaw it from the beginning?

Let's go back in time.

Imagine if God were to confront every injustice at once. Imagine Abraham being called to destroy the institution of slavery, the proliferation of war, and accomplish the great commission by dispersing into the nations. Abraham, who has trouble even fathoming a deity he can trust, would have rejected all of this.

The ancient Israelites (and many other eastern peoples) understood this by saying that truth was not something static and unchanging, but as something that was unfolding like a scroll. This is a complex thought foreign to many westerners, but can best be explained by referencing another concept of which westerners are familiar: just in the way that God meets people where they are and leads them to where he wants them to be gradually. He also meets societies and all of humanity in the same way. Furthermore being that the bible is in the form of a narrative not a list, what happens in the middle isn't the end.

When Paul speaks to Masters, he is building upon the bedrock of Jewish concepts of slavery, which included the provision that slaves would be released and paid for their service.

5. We have to read Christ's larger strategic goals in mind when reading this passage.

Despite Christ's legacy having much to do with religion, religious beliefs, and how to get to heaven (much thanks to Paul), Christ, himself, deals with no question more that how should the Israeli people deal with their current oppression with Rome. If Paul has built the walls for a new kind of temple, he is only able to do so because Christ has laid it's bedrock.

Yes, Paul is supporting the status quo, to not support it would be to openly defy Roman law and force a military conflict, which would then conflict with many of the statements of Jesus' programme of dealing with oppression. Christ's strategy is a nuanced strategy to be sure, but an evident strategy none-the-less.

But, Paul is supporting the status quo in such a way that it is being subverted from the inside. None of his statements to those who are powerless are needed if those in power listen to his statements to them. If a man loves his wife in a sacrificial way, there is no need for submission. If a master participates in Jubilee, there is no need for slaves to obey as if they were serving the Lord.

Paul is giving instructions in a world where the ideal isn't achieved, where the kingdom in power is not God's kingdom, where society is operating not on God's rules but on evil ones. Paul is declaring a way to subvert those rules and so allow a way for that Kingdom to advance, to break in, to have two world peacefully existing side by side.

Just in the way that Jesus does not propose armed conflict to Rome, but rather supports a reconciliation economy, a non-violent resistance, a turning of the cheek; Paul supports a paternity aimed at treating children with respect and sacrificially loving wives. He also asks the wives to submit in such a way that leads to husband's following the Lord, much in the same way he submits to the iron fist of Rome in hopes of winning them over. In the same way, Paul asks his enslaved brothers to suffer economically for the sake of spreading the gospel perhaps by the way they willingly serve their earthly masters, for he is enslave to even greater extent than they are.

Paul bring to light a dramatic truth: God will lead us into the desert. His plan to heal the world does not mean that we will not suffer. His plan included the destruction of Jerusalem, the judgment of Israel so that she would go to the other nations, the death of Lazarus; it also includes Paul's own time in prison, a slave's willingness to love his slaver, and a wife's willingness to submit to the laws which allowed her no recourse against an unwise and unruly husband.

Yes, none of this is great news. We would all prefer a God who smites our enemies, but this is not how God operates. Our God is a God who writes stories carved from human flesh-- some of which is ours -- but it is something he has a right to ask of us, because some of that flesh is also his own.

So these words illustrate Paul's understanding of God's strategy in dealing with oppression.

1.Paul is acknowledging the world in which he lives, where Roman Laws reign supreme.

2.Paul is subverting these laws as to not break or oppose them, but to inject reconciliation and grace in such a way as to disarm them.



Below is a Targem on Colossians 3. A targem is a way of translating a section of scripture that does not attempt literal word-for-word accuracy, but rather assists in introducing the concepts of a piece of scripture into the context of it's hearers. A targem is meant for specific communities, churches, or times and aims to either tell the back story of what the original readers would have know about the writer's subject or translate those concepts to a specific current issue.

Colossians 3:18-4:6 Targem

Don't go breaking the law. I know the law requires you to submit yourself to your fathers, your husbands, and your masters in a way that removes your new-found freedom in Christ.

But disobeying them will result in even more freedoms being taken away -- maybe even your life.

God wants the whole world to be reached with his message of freedom, and you can't do that well from a prison cell. Certainly there are those who need to hear in prisons as well, but don't worry, I apparently have that covered, consider it my special calling from God.

So submit to these laws in a way that liberates you from them. Those who have men work for you, treat your workmen with respect, like equals, paying them justly when their term with you comes to a close. Remember you both have the same Boss in Heaven. If you are a workman, treat your boss with respect, working as you would for Christ himself, so that your boss may come to Christ (and I might add, come to treat workmen as I have prescribed). If you are a wife, submit to your husband, as is the law; if you are a husband treat your wives with sacrificial love and do not be harsh with them; so submitting is not difficult. Children obey your fathers; fathers do not embitter your children by loading them down with commands. You too have a Father in heaven and his yoke is light.

It does not matter if you are the one in power or the one who is powerless according to these Laws, God will deal with you both the same.

Speak in tones of grace that harmonize with your willingness to serve to suffer indignity with a good attitude; follow my example, as I suffer much more than indignity. Learn to submit to your unjust husbands, rulers, and fathers just I submit to the will of those who torture me, who enslave and imprison me. Take every opportunity to devote yourself to prayer, remembering to be thankful for what you do have; watchful for a chance to share the good news. In this way you will make the most of every opportunity to lead those who are oppressing you to knowledge of the Lord.