Colossians 4:1

5–4:1. Practical duties

Colossians 3:5-17, in the individual life;

Colossians 3:18 to Colossians 4:1, in the social relations of a household.

18–4:1. The social relations of a household

Colossians 3:18-19. Wives and Husbands.

Colossians 3:20-21. Children and Fathers.

Colossians 3:22 to Colossians 4:1. Slaves and Masters.

(Colossians 3:18) Wives! subject yourselves to your husbands, as is, after all, fitting in the Lord; (Colossians 3:19) Husbands! Love your wives and be not severe to them.

(Colossians 3:20) Children! obey your parents in all things, for this complete obedience is well pleasing in the Lord; (Colossians 3:21) Fathers! Be not exasperating to your children, lest they be discouraged.

(Colossians 3:22) Slaves! obey in all things your earthly lords, not in acts of eye-service as pleasers of men, but with a simple, single, aim, fearing the one Lord. (Colossians 3:23) Whatever ye do, carry it out willingly as to the Lord and not men, (Colossians 3:24) knowing, as you do, that from the Lord you shall receive as your due the just recompense of your inheritance above. The Lord, even Christ, I say, serve. (Colossians 3:25) For, even though you are but slaves, he that does wrong to his earthly lord shall receive back the wrong he did—the Lord above makes no distinction, whatever your position or privileges may be. (Colossians 4:1) Ye lords! Render on your part justice and fairness to your slaves, knowing well that you as well as they have a Lord in heaven.

18–4:1. Exhortations to the constituent parts of a Household. In each case the weaker part is mentioned first, as in || Ephesians 5:22 to Ephesians 6:9. Compare 1 Peter 2:18 to 1 Peter 3:7 and contrast 1 Timothy 2:8-15.

The reason why St Paul here goes into such detail is not self-evident. It has been suggested (1) that he wishes to counteract any misunderstanding of Colossians 3:11, as though he were there proclaiming a social revolution; (2) that he wishes to show that whereas the false teachers urged arbitrary asceticism, he finds that “the daily round, the common task,” supplies all that is needed for the manifestation of the Christian life. But (3) it is obvious that after the high, not to say transcendental, description of the basis, and the possibilities, of life in Christ, which he has given us in cc. 1 and 2, it is very natural that he should point out how this life is to manifest itself in the everyday relations of family life. In Colossians 3:13 he has already given an instance of the way in which Christ is our example and standard.

22–4:1. Slaves and Masters

Δοῦλοι must have formed a large proportion of the believers in St Paul’s days, and their behaviour to their masters (whether Christians or not) must have been an important matter, if Christianity was to show itself capable of winning all classes.

St Paul of course had special reasons for enlarging on this subject in his Epistle to the Colossians. He did not wish to be thought to condone Onesimus’ fault of running away, much less that of stealing (as it appears), and yet he desired to show the possible nobility of even the slave life. Hence the net result of these verses is to maintain the status quo of slaves (in contrast to any revolutionary scheme based on such a passage as Colossians 3:11, ὅπου οὐκ ἔνι … δοῦλος, ἐλεύθερος) and indeed to improve the character of the service rendered by putting each slave (still quâ slave) into direct relation to a higher Master. Cf. 1 Peter 2:18-25.

The connexion of the verses is as follows:
(22) He bids them obey thoroughly, because they fear the one Master, (Colossians 3:23) working with free impulse as to Him, (Colossians 3:24) knowing that He (at any rate) will pay fully (in their case the Inheritance). Therefore (St Paul sums up) serve the true Master, Christ. (Colossians 3:25) For a slave who does wrong shall be punished impartially. (Colossians 4:1) The reciprocal duties of masters, justice and equity, for they too are under Christ.

1. οἱ κύριοι. St Paul here addresses the masters. Compare the parallel passage Ephesians 6:9. For the connexion of this verse with c. 3. see note on Colossians 3:25.

τὸ δίκαιον. Cf. Matthew 20:4; Luke 12:57.

καὶ τὴν ἰσότητα. ἰσότης occurs in the Greek Bible only in two obscure renderings (due apparently to falsely deriving an uncommon Hebrew word from an Aramaic root) of Job 36:29; Zechariah 4:7, and in 2 Corinthians 8:13-14.

(1) In this last passage ἰσότης seems clearly to mean “equality,” and Meyer interprets it so in our passage also. According to this view St Paul bids the masters “regard and treat the slaves as equals,” not of course socially as though slavery were to be abolished, but conceding to them “the parity (égalité) implied in the Christian ἀδελφότης.” Cf. Philemon 1:16, οὐκέτι ὡς δοῦλον�, ἀδελφὸν�. If ἰσότης necessarily meant equality this strained interpretation might pass, but this is not the case.

(2) Others have thought that it means impartiality and equality in the treatment of individual slaves (cf. note on προσωπολημψία, Colossians 3:25), but this also is to read too much into the phrase.

(3) Lightfoot is almost certainly right in translating “equity” or “fairness” and considering it a synonym of τὸ δίκαιον. Among his quotations may be mentioned Philo, de creat. Princ. 14 (II. p. 373), ἔστι γὰρ ἰσότης … μήτηρ δικαιοσύνης, and Clem. Alex. Strom. VI. 6 (p. 764), μετὰ δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἰσότητος τῆς πρὸς τοὺς ἐπιστρέφοντας. “Thus in Arist. Eth. Nic. Colossians 4:1, τὸ δίκαιον and τὸ ἵσον are regarded as synonymes, and in Plut. Mor. p. 719 the relation of ἰσότης to δικαιότης is discussed.”

Of course observe that τὸ δίκαιον alone would not be sufficient. There are many details of action between master and slave (and between modern master and servant or workman) which may be strictly “just,” and yet lack that “equity” which is essential to a, thoroughly happy and Christian relation between employers and employed.

τοῖς δούλοις παρέχεσθε, “render on your part.” In this “dynamic” or “intensive” middle “the reference to the powers put forth by the subject is more distinct than in the active, which simply states the action” (Ell.). Compare Acts 19:24.

εἰδότες, Colossians 3:24.

ὅτι καὶ ὑμεῖς, i.e. as well as they.

ἔχετε κύριον ἐν οὐρανῷ. Compare 1 Corinthians 7:22.