Colossians 3:22-25

COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON Colossians 3:22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters. God has ordered family relationships from creation, and Paul’s instructions on marriage represent the perfect will of God. On the other hand, the kind of servitude practiced in the first century was seldom in keeping with God’s will. The Scriptures address the situation without supporting it (see notes on 1 Cor. 7:21; Ephesians 6:5; 1 Timothy 1:10). Both Testaments condemn the evil of human trafficking. There were many bondservants at Colossae. Paul treats them with dignity and appeals to them to honor Christ in their hearts, work, and behavior. Philemon (see the book of Philemon 1:1) was a wealthy Colossian who benefited from the labors of his bondservant Onesimus. The principles of Colossians 3:22 apply to employers and employees today.