SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/17/2017
10:03 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 Intro to Colossians 3:18-4:1
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Colossians
3:18-4:1
Message of the
verses: “18 Wives, be subject to
your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do
not be embittered against them. 20 Children, be obedient to your parents in all
things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not exasperate
your children, so that they will not lose heart. 22 Slaves, in all things obey
those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who
merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever
you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing
that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the
Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For he who does wrong will receive the
consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. 1
Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a
Master in heaven.”
We have been talking about how Christianity has had a
wonderful effect on the whole world because of what happens to people once they
become true born-again believers. Now as
we will see as we move along with this section of Scripture that Christianity
works from individuals to families and then to communities, cities, and in our
case states and then into nations and hopefully around the world. I promised to take a look at some people from
the more recent times who have brought about change because of their belief in
Jesus Christ. John Wesley and his
brother along with other great preachers in England had a tremendous effect on
that nation and not that nation alone as it spread even into Europe and United
States, and also into India and China.
Earlier the Great Awakening of the 18th century America
stated by Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield resulted in the founding of
several universities. William
Wilberforce worked tirelessly in Britain to abolish slave trade and he did it
in a very unusual way as he caused people who would be voting on this issue to
leave the city and then he brought the vote to the part of their government
which voted on it and it passed. Slavery
ended in the United States in the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. The YMCA and Salvation Army began around this
time. The point is how great
Christianity has affected many things since it began in the second chapter of
the book of Acts.
We will end this last introduction of these verses with a
quote from John MacArthur as in this quote will spell out our outline for this
section of Scripture.
“The two basic principles
Paul mentions, authority and submission, are unique to Christianity. It has always been God’s plan for homes to
operate on that basis. Christianity did,
however, introduce several new elements to the home. First, Christianity introduced a new presence
into the home, the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 3:18, 20, 23, 24; 4:1). That new presence brings a new power. Christ is there, and His Spirit provides the
power to make the family what it ought to be.
Second, there is a new purpose: ‘Whatever
you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus’ (3:17). Finally, Christianity introduced a new
pattern for the home: ‘Husbands, love
your wives, just as Christ also loved the church’ (Eph. 5:25). The new pattern is Christ. He is the model for us to follow.
“In this passage Paul
provides brief, direct instructions on Christian living in the home. He discusses the three relationships in
ancient homes: Husbands and wives
(3:18-19), parents and children (3:20-21), and masters and servants
3:22-4:1). He gives a word to wives, a
word to husbands, and a word to children, a word to parents, a word to
servants, and a word to masters.”
5/17/2017 10:31 PM
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