Colossians 3:22-4:6 ALL of life: in the world.

Read Colossians 3:16-4:6

Colossians is a frightening book. Just listen to these verses.

3:10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
3:17 [W]hatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

At first read it’s pretty much ho-hum, of course, Christ Is Lord, yes, be good, yes. But as you read it in-depth, really LOOK at who Christ is and what we are called to do….it is a gut-wrenching, mind-spinning, fear-generating book.

Why? Because the gospel changes our lives. Because Christ is not tame and small, but giant! He is victorious, powerful, triumphing over evil spirits, striding across history from Creation to the Cross of Redemption and on to all eternity: this vast, cosmic figure supreme over all things. And he demands EVERYTHING from us. And he will not be denied. How can we deny him? How can we say no?

Being a Christian is the most frightening thing you can do.

All of life belongs to Him. Our church life, our home life, our work life. Our thoughts, our words, our actions. He is our Master, and we belong to him.

So, don’t just sit there if something needs to change. Repent. Make right with the Lord. Ask for forgiveness. We have been challenged over these past few weeks – use this time wisely, use Communion, to pray and get right with God, and then also with someone in the church, or your wife or husband, your kids. Do whatever Christ calls you to do.

Two weeks ago we looked at our relationships in the church, last week serving Christ at home: wife and husband, children and parents; and today we look at the last section: slaves and masters, and then outsiders.

1. Slaves and masters v22-4:1

22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. 23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. 25 But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favourites. 4:1 Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master—in heaven.

Like I said last week, there is surprising equality in this list from v18-4:1. The husband and the wife are to obey the Lord. Children and parents are equally addressed, and slaves and masters are reminded they are under authority. Those without power (or with less power) (wives, children, slaves) are addressed as equal citizens of heaven, being called to live in a way that pleases the Lord. Those with power (husbands, parents, masters) are reminded that their power is given under God, to be used as HE sees fit: in love, for the good of those under your power. This is no justification for abuse of power – it is the opposite!
It’s very clear that these couplets are to be read together. You cannot read v22 without also reading 4:1. Slaves must obey their masters, yes – and masters must be just and fair to their slaves! And not only that, but they have the same motivation: Christ is your master.

This is shocking. Slaves were property, not people! But here they are seen as equal with their masters before the Lord. It was this equality eventually destroyed institutional slavery, just as it destroyed institutional misogyny (abuse of women), and the institutional abuse of children. The little book of Philemon gives us a great insight into how this view of slaves as being brothers alongside their masters started to tear down the institution of slavery. It is hard to treat someone as property when they are your brother in Christ. The gospel is the most powerful change agent in the history of the world – because it changes people from the inside out.

But the gospel is not about changing societies. It’s not about winning the “culture war”. Imagine if Paul had gone on a crusade to stop slavery instead of preaching the gospel and planting churches. What a disaster! Maybe a few slaves would have been freed. And then died and gone to hell! And the society would never have changed. Only the gospel was powerful enough for that: roughly half of all people back in those days were slaves! Even highly educated people like doctors and lawyers could be slaves. Slavery was part of the culture. Tearing down slavery would have collapsed that society.

So instead, whatever our circumstance, we are called to serve the Lord. We are not called to serve the Lord when things are the way WE think they must be, but whatever the situation. Jesus showed us how to behave, whether tired and hungry or feasting, whether attacked and ridiculed or honoured. Whatever the situation, he gave glory to the Father.

So, Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you.

Maybe they were justified in slacking off. Maybe their master was bad. Maybe their master was a Christian and they resented not being set free. Shockingly, God calls them to love their master. Not “do what’s best for you”, but DO what’s best for him! But what about me, we bleat, I’m such a victim. In Christ you are no victim, but victor. In Christ you can choose to follow in his footsteps, not a doormat but a willing servant. It is empowering, it gives dignity and honour, no matter whether slave or emperor. The victim mentality makes people passive and foolish.
Instead, choose to love your boss. In the Greek the word there is literally “eye-service”. How often are we tempted to, or just do “eye-service”. The boss comes in and we’re suddenly rushing around, extremely busy – they go out and… lazy! That’s not loving. That’s dishonest.

And the motivation is strong: Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear…. not “of your master” but of the Lord. How often is our service, our work, done out of fear. Fear of discovery, fear of being fired. No, fear the Lord! His eye is certainly always upon us. 23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
We represent Christ. We belong to him. So whatever we are called to do, let us do it well.

The book “Thank God it’s Monday” Mark Greene sets up a comparison between two Christians in the workplace.
One Christian always witnessing to people, using every opportunity to share the gospel - but he’s a terrible worker, slacking off at every opportunity, and avoiding work (mainly to witness!). The other Christian never says a word, people don’t even know he’s a Christian – but does really good work, and all his colleagues respect him.
The point Mark makes is that we are at work to work. And witness. But our actions (bad work) can destroy our witness.

It’s one of the reasons Paul doesn’t tell the slaves to “RISE UP!”. The gospel is not about violent revolution. It’s a revolution of love. Richard Wurmbrand said this about the Christian’s persecuted in Romania by the Communists: “When you squeezed the Christian, what came out of him was love.” It was the love of Christ, the new spirit, the new nature within.

Although we are not slaves with masters in the workplace today, I think it’s clear that Paul wants us to understand that whatever applies to slaves also applies to free men in their work. Slavery was a normal form of service, and therefore, in that way quite similar to the workplace today (some people may feel they really are slaves!) in our culture. And because the principles here aren’t specific to slaves, are they? Do what’s best for your boss, serve well, honour others with your work, and, if you’re in charge of other people, be just and fair. Isn’t that the kind of place you want to work? Everyone looking out for everyone’s interest, working together, and the boss appreciates this and honours the worker’s contributions.

This passage helped me so much when I was working as an auditor. I hated auditing. It is the most boring job on the planet. I struggled so much to “work willingly” – I was so unwilling. I was so bored the temptation was to avoid work as much as possible. But these words at the end of v24 “the Master you are serving is Christ” I couldn’t get away from. Not eye-service. Fear the Lord. C’mon Daniel, serve Christ. He has provided this job. You are not auditing for the client, or for your boss, or for yourself, but for Christ. Audit for your Saviour. Now get up!

So, because you love Christ, work as if for him.

But, wait, there’s more! How did this chapter begin? 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. and 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

That mindset – to think about the things of heaven, to be living for Christ – affects everything. Even our work.

24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. 25 But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favourites. 4:1 Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master—in heaven.

This life is temporary. It will soon be done and we will be with God. Very soon the veil will be torn from our eyes and we will see him. And we will be rewarded or paid back for what we have done. Don’t do what is wrong for God sees what is done in the darkness. You will not get away with it.
Instead, look to Christ. Look to your inheritance coming soon, so very soon. Time is short. Weary slave with an abusive master – look to Christ. Know that your real life is hidden with Him, untouchable, impåerihsable. A great inheritance awaits you. 3:1Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand.

Our brothers in Syria and Iraq. Lift up your eyes. This life is gone in an instant. Those in prison. Those being tortured, flung out of their homes. Beaten. Meeting in secret in China, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Eritrea, Sudan, and so on. Be encouraged. We have a Master – in heaven.

So, whether slave or free man, master or worker, work for Christ, for he is our master.
Work for Christ, for soon we will be with him.
Work with love flowing through you, for the Spirit of Christ is in you, his heart, his love.
Work like Jesus.

2. Outsiders (4:2-6)

2 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. 3 Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. 4 Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. 5 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

Pray. Pray because what God demands of us is impossible. Pray because prayer is reminding yourself that you are not God, that you depend on Him. That I am weak, but he is strong. Prayer is not a weapon, it is not an incantation – a magic spell that if we say the right words in the right way or while doing the right things God will have to act.
In Mark 9 Jesus comes down the mountain after his transfiguration and discovers his disciples have tried to cast out a demon – but couldn’t. This demon can only be cast out by prayer he says. Huh? Because prayer is humbling yourself. It’s asking GOD to be God. My Dad calls it bowing himself out and bowing God in.

We pray first for our obedience: the way we live. It is not surprising after chapter 3 that we are called to devote ourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. We cannot do this on our own. Only through Christ and in his strength.

But it’s not just focussed on us and our lives – our prayers have an outward focus: opportunities to share the gospel. Just like Paul in v3-4, asking for prayer that he would not fail to proclaim the message clearly. Yes, even the great apostle Paul desperately needs prayer. He knows how weak he is. He knows where his true strength comes from. Please pray that I will not fail in my task, he says. And then reminds us that just like him, we are to live wisely, making the most of every opportunity.
How can we share the gospel if our lives tell a different story. How can we say “I love Jesus” if our lives are shouting “I love myself”.

What does your life say about you? What does mine say about me?

Our words are worthless if our lives are the opposite of everything we say we believe. If your Dad says it’s important to put on your seatbelt but never puts on his - what are the kids going to do? Actions speak louder than words.
That why the Bible says “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). Otherwise it’s just an idea - it’s just intellectual assent (agreeing in your mind that something is right). It’s not real. If it doesn’t affect your life – you don’t really believe it.

Jesus says in Luke 6:43–47 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.… What you say flows from what is in your heart. 46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?

So we pray. We pray and ask for forgiveness when we fall. We pray and thank God for his mercy to us. We pray and ask for his strength. We pray and tell him how great he is, how wonderful, how majestic and holy and awesome. And we pray that we would be bold to speak the gospel to our friends and work colleagues, our neighbours and anyone else we meet.
And we pray for each other. We pray that we will be bold like we should. We pray . Pray particularly for me, that I would be faithgul to the message of the Bible, especially the unpopular bits, or the bits that make me uncomfortable because the hit too close to home!

Pray that we will tell people the gospel.!

Because it’s not enough just to live right. “Preach the gospel, if necessary use words” is just plain wrong. It’s not Biblical, and it wasn’t uttered by St Francis of Assisi, who used to preach (with words) up to 5 times a day.

What happens if you don’t use words? No-one is saved.
People just think “Oh, they’re nice people”. And that’s why we like it. Live nicely, and you never have to offend people by telling them about sin and judgment and the lordship of Jesus.
Nobody comes to Christ through niceness. They have to be TOLD why. They have to hear about JESUS! On judgement day, “let me in, I thought my neighbour was a lovely chap” will not work. “I trust in the blood of Jesus and that alone to wash my sins and make me righteous before God”. “Come in friend.”

So we pray for God to work in us, to change us. We pray for God to speak through us, to save others. We pray that 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

At work, as “slave” or “master” we remember we work for the Lord. Our focus is on heaven. And if life is hard and unfair, we look for glory and remember that Christ, our real life, will appear soon, oh so very soon.

And we pray, pray for the strength to live like Jesus, at church, at home with our wife or husband, and our children, at work, and with non-Christians. And we pray that the Lord would make us bold to make the most of every opportunity to share Christ.

Genesis 3: The mirror universe

Genesis 3:1-24

You know when you look at your reflection in a mirror, when you raise your right hand in the mirror your reflection’s left hand is raised. The image is flipped. Left is right. Right is left.

In the beginning God created a perfect world. People have said the Bible is divided into two parts: Genesis 1 and 2 is the first part. The rest of the Bible from Genesis 3 onwards is the second part! And there is a great deal of truth in that. In chapter 3 our universe was turned upside down. Truth was swapped for lies, love for hatred, peace for conflict, Creator for creation, “very good” for pretty bad.

We live in the mirror universe. A reflection of perfection gone wrong. We’ll look at the passage under three points:

1. The Mirror Universe

2. Who’s the Boss? (destroying God’s good order)

3. Did God really say (lies and death)

1. The Mirror Universe

Genesis 3 is the mirror image of Genesis 1 and 2. In the first two chapters we get this glorious picture of a perfect creation: God speaks, his powerful word making things happen. God speaks, and declares things “good” because they are doing what he says. Things are running according to his plan. But when he makes man and woman in his image, in the image of God they (both) are made, he says it is “very good”. Ge 1:27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them…. 31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!

But we do not live in a world which is “very good” do we? We do not live in a world of perfect relationships, where God walks amongst us, where we are at peace with him and each other. We are in a world where we are excellent at murdering each other, manipulating, abusing, power-plays. This afternoon two of my friends are helping another couple divide up their things. It is a deeply painful, messy, emotional thing. It is awful. Our relationships are a wreck.
And never mind our ruling the world. What a mess we’ve made of that. We pump poisons into the air, into the water, into the soil. The same stuff we need to breathe and eat and drink! Are we completely mad?!

We live in the mirror universe. We’re on the wrong side of the looking glass (looking glass is an old word for “mirror” – a great word!)

Everything is backwards. Did you notice in chapters one and two the good order in creation set up by God. There is

· God, who rules by his word,

· then man, created to rule the world (that means look after, not abuse),

· and woman created to help the man in his task of ruling (equally made in the image of God, but with a different job), both in obedience to God.

· then creation, the animals and plants, obeying the good rule of man and God.

BUT! In Chapter 3 we have the snake (creation) ruling over the woman. The woman obeys the snake. The man then listens to the woman instead of listening to God, and together they try to be like God, defining for themselves what is good and bad (look at verse 6 She saw that the tree was beautiful (lit. “good”) and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. Just please please note that the sin of Eve has nothing to do with sex. We’re such a sex-charged society that we see naked and think SEX. Sex wasn’t the problem. Sex (in marriage) is good, says the Bible, very good. In fact, we’re commanded to have sex, and often. Sex was not the proble.m. The problem was SIN. The problem was wanting to be like God. Actually to BE God. Eve wanted to take God’s place.
She wanted, she declared it good – and so she acted. God said it was not good, she declared it good. “I am God”. Nothing has changed, we do the same thing every day.

And she suddenly received the “knowledge of good and evil” – and realised she had just moved from “good” (in line with God’s word) to “evil” (disobedience to God).

Adam and Eve in 2:25 were naked without shame, joyously free. Now in v7 they are naked, defenceless before God. Naked and ashamed. The mirror universe.

There is a play on words in the Hebrew between naked ʿārôm in 2:25 and the next verse where the shrewd ʿārûm serpent is. Another mirror, contrast. Adam and Eve, innocent, free. The serpent, crafty, shrewd. In our world innocence does not survive very long. We have all experienced the hard school of life giving us “knowledge”, sometimes deeply shameful knowledge, as our innocence is snatched away from us. You may be sitting here today with deep shame. You do not have to bear your shame – Christ has borne it for you on the cross. Praise God that through Christ our innocence, at least before God, can be restored. And in eternity, we will be without shame, for Christ has taken our shame.
And if you need help in taking that shame to the cross, naming it “this is what I have done” or “had done to me” we can pray together after the service, and give it to the Lord who bore the stripes on his own body to erase the stripes on your heart. Your innocence can be restored in Christ, and only in Christ. Nothing else helps.

You see, this may be a passage of the Fall of Man, and God’s right judgement – but there is hope, there is life, the story continues. Yes, God bars the way to the tree of life with a flaming sword. But that’s because he himself will go through the looking glass, he will go to the cross, the tree of death, in order to bring us back to the tree of life and smash the mirror universe and restore all things. Praise God! That’s Genesis 3:15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.
Here is the first promise given that one day the serpent, the symbol of evil in this passage – he will be destroyed. His head will be struck by the offspring of the woman. There will one day be born someone who can strike down the serpent. But that strike will be costly, for his heel will be struck by the serpent.

The rest of the Bible is then looking for that serpent-crusher. That is the hope as each child is born: perhaps he can defeat evil. And the promise is added to with Noah and the Ark, with Moses rescuing the people, King David leading his people – but none of them were enough. Until suddenly Jesus arrives, the better Noah, the better Moses, the better King, rescuing the whole world from slavery and defeating evil on the Cross forever. That is our King, our God.

That’s the glimmer of hope. We are not cursed to live in this mirror universe forever. Jesus Christ has opened the way back to the Real World. We can even begin to feel the warmth of the Real Sun, the Real Truth, the Real relationship as His Spirit lives within us and breathes new life. But Oh! The day when we see him face to face, whether we see him coming in the clouds or see him after we pass through death to eternal life. What a day! To see the world reborn, and our King and Saviour. That is what we live for. That is what we were made for. All of us. Let us keep that in mind.

But there’s more of the serpent’s lies that we need to expose and bring to light so that we are not fooled by the mirror image.

2. Who’s the Boss

Now this point continues on from the first (the mirror universe) but I’ve put this on its own because it is a particular problem for us in our society. Because we have swallowed the lies of the serpent.

We either believe that “Men and women are different, but not equal” Traditionally it has been that men are better than women, I think in the last 20 years or so the lie has been that women are better than men.
The other lie is that “Men and women are equal, but not different” – and that’s something we hear all the time: there’s nothing special or unique about a man as opposed to a woman, or a woman as opposed to a man. Just swap them out interchangeably. It is a lie from the mouth of the serpent, and it is destructive, especially to women (which is ironic since it is often so-called women’s interest groups which say it).
By contrast God says “Men and women are different. Men and women are equal.” We are both made in the image of God, but with different roles. God lifts us up and celebrates our differences and our equality. There is honour both for the man and for the woman.

You see we must remember the curse or judgement in v15 where the serpent and the woman are destined to be enemies until the end of time: And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. The voice behind the serpent is revealed later in the Bible to be Satan, an angel created by God who wanted to be like God and tried to overthrow God. He was thrown out of heaven and banished from God’s presence. He is the ruler of this mirror universe, given the reigns by God for a short time in order that sin may be revealed, exposed and dealt with either by repentance and acceptance of Christ, or eternal expulsion (being thrown out) from God’s presence. So Satan is very active trying to destroy and bring down humanity, and he particularly hates women: there is hostility between the serpent and the woman.

And we have seen that. Throughout history women have been abused, mistreated, oppressed, kept down, raped, beaten, starved, ignored. I read an article recently on women’s experiences during war – and it’s awful. Men have used their superior strength to keep the little woman under control. In many societies, even today, beating your wife when she steps out of line is a perfectly acceptable and normal way of behaving.

Men, let me say at this point that if any of you have done this or are doing this stop it right now. It is sinful and wrong and is not Biblical at all. You have believed Satan’s lie that you are more valuable than she is. You’re falling right into the trap of v8 And you (the woman) will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over (oppress) you. Let’s sit together and pray for repentance and ask the Lord to show you how to be the servant leader instead of bully in your house. Bullying can also be done with words. It’s easy. It comes naturally. (The wives can also do it!) If you’re doing it we’re not judging or condemning you – we are all sinners here. But stop it, be the man you were born to be a Real man, not a twisted mirror image!

However, let me also say that if you are disobeying God by not being the leader in your family, taking responsibility for your wife and children, providing for them, feeding and clothing them, loving them, caring for them, teaching them spiritually, praying with them, then repent! This is the second lie. Again, this is an easy trap to fall into since our society tells us that men, husbands, Dads, are not needed. That women are capable.

And women are capable: at being wives and mothers. But women can’t be husbands and fathers! The woman cannot be the man. And it is Satan’s lie that says to women that being a mother and a wife is not valuable, that it’s unimportant, that it’s rubbish or beneath you. And all that counts is working, for money. No, that is a lie. God created you to be a woman. Let us honour womanhood, honour motherhood, honour wives. We love you and honour you.

But let us too honour manhood, and being husbands and fathers. Look at the creation of man and woman. Did you notice that he was created first. Man was given headship over woman, which means he has the responsibility to look after her, like the rest of creation. It is part of his job. Did you notice that he named the woman, just like he named the animals? It’s clear that she’s completely different to the animals – she’s created out of him (bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh), made in the image of God. But she is also under his protection, she is his responsibility.

But in this chapter, the mirror image, we immediately see the man’s failure to be a man: to take responsibility and to care for his wife. Now Adam had obviously told her what God had said about not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - look at her answer in v3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die” (If you look back at chapter 2 you’ll notice God told Adam before he made Eve. It was Adam’s job to teach Eve the word of God. Still our job guys.) So Adam gets top marks there.

But then he fails to protect her from the serpent, then he listens to her when she’s obviously wrong, then he obeys her command to eat.

Because look at verse 6. Where is the man during this interchange? With her. What was he doing? Picking his nose?!
Adam gave up his responsibility. He was a lazy man – and the world was plunged into darkness. And there are many lazy men in this world. Passive men, “nice” men who say “whatever you want, dear”. Oh it sounds so loving – but it is evil.
The good man will stand up and say no. Adam should have stood up to Eve and said “no”. A good man would have grabbed the snake and flung it out of the garden saying “you stay away from my wife”. But Adam was not good – he was “nice” and meek and mild, and because hey, I didn’t do it, I didn’t disobey God – she did… it’s her fault. Look at the nice man Adam and his excuse in v12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Not my fault. It’s hers, and yours. I was just being nice. Didn’t want to rock the boat, destroy the peace.

We are cursed with “nice” men.

I remember teaching a Bible study on Ephesians to a very mixed group of men – and we got to chapter 5 the passage about marriage. Some guys had very traditional African thinking: the man is the boss, his family exists to serve him. Others were very Western, modern, the woman is the boss, I do what she says. Passive. “Nice”. Both were blown away by the Bible’s teaching: Husbands are to be SERVANT LEADERS. Both. Like Christ.
One guy from Angola told me that changed his life. He went home that night and apologised to his wife. He realised that he is the head of the home for the benefit of his family, so he can lead them well – not so he can lord it over them. A highly educated guy from Tanzania was deeply challenged in how passive he had been in his family. Went home, apologised to his wife for his what he realised was laziness.

The Bible cuts right across both these lies of Satan. Be servant leaders, men, like Jesus. Not like Adam.

3. Lies and death

Because we live in the mirror universe which is full of the lies of Satan. The lies sound so wise, so loving. And it always begins like this “Did God really say”. Notice that in v1. And he lies about what God says. Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?

What did God actually say? You may eat from ANY of the trees – just not that one, because it’s bad for you. It was a good command. Satan twists it to sound like a bad one. And oh how we fall for his lies.

Marriage is bad. Sex outside of marriage is good. Porn is good, it’s harmless. Money will make you happy. A new girlfriend will make you happy – drop the other one. The problem is with everyone else, not with you, you don’t need to change. God’s a killjoy. Christianity is booooring. Have your fun now, come to God later (you never will). Iæm sure you can think of more. What Satanic lies are tempting you now? Name them, and repent. They are lies, damned lies. (Yes, damned in the proper use of the word as in leading to Hell).

Satan lied to the woman 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

Well, they did die. Death entered the world and they were barred from the tree of life. And he told a bit of the truth, as always does: the man and the woman did indeed become “like God” as soon as they ate of the fruit. But the horrible irony, the awful lie, was that they were already “like God” because they had been created in his image (1:26). They threw away everything for something they had already been given.

And we fall time and again for the same trick. That’s why thankfulness is such a powerful antidote (medicine that works against poison). When we thank God for what we DO have, we’re much less likely to fall for Satan’s lies. But when we fill our minds with discontent, when we, like Eve, forget all the trees we do have, including the tree of life, and focus on the one we don’t, and allow ourselves to be tempted into thinking that it’s beautiful. Oh it wasn’t beautiful. They were naked, ashamed, at war with each other, and thrown out of paradise. What a cost.

As I said, two people we know are going through a divorce now. It’s not beautiful. It’s horrible, and painful. How much better to have climbed down from you pride and arrogance and said sorry and worked hard at your relationship instead of letting it go to pieces. Trust God, his word does not lie. Oh, it may be hard, very hard, but it is the truth. It is life. Anything else is a lie.

We live in the mirror universe at war. Satan is at war with us, and us with him. He seeks to destroy us. Work is hard. The ground is cursed. 17 And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. 18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains.

Childbirth is pain .” 16 Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And our marriage relationships are a battleground And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”

Death is in the world 19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”

We live in the mirror universe, under judgement.

But there is hope. Remember 3:15 a serpent-crusher will come! And look at v21 And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife – God makes clothes, not out of plants, but animal skins. And there is just a hint here of the sacrificial system, where blood is shed in order to cover the sins of the people. The animals died to cover Adam and Eve’s shame – pointing ultimately to Christ who covers our shame.

There is much more to say, if you’ve got questions we’ll have an opportunity for you to ask in a moment. But now let’s focus our attention on the great rescue act where Jesus on the cross opened the way back to Paradise, for all those who take refuge in him. Let’s celebrate Communion together.

Ephesians 6:5-9 Working...for God.

Eph 6:5-9

What is your goal in life? For many that’s the same as the next question: What is your career goal?

Is it to gather as much as you can? Get the most out of your place of work before moving on? Is it achieving your maximum potential self-actualisation? Or is it just a paycheck – a place where you go unwillingly in order to get enough money to survive. A drudgery. “I owe, I owe, it’s off to work I go.”

And if you’re a mother and think well, I’m at home, so this has nothing to do with me... well, firstly, mothers probably work harder than anyone else (3 under 5’s oh my!), and whether paid or unpaid our attitude to work is what’s being exposed here. Do we marry a rich man and get a nanny so we can avoid work. Do we ignore our kids so we can watch TV all day or drag them to cafés so we can have lattés with our friends the whole afternoon and achieve “self-actualisation”. Do we put ourselves aside for the good of others or not? Do we work like Christians – whether that work is paid or unpaid?

I must admit that when I sat down to prepare this I already had an idea of what I was going to preach. I had lots to say about work and work pressures, and how to be a Christian at work. But as I began reading the text, reading the text in context, I realised my preconceived ideas about this passage were wrong. The longer I worked on it, the more it went off in a different direction to the one I had planned – and into what God actually wrote and what He wants us to understand. Praise God!

Because today’s passage turns the focus off US and onto the LORD – even in work. Work is not about us. It’s not even about our employers. Work is about the Lord.

So we’re going to look at what it means to be slaves of God: we are chose, we are under a new master – and then an implication of that we are slaves of each other. Slaves of God: chosen, a new master, slaves of each other.

1. Slaves of God: chosen

A “slave” is “A person who is the legal property of another”. At the time this was written probably about a third of people were slaves. Slaves were often household servants. They may be slaves for life or they may be for a limited time. However, they were to obey their master in everything, they belonged to him.

And that’s the main point of this passage. We are slaves of God. We belong to Him.

As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
9 remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favourites.

V6 had me puzzling for a while “as slaves of Christ”. What does that mean? Have we seen it before? I’m familiar with the idea from other books of the Bible, but what does it mean here in Ephesians? What’s the context?

I did a search through the text to see if the word or idea of slave or slavery had been used before – and in reading through the book two things jumped out.

Firstly in chapter 1, verse 1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. Paul was completely transformed when Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. In one moment he was transformed from someone who persecuted and arrested Christians, and tried to have them killed – to the Apostle to the Gentiles. As Jesus said about him in Acts 9:15 [P]aul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.

He was chosen by God. Appointed by divine decree. He had no choice but to obey. And praise God, he did obey – and the gospel went forth into the whole world! We are here today because Paul was chosen to be – and was - an obedient servant, no matter the cost.

Secondly, in 3:1 and again in chapter 4:1 Paul describes himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles – and continues Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

Chosen. Called. Live like it. Paul is a slave of Christ because he was chosen by God, called by God – as are we. Paul is a slave of Christ because Christ rescued him and turned his life around. Paul owes Christ everything – and he will give him everything, even giving up his body to prison and eventual death. He belongs to Christ.

We are slaves of Christ because we are called by God. And we are slaves of Christ because we have been ransomed (bought, rescued) by God. That’s what chapters 1-3 are all about!

Eph 1:3–5 (NLT) All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

Daniel, chosen by God to be his slave, his servant. A divine decree, an eternal purpose: to bring God pleasure, adopted into his family as a son of God. Chosen to be holy and without fault. Wow!

2. Slaves of God: a new master

I have heard it said, often by Christians uncomfortable the mention of slavery, that 1^st century slavery (when this was written) wasn’t as bad as the 19^th Century African slave trade – but there’s very little historic evidence for that. Roman slaves were the property of their master. Female slaves (and indeed male slaves) were sexually available to their master, and could not refuse. Slaves could be killed by their master and seemed to be legal. There’s also little evidence that society as a whole condemned such behaviour. In contrast, it was normal.
In short, life as a slave could be pretty brutal and awful – or could be fantastic, with high honour, depending on your master. Everything depended on the favour of your master.

All of us are slaves of something or someone. As chapter 2 puts it 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature.

We were once slaves to our sinful natures, prisoners of our passionate desires of our sinful nature. I want. I demand. Manipulating to get what we want. Getting the most for the least amount of effort.

Oh, doesn’t that sound familiar. My daughter’s really been struggling with that. She gets so angry when she’s told to do something she doesn’t want to do. She’s angry because she’s been reminded that she’s not God – she does not have the power to bend the world to her will, and make everyone else do what she wants. Her wounded pride (sinful nature) DEMANDS that she does something about it. And takes it out on her poor brother.

And I recognise that so well in her heart because it is the same battle in my own heart – and if you’re honest, in your heart too. We’re just better at hiding it!

We are slaves to our sinful nature – our ego, our pride, whatever it is within us that demands MY rights, MY way, MY comfort. We all agree that the golden rule “love others as you love yourself” is brilliant – but none of us live it! We all want people to treat US that way – but as soon as it comes to me setting aside what I want – as soon as it becomes hard or costly or even inconvenient – oops, that philosophy is out the window and it becomes every man for himself, dog eat dog, etc.

But without Christ we’re not just slaves to our sinful nature. Oh no. We are slaves to the world (peer pressure to look out for number 1, to find happiness in shopping, to live for pleasure, for example), and slaves to Satan. All of us have a Master. And if it is not Christ, it is Satan, it is the world, it is your own sinful nature. Who do you serve?

Because in Christ you can be raised to life Eph 2:4–6 (NLT) But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!). And raised to life for this one purpose: to glorify God in everything we do. Eph 4:1 lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Eph 4:24 (NLT) Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Eph 5:1 (NLT) Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Eph 5:15 (NLT) So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.

We were raised to life to be the slaves of Christ. To serve the very Emperor of the Universe, the King Most High. And that is a good thing, because he is a good King, and a good and loving and compassionate master. Do not be afraid to leave behind the brutal master sin, the world, and the devil. Oh they promise much, but they will spit you out and destroy you. Like the stories I shared with you a few weeks ago, sin has a way of growing until it destroys you. The little “borrowing” money from the company theft ends up in being fired as a thief. The harmless flirting that leads to divorce. Our sinful natures are brutal and merciless task masters. How often have we seen people with “it all” self-destruct and ruin everything. How often have we done things that we knew we shouldn’t but we did or said it anyway – with terrible consequences.

In contrast, Christ demands everything – but gives everything. We have every spiritual blessing in Christ. We are seated with him in the heavenly realms (2:6). We are united into the church – here we are, together, from all over the world – the family of God, the servants of the Most High God.

Do not be afraid to obey your master in everything, no matter what it seems to cost. Because our Master is a good master. Eph 2:10 (NLT) For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

We belong to God. He bought us with his blood. HE created us anew. We are his masterpiece, a masterpiece of grace. And we are to do the good things he planned for us to do.

Don’t be afraid. Trust your master. Obey in everything. Live for Christ. How? Read chapters 4-6 again. Serve one another with joy!

3. Slaves of God: slaves of each other

Because we love God. Because we are his slaves. Because his Spirit is within us, changing us, empowering us – we CAN live like we are called! Imitate God. Love each other. That’s the golden rule “love other as you love yourself” or “treat others as you want to be treated”. If you are a master – how would you want your slaves to work? Similarly if you own a business, what kind of employees would you want? People who work hard, gladly, happily.

And what kind of master or boss would you want. Someone who cares for you, who values the work you do, who considers you as a person, not just a “resource”.

And that’s what we see commanded in these verses.

Eph 6:5–9 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. 6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free. 9 Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favourites.

Note that it does not say “slaves (or employees) if your master is good and kind, then work hard for him”. There is no exception. Your boss may be awful. But if you drag your feet, and steal things from the office, and send emails making fun of him, and doing things as slowly as possible – where is the nature of Christ in that? Your Christian witness is destroyed, your relationship with your boss is one of hatred and conflict, and he will never want to come anywhere near a church because he’s seen YOU in action and thinks “well, if that’s what Christianity is about I want no part of it”. And that’s tragic because the ONLY thing that can change a person’s heart is…the gospel.

Instead, you obey them, respect them, work hard for them. Win them over with your hard work. And you may even win them for Christ.
Of course, they may reject that, they may see you as someone to exploit, and you may need to respectfully set clear boundaries – as you are called not just to obey your boss, but also to love your wife as Christ loved the church, and to raise your kids in the Lord, and to serve in the church, and you can’t do that if you’re at work 80 hours a week! So be wise in managing upwards. Just like with wives, with children, this is not calling for us to be a doormat, just to do anything we’re told blindly – but it is calling for our heart attitude to change. This is an internal matter, not an external one. Living the Christian life is letting the Spirit change us from the inside out.

Is this hard? Of course! But did you see the motivation there? In every verse we are reminded: Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.

At the end of the day, what we do we do ultimately for God. In our day and age we may be “slaves” for a time to a particular job that we have no choice but to do, or a period of life like with little children where life just seems to be an endless cycle of feeding, washing and wiping bums! And you know what – we can do it with enthusiasm, to glorify God. We work for the Lord, not for our bosses, not for our kids, not even for ourselves. We work for Him.

I have worked for nearly four years as an auditor. And I HATED that job. It was boring, soul-destroying work. I had no motivation – I so often just sat in front of my computer wishing the day was over. The only thing that kept me going through those days was this: I work for God. And I prayed, I begged him to help me serve him faithfully. And you know – he did. I worked hard. I got through the days. I did my job well by the grace of God.
You may be in the same situation now. Trust God, trust his word, and obey him with gladness.

Whatever we do, we are to do it for his glory. The reward we work for is not the paycheck at the end of the month (for it is God who supplies our needs, not us through our work) – but v8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.

We work for him.

Oh, and if you’re a boss, a master – remember that your slaves are people too, and that you are both answerable to the same master. Note the respect given to slaves – placed equal to masters under God: You both have the same Master. Whether slave or free we are slaves of the Lord Almighty.

And it was this idea of the equality of men before God which eventually brought down the system of slavery in Rome, and brought down the system of slavery in the 19^th Century. It’s brilliantly subversive: not “this is wrong, rise up and fight” (which would have ended in mass executions or even civil war) but “you are equal before God. Treat each other as brothers”. Read Philemon for more on this completely new way of thinking, as Paul writes to a Christian master of a slave Onesimus, who has also become a Christian and basically says: he is your brother, not your slave. Treat him as a brother.

We are slaves of God – because we have been chosen by him, by his mercy and grace, to be rescued, ransomed, turned around.

We are slaves of God – because we have come under new management. No longer slaves to the world, the devil, and worse still, our own sinful natures – horrible masters. But now slaves of Christ, who loves us to the point of death and beyond. A good master.

We are slaves of God, and so we are slaves of each other, seeking the good of our fellow men, whether at work or at home or at church.

5:1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.