Colossians 4:1,2
by Dr. Grant C. Richison
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Colossians 4:1
"Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that
you also have a Master in heaven."
This verse has a poor chapter division. 4:1 belongs to chapter three with
its focus on various roles in the Christian life.
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"Masters"
The "master" in our society is the employer.
give your bondservants what is just and fair
Paul places his finger upon the supreme issue for the employer. Disregard
for fairness and justice is the vulnerability of the employer.
The issue here is not social equality but fair dealing with employees. Paul
is not asking that the employer treat all employees alike. God does not
want us to care more for money than employees.
The employer is not to think of his employees in an impersonal manner.
His paycheck should reflect that he is a human being! Reciprocity is God's
norm.
This is not equality of condition but brotherly equality.
knowing that you also have a Master in heaven
One day all employers will stand before God in heaven. God will have the
last word.
Employers should treat employees like they want God to treat them. The
employer will stand accountable before God. This phrase commits the Christian
businessman to Christian standards in business.
PRINCIPLE: God expects employers to treat their employees in a just and
fair manner.
APPLICATION: Are you even handed with your employees? Do you treat your
employees partially?
The principles of justice and equality on the employer side have their bases
in the person of God. God uses the employer who operates like in his business.
Colossians 4:2
"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving"
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"Continue earnestly in prayer"
The word "continue" means steadfast and denotes to continue steadfastly
in a thing and give unremitting care to it (e.g., Rom.13:6 of rulers).
"Continue" first meant to be strong towards, to endure in, persevere
in. It came to mean adhere to, persist in, to continue to do something
with intense effort, with the possible implication of despite difficulty.
It means to devote oneself to, to keep on, to persist in. Literally,
it means to set our face toward a goal with strength.
Acts 1:14 and Romans 12:12 uses "continue" of persisting in prayer
with others. Acts 2:42,46 uses "continue" for continuing in
the Apostles' teaching (Acts 2:42,46).
Romans 13:6 uses "continue" of the persistent activity of the
tax collector! If we had the tenacious dedication of the tax collector
in prayer, we would probably have revival in our lives.
The present tense of "continue" further emphasizes the idea of
persistence of prayer.
It is remarkable how often the Bible talks about the necessity of daily
exercise in Christian disciplines. The Bereans were said to be "noble"
because they daily searched the Scriptures (Acts 17:10-12). The psalmist
cried unto the Lord daily (Ps. 86:3). Paul challenges the believer to "pray
without ceasing" (I Thes. 5:17). Jesus said to "take up our cross
daily" (Lk 9:23).
PRINCIPLE: God wants us to guard against irregularity in our prayer life.
APPLICATION: Prayer is a task from which other things can easily deflect
us.
We will slip in our prayer life unless we develop persistence in prayer.
Have we fallen asleep in prayer? If we have, we need to wake up.
Prayer prepares us for whatever we may face. It prepares us for ministry.
Everything we do we must bathe in prayer. That is why we need to continue
in it. Prayer is no luxury or something to use in emergencies. A Christianity
that operates only on emergencies is not true Christianity. Prayer is no
convenience for a crisis. God intends prayer as a method of constant fellowship
with himself.
God wants us to persist in prayer no matter what may come our way. God
sustains our prayer life by his promises (Ps. 116:1,2; Jer. 33:3; Isa 65:24;
Mt. 7:7,8; 18:19; 21:22; Mk 11:24; Jn 14:13,14; Heb. 4:16). Prayer is an
important expression of faith. The Christian life calls for great exercise
of faith. Prayer is an important exercise of faith. Faith utilizes the
promises of God. Faith reaches into the 7,000 promises of God, picks up
these promises and uses them in spiritual warfare. Prayer is an extension
of faith.
God has installed a line whereby we can have direct access to him at any
time.
It is remarkable how often the Bible talks about the necessity of daily
exercise in Christian disciplines. The Bereans were said to be "noble"
because they daily searched the Scriptures (Acts 17:10-12). The psalmist
cried unto the Lord daily (Ps. 86:3). Paul challenges the believer to "pray
without ceasing" (I Thes. 5:17). Jesus said to "take up our cross
daily" (Lk 9:23).
Note how often God enjoins us to pray on a continual basis:
I Samuel 12: 23 "Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should
sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the
good and the right way."
Psalm 55:17 "Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice."
Psalm 119: 164 "Seven times a day I praise You,
Because of Your righteous judgments."
Luke 18: 1 "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought
to pray and not lose heart."
Acts 6: 4 "But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to
the ministry of the word."
Romans 12: 12 "Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing
steadfastly in prayer."
I Thessalonians 5: 17 "Pray without ceasing."
PRINCIPLE: God wants us to acquire a habit of prayer.
APPLICATION: This does not mean that God wants us to do nothing but pray.
God does expect us to develop a habit of prayer. God wants us to keep
the receiver off the hook. He wants us to keep in touch with heavenly Headquarters.
He wants us to keep in touch.
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"being vigilant in it "
The word "vigilant" here means to be in continuous readiness and
alertness to pray -- to be alert, to be watchful, to be vigilant. It was
sometimes used as a military term for a century keeping alert on duty.
"Being vigilant" is in the present tense placing added emphasis
upon the need to continue in a state of alertness.
"Vigilant" means to watch and is used 1) of keeping awake, (Matt.
24:43; 26:38, 40, 41). The idea is to rouse from sleep and can mean to
arouse the conscience and attention of the person who prays. It is also
used 2) of spiritual alertness, (Acts 20:31; I Cor. 16:13; Col. 4:2; I Thes.
5:6, 10;1 Pet. 5:8; Rev. 3:2, 3; 16:15).
I Thes. 5:10 uses "vigilant" in contrast to sleep. In this passage
it has the meaning of vigilance and expectancy as contrasted with carelessness.
All believers will live together with Christ from the time of the rapture
(chapter 4) All have spiritual life now though their spiritual condition
may vary. Those who fail to watch will suffer loss (I Cor. 3:15; 9:27; II
Cor. 5:10) but the Apostle does not deal with that aspect of the subject
in I Thessalonians 4. What he does make clear is that the rapture of believers
will depend solely on the death of Christ, not upon their spiritual condition.
The rapture is not a matter of reward, but of salvation. God will reward
believers after the rapture.
When the enemies of Nehemiah tried to stop him from rebuilding the walls
of Jerusalem he did not throw in the towel. He commanded his people to
watch and pray (Neh. 4:9). We need to guard against anything that might
weaken our effectiveness in prayer. Apathy, negligence or unbelief can
detract from our prayer life.
PRINCIPLE: God wants us to keep awake to the importance of prayer.
APPLICATION: God expects 1) perseverance and 2) alertness in prayer. Three
apostles fell asleep during a prayer meeting (Mt. 26:41-43) in the garden
of Gethsemane. Jesus told them to "watch and pray." They did
neither.
How would you describe your prayer life? Vibrant, dynamic, wide-awake?
Do you watch to confess your sins on a regular basis? Is prayer nothing
but an empty form to you? Beware of thoughts that might distract us from
prayer.
Prayer ought to hold a central place in our lives. "Vigilance"
in prayer stresses the danger we face in spiritual attacks. Satan would
nothing more than to put us asleep spiritually. May God deliver us from
a lethargic prayer life.
A number of passages in the New Testament connect prayer and vigilance:
The Lord Jesus connected the ideas of prayer and watching in Matthew 26:41
"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed
is willing, but the flesh is weak." It is abundantly clear that the
flesh is weak when it comes to prayer!
Ephesians 6:18 "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in
the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication
for all the saints."
I Peter 4: 7 "But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious
and watchful in your prayers." Watch that you do not fall asleep while
you pray. Watch so that your mind does not wander.
PRINCIPLE: God wants the believer to be vigilant in prayer.
APPLICATION: When a believer goes to prayer he becomes a special target
of the Devil. He will suggest evil thoughts while you are at prayer. He
does not want us to pray so he will cause us to fall asleep. He puts anxious
thoughts in our minds while we pray. We can fret, stew and worry in prayer
although that is what prayer is supposed to alleviate (Phil. 4:6,7). The
Devil is a supernatural foe to prayer.
One of the earmarks of carnality is prayerlessness (James 4:1f). Carnality
is a disease that only a Christian can catch. Because we are reluctant
to pray, God brings adversity into our lives. We are perfunctory in prayer
until some crisis comes along. No one is sick, our finances are in place,
so why should I pray? When the crisis comes we can pray very eloquently!
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"with thanksgiving"
Thanksgiving is a recurring theme in this epistle (1:3,12; 2:7;3:15,17;
4:2).
1:3 " We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
praying always for you."
1:12 "Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in the light."
2:7 "Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you
have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."
3:15 "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you
were called in one body; and be thankful."
3:17 "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
4:2 "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving."
The Greek indicates that thanksgiving is an association of being awake to
spiritual things. If we are awake in prayer thanksgiving will follow.
Thanksgiving is expression of joy Godward. It is a statement of appreciation
to God. If we accept God's blessing as a matter of course it will dry up
our spiritual life.
PRINCIPLE: Thanksgiving is a reflection of our capacity of soul to appreciate
God in our lives.
APPLICATION: It is surprising to find how much for which we can thank God
if we just look around. God's sustaining grace keeps us from illness, accident,
etc. We should thank God for his providential care. Have you thanked God
for sparing you from trial?
It puzzles parents that their children are so ungrateful. However, we are
just as ungrateful to God or maybe more so. We ask for God's blessings
on a ministry and never stop to thank him for blessing us. Someone may
help us repair our house and we never thank them for it. We rob ourselves
of blessings by not thanking God for what he has done for us.
Ephesians 5: 20 "Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
I Thessalonians 5: 18 "In everything give thanks; for this is the
will of God in Christ Jesus for you." We give thanks for the good
things that happen to us but do we give thanks for all things.
Copyright © 1995, Dr. Grant Richison. All rights reserved.
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