[0:13]Welcome to Sabbath School brought to you by it is written. We're glad to have you with us today. We are taking a look at an incredible study, the writings of Paul in the book of Colossians, seeking to understand how God wants to unite heaven and earth. This week is lesson 12 of 13 and we are looking today at how we can live with each other. If you have noticed that there are some problems in the world with people living well with one another, this lesson is for you. Let's begin with prayer. Father, thank you for drawing us together again this week as we continue our study of the writings of Paul in the books of Philippians and Colossians. This week we want to understand how we can live better with one another even though we may have differences and we may have challenging opinions that conflict and contrast with one another. Help us to understand how we can live together with one another for your honor and glory. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. We're grateful to have you with us, but we are also grateful to have with us once again the author of this quarter's Sabbath School lesson, that is Dr. Clinton Wallen. He is an associate director of the Biblical Research Institute Clinton, once again, thanks for being here. You're welcome. It's good to be here. Lesson 12 of 13. We're rapidly closing in on the end of this quarter, but this week we are in Colossians once again. And we're kind of in the middle of the book of Colossians, we're spending a little bit of time in the latter part of chapter 3 and getting into chapter 4. And this week we're looking at living with each other. Now, that can be a bit of a challenge seeing as how most of us are human beings. And human beings don't always get along real well with one another, but in this chapter, the latter part of chapter 3 and getting into chapter 4, we're going to find some ways that we can live better with one another. Speaking of the family, because Paul kind of starts with the family and then he he builds outward from that. The home has sometimes been called the family firm. What does this mean exactly? What is this this term, this phrase referring to? Well, it's an interesting phrase, isn't it, Eric? Um, it means that the family operates in some ways like a business operates, like a firm, a business would operate. So, for example, um running a business and running a household, it means that there should be general agreement on the values, the goals, and the objectives of this family firm. That is, you know, the importance, of course, if if the values are in agreement, that hopefully those then would be Christian values, biblical values that we would be in agreement in the home on these things. That's very important. Our goals and objectives, you know, that that our goal, ultimate goal, of course, is heaven and heavenly things, so that should be uppermost in our mind. It also means that processes should be um there should be agreement on processes for decision-making, for handling finances, for example, and how to settle disagreements. So that there there is a smooth operation of this family firm. It's also helpful for the family to have a basic plan for day-to-day operations, similar to the way a business would operate. And it begins with family worship in the morning and evening. That would be a wonderful way for these operations to be structured. Um and uh throughout the day, various times for checking in with each other. Um this is the ideal. So, in our passage this week, Paul talks about how we relate to each other, and he begins with the home, which is the most important relationships we have. So if we find that the family unit is broken down, that's going to have wide-ranging implications on larger parts of society breaking down. And maybe that's maybe that's one answer to why we're seeing society in the situation that it's in right now is that family firm is not functioning as a a well-running, healthy business. So, let's go and take a look at what Paul has to say about the family here. Yes, on that point. I think it it's helpful. It's interesting you you mentioned the larger society. It reminds me of a statement in the book Adventist Home, page 15, where it says, The well-being of society, the success of the church, the prosperity of the nation, depend upon home influences. The health of the society begins with the health of the home and the family. And Paul talks about that here in the book of Colossians, which you just mentioned, in verses 18 and 19. Of chapter 3. Here's what Paul says. He says, wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. So we'll start with verses 18 and 19, the husband and wife relationship, and then he's going to expand on that in the next few verses. Now, verses like this have been used uh offensively is maybe one a kind way to say that. What is what is Paul trying to get across here as he shares these verses? Well, yeah, they don't have to be offensive, um but they can be used that way. Uh often, you know, um where you just stop where it says submit, wives submit to your husbands, period. That's not what it says. It says, wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. So that's huge. That means that the wife, their first duty for wives is to the Lord Jesus. And the husband should not ask the wife to do anything that would be contrary to the Lord's will, first of all. So that's like foundational, number one. Um, sometimes wives have a hard time understanding submission when their husbands are not very um reasonable. That's another problem. As husbands, we need to make reasonable requests, not to be unreasonable. Um but sometimes it's simply a matter of, you know, uh different wills, you know, a struggle of wills. And I will share an incident that my wife actually has shared publicly more than once. Because she wondered about this passage. She prayed, Lord, what does it mean? Wives submit to your husbands? And she was thinking, of course, especially of Ephesians chapter 5, where Paul says the same thing, um in verse 22, wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church, and He is the savior of the body. So, you know, it's very strong statement. Um and she prayed, Lord, what does this mean? Well, shortly after she prayed that prayer, um we were having a discussion of our family finances. And um we have an expense for additional supplemental insurance for cancer coverage that is above our regular health coverage. And um she and even my accountant who does our taxes said, you know, that's an expense probably you don't need. And so she said, you know, why don't we just let's let's just eliminate that expense. You know, it's it every month it's expensive. We don't need to pay that. And I said, no, I think we need to. And she wasn't convinced, but she remembered her prayer. And she decided that this was an opportunity for her to submit to my decision on that, even though she didn't agree with it. And it was only a few weeks later where she had um uh a problem that she had a doctor's exam for and came down with cancer, a form of cancer, um endometrial cancer. And um fortunately, it was caught in the early stages. This was like 10 or more years ago now. So she was treated and cured, but this cancer coverage we were very helpful for us. It was she was very happy that she submitted to my decision that because it paid for everything. It gave us uh money for additional money for, you know, other out-of-pocket expenses that were unexpected. We did actually all the coverage then that we received totally free. It didn't cost us a penny as a result. So it worked out fantastically there. Some biblical advice, biblical counsel that had a real-world application and worked out amazingly well. Yes, and and there were other examples that she has also has mentioned from time to time. Then in verse 19, it's very important for us husbands, it says, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. In Ephesians 5, it says, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. This is the kind of self-sacrificial love that we would have. We are to put our own interests, our own desires. We should set them on one side and look at what is in our wives' best interest. And that is the way we should make decisions. So, this picture that Paul is describing of how the household should run is if we understand it correctly, a very healthy, very balanced approach to it, which would probably solve a lot of problems if husbands and wives and others would understand this in its correct context and correct application. Yeah, and it's it's a it's a process of learning and growth. Um, just like any business, you know, grows, learns from mistakes, family, the family firm learns from mistakes and and uh hopefully, you know, it's it's a it's a work in progress. But um in the end, it's very satisfying, very fulfilling. Uh it is a wonderful experience. So we're going to broaden this picture just a little bit now, and we're going to go to break soon, but I want to at least touch on this before we do. And that's verses 20 and 21. It says, children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. So now we've moved beyond husband and wife, and we're talking we're bringing children into the picture here. So touch on this at least momentarily, we're going to spend some more time on it after the break, but give us give us a little keyhole view of what we're going to be talking about here. Okay, so, um, this first phrase, children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. You know, you might wonder in all things, what if the parent asks the child to do something that's wrong, that's not right? Well, Ephesians chapter 6, verse 1, you know, we should compare scripture with scripture. We should look at everything that the Bible says about a given topic, because that is uh why we have the Bible. Uh Ephesians 6:1, Paul writes, children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with you and you may live long on the Earth. So this is a promise. Uh in fact, the first of the Ten Commandments that have a promise built into it that um it would be well with us and children should obey their parents in the Lord. Meaning, uh in accordance with the Lord's will. So this is not a a request or a suggestion by Paul that we should obey the parents in everything, but it's within that context of what is in the Lord's will and what his desire is. And again, that makes perfect sense if we're wanting to talk about a healthy household, and that's the foundation of society. We're going to go to break in just a moment, but before we do, I want to talk a little bit about that companion book that you have written that goes along with this quarter's Sabbath School lesson. Where you go into greater detail in each of the subjects that we cover each week. Talk to us a little bit about that companion book and why it would be worthwhile to pick up. Well, actually, Eric, um this this beautiful book Uniting Heaven and Earth, Christ in Philippians and Colossians is um goes into detail quite a bit more than what we have time for now. And Living with Each Other, chapter 12, deals with the topic we're going to get into after the break. So I'm it's about um the commands for bond servants or slaves and masters. And, you know, there's a lot of discussion about, you know, what the Paul says specifically about slavery and slavery in the Bible. This has some very important insights that we'll get into. Very good. So if you are interested in digging more deeply into what the Bible says about bond servants, slaves, masters, and a whole lot more, make sure you pick up that companion book to this quarter's Sabbath School lesson. You will find it at it iswritten.shop. Again, that's it iswritten.shop. We're going to be back in just a moment as we continue looking at how we can live with one another here on Sabbath School brought to you by It is Written.
[15:33]Welcome back to Sabbath School brought to you by it is written. We're looking at lesson number 12 of 13, living with each other. Paul's writings in the book of Colossians, helping us to understand Christ and his desire for our lives just a little bit better. Clinton, I want to jump into Colossians chapter 3 and look at verse number 21. A moment ago we talked about verse 20, children obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. And that's in the context, of course, enjoy, obey your parents in the Lord. We get down to verse 21, and the advice given here, the counsel is, Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. So we talked about the relationship between husbands and wives. Now we're broadening it a little bit and talking about the relationships between parents and children. Help us to understand verse 21 in that context. Well, what's very interesting, Eric, is that Paul, um, identifies and uh focuses on the role of fathers to their children. The influence of the father as the spiritual leader of the home is extremely important, extremely influential. We see the same thing in Ephesians chapter 5, or I'm sorry, chapter 6, where verse 4, Paul says, and you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. So the training and admonition, uh spiritually, that fathers provide for their children, laying the the solid biblical foundation, foundation of faith is extremely important. Um maybe I'll just refer to something else in the book on this point, if that's all right. Absolutely. Um because there's was a very interesting study that was done um as far as the influence of fathers and mothers and whether their children would continue to be churchgoers or not.
[17:47]And this is what it says. Quote, When mom is a regular churchgoer, but dad attends infrequently or never, just 2 to 3% of their kids go on to become regular churchgoers. When both mom and dad attend church regularly, 33% of kids grow up as regular attendees. And that's a lot better than 2 or 3%. Absolutely, much better. But it's still not exactly desirable. But note, then it goes on, Here's the shocker. When Dad is faithful but mom never attends, 44% of the kids end up as regular churchgoers. This is the highest outcome of any scenario. So you know the influence of fathers is huge. And uh it this is interesting that these studies bear that out. And that's why maybe Paul uh singles out fathers and their influence, their spiritual influence as spiritual leader of the home for their children specifically. So very clearly, according to that study and probably quite a few other studies, you see that that father influence uh making a huge difference in the spiritual health of the children in the family. Yeah, and of course, if it's a negative spiritual influence, it can, you know, maybe that's why only 44% would be regular churchgoers. Maybe not all of that influence is positive. Right. So the more positive it is, of course, the more likely it is for them to continue. So Christ wants us to be able to live with one another. Husband and wife, uh parents and children, but then we get into this next segment here. And this is one that is uh we'll say hotly debated or discussed in uh not just in Christianity but outside of Christianity as well, because again, I think uh you can take things out of context. You can make it say things that it's not saying, but let's look at it in context, verse 22. Bond servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. So here Paul is talking about bond servants, slaves, if you will, as many people are going to to say that. The word actually there is dulos or duloy, uh slaves. So, yes, it could be translated that way. So so it's appropriate to translate it that way. Now, some will say is God endorsing slavery here, and if so, what does that look like and so forth? So address this a little bit. Yeah, this is a very important question, obviously, often misunderstood because, you know, we have in mind the slavery of the 19th century. The abject servitude and and uh humiliation and oppression of people that was completely wrong and inhumane and contrary to God's will. That's actually not the slavery that we find in the Bible or serve bonds. That's why actually it's translated bond servant, even though in the Roman times, you know, they were slaves in a way, but not as we think of slaves. Even in Israel, there were laws dealing with servitude, but there were limitations. For example, the laws of Moses prohibited Israelites from being perpetual slaves. That's Deuteronomy 15, verse 12. And six years was the maximum term of service in order to pay off their indebtedness. In the seventh year, they had to be set free. They couldn't serve before to serve more than six years. So that's very important. It was not indefinite slavery as we know from the 19th century. In New Testament times, it was even more interesting. And here I'll refer to this book again, uh Uniting Heaven and Earth, because it has some very interesting um data with regard to slavery in the Roman period. It's this is on page 114. It says, Generally, under Roman law, slaves had more opportunities than free peasants. That's interesting. In some ways it was better to be a slave than a free peasant in in Roman society. This is why, they could work to gain their freedom, some even becoming independently wealthy. Such upward mobility was especially available to household slaves, the only ones referred to by Paul. Economically, socially, and with regard to freedom to determine their future, these slaves were better off than most free persons in the Roman Empire. Most free persons were rural peasants working as tenant farmers on the vast estates of wealthy landowners. The household slaves addressed here were more like today's hired help or even, in many cases, like employees. And, therefore, the principles Paul enumerates here are readily applicable within a work environment as long as we keep that in mind. And there are other important considerations. What in the verse you read, for example, verse 22. When it says, obey in all things your masters. It adds an important phrase, according to the flesh, because we all have one master, that is Christ. And he is the superior to all of us, including our employers or whoever would be over us in authority. And whatever you do, it goes on to say, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men. So this is another important principle that even in our work that we do, we should do it as to the Lord. That uh the the servants at that time, they were to they were to work as if they were doing their work for the Lord. And this is a principle also, um helpful for us as employees that our work should be honest, you know, we have a saying, an honest day's pay for an honest day's work. So we should work as if we were doing it for the Lord. And in fact, everything we do can be for the Lord. That kind of leads us into chapter 4. This concept of the the slaves and masters and so forth, but then into another concept here in chapter 4, verse 1. Paul says, masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a master in heaven. And that's the same concept we were just talking about. Exactly. But then in verses 2 through 4, he says, continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving, meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Talk to us about what a what effective prayer looks like in what Paul is discussing there. Well, I think I actually in the lesson on Wednesday, um the first paragraph under the question, I think it it summarizes it quite well. So I'll read that. Some of the most important words we can say to someone who is struggling with issues of various kinds, be they family, health, money, or something else, are, I'm praying for you. This is heaven's chosen means of connectivity and interactivity. And then there's a statement from the book Great Controversy, page 525 that I like very much, because some people wonder, why pray? I mean, God knows what we want already before we ask. So, why should we pray? And this says, it is a part of God's plan to grant us, in answer to the prayer of faith, that which He would not bestow did we not thus ask. So, He wants us to ask. In fact, when Jesus says, ask and it will be given you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened, the form in Greek is a present tense, which means, keep on asking. Keep on seeking and knocking, and you will find. God will answer. May not according to our timetable, but He will answer in the best way possible. So this week we've looked at how we can live with one another according to the guidelines that God has set in place for us, both within the husband and wife relationship, the family relationship, the master servant relationship. We could also say in the family firm, so in a business relationship as well. And a significant part of that is where we kind of ended up this afternoon, and that is talking about prayer. So prayer plays a big part in that as we lift our petitions to God that He would grant them and grant us a closer and deeper walk with Him. And we trust and pray that you are experiencing a closer and deeper walk with Christ as well, as you spend time in His word. We are going to continue our studies together next week when we look at lesson number 13, standing in all the will of God. What does all the will of God look like and how and how can you and I stand in that will? We're going to find out in one week's time when we come back and study lesson number 13. Until then, may God bless you, and we'll see you again next time on Sabbath School brought to you by It Is Written.
