A Family Of Harmony: Husbands, Wives, And Children

Keep your Bibles open to Colossians 3 with me. If you are a guest, please visit our QR Code or the communication card – we would love for you to let us know about your spiritual needs. You can also chat with a pastor if you are worshipping with us online.

The hope of America is vibrant churches that love Christ and His gospel. The hope of America is families that love Christ and follow Him.

Most of us have noticed cracks in the drywall in our homes. Traci and I first home that had cracks all over the drywall. We called the painter to repair and cover the cracks. The painter fixed the cracks and a few months go by – you see the cracks appear again. The problem looked like it was fixed but the cracks appear again. This time they brought all their friends with them – your walls are cracked all over the place. So you call the painter again and he says, “Mam, I cannot help you.” “Why not,” you ask. “Because you’re problem isn’t due to cracks in your walls. Your problem is you have foundation issues. Once, you fix your foundation, I will fix the cracks in your walls so they will not reappear again.” The cracks in your wall are a symptom of a deeper issue – the foundation of your house is moving. Until you fix the foundation, you will be doing patchwork on your wall for years to come.

There are all kinds of cracks appearing in our society right now — social cracks, economic cracks, and relational cracks. In our society, chaos often describes the state of the family. Relationships between wives and husbands, children and parents are strained. Divorce and redefinitions of the family only multiply. While there are many efforts to fix the cracks, they are just the symptoms of a shifting family foundation. The breakdown of the family is the single most basic reason for the disintegration of our society and culture. If we don’t solidify the foundation of your family, we will forever be doing relational patchwork.

Colossians is a book to show us the superiority of Jesus. Now, Paul shows us the impact Jesus makes on a family.

Quick note: now, the reason your Bibles include instructions for servants beginning in Colossians 3:22 is because the servant was a part of the family in the Roman world. The New Testament book of Colossians was written to citizens of the Roman Empire in the first century. It was normal for them to have servants and masters in their families. We will look at these important verses in the week to come.

A seven-year-old girl had just seen the movie Cinderella and was testing her neighbor lady’s knowledge of the story. The neighbor, anxious to impress the little girl, said, “I know what happens at the end.” “What?” asked the girl. “Cinderella and the Prince live happily ever after.” The little girl replied, “Oh no, they didn’t. They got married!”

Marriage and family have fallen on hard times over the past half-century.

1. A Christian Wife

Paul turns his attention first to wives: “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord” (Colossians 3:18). The little six-letter word “submit” brings us so much confusion. We immediately bristle at this word. Before you can understand the word, we need to clear up some myths surrounding this biblical concept. Like setting up a tent, we need to clear the area.

Three Myths of the Bible’s Teaching for Marriage

1.1 Submission Means “I’m Less”

Women and Men are Equal in Intelligence and Competence. That goes without saying but one of the myths of submission is somehow women are less in some way. Submission isn’t a bad thing: “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3). Though Christ is equal to God, notice that Christ submits to the Father. Christ has every bit as much “Godness” in Him as God, the Father has, yet Christ submits to God, the Father. The Son is equal to the Father yet the Son submits to the Father. Both men and women are equal in importance, dignity, and honor just a Jesus was equal to God, the Father.

1.2 Submission Means “I’m Abused”

The whole idea of submission has been dealt a difficult blow by the actions of men over history. According to the CDC, More than 1 in 3 women (35.6%) and more than 1 in 4 men (28.5%) in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. According to the CDC, nearly 1 in 10 women in the United States (9.4%) has been raped by an intimate partner in her lifetime. This staggers the mind.