[18] "Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
[19] Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
[20] Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
[21] Fathers (Parents), do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged."
[22] "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. [23] Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, [24] since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. [25] Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism."
Colossians 4:1 NIV:
"Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven."
My attention was initially drawn to 4:1, and Paul's comments concerning slaves. I found myself wondering if Paul had a sense of God's ultimate desire for all men to be free? There are many mentions of servants and slaves in scripture, including these verses by Paul, and yet we have no problem with believing that it God's will for all men to be free. This is a great example of progressive revelation and how God draws us forward in our understanding, and has mercy on us as He is doing so. Glancing back over the world history of abolition, we see that anti-slavery movements began as early as the 1200's and gradually spread through the Christian nations of Europe. ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolition_of_slavery_timeline) I don't think you would find any Christian denomination that promotes slavery as being biblical today, yet for over 1000 years, slavery was a norm in the church. Paul, even uses slavery images to refer to our relationship with our "master" in heaven. Paul, was clearly writing to a church and people that assumed that slavery was normal, and although Paul encourages fairness and right treatment, he never promotes abolition of slavery.
As I said before this is a great example of progressive revelation, and why we don't limit ourselves to only the revelation provided in Scripture. Jesus did make several strong statements about freedom, and Paul does as well, but they were generally referring to the Law, and it's requirements. The belief that God desires all men to be free, is clearly post-scriptural, yet widely held and believed, so we must have the ability to recognize and agree with new revelation. The question really becomes how we do this, both personally and corporately. Although at times much maligned, the Catholic Church has rich history of rigorous thought and discussion, and set-up what a teaching and truth wing called the Magesterium whose duty it is to identify and support the truth, and additional revelation ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magisterium). This was established to help bring discipline to the church's long battle with heretical teaching and thought. The foundation of all new revelation must be found in scripture, but the actual teaching or belief may not actually be discussed or even found in scripture, and the abolition of slavery is a good example, as would the abolition of abortion.
Another area of discussion which could be found in these verses is the subject of women and wives. Paul tells wives to be hupotasso (Greek) to their husbands. We see here that this is translated 'submit'. The term was used in non-military context and it meant "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden". Paul mentions that this attitude is fitting (or correct) in the Lord. In other places (1 Cor 11 and following) Paul writes that women must have their heads covered when praying together with the whole church, as a way to honor her head, namely her husband. Paul also writes (1 Cor 14) that women must be silent during corporate gatherings. Here we find another area where scriptures are clear, yet our modern understanding is that this is not God's final will, which means we have accepted (at least some of us) that there was additional revelation to be understood and accepted.
Why is this important? It is critical that we understand that Scripture is a record of progressive revelation of God and His character. Starting with Abraham, and over 1000+ years, God revealed Himself to His people and they slowly came to understand who He was and what He was like. However, His perfect expression (Heb 1:2-3) and representation is seen and found in Jesus, and anything prior to Him would be part of the progressive revelation. The understanding of God's emotions, His character described by the writers and prophets of the Old Testament are always subject to final interpretation by the life and words of Jesus. In other words, Jesus must always be the refining view through which we read and understand all of scripture. This is to help us to balance the need for interpretation of scripture passages that are confusing and or seem to be contradictory. Jesus was consistent in His teaching and attitudes, and said that every word He spoke and everything He did was directed by the Father. Thus, if an old testament prophet ascribed a certain attitude or emotion to God about a particular subject area, but Jesus' response was different, then we must defer to Jesus' example.
Going back to the subject of women, Jesus interacted with women and had conversation with them regularly. He did not seem to hold them as second-class citizens, nor require that women only speak to Him through their husbands. Nor did He require them to have their head's covered before conversing with them or ministering to them (I am thinking about the woman at the well, Mary and Martha as I write this). Thus, when we look at Jesus example, we understand that Paul's writing to a church that understood a women's role differently is subject to refinement. We see Paul actually working with Priscilla and Aquila, (Acts, Romans,1 Cor and 1 Timothy) and they are recorded as teaching Apollos the greater truth of the way of the Lord (Acts 18), so clearly Paul didn't have an issue with a co-worker who was a woman, but his writings seem inconsistent. Thus we look back to Jesus, see His response and follow His example as we approach this topic.
Anyway, this is such an interesting topic and one that has been very helpful to me in understanding the Old Testament writers, and applying the truth contained in those books without becoming caught up in emotions and motives ascribed to God, that apparently aren't a perfect representation of Him. This is also one area that we should regularly approach the Holy Spirit, as one of His tasks is to lead us to all truth (John 16:13).
Finally, I find it very encouraging that God speaks to us, as we can understand Him. he has no problem with progressive revelation, no problem helping us refine our understanding of Him and His actions. He knows me so well, He knows exactly how I think and how He can approach me about certain subjects and guide me further into His truth. I am so grateful for His patience, compassion, mercy and forgiveness!
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