Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE; being entitled: THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE WITH THE APOCRYPHA. Colossians 3:18-4:1 read as follows:
"18 WIVES, BE SUBJECT to your husbands; that is your Christian duty. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for that is pleasing to God and is the Christian way. 21 Fathers, do not exasperate your children, for fear they grow disheartened. 22 Slaves, give entire obedience to your earthly masters, not merely with an outward show of service, to curry favour with men, but with singlemindedness, out of reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you are doing, put your whole heart into it, as if you were doing it for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that there is a Master who will give you your heritage as a reward for your service. Christ is the Master whose slaves you must be. 25 Dishonesty will be requited, and he has no favourites. [ 4:1 ] Masters, be just and fair to your slaves, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven."
The word "boss" is defined as follows:
"boss [ 1 ] . . . n. 1 U.S. Colloq. A superintendent or employer of workmen; manager; foreman. 2 Any employer or any director of the work of others. 3 U.S. An organizer or dictator of a political party. See synonyms under MASTER. . . ." [ See NEW ILLUSTRATED WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY Including THESAURUS of SYNONYMS & ANTONYMS, PMC Publishing Company, Inc., 118 EAST 28th STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10016, dictionary portion: pages 1-1150, Copyright 1992, by J.G. Ferguson Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, p. 119. ]
If you, the reader, will notice, the work relationship is described in terms of masters and slaves ( as we read in verses twenty-two through chapter four, verse one, above ).
Our boss is our master ( as seen in the above-given definition of the word "boss" ), and we are the slaves. The apostle Paul ( see 1:1 ) wrote ( see 4:18, for example ) in verse twenty-two that we are to give entire obedience to our earthly masters: he ( see Ephesians 1:1 ) adds ( cf. Ephesians 6:21, 22 and Colossians 4:7, 8 ) the phrase "as serving Christ" in Ephesians 6:5 and, similarly, the phrase "out of reverence for the Lord" ( as we read in verse twenty-two, above ) and, thus, any command from them to do something sinful is excepted ( see John 10:30, Acts 5:17-29 ( especially verse 29, for example ), Romans 1:20 ( KJV, for example; with center-column references, for example ) to get the equivalent translation for the word "Godhead," Colossians 2:8, 9, Hebrews 1:1-9 ( especially verses 8 and 9, for example ), and 1 John 3:4; 5:7 ( KJV, for example ), for example ). In writing to "God's people at Colossae, brothers in the faith" ( see 1:2 ), Paul teaches that, as Christians ( see Acts 11:26 and Galatians 3:26, 27, for example ), Christ is our Master, and we must be His slaves ( as we read in verse twenty-four, above ).
Please study the Holy Bible ( which is God's word - see Psalm 119:65-73, 142, 151, John 17:1, 3, 17, and 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16, 17, for example ). If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:
<rewillis1_1@juno.com>
<Russell E. Willis>.
