5/10/25 The Divine Method
Last week we spoke of corruption and the narratives that are meant to steer us away from the Divine normal we are called to operate in. When the Bible was written and up until the late 1940’s, the family was the first circle we are called to operate in. This seems like a distant memory and antiquated method given the deep divides in family structure most of us operate in today. As we progress in Colossians 3 Paul addresses the family and how it is to operate in V18-21. There is much dysfunction in the family today. The reason for this is because we have not followed what this book says about how to create operate and thrive in this environment. Yes, there is a proper manner because without it dysfunction occurs. This dysfunction damages trust and breeds mental illness in the minds and identities of the kids. A dysfunctional family lends to a dysfunctional society.
18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
This is for the ladies. It is a word that when written was easy to handle because you were not under the spell of feminism. You were not somehow being convinced that submitting to your husband was oppressive. That somehow having kids was not your proper function but being the man of the house was. That paying taxes was somehow greater than raising kids to be God fearing individuals. That being loyal and devoted is somehow less dignified than being a single cat lady. The call is to get married and submit to the man you married. I will get to why in the next verse. Some of you are on the defensive right now with your hackles up. Notice what it says in the second half of the verse. As it is fitting in the Lord. There is a qualification here. It is not fitting to the Lord for you to be in fear when you submit. There is a call here to not lead the family. Recognize your role as a Kingdom woman study the word be devoted to your husband. T is fitting for him to know his role, operate in his role for you to submit. What is his role? V19
19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
Husbands. The men of the family. The ones called to be Christ to the family. Guess what that means you submit also. You submit to the leading of Christ. You raise the kids. You teach the family the word of God. You protect them. You lead as Christ lead, not as a pacifist but as a man strong in the Lord endowed with spiritual authority because he lead sin love. The love in the GR is agape. This is love that is unmerited.
The highest form of love because it is the embracing of Gods’ will not the will of the calls of society, not the will of cultural tradition but what the Lord himself wills. Sometimes the Lord will lead certain men to not follow tradition of the culture and the masses will not understand it. They will chase different objectives rather than what the culture says, they will use different methods than what the ebbs and flows of society dictate and they will stand because they are honoring the will of God despite that.
The problem is we have too many men who look at these verses and cry out, see that woman, submit to me but the men themselves have not submitted to the will of God first. When the woman refuses to fall under the authority of an ungodly men, typically men turn into slave drivers. That is where the second half of the verse sets in. The term harsh here is GR word pikraino’ which means to embitter. If your wife is at this stage you may want to check how much of Gods will you are following or how much she has bought into feminism.
The long and the short of this is you are a team, operating together for the purpose of spiritual unity under the authority of your roles. In other words you have no reason to submit if the proper authority is not submitting because this is where you get your spiritual power from in a union that is not just physical, but it is a spiritual union in the name of God.
20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
The off spring are called to obey in everything their parents. This is met with the contingency of what has already been stated. If the husband, the father is not operating in submission to Christ, the authority model is blown. To please the Lord obey your parents. This means that the fifth commandment is still in effect. The problem is we have too many influences that are in our kids head because they are not being given the value of knowing the Lord, operating in the Lord because they have little to no desire to please the Lord. Church we have catered to feelings. We have coddled. We have allowed the wolves of the world to shape and mold and raise our kids and it started with the boomers who told GenX go out and come back when the street lights go on. You wonder why GenX isn’t bothered because we raised ourselves but it was at the cost of no model for how to raise a family.
The law of the jungle raised most of us not the law of God. This has brought further decadence to our society because we have taken strides, steps away from the Word of God. Boomer dads on downward through the generations have not modeled godliness they have modeled wickedness. We have allowed booze drugs & porn into our kids hands and wonder why the family has been destroyed and the culture is enslaved to carnality. Fathers it is on you.
21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
Embitter is a key word here but it is ironically provoke. Erethizio in GR. To irritate to anger. Kids can be so filled with anger, I was until I was an adult. There is much brokenness when we look at the pieces we give to kids and the absences of dads. Fathers biologically exist but dads are an endangered species. Ladies you cannot put society pack together through feminism. Men you cannot make life better by being selfish and playing by society’s calling to front your so called power. You want power? Be a man of God be a woman of God! Operate in spiritual power of the Divine Method and may the kingdom of darkness get trampled beneath the feet of the anointed.
