Sermons on Colossians 3:18

Colossians 3:18 Interpretation:

"Sermon title: God's Design for Marriage: Grace, Roles, and Restoration"(Church name: Alistair Begg) interprets Colossians 3:18 by embedding the verse in a threefold theological arc—creation, fall, and restoration by grace—arguing that "Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord" must be read as a created order (grounded in Genesis), disrupted by sin (Genesis 3; Adam/Eve exchanged disobedience), and being redeemed and displayed by Christ (Jesus as the second Adam, Romans 5:19), and he insists submission is not a blunt command to obey like a military order but a voluntary, loving self-giving that is a response of love to the husband's loving responsibility; Begg distinguishes "submit" from "obey" (voluntary self-giving versus compelled obedience), treats the instruction as an outpost of the gospel so that marriage publicly advertises Christ's restorative work, and uses everyday metaphors—“ladies first,” a walking advertisement, and the idea of the church family as the bigger household—to frame submission as both fitting by creation and transformative in Christ rather than simply a cultural prescription.

"Sermon title: Understanding Submission: A Healthy Marriage Perspective"(Church name: Desiring God) reads Colossians 3:18 practically and negatively first—he unpacks what "submission" is not—arguing the verse cannot mean unthinking acquiescence, absolute agreement, intellectual abdication, or the forfeiture of a wife's moral responsibility to Christ; instead he defines submission positively as the wife’s honoring and affirming of her husband's leadership and using her gifts to help implement that leadership, framing submission as compatible with independent thought and Christian witness (including resisting sin or coercion), and he repeatedly insists submission is functional (leadership/initiative) not a claim about worth or competency, using detailed everyday scenarios to show how submission looks like initiative-yielding and loving cooperation rather than servile silence.

Transforming Relationships Through Christ's Supremacy(Friesland Community Church) reads Colossians 3:18 as Paul intentionally "tweaking" prevailing Greco‑Roman household expectations—affirming "Wives, submit…" but reframing submission as "as is fitting in the Lord," i.e., not a demand grounded in fear or assumed inferiority but an act of worship and voluntary alignment under Christ's lordship, and he emphasizes that Paul pairs that injunction with an equally demanding call on husbands to love sacrificially so submission is mutual and gospel‑shaped rather than patriarchal domination.

Reframing Relationships: Living as New Creation in Christ(Quincy Free Methodist Church) interprets the verse as part of Paul's radical reworking of household codes: submission is to be understood against creation (Genesis) and fall (Genesis 3) narratives and is therefore a restorative, not oppressive, practice—Paul reframes submission within mutual dignity and the agape ethic for husbands (husbands called to Christ‑like sacrificial love), so the command undercuts Aristotle’s hierarchical assumptions and points to partnership under Christ as Lord.

Understanding Submission: Fitting Relationships in Christ(Desiring God) narrows in on the phrase "as is fitting in the Lord," treating "as/fitting/in the Lord" as the key interpretive hinge: Paul does not give a mechanical rule but points to an ethical category—what is appropriate, proper, suitable—so submission is defined by Christ‑shaped fitness (discerned wisdom), not by blind obedience, and the sermon stresses the grammatical options for "as" (causal and modal) to show Paul likely intends both why wives submit (because it is fitting in the Lord) and how they are to submit (in a manner that is fitting under the Lord).

Colossians 3:18 Theological Themes:

"Sermon title: God's Design for Marriage: Grace, Roles, and Restoration"(Church name: Alistair Begg) emphasizes the distinct theological theme that marital roles are integral to the gospel's public credibility—marriage is to be a “walking advertisement” of redemption—so a wife's submission is not merely private household governance but a visible ministry that guards the reputation of God's Word; Begg also frames submission as an expression of the lordship of Christ (so that all household relations are qualified by "in the Lord") and stresses that submission is a voluntary self-giving rooted in love, not a statement of ontological inferiority.

"Sermon title: Understanding Submission: A Healthy Marriage Perspective"(Church name: Desiring God) advances the theological theme that Christian submission is compatible with and expects the wife's intellectual agency and moral responsibility: submission is a posture of honoring and enabling the husband's leadership, but it is explicitly qualified by Christ’s lordship so that the wife must refuse any leadership that calls her to disobey Christ; he further develops a pastoral/complementarian theme that leadership in the home is about initiative and responsibility rather than raw competency or superiority, and that a wife's gifts can and should strengthen her husband's leadership.

"Sermon title: Transformative Submission: A Christian Wife's Role"(Church name: Desiring God) develops the distinct theological motif that submission is a transformed, covenantal disposition of the new creation: because the wife is "in Christ" (Galatians 3:26–29) she is under Christ’s supreme lordship, and therefore her submission is an intelligent, fearless, joyful disposition to affirm, receive, and nurture her husband's leadership—qualified (not absolute) by obedience to Christ, shaped by hope and joy as the marks of redeemed life, and aimed at mutual enrichment rather than domination.

Transforming Relationships Through Christ's Supremacy(Friesland Community Church) — submission as worship: the sermon develops the distinct theological theme that domestic submission, properly understood, is an act of worship ("an act of worship" language) performed "in the Lord" and inseparable from Christ‑like sacrificial leadership by husbands; it therefore reframes household dynamics as ecclesial discipleship rather than merely social compliance.

Reframing Relationships: Living as New Creation in Christ(Quincy Free Methodist Church) — restoring creation order through mutual dignity: the sermon emphasizes Paul’s theology of new creation (Jesus' lordship recapitulates Genesis intent) so household directives become means for restoring mutual rule and image‑bearing partnership, not entrenching post‑Fall domination; submission is thus a redeemed social form pointing to the kingdom.

Understanding Submission: Fitting Relationships in Christ(Desiring God) — "fitness" as normative Christian ethic: the sermon advances a focused theological theme that Christian ethics operate via "fitness/propriety" categories derived from scripture and cultivated by the Spirit and the church, so submission must be learned within community wisdom (sound doctrine, Titus 2 formation) and is contextually discerned rather than rigidly formulaic.

Colossians 3:18 Historical and Contextual Insights:

Transforming Relationships Through Christ's Supremacy(Friesland Community Church) explicitly situates Colossians 3:18 in the Greco‑Roman, patriarchal household context—explaining that Paul wrote into a world where "the husband says goes" and that Paul's injunction modifies that cultural norm by relocating obedience "in the Lord" and coupling it with commands to husbands, thereby changing the social logic of the house code.

Reframing Relationships: Living as New Creation in Christ(Quincy Free Methodist Church) gives extensive historical and cultural background: he contrasts Genesis 1 (no hierarchy—male and female together ruling creation) with Genesis 3 (the fall produces desire/control dynamics) and then places Paul against first‑century Greco‑Roman household codes, quoting Aristotle's explicit assertions of male superiority, fatherly rule, and the naturalness of slavery to show how Paul is subverting—not simply endorsing—the prevailing social orders when he instructs Christian households.

Understanding Submission: Fitting Relationships in Christ(Desiring God) treats the phrase "fitting" as rooted in a wider New Testament ethical language and shows how first‑century Christians were expected to learn culturally‑sensitive norms (citing parallel NT uses in Philemon, Ephesians, 1 Timothy and Titus) so that "what is fitting" must be discerned within the life of the church and is not merely a modern cultural import.

Colossians 3:18 Cross-References in the Bible:

"Sermon title: God's Design for Marriage: Grace, Roles, and Restoration"(Church name: Alistair Begg) draws on multiple cross-references: Genesis 2 (creation of woman from man, marriage as one flesh) is used to ground marriage and the fittingness of submission in creation rather than culture; Matthew 19 is appealed to as Jesus’ own appeal back to creation when asked about marriage; Romans 5:19 and the "second Adam" motif are used to explain how Christ undoes Adam's failure so marriage can be restored; Titus (instructions about training young women to love husbands and be submissive) is cited to show the pastoral and evangelistic purpose—so that the Word is not reviled; 2 Thessalonians 2:7 (the mystery of lawlessness) is invoked to explain cultural hostility to biblical marriage; Paul’s Colossians context (Colossians 1:10, 3:17, 3:11 and the surrounding verses 18–21) is used to show the household instructions are rooted in the gospel and Christ’s lordship, and Begg draws on these texts to argue that verse 11 (no male/female in Christ) does not cancel the household roles but must be read with them in the gospel-context.

"Sermon title: Understanding Submission: A Healthy Marriage Perspective"(Church name: Desiring God) explicitly references 1 Corinthians 7 (the case of the unbelieving spouse departing) to support the claim that submission does not force religious conformity or absolve a wife from allegiance to Christ—if an unbelieving spouse demands renunciation of faith, Scripture recognizes separation; he also implicitly appeals to the broader New Testament household instruction corpus (e.g., the logic underlying Colossians and 1 Peter) to argue submission is compatible with the wife's continued witness and use of her mind.

"Sermon title: Transformative Submission: A Christian Wife's Role"(Church name: Desiring God) centers on several explicit cross-references: Galatians 3:26–29 (all are sons of God in Christ) is used to argue that being "in Christ" levels ontological status and secures equal inheritance while preserving functional distinctions; 1 Peter 3 (Sarah’s example—“Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord”) is used to illustrate submissive conduct that is faithful and fearless; Colossians 1 (Paul’s prayer about strength, endurance, joy, and being qualified by the Father) is brought in to ground why submission in the Lord is characterized by joy and hope rather than fear; he uses the NT principle “we must obey God rather than men” to qualify all Christian submission when it conflicts with Christ.

Transforming Relationships Through Christ's Supremacy(Friesland Community Church) links Colossians 3:18–4:1 with Ephesians (husbands to love as Christ loved the church), Proverbs 22:6 (parenting, "train up a child"), and Colossians 3:20–25 (children, slaves, work) to argue Paul’s household instructions form a cohesive ethic—wives’ submission is immediately paired with husbands’ sacrificial love (Ephesians) and the section as a whole recasts marriage, parenting, and work as spheres of Christ‑like service.

Reframing Relationships: Living as New Creation in Christ(Quincy Free Methodist Church) groups multiple biblical loci: Genesis 1–3 (creation mandate and fall's distortion of relationships) is used to show original equality and the origin of domination, Colossians 3:18–25 is then read as Paul’s corrective, and the preacher also appeals to the broader New Testament household instruction pattern (Ephesians, 1 Peter) to show how Paul reshapes societal norms rather than merely replicating them.

Understanding Submission: Fitting Relationships in Christ(Desiring God) marshals tight NT cross‑references: Philemon (Paul’s appeal to do "what is fitting" for a runaway slave), Ephesians 5 (expanded parallel teaching on wives and husbands), 1 Timothy 2 and Titus 2 (teachings about propriety, adornment, and older women teaching younger), and 1 Corinthians 13 language (KJV “behave itself unseemly” → ESV “is not rude”) to demonstrate that "fitting/proper" is an established NT ethical category guiding how commands like submission are applied.

Colossians 3:18 Christian References outside the Bible:

"Sermon title: God's Design for Marriage: Grace, Roles, and Restoration"(Church name: Alistair Begg) explicitly cites non-biblical Christian writers: he quotes a line attributed to “Sinclair”—“the liberation from decay, the smoothing-out of that which sin has rumpled and distorted, is also seen in Christian marriage”—to underscore marriage as a picture of restoration by grace, and he refers to the late theologian John Murray in discussing how one can be formally committed to Scripture without being arrested by it, using Murray to warn Christians against merely intellectual assent without heart submission; Begg uses these authors to reinforce his pastoral argument that marriage displays gospel restoration and requires heartfelt submission.

Transforming Relationships Through Christ's Supremacy(Friesland Community Church) explicitly invokes several modern and historical Christian writers to shape application: Tim Keller is quoted to emphasize "self‑giving love" as the Christian marital ideal (the marriage goal is mutual sacrifice rather than selfishness); Charles Spurgeon is cited on Proverbs 22:6 to stress parents must model the way they want children to go ("be sure you go that way yourself"); Wayne Grudem is used to reframe work as part of God’s good design (work is not merely curse‑driven drudgery but image‑bearing vocation); Dietrich Bonhoeffer is appealed to (Life Together) to argue Christian brotherhood and household life are realities created by Christ and participatory, not idealistic abstractions—each citation is used to reinforce that Colossians’ household codes should be reshaped by gospel theology and practice.

Reframing Relationships: Living as New Creation in Christ(Quincy Free Methodist Church) references N. T. Wright as a New Testament scholar summarizing Paul’s method: Wright is quoted to the effect that Paul "takes the standard household code and reshapes it around the Messiah," and the sermon uses Wright's framing to support the claim that Paul undermines hierarchy by insisting relationships be "lived out in the Lord."

Colossians 3:18 Illustrations from Secular Sources:

"Sermon title: God's Design for Marriage: Grace, Roles, and Restoration"(Church name: Alistair Begg) uses a number of secular and everyday illustrations to make Colossians 3:18 vivid: he tells of his grandson asking where the moon comes from to illustrate appealing to God as the origin of created structures (marriage comes from God), cites an Elton John lyric (“You, me, and everybody needs the part-time love”) to highlight modern resistance to lifelong marriage and the appetite for noncommittal relationships, describes grocery-store interactions and general cultural observations about teenagers and contemporary music to show cultural drift from creation-order, and uses the image “walking advertisement” to portray how Christian households should visibly testify to gospel truth.

"Sermon title: Understanding Submission: A Healthy Marriage Perspective"(Church name: Desiring God) employs contemporary, lived examples and counseling anecdotes to illustrate the meaning of submission: he recounts an extreme counseling case of a husband demanding permission to use the bathroom to illustrate abusive misreadings of authority; he tells the story of a couple where the wife is more educated and gifted (and the husband accepting a leadership role despite that) to show how submission is not a function of competency; and he gives a very concrete family-devotions vignette (husband leading simple nightly devotions by coordinating and reading a verse aloud) to demonstrate how leadership can be enacted practically without requiring superior gifts—these real-world, often humorous or striking stories connect Colossians 3:18 to ordinary family life.

Transforming Relationships Through Christ's Supremacy(Friesland Community Church) uses concrete mission‑trip and everyday community stories to illustrate gospel‑shaped household life: the preacher recounts the team’s Dominican trip—pouring a roof, seeing simple joy in material poverty, neighbors welcoming strangers, and Dominican coffee offered as humble hospitality—and uses these real‑world encounters to demonstrate how sacrificial service and mutual dignity (not status or control) look in practice and convict American churchgoers that Christ‑centered relationships are evidenced in sacrificial, joy‑filled service rather than consumerist self‑focus.

Reframing Relationships: Living as New Creation in Christ(Quincy Free Methodist Church) leans on a classical secular source—Aristotle—to illustrate the surrounding cultural assumptions Paul was up against: the sermon quotes Aristotle’s Politics (male superior/female inferior; father rules, children ruled; slaves as living tools) in some detail to show how pervasive hierarchical ideology was and how Paul's instruction to wives and husbands is a countercultural corrective that reintroduces dignity and partnership rather than endorsing Aristotle’s naturalized domination.

Understanding Submission: Fitting Relationships in Christ(Desiring God) employs everyday secular, non‑scriptural examples to illuminate "fitting/propriety": the preacher lists quotidian questions—should you slurp soup or eat quietly, shake hands or not, cover your mouth when you cough—and uses these ordinary practices to show what the NT means by "fitting" (propriety varies by culture and moment and must be judged by wisdom); he also points to social norms about dress/modesty and the need for older, wiser Christians to inculcate appropriate standards as practical illustrations of how "fitting" is learned and applied.