Under Authority: Leading and Serving Like Jesus

Paul grounds the whole question of work and authority in one big truth: Jesus is Lord over everybody. Colossians speaks first into the real world of Roman slavery, not merely into the frustrations of somebody who does not like a boss. Slaves could be owned, sold, mistreated, and stripped of control over their own lives. Yet Paul brings Christ’s lordship right into that unequal relationship, and that changes both the person under authority and the person who holds it.

The cry from Memphis, “I am a man,” gives language to the dignity at stake whenever one person has power over another. Every person bears God’s image. No one is merely a garbage collector, an employee near the bottom of the org chart, a student, a caregiver, or a tool for somebody else’s goals. Christ sees the person whom the world overlooks.

Paul calls those under authority to serve with integrity, not with “eye service.” The Christian does not suddenly start moving when the boss walks through the door and then slow down when nobody is watching. The Lord is always watching. The question is not, “Can I get away with this?” but, “Would this dishonor Christ?” Whatever the task may be, whether teaching, fixing cars, cleaning buildings, raising children, pouring concrete, answering phones, or balancing accounts, the work becomes sacred because of who it is done for.

Paul also gives weary workers a promise: an inheritance from the Lord. That word would have landed with great force on slaves, because inheritance belonged to sons and daughters, to heirs. Christ tells people whom society treated like property that they are heirs. Immediate applause may never come. Some seeds get planted without the worker ever seeing the harvest. But Jesus sees the mother, the employee, the caregiver, and the unnoticed volunteer. Faithfulness before Christ is never wasted.

Paul then warns that God shows no favoritism. A bad boss does not excuse dishonest work, and a powerful leader does not escape accountability. Authority never eliminates accountability. Authority increases it.

Paul tells masters to do what is right and fair because they too have a Master in heaven. Human authority is borrowed authority, like a rented car. Parents, teachers, employers, business owners, and church leaders handle people who belong to God. Christ turns power away from domination and toward service. The person with influence must remember, “I have a master too.”

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Work for Christ behind closed doors [13:47] Integrity shows up when nobody is checking the work. Eye service cares about appearances, but reverence for the Lord cares about faithfulness. Christ sees behind the swinging doors, where character is formed away from applause. Ordinary work becomes worship when it is done before His eyes. [13:47]
• 2. Ordinary work can honor God [14:45] Sacred work is not limited to church platforms or ministry titles. A desk, a classroom, a kitchen, a shop, and a home can all become places of service to Christ. The value of work rests not merely in where it happens, but in who receives it. Every honest task can be offered to the Lord Jesus. [14:45]
• 3. Christ sees unnoticed faithfulness [20:37] Immediate recognition can become a cruel master because much faithful labor remains unseen. Jesus sees the difficult routines, the quiet sacrifices, and the choices to do right when cutting corners would be easy. His inheritance means that hidden obedience is not lost. The worker who belongs to Christ is an heir, not forgotten property. [20:37]
• 4. Authority is borrowed, never ultimate [25:25] Every person under someone’s influence still belongs to God. Parents, teachers, employers, and leaders do not possess people for their own purposes. Christ will ask how borrowed authority was used. That reality turns leadership from getting what one wants into serving those entrusted to one’s care. [25:25]
• 5. God shows no favoritism [22:05] Another person’s wrongdoing never cancels personal responsibility before Christ. A dishonest workplace does not make dishonesty acceptable, and a powerful position does not create different rules. God is not impressed by status, titles, paychecks, or control. Both the worker and the leader stand before the same Lord.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:17] - God Cares About Work
• [01:36] - Memphis Sanitation Workers and Human Dignity
• [04:42] - Authority and the Lordship of Jesus
• [07:12] - Paul’s Words to Slaves and Masters
• [09:39] - Serving Under Authority With Integrity
• [13:47] - Working for the Lord in Every Task
• [17:00] - Character Behind the Swinging Doors
• [18:18] - An Inheritance From the Lord
• [21:44] - God Shows No Favoritism
• [24:22] - Leading Fairly Under Christ
• [25:25] - Borrowed Authority
• [28:42] - Every Person Has Dignity
• [29:27] - Bringing All of Life Under Jesus’ Lordship

Bible Reading

Colossians 3:22–4:1
“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. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism. Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.” [00:45] [00:51]

Galatians 6:9
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” [19:31]

Romans 14:8–9
“For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.” [30:01]

Observation questions

1. In Colossians 3:22–24, what words and phrases show that believers are serving Christ even while they serve under human authority? [08:54]
2. What does “eye service” look like in an ordinary workplace, classroom, home, or volunteer role? How is it different from serving with sincerity of heart? [13:47]
3. What examples of everyday work are included in the truth that “whatever you do” can be done for the Lord? [14:45]
4. According to Colossians 3:25–4:1, what responsibilities are given both to people under authority and to people who hold authority? [22:05]

Interpretation questions

1. Why would the promise of an inheritance from the Lord have been especially meaningful to people who were treated as property rather than as heirs? What does this reveal about their dignity before Christ? [18:40]
2. Colossians does not excuse wrongdoing by either the person under authority or the person in authority. How does God’s lack of favoritism challenge the common excuse, “They treated me wrongly, so I can do wrong too”? [23:03]
3. What does it mean for an employer, parent, teacher, supervisor, or church leader to have “borrowed authority”? How would that belief shape the way a person makes decisions about others? [26:46]
4. Galatians 6:9 promises a harvest in due season. Why can the desire for immediate recognition make a person weary or discouraged in work that is faithful but mostly unseen? [20:16]

Application questions

1. Where are you most tempted to give “eye service”—working harder when someone is watching, but cutting corners when no one would know? What would sincere work before Christ look like there this week? [13:57]
2. What ordinary task in your life is easy to treat as unimportant—cleaning, caregiving, paperwork, parenting, studying, driving, answering messages, or something else? How could you consciously offer that task to Jesus as service to Him? [15:32]
3. Is there a place where you have been discouraged because your work, sacrifice, or faithfulness has gone unnoticed? How does Christ’s promise that He sees and rewards His people help you keep going? [20:37]
4. Has someone else’s dishonesty, unfairness, laziness, or poor leadership tempted you to respond in the same way? What would it look like to remain accountable to Christ without pretending that wrong treatment is acceptable? [23:10]
5. Who is currently under your influence—children, students, employees, coworkers, volunteers, family members, or others? What is one specific way you can treat that person more rightly and fairly this week? [24:22]
6. When you feel pressure to control people or get your own way, how might the reminder “I have a Master too” change your words, tone, or decisions? [28:08]
7. Every person is made in God’s image and must never be reduced to a job title, social position, or usefulness. Is there someone you tend to overlook or treat mainly as a function—rather than as a person Christ sees? What would honoring that person’s dignity look like? [28:59]