Texts in Conversation
Colossians follows Greco-Roman household codes, calling wives to obey their husbands and husbands to love their wives. The Christian author Polycarp echoes this, telling wives to walk in faith and love and to cherish their husbands.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Colossians 3:18
New Testament
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become disheartened. 22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in every respect, not only when they are watching—like those who are strictly people-pleasers—but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not for people, 24 because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as the reward. Serve the Lord Christ. 25 For the one who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there are no exceptions.
Polycarp Epistle to the Philippians 4:2
Early Christian
1 But the love of money is the beginning of all troubles. Knowing therefore that we brought nothing into the world neither can we carry anything out, let us arm ourselves with the armor of righteousness, and let us teach ourselves first to walk in the commandment of the Lord; 2 and then our wives also, to walk in the faith that hath been given unto them and in love and purity, cherishing their own husbands in all truth and loving all men equally in all chastity, and to train their children in the training of the fear of God. 3 Our widows must be sober-minded as touching the faith of the Lord, making intercession without ceasing for all men, abstaining from all calumny, evil speaking, false witness, love of money, and every evil thing, knowing that they are God's altar, and that all sacrifices are carefully inspected, and nothing escapeth Him either of their thoughts or intents or any of the secret things of the heart.
Date: 135-155 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
... Heavenly-mindedness should not only be seen within the church (3.16), but also in everyday life, as displayed by the household code (Haustafel) of 3.18-4.1. There are similarities with other New Testament household codes (e.g. Ephesians 5:22-6:9; 1 Peter 2:18-3:7), early Christian writings (Didache 4:9-11; Barnabas 19:5-7; 1 Clement 21:6-9; Ignatius, To Polycarp 4:1-5:2; Polycarp, To the Philippians 4:2-3) and other examples from contemporary Greek, Roman and Jewish writing (Aristotle, Politics 1.1253b.1-14; Philo, On the Decalogue 165-167; Philo, On the Special Laws 2:224-241; Josephus, Against Apion 2:199-208). The household code addresses six different groups of persons, who form three reciprocal relationships (wives-husbands in 3.18-19; children-parents in 3.20-21; slaves-masters in 3.22-4.1). Within each pair, the weaker party is addressed first. ...
Smith, Ian K.
Heavenly Perspective: A Study of the Apostle Paul’s Response to a Jewish Mystical Motif at Colossae
(p. 201) T&T Clark, 2006
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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