Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to Colossians · About this commentary
Whatever You Do, Work Heartily
Colossians 3:22-25
22 Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to the flesh, not just when they are looking, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. · WEB
The longest paragraph in the code goes to the people with the least standing, and it hands them a Master above their master.
Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to the flesh. The qualifier is doing work from the first line — according to the flesh marks the authority as real but limited to one order of things.
The conduct asked for is inward first: not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart. Eye-service is work that changes when someone is watching, and the alternative offered is not closer supervision but a different audience.
Verse 23 states it generally: whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men — literally from the soul, which is a remarkable thing to ask of forced labor.
And verse 24 supplies the paragraph's real gift. You will receive the inheritance as your reward — inheritance being precisely what a slave could not have, since he was property with no line to receive from. It is promised anyway, and the sentence ends: you serve the Lord Christ.
Verse 25 adds a warning with no name attached: the wrongdoer receives again for the wrong done, and there is no partiality. Standing buys no exemption, which is why the next verse turns to masters.
settled What this mark means