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.
World English Bible
Colossians 3:22
This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.
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Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (3)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
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Should we fear God?
The Torah, prophets, and Wisdom literature relentlessly command fear of YHWH — Deuteronomy 6:13, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Proverbs 9:10, Matthew 10:28, and Hebrews 10:31 all insist on it. But 1 John 4:18 says perfect love casts out fear, 2 Timothy 1:7 says God didn't give us a spirit of fear, and Romans 8:15 says believers haven't received a spirit of bondage to fear.
Critical scholarship: Genuinely disputed among scholars.
Law & ethics
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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Should you serve God alone?
Matthew 4:10 quotes Deuteronomy 6:13 and tells Satan that one should worship and serve God *only* — and Matthew 23:10 says no one but Christ should be called *kathēgētēs* (master/teacher). Then the household codes in Ephesians 6:5, Colossians 3:22, 1 Timothy 6:1, Titus 2:9, and 1 Peter 2:18 instruct slaves to obey their human masters in everything.
Critical scholarship: Genuinely disputed among scholars.
Law & ethics
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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Should you obey both God and your masters?
Colossians 3:22-23 and 1 Peter 2:18 command slaves to obey their earthly masters in all things, with fear and sincerity of heart, including "froward" (harsh) masters. Matthew 4:10 cites Deuteronomy that worship and service are owed to God alone.
Critical scholarship: Leans toward a genuine contradiction.
Law & ethics
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built →
Other verses examined for the same kind of question or claim
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This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"Colossians 3:22 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/colossians/3/22?version=WEB (retrieved 26 August 2026).