The Household Code and Wisdom Mode of Colossians

Abstract

There has been considerable recent discussion on the origins of the household code, but not nearly as much attention has been given to considering the function of the code when it makes its first appearance in early Christian literature in Colossians. Assuming the recent consensus that the code has links with the discussion of household management in the ancient world and played a role in debates over societal stability, the article suggests that its Christian adaptation can be seen as an integral part of Colossians when the letter is treated as Pauline thought in wisdom mode. It argues that the Colossians' code is appropriately related to the letter's perspective on wise living, to its notion of the fear of Christ as cosmic Lord, to its contrast between a wisdom that has its source above and a wisdom that has its starting point below, and to its pervasive theme of thanksgiving. The combined effect of these links also suggests that the code functions as part of the letter's response to the wisdom of the philosophy it opposes, distancing its own brand of apostolic wisdom from the perceived social consequences of an ascetic wisdom.