Tonight we continue in the second half of this wonderful book of Ephesians…doctrine in the first half, how to live out that doctrine in the second half

To summarize the doctrinal portion: we learned that our salvation is solely the work of God, originated by God “before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1.4) and accomplished by God on our behalf while we were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph 2.1); we see that salvation described as “by grace through faith” in Ephesians 2.8-9; as he finishes this doctrine of the church as the body of Christ, he turns to the practical matter of instructing the church about how to live like the church we are

In the exhortational portion of the book, the last three chapters, we are told to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace as the single people that we now are; and that we are to be who we are, to walk in a manner worthy of the calling of Christ…that we are to live in light of the fact that we have put off the old self of the flesh, and put on the new self in Jesus; last week Paul gave us the New Testament’s longest single teaching passage on the relationship of marriage to conclude the fifth chapter

Now, as we begin the sixth chapter, Paul addresses the second and third in the three pairs of relationships that will expand on the truth in Ephesians 5.21: submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

Turn with me to Ephesians 6.1-9 and we’ll read God’s word together

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

The slightly shortened version from Colossians, the mirror book to Ephesians…

Colossians 3.20-25

20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

Would you join me in prayer

This week continues the emphasis Paul started last week as he concludes the “household code” portion of the book of Ephesians, remembering that this passage on relationships falls squarely between a call to a Spirit-filled life and a warning to take up the armor and (singular) weapon of the Spirit of God…now we turn to two more critically important relationships in life -- parenting and work

You’ll notice that these two separate instructions are structured as the marriage instruction was…in pairs, and in a particular order…the one who is to submit, or in these cases, to obey, is addressed first, then the one in authority is addressed second

And similarly, though authority is a prominent theme, it’s turned on its head from the way the world, particularly the Roman culture of the day, understood it, just as it was in the marriage relationship…and here the difference is just as startling…we’ll see how in just a moment

Let’s dive into the text

I. Children and Parents                              6.1-4

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

In imperial Rome, the pater potestas (the father’s power) was unquestioned…he could deny children life from the moment of birth, if not before…if a child was desired, he or she was allowed to live, but if not, the child was either abandoned to die or sold to those who would trade in human trafficking for slavery of various forms; the father could make the child work in the fields, even in chains, if desired; the law even permitted a father to inflict the death penalty on his child; there were virtually no constraints, legal or societal, on the power and authority of a Roman father

Children were, as you would imagine, expected to obey without question…and not just through childhood or even early adult years, but well into adult years…it was said that “a Roman son never came of age” -- at least until the death of the father

Against that harsh and brutal backdrop, the apostle’s instruction shines like the divine word that it is…let’s take a close look at these four verses

The first instruction is to the children…which, when you think about the fact that these apostolic letters were read to the congregations to which they were addressed, is a bit surprising…evidently the church at Ephesus didn’t have a separate children’s church, for the apostle clearly expected the children to be present to hear the reading of this epistle -- and he didn’t sugar-coat anything for the young ones, either -- they are to obey their parents, plain and simple

“Obey” renders a compound Greek word ‘hupakouo’ (5219), which, when broken down into the original components, means “to listen under” or “to hearken, to hear” -- interestingly, to listen is sometimes more difficult for a child or teen than to simply hear a parent -- the meaning is clear -- they are to obey their parents “in the Lord” -- here, as before and after, authority is not unlimited -- but the rule is that, virtually without exception, children should obey their parents’ instruction 

Paul appeals to two basic reasons for this direction…the first is simple: because it’s right. One could call this an appeal to “natural law” -- something evident in every known culture and society for as long as humans have been living in family units…societies in which this basic tenet -- children obeying their parents -- is not honored and recognized as right, soon begin to crumble…when the two or three year old can say to his or her parent “you’re not the boss of me!” and win that argument, there are serious issues in that society

The second reason is divine law…children are to “honor their father and mother” because it is the fifth commandment of God’s law, the Decalogue…and of note, most commentators consider the division in the ten commandments to fall between the first four, considered to be between God and man, or vertical, if you will, and the last six to be between man and man, or horizontal…of course, this arrangement places the fifth commandment in the category of a commandment related to human relationships…but the Jews didn’t see it that way…in their minds, there were two tables, yes, but each equally contained five laws, and the fifth law -- Honor your Father and Mother -- was included not with those dealing with human relationships, but those dealing with divine commandments. Why? So strong was the connection between the authority of God and the authority of parents that to rebel against parental authority was to rebel against God’s authority…which explains why the penalty for extreme cases of rebellious children was so severe…

Leviticus 20.9      For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him. 

Deuteronomy 21.18-21 reinforces this judgment with some additional language, but in both cases, the crime of rebelling against parents is considered a capital offense

And as we survey other Scriptures on this topic, we quickly learn that God believes disobedient children is a problem, even a sign of decay and degradation in society…note Romans 1 and I Timothy 1…Paul includes disobedient and rebellious children in two of the most damning lists of sins in the Scripture…right alongside the sins of murder, deceit, hating God, sexual immorality, lying, and all manner of unrighteousness

But the instruction to “obey” is followed by another command, to “honor” meaning to esteem, honor, or reverence…and while there could be a debate about how long a child is obligated to “obey” his or her parent (30 years old? 40? 50?) there is no debate at all about the lasting nature of the commandment to honor parents…

Deuteronomy 5.16          “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

That commandment never fades away…in fact, in a parent’s later years, it becomes even more important…there is a positive side as well…there is a promise here for children, too, not just a threat of punishment…a proverbial promise that they would enjoy long lives and prosperity in the land given to the people by God Himself

This commandment to honor your parents is well captured by the 1986 children’s book, “I’ll Love You Forever” -- a mother holds an infant son and sings, “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be” -- then when the boy is grown into a man and the mother is approaching the end of her life, the son holds the mother in his lap and sings “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, my mommy you’ll be” 

The call to honor your parents never ends

This passage, a repetition of the Exodus Decalogue, has a proverbial sense to it…we know not every obedient child lives a long and happy life, but as a general rule, yes, it’s true that children who obey and honor their parents tend to have longer, happier lives, for several reasons…they are warned away from harmful or dangerous influences, moved toward righteousness and godly living, they see the examples of their parents as the parents live for Jesus…we could go on, but you get the point…so yes, obedient children have a decided advantage over other less obedient children, though they might not always see it that way

Now the apostle turns to the parents…for a very short single verse of instruction…which emphasizes the scarcity of instruction in the Scripture for parents…but there’s probably more here than you might think at first glance

4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Lest you think mothers are left out here, don’t worry -- every indication is that while fathers were, in all cultures in the first century, responsible for the conduct and welfare of their homes, as we saw earlier, this Scriptural instruction is a far cry from the typical Roman authority granted to fathers -- for one, mothers are to be included, though not to displace the father and husband’s position of accountability, but also in the content of the instruction itself

Here, Paul again uses the negative/positive structure for his admonition…

Fathers are told not to “provoke” their children to anger…”provoke” renders the Greek word ‘parorgizo’ (3949), another compound word meaning to move toward anger or rage…KJV renders the word “anger” as “wrath”

How could fathers or mothers do that? If you have children of your own, it wouldn’t take much reflection, would it, to think of times that you behaved toward your son or daughter in such a way that would legitimately result in anger and frustration on the part of the child, or, I might add, discouragement or despair…or maybe you recall times when, as a youngster, you experienced those emotions yourself…let’s brainstorm a few reasons…

Being unreasonable. Setting unachievable standards or goals without adequate support or encouragement to help the child achieve them. For example, demanding near-perfection but asking children to achieve that without needed guidance from the parent; setting the bar, if you will, in such a way that the child thinks it’s impossible to “please” mom or dad; when you hear a child, teen, or even an adult say something like this: “no matter what I did, I could never measure up to their expectations of me” you know that this might have happened in that family

Being inconsistent. Living our own lives, particularly spiritual lives, in an inconsistent way, such that we call our children to a higher standard than we ourselves are willing to live up to. For example, we demand obedience from them, but we don’t obey God ourselves; we insist they submit to us as parents, but we rationalize away our own submission to Christ; when we treat them in such a way that we are clearly more concerned with our own needs and reputation than we are for their well-being; when a parent loses his or her own self-control in the effort to discipline a child for a lack of self-control; when a parent fails to maintain consistent instruction so that the child never really knows for sure where the boundary lines are

Being mean. Parenting through guilt, ridicule, humiliation, and shame. Parents, ever done that? Endure that when you were growing up yourself? Very little is more damaging to children than to suffer that treatment from the persons you trust and know best in the world -- your mom and dad. No child should be subjected to that for even a moment. Parents can and should challenge their kids to be their best, but only in the context of encouraging them to success rather than shaming them for failure. We have to learn from our failures…let’s help our kids develop that same skill, instead of discouraging them

These are just a few of the ways parents can provoke their children…the negative instruction from the apostle is then balanced with the positive instruction…

but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

“Bring them up” renders the Greek word ‘ektrepho’ (1625) -- translated by John Calvin as “cherish them tenderly”…it means to nourish and feed them, both physically and metaphorically…we speak of “raising” our children…even in our language, we use a word, maybe unintentionally, that is the same as saying we are going to lift up our children…but is that what we actually do? 

The other two key words -- here in the ESV they are “discipline” and “instruction” and “nurture” and “admonition” in the KJV -- ‘padeia’ and ‘nouthesia’ in the Greek…together, they represent the two balanced sides of parenting

“Discipline” is related to the common word in the New Testament -- “disciple” which means a “learner” -- the disciples were those who learned from Jesus…we sometimes wrongly equate discipline with punishment, but they are not the same…but it does convey the meanings of warning and admonition, to give a word of caution to a child or teen; the intent, of course, is that the child learn from the warning about the consequences instead of having to learn from suffering the consequences themselves…so while discipline isn’t negative in itself, it might well be a warning about negative things…if you remember telling a young child not to touch something hot that you know will harm her, that’s a good example of discipline…”if you do that, it’s really going to hurt” -- of course, the reason we know that is because perhaps when we were young and our parents warned or admonished us, we didn’t pay attention as we should have, and we experienced the pain for ourselves, and pain is definitely an effective teacher

“Instruction” is more verbal in nature…for this, we might well use the words “model” or “teach or “encourage” -- fully positive, both in word and in action…guiding and instructing a child in life, as well as more academic subjects, and of course in the word of God…I recall teaching a group of 10 year old boys in the book of Proverbs…I and the other male leaders in the ministry tried to stay always mindful, though, that our instruction opportunities with those boys far exceeded the pure teaching time -- it included the way we treated them, the way we trusted them, the way we led the games we played, the way we responded to the authority of the ministry leaders, the way we interacted with the ladies who were teaching and leading the young girls, the way we prayed, even the way we held our hands over our hearts when we pledged allegiance to the flag of the United States…so here’s the thing: if your children can hear or see you, you are instructing them, mostly for better, we trust, but for certain, you are instructing them -- they are learning from you

I’ll close this passage with a poem, the author of which is not known with certainty, but the message is crystal clear, and it applies equally and wonderfully well to both fathers and mothers -- it’s called “A Little Fellow Follows Me”

A careful man I want to be

A little fellow follows me

I do not care to go astray

For fear he’ll go the self-same way

I cannot once escape his eyes

What he sees me do -- he tries

Like me, he’s says he’s going to be

That little chap who follows me

He thinks that I am big and fine

He believes in every word of mine

The base in me, he must not see

That little chap who follows me

I must remember as I go

Through summer sun and winter snow

I’m building for the years to be

That little chap who follows me 

Any father -- or mother -- who hears that recognizes that our responsibility as patient, gentle educators, as role models, as faithful teachers, that responsibility which begins at the birth of our children, never ends…you never stop being a parent, no matter how old your children are

II. Slaves and Masters                              6.5-9

Now the apostle Paul turns to the final relationship of the three that make up the Christian “household code” -- that relationship between slaves and masters

One might wonder why Paul would include this relationship in the instruction alongside what you would expect are the most common relationships in the world -- marriage and parenting

The reason is simple, as simple as arithmetic -- there were approximately 60 million slaves in the Roman empire of Paul’s day…estimates are that one third of the population of cities like Rome, Corinth, and Ephesus were technically slaves…virtually every home and family was impacted by that population -- either a person was a slave, or was a former slave (called a “freedman”), or lived in a household with one or more slaves, or owned slaves, or was a citizen who didn’t own slaves and was typically poor…so knowing the extent of slavery in the first century, we aren’t surprised that Paul included this relationship between slaves and masters in his “household code” -- it was important to virtually everyone in that society

And the nature of the relationship was not what many would expect…by New Testament times, society had already begun making significant changes to the institution of slavery…for example, in the Roman empire, slaves could generally count on eventually being set free by their masters, and most were by the age of 30…very few remained slaves into old age…in fact, during the reign of Caesar Augustus, slave owners were releasing slaves at such a high rate that the Emperor put in place legal restrictions on the practice…additionally, while slaves were still property of their master, slaves themselves could own property, ironically, including other slaves, and could, through wise use of their resources and investments, earn their own freedom

And also surprisingly, we know it was difficult, if not impossible, to know who was and wasn’t a slave in imperial Rome or cities like Ephesus…social status was very fluid, with many slaves bearing the social status of their owners instead of the social status of a slave…Kent Hughes asserts that a slave could be a custodian, a salesman, or a CEO in that day…many lived separately from their owners as well, obviously changing their living conditions

The slavery of the first century was very different from the slavery prevalent in Europe and the Americas in the 17th through 19th centuries, which we know was characterized by extreme exploitation and abuse of the slaves to the advantage of the slaveowner…while there were exceptions to that rule, and there were places that abolished both slavery and the slave trade, for the most part, was a horrible perversion of human relationships in the interests of the economy and the accumulation of wealth, and it represented one of the lowest points to which human society could fall…but as it was, slavery was a vital part of the economic model across much of Europe and the Americas, a fact that remains at the forefront of conversations of racial and economic justice in the United States even today

So with that background, Ephesians 6.5-9 makes a little more sense…and while not the same as an employee/employer relationship, there are some strong similarities, so strong that the instruction Paul gives to each of the two parties in this relationship have clear application to us today in a traditional work environment 

5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 

9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with Him.

As before, Paul organizes his instructions first to the one who is to obey, and second to the one who is to be in authority

To the slaves, Paul gives four instructions

Slaves -- and employees, in our day -- are to serve respectfully

obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, 

This is not to say with a servile attitude, or trembling in terror in a literal sense, though there were undoubtedly times that happened, but it is meant to convey the apostle’s intent that slaves should serve with proper respect for their masters…the requirement for obedience is a given, and would certainly have been enforced, but it seems the instruction here is more toward the attitude of the slave at least as much as the action…Paul’s similar instruction to Timothy in relevant here…

I Timothy 6.1-2  

Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. 

Again, Paul speaks here to the attitude of the slave -- the subordinate in an employment relationship is to serve respectfully…and at this point we hear many rise up and say, “but you don’t know my boss! I could never respect her or him!” There may well be much that is lacking in your supervisor -- decency, consideration, reasonableness, to name just a few -- but as with the previous two relationships -- wives and husbands, and children and parents -- the one in submission is submitting or obeying not just out of reverence for the person, but ultimately it is motivated by reverence and obedience to God, from whom this command originates, and that’s why Paul says in 1 Timothy that the attitude of reverence is necessary so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. 

As we’ve seen both last week and this week, the authority of those in positions of authority in these relationships is not unlimited nor unconditional, but at the same time it is true that the general rule in the New Testament is authentic submission to God-ordained authority…with the intent that God and His instruction would be honored, not reviled, as Paul says 

There is no place for a Christian employee to be disrespectful toward an employer…while there may -- and should be -- many ways for employees and employers to communicate and work together, including, in some places, labor-management agreements and contractual relationships, and in many places there is much freedom in our society in the workplace, what should not be a part of that relationship is overt or even subtle insubordination or rebelliousness -- such conduct is unsuited to a believer

The second characteristic of service here is that is done sincerely…

with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 

Translated in the KJV as “singleness of your heart” -- rendered “sincere” here in the ESV, which is itself a Latin word, meaning “pure” and “clean” -- “sincere” is defined as being free of deceit, hypocrisy, or falseness

A heart that is true, honest, pure…that’s how slaves were to serve their masters in the first century, and that’s how we are to work today in the twenty-first century…which should lead us to some questions: are we always dealing honestly with our employer? Is our speech pure and clean, not hypocritical, or disingenuous? Do we honestly want the best for our employer, and do we do all we can to bring that about? Is there anything in our work life which would be considered deceitful -- either in attitude or in action?

In short, as Paul says, are we serving our employers as we would Jesus Himself? If Jesus were your supervisor, would your work be or look any different? Would you show up on time or early, work all the way to the end of the day, and give your absolute best effort throughout your workday? If we have to admit to ourselves that our worklife would be more sincere and free of falsehood if we were working for Jesus instead of our current supervisor, then we have some changes to make.

The third characteristic is that we must serve conscientiously 

6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 

This brings to our attention a very interesting Greek word…”eye-service” is a literal translation of the Greek word ‘ophthalmodouleia’ -- a compound word meaning -- exactly -- “eye” and

 “service” -- I guess the translators figured they might as well make up a new English word for this, so they just hyphenated the two words and created “eye-service” -- the meaning is clear enough…it means either service rendered only when someone is watching, or service rendered only for the sake of appearance…in either case, this is not worthy of Jesus-followers…since we are serving as “bondservants of Christ” as verse 6 says, then our service must be sincere, free of deceit, and we must do our best whether the supervisor is watching or not…it’s been rightly said that a person truly is who they are when no one else is watching them…and that is certainly true of our worklife…whether it’s a part-time or full-time job, your life-long career or a short-term summer job…work well at all times, not just when the boss is watching

Our job isn’t to be “people-pleasers” -- yes, we are to do what we can to do the kind of work that would please a supervisor, but again, our real motivation isn’t to please people, it’s to please Jesus, for ultimately our work is for Him -- we are His bondservants -- so to state this succinctly, there are no lazy and faithful workers…you can’t be both of those qualities at the same time

Here we see the principle from this “household code” passage yet again -- we see in front of us a person in authority -- a husband, a parent, or a supervisor -- but behind that person actually stands the One we serve in truth, our Lord Jesus Christ, the One with all authority Who chooses to delegate a small portion of that authority to some in the context of human relationships, like marriage, parenting, and worklife

The fourth and final characteristic Paul gives us for the workplace is maybe the toughest of all: to serve pleasantly

7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 

“with a good will” -- should we not be workers who are actually eager to do our jobs, not dragging our feet into the shop or office or job site, working with “good will” -- positive instead of negative, encouraging others instead of verbally ripping management at every opportunity, faithful instead of unfaithful…and again, working “as to the Lord and not to man” 

Let’s review these four characteristics for a moment and look for the common denominator… 

5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 

You saw it as we were examining these verses the first time, but just in case, take note -- in all four characteristics -- that we are to work respectfully, sincerely, conscientiously, and pleasantly -- in all four instructions, we are told to serve as to the Lord -- He is our motive, He is our reason to serve as we do…so when an employer or a colleague notices our work ethic and asks why, we have an answer -- because, as Paul writes in Colossians 3, 

Colossians 3.24b       You are serving the Lord Christ. 

And there’s one more observation to make: 

8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.

The same God we serve by serving others, our Lord Jesus Christ, will reward us for the good that we do, in His Name and for His sake…and is doesn’t matter what your status or position may be -- bondservant or free -- you will receive back from the Lord the reward He deems appropriate…and as we see from the Parable of the Talents we’ve studied recently in Matthew 25, the rewards Jesus gives tend to be extravagant…this is the One Who says to His servants, 

Matthew 25.23b       You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

Now finally we turn to the instruction given to masters…

9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with Him.

We find two direct instructions and again, a motive based in our own relationship with Jesus and His character, but the two instructions are startling, especially when set against what we learned of the nature of slavery in the first century, or in any century…

Paul says this: masters are to relate to their servants in the same way as Paul has instructed the servants to submit to the masters -- respectfully, sincerely, conscientiously, and pleasantly

Wait, what?! The masters are to relate on terms of equality to their servants? Yes, indeed…

“Do the same to them” -- essentially the Golden Rule given to us by Jesus in Luke 6.31

Luke 6.31         And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Masters -- supervisors -- are not to lord it over those under their charge…they are to treat their subordinates just as they themselves would wish to be treated…if they want respect, masters must show respect -- if they want slaves to serve in an honest way, then the masters themselves must be honest in their dealings with the slaves -- if the slaves are to be conscientious in the workplace, then so must the masters -- and if a master would like to have a slave with a pleasant attitude, then he or she must model that same behavior

Secondly, masters are told to “stop your threatening” -- absolutely consistent with the first instruction, masters must cease the demeaning practice of threatening their slaves with harm or loss…such an attitude on the part of the master flies in the face of the command to treat the slaves as they themselves would wish to be treated

This creates an entirely new dynamic in the workplace…while there is still an authority relationship, that relationship is now more equal, with responsibility on both sides…this is unusual today, but it was unheard of in the first century…while there was often a measure of kindness, as we have seen, it rarely if ever rose to this level…as He always does, Jesus raises the bar for our conduct and ethics

Why would masters do this? Christian masters must understand that they and their slaves now have the same capital M Master -- the Lord Jesus Christ…He is Master over both the master and the slave in this dramatically altered relationship…now the slave is to serve the master “as unto the Lord” but the master, in turn, must care for the slave and he himself would want to be cared for -- with consideration given for health and welfare, with fair wages and benefits, with concern for the slave’s loved ones…this radical spiritual equality is fully intended and expected to change the dynamic in the relationship, and especially in light of the final phrase in this household code, the stern reminder that “there is no partiality with Him” -- both slave and master stand before the same Lord, and He views them as being of equal value and worth to the Kingdom…He is partial neither to the slave nor the master, but cares for both

We’re given a perfect example of this slave/master relationship in the short book of Philemon…in that letter, Paul, imprisoned in Rome, somehow meets a slave from Colosse named Onesimus…it becomes clear that Onesimus isn’t there in Rome with the permission of his slaveholding master, Philemon, a brother in Christ in Colosse, but has in fact run away for reasons we are never fully told in the letter…Paul briefly but powerfully writes to Philemon urging him in the strongest terms possible, just short of an apostolic demand, to accept back his slave, Onesimus, and there’s an implication that Paul expects Philemon to not only accept Onesimus back in a spirit of forgiveness, but also to release Onesimus from his slavery…Paul writes these words, urging a slaveholder to put into action the very teaching that we’ve just studied in Ephesians…

Philemon 8-16

8 Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, 9 yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10 I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. 15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

So ends Paul’s instruction on household relationships -- wives and husbands, children and parents, slaves and masters

Still surprising in today’s world, these principles were astonishing in the first century…but whether then or now, they are timeless…so we must consider now, what do we do with this? 

As we’ve studied and reflected on these truths for two sessions, which one has the Spirit brought up before you with the greatest force and clarity? 

Is it your role in your marriage?

Wives, are you being submissive to your husband’s authority, respecting Him as unto the Lord?

Husbands, are you loving and caring for your wife in the same way that Jesus loves and cares for His bride, the church?

Children (including to a point adult children) are you obeying your parents -- and do you always and continually honor them in the Lord?

Parents, as you raise your children, are you being sure to not provoke them to anger by acting in an unreasonable or mean-spirited way, and equally importantly, are you blessing them with godly discipline and instruction?

Employees and workers, are you serving as unto the Lord -- respectfully, sincerely, conscientiously, and pleasantly?

Employers and supervisors, are you fully aware that you and your employees both serve the same Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that you are accountable to Him for your leadership?

As we close, reflect for a moment on these instructions from the Lord that apply to the most important relationships in our lives…where and how is He leading you to change? What will you do tomorrow to put into practice a new understanding of these relationships?

Let’s close in prayer