Ephesians 6:1-9. Yesterdays reading continued Paul’s instructions to the believers in Ephesus about how to be imitators of God and live lives with real meaning and purpose. We saw that the good lives we live here and now are also examples of truth about God and his relationship with us. As an outline Paul is using a common discussion that thinkers and philosophers of his day; some people call it the “Household Code”. In his day the household was the center of life and society. Even business was linked to the household. Within each household there were three relationships; Marriage, parents and children, and masters and slaves. Although these were recognized and discussed by the thinkers of Paul’s day (and before) the first two relationships have their roots in God’s design and creation of mankind. Yesterday we saw that the relationship between a husband and wife, if it follows God’s design for marriage, teaches us a lot about the relationship between Jesus and believers. Although there are different roles for the husband and wife there is no real superiority. The husband is to live for the wife and the wife willing allows the husband to lead. Both, however, are under one real master, Jesus.

Today we will see what Paul has to say about the other two relationships that existed in households of his day. But first let me mention one thing. I know sometimes these posts seem a little long, my wife encourages me to keep them short qnd I do try. It is important t understand, though, that sections in the Bible do not stand alone. The verses we are reading today are part of other verses around them. They also connect to ideas in other parts of the Bible and also to ideas and events in the world that the original readers lived in. If you read the “Introduction to Ephesians” you would know that it is a letter. Bible experts are unsure of any particular reason for the letter (though there is a lot of emphasis on this “living as children of light” idea). If there was a particular reason it would be helpful in understanding the meaning of the letter to its original readers and also help us apply it to our own lives now. It’s also helpful to know generally and specifically what the original readers lives were like; its important to know that the believers in Ephesus lived in a busy rich city surrounded by temples to false gods. Its important to know what they knew and how life worked in their time if we really want to understand what these letters are really saying. That is why I bring back up things we have already discussed, other Bible verses, and information we have about the people and times the letter was written in. I hope you will keep these bit of information in mind as you read these posts and I especially hope you will remember these principles whenever you read your Bibles or listen to others talk about the Bible. I don’t want to just share what I have learned I want you to be able to test what I say and also be able to learn for yourself the great truths this book has to offer.

Remember that this section about household relationships links back to Paul’s instructions about being “imitators of God”. That section showed us the importance of living lives with eternal meaning, lives that helped others find a new and fixed relationship with God. That section and this are connected by Ephesians 5:21 where Paul tells us to submit to one another. That is a willing choice and it goes both ways. He also gives a motive, respect for Christ, the chosen one, Jesus our savior.

Yesterday we saw that marriage teaches the world about the loving, willing, sacrificial, mutual relationship between Jesus and his followers. What would have been especially shocking to the unbelieving friends of the believers in Ephesus is the fact that the husband was to live in service to his wife and that the wife’s submission to her husband as a leader was voluntary. The husband was never to be bossy. In the culture of the day husbands were sometimes encouraged to be loving but they were always the supreme ruler of the house. This reminds me of Jesus words to his closest followers, the twelve disciples. As they were walking along one day the disciples were talking among themselves about who was the greatest in the group. When Jesus asked them what they were talking about they all shut up and wouldn’t say. Jesus knew what they had been talking about and said, “If anyone wants to be first he needs to be last of all and servant of all.” That is the kind of person a husband needs to be and that would be shocking to the world the Ephesians lived in. But remember our marriages are painting a picture of Jesus and his followers. So should the other relationships that we are a part of.

Todays reading starts out by telling children to obey their parent. Then Paul gives three reasons. First is that the children are believes. Ephesians 6:1 ends with the phrase “in the Lord”. Paul has used that phrase in other places in Ephesians (Ephesians 2:21; 4:1; 4:17; 5:8) to describe how people have become a part of God’s forever family. So here Paul is probably using it in the same way. Basically he is saying, “Obey your parents because you are in the Lord; because you are followers of Jesus.”

The next reason he gives them is that this is right. Remember back in Ephesians 4:8 where he told the believers to “walk as children of light”? Then he said that the fruit of light is goodness, right living, and living that reflects reality. So here the children need to obey their parents because it is “right”. That word “right” in verse 1 means that it is fair and proper. Pythagoras (yea the triangle guy) did more than figure out the formula for the sides of a right triangle he was a philosopher (lover of wisdom) who lived about 600 years before Paul wrote this. Pythagoras thought that love, obedience and gratitude toward our parents are “right” (he used the same word) because they are our “earliest and greatest benefactors (some one who does good for us).” I think it is interesting that most animals grow up pretty fast; most animals are pretty self sufficient within a year or two of being born. God gave them an accelerated adolescence (childhood) and placed in them the instincts they needed to survive, most animals don’t need to learn much they just need a little time to reach a physical size that helps them survive. What they do learn mostly comes through experience “in the wild”.

Humans are not that way. We take a long time to grow up physically and we need to learn a lot mentally to survive. God could have made us like other animals but he didn’t. The biggest thing w need to learn though is about God. According to the Bible we can learn some things about God from the physical world (Psalm 50:6, 97:6; Romans 1:20) but a lot about God must be communicated because it deals with emotional, spiritual, ethical, and eternal things; things too abstract to be communicated by physical objects. So God set up our existence so there would be parents to care for us and teach us and so that there would be time for that teaching. In a way the family is the first line in the battle to see people turn back to God. Believing parents have the responsibility to teach their children about God (Deuteronomy 6:5-7).

This brings up one other point about marriage too. Yesterday we talked about how marriage is a picture to the world of what God is like. We talked about marriage being exclusive, how it is forever, how it is based on love and choice, and how it has roles. All of those teach us truths about the relationship between humans and God (what it can and should be). Marriage not only begins a relationship between two people but it is the foundation for a family. Family takes time and commitment, children aren’t born and all grown up overnight. So marriage provides the loving, faithful, enduring foundation for children to be born and to grow up and hopefully come to know God.

Marriage is also, by God’s design, supposed to be between one man and one woman (Matthew 19:4-5. Again this is about painting a picture of God to the world. In this case the picture is of mothers and fathers. In the Bible God is described as a father in many passages but God is also described in maternal ways. Jesus describes himself like a hen gathering her chick (Matthew 23:37). In Ephesians 5:29 when the husband is told to “nourish” his wife like Jesus does to the church the word used there is also used for nursing a child. And Paul compares the care he gave believers in the town of Thessalonica to a mother nursing a child.

Some people get hung up on the man and woman thing and think God is mean and doesn’t care about feelings and desires. But remember that it is God who gave us feelings and desires. God could have made us like most of the animals without any connection, pursuing and fulfilling our own physical appetites. But God did give us feelings and he also gave us way to have our hopes and dreams and desires fulfilled. Just because we want something, though, doesn’t mean it is good or right. Some people want to kill, others want to steal, some to destroy, we are broke and not all of our desires are right. But God is good and he made us good and marriage was his design. We need to trust the designer and follow His plan. Part of that plan involves families and families are the product of a marriage, or at least that is the original and best plan God laid down.

In Ephesians 6:2-3 God dives the third and final reason children should obey their parents. Children should honor both parents because God told them too (Exodus 20:12) and because their life would be better if they followed God’s instructions. Obeying or honoring our parents not only shows respect for them it shows respect for God, and it makes sense, it respects the design and purpose described above for families in relationship to children. The training children receive is beneficial for every day living but it can also lead to an eternity with God, provided the parents teach their children about Him.

Ephesians 6:4 now gives instructions to the father. Fathers are supposed to help their children learn about and live for God. This involves both discipline and instructions. The verb Paul uses here is the same as one he used in Ephesians 5:29 when talking to the Husband about nourishing his wife. It is the verb related to the idea of nursing a child.

The verse starts out, though, with what fathers are not supposed to do. It is interesting that the verse starts out with a conjunction that means “and, also, in the same way.” Some translations leave it and others translate it as “and”.   I think it is better to use “in the same way”, the verse would start out, “in the same way, fathers do not provoke …”. We need to keep in mind that Paul is trying to teach the believers in Ephesus how to live lives that work now and also have an impact on eternity, especially in the lives of those around them. Just like a child’s obedience helps them learn how to live better now and how to have a part in God’s eternal kingdom a father’s discipline and teaching need to have the same goals. Johnny Cash has a song called, “A Boy Named Sue”. In the song the father knows he is going to leave his wife and child (so much for the forever part) and as he leaves he names the boy “Sue”. The song progresses as you might imagine for a boy named “Sue” with lots of turmoil and fighting growing up. As the boy becomes a man he swears to himself he is going to find the “man who named him Sue” and kill him. Near the end of the song he finds his father in a bar and a fierce fight ensues. Eventually the son gets the upper hand and has a gun on his father (talk about being provoked to wrath). The fathr admiths his son ought to be angry and invites him to shoot but only after he acknowledges that the name put the boy in a position where he had to grow up and be come competent (at least at fighting) quickly thereby preparing him for a life without a father. At the end they hug and are friends. Kind of a fantasy ending but we see the attitude that some fathers can have toward raising their children, “Be harsh because we live in a harsh world”. In Paul’s time fathers may or may not have acted like the father in the song but they did have a great deal of authority over their children and weren’t afraid to make their power known. Paul doesn’t tell the fathers not to discipline their children but he does introduce the idea of nurturing them. The fathers actions need to reflect God’s actions toward us. Remember the “in the same way”? Just like the children’s actions could result in a better life and eternity so too the dad’s actions should have the same goal, without provoking anger in the children through harsh methods.

Verses 5-9 now turn to a controversial part of household life in Paul’s day, slavery. Though it didn’t seem to be very controversial in Paul’s day, slavery is considered a great evil in our time and many criticize Paul for the way he treats it here and in Philemon. In verse 5 Paul tells slaves to obey their masters. Remember Paul is talking to believers here. I guess some people wanted Paul to tell the slaves to “punch tier masters in the nose” or to rebel. First of all that wouldn’t have been very effective. The Roman government was extremely powerful and basically worshipped peace within their borders. Any rebellion was dealt with quickly and in the harshest way. Keeping order would also mean that masters were expected to keep their slave in line and masters had great authority to do just that. Slaves were often beaten to make sure they knew who was boss and what would happen at the slightest hint of rebellion.

Verse 5 doesn’t stop with “obey” however and it’s the little details that are important. Paul doesn’t just say “obey your masters” he adds “according to the flesh”. By adding that description he is hinting that they also have another master that is not according to the flesh. The fear and trembling part probably was a reminder to them of what I said above, they really don’t have much choice in the matter since the master has power to beat them. What they do have control over though is their attitude. Instead of just going along with the master when he is there and might beat them they should do what he has commanded even when he isn’t looking. Their hearts need to be sincere and they need to consider the work they are doing as an offering to Christ. The word translated “sincere” means single and seems to have the idea of a single strand. This slave needs to only have one motive in obeying this master and that is serving Jesus through this bad situation. In a way Paul is almost saying pretend the master according to the flesh doesn’t even exist, do this for Jesus.

Verses 6-8 makes this idea more clear when Paul tells the believing slaves don’t just be obedient when you are being watched to make the men watching you happy. Paul wants them to do their chores as if they were willingly serving Jesus from their hearts not out of fear. This idea of a single motive of pleasing God appears again in verse 7 when Paul says he want them to have “good will” that means a good attitude. In verse 8 that this good attitude and good work will be rewarded by God. It is interesting that he says that not only will the slaves be rewarded by God for serving him the same think would apply to a free person serving Jesus. Although that free person could be anyone it at least hints at the masters with whom Paul is going to deal next.

Since there is only one verse left you may think that Paul is going to go easy on the “master” but that is not so. Remember he is talking to believers here. In verse 9 Paul starts out telling the masters that the things he has said to the slaves apply to them as well. Now the masters did not have “masters according to the flesh” (v. 5) but they do have a master, the Lord (Christ,verses 5 and 6, and Lord verse 7). They too must not do things for show or to make those around them happy, they too must understand that God is watching and expects them to do what is good and right (verse 8). Masters also need to be sincere, having a single motive, realizing that they are accountable to their lord and savior, Jesus (verse 5). On top of all the stuff he has taught the slaves and now applies to the masters, Paul also tells the masters to quit threatening their slaves. Remember that threats were how the masters kept control over their slaves.   In a very real way he is removing the “fear and trembling” from the slaves lives (at least the people who were slaves with believing masters). Paul ends the instructions by reminding that slave owners that they all (the slaves and the masters) have a single master in heaven and he doesn’t show any kind of favoritism.

Ordering Christian masters to free their slaves would have made a mess in society, it probably would have made more problems than it solved. And it wouldn’t have solved any problems at all for slaves with unbelieving masters. Paul wrote and sent the letter to Philemon at the same time as this letter to Ephesus and the letter to the church in Colosse. Philemon was a member of the church in Colosse and also a slave owner. One of his slaves, Onesimus had run away and some how found himself in the company of Paul under house arrest near Rome. Onesimus turned his life over to Christ while with Paul and evidently was of great help to Paul during this imprisonment. Although Paul new he had great influence on believers all over the empire he wanted to see them change because of their relationship with Jesus. Laws and orders tend to only keep us in line for a while but when our desires and attitudes change we are change for a lifetime, and beyond. Not to mention the fact that Paul had no legal right to order Philemon to do anything. Remember that in Ephesians Paul is wanting people to “imitate God”. In his letter to Philemon Paul acknowledges that Philemon loves God and that he wants Philemon’s life to be effective, filled with good. In Philemon 14 he tells Philemon that, although he wanted to keep Onesimus with him to help him, “without your concent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not bee, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will. He then goes on and says maybe Onesimus was away for a while so that he might be back forever, no longer as a slave, but as a brother.

Slavery is evil, men do not belong to men we belong to God. Even God doesn’t treat us as slaves, though, he permits us to live as free men, hoping we will chose Him. Governments have the right and the responsibility to reign in evil (Romans 13:4). As we saw in the United States a lot of turmoil was created by the Civil War and both slave owners and former slaves suffered after its conclusion; hatred, poverty and other problems stayed around. In some minds much of it still exists. Governments can and must try to reign in evil but the only real solution is changed hearts in people. Paul wanted Philemon to change from the inside out with the help of God, a change that would bring freedom to Onesimus whether he stayed in Philemon’s employ or not. That is the same course he is steering here in Ephesians. Remember Paul recognizes the households of the members of the Ephesian church as place for the believers and the world to learn how to live for God and goodness and right living to the world now and peace with God for eternity. As the masters and slave in that church in Ephesus followed Paul’s instructions they and the world around them would change, from the inside out and forever. That is a real solution to evil and one that has eternal benefits as well.

God help me imitate you. Help me see all men as my brothers. Help me be a servant of all. Help me submit to you as my true master. Help me work hard for others like I am working for you. Help me be a servant of those over whom I might have authority. I want to be great in you kingdom, help me be the servant of all. Let my life shine for you in a dark world.