Ephesians 6:1-9

Previewing in Outline Form (Ephesians 6:1-9)

C.

Subject yourselves one to another. Ephesians 5:21-33; Ephesians 6:1-9

3.

Children and fathers. Ephesians 6:1-4

a.

Children to obey. Ephesians 6:1-3.

(1)

This is right. Ephesians 6:1.

(2)

This is commanded by the Law. Ephesians 6:2 a.

(3)

This commandment is accompanied with promises. Ephesians 6:2 b - Ephesians 6:3.

(a)

That it may be well with thee.

(b)

That thou mayest live long in the earth.

b.

Fathers. Ephesians 6:4.

(1)

Provoke not your children to wrath.

(2)

Nurture them in chastening and admonition.

4.

Slaves and masters. Ephesians 6:5-9.

a.

Slaves to be obedient. Ephesians 6:5-8.

(1)

With fear and trembling. Ephesians 6:5.

(2)

In singleness of heart.

(3)

As unto Christ.

(4)

Not in the way of eyeservice. Ephesians 5:6.

(5)

As servants of Christ. Ephesians 5:6.

(6)

Doing service with good will Ephesians 5:7.

(7)

Knowing that we shall receive from the Lord that which we do. Ephesians 5:8.

b.

Masters. Ephesians 6:9.

(1) Treat slaves as they are to treat you.
(2) Forbear threatening.

(a)

Christ the Master of everyone is in heaven.

(b)

Christ will have no respect of persons.

D.

Put on the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-20 conclusion; Ephesians 6:21-24.

A ROMAN CENTURION

The staff (vitis) in his right hand was an emblem of office and was used to enforce discipline.

Text (Ephesians 6:1-4)

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honor thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise), 3 that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord.

Thought Questions (Ephesians 6:1-4)

344.

What does obey in the Lord mean? Does that mean that children are to obey only when the parents command that which is in harmony with the Lord's will? Are children capable of judging what is in harmony with the will of the Lord? Or does it mean that they are to obey because they are in the Lord, that is, Christians?

345.

Would you think that the parents referred to in Ephesians 6:1 were Christians? Are the children to obey whether or not the parents are Christians?

346.

Often child experts refuse to admit the existence of unchangeable standards of right and wrong. Paul says that obedience to parents is right. What determines whether a thing is right or wrong?

347.

What is the twofold promise attached to honoring father and mother? Is the honor due to parents limited to childhood obedience? Should it include care in old age (1 Timothy 5:4)?

348.

What was the original significance of the promise, that thou mayest live long in the earth (or land) (Deuteronomy 5:33; Deuteronomy 6:2; Deuteronomy 11:8-9)? Does the promise still have an application to us? How could a father provoke his child to wrath? What results can follow such provocation? (Compare Colossians 3:21.)

349.

What is chastening and what is admonition? Is it possible to give chastening and admonition that is not of the Lord?

Paraphrase

1.

Children, obey even your unbelieving parents, seeing that you are obligated to do this because you are in the Lord. For this is just.

2.

The law commanded you, children, to honor father and mother with obedience, respect, and care. This is the first commandment of the ten commandments with a specific promise.

3.

These are the promises that were attached to the commandment: (1) that it may be well with you; and (2) that you may live long in the land of Canaan.

4.

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to boiling wrath by unreasonable demands, cruel treatment, and constant irritation. Rather, nourish them up to maturity with the instruction, chastisement, and affectionate persuasion which the Lord directs us to employ.

Notes (Ephesians 6:1-4)

1.

Some children have been cruelly repressed by their parents, but far more have never been made to obey and respect their parents. The child that is not taught to obey parents has a head start on the road to delinquency, crime, and hell. A Chicago judge made a study of 1000 cases of juvenile delinquency, In 97% of the cases the mother exercises no discipline; the father exercises none in 98% of the cases. (Gerstner).

2.

Children are to obey in the Lord. It is most unlikely that Paul meant that children were to judge whether or not the things their parents commanded were in harmony with the Lord's will. Most children would not be capable of deciding such things. The duty of the child is to obey, Of course the Christian child or youth would refuse to sacrifice to an idol, or drink liquor, or do such things, even if told to do them by a parent. However, commands that could be disobeyed because they were obviously sinful would be very rare.

In the Lord simply means because you are in the Lord, or because you are Christians. It has always been the duty of children who served the Lord to obey their parents.

3.

Considering all that a parent does and sacrifices for a child, it is infinitely just (right) that the child should obey.

4.

The second of the ten commandments has a rather general promise to those who obey it. But the fifth commandment, Honor thy father and thy mother, is the first and only one of the ten commandments with a specific promise. This promise was twofold:

(1)

That it may be well with thee. Any child that obeys his parents will be spared many troubles and mistakes, and he will also be spared much chastisement. The Law permitted the stoning of a rebellious child (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). This should impress us with the fact that God considers filial disobedience a terrible thing.

(2)

That thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. This originally referred to the privilege of dwelling in the land of Canaan. God warned Israel that if they were disobedient they would be driven out of the land (Deuteronomy 28:36).

This promise also has a fulfillment in the present times. The child who obeys will probably have better health, safer habits, wiser ways, and certainly the blessing of God to lengthen and enrich his life.

5.

Parents who are unreasonably strict with children often drive them from home into young, unwise marriages, or into juvenile gangs. No parents should tease or repress children until they are in a rage. Foolishness is indeed bound up in the heart of a child (Proverbs 22:15). The rod of correction is needed, and a child will not long resent just punishment. But unjust continuous abuse (corporeal or verbal) leads to exasperation and discouragement.

6.

Chastening refers to training, education, chastisement. Parents are under divine responsibility to educate their children. Children are not ours just to enjoy and caress, but to train for this life and the life to come. Children grow up and thank their parents for their educational opportunities. Will they grow up and thank their parents for spiritual instruction? Or will they grow up thirsting for the word of the Lord which their parents did not give to them (Amos 8:11-12)?

7.

Admonition refers to exhortation, urging, warning. We not only need to teach children the truth, but to urge them to live by it. We notice the attitude of entreaty and exhortation in Proverbs 5:1; Proverbs 6:1.

Fact Questions

298.

What is the duty of children to their parents?

299.

Children are to obey parents, for this is..................

300.

Which is the first of the ten commandments with promise?

301.

What is the twofold promise to those who obey parents?

302.

What are fathers not to do?

303.

In what two matters are parents to nurture their children?

Text (Ephesians 6:5-7)

5 Servants, be obedient unto them that according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not in the way of eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7 with good will doing service as unto the Lord, and not unto men:

Thought Questions (Ephesians 6:5-7)

350.

Does the Bible condone slavery? Does it abolish slavery by executive order?

351.

The servant is to render service unto the master as unto whom?

352.

Does the authority of the master extend over the slave's flesh, or soul, or both?

353.

Is the slave to fear and tremble because of his master's authority, or the Lord's authority, or the authority of both?

354.

What is singleness of heart?

355.

What is eyeservice?

356.

Whom do we serve when we serve our masters faithfully?

357.

Is most slave-service rendered with good will?

Paraphrase

5.

Bond-servants (slaves), obey those who are the masters over your bodies and flesh, with fear and trembling, lest you be justly punished for slothfulness and unfaithfulness, both by the master and the Lord. Serve the master with but a single purpose in your heart, that of pleasing him, just as you desire to please Christ.

6.

Render service not just when the master is looking, as one who is concerned only about pleasing men, but, as slaves of Christ who do the will of God from a heart wholly dedicated to Him, render service faithfully.

7.

Thus, unlike most slaves, you will serve your masters with good will, and will cheerfully do the service that they require as if you were doing service unto the Lord, and not unto men only.

Notes (Ephesians 6:5-7)

1.

The servants referred to in these verses were bond-servants or slaves. (Compare Colossians 3:22-25.)

2.

The gospel of Christ does not automatically cancel slavery, but it does completely change the estimation of the slave in the master's eyes. To the Romans, slaves were generally looked upon only as things. To Christian masters, they became people, and even brothers in the Lord, if the slaves were Christians. Naturally, the Christian masters treated their slaves differently than did the heathen masters. It is unthinkable that anyone would enslave or mistreat a brother.

Then also, Christianity changed the slave's estimation of his master. The service his master required became an opportunity to serve Christ, and to demonstrate the power of Jesus in his soul. He served with the usual fear and trembling lest he displease his master, but even more earnestly lest he displease the Lord who was expecting him to be a good slave.
No doubt, when a slave became a Christian, and began to serve the master more faithfully, more cheerfully, more dependably, and more graciously, the master would wonder why. What an opportunity this would be for the slave to testify to the master concerning what Christ had done for him.

3.

Eyeservice is either (1) service that is done only when the master has his eye on the slave, or (2) service done in such a poor way that it will only bear looking at, but not testing.

Fact Questions

304.

What are the servants that are referred to in Ephesians 6:5?

305.

The masters of Christian slaves were masters over what part of them?

306.

Whom was the slave serving when he served his master well?

Text (Ephesians 6:8)

8 knowing that whatsoever good thing each one doeth, the same shall he receive again from the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

Thought Questions (Ephesians 6:8)

358.

If we have done some good thing, when shall we receive that same good thing again from the Lord?

359.

Give some example, if you can, of how the Lord may give unto us the same good thing we have done for someone else.

360.

How does the fact that we shall receive from the Lord the good things we have done have a beneficial effect both on the slave and his master?

Paraphrase

8.

Knowing this, ye slaves, that whatsoever good work each man does, though he receives no reward from any masters on earth, he shall receive a reward from Christ on the day of judgment for this good work, and the reward will be in the same degree and kind as the good thing that he has done. This recompense shall be made to every man whether he be presently slave or freeman.

Fact Questions

307.

If we do not receive a reward for good works on earth, when and where will we receive our reward?

308.

How will our rewards from the Lord be apportioned?

309.

What difference will it make when the rewards are given whether we are free or bond?

Text (Ephesians 6:9)

9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, and forbear threatening; knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no respect of persons with him.

Thought Questions (Ephesians 6:9)

361.

What are the same things that the master must do toward the slave, as the slave toward the master? (Compare Ephesians 6:5-8.)

362.

Why should masters forbear threatening? Is it true that words cannot hurt anyone?

363.

Who, and where, is the one who is Master of both the slave and his master?

364.

Why would the warning that there is no respect of persons with Christ be especially needed by the slave master?

Paraphrase

9.

And, you masters, exercise the same benevolent, conscientious acts toward your slaves that Christ requires of them to do toward you, not adding to their miseries by the terror of punishment, but leaving off threatenings, knowing that the Lord of both slave and master is in heaven on His throne, and that in the judgment which Christ shall conduct upon His servants, He will respect no man's earthly rank or dignity, but will reward or punish everyone according to his deeds.

Notes (Ephesians 6:9)

1.

The phrase, forbear threatening, carries the idea of moderating threats, or relaxing threats, or omitting threats. Threats often produce more terror, and hurt more deeply than stripes and lashings.

Fact Questions

310.

What are the masters to do toward the slaves?

311.

What are the masters to forbear?

312.

Where is the one who is Master of both slave and master?

313.

What attitude does the Master in heaven not have?