Ephesians 6:1

Ephesians 6:1. Children. The exhortation to children is placed first; the general precept in chap. Ephesians 5:21 (‘submitting yourselves,' etc.) calls for this order.

Obey your parents in the Lord. ‘Obey' is stronger than ‘submit yourselves;' the sphere or element of the obedience is ‘in the Lord.' The phrase, which qualifies the verb, is regarded by some as limiting the obedience to Christian commands, but the whole context implies that both parents and children are ‘in Christ' The relation to Christ rests on the relation to the believing parents. The baptismal rite does not create, but signifies and seals, the relation to Christ. The children are thus publicly acknowledged as ‘in Christ,' and believing parents thus promise to regard and train them as Christian children, whose personal piety is to be looked for in faith, as it is prayed for in faith. The evils from the superstitious view of the rite do not invalidate the true principle here involved, and implied in the Old Testament doctrine of covenant blessings on the households of God's people a doctrine which is not altered by any statement in the New Testament.

For this is right. The natural obligation, which is recognized by all systems of morals, comes first; the enforcement through the revealed law of God is added.