Ephesians 6:1-3

Ephesians 6:1-3

“1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

2 Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise),

3 so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.”

The Bible Guide Children and Parents (6:1–4)

Paul has taught wives to submit to their husbands and husbands to love their wives. This is because husbands have an authority, which is to be shown in selfless love. Jesus is their example, and standard of loving.

Now Paul talks to the children! They are part of the church. Their relationship with their parents is ‘in the Lord’.

Paul tells children to obey their parents. This is quite natural. Most parents are bigger and stronger then their children anyway—at least to begin with!

Paul adds that this is also one of the Ten Commandments: ‘Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you’ (Exodus 20:12). This law adds the promise that if children honour their parents, then their nation will be strong and stable. One of the signs of the ‘last days’ is that children are ‘disobedient to their parents’ (2 Timothy 3:2). When this happens, society starts to decay and break down.