Strength In Submission

I wanted to start out this morning with this quote from John MacArthur. One because it is a great quote and two because when I opened the spot for today’s message our program we use the quote was already there and don’t really think that was a coincidence. Because it really fit perfectly with where we are in our teaching through Ephesians.

The More that God’s word is removed from our lives, the more inhibited our spiritual progress becomes. Nothing else can do the work that the truth does. There is no sanctifying power in human wisdom, intuition, insight or experience. It is only in the Word of God. Only the truth revealed in the Scriptures sanctifies - sound teaching accurately interpreted, understood and applied. As divine revelation is embraced, spiritual progress is made. There are no alternative routes to godly character and holy living. -John MacArthur-

It’s the type of insight and wisdom in this quote that leads Pastor and Tony and I to take you guys line by line though entire books of the bible.

We don’t ever want this to turn into some self help seminar that is going to give you 10 ways to feel good about yourself.

We’re not that smart so we would end up doing more damage than good.

Honestly nobody, I don’t care how educated they are can shape your lives in such a profound way as the word of God can. I’m talking Holy Spirit inspired word of God from the one who designed you before the foundation of the Earth.

So whether life is good right now and you are just doing what you can to nurture your relationship with God.

Or if you are struggling and in a rough patch in life.

Or if you’re not really sure if you know the Lord. There is one thing that can help in these situations. It is getting with the people of God and Studying the word of God.

And man that we have been doing. This letter to the church at Ephesus has been a great instruction manual on how we should strive to conduct ourselves in all aspects of our lives.

From unity in the Body, to walking in a newness of life, to walking in love, to conduct as parents, children, wives and husbands.

To be able to live in a God honoring, God glorifying manner in all those areas takes two things.

It takes humility and submission, and honestly it could boil down to just humility to start because how many prideful people are honestly going to be submitting to anyone or anything.

Ephesians 6:5–9 ESV

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

One important thing we must not do when getting ready to explore the beauty of this teaching in this text is not look at it or hear it in the context of American slavery. We cannot import modern day American practices or feelings on those practices into this text because that is not what Paul is talking about here.

That would be like me attending a baseball game and getting really upset because the umpire isn’t calling basketball penalties on the teams.

The last primary household relationship Paul addresses is that of the slave and master. The presence of the section is amazing in itself as a slave held no authority at all in the house, even though some slaves were seen very much as quasi-family members.

Paul acknowledges the reality of a social structure that existed at the time and works for understanding and orderliness within it.

Estimates suggest that up to one-third of people in the Roman Empire were slaves. Slavery was not a matter of race but of circumstance and social standing resulting from war, kidnapping, poverty or birth.

Slaves were regarded as property, which means that the address of them here as people shows a different approach to who they were. Slaves had very limited rights. They were owned by and controlled by their masters, who could give them many responsibilities, such as helping raise children or handling money. Yet their freedom was limited and the effort to escape could lead to death.

Slaves in this culture often gained a good level of education to perform their duties and could choose to enter this status, unlike the forced status of more modern slavery. Ancient slaves could gain freedman status over time or by their owners’ choice.

The letter to Philemon about Onesimus shows how and why a slave is to be regarded as a person in a Christian context. Onesimus is promoted to a far higher status as Paul elevates the slave to a brother in Christ and equal to Paul! So the personal dynamics are being transformed, even as the legal status is left unchanged.

So just a little about the application of this text: it is often looked at from the lens of a laborer in an employment context. We will actually look at it that way a bit as well, but that analogy is an incomplete one. The employee chooses by contract to give his or her labor and has options to continue that service or not under that contract. That difference is significant. Still, the kind of attitude indicated here for the way work should be done is still a good analogy within that difference. So applications to the workplace, or to prisoners or other contexts where a clear difference in social status is at work in an authority context, while they still work, they only fit indirectly.

Verse 5

Ephesians 6:5 ESV

Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,

In verse 5 Paul opens with instruction to the believers with lesser authority in the relationship, as he did in the earlier discussions: Wives submit to your husbands, children obey your parents, and now slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ. Obedience to their earthly masters is their primary responsibility. The masters are described as ‘fleshly’ (kata sarka) and this is simply to distinguish them from the Lord. Their obedience is to come with a respect and awareness of the authority their masters possess. That is the meaning of the phrase fear and trembling—it does not indicate any sense of terror.

There is to be respect for the power the owner possesses. The phrase also points to sincerity, like the respect one gives to Christ. This means the slave was to carry out his or her duties with integrity and faithfulness. The section echos the same teaching Paul gives Colossians 3:22–4:1. Responding from the heart before the Lord with faithfulness—that is, with deep integrity—is a core Christian virtue.

We see that in Colossians 3 17.

Colossians 3:17 ESV

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Moving along into verse 6.

Ephesians 6:6 ESV

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

Here Paul underscores the sincerity that is to come with the work of a slave: not like those who do their work only when someone is watching—as people-pleasers—but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart. The service of a slave is not to be based on circumstances and whether someone is paying attention; it is to be the same whether the master is present or not.

This verse and the next verse state the point negatively, then positively, before returning to negative descriptions. Literally, the two negative descriptions present here are as ‘eye-service’ and as ‘men-pleasers’. The meaning is transparent. They are not to do their best only when people, especially their masters, are watching. The terms appear only here and in Colossians 3:22 in the New Testament. Instead, their work is to be undertaken with a genuineness that comes from the soul and reflects the will of God.

The question we would ask ourselves here is what we have done be done good enough to show the Lord?

In verse 7...

Ephesians 6:7 ESV

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

Paul completes the thought: with willingness serving as to the Lord and not to men. As with the wives and children, slaves are to serve with an awareness of their connection to Christ and in a way that mirrors it. They serve and represent the Lord in their work. This understanding should guide their approach to their labor.

The thing I want us to notice in this verse is with willingness. It refers to something done with a good attitude. It has the force of doing something out of goodwill. The term’s only New Testament use with this sense is found here. The service one gives is to be given as to the Lord and not to men, a point reinforcing the service as slaves of Christ.

In verse 8

Ephesians 6:8 ESV

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

8. Paul gives a motive for such obedience, namely, accountability to God: because you know that each person, whether slave or free, if he does something good, this will be rewarded by the Lord. The Lord is watching what we do and rewards those who do it well. So the service is rendered not only as if to the Lord but actually to the Lord.

One thing we should remember is that every person and everything we do is accountable to God.

This is noted in texts like 1 Corinthians 3:10–17, which says that the quality of each person’s work will be tested.

1 Corinthians 3:10–17 ESV

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Verse 9...

Ephesians 6:9 ESV

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.

Now it is the masters’ turn: Masters, do the same to them, giving up the use of threats, because you know both you and they have the Lord in heaven and there is no favoritism with him. The call to the masters is that they should have the same respect and awareness that the Lord is watching how they act in their use of authority.

We see evidence of this in how Philemon is told to treat Onesimus in Paul’s letter as I mentioned earlier. There the status of Onesimus is elevated to that of a brother and even of the apostle Paul, as Philemon is to consider how to treat this slave who had fled the home of his master. Mercy was to be a driver in that response, rooted in an appreciation of the mercy Philemon himself had received from God.

So now hopefully understanding the theological aspect of these verses how can we apply it? Like I said there is often a correlation between these verses and the work place. So let’s look at it in that context.

1. Commit Your Work to God

Proverbs 16:3 ESV

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

says, “Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.” Whether our work is raising our children, tending gardens, or constructing tall buildings, it is always important to lay our work before God in prayer

Committing our work to the Lord is a way to recognise that we work in order to serve him. It is also an act of obedience and acknowledges that we can’t do the work on our own. We need the Lord’s help and his blessing to get through the difficulties and challenges of our work. And we need to seek his guidance and wisdom for our work. Acknowledging our dependence on God honors him.

2. Work Hard

Proverbs 10:4 ESV

A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Proverbs 10:4 teaches, “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” This is one of many passages in the Bible that teaches the value of hard work. Paul also claimed that he sometimes worked both night and day (2 Thessalonians 3:7-8). On the other side, there are also many Bible passages, especially in the book of Proverbs, that warn against laziness. God is honoured when we apply physical and mental effort to work hard.

We should put in our best effort rather than the required minimum. We should have integrity. Are we the same whether someone is watching over us or not?

3. Learn Gratitude

God created us with work in mind. It is part of God’s design. We honor God when we recognize this design and thank God for our work and the fruits of our work. Even when our work is difficult, we remember that God provides for us through it. We should be thankful and humble.

And we should also try to enjoy our work. This fits with the wisdom we learn in Ecclesiastes 2:24-25,

Ecclesiastes 2:24–25 ESV

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

4. Pursue Excellence

When we do excellent work, whether it is cleaning well, making beautiful homes as a carpenter, or administrating diligently in an office, we honour God. God is the Creator who recognized his creation as “good”. We honour him when we also do good quality work.

God is not honored when we do the bare minimum in the effort department. God is not honored when we speak rudely to our co-workers or customers. Since we are made in God’s image, we honor God when we make good things just like God made his creation good.

5. Obey the Authorities

We need to do the right thing and obey the rules of our supervisors and the laws of our city, state and country. Paul teaches in Romans 13:1-2,

Romans 13:1–2 ESV

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

God’s command is that we obey the laws in our nation.

We must obey even if we do not have any danger of being caught. We must obey even if the laws are not being enforced. And we must obey even if everyone else is breaking the rules. As Christians we must try to obey all the laws as long as they do not go against God’s word.

If we do not do our work with integrity, we are denying Christ through our actions. What ever we do we should do it for the glory of God.

6. Practice Integrity

Integrity is not perfection; we all still struggle with sin. But our faithful honesty at work, home, and church shows the real relationship we have with Christ. If we are dishonest in the little things, we will also be dishonest in the big things.

Luke 16 says it like this...

Luke 16:10–12 ESV

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

In addition to honouring God at work, our integrity and honesty can lead others to know Christ.

1 Peter 2:12 ESV

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Keeping our integrity can be difficult. In some positions we may lose our job if we fail to participate in the corruption of others. But as followers of Christ, we must be willing to suffer for his name.

So the question I’ll leave us with after these last few weeks in Ephesians is this. Are we honoring and glorifying God as husbands, wives, children, parents, employees, bosses and citizens?

If not are we confessing our short comings, repenting and turning to the Lord for the strength to be better in these areas?

Let’s pray.