Submission to One Another - Bondservants and Masters (6:5-9)

Introduction:

We continue in our section of Ephesians focusing in on what it means to be in Submission to One Another. We learned several weeks back that this submission (hypotasso) is a by-product of our being filled and controlled by the indwelling Holy Spirit. We learned that it meant that wives were to submit to their own husbands as unto the Lord since God has ordained their husband as the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. We also learned how the husbands are to submit to their own wives by loving them as Christ loved the church and sacrificially gave his life for her, caring for her as if she was his own body. Then two weeks ago, we learned that children, those who are still under the care of a parent or guardian, are to submit to their own parents through obedience to their instructions as they would obey Christ. This is all under the microcosm of the home, which when properly followed, displays the bigger view of how the church submits to Christ.

Now this morning, we will look at the last topic under this submission to one another section, and look outside the home, and outside the local church body and view how we are to address this submission to those who have authority over us, even if they are not a part of the true church of Christ. We will seek to unpack and understand what Paul is referring to in our Submission to One Another as Bondservants and Masters from Ephesians 6:5-9.

Text: Ephesians 6:5-9

Ephesians 6:5–9 ESV

5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 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.

Main Idea: Since submission is the God ordained role of every child of God, beginning in the home, and displayed in the true church, it must also extend into the world outside as a badge to identify God’s children, as they submit to their God ordained authority.

Background:

In the context of the time in which Paul is writing, slaves composed about one-third of the population of a city like Ephesus. They were considered an integral part of a family, and were essential to the overall economy of that day. So Paul’s instructions for slaves were a natural part of his dealing with family relationships.

However, in both Greek and Roman culture, slaves had limited rights and were subject to exploitation and abuse. Paul does not condone the system of slavery but instead provides instructions to believing masters and slaves regarding their relationship to each other in the Lord, and how this should be lived out within the bounds of their social and legal culture. The result, as is often observed, is that slavery slowly died out in antiquity through the influence of Christianity.

We see a real life demonstration of this in the book of Philemon, Paul in writing to Philemon regarding his runaway slave Onesimus, and is clearly seeking a transformed relationship between slave and master—a new relationship that would defy all of the ingrained status distinctions of the surrounding Greek and Roman culture. There is no doubt that it would have been difficult for the institution of slavery to survive in the atmosphere of love created by the letter, and in fact the elements of Paul’s appeal found in this letter helped lay the foundation for the abolition of slavery.

The principles in this passage apply today in terms of submission to any lawfully constituted authority (including our employment), the only exception being if such a lawfully constituted authority were to require a believer to disobey God’s Word or to fundamentally compromise one’s commitment to Christ (as in the case of Acts 4:19, 20).

Ultimately, Paul is teaching a principle for the believer that goes beyond what is right and wrong in the world…it is how do we as believers live in a evil, selfish, power-seeking, unjust and prejudice world, and do so as light and salt? No where in scripture do we ever find that we are to malign those in authority, or picket, or rally, riot, or demonstrate against them. We are to fight against the evils of this world with the preaching of the gospel and the living out of the gospel in holiness. For we, more then anyone, understand that we serve the one and only sovereign God who in his time will make everything right. Jesus completely understood this and instructed us in our reactions to unjust treatment by others in a way that goes against our human desire for vengeance and requires us to live as members of his kingdom:

Matthew 5:38–41 ESV

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

He continues:

Matthew 5:43–48 ESV

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

With that as our background, let’s unpack Paul’s commands to both bondslaves and masters.

I. Bondservants Obey (5-7)

Interestingly enough, Paul does not advocate the immediate, outright emancipation of the slaves. He took the social structure as he found it and endeavored by peaceful means to change it into its opposite.

A. The Command (5)

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

Bondservants (doulos [noun]) - one whose entire livelihood and purpose is determined by his master. One who serves not just out of obligation, but whose mindset is that they understand this has been ordained for them and they are content. The understanding of the word bondservant is best defined in the Old Testament book of Exodus:

Exodus 21:1–6 ESV

1 “Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. 2 When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. 5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

We see here a beautiful expression of love, not just obligation.

This extremely important Greek word is one that was used by the apostles in reference to themselves and their relation to Jesus Christ.

Paul, James, Peter, and Jude call themselves bondslaves of Jesus Christ in: Romans, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Titus, James, 1 Peter, and Jude. Not counting the others they also claim to be Christ’s bondservant.

This word is very much like our word for submission (hypotasso), as it recognizes the God ordained authority in our lives and we subsequently arrange ourself under that authority. It is a good word, a great word, only sinful, selfish, power-hungry men have made it into something evil. Remember what Paul said to the Corinthian christians:

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

obey (hypakouo [pre, act imp]) your earthly master (kurios [noun] - lord or one with authority over another) - we are called to obey those in authority over us…let’s face it, whether we like it or not, God has established those who rule, and those who serve. This we find in government, the work place, and in the local church.

Note that only two times in the book of Ephesians is the Greek word for “obey” used, once here and the other with reference to children in verse 1.

Romans 13:1–2 ESV

1 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. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Hebrews 13:17 ESV

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

But, how are we to obey them?

with fear (phobos [noun] - feeling of profound respect for someone who has been given authority over us) and trembling (tromos [noun)] shaking or quiver)- this fear and trembling comes from the authority they represent and not the person’s stature or demeanor. Paul is leading us to this understanding by what he says next:

with a sincere (haplotes [noun] - the quality of being honest and straight forward in attitude and speech) heart - the idea of being honest and straight forward in your demeanor, with no pretense or false appearance in an attempt to get ahead. Ultimately, Paul gives us the same qualifier that he has given throughout this section on submission:

[as] you [would] (hos [conjunction] - with a view to) Christ - again, this has been the consistent qualifier through this section. We obey those in authority over us with a view toward obeying, in fear and trembling Jesus Christ, our ultimate Lord and Master. Paul drills done on this as we see next that Christ is to be:

B. The Focus (6-7)

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

not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers - this is the outward, insincere-heart way of doing things. The flattery, buttering up, in order to get a head and hopefully become a master ourselves. There must be a different way that servants of Christ work…we are to be the same whether anyone is watching or not…why?

but as bondservants of Christ - because we are first and foremost bondservants of Jesus Christ, which should amount to…

doing the will of God from the heart - here is where the qualifier begins, not outwardly and hypocritical but inward, where the Lord we serve sees and knows what is going on. In other words, our sincerity, and fear and trembling toward the authority over us, is a spiritual exercise, and therefore, to be insincere and disobedient to those in authority, is to be insincere and disobedient to our Master and Lord Jesus Christ. In case we didn’t get this, Paul keeps drilling…

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

[rendering service] (douleuo [pre, act, par] - the verb form of doulous, slaving, or doing the work of a bondservant) with a [good will] (eunoia [noun] - the inclination to do kind and charitable acts) - working naturally as a bondservant, doing what we’ve been called to do:

as to the Lord and not to man - again, our ultimate focus. In other words, whether we be mowing the lawn, cleaning a house, balancing a spreadsheet, or wiring a house, we do it with our focus on our Lord Jesus Christ. This will always cause us to not cut corners but do our best. So what will we gain from all this?

II. Bondservant’s Reward (8)

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

knowing (oida [per, act, par] - know absolutely) that whatever good (agathos [adjective] - moral excellence) anyone does (poieo [aor, act, sub]) - the bondslave can know absolutely the whatever he did that was truly good, would not be forgotten, in fact…

this [he will receive back] (komizo [fut, mid, ind] - recompensed or be paid back) from (para [preposition of source]) the Lord - no one does that which is good without being compensated by God in the future, particularly, in eternity. We continue, even when we have been dealt with unjustly, since we know that justice and reward is coming.

whether he is a bondservant or is free - this compensation is provided to both the bondslave and the free as what we will see next with regard to the masters…

III. Masters Be Fair (9)

(9) 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.

Masters - Those who have been given authority by God.

do the same to them - If masters can expect their Christian slaves to serve them willingly, slaves can expect Christian masters to treat them the way Christ treats His own servants. This means that they should…

stop your threatening - do not take advantage of your authority, becoming power hungry and abuse those under your authority. Here’s the main reason why…

knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, - ultimately both master and slaves, employers and employees have one master they answer to, the Lord of heaven and earth, and that…

there is no partiality with him - The Lord of heaven and earth does not look at us as masters and slaves, employers and employees…we are all equal in his eyes.

In summary, Paul’s rule amounted to this: Let the slave wholeheartedly obey his master, and let the master be kind to his slave. Thus the ill-will, dishonesty, and laziness of the slave would be replaced by willing service, integrity, and industry. And also, the cruelty and brutality of the master, would be replaced by considerateness and love, since both have the same ultimate master. Therefore, in obedience to these commands, slavery would be abolished from within, and a gloriously transformed society would replace the old.

So What?

Do we understand that there has been given to us, authorities to which we are responsible to submit?

Do we understand that we are to obey those authorities as we would obey Christ?

Do you who are in authority over another, understand that this has been given to you by God, and that you are to look at those under your authority as equals in the sight of God?