Sermon on Ephesians 6:1-9

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

5 Bondservants,[a] obey your earthly masters[b] 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[c] and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.

1. obey [hupakouete]—stronger than as to wives “submitting,” or ‘being subject’ (ch. 5:21). Obedience is unreasoning and implicit; submissionis the willing subjection of an inferior in point of order to one having a right to command. in the Lord—join with “obey[1]. Previously when Paul says wives submit to your husbands it is saying here obey your parents is a stronger use then to submit. Paul is telling the children to obey your parents.

see it.[1]David Brown, A. R. Fausset, and Robert Jamieson, A Commentary, Critical, Experimental, and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments: Acts–Revelation, vol. VI (London; Glasgow: William Collins, Sons, & Company, Limited, n.d.), 419.

Listen to what they are telling you to do. Don’t submit as in I will listen because I want to but obey because that is a command. Your parents have been in this world longer than you and they have your best interest in mind even though you don’t

Then Paul continues in quoting Deuteronony 5:16 says 16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Once the Israelites are out of Egypt and God is making them His people, God tells them to do this. I feel like a lot of stories in the bible have examples of children not obeying their parents and reaping the consequences. One of the stories that come to mind is Eli the priest before Samuel. He had sons who would take sacrifices that were meant for God and use them in a way that was against God’s law. The law allowed the Levites which were Eli and his sons to take food from the offering for them to eat but they had to follow the process and commands in doing it. In 1 Samuel 212 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. 13 The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, 14 and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” 16 And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” 17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt. It starts off with the sons of Eli were worthless men and the second verse that really surprises me is they did not know the Lord. They were priests so you would think they would know God on a personal level. But no. they saw what their dad did on a daily bases. they were trained by their father and there was nothing said about Eli that was sin against God apart from allowing his sons to continue in this sin and turn a blind eye. They also sinned against God intentionally. After hearing of their sins Eli tries to rebuke them 22 Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. 24 No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. 25 If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death. They were given a chance to repent and turn away from their wickedness but they didn’t honor their father. when God tells Samuel about what will happen to Eli, Eli doesn’t further his discipline or try to judge his kids. He said whatever the Lord seems fit in doing, let Him do. God gives chances to repent for the father and the sons. Now the second example is Samuel. Samuel was a prophet after Eli but when Samuel got old his children did not follow in his footsteps just like Eli as it says in 1 Samuel 8When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. We have these Godly men who loved God but that didn’t translate to their children and we see that in the real world as well. We all want what’s best for our kids but ultimately, it’s their choice to make whether to follow God or not when they become adults. We do our best to raise them correctly in the Lord. We mess up a lot in parenting. Anyone in any age can say they did some things they regret but we can also do what is right. Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. This is a command. You’re not just obeying because you have to but as unto the Lord you are doing it. I feel like I say this a lot when I’m talking to my kids. That’s my go to verse, honor your father and your mother. It’s a command, part of the 10 commandments. But what does it mean to honor your father and mother Biblically? it is obedience as a child to adulthood. it is respecting your parents for bringing you into this world and taking care of you, it is taking care of them in their time of need as well. there are different stages of honor and growth and the more we mature to adulthood it looks different. But this is ultimately obedience to God in trusting that He knows what’s best for us and wants what’s best for us and our family so do this so that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land. Theres gonna be different circumstances if there is bad parenting and non christian parents and children but the honor is still there and the Holy Spirit and the church can help us discern those situations.

4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 says 6 “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules[a]—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[b] 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

This section is called the Shema. Jews were taught this payer at a young age and would recite it daily in prayer. Jesus turns to this as one of the most important commandments in the Bible along with loving your neighbor as yourself. We have a privilege to raise children to pass on our values and our name as well and they are a blessing to us. So, to raise them correctly is God’s task for parents. Paul gives a clear picture here in not provoking children to anger but bring them up in discipline and instruction in the Lord and Deuteronomy states it here. We do it when we wake up, when we eat, when were sitting around the house, when your out. Its meaning all the time whenever you get the chance. Our worldview should be Godly in nature. Not scientific in a way that believes what the world believes but in a biblical worldview. The world was created in 6 days and on the 7th God rested. We were created man and woman and there is no other genders. We are fearfully and wonderfully made and precious in God’s sight. We are created for a purpose that God made us for. We have salvation through Jesus and everlasting life when we die. What the Bible says is true and if you don’t believe it and live it, our children will do the same. So digging into scripture and having an understanding of it and knowing the hope you have in Jesus and salvation and sharing that with our children is what is commanded by God to His people who were the Israelites then but is us now because of God’s grace. We will not do this perfectly and we mess up or forget or don’t have an answer to questions they may have but put God first in your life and living it out and teaching our children is important. I’m taking some liberty here but that is what could have happened to Eli and Samuels children. They were in leadership positions, and it can be easy to focus on your duties and forget your children. They probably didn’t put in as much effort in leading the people as in raising their children in God. Children can take the back burner of your time and importance in life. God should be first and then your spouse and then children and then work. So when we are convicted and God reveals those things to us, we should get back to what is truth and right. Remind our kids who God is, what he has done, what he is doing, how he is providing and guiding us and let that be daily. Proverbs 22:6Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. When they get older it can be too late. God can still keep that door open to witness to adults but its much easier to do that with children living with you.

5 Bondservants,[a] obey your earthly masters[b] 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,

Slaves or bond servants were people who would go into slavery because of poverty or for a season to pay off debt and make a living. During that time there wasn’t a lot of work unless you grew up in a family that had a trade and you would continue in your father footsteps. So if your father is a carpenter that is what you would do. Or stonemason or farming ect. So if you didn’t have that you worked where you can but even that wasn’t always available. So people would become slaves to work for the rich and some would choose to stay a slave because that meant food and clothing a place to stay verses poor and no food and homeless. Some had bad masters and some were good so regardless of what situation you were in Paul is encouraging the bondservants to obey your earthly masters as they would Jesus. We don’t live like that today. We have a lot more say in our jobs and life. But this can be applicable in that when we work even if we don’t have the best bosses or work in the best environment, we should be working as onto the Lord in whatever place we are at. We shouldn’t do things as way of eye service as people pleasers. Only doing things if they benefit you or you get noticed or praised but as bondservants of Christ or slaves of Jesus. Colossians 3 18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters,[f] not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. We see the similarity in these verses both written by Paul. Theres a book called the practice of the presence of God which is written by a monk Brother Lawrence who lived in a monastery in France in a the 1600s. His view that in everything we do, it can be seen as worshipping God. When he washed the dishes, when he swept, in all things that he did, he saw that as worship and pleasing to God. It was not small but important. I would recommend reading that. But with that mindset, we see that all things are important with God. A lot of jobs can get more recognition for people doing it but when working as unto the Lord, having that mindset your doing what your created to do, for who your created to work for, where your created to be in this world and to have that worldview what your doing is important, and meaningful and when you have an attitude of gratefulness and joy in what you do it is infectious. You become a light for the Lord and people ask, why are they like that even in stressful situations? Because they are doing it as unto the Lord.

Illustration

I used to love listening to the radio back home. We didn’t have internet and tv was expensive so I would listen to Christian radio and one show came on once a week lamplighter theater. One of the stories was of a King who grew up poor before he became King and through that humbleness he learned to be a great King who empathized with the people and met their needs. But his son who was next to be king was spoiled. He didn’t know what people went through or needed to survive because he grew up with all his needs being met. So one day his father the King told his servant to take his son to the village he grew up in and make sure he is dressed poor and is left with friends to struggle to know what it is like to be poor. So he took the prince and brought him to the village against his will and left him there but always kept his eye on him. The kid struggled and was demanding still, but without his crown or power, he was nothing. He had to get to the point of starvation and pain and living in the poorhouse to be humbled and his character grew. He became friends with people and worked hard with the people and loved the people because he didn’t see them as objects to rule over but real people who help the kingdom grow. So after years of living like that he was brought back to the kingdom as prince and ruled just like his father did. Loving the people and being part of the people because of his experience.

Jesus was the ultimate example of this. He was the King of the universe. He was God who had everything but became nothing because of His love for us. He chose this and we were to benefit from his sacrifice. Not Himself. When we look at life as a gift from God and learn to be content in all he has given us, we can truly live. We can work for hard bosses and mean people and coworkers. We can honor our father and mothers. We can obey our parents. We can love our wife and husband. We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength because of what he did on the cross. Not perfectly because we are sinners but getting back up, trying again every time we mess up because we have a gracious God who loves us and restores us if we turn to Him.