Slaves & Masters
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Submission to Christ Jesus alters our relationships.
When wives submit to Christ Jesus, they revere their husbands.
When husbands submit to Christ Jesus, they sacrificially love their wives.
When children submit to Christ, they obey their parents.
When parents submit to Christ, they bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
These are the relationships that we’ve covered so far studying through this portion of Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus.
This means that in that Christian community there were believing wives and husbands and believing children and parents and (as we see in our passage today) believing slaves and masters.
Now before we read and study this text with instructions for slaves and masters, we need to understand a little about the slavery Paul was addressing.
First, slavery was widespread in the Roman Empire before the NT era.
Some were born into slavery and others became slaves because of debts they owed. (If a man couldn’t afford to pay his debts, he might’ve sold himself, his wife, and their children into slavery. Sometimes just the children were sold into slavery to pay off the debt.)
Some estimate that at one time slaves constituted about one-third of Rome’s entire population.
Slavery was an accepted part of life, and slaves could be doctors, musicians, teachers, accountants, or almost anything else so long as it provided a service.
Slaves were, however, not considered persons. They had no rights and were treated as goods. They could be bought. They could be sold. And they could even be traded to pay off their master’s debts.
Some slaves were treated well. Many slaves were not treated. And the master had full authority to punish slaves as he saw fit.
By the time recorded in the pages of the NT, slavery was changing a little because masters had begun to figure out that happy slaves were more productive.
Masters sometimes taught their slaves their trade.
Some masters and slaves became close friends.
In A.D. 20, although slaves were still not considered persons under Roman law, the Roman senate granted slaves accused of a crime the right to a trial.
During this time more slaves were granted freedom by their masters and some slaves were able to purchase their freedom from their masters.
But slaves were still property, and they were still often abused and seldom well treated.
It might surprise us then that the NT doesn’t speak against slavery directly.
One writer said, “had it done so, the resulting slave insurrections would have been brutally suppressed and the message of the Gospel hopelessly confused with social reform,” (MacArthur).
Instead, Christianity undermined slavery by changing the hearts of masters and slaves with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Changed hearts leads to changed laws, not the other way around.
And, as we will see in our passage today, Christianity emphases the spiritual equality of masters and slaves by pointing us all to who we are in Jesus.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
When we look closer at how the Apostle Paul addressed slavery, he said that Christian slaves should serve Christ as a slave if they came to Christ while a slave. Of course, if they could get their freedom in the proper way, that was better. And if they did, they should use their freedom for Christ.
Inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, Paul wrote…
20 Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called. 21 Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that. 22 For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.
In 1 Timothy 6:1-2, Paul wrote that slaves should serve their masters to the glory of God and good of others.
1 All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against. 2 Those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but must serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and preach these principles.
But was the slavery Paul spoke to the kind of slavery that led to the Civil War in these United States? Was it akin to the slavery of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade?
First, the slavery of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was brutal. Some estimate that 15,000,000 Africans were kidnapped, sold, and shipped all around the world. They were packed onto ships like shoulder-to-shoulder, head-to-toe, and essentially belly-to-back. Most of them died at sea, and most that lived wouldn’t live pleasantly.
God is very clear about this kind of slavery. In Exodus 21:16 He said…
16 “He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death.
Dr. David Livingstone, an adventurer and Christian missionary to Africa, saw firsthand that horror of Africans being kidnapped in and sold from Africa.
From that point forward he became an advocate for abolishing the slave trade.
John Newton, the famed author of the hymn Amazing Grace, worked on different slave ships and even captained one. He witnessed horrible things done to slaves, and by his own admission he did horrible things to slaves.
Once he came to Christ though, he too became an advocate for abolishing the slave trade.
We can have a discussion about whether a war was necessary to end the slave trade in our country, but let’s be clear about the fact that it needed to end.
And please don’t say, “But some good things came out of it!”
Just because God worked some instances of evil to the good, we must not celebrate those instances of evil as good.
As Paul said in Roman 3:8, we are not to be the ones saying, “Let us do evil, that good may result.”
So, after that rather long introduction, I think we are ready to study our passage. Let’s read…
[READING - Ephesians 6:5-9]
5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. 9 And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
[PRAYER]
[TS] Let’s notice two sets of INSTRUCTIONS…
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
Instructions to Slaves (Eph. 6:5-8)
Instructions to Slaves (Eph. 6:5-8)
5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.
[EXP] “To be obedient” in v. 5 means to be continuously in submission to one’s master “according to the flesh.”
The phrase “according to the flesh” reveals that the slave has a greater, higher master than his master here on earth. Nevertheless, he is to be obedient “with fear and trembling,” which doesn’t refer to trembling with fright but to deep respect or reverence for the master’s authority.
The slave was to be obedient “in the sincerity of (his) heart, as to Christ.” This same idea is communicated in v. 6 as “doing the will of God from the heart” and in v. 7 as a command “With good will render service, as to the Lord.”
Paul writes to slaves who are Christians. Their hearts have been captured by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and that grace was to show up in how they genuinely obeyed their masters as they would obey Christ who died for them. Their service was not to be begrudging but from the heart, sincerely seeking good for their masters. They were not slaves working against their masters but working for the good for their masters. They were obeying, doing the will of God, and rendering service as “slaves of Christ”.
The opposite was the slave only serving “by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers” (v. 6). That is, a slave wasn’t only to serve his master when his master was looking; he was to be about his master’s business at all times—when his master was watching and when his master wasn’t.
The slave was to operate this way when his master was kind and his master wasn’t. As the Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:18-19…
18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. 19 For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.
The could render service under such circumstances because he was really rendering service to the Lord (v. 7), and the slave knew that “whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free,” (v. 8).
So we have the Christian slaves identity: The Christian slave was ultimately a slave of Christ.
We also have the Christian slaves service: The Christian slave was to serve his earthly master well because the slave was ultimately serving Christ.
And we also have the Christian slaves reward: The Christian slave could trust that Christ would ultimately reward him even if his earthly master did not.
[ILLUS] In 2 Kings 5, we have the story of multiple slaves. It’s really the story of Naaman, a Syrian army captain, being healed of his leprosy by the prophet Elisha, but for our purposes let’s focus on the slaves in the story.
One was an Israelite servant girl who waited on Naaman’s wife. When she became aware of Naaman’s leprosy, she said, “I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria!Then he would cure him of his leprosy,” (2 Kgs 5:3).
This little Israelite slave girl sought the good will of her master.
Naaman goes to Samaria and visits the prophet Elisha. Elisha tells Naaman to wash seven time in the Jordan and he will be healed, but Naaman thinks it can’t be that simple. He needs more than a bath, and he knows it!
But Naaman had some other slaves or servants that instructed him well. They said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” (2 Kings 5:13).
After washing Naaman was healed.
These servants sought the good will of their master just as the little Israelite slave girl had.
Naaman and company return to Elisha and wanted to pay him for the healing, but Elisha refused to take anything.
But as Naaman was leaving, Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, ran him down and lied, saying, “My master has sent me, ‘Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes’,” (2 Kgs 5:22).
Naaman gave more generously, but when Gehazi returned, Elisha knew about what Gehazi had done. And the leprosy that previously plagued Naaman now clung to Gehazi.
Gehazi was obedient when Elisha was looking, but he forgot that God is always watching.
[APP] We likely don’t think of ourselves as slaves or servants to an earthly master, but we probably have thought of ourselves as employees. The things said here can be applied to our work as an employee.
Identity: Understand that you are ultimately employed by the Lord. He’s your ultimate boss.
Service: Understand that you ultimately work for the Lord.
Reward: Understand that whether you’re paid what you’re worth or work for very little, it is the Lord who will reward you when you work sincerely from the the heart as to Christ.
Whether we serve an employer, serve on a committee in the church, serve a neighbor in time of need—we ultimately serve Christ.
He’s always watching.
He will reward.
[TS] …
Instructions to Masters (Eph. 6:9)
Instructions to Masters (Eph. 6:9)
9 And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
[EXP] The words “masters, do the same things to them” could not have been more radical.
As Paul’s letter was read to the Ephesian church, we can imagine a lot of humility being introduced to the different groups.
We can imagine husbands nodding and smirking as Paul says wives are to be subject to their husbands.
But then Paul addresses the smirking husbands.
We can imagine parents nodding and smirking as Paul says children are to obey their parents.
But then Paul addresses the smirking parents.
And we can imagine masters nodding in agreement, smirking with an “I told ya” grin as Paul says slaves are to bey their masters.
But then Paul addresses the smirking masters.
Paul had told Christian slaves to reverently obey their masters seeking to do them good from the heart.
He then tells masters in v. 9 to do the same thing to their slaves. This doesn’t mean that masters were to obey their slaves, but that masters were to respectfully command their slaves seeking to do them good from the heart.
Christian masters would go a long way toward doing this if they gave up threatening.
The word “threatening” in v. 9 comes from a word meaning to menace. There were certainly masters who were a menace to their slaves, but Christian masters weren’t to be that way. They were to put off threatening as they put on their new identity in Christ.
Christian masters would go a long way toward respectfully commanding their slaves if they kept before them this truth, “The slaves and I have one Master in heaven.”
In Colossians 4:1, Paul wrote something similar…
1 Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.
Not only was the Master in heaven watching how slaves obeyed their earthly masters, the Master in heaven was also watching how masters treated their earthly slaves.
Christian masters would go a long way toward treating their slaves the way they should if they remembered that God judges with no partiality.
The slave was always giving an account to his earthly master. One day, the earthly master would give an account to the Master in heaven. On that day, the status of “earthly master” won’t sway the Master in heaven one bit. He will judged earthly slave and earthly master with no partiality.
[ILLUS] It was likely during Paul’s three years in Ephesus that he met a runaway slave named Onesimus, which means useful, a common name for slaves. Onesimus heard the Gospel.
He heard that there was a holy God.
He heard that he was a sinner who had offended this holy God by sinning.
If he had ever worshipped another god, he had offended this holy God.
If he had ever lied, disrespected his parents, or stolen something he had offended this holy God.
Maybe that caught Onesimus’ attention because before he ran away from his master, it seems he stole some money or property from him.
But Onesimus also heard that there was forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
God had sent Jesus to pay the price for Onesimus’ sins. God was offended, but Onesimus could have peace with God if he believed that Jesus died to pay the price for his sins and rose to make him right with God.
Onesimus believed.
As Onesimus matured in his Christian faith, it became apparent that his sinful past would have to be addressed. So, the Apostle Paul sent him back to his earthly master, a Christian named Philemon.
Paul sent Onesimus with a letter and in that letter (Philemon in our NT) Paul encouraged Philemon to welcome Onesimus back “no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother,” (Phil 16). And Paul was confident that Philemon would do just that.
It’s a short letter, but it reveals even more of the transforming power of Jesus on slaves and masters.
Christian slaves were to obey their masters as if obeying Christ.
Christian masters were to treat their slaves respectfully knowing that they would answer to Christ.
Christian masters and Christian slaves, however, were to regard one another as beloved brothers in Christ rather than just as masters and slaves.
[APP] If you employ people, manage people, or lead people in any way, you must do so with respect, not threatening them, but understanding that you will have to give an account of your leadership.
But also understand that if you employ, manage, or lead Christian people, you have something much more than an employee or team member. You have a brother or sister in Christ.
And even if they are not believers, they are potential believers and deserve to be treated with kindness and respect just the same.
[TS] …
Conclusion
Conclusion
In the end, understand this Christian: you are a slave of Christ no matter who you are here on earth.
And because you are His slave, you must obey Him with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, not by way of eye-service but doing the will of God from the heart knowing that whatever good thing you do, that you will receive back from the Lord.
[PRAYER]