AS IF YOU ARE SERVING THE LORD

Passage: Ephesians 6:1-9

Key verse: 7

NIV

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.(A) 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”[a](B)

4 Fathers,[b] do not exasperate your children;(C) instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.(D)

5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect(E) and fear, and with sincerity of heart,(F) just as you would obey Christ.(G) 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ,(H) doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people,(I) 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do,(J) whether they are slave or free.

9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours(K) is in heaven, and there is no favoritism(L) with him.

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Footnotes
  1. Ephesians 6:3 Deut. 5:16
  2. Ephesians 6:4 Or Parents
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Children and Parents

6 (A)Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 (B)“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, (C)but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

5 (D)Bondservants,[a] obey your earthly masters[b] with fear and trembling, (E)with a sincere heart, (F)as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as (G)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 (H)knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, (I)whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, (J)and stop your threatening, knowing that (K)he who is both their Master[c] and yours is in heaven, and that (L)there is no partiality with him.

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Footnotes
  1. Ephesians 6:5 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 6; likewise for bondservant in verse 8
  2. Ephesians 6:5 Or your masters according to the flesh
  3. Ephesians 6:9 Greek Lord
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Parent-child relationships (1-4)

Everyone wants to live in a loving happy family relationship. But often rebellion, lack of discipline, negligence and misunderstanding at home ruin it. To have a godly family relationship, children are to obey their parents 'in the Lord,' and parents are not to exasperate their children but to bring them up in the training and instruction 'of the Lord.' Obedience to parents means honoring the order God placed in the home. Training children by setting a godly example means showing God's love and care to children.

2. Master-slave relationships (5-9)

God created everyone equally in His image. But the Roman Empire practiced slavery, and some Christians were slaves or slave masters. Paul instructed both slaves and masters on godly relationships. Slaves were to obey their masters with respect and serve them as if they were serving the Lord. Masters were to take care of them with God's love and to lead them by serving. The same principle can be applied for the relationship between employers and employees. The Lord of both Christian employers and Christian employees is Christ.

Prayer: Lord, at home and at work, help us practice the Lord's way through obedience and care.

One Word: Submit to one another