seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 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.”
4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, 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 is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
12092025120920251209202512092025
IMHO
Children, obey your parents. Slaves, give your owners a good day's work.
When wives start submitting to their husbands, the kids and slaves must also submit.
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. How much time did he have for dealing with the kids or slaves?
Now with wives set in order, Paul [Saul] gets down to what to do with the kids and the slaves.
When I was a kid, my dad used to work 2 jobs, Navy and selling Rena Ware. He didn't have much time for enjoying the kids. He was too busy providing a great place to live and good food. He didn't have time to correct us, most of the time, and that was left to mom and her switch bush! Daddy drove a Nash Rambler.
"Oh Behave" was heard a lot in our house.... and we would usually come to "attention" without the salute and then Behave. We didn't want to take that walk to the switch bush.
Paul [Saul] refers to employees as slaves. Of course, back then, employees could be beaten, just like slaves. Some slaves and employees were threatened that if they didn't get back to work, and work hard, they would be thrown out on the streets to beg.
Thankfully, God would correct the employer.
Verses 7 & 8 bring in the Cadillac story again. If you act Behave and work hard, you too can be rewarded. You'll be able to drive one of Osteen's Cadillacs! People will know you are a good Christian "because you drive a Cadillac" so you must be rewarded beyond our dreams for the good work we do.
Daddy drove a Nash Rambler because the seats laid down, perfect for trips from Connecticut to Virgina and North Carolina at least once a year. That was Daddy's Cadillac.
Instructions for Christian Living ... Part 4 "How to get that Cadillac"
12092025120920251209202512092025
Here's that link to the commentary.
Children, obey your parents: The command is simple. Children are to obey their parents. This not only means that children have the responsibility to obey, but parents have the responsibility to teach their children obedience — one of the most important jobs for a parent.
Do not provoke your children to wrath: Parents certainly have the opportunity to provoke their children to wrath, through an unkind, over-critical attitude that torments the child instead of training them. But Christian parents should never be like this.
“The gospel introduced a fresh element into parental responsibility by insisting that the feelings of the child must be taken into consideration. In a society where the father’s authority (patria potestas) was absolute, this represented a revolutionary concept.” (Wood)
Provoke your children to wrath: This harsh kind of parenting Paul speaks against gives an unnecessary justification to a child’s natural rebellion.
Bondservants, be obedient… as to Christ: The words “as to Christ” change our entire perspective as workers. It reminds us that our work can and should be done as if we were working for Jesus — because we are!
Not with eyeservice: We are not to work with eyeservice (working only when the boss is looking) or as men-pleasers (those who only care about pleasing man), but with good will (a good attitude, not complaining) doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.
Doing the will of God: In Greek culture manual work was despised and the goal of being successful was getting to the point where you never had to do any work. This isn’t how it is in God’s kingdom, where hard work and manual labor are honorable.
It should be said of every Christian that he is a hard worker and gives his employer a full day’s work for his pay; to do anything less is to steal from your employer.
He will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free: Paul relates a final reason for working hard for the Lord. God will return to us in the measure that we have worked hard for others; He will not allow our hard work to go without reward.
Giving up threatening: Employers are also to give up threatening and other forms of harsh treatment. They do this knowing that they are employees of their Master in heaven, and He judges without regard to wealth or position.