Ephesians chapter 6, we continue on, and I've got this passage that, to be honest with you, when I looked at the list and I began to see all the things that I was going to be preaching about, I got an opportunity to start with kind of a doctrinal impact message right off the bat about God choosing us. And I was excited to be able to preach through that. I was able to preach through some other very strong messages that come out of Ephesians, and I was excited about this. And when I got to the message for the night, and I saw masters and slaves and their relationship, and I thought, okay. We need to figure out how we're going to deal with this, and what do we do with it, and what does it really pertain to us, and how does that play out? And so let's begin reading the text. We're in verse 5 of chapter 6 through verse 9. Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart as you would Christ. not by the way of eye service as people pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with goodwill as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 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. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I really don't feel that I've done an adequate job of this. And so tonight, I'm going to ask You to fill the cup and help us to apply this to ourselves and to understand what it is that we should be doing, not to man, but unto you. And so, Father, with that, I just pray that you'll continue with us. And it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. The first thing that I want us to do, and those in Sunday School class with me, they know that I'm a big context guy. I'm always wanting to take whatever scriptures we're looking at and go and look at larger pieces, and I think we should always do that. It's one thing to look at what we call a chop, a piece of text. But I want to tell you that when you go into studying the word, you want to be looking at chunks and not chops. And so I want to set the context of what we're doing. Pastors might call this our hermeneutical exercise. First, the thing that we're going to do is we're going to look at some of the geopolitical and social context of this portion of scripture. Secondly, I want us, of course, to look at the text and the textual context of what's being said. And so with that, first of all, let's consider the geopolitical and social piece. After all, Paul is addressing slaves and masters. in this text regarding their behavior as now that they have become believers in Jesus Christ and how should that change their perspective. By the way, if you ever get an opportunity to do any research at all on the slavery of the time of this letter to Ephesus, you might be as surprised as I was to find out how much time and effort people seem to spend out there debating about whether Paul properly addresses slavery. or even if Scripture itself does. I was amazed at how many people were out there ready to condemn Paul for never condemning slavery. But I want to tell you, he never condones it either. And I think we can all agree that Scripture itself and the Gospel message is one that would break down any form of slavery, just in the call for us to love one another in Christ. To that end, I had to remind myself that the message of Christ, the gospel was and is not meant to be a political social construct. for the purpose of changing everyday life so that people can live free apart from their circumstances. Instead, the gospel message was and is meant to be a spiritual construct for changing lives so that the people can truly live in Christ despite the circumstances they find themselves in. But here we have Paul addressing slaves. Yours may say slaves, it may say servant, it may say bondservant. That's what's in the English Standard Version that I have, bondservant, and we'll get to those words in a minute. But first in regard to slaves when it comes to the city of Ephesus. The city of Ephesus at the time of receiving the letter was about 250,000 people. It was a major city in the area. And of that population, about 60,000 were considered to be slaves at the time. So it wasn't something new. It wasn't something that was unusual for people to have slaves or those that were working under their authority. In the first century of Ephesus, slaves were formed as a distinct group. within the population of the Roman Empire. Although they were considered property of their masters, they practiced and had opportunity to have freedoms and social mobility. Many of the slaves of that time were highly educated people. They were put into positions of very great importance, whether in a family or even sometimes in governmental situations. And so when we look at the word slave, we don't or we shouldn't carry the context that we do as Americans in regard to our history. Not all slaves were in that form. Now there were slaves that were brought in who were captured out of battle or had found themselves in a position of being taken by people and used in that form. not too long from this period, we know that the Gauls raised up as slaves and fought against the Roman Empire. And so we know there were those that were under subjection and oppression and punishment. Yet, the good treatment of slaves in Ephesus was one of the more positive and beneficial aspects of the system. For example, some slaves were given the privileges and comforts and were treated even better than some family members. It was said from one first century historian that some masters treated their slaves with care and affections as though they were their own children. And so when we look at the word, we can't just use our American context to it. For the textual context, we need to look back into this letter to see exactly what is Paul attempting to do when he addresses slaves and masters. We know that he wrote it during a period that he was in a house arrest in Rome, a two-year house arrest that's recorded in Acts chapter 28. He wrote the letter to the church at Ephesus, but we know that it was probably likely carried around the area to other churches in Asia Minor. So what was the point of this part of the scripture? We have to look at the full application in the context. And so let me carry you through the context of the text itself this way. Consider chapter four, verse 17, where it says, no longer walk as Gentiles. Paul is writing this letter to a group of Gentiles that are now believers in Christ. And he's saying, no longer walk in the way that you have. And so he's talking about their walk. In chapter 4, 22, he says, put off the old self. And so we know that he's saying there's some things about you that you need to change, that you need to take away. And then in verse 24, he says, and put on the new self, which comes with a list of things that are expected to be put on to the person. So we're talking about a new walk. We're talking about a new person. And then in chapter 5, verse 2, he says, your walk will be a walk in love. It's a walk of love, and we can compare that back to how the Gentiles now should walk as they believe in Christ. And then in verse 21, we get to what this love will look like. In chapter 5, 21, when he says, submit. That your walk of love will be a walk of submission. submission not just to people but it says a submission out of reverence for Christ and Then we get into What does that submitting look like and we're given three examples we've heard We've heard sermons now on chapter 5 22 and 23 wives submitting to husbands we've heard Sermon on six one and four children submitting to their parents and then we get to this block of text Masters or slaves submit to your masters and So that brings us back to the text again tonight. Let's read it again And so now that we understand this is a new walk. This is a walk of submission What should that look like? Bond servants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart as you would Christ, not by the way of eye service, as people-pleasers but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a goodwill as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 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. Paul calls out to bond servants. Again, yours may say servants. In the King James it says that. Slaves in the NIV and the NASB. And again, I found myself as I was researching these titles, a debate that goes on. And I'm not sure the debate is really worth the debate. There are those out there, Bible scholars supposedly, that want to say, we need to figure out exactly which one is the right term, bondservant or slave or servant. The Greek word is doulos. It basically refers to a person that is in the service of another. When we look at the three terms, slave, a slave would be a person who had been taken by force, somebody else, or to work for someone else, for no payment and is regarded as property. If the word was supposed to be servant, we would be talking about someone who is in a little bit more similar context as we are today, an employer and employee relationship. Except for this, the servant could be traded without their consent to another master. Maybe it was supposed to be bondservant. Those would be those people who had actually put themselves into service for a particular reason. Sometimes it was just primarily for subsistence. Sometimes it was so they could gain property over a period of time. But it was usually bargained out to be a period of time that they would work. But again, I don't think we really should be splitting hairs and trying to figure out which one it goes to. Because if we did, we would have to say this, he's speaking to bond servants but not slaves. Or he's speaking to slaves and not servants. And so who is Paul talking to and really what is the context of it? Well, here's what I come to. What he's really saying, even in all three of these examples, wives to husbands, children to parents, slaves to masters, is this. If you're under authority of someone else, submit to that authority. That is the context of what we're looking at. Walk no longer as a Gentile, not the old self, but the new self. Walk in love through God-centered submission to authority. That's the whole context of this piece. Therefore, I could read it this way. Those under authority Obey those with authority over you, with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ. And those with authority do the same, for you also have one with authority over you." I see a lot of head nodding. I think we're all in the same place. So let's not worry about slaves or masters or that. Let's consider the authority. Because if we talk about slaves and bond servants, we're done. We can go home now. Because I don't really think it would be applicable to any of us. But there's not a single person out here that's not under the authority of someone else. And there's probably many of you that have authority over others. There's some, and probably most of us, are both, correct? We work for someone, and we probably have someone working for us. So it is definitely applicable to us. So what can we take away from it? What do we learn from it then? Well, let's go back and look and break down the parts of the text. Chapter 6, verse 5, it says, bond servants, in other words, the one under the authority, obey. Be obedient. How much clearer can that be? Whatever position you find yourself in, if you're under the authority of someone else, put yourself under their authority and obey them. Follow what they're telling you to do. What better witness for us of Christ than for us to obey the commands that are given to us? We're called to obey commands and precepts and commandments. And here we're being told that we need to obey the authority over us. It's to remind us that Christianity didn't come as a revolution against authority. It came as a revolution for hearts. And so as we're changed to obey our masters or those in authority over us, they begin to see us differently than the world. The gospel of Christ will break down the middle wall of partition. It'll take away the prejudices that we see in the workplace. It'll take away the bitterness that we find in the workplace if only you and I will obey the authorities above us. Vernon McGee said a comment in regard to this, says, a man is not a Christian just because he's made a profession of Christianity and calls himself a child of God on Sunday. Whether or not he is a genuine Christian is revealed by his fruit, such as his loyalty to his employer, to his family, to his home, to his church, etc. He says when a profession Christian is disloyal in any of these areas of his life, he's probably also disloyal to his Christ. He has no witness for Christ in his life. We need to obey. the authorities above us. Also in verse 5 it says, Obey your earthly masters. Now why would Paul want to pinpoint earthly masters? Well, it was because so many of those that were coming to Christ and recognizing Christ as their new authority were moving away from the authority of their earthly master. They were trying to say, we no longer have to follow you, we're following Christ. And Paul's saying, no, you follow Christ by following them. And so he points to the earthly position of these masters, these in authority over us that we will follow. He says, Obey with fear and trembling and with a sincere heart as you would Christ. Now we see how to obey. He breaks that down into fear. He's not asking us to go to work in fear of those that are above us. and have authority. He's saying to be respectful, to show dignity to your employer, and that's a part of fearing the one who has authority over you. To do it in trembling, and I had to go back and look at the word and really try to figure out what was the purpose of adding it, and I came to the word humility. Those that are above you or have authority over you, approach them with humility. In the situations that I have been in where I have had authority over folks and they've come to me and they've said, hey, we disagree with you in this area and we want to go a different route. Well, there's a way to handle that. And those that would come to me with humility, I was more than welcome to listen and so many times realize that They're right. We need to go a different direction. But when approached with an arrogance, I know more than you. I've been here longer than you. Those aren't received quite so well. So in trembling, we go before our authorities with a humility. And we walk with that humility. With a sincere heart means that we carry a loyalty. for that employer. And I tell you, this is a piece that in our country today we've lost, not only between the employee not having loyalty for the company, but the company not having any loyalty to the employee. And so I want to remind you of this, that we're called to have a loyalty to those with authority over us. Then we see, obey as you would with Christ. Paul now gives a beautiful picture of how he takes the slave, the one under authority, and raises them to equal level with the one who has authority. Because he's saying, you as brothers are now both equal and you will come before me. You will serve as though you were serving Christ. The servant now can serve freely, not out of obligation to the one who has authority over him, but out of freedom to the one who gave them that freedom, Christ. There's a story in regard to William Carey. Most of you know that name. He was a shoemaker and answered the call to go into foreign missions. And he was asked once by someone, what type of job do you have? And the purpose for the question was really to demean Carey for being a shoemaker. And Carey responded, I'm a servant of the Lord. I make shoes to pay expenses. He knew where His loyalty was, he knew what his purpose was, and that was in serving the Lord, and he did it in this manner. Can you say that with a heart that is true, that you're in a position to do whatever it is you're doing for the Lord, and what you're doing just helps pay expenses? In verse 6, it says, obey not the way of eye service as people pleasers. Does that really need any further explanation? I mean, how many times do we find ourselves, the boss walks in and it's like, oh, yep, yep, I'm on the computer, I'm working away, close that tab, close that tab. Okay, yep, we're working. And when they walk away, we pull up those tabs and we're doing whatever. Who are we truly trying to please in that circumstance? Who are we working for in those places? Verse 6 says, Obey as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. That one really should throw you. It really should. Be a bondservant who's doing the will of God. What about the will of the boss? That's who you're working for, right? Well, no. It's not. You're working for Christ. Do the will of God. Well, what if, Mark, my employer asks me to do something that I know is not in the will of God? Do the will of God. Believe it or not, that's the best for your employer. They may not see it that way, but it is the best. for your employer, and it's certainly the best for you. Obey, rendering service with a goodwill as to the Lord and not to man. This gets to the word that I have been concerned with for years now, and that's motive. What is your motive? I get stumped with that one every single day. Oh, we're going to go and visit so-and-so. Okay, let's go visit. Yeah, let's go. Yeah, I want to go. Really? What's your motive? Why are you really going? Why are you really doing what you're doing for your employer? What is the motive behind your action? Service with a good will. as to the Lord. What's your motive? In verse 8, he says, We can obey, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or free. I'm not telling you today that if you help your employer make a million dollars that the Lord's going to turn around and give you a million dollars, okay? It doesn't work that way, alright? Praise the Lord it doesn't work that way. because we would be working for the wrong motive. But we are promised a reward. I truly believe that even in the worst of circumstances we receive a reward, a good reward here on earth. But I know for a fact that in heaven we will receive a reward. And I'm okay to hold out for that. And you have to be okay to hold out for that. We talked a lot in Sunday school this morning about suffering. And it was mentioned also in the sermon this morning in regard to suffering. And I take this and I try to apply it to a workplace. What if I'm suffering in my workplace? Shouldn't I just get up and quit? Not necessarily. Seek the will of the Lord. He may have you there to suffer well so that He can reach your employer. And that's hard to understand sometimes. And I can't tell you in every case do this or in every case do that. But I can say this, in every case seek the will of the Father as to what you should do. Because you will be rewarded In verse 9, Paul turns it back then to the masters, those in authority. If you're in authority, do the same thing. Well, that was pretty easy, Paul. He says, just do the same thing. Take everything I've said about the one under authority and apply it to yourself. Now, wouldn't that make a win-win situation in the work environment? My employee is working for me and I'm working for the employee. because I have to do the same thing. Masters stopped threatening. In the Roman world, masters had the power and lawful authority to kill a slave for almost any incident. Slaves cost too much to destroy them. Paul suggests that Christian masters have a better way to encourage obedience than their service of threats and punishment. Let a man share the results of the labor and he will work better. and harder. If you have authority over someone else, make them be a part of what's going on. Don't use coercion to relate to them. And then in verse 9 it says, Masters, know that he who is both their master and yours in heaven, and there is no partiality with him. When both the one under authority and the one with authority are in Christ, they are brothers. They're equal with one another. We find a practical demonstration of this in the epistle of Philemon. When we consider that Philemon was a master and Onesimus was the slave, and Paul writes a letter to Philemon saying, I know Onesimus ran away from you. But what if he was just gone for a season? What if he was planning to return? How about if I just send him back to you? And you receive him back, not because he's your slave, but because he's your brother. He's your brother. I truly believe that if we can take these things and we can apply them Yes, in our workplace, but let me say, apply those same things in any situation where you might be under the authority of someone, or that you might have authority over others. And God would be pleased with our actions. Amen? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You for the text tonight. We thank You for speaking through it. I must say that our first call is to submit to Christ in all things. Help us to do that fervently because then the rest would be so much easier. Father, where we see places where we're failing in this, help us to see that we're not failing our employee or we're not failing our employer, but Father, we're failing in our obedience to you. Convict us of that. Help us to repent. And bring us into submission to your word.