Children, obey your parents in [the] Lord, for this is just.
The letter has just spoken to husbands and wives. Now it turns to the children of the house. Two questions follow. Why is a child's obedience called "right," and what does "in the Lord" add?
Obedience to parents is not a Christian invention. It stood in nature and in the law. But the apostle does not just repeat it — he moves it to new ground.
The subjection of children to their parents is part of God's order as seen in nature. Under the law, God attached a special blessing to keeping the commandment that required this duty. Christianity takes up the obligation, but transplants it from natural ground to divine ground... So the obligation of children, like that of wives, is tied to "the Lord." It is not just what nature dictates, though that is perfectly right. It is the acknowledgment of the Lord's claims as represented in the parents. The Lord Himself, who "learned obedience," was the beautiful example of this. It is recorded that in His life on earth He went with His parents to Nazareth and "was submissive to them."
The phrase "in the Lord" is not reserved for children. It runs through every instruction here, tying each member of the family to one authority.
Each of us acknowledges Christ as Lord, and we are to carry out the responsibilities of every relationship in the fear of the Lord. The wife is to be subject to her own husband "as to the Lord" (v. 22). Children are to obey their parents "in the Lord" (Ephesians 6:1). Fathers are to train their children in the "admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). Servants are to do "service as to the Lord" (Ephesians 6:7). And masters are to remember that they have a Master in heaven.
Family feeling is good. But the verse does not rest a child's obedience on it. Kelly explains why something stronger is needed.
A Christian household runs easily where the young obey — above all, where they "obey in the Lord." Natural affection is sweet, and the lack of it is a sign of the dangerous last days. But it is not enough. Conscience is not enough either. It matters greatly in its place, but it is not an adequate guard, and it cannot be a spring of power. The Lord is. And how blessed it is when duty is clothed with Him and absorbed in Him!
The reason Paul gives is fitness. Command belongs to one place, obedience to the other.
Obedience is urged on two grounds. First, "For this is right" (Eph. 6:1). That is, God declares that obedience is a righteous thing for children to give their parents. It suits the place of a parent to command, and the place of a child to obey.
The same writer traces where the opposite road leads:
Even a little acquaintance with life shows that the first step in a downward career has often begun with disobedience to parents. Write the histories of all the poor prodigal sons and daughters who are now trying to satisfy their hunger with the "pods that the pigs ate." You will find that the root of all their misery goes back to self-will and refusal to submit in their father's home.
The child is under the parent and, at the same time, answerable to Christ Himself. That double standing strengthens the parent's word and sets a limit on it.
It is of the first importance to notice that children are set in direct personal responsibility to the Lord. They are placed under parental authority. At the same time they are under responsibility to Christ, and so they are to obey "in the Lord." This at once defines both the character and the limit of their duty. The commands of the parent, when rightly given, have God's authority behind them, so the child obeys not only the parent but also the Lord. On the other hand, no command could be binding if the child could not obey it in the Lord.
Another writer shows what that limit looks like in practice:
There may be very unusual circumstances in which a parent asks a child to do something morally wrong — stealing, cheating, or worshipping an idol. This would be a plain exception. In that case the child should refuse to obey the parent, firmly but without defiance. Ephesians 6:1 reads, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord." So the child should always obey unless he is told to disobey the Lord.
- Ground. Obedience to parents already stood in nature and in the law. This verse lifts the same duty onto divine ground, where the parent's claim is the Lord's claim.
- Spring. Affection and conscience are good, but neither supplies power; the Lord Himself is the spring that makes duty easy and glad.
- Right. The reason given is fitness before God. It suits a parent to command and a child to obey. Self-will at home has been the first step in many ruined lives.
- Limit. "In the Lord" both binds and bounds. The child obeys the parent as obeying Christ, so no order that means disobeying Christ can bind him.
- Reach. The same three words govern wives, fathers, servants and masters. One Lord orders the whole household, not five separate rules.
Honour thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with a promise,
Paul is speaking to children in a Christian home, and he backs his instruction with the fifth of the Ten Commandments. So what does it mean to honour a father and mother, and why does a letter so full of grace lean on a law given to Israel?
Verse 1 tells children to obey. Verse 2 uses a different word, and one writer draws out the difference.
Obedience describes what children owe in conduct and action. "Honour" expresses something else — the settled feeling they should carry towards their parents. It is an unusually solemn word. It is the same word our blessed Lord uses when He says, "that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him." (John 5:23.) … To honour their parents, children must not only accept their position and their right to control them. They must also value and deeply respect them, as those the Lord has set in their place of authority.
Why does the apostle quote the Ten Commandments at all? Writers answer that the quotation shows what God thinks of this duty.
Children being subject to their parents is part of God's order as seen in nature. Under the law God attached a special blessing to keeping the commandment that laid down this duty. Christianity takes up the obligation, but moves it from natural to divine ground… So the duty of children, like that of wives, is tied to "the Lord." It is not merely what nature dictates, though nature is perfectly right here. It is the recognition of the Lord's claims, as represented in the parents. The Lord Himself, who "learned obedience," was the beautiful example of this. Scripture records that in His lifetime He went with His parents to Nazareth and "was submissive to them."… The law appears here not to show that believers are under it, but to prove the special value God attached to this duty. He even stepped outside the ordinary character of law by joining a promise to it — a promise that shows the link between this duty and earthly blessing.
That leaves the motive changed, even while the duty stands.
A father may be hard and cruel, but his children are still to honor him. A mother may even be irresponsible, but her children are to honor her — that is, to show proper respect. This is not a legal commandment for believers today, yet Ephesians 6:1 shows it still carries moral weight. Our motive is not to submit to legal demands, but to delight in pleasing God.
One thing sets this command apart from the other nine: its wording. The others carried a threat; this one carried an offer.
The command to honour father and mother was the first commandment with promise, as the apostle says when writing to the Ephesians. Other commandments had the threat of death attached to them. This one carried the promise of long life on the earth. The apostle's reasoning is this: if a Jewish child was not only bound, but encouraged by such a promise, to deeply respect his parents, how much more should a Christian child obey them — not merely in the law, but in the Lord.
The promise attached to this command was earthly — long life in the land. So how does it reach a Christian?
There is no real difficulty about the force and limits of this command. The relationship it deals with belongs to this life, and so does the promise. What the land was to the Israelite by natural descent, the word of grace now is to those who share in the heavenly calling. For them, godliness holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come (1 Tim 4:8).
But long life on earth is not promised to every obedient Christian.
There is no doubt a government of God going on through all the present time, and in it these things are fulfilled in a measure… As Christians, they may be taken from the earth when, simply as obedient children, they would have been kept on it. But the Christian's loss is gain, as we know.
The fifth commandment is not a small household rule. Breaking it once carried a severe penalty, and keeping it guards the commands that follow.
The penalty announced against the "stubborn and rebellious son," who would not "obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother," may seem very severe to us. But it shows how much importance God puts on this fifth commandment. If everyone kept it faithfully, there would be very little breaking of the five commandments that follow it.
- Honour — obedience covers what a child does; honour covers what a child feels. The same word describes the honour due to the Son, which sets the standard high.
- Ground — the duty starts in nature, but Christianity moves it onto divine ground. A child honours parents "in the Lord," and the Lord Himself was submissive to His own parents.
- Promise — this is the one command of the ten that came with an offer instead of a threat: long life on the earth.
- Reach — because God valued this duty so highly under law, the claim on a Christian child is greater, not smaller. Children owe respect even to a hard parent.
- Result — God still rewards obedience in this life, though He may take a believer home early. Where children keep this one command, they keep most of the rest with it.
that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest be long-lived on the earth.
God attached a promise to the fifth commandment: things would go well, and life would be long. Paul lays that promise on Christian children, which raises a real question — does honouring your parents still guarantee a long life today?
Obeying parents belongs to the natural order, but Paul does not leave it there. One writer says the quotation does not prove that Christians live under the law.
Children being subject to their parents is part of God's order as seen in nature. Under the law, God attached a special blessing to keeping the commandment that laid down this duty. Christianity takes up the obligation, but moves it from natural ground to divine ground... The law is not brought in here to show that believers are under it. It is brought in to prove how much value God placed on this duty. He even stepped outside the ordinary character of law by joining the command to a promise, and that promise shows the link between this duty and earthly blessing.
God rewarded this one duty under law. The claim on those who now know Him as Father is greater, not smaller.
If that is how God valued a child's honour for his parents under law, is it worth less now — now that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ makes His nature known and calls us into the relationship of sons to Himself? Respect for that old word met with His approval and reward in the righteous government of God. He watched over and prospered those who honoured their parents. So did His revelation of Himself in grace loosen the obligation for His children? Did it make the love that prompts and sustains such honour less precious in His own eyes now?
The wording carries either sense. One writer cites the promise to show the weight God gave the command, and then names the exception.
The apostle quotes the commandment along with the promise God attached to it in the Old Testament. He does not quote it as something absolutely true for the present time, but to show how important God held it to be... The promise reads "that it may go well with you and that you may live long on the earth" — or "in the land," which the connection would rather suggest. There is no doubt a government of God going on all through the present time, and in it these things have a measure of fulfilment... As Christians, they may be taken from the earth when, simply as obedient children, they would have been kept on it; but the Christian's loss is gain.
Others have felt the same difficulty and answered it the same way.
Paul refers to this promise, which has often been a difficulty to some, as though temporal promises now belonged to a certain line of conduct. The citation only shows us how much God valued obedience under the law. However, I believe there is a blessing belonging to obedience to parents. But in the order of the government of God, in the ways of God with us personally in this world, there are important things which modify this.
The promise belongs to this life, because the relationship it guards belongs to this life. One writer sets Israel's land beside what the believer holds now.
There is no real difficulty about the force and limits of this command. The relationship it deals with belongs to this life, and so does the promise. What the land was to the Israelite by natural descent, the word of grace now is to the one who shares the heavenly calling. For such a person, godliness holds a promise for the life that is now, as well as for the life to come. It is well with us, and we know and enjoy the Father's favour, as long as we are walking as obedient children in His light.
One writer points first to a son who threw this command off, then to children whose parents make it hard to keep.
Israel soon failed badly here. Absalom, son of David, rebelled against his father and tried to kill him, and his days were not long on the earth. A father may be hard and cruel, but his children are still to honour him. A mother may even be irresponsible, but her children are to honour her — that is, to show proper respect... Our motives are not to be those of submitting to legal demands, but of delighting to please God.
- Valued — God singled this duty out by attaching a promise to it, breaking the usual pattern of pure command.
- Transplanted — Christianity keeps the same duty, but moves it from natural ground to divine ground.
- Greater — if God rewarded such honour under law, the revelation of Himself as Father does not make it matter less.
- Governed — God still governs this way. A Christian may be taken from the earth early, and even that loss is gain.
- Unconditional — a hard father or a careless mother does not cancel the command; the motive is not legal duty but delight in pleasing God.
And [ye] fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in [the] discipline and admonition of [the] Lord.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Bondmen, obey masters according to flesh, with fear and trembling, in simplicity of your heart as to the Christ;
The letter turns from parents and children to servants — people who worked under another person's authority. The instruction is startling. It is not a call to escape, but a call to serve a human master as if you were serving Christ.
The verse gives no hint of a call to change the system these servants lived under.
This next group in the household is unlike the others. Society, not nature, set up the relationship. The servants named here were slaves. Whether slavery is right or wrong, humane or cruel, is not the point here. Christianity takes people in the social position where it finds them, and shows how they may live Christ in that place. Its work is not to remodel society, but to teach the believer to display Christ.
Paul wrote to slaves. Does the verse still bind an employee who is free to resign?
Even if the care of God had not provided such an answer, one thing would still hold. Conditions are easier for servants now. To use that as a reason to deny their duty to their masters would be ungrateful and base. The ideas of liberty in our day have changed the state of husbands and wives, and of parents and children, almost as much as that of masters and servants. But wherever the relationship exists, the duty remains for each and all.
The same principles reach into ordinary paid work today.
The same principle applies to employees in any business. They are to take honest care to carry out every duty of their working relationships faithfully, with a sincere heart, as to Christ. If Christ is the Object of our service, it will never become a burden.
Obedience is the servant's first duty. It has one limit.
As you might expect from the very name, the primary duty of the servant is obedience... and, as with children, the obedience required is almost unlimited... The only limit lies in their higher obligations to the Lord. Scripture does not state this outright, but it clearly implies it when it says, "You are serving the Lord Christ." Up to that limit the servant owes full obedience — so long as the command does not intrude on what he owes to the Lord as His servant... In truth it is the Lord's rule in the household, worked out through the master, whom He holds responsible for its order.
The phrase sounds like cringing before a powerful man. The rest of the verse rules that out.
The words "with fear and trembling" do not in the least mean the slavish fear of man that lays a snare. That hardly needs saying. Such service could not be done "with a sincere heart," nor "as you would Christ." Besides, the next words rule this out too: servants are not to work only when watched, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ.
Read alongside the other places Paul uses it, the phrase carries a different weight.
I would point to Philippians 2 and 1 Corinthians 2, and places like them. They show that we ought not to lower "with fear and trembling" to mere dread of punishment. It is a sense of our own weakness, joined with a sense of solemn responsibility before God.
The word behind "sincere" is also used for generous giving. Its root meaning shows why.
The similar noun aplotees occurs eight times, and is translated in different ways: three times as "simplicity," twice as "singleness of heart," twice as "liberality," once as "bountifulness." It means literally "one-foldedness," a single, simple structure. So its meaning in Scripture is that there should be no hidden motive and no double-dealing in what a Christian does. He should be what people call "transparently honest."
The last words of the verse change the character of the work itself.
Here again the obligation moves out of the range of the old creation and links to Christ in glory. Like wives and children, the servants are called to give their obedience "as you would Christ." That at once lifts their duties above the legal force of the old system and above the legal contract of today. Even a slave's duties gained dignity and sweetness the moment he could say, "I am doing this to please Christ, not for reward and not to escape punishment."
That principle carries into the smallest jobs of daily life.
How good it is to know that our God graciously stoops to connect His name and His glory with the humblest duties of ordinary home life! This is what gives dignity, interest and freshness to every little act, from morning till night... It is not working for wages, but serving the Lord Christ.
- Place. Christianity does not rearrange your circumstances first. It takes you where you are and teaches you to display Christ there.
- Limit. The master's authority is earthly. Obey it almost without limit — but it stops where the Lord's claim begins.
- Fear. Not dread of punishment, but a sense of your own weakness and of solemn responsibility before God.
- Heart. A sincere heart is undivided: no hidden motive, no double-dealing.
- Master. Working as for Christ lifts the job above force and contract. The humblest task becomes service to the Lord Himself.
not with eye-service as men-pleasers; but as bondmen of Christ, doing the will of God from [the] soul,
Paul is writing to household slaves whose whole working day was under someone else's eye, and his words hit a habit anyone with a boss knows: working well when watched, then slacking when not. Behind it lies a bigger question — who is the real Master of a Christian's daily work?
The fault named here begins with where a worker's attention rests. One writer traces it to the direction of the servant's gaze:
"Not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers." The worker's eye is not to be on the master's face. If it is, he will be tempted to please the master, and so become a people-pleaser. The smallest duty loses its value before God if he does it for men instead of for Him. That would be walking by sight, and not by faith.
The test is simple and hard to dodge. It reaches the work nobody checks:
This guards against a common fault the apostle calls "eye-service." A Christian who wants to please the Lord works with the same energy and faithfulness behind his employer's back as in front of his face. He will not waste time because his master is away, or the foreman is in the next room. He will not put a fine shine on the boots he makes while the soles are mostly brown paper.
The verse does not just forbid a bad motive. It gives a better one. Because the worker belongs to Christ, the audience for his work changes:
What then guards against this eye-service that only pleases men? The lifting thought that we serve the Lord Christ. Our work is for the eye of the Lord in heaven, not only for the eye of the master on earth. Even the dullest work of the lowliest slave is still work done for the Lord of all.
"Doing the will of God from the heart" changes what the work is. It is no longer a transaction with an employer but obedience offered to Christ:
Here again the duty belongs no longer to the old order of this world, but to Christ in glory. Like wives and children, the servants are told to obey as they would obey Christ. That at once lifts their duties above both the force of the old law and the work contract of today. A slave's duties became noble and sweet at once if he could say, "I am doing this, not for reward, and not to escape punishment, but to please Christ."
Once a worker's eye is on the Lord, his work no longer rises and falls with the quality of his employer:
So the servants stand in the Lord's presence. They are the servants of Christ. They are to do the will of God from the heart, and to keep their eye on the Lord alone. Remembering this is the secret of all happy, cheerful service and of all true obedience. It also frees them from depending on what their masters are like. Christian servants would avoid many traps if they kept this in mind.
Paul tells slaves to serve well rather than to throw off their chains. One writer sees in this not defeat but a deeper freedom the believer already has:
Is it not worth noticing how wide and deep the liberty in Christ is? There is nothing violent here, and nothing revolutionary. Yet the change is complete, absolute, and final in its principle and character. A person still has to grow in valuing it and showing it. That growth matters, because it is Christianity worked out in practice… What a gift this is to the Christian slave! What a strong motive for a man who already knows he is free in Christ, with a freedom far above his circumstances.
The change is inward, so the job itself stays the same. That is what makes the witness visible:
The grace of God, which brings salvation to men of all ranks and degrees, does not need a change in a person's position in life. It teaches us how to make every position beautiful… People cannot help thinking of Christ when they see His people doing the hardest and most tiring work cheerfully, and without fault, for His sake. Self-interest pushes people to work well. A Christian should work better still, and more sincerely, out of love for Christ.
- Eye. Eye-service means the worker's eye is on the master's face. Then even the smallest duty loses its worth before God, because he does it for men. That is walking by sight instead of faith.
- Heart. The cure is not closer watching but a new audience. The work is for the Lord's eye in heaven, so it looks the same behind the employer's back as in front of it.
- Master. Serving the Lord Christ lifts duty above contract and force. The slave who could say "I am doing this to please Christ" found his tasks noble and sweet.
- Freedom. This freedom is real, yet it starts no revolt. The Christian worker is already free in Christ, above his circumstances, and so no longer depends on what his employer is like.
- Witness. Grace changes no one's job. It teaches us to make that job beautiful, so people cannot help thinking of Christ when they see hard, tiring work done cheerfully for His sake.
serving with good will as to the Lord, and not to men;
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
knowing that whatever good each shall do, this he shall receive of [the] Lord, whether bond or free.
The last word to slaves in Ephesians is not a rule but a reason. Something is coming back to the one who serves. The promise is wide: every good thing, from anyone, whether the worker is owned or free.
These words go to people whose work was forced and whose treatment could be brutal. No one else hears the promise of reward so plainly:
Nowhere is the honour of Christ so closely tied to the conduct of the believer as in the case of the servant. The hardships of his lot, and the injustice and cruelty he might suffer, only made the power of the life of Christ in him stand out more. And no one else receives so clear a promise of reward: "knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free." What comfort for the suffering slave! He can look past the drudgery and unpaid labour of his lot here, and know that faithful work done gladly for the Lord's sake is not, and never will be, forgotten.
The verse names who pays. That matters, because a master on earth may never pay at all:
Did they serve unreasonable and cruel men? How lifting and steadying it was, then, to look past the man to the Lord, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive it back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or free. If the reward fails here, it will surely come at the judgment seat of Christ. Christians are not called to reform the world as they pass through it, but to behave as heavenly people in the middle of it. These principles, though addressed to slaves, apply just as strongly to employed servants.
The last clause drops status from the reckoning. The Lord weighs not the size of the job but how it was done:
This principle applies to the poor slave, who is now Christ's servant and so truly free. Suppose the Lord has given him a lowly and trying service. That will be no dishonour to him in the day of final reward. Servant and master will stand together before their common Master. He will reward them not according to the place they filled, but according to the faithfulness with which they filled it. The Master then will be One who Himself took the very lowest place to serve us all.
The verse points forward to what the servant will receive. Writers describe two things running together: the Lord's notice now, and His settlement later.
All service, whatever its character, carries responsibility to the Lord, and here lies the encouragement. His eye is on the faithful servant. He marks his discouragements, trials and sorrows. He holds him up by His approval now, and by the hope of "the reward of the inheritance" he will receive at last from his Lord's hands. Soon He will settle accounts with all His servants. At His judgment seat (2 Cor. 5:10) each of us will receive what is due for what we have done in the body, whether good or bad.
The verse encourages the servant; the next verse warns the master. One writer sets the two side by side:
Hope and fear each have their healthy influence as springs that regulate conduct. Verse 8 states the first of these clearly. It reminds the Christian slave, and encourages him in doing good: whatever good anyone does, he will receive it back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or free. On the other hand, the next verse warns the master that there is One in heaven whom he also serves, and who shows no partiality.
A promised reward can slip into becoming the reason for working. Writers guard against that without dropping the promise:
Not even the cup of cold water given in His name will be forgotten on that coming day. It is not in the heart of Christ to forget the least thing, however simple, done by the humblest of His disciples out of love to His name. And even if the service never gets done, He remembers the honest desire to serve and please Him. Love rewards, but working for reward and working for love are two different things. The labourer in the vineyard who worked for his coin got his coin, but he did not get his master's smile. It is the Christian's happy privilege to work for love.
- Knowing — the verse gives the reason behind the whole passage. The servant works gladly because he knows who watches and what is coming.
- Any — the promise covers every good thing, down to a cup of cold water, and even the honest desire to serve that never got done.
- Lord — the payer is not the master. Where an employer here never repays faithful work, the judgment seat of Christ will.
- Bondservant or free — the Lord measures reward not by the place a person filled, but by the faithfulness he filled it with. Master and servant stand before one impartial Master.
- Love — the reward is certain, yet working for reward and working for love differ. The labourer who worked for his coin got his coin, not his master's smile.
And, masters, do the same things towards them, giving up threatening, knowing that both their and your Master is in heaven, and there is no acceptance of persons with him.
Paul has just told slaves how to work; now, in one sentence, he turns and speaks to the men who own them. The command runs in both directions, and the reason he gives is that the master has a Master of his own.
What a master gives his servants depends on what he knows of his own Master:
A Christian master and mistress may realise in their consciences the authority of their Master in heaven, and in their hearts His goodness and kindness. As far as they do, they will "do the same things" to their servants that they wish their servants would do to them. They will give their servants "that which is just" — a matter of conscience towards Christ. And not only what is just, but also what is "equal" (or "fair"), as a matter of the heart in kindness.
The one thing forbidden by name is threatening. Every master knows the pull toward it:
Wilful neglect or careless work displeases a master. Everyone knows how strongly he is then tempted to speak harshly, and even to threaten punishment. How many masters have dismissed a valuable servant this way! Feelings rose, the words came out, and pride, it may be, refused to take them back. So the servant has left. The Scriptures show a better way — refraining from threats.
There is also a practical reason why threats are poor tools of government:
Masters should not use threats either. Threats usually come out of temper. If the master does not carry them out, his authority grows weaker. If he does carry them out to keep his authority, it often hurts both master and servant.
The verse does not say only "your Master." It names Him as Master of both sides, and that wording carries weight:
This verse should read, I believe, "their Master and yours is in the heavens." That adds a point of importance: both master and servant are responsible to the one Lord, and will stand together at the same judgment seat.
That shared ownership levels the ground without cancelling the earthly order:
They will govern, and govern firmly, as they should, because God has entrusted their authority to them. But they will remember that those under them answer directly to their Master in heaven. Along with themselves, those servants are the Lord's servants. So in this respect there is equality, despite the difference in their positions on earth.
If the servant belongs to Christ too, then the master's rights stop somewhere:
The words "knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven" make the principle clear. The Lord's authority limits the authority of masters, and indeed masters are subject to it. So masters are supreme in their own area, and may call for obedience that far. But if they try to push into the wider circle where the Lord alone is supreme, their servants are released from their obligations.
The closing words speak to both sides, but they carry a warning for the man with the power:
Earth recognises and permits social distinctions, but they have no existence in Christ's judgment. Even a Christian master might forget that. Master and servant will all answer to Him. A low position might cause discouragement; to that person He holds out the prospect of reward for faithful service. A high position might lead to oppression; to that person He holds out the judgment that will follow an abuse of power.
Why does Paul regulate slavery instead of ending it? Writers answer that the gospel works from another direction:
The Christian religion has found its way into the middle of evil, and given liberty where there was none. It has given liberty even to poor slaves, without taking them out of their state of bondage. The gospel does not touch that position. Paul acknowledges slavery as a right when he sends the slave Onesimus back to his owner. He tells that owner that in grace he would treat this slave as a brother.
The setting has changed; the principle has not.
Believing bosses should be just with their employees and give them fair wages. They should give what is just for the body, the soul and the spirit of the employee. These commands reflect the thoughts of the Lord Jesus Christ for the workplace.
- One Master. The verse names Him Master of both slave and owner — "their Master and yours" — so the man in charge is under orders himself.
- One standard. They share one Master, so the master owes his servant "the same things": what is just, from conscience, and what is fair, from the heart.
- One limit. His authority is real, but it has an edge. Where it reaches into what belongs to the Lord alone, the servant no longer owes obedience.
- One thing banned. The verse forbids one thing by name: threats. Spoken in temper, they cost good servants and weaken the very authority they were meant to defend.
- One judgment seat. God shows no partiality, so both stand there together. The servant nobody noticed receives his reward; the master nobody could challenge gives his account.