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.