Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. False Teachers and True Contentment Teach and urge these things.
Paul turns to a harder case: a servant whose master is a fellow believer. Does being brothers in Christ cancel the relationship of master and servant, or deepen the servant's duty inside it?
A privilege with its own snare
Having a Christian master looks like pure relief. But the position has its own dangers.
William KellyHaving a believing master might seem to promise only comfort and blessing, and no doubt the difference in atmosphere would be great. But every position has its snares and difficulties. Believing masters and servants are just as likely to expect a great deal from each other as to be badly disappointed.
The danger is closeness: familiarity between brothers can wear away respect.
J. N. DarbyWhen the masters were believers, there was naturally more familiarity, for they were one in Christ. From this came the danger — for the flesh is crafty — that the servants might not treat their masters with the respect due to them. The apostle guards against this abuse of Christian love, and of the proper closeness and confidence that ought to exist between brothers. That closeness was, on the contrary, a reason for the servant to give all honor to his master, treating him with more love and with the same respect.
Equal standing, unchanged position
The temptation in the early church was to read equality in Christ as release from service.
Edward DennettIn the early church it might easily happen that those "under the yoke" misunderstood the new truth. They might assert their equality with their masters, and, because they were one in Christ, be tempted to claim exemption from the service required of them. This instruction was meant to meet that temptation. It teaches that equal standing in Christ leaves earthly distinctions untouched. It is true that master and servant, if believers, are brothers. It is also true that, as far as this world is concerned, they are still master and servant. Christianity does not change or wipe out social arrangements and distinctions; it preserves and strengthens them.
The place decides it: one thing is true at worship, another at work.
W. W. FeredayThe Spirit of God knows how ready the human heart is to take advantage of such circumstances. In the assembly of God, at the Lord's table, the believing master and servant are brothers and members of one body. Outside relationships have no place there. But in the shop or on the farm it is otherwise, and we do well not to forget it.
"Partakers of the benefit"
Commentators differ over who receives the benefit. One reading takes it of the master, who profits from the servant's good work — and he rejects the idea that the word points to God's kindness in Christ.
William KellyFaith does exalt the lowly and humble the proud. But it does not misuse fellowship in the Spirit to claim equality in the flesh. Instead, it teaches believers not to despise their masters because of what they know. It teaches them to serve all the more, because those who reap their good service are believing and beloved.
Others take the benefit as the Christian blessings the master shares in.
Hamilton SmithIn the assembly the slave and the master were on common ground, equal before the Lord. There the slave might even be more prominent than his master, because of his spirituality or gift. But believing slaves were not to grow slack in their duties to masters who were believers. Instead, they were to serve them, because those masters were faithful and beloved and partakers of Christian benefits.
Service raised, not lowered
The tie between brothers is not a discount on work. It raises the standard.
Leslie M. GrantIf the master were a believer, the slave might be inclined to despise him for supporting the principle of slavery while he himself was a brother. But no — the slave was all the more responsible to serve his master, because the master was "faithful and beloved, partaker of the benefit." Learning to serve well is one of the blessed glories of true Christianity. "Teach and urge these things" — they are of no small importance.
The rule beyond slavery
The principle reaches into every arrangement where one person works for another.
F. B. HoleIt teaches the Christian to give full and proper pay to those he employs. It teaches the tradesman to give full measure, and avoid any trick that brings dishonest gain. It teaches the workman to give steady and honest work — as careful when no one is watching as when someone is. And if anyone has a believing master, or a believing servant, he must take no advantage of that fact, as 1 Timothy 6:2 shows.
Summary
- Privilege. A believing master is a real mercy, yet every position carries its own snare, and this one is familiarity.
- Danger. The snare is despising — using oneness in Christ as a licence to slacken respect and duty.
- Distinction. Equal standing in Christ leaves earthly relationships intact. At the Lord's table they are brothers; at work they stay master and servant.
- Motive. The very tie that could excuse laziness becomes the reason to serve more, because the one served is faithful and beloved.
- Reach. The same rule covers fair pay, honest measure, and work no one is watching. No believer may take advantage of another.