Ephesians 6:1-9 (2)

Ephesians • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

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Paul commands children to obey their parents, fathers to train and discipline their children, slaves to obey their masters, and masters to treat their slaves as equals in Christ.

Notes

Transcript

Premise:

Paul commands children to obey their parents, fathers to train and discipline their children, slaves to obey their masters, and masters to treat their slaves as equals in Christ.

Opening:

Express my love for the truth and love for the church.

Introduction of the Text:

Reading of the Text:

Ephesians 6:1-9. 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 be well with you, and that you may live long in the land.4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the integrity of your heart, as to Christ;6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,7 serving with good will as to the Lord, and not to men,8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.9 And masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

Behold, the Word of God.

Prayer:

Transition:

Four Sets of Commands.

Children: (For Kids)

Ephesians 6:1-3. 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 be well with you, and that you may live long in the land.

Obey Your Parents.

When you obey your parents, you are obeying Jesus.

Number 5 of the Ten Commandments.

Deuteronomy 5:16, ‘Honor your father and your mother, as Yahweh your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which Yahweh your God gives you.

The Commandment with a Promise.

It will go well with you.

Does not mean prosperity. Does mean blessing.

Children: (For the whole church)

Argumentation:

For this is right.

Why is this right? Paul immediately quotes God’s Word.

God dictates what is right.

It is right because God says it.

Calvin: Besides the law of nature, which is acknowledged by all nations, the obedience of children is enforced by the authority of God...He proves it to be right, because God has commanded it; for we are not at liberty to dispute, or call in question, the appointment of him whose will is the unerring rule of goodness and righteousness.

MacArthur: The basic reason for children to obey and honor their parents is simply that it is right. The rightness is not based on psychological case studies or other human evidence or theory, but on God’s standard of right. God’s declaration makes it right.

Fathers:

Ephesians 6:4, Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Do Not Provoke Your Children to Anger.

MacArthur’s 8 Examples of Provoking Your Children to Anger.

MacArthur: To provoke … to anger suggests a repeated, ongoing pattern of treatment that gradually builds up a deep-seated anger and resentment that boils over in outward hostility.

1. Well-meaning over-protection.

Quote: Parents who smother their children, overly restrict where they can go and what they can do, never trust them to do things on their own, and continually question their judgment build a barrier between themselves and their children—usually under the delusion that they are building a closer relationship. Children need careful guidance and certain restrictions, but they are individual human beings in their own right and must learn to make decisions on their own, commensurate with their age and maturity.

2. Favoritism.

3. Pushing achievement beyond reasonable bounds.

Do your children know they can do and be good enough?

4. Discouragement.

Do you compliment and encourage your children?

5. Failing to sacrifice for their children and making them feel unwanted.

Do you sacrifice actively for your kids?

6. Failing to let children grow up at a normal pace.

Do you let them be kids, but challenge them to grow and act their age? Voddie Baucham says, “A 3 month old baby is cute, a 30 year old baby is revolting.”

7. Using love as a tool of reward or punishment—granting it when a child is good and withdrawing it when he is bad.

8. Physical and Verbal Abuse.

This is not spanking.

Do Bring Them Up In the Discipline and Instruction of the Lord.

Matthew Henry: Give them a good education.” It is the great duty of parents to be careful in the education of their children: “Not only bring them up, as the brutes do, taking care to provide for them; but bring them up in nurture and admonition, in such a manner as is suitable to their reasonable natures. Nay, not only bring them up as men, in nurture and admonition, but as Christians, in the admonition of the Lord. Let them have a religious education. Instruct them to fear sinning; and inform them of, and excite them to, the whole of their duty towards God.”

Two modes of teaching. Discipline and instruction. These words overlap in meaning, but convey two complimentary ideas.

The word for discipline conveys discipline and teaching. The word for instruction means admonition and warning. We must discipline our children. We must actively teach them. We must admonish or train our children. we must warn our children. This boils down to two very important ideas. We bring our children up in the Lord through discipline, and education.

Both Parents Involved, but the Responsibility of the Father.

Sproul: The father is held accountable by God as the one who is responsible for teaching the children and for being the disciplinarian of the children

Discipline.

Proverbs 19:18,

Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not direct your soul to put him to death.

Proverbs 13:24, “24 He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.”

Proverbs 28:17, “17 A man who is laden with the guilt of human blood Will be a fugitive until death; let no one support him.”

Earthly Fathers ought to mirror God.

Hebrews 12:5-11 “5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; 6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

Education.

Define Education:

When we hear the term “education” we automatically assume some form of K-12 public education program. This is not the biblical picture. Our mind jumps to reading, writing, algebra, English, social studies, etc. Certainly these are part of an education, but historically, education meant so much more than just what the state dictates are important classes.

A true and biblical education is the laying of a foundational worldview and preparing a person made in the image of God to live out the ramifications of this worldview.

Obviously, how we teach math and language are parts of this worldview, but it is not limited to this. It is the laying of the foundation. This is why all education is religious in nature. To educate is to teach a worldview. And worldviews are all religious. And we must ask about every subject we teach our children, “what worldview is this presenting?” “Is this presenting the true worldview in alignment with God’s Word, or a faulty worldview build on lies?”

Scripture teaches us how to educate our children. IT has mountains to say about this topic. And you will see in all of them, who’s responsibility it is to educate them. In all of Scripture, education is put in the family’s responsibility. Just like our passage today.

Proverbs 22:6, “6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Notice this is active. It is not a passive command. Our children do not find the right way on their own. We must actively teach and guide them)

Psalm 78:1-4, “1 Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, 3 Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. 4 We will not conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.” (Do not hide the truth and instruction from the children but actively teach the truth to them.)

Deuteronomy 6:20-25, “20 “When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which the Lord our God commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us from Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 ‘Moreover, the Lord showed great and distressing signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household; 23 He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.’ 24 “So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today. 25 “It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all this commandment before the Lord our God, just as He commanded us.”

(Children are commanded to be taught the Law of God so that they can hear the story of redemption. We ought to do this also!)

Genesis 18:17-19, “17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? 19 “For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” (Abraham is commanded to command his children. This is a clear form of teaching.)

Deuteronomy 6:7-9 “7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (We are commanded to teach our children the Law of God. They are to be actively trained in it. It is to be verbally spoken and taught. It is to be present within your home. There should be verbal and non-verbal teaching of the commands of God in your household.)

Deuteronomy 11:19 “19 “You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.” (From sun up to sun down, be actively teaching your children the commands and word of God.)

2 Timothy 3:14-17, “14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (Timothy was trained and educated in the faith and this is clearly referred to as a good thing.)

Deuteronomy 4:9 “9 “Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.”

NOTE: When you read the history books within Scripture, you notice a pattern. When Israel failed to teach the faith faithfully to their children, the fell away. All the great rebellions of the people of God were predicated by the failure to educate their children in the faith. Are we so arrogant that we think it is different for us now?

Argumentation:

This is different than how society views children.

Christians Have Always Viewed Children Differently Than Society.

1st Century View of Children from MacArthur’s Commentary.

“A newborn child was placed at its father’s feet to determine its fate. If the father picked it up, the child was allowed to stay in the home; if the father walked away, it was simply disposed of—much as aborted babies are in our own day. Discarded infants who were healthy and vigorous were collected and taken each night to the town forum, where they would be picked up and raised to be slaves or prostitutes. A letter written in 1 B.C. by a man named Hilarion to his wife, Alis, reads, “Heartiest greetings. Note that we are still even now in Alexandria. Do not worry if when all others return I remain in Alexandria. I beg and beseech you to take care of the little child, and as soon as we receive wages I will send them to you. If—good luck to you—you have another child, if it is a boy, let it live; if it is a girl, expose it” (Papyri Oxyrhynchus 4.744). Seneca, a renowned statesman in Rome at the time Paul wrote the Ephesian letter, said, “We slaughter a fierce ox; we strangle a mad dog; we plunge a knife into a sick cow. Children born weak or deformed we drown.”

All in all, the sad reality is that the modern view of children is just as evil as it was then.

We must not look to society for what raising and teaching our children is to look like. We must look to God’s Word. It is PACKED with truth and teaching on how to raise your children. The book of Proverbs is a veritable textbook for teaching children. It claims to be just this. It is wisdom for a father to pass onto a son. Scripture is our sufficient guide. Use it.

Slaves:

Ephesians 6:5-8 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the integrity of your heart, as to Christ;6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,7 serving with good will as to the Lord, and not to men,8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.

What is a Slave?

Dehumanizing Man Stealing.

Exodus 21:16 “16 “He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death.”

Indentured Servitude.

Part of the Family, lesser than children.

Obey Your Master As Christ.

Work Hard For God, Not For Men.

God is your boss, not man.

Sproul: Sometimes we think that if Jesus were the boss of a work project, he would be so kind, gentle, and gracious that he wouldn’t expect any work. But just a cursory glance at the New Testament, where Jesus is constantly urging his people to be productive and diligent in their labour, would show Jesus to be a demanding superintendent. He would expect those who were under his authority to give honest effort and a full day’s work. Yet at the same time, there would be no partiality, no injustice, no petty criticisms, and no demeaning attacks on people’s dignity. He is the perfect Master who treats all those under his authority with love, tenderness, gentleness, justice and righteousness. He is the model for anyone who is in a position of authority.

Serve From the Heart.

Masters:

Ephesians 6:9, And masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

Do the Same for the Slaves.

Equality in Christ.

Deuteronomy 10:17-20 “17 “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. 18 “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. 19 “So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 20 “You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.”

Romans 2:11 “11 For there is no partiality with God.”

Galatians 3:28-29 “28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”

Master and Slaves are Both Slaves to Christ.

This Destroys the Evil of Slavery and Turns What Remains Into the Best Employee Situation Possible.

Sproul: the New Testament in general, and Paul’s writings in particular, contained the seeds of the dissolution of the institution of slavery. Subsequent history demonstrates that the Christian church has been at the forefront of the movement for the abolition of this institution.

Slavery was the norm throughout all of human history, until the Christian West. Slavery, one of the greatest evils, was completely normal until Christians stepped in and got political.

Transition:

Application:

Discipline Your Children, Even Though It is Hard.

Sproul: Parents, when they are disciplining their children, often say, ‘This hurts me more than it hurts you.’ That really is true. There are times when parents find it extremely difficult to discipline their children because they don’t want to alienate the children and they don’t want to put up with the tears that may follow from disciplinary action. But when they just allow children to do whatever they want, without any discipline and without any instruction, they are loving themselves rather than their children.

Educate Your Children in the Lord, Even Though It is Challenging.

Do not treat your children like the world does their children. MacArthur: “The world’s mold should not be a perfect fit for the Christian.”

1 Corinthians 7:14 refers to the child of one believing parent are holy. Our children are not to be seen as the children of the lost. We are to see our children as the future generation of Christians.

Church, Help Educate the Children.

Calvin’s Church in Geneva, when a child was baptized would say, “Amen” in unison. This meant that they were committing to financially aid in a Christian education. We ought to do the same! We ought to add our “amen” to the parents in this place.

Our forty year plan.

Connection Church will start a Christian School one day.

Employees, Work Hard as to the Lord.

Employers, Be Fair With Your Workers.

And make sure they know it is because you serve your master, Christ.

Prayer:

Communion:

We are equal in Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:23-31

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was being betrayed took bread,24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes.27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.28 But a man must test himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

Examine yourself.

Confess your sins.

Come Freely.

Closing Doxology:

Closing Benediction:

Hebrews 13:20-21, “20 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”