November 21 Daily Discovery - Read Ephesians Chapter 6

This passage below is from the King James Version (ekjv.org).  

Remarks from the Berean Fellowship follow the passage below.

[1] Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
[2] Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
[3] That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
[4] And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
[5] Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
[6] Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
[7] With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
[8] Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
[9] And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
[10] Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
[11] Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
[12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
[13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
[14] Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
[15] And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
[16] Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
[17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
[18] Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
[19] And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
[20] For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
[21] But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things:
[22] Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.
[23] Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
[24] Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

The Proper Response to Authority

Servants must do what they're told. A servant is to always discharge their duties. It is not highly likely that you are such a household servant in this fashion, you are more likely a servant as an employee. Or maybe you are an employer. If that is so then you likely have a board of advisors or directors that you are accountable to. It could be that you are in a partnership and you share an accountability with the other partners in the company.

It could be that you are married and if you're married and you're a man your wife is the boss. Actually, in a marriage we are supposed to submit to each other. The husband and the wife are actually one. There is no closer partnership than a marriage. This section of this letter begins with the reminder of our responsibility for obedience to our masters, but the focus of the passage is how we are to be obedient. It is a given that we must do what we're told but how do we do that. How are we to respond when when we are in the presence of our boss; how are we to respond when our boss is not looking?

With Respect

The Scripture says with fear and trembling. You should not be literally in fear and trembling of your employer or your boss, but you should feel that relating to your relationship with God. The Lord Himself is your Ultimate Boss. You owe Him the most ultimate of respect. The Scriptures tell us serve our masters just like we were serving the Lord Himself; that is, give them the same respect that you give to the Master of all masters! Always conduct yourself respectfully because you represent them and always address them respectfully. In the case of the Lord, He is always worthy of such respect. With regard to your masters according to the flesh, perhaps they are not so worthy ... at least in your opinion. Respect them anyway.

Regarding the fleshly government under which I find myself a citizen, I have frequently been in a place of justifiable opposition to them as leaders, regardless of this I would have treated them with honor if I had ever had the opportunity to meet them and speak to them. We should have this same attitude toward anyone that is in a place of authority over us.  

One of the ways that I have done this is to always courteously and respectfully address any man or woman that is in a uniform of service and/or leadership in our society.

With Integrity

The Scripture says not with eye-service, as men-pleasers. We are not simply to respect them but we are to serve them honestly. That means we go about doing what we are supposed to do in regards to our service whether they are looking or not. They may not see us but God is always seeing us. This reality should temper our temperament.

With Energy

The Scripture says in singleness of heart. We should be focused upon our responsibilities and discharge our duties as best we can. There is no place for a half-hearted servant that pleases God. Give it your best and give it all you've got. This means that you must do your very best to get adequate rest before you report to your duties. If you are completely exhausted when reporting for your duties, you're going to find it nearly impossible to follow this principle. Don't be doing other things when you are supposed to be working for your employer.  

Be focused on your job.

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Continue Your Search

From this chapter, do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?

See: Berean Fellowship Bible Study Method