Ephesians - Slaves and Masters - Ephesians 6:5-9

When slaves and masters met at the same Lord's table, there was a unity, a harmony, a love. This would make the master want to be a better master; this would make the servant want to be a better servant.

And now let's pray together. Gracious Father in heaven, teach us from your word. Help us to make it practical in our lives, not just doctrine that we enjoy, but duty that we obey. This is our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

If a reporter from Time or Newsweek had listened to Jesus preach the Sermon on the Mount, he would have cabled his editor, "Prophet from Nazareth attempts the impossible. He will change the world through his followers." Our Lord had said that the followers of Jesus Christ are salt and light, the light of the world, the salt of the earth. And I can just see that reporter shaking his head and saying, "Do you mean to tell me that you are going to take this group of people and change the Roman Empire?" And the answer of course is yes.

Now there were others who wanted to change the Roman Empire, the Zealots. They used force, they had murder and violence. There are people like that today, spreading hatred and fear and murder and violence, and they're going to change the world. But the Christian says no, the way to change the world is through individual people through the power of the gospel. 

You must remember that in the Roman Empire, when Paul wrote Ephesians, there were about 60 million slaves. And when you touched the Roman Empire, you touched slavery. It was the basis of their economic system; the many were working to support the few. It was a part of their philosophy, their religion. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, called a slave a "tool with a soul in it." That's quite a definition, isn't it? 

Now there was no democracy back in those days. It wasn't possible to make protests, to vote, to sign petitions. How do you go about transforming society when that society is far from God? Well, listen to Ephesians 6:5.

Servants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. And you masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

You might want to turn to Colossians 3 where we have a parallel passage. Colossians 3:22: Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for the wrong which he has done, and there is no partiality. Masters, give your servants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

There are evils in our world today that need to be changed and removed, and God is still using the same forces today that He used back in Paul's day. This whole paragraph dealing with slaves and their masters can be applied, of course, to workers, employees, and employers. But there's a much deeper message here. Paul is telling us that there are a number of forces that God uses to accomplish His work in this world. How would you go about dealing with this enormous problem of slavery? How would you change things? 

Well, the first force, of course, is the message of the gospel. Here are slaves and masters in the same Christian assembly in Ephesus. Slaves came to know Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior. Now this to me is a very wonderful thing because slaves were not looked upon with any special degree of love or appreciation in those days. A slave, as Aristotle said, was a tool with a soul in it. And that is not a very good definition of man made in the image of God. 

Now how were these slaves converted? Not by protesting, not by lobbying or legislation. I think today in a democracy, we certainly can use these means to accomplish good things. Nothing wrong with a Christian being involved in the structures of government. Joseph was in government, so was Daniel, so was Esther. Paul had friends who were in the government in various cities. Nothing wrong with using the law. In fact, Paul told the slaves to use the law to get free if they could. 1 Corinthians 7:21: Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ's slave. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. 

So he tells the slaves, if you have the opportunity, get your freedom and use it for the Lord's sake. But don't make that the major issue of your life. The power of the gospel came into the Roman Empire and transformed things. Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. God's divine dynamite that changes things. 

Now how did the gospel go about destroying slavery? Well, number one, it gave a new position to the slaves, a new dignity. They were made in the image of God. All of us are sinners. The masters and the slaves stood on level ground at the foot of the cross. The Lord Jesus came as a servant. He died for all men. And now you could say to these slaves, God loves you, and He can save you, and He can set you free from your greatest bondage, which is bondage to sin. 

The gospel not only gave them a new position, it gave them a new purpose. That purpose is to glorify God in their work, a new dignity to their labor. Listen to what Paul wrote when he sent his first letter to Timothy, 1 Timothy 6:1: Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed. In other words, you Christian slaves, be good witnesses and good testimonies as you work. 1 Timothy 6:2: And those who have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather serve them because those who are benefited are believers and beloved. Teach and exhort these things. In other words, you have a Christian master, don't take advantage of him and say, "Well, I'm a Christian, he's a Christian, therefore I really don't have to work too hard." 

He wrote the same thing to Titus 2:9-10: Exhort servants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well-pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering—that means stealing—but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. Now notice these two motivations. In Timothy he says, "so live that the doctrine may not be blasphemed." To Titus he writes, "that they might adorn or beautify the doctrine." Now here are the extremes. We can so work as laborers that we can beautify the Bible. People say, "My, what a beautiful life, what a good worker. What he believes must be something worth knowing." Or, by our lives and our words, we can blaspheme the doctrine. 

The slaves had a new purpose to glorify God. They had a new power, the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul had written to these slaves, "be filled with the Holy Spirit." He had written this to the whole church family. There were slaves and masters in the assembly. Now these slaves understood the gospel better than anybody else. They knew the meaning of redemption. Ephesians 1:7: In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. What is redemption? To set a slave free by paying a price. Slaves could get free back in those days by raising enough money to buy their way out. They would go to the temple of a god, the owner and the slave would go together to the temple, and the slave would give the money to the god and be set free. Then the owner would take the money and go his way. The money was paid to the god, but the owner got the money. Well, our God paid the price for us, and we can be set free from the bondage of sin. 

The message of the gospel still transforms people's lives. That's one of God's forces at work in the world today that is reconciling, building unity, pulling things together in Jesus Christ. The only center of true unity in the world today is Jesus Christ. The thing that can hold things together is the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Savior. Now God is busy bringing things together.

The message of the gospel still transforms people's lives. That's one of God's forces at work in the world today. Secondly, there is the fellowship of the church. You know, the early church must have been an exciting group of people. You had quite a mix when you read Paul's admonitions here. He writes to the men and to the women, the husbands, the wives, the children, the servants, the masters. There were Jews and Gentiles. There were those who came from religious backgrounds and those who came from pagan backgrounds. There were slaves, there were free people, there were rich people and poor people. Galatians 3:28 was really being practiced: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. A unity in the Lord. 

Now this doesn't mean that their national, sexual, or physical distinctions were erased. The slave did not become free. Now he was free in the Lord, but he was enslaved to the Lord. The master did not become a slave. He had a Master in heaven, and he better obey Him. These distinctions were not erased; in fact, they were elevated. He said these differences should not be barriers, walls; rather, we are all one in Jesus Christ. And when slaves and masters met at the same Lord's table, there was a unity, a harmony, a love. This would make the master want to be a better master; this would make the servant want to be a better servant. 

The fellowship of the local church erases artificial, accidental distinctions as far as our fellowship is concerned. We don't value people for their economics, their social level; we value them because they are one in the Lord with us in the body of Christ. God uses the message of the gospel, the fellowship of the church to change society. I fear the church has been too guilty of mirroring society. Instead of the church being a ministry that changes lives, we have a tendency to be so preservative that we preserve some of the things in society that are not right. The church ought to be a fellowship of people who are one in Jesus Christ. 

Now the third force that God uses, beside the message of the gospel and the fellowship of the local church, is the conduct of the individual Christian. He writes here to individual servants, to individual masters. And he asks the masters and the servants to answer a few questions. Question number one: For whom am I working? Am I working for myself? Am I working for an employer, or am I working for the Lord? Notice how many times we find "as" in chapters 5 and 6. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church. Verse 28: Husbands love your wives as their own bodies. Verse 29: as the Lord does the church. Chapter 6 now, he applies this same principle to servants and masters. Servants, be obedient, as to Christ. Not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ. With good will doing service, as to the Lord. 

For whom am I working? Am I working for the Lord or am I working for myself? Now this changes everything. It can turn drudgery into ministry. It can turn heavy burdens into wings of blessing. For whom do I work? Am I doing the will of God? By the way, when we're doing the will of God, it nourishes us. John 4:34, our Lord said, "My food is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work." When you are doing the work of God in the will of God to the glory of God, then it nourishes you and you grow. If you're out of the will of God and if your work is not what God wants you to do, it tears you down. 

Question number one: For whom do I work? Question number two: Why do I work? Am I working because the boss is watching me? That's eyeservice. Am I working just to please my boss, as men-pleasers? Am I working because my boss threatened to fire me? Verse 9: giving up threatening. What are the wrong motives for working? Well, just to earn money, just because somebody's watching, or somebody will reward me, or I will escape punishment. What's the right motive? Doing the will of God from the heart. Verse 6: not just doing, but doing the will of God. And not just doing the will of God, but doing it from our hearts because we love Him and we want His reward. Knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. God is no respecter of persons. There's no partiality with God. God looks at the heart. 

Which raises the third question: How do I work? We should work obediently. Servants, be obedient. Not lazy, not making excuses, not blaming other people. We should work seriously, with fear and trembling. Take it seriously; it's the work of God, we're serving the Lord. We should work sincerely, in sincerity of heart as unto Christ. Not double-minded. We should work honestly, not with eyeservice. Paul warned about pilfering. A great deal of pilfering goes on. Workers steal time from their employers. They should be putting in a full day's work; they steal time. They steal objects, also. People walk off with everything from paper clips to typewriters. A great deal of white-collar crime going on these days. We should work honestly, not with eyeservice. God is always watching. God knows the kind of work that we are doing. We should work devotedly, from the heart. Our work ought to come from the heart as unto Christ. 

Which raises the question: Is my work going to stand in eternity? That's the fourth question. For whom do I work? I work for the Lord. Why do I work? To please Him, to do it from my heart, to get His reward, to please my Father in heaven. How do I work? Obediently, seriously, sincerely, honestly, devotedly. Will my work stand in eternity? Well, I hope it will. Paul warns us that there's going to be a reward someday, and there's no partiality with Him, and we had better be careful how we are working. Colossians 3:24-25, he warns us that there is going to be a judgment of our works. 

Well, let's not be complaining about the great social problems in the world today. We as Christians are the light of the world, we are the salt of the earth, and we ought to be busy doing everything we can to help solve the problems of the world. But the three basic forces that will get the job done are: the gospel of Jesus Christ that changes people's lives; the fellowship of the local church where people minister to one another with love and equality; and then serving Jesus Christ right where we are. Whatever job God's called you to do, doing the will of God from the heart. Henry Varley was right: "The world has yet to see what God can do in, with, through, and for the person who is wholly yielded to Him."