"Ephesians 6:5-9" from eBible.com: Online Bible Search & Bible Study Community

Ephesians 6:5-9

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Slaves and Masters

5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

9And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

Topics: Christ fear obedience work conduct labor service prestige servant free employment society master slave rank

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raydirector - (eBible Novice) 3 months ago.

In verses 5-9 Paul discusses the appropriate relationship between the slave and master. He essentially reiterates his point made in Ephesians 5:20-21 regarding mutual submission to one another. Though there are differing functions, there is one master, whom all men who have accepted Christ as their savior serve. So both functions are responsible to serve the same master, irrespective of their function. That is why Paul could say "do the same to them." He was not saying engage in the same functions, but to submit their function to Christ as the master, and therefore treating all men, even those functionally beneath them, as fellow workers under the same master. Masters are only allowed to ask their servants to do those things that are within the scope of duties under the work of their one master, and servants are to serve in the same way, as servants of the master who is over them all. Here we also see the concept of innate human value introduced. Paul states that we will receive from the Lord for what good we do no matter our station. This is very different from the ancient concept of slavery in which there were no guarantees of reward for any good action.