
In Ephesians 6, Paul warns us to stand, clothed in “the whole armor of God,” against “the darkness of this age.” In the context leading up to this admonition, he addresses three relationships: husband-wife, father-child, and master-slave. Yes, Paul does address the wife, the child, and the slave with the common counsel that would be expected in his cultural setting: submit and obey. But in each case, Paul specifically addresses men with unexpected counsel that was revolutionary for his time.
Fathers and Children
A father has the power to make or break his children. Such is the nature of power. It can be used for good or abused for evil.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right… And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. —Ephesians 6:1, 4
The obedience of a child to his father was an assumed expectation in Paul’s culture. But Paul puts the onus of responsibility on the father to regulate his behavior toward his children in such a way that the child is not provoked to anger.
“Behind this curbing of parental authority there lies the clear recognition that, although children are to obey their parents in the Lord, yet they have a life and personality of their own. They are little people in their own right. As such they are to be respected, and on no account to be exploited, manipulated or crushed. Every child must be allowed to be himself… How many angry young men, hostile to society at large, have learned their hostility as children in an unsympathetic home?” John Stott, The Message of Ephesians
In every relationship, without exception, the person with the most
Masters and Slaves
Reading Ephesians 6 today, it can very easily look like Paul is condoning slavery. But what he wrote was, for his time in history, a radical step forward. He was advocating on behalf of slaves in an effort to protect them from abuse and dignify their humanity.
Aristotle expressed the view of the ancient world on slavery:
“A slave is a living tool, just as a tool is an inanimate slave.”
Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters… 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. —Ephesians 6:5, 9
What Paul has done here is absolutely astounding given his place in history. The male head of the Greek and Roman home possessed absolute power over his slaves, freeing him to do with them whatever he pleased. After telling slaves to be obedient to their masters “with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,” Paul tells their masters, “do the same things to them.” Paul is telling masters to serve their slaves, thus equalizing the relationship in practice even when the practice could not be legally overturned. Paul tells masters to do this on the astonishing premise that “there is no partiality with” God. That is, God does not see any difference between masters and slaves.
Slavery is
The Application
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. —Ephesians 6:12
All abuse of power must be eliminated from the Christian life. It is the foundational evil that defines “the darkness of this age.” There are wicked spiritual powers exerting their influence over our world, and we must wrestle against them by living out the ideals of the gospel of Christ. If they have their way, all of us will be continually striving to dominate one another and thereby destroy the relational dynamic of love for which God created us.
The person with power is called upon by the gospel to
Prayer
Father, whenever I have the upper hand, empower me to reach that hand down to serve and uplift those over whom I have power. Teach me how to use my advantages in life for the benefit of others and to treat everyone as I would like to be treated.
Homework
Read through the book of Ephesians in one sitting, pausing to ponder and pray every time you read the words “love” and “power.” The whole letter can be read in about 15 minutes.