Ephesians 6:5-9 – Tawa Baptist

Scripture: Ephesians 6:5-9

Structure:

Introduction
Slavery then and now
Personhood, purpose and power
Onesimus and Philemon
Conclusion

Introduction:

Last week someone gave me a book called, Church Signs Across America

As the title suggests it’s a book with photos of church signs, like this one
The sign reads: “To win in a relationship don’t keep score”

Today we continue our series in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians

We are at that point in Ephesians known as the household codes, where Paul talks about the various relationships in Christian homes
Last week we heard how wives and husbands are to relate
This week we focus on the relationship between slaves and masters
From Ephesians 6, verses 5-9 we read…

Slaves, 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 favour when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. ⁷Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, ⁸because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are 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 favouritism with him.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us

Slavery then and now:

A few months ago we were on holiday in Taupo and went for a walk around the lake. In some places the tree roots had grown under the footpath and were lifting the cobbles – not quite as badly as in this picture but enough to be a trip hazard.

Today’s reading is like tree roots – over the centuries it has quietly lifted and broken our concrete thinking on slavery and employment relations

Now when we hear the word slavery we might think, ‘How is slavery relevant to us today? Wasn’t slavery abolished in the 19^th Century?’

Well, laws were passed in the 19^th Century to say that people can’t buy and sell other people anymore, but slavery still exists in the form of forced labour, child soldiers, sexual exploitation and forced marriage

There are estimated to be around 40,300,000 people in some form of modern slavery in the world today
And it’s not a problem confined to poorer countries either – there are thought to be about 15,000 people in Australia currently engaged under conditions defined as Modern Slavery, and approximately 3,000 people in New Zealand in the same situation. [1]

Although slavery still exists today, it should be noted there are a number of differences between slavery in the ancient world and slavery now

As many as one third of the population in Greece and Rome were slaves
Slaves did most of the work – without slaves nothing would get done
We are used to associating slaves with a particular race of people – like the African Americans of the 19^th Century, picking cotton in the fields or harvesting sugar cane
But slaves in the ancient world were all variety of races and served in all sorts of roles, both skilled and unskilled
A slave might be white or black, a doctor or a farmer or a business manager or a cook or even a prime minister
What’s more, many slaves in the ancient world gained their freedom after the age of 30 – so it wasn’t necessarily an all of life thing [2]
The treatment of slaves in the ancient world was mixed – some were treated with kindness but many were abused and mistreated

Ok, if slavery is a bad thing then why does the Bible seem to accommodate it?

I mean Paul doesn’t say to the masters, ‘set your slaves free’, nor does he call the slaves to revolt against their masters.
To the contrary Paul instructs slaves to do their best for their earthly masters and to have a good attitude about it
This almost sounds like Paul is condoning slavery but actually, he’s not
Paul is, in fact, sowing seeds that would eventually grow into roots that would undermine slavery and set people free

The Bible makes it clear that slavery falls well short of God’s intention for humanity – it is not what the Lord wants for people

God is free and we are made in God’s image – slavery does not fit with being God’s image bearer
Christ came to set the captives free and, as Paul says elsewhere, in Christ there is no longer slave nor free

While that sounds lovely, the reality is, we don’t live in a perfect world do we. We live in a fallen world and suffer the ill effects of sin

God understands this and so he meets us where we are at
He comes to us in the form of Jesus, a human being who we can relate with, and he says, ‘Follow me’
God’s word, in the Bible, addresses the realities of this world, like slavery, not to condone them but to lead us out of them
So when the Bible talks about slavery it’s not holding up an ideal to aspire to – rather it is providing some guidance on how to manage a less than ideal situation by providing restraint for masters and protection for slaves – sort of a first step in the right direction.

It’s remarkable how people’s attitudes change

For many years we accepted lead in petrol as normal and even necessary until we realised that lead is toxic and now we wouldn’t dream of using it
Same thing with plastic supermarket bags – for years we used plastic bags without a second thought to what happened to them when we threw them away, but now we’ve banned single use plastic bags

The ancient world, that Paul lived in, did not see slavery as an evil thing like we do today

For them slavery was simply accepted as a normal and necessary part of the economic system – sort of like we accept having a mortgage as normal and necessary to buying a house – or like we used to accept leaded petrol and plastic bags.

It would have been foolish for Paul to advocate revolt against slavery

The early church was not politically powerful – they were in no position to dictate to the rest of society how people should live
The church needed to be moderate in its approach to show the Roman authorities they posed no threat to the peace of the empire
Consequently, slavery and other social issues were not Paul’s main focus – he and the other apostles were simply trying to get the message of the gospel out there and establish Christian faith communities
Paul’s approach was wise – he sowed seeds of thought that would eventually grow to undermine and break up slavery
You see, slavery isn’t the underlying problem – slavery is just a symptom
Paul sought to address the deeper more fundamental issues – in particular: personhood, purpose and power.

Personhood, purpose and power:

On the wall here is a picture of a drill

A drill is a tool, it helps a tradie to do their job quicker and easier
A drill is a slave to the person operating it
It is in your interests to take care of your drill because if the drill breaks the job will be held up and you’ll have to buy another one
But you don’t treat your drill with same respect you would a person
Slaves tend to be treated like drills – they are not usually acknowledged as people in their own right
Slaves are seen as tools for getting things done, for making life easier or for making money

So the first seed Paul sows in these verses is the seed of personhood

Paul has just addressed wives & husbands and children & parents, now he addresses slaves, as people, alongside their masters.
Given the historical and cultural context in which slaves were thought of and treated as living tools (and not as human beings) it is remarkable that Paul addresses them at all
By including slaves in this way Paul is acknowledging their personhood and giving them dignity
It indicates that slaves were accepted members of the Christian community and that Paul regards them as responsible people (like their masters) to whom he can make a moral appeal. [3]

Taking this thought further, Paul gave honour to the role of a slave by identifying himself as a slave of Christ.

When we look at verses 5-8 of Ephesians 6 we notice that Paul keeps referring to Jesus

Verse 5, slaves obey your earthly masters… as you would obey Christ
Verse 6, obey them… like slaves of Christ
Verse 7, Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men
Paul is saying here a person is not defined by their job or their master
A person is defined by Christ
What’s more, our value and identity as persons do not derive from our social standing or our circumstances but from Christ.

Paul gives slaves the dignity of personhood – and when we see other people as persons (not as tools) we start to value them better.

Another underlying issue Paul addresses in these verses is that of purpose or motivation in a slave’s work and life

Albert Camus, the famous existentialist writer once said, ‘Without work all life goes rotten. But when work is soulless life stifles and dies.’

Albert Camus was talking about purpose or motivation in working
For your work to have soul you need to have a good purpose, an intrinsic motivation in doing it
You need to feel your work fits with the values you carry in your heart
You need to have a sense that you are fulfilling a higher calling
Without a good purpose, without an intrinsic motivation, work becomes soulless and life stifles and dies

A few weeks ago I told you about my misspent youth studying business management. It wasn’t a total loss though. There was one case study, from the course on organisational behaviour, which I found meaningful…

In the 1920’s researchers carried out some tests on factory workers in America
The test involved changing the level of lighting in the factory to see if workers’ productivity was effected
As they gradually increased the lighting the workers produced more
The researchers thought they might be on to something until they dimmed the lights and found that workers’ productivity continued to increase – which was puzzling and counter intuitive
When the illumination studies finished and the researchers left the factory, workers’ productivity slumped
Apparently the level of lighting had nothing to do with the workers’ productivity – it was the presence of the researchers themselves that was effecting productivity. Why was that?
Some say the workers were more motivated because of the interest being shown in them by the researchers
Going a bit deeper though, I think there was more to it than simply being observed – I wonder if the presence of important people doing important stuff gave the workers a greater sense of purpose in what they were doing
I wonder if the researchers’ presence gave soul to the workers’ jobs
With the researchers there the factory workers weren’t just assembling radios on a production line – they were in fact serving a higher calling; they were part of something bigger and more lasting.
Whatever the reason, it became known as the Hawthorne Effect

In verse 6, of Ephesians 6, Paul addresses the deeper issue that we all face in our work, whether we are paid or volunteer, and that’s the issue of purpose

What is your ‘why’ for working?
What is it that gives your work soul so that life thrives?
Paul makes it clear that the purpose (or motivation) for obeying earthly masters is not just to win their favour, when their eye is on you, but to do the will of God from your heart
Paul is advocating for an intrinsic motivation
Your manager may not always show an interest in you
Your boss may not always appreciate your work but God does and his interest in your work, his appraisal of you, means more than your boss’

God sees the good we do in secret and he rewards us

But that reward is not necessarily measured in dollars
The reward God gives is that of a meaningful purpose
God makes our work serve a higher calling – he has the power to give our work soul, so that life thrives.

Personhood, purpose and power

The slave / master (employee / employer) relationship is traditionally a top down relationship – it involves the use of power

In verse 9 Paul says: And 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 favouritism with him.

This is a reminder to both slaves and masters that power ultimately rests with God
God may delegate his power to certain people for a time but that power is only ever on loan from God – it always returns to him

Do not threaten them, means don’t try to control people with fear – use encouragement – the carrot is usually better than the stick

And the instruction for masters to treat their slaves in the same way, is a reminder of the mutual submission that Paul described in chapter 5, verse 21

If slaves are to serve their masters as if they were serving Christ and masters are to do the same for their slaves, then we have a relationship in which the master is using their power for the well-being of their slave
In fact, the master / slave relationship is transformed so that the slave becomes family

Paul was a wise man – he didn’t try to change the legislation or rebel against the authorities – he addressed the underlying issues of slavery by restoring to slaves (and masters) a sense of personhood, purpose and the right use of power.

Philemon & Onesimus:

Reading Ephesians 6 I am reminded of Paul’s letter to Philemon

Philemon was a Christian, someone Paul had led to the Lord
Philemon owned a slave called Onesimus
It appears Onesimus may have stolen from Philemon and run away
This was pretty serious stuff back in the day – Philemon could’ve had Onesimus killed for that sort of behaviour
But, in God’s providence, Onesimus found his way to Paul who was a prisoner in Rome at the time
Paul led Onesimus to the Lord and then went about reconciling him to Philemon
Let me read to you some of Paul’s letter to Philemon
Notice how Paul presents Onesimus as a valued person (not as a tool)
And how he persuades Philemon to use his power to show mercy and forgiveness
Paul reminds Philemon that to win in a relationship we don’t keep score
From verse 8 of Philemon we read…

Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, ⁹yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— ¹⁰that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. ¹¹Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

¹²I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. ¹³I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. ¹⁴But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favour you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. ¹⁵Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— ¹⁶no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

¹⁷So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. ¹⁸If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. ¹⁹I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. ²⁰I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. ²¹Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

We don’t know what the outcome was in this situation

We do know that if Paul had his way then Philemon would have taken Onesimus back, not as a slave, but as a brother.
The letter to Philemon shows us God’s intention to abolish slavery

Conclusion:

Thankfully, most of us are unfamiliar with slavery, although in working for wages or a salary or having to pay off a mortgage we do have some idea of what it feels like to have someone own our time

What Paul says in Ephesians about slaves and their masters can be applied to the employee / employer relationship
Workers are not tools; they are persons of dignity to be valued
Likewise, employers are people too – so employees shouldn’t try to stick it to the man
Give your best – work for your boss as if you were working for Christ and God will reward you
Whatever our station in life, our purpose is to do God’s will
Any power we have is temporary and needs to be used in a way that pleases God.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
Why did Paul instruct slaves to obey their masters (rather than rebel)?
In what ways was ancient slavery different from modern slavery? In what ways are they the same?
What deeper underlying issues does Paul address in Ephesians 6:5-9?
Where does your personal sense of identity (or personhood) and value come from?
What is your ‘why’ for working? What gives soul to your work?
How are masters/employers to use their power?
How might Paul’s instructions to slaves and masters be applied today in employee / employer relationships?
Take some time to read and reflect on Paul’s letter to Philemon this week. What does this letter reveal to us?

[1] https://www.onestaff.co.nz/blog/modern-slavery-in-new-zealand-addressing-a-widespread-issue/

[2] Klyne Snodgrass, NIVAC ‘Ephesians’, page 327

[3] John Stott, Ephesians, page 252.

Tag: Ephesians 6:5-9

Roots of Freedom