Walking As Children of God Ephesians 5:1-6:9 Part IV
In the Pauline epistles, the word “walking” was used as a metaphor denoting one’s personal conduct. In the first three chapters of this grand book of Ephesians, Paul expounded on the new life of the believers and the new unity they embraced together in the body of Christ. Beginning with chapter 4, the apostle began to apply those truths in a practical way. The word “walk” appears five times in chapters 4 and 5 (4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15).
Ephesians 5:1-6:9 may be outlined as follows: I. The Command to Walk in Love – Ephesians 5:1-7; II. The Command to Walk in the Light – Ephesians 5:8-14; III. The Command to Walk in Wisdom – Ephesians 5:15-21; IV. Following Biblical Guidelines for the Family and in Relation to Servants and Masters – Ephesians 5:22-6:9.
- Following Biblical Guidelines for the Family and in Relation to Servants and Masters – Ephesians 5:22-6:9.
Taking up the topic of family relationships, Paul exhorted Christian wives to submit to their husbands (v. 22). Submission by a wife does not carry the idea that she is inferior to her husband or that she is the husband’s doormat. However, she is called upon to voluntarily yield her rights to her husband in pursuing the different functions that God gave to each. The wife should submit not out of weakness, but from a position of strength. He submission is “as unto the Lord” (v. 22), not out of compulsion or grudging servitude.
The “husband is the head of the wife” (v. 23), meaning that he is placed in the position of exercising protective authority, just as Christ exercises authority over the Church. His authority is not a despotism, but a protective guidance. “He is the saviour of the body.” The wife is exhorted to trust her husband and align herself under his leadership, just as “the church is subject to Christ” (v. 24). She is to do this “in everything”, meaning that this is to be her consistent pattern. If the marriage is to be all that God intended, the two partners need to fulfill the roles God gave them with enthusiasm and diligence!
The husband is exhorted to love his wife “even as Christ also loved the church” (v. 25). This exhortation involves complete self-sacrifice, for Christ “gave Himself” for the church by dying for her. In verse 26, Jesus had a high purpose in dying for the church. Christ’s aim was to set the church apart to Himself by purifying her spiritually. This cleansing was “with the washing of water by the word” (v. 26). Christ’s ultimate aim for the church is that He might present her to Himself glorious (v. 27).
Christ’s church one day will be free from “spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.” The church, which now is imperfect and marred in many ways, will one day be “holy and without blemish.”
The husband is under obligation to love his wife in every respect that Christ loves the church (v. 28). This means that husbands will love their wives “as their own bodies.” Just as the husband cares for his own needs, so he should care for the needs of his wife” (v. 29). In the same way that a man looks after his own body, so the Lord looks after and cares for the church.
The closeness of a believer’s relationship to the Lord is evident in the fact that he is “of His flesh, and of His bones” (v. 30). Marriage is the closest of all human relationships (v. 31). Husbands and wives become bonded or glued to one another spiritually, emotionally and physically in an unbreakable union. The word translated “joined” literally means “glued.” Paul is quoting from Genesis 2:24, depicting the oneness of the marital union.
In marriage two people become so intimately united that they can be called one. Paul called this union “a great mystery” (v. 32). Speaking to husbands, Paul exhorted that each one “love his wife even as himself” (v. 33). The wife, in turn, is told to reverence her husband.” She is to pay due respect to the authority and responsibility that God has laid on him, supporting rather than undermining his leadership.
Turning from his discussion of marriage, Paul turned to a discussion of children in the church (Ephesians 6:1). Children are exhorted to obey their parents. This obedience is to be carried out “in the Lord”, that is, under His ultimate authority and therefore in line with His commands in scripture. Such obedience is “right” or proper (v. 1). In addition, children are exhorted to “Honor thy father and mother”, with emphases that this is a commandment with a promise attached (v. 2).
The promise of verse 3 should not be taken as an absolute guarantee of long life for everyone who honors his parents; however, children who learn obedience and respect live stable lives that promote longevity and success. Paul enjoined fathers not to provoke their children to anger or resentment (v. 4). Making unreasonable demands on children is an unacceptable practice. Instead of using unreasonable demands and brute force on children, fathers are to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (v. 4).
In verse 5, servants are exhorted to “be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ.” The obedience that servants were to demonstrate was to be with “fear and trembling.”
The servants were to treat their masters with respect and dignity. “In singleness of your heart” means there should not be any taint of duplicity. In verse 6, the servants should serve with right motives, not only with the master’s eye on them, and with a sincere heart. The servants must also serve wholeheartedly, that is with good will or a peaceable spirit (v. 7).
The reason for such service is that the Lord will reward them (v. 8). The Lord is the One who can accurately and impartially judge their performance and motivation (I Peter 1:17). In verse 9, masters were to treat their slaves in the way, that is, to please the Lord in their dealings with them. Slave owners were not to keep threatening them but to treat them justly and fairly (Col. 4:1; James 5:4) because they themselves were servants, with a Master who is an example to them.
May God Bless!
