Thank you, Carolyn.
I've never heard that about keeping track of the books of the Bible like that.
Now, I can't remember what the acronym was I was supposed to remember,
so I struggle with both, but that's good.
So, as we approach the end of our series in Ephesians,
I just wanted to do a quick review.
Ephesians, overarchingly, is about our identity in Christ.
So we have the first half of Ephesians, which is about our belief, our calling,
and the second half is the behavior that goes along with that,
and that's the section that we're in now, chapters 4, 5, and 6.
Last week, we heard from Paul Rocha about marriage and what that means,
and we'll be digging into more areas of that this morning.
But before we get into that, we see a progression in these last couple chapters
that help us get ready for this area of love and submission,
which is what we're talking about today.
So, the beginning of chapter 4, Paul urges us to bear with one another in love.
In chapter 5, in the beginning, he says,
Be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love,
as Christ loved us and gave himself for us.
And then right before last week's message,
chapter 5, verse 21 says,
Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
So, we are to walk in love as Christ loves us,
and we're to submit to one another for his sake.
But how do we do that?
What does that look like?
And this is what our current section in Ephesians is going to teach us.
So, again, last week, Dan Rocha hit on marriage and love and submission,
how a man and a woman should be a reflection of the relationship between Christ and the church.
How does that happen in marriage?
Well, you have a wife that submits to her husband with respect,
not as a lesser person, as an equal,
allowing him to lead the family, to nurture and grow the family.
So, the wife submits to her husband,
being a reflection of the church submitting to Christ.
And then also, as the husband should love his wife as his own body,
protecting and cherishing her,
loving her sacrificially as Christ loved the church.
So, there we have the perfect picture of the relationship between Christ and the church.
So, today's message is a follow-up of that,
because it follows verse 21 that says,
to submit to one another at a reverence of Christ.
So, we have husbands and wives submitting and following Christ's order and design,
and now we have a few other categories that we'll get into.
So, our message this morning, I entitled Love and Submission Part 2.
So, but before you hear submission and start rolling your eyes thinking,
I kind of heard enough about submission.
It's not really something I enjoy to listen to.
It's kind of old.
It sounds restrictive.
I would just encourage you to listen to what the Word of God has to say about submission,
and see really how it fits into our life as Christians,
and how it really fits into God's big picture for us.
Because without that, without that submission and love,
that's really what makes the church,
it's what makes marriages and families stand out to a world.
It's what God's big plan is for each one of us.
So, if we look at submission,
and in some of these cases, it's going to come out in the area of obedience.
If we look at those, it doesn't take long before we see how they really are needed
in every aspect of our life.
Last week, Dan talked about a company who tried to run itself according to a model
that kind of did away with hierarchy.
There wasn't really any boss.
Everybody kind of was their own boss,
and they led accordingly.
And what they found out was things fell apart.
People needed that management type of role.
They needed to report to somebody.
They needed structure.
And so, it didn't work.
And we also know that if we look at a lot of other areas of life, it won't work.
Professional sports is not going to go very far
if you have all the good athletes or the cocky athletes
deciding they want to do things however they want.
They'll show up when they want.
They'll play when they want.
They'll work out when they want.
Because they're that good, they can just do that.
It would never work.
The team wouldn't go far.
There's no winning.
There's no team aspect when it's all self-centered and personal focused.
So, we know that that won't work.
And it's the same if we look at companies,
if we look at governments, branches of the military,
or whole nations themselves.
If there's no structure, if there's no ownership,
if there's no leadership, then it's going to crumble.
It's going to fall.
So, that's what we're going to be looking at today.
Now, we're going to be looking at these different areas this morning
that covers parents and children and slaves and masters in the Bible.
But for us, it's going to be employees and bosses.
So, when we get to each one of these sections,
they may feel like they don't pertain to you.
So, I would submit to listen anyway because they do pertain to you.
They pertain not only because it might not be where you are now,
but it might be in the future.
So, you might be thinking, well, I'm not a child.
I don't have any kids.
I'm not married.
And I don't work.
So, that takes me out of all the categories.
And to that, I would say,
you're kind of in the perfect spot
where you could encourage those around you,
those in the family of God,
who are in all those categories
because you have a little bit more time or experience or whatever
to encourage those around.
And that's what we're all called to do, right?
We're called to encourage and help one another.
So, there's that aspect of it.
There's also, it may be helpful in your workplace
as you come across an unsaved friend
who is in a difficult marriage.
It could be a co-worker who is struggling as a mom
with kids who are rebellious and don't obey.
It could be co-workers that complain about their boss
and they try to pull you in on that.
These are all areas where we know where God tells us to stand,
where God tells us to live.
And we're able to speak into that,
into those other people's lives
in an encouraging way
and in a way that could bring the word of God,
the word of truth,
to an area they've never known about before.
So, I would say,
listen as we go through this part.
Sorry.
So, the first part.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord,
for this is right.
It only happens, like, right before I come up to speak.
Like, I sang great.
I mean, nobody could hear me,
but I sang great this morning.
Yeah.
Maybe it was because nobody heard me
that I sang so great.
So, verse 1.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord,
for this is right.
Right?
Obeying is something that we do
for someone else
when we don't necessarily want to do that thing.
Right?
We'd rather be doing something else.
So, why is it that we tell children
to obey their parents?
Well, we pretty much know the answer to that,
but there are a couple reasons.
The first one is because
God said that's what they should do.
The second reason is because
children learn and they grow,
but they don't start out knowing what to do.
They don't know what's right or wrong.
They don't know what's safe or what's not.
I was thinking of our youngest, Juliet.
She's learning how to crawl very well,
and in her eyes,
as she's moving across the carpet,
everything she wants.
It doesn't matter if it's a toy.
It also doesn't matter if it's a furry hairball.
It's on the floor,
and she'd like to have it.
So, sometimes we have to take that away,
and she's not real happy about it,
but we know she doesn't need a hairball.
Right?
We know she doesn't need
a small button that could choke her,
but there are toys that she can play with.
So, as we'll see shortly,
parents are to teach and guide their children,
and that can't be done with some obedience.
So, we have to start to teach that in our kids,
even when it's something that they don't want to do.
Sometimes it requires us to be a little forceful,
and that isn't always fun for the child.
It's not always fun for the parent,
because it's easy for us to want to be their friend.
It's easy for us to want to keep them on our side.
And it's not always possible
if you want to be a parent
who wants to protect their child
in a good and loving way.
So, while this obedience is taking place
between children and parents,
ultimately, it's obedience to God.
That's what we're looking to teach our children.
We want them to obey us,
but as they grow and get larger,
we want them to see
that it's conforming to God's desire
and His commands.
That's why we're doing this,
and that's what makes it right,
because it falls under God's commandment.
And in the next two verses,
verses 2 and 3,
We honor your father and mother.
This is the first commandment with promise,
that it may go well with you,
and that you may live long in the land.
This is a direct quote
taken from the Ten Commandments
in the book of Exodus.
And as we look at the Mosaic Law,
those first five books of the Old Testament,
we see there's a very great seriousness
on the command for children to obey
and to honor their parents.
In chapter 21,
just following the Ten Commandments,
it says,
Whoever strikes his father or his mother
shall be put to death.
Following that,
whoever curses his father or mother
shall surely be put to death.
He has cursed his father or his mother,
and his blood is upon him.
So we see that disobedience and dishonor
is taken very seriously
and dealt with very seriously
in the Old Testament.
And the reason for that
is because God is raising up for himself
a people who will stand out to the world.
The Israelites were his people,
his chosen family,
and disobedience among his family
starts to just wreak havoc.
You have kids that grow
and want to do their own thing.
They don't want to follow after God.
And it doesn't take very many generations
before you have a whole family,
a whole generation,
a whole nation
that is no longer following after God.
And that's something that was being watched
in on from all the other countries,
all the other nations at that time.
But here in Ephesians,
we see Paul quoting the same commandment,
but the focus is more on the positive aspect
of God's command.
He says,
Honor your father and your mother.
Then he draws attention to the promise.
Remember, this is the first and only commandment
that has a promise connected to it.
Now, this promise in the Old Testament
was a portion of the promised land
that God was given his people.
So to honor and to obey your parents
meant a share of that inheritance.
For those in the New Testament,
for us on this side of the cross,
part of the new covenant in Christ,
it means that life may go well
and that you may live long,
taking about,
that's talking about the promise of eternal life.
So not necessarily that we're going to get land,
land or money for obeying our parents,
but a promise of a better life
and eternal life with Jesus Christ.
Now, first you might be thinking,
well, wait, that sounds a little bit like
work salvation.
If you obey and honor your parents,
then things will go well
and you'll get to go to heaven.
But that's not what I'm saying here.
What is happening is if
Christians know that that isn't true,
that they're going to have an easy life.
And Jesus tells us that.
But what we're saying is
if you disobey,
if you bring dishonor to your parents,
then you can be sure that life will not go well.
And it's an indication
of you being a child of God
that brings about your desire to want to obey
and follow after your parents.
On occasion, I'll give some authority
to one of my children.
I might ask Daniel, my youngest son,
to go tell his older brother
that I want him to go do something.
And it's expected that that older brother
is going to go do it.
Why? Because I'm sending Daniel
with my authority to tell him
as if I went and told him myself.
And this really is a picture of
God giving authority to parents
for their children.
God gives them authority
to teach and instruct them.
And the children are to obey that
and to listen to their parents.
So for a child to disobey
and fight against their parents,
ultimately it's a fight against God
and what God has laid out
in his design and his rules.
And we also know that
as the problem continues,
as the child just doesn't want
to obey his parents
and is rebellious,
that as they leave home,
being at odds with their parents
means that they're going to continue
to be at odds with God
because that's how it started out.
And as they start their own life
on their own,
they're putting themselves
in that position of authority
where God used to be
and they're becoming their own God.
And at no point in history
has there been a way of,
that's never going to go well
for someone.
It's not going to,
it may look well in their life
successfully
from the world standards,
but it won't end there
because it's a life
that's void of God.
And if it continues,
if they don't correct that path,
then what happens,
the end is separation from God.
And that is tragic.
So God loves us.
He wants to protect us from that.
So he gives us commands for us
and to pass on to our children.
So Colossians 3, 20,
children obey your parents
in everything,
for this pleases the Lord.
As children learn to obey their parents,
they fall under God's authority
and this is pleasing to him.
So living a life pleasing to the Lord
does make your life easier
because you're not on your own side,
you're on God's side.
You're pleasing to him
and he's with you
and that's what makes life easier.
So children,
obey and honor your parents
and that means to submit
and to love them.
The next section
is fathers,
but also to parents.
Chapter 6 starts out addressing both.
It says that children,
obey your parents in the Lord.
So it's important to remember
that God's design
was never to separate
and only have one parent,
but that both parents together
work to raise their children.
Does that ring into you guys
or just me?
Is it ringing?
It's okay?
Okay.
Never mind what I said.
But as we come to verse 4,
we see that fathers
are addressed directly.
It says,
fathers,
do not provoke your children to anger,
but bring them up
in the discipline
and instruction of the Lord.
So as Paul has done before,
he starts with a negative action
to avoid
and he follows it up
with a positive action
that we want to improve on.
He says,
do not provoke your children to wrath,
but do bring them up
in the discipline
and instruction of the Lord.
So first we have this command
to do not provoke
your children to wrath.
We know that in disciplining
our children,
they're not going to like that.
They're going to get mad
when they can't have
or do what they want to do.
That's not what Paul
is talking about here.
Sorry, kids.
But he's talking about
provoking your children
to anger
because of discipline
that's done out of anger
or giving them commands
or rules
that are too restrictive
and don't have any reason.
It's basically discipline
without love.
And in that way,
you're going to provoke
your children
to wrath or to anger.
So I just want to hit
those sections,
kind of break them up
a little bit
because I think
they're important.
Not only for if you
have kids now,
but if you have kids
in the future,
this will kind of set
the foundation,
the framework
for what is going
to be helpful to you
as you study God's word
and how to be a parent.
But Ephesians 4.31 says,
be kind to one another,
tenderhearted,
forgiving one another
as God and Christ
forgave you.
So even before
this section to fathers,
Paul is concerned
about the anger
that is coming out of us.
And once it comes
into parenting,
that can be passed
on to our child.
Usually that takes
the form of yelling
or some type of
exaggerated action
or speech
that we lash out
at our child
when they're not doing
what they're supposed to
or they failed
to do something
that we required of them.
And when it comes
to parenting,
these outbursts
can get out of control.
These fits of anger
can be damaging,
not just physically damaging,
but they can be emotionally
damaging to your child
as well.
And this type of behavior
is worse for fathers.
I think we can all agree
that anger
when it comes to men
is worse than women.
Now, women or mothers
in this case
do struggle with anger.
They're not perfect
like the rest of us
and they get mad.
But in general,
if we look at
extreme destructive behavior,
if we look at
domestic violence,
road rage,
acts of terrorism,
all these are far more
likely to happen
from a man
than a woman.
So Paul,
it makes sense,
is pointing out here
that fathers
don't provoke
your children to anger.
You need to control
your anger.
James 1.20 says,
For the anger of man
does not produce
the righteousness of God.
Over our years
of raising kids,
this has been a great verse
for Cheryl and I to use.
Not just me,
for her
in raising kids,
in every aspect of life.
Because you can take that verse
and put your name in it.
It says,
For the anger of man
does not produce
the righteousness of God.
But you can put in,
For the anger of Matt
does not produce
the righteousness of God.
The anger of mom
does not produce
the righteousness of God.
The fit of anger of dad
will never produce
the righteousness of God.
If you're trying
to raise your kid
to love and obey God,
it's never going to happen
if you're using
your wrath,
your madness
to make it come about.
It will never produce
the righteousness of God.
That's James 1.20.
So if you're taking notes,
you can write that down.
That'll be real helpful
now and for years to come.
So parenting with anger
leads to frustration
and discouragement
on your child's part.
Colossians 3.21 says,
Fathers,
do not provoke your children
lest they become discouraged.
It also leads to more anger.
Proverbs 15.18 says,
A hot-tempered man
stirs up strife,
and he who is slow to anger
quiets contention.
So anger is only going to lead
to more anger.
It's not going to lead
to the righteousness of God.
It's not going to lead
to contentment
or anything like that.
One of the problems
with anger is
anger is like a cannibal
in that it's going to eat
all the other emotions up.
So a child taught
by an angry or violent father
usually will pass that down
to their child.
And as anger is allowed
to remain, it grows,
and it becomes
the dominant trait
of all the other traits
that that child
might have had before.
If you think of kindness
or tenderness,
thoughtfulness, forgiveness,
where is the place of those
when anger is in control?
They don't fit.
You can't be thoughtful
while you're being angry.
You can't forget
while you're angry.
So we see that
those don't go together.
So the more anger
is allowed to grow,
the other ones will die off.
And those are traits
that we as Christians
are trying to develop.
So Paul's warning us
against parenting with anger
because it teaches
the opposite
of what God wants us to learn.
It also paints a picture
of a father
who's not like
your heavenly father.
Psalms 86, 15 says,
But you, O Lord,
are a God merciful
and gracious,
slow to anger,
and abounding
in steadfast love
and faithfulness.
So an angry father
on earth
does not give his child
a picture
in any way
of what a loving father
in heaven is like,
which is what we want to do.
We want to give that example
to them
of what a loving father
looks like.
And as I go through this,
I understand
that there are
different families
and different situations
where a mother and father
might not be in place,
in which case
the mother takes that role.
There may not be a mother
and the father
takes that role.
And mothers
can be
that example
of a heavenly father
even though
there isn't a father there.
So when they come up,
just keep that in mind
that this still pertains
to you,
that God still loves
you and where you are.
And if you don't have
a perfect situation,
if your children
are older
and run away,
you don't have children
or you don't have a spouse
or you're divorced,
God doesn't expect you
to perfect yourself
and get yourself
in the right place
before he can love you
and work with you.
He works with you
where you are.
So like anger,
being too restrictive
or having boundaries
that are too small
can also lead to this
causing our children
to provoke them
to wrath.
And what I mean
by that really is
if you're parenting
with an iron fist,
if you're locking
your kids in too tight
and there really isn't
a lot of reason
for what you're doing
about that
or why you are doing that.
So like anger,
the child feels like
there's no way out,
like they can't be good enough
for what's happening.
And if we parent this way,
it's really opposite
of how God teaches us
because God is not oppressive.
God does not command us
to do things
that we are incapable of doing.
Instead,
he lays down for us.
He submits to us,
Jesus Christ,
who died out of love for us.
And that's the picture
that we have.
So we need to get rid of anger
in our parenting.
As for rules and restrictions,
that they are necessary.
We're raising kids
they don't know.
This is why they are
put under our authority.
But,
and I'm not going to give you
a list of all
of the rules and restrictions
you should have
on your child
because it's going to change.
It's going to change
based on family,
on situation,
and on child.
Every child is different.
But restrictions
are good and necessary.
So you need to think about them.
You need to pray about them.
Seek God's word.
And you need to lay them out
and explain it to your child.
You don't always have
the opportunity to tell them
why you're telling them no.
They need to,
they need to obey
when they're told to obey.
But in general,
you need to explain to them
why you,
why you're doing certain things,
why they can't do certain things.
And this leads to the second part.
That was all under the
don't do this.
This is under the do.
We want to bring them up
in the discipline
and instruction of the Lord.
This is discipline
that is tempered with love.
It's knowing what's best
and knowing that it may not
always be what the child
wants at the time.
And really,
if we look at it,
this is similar to
how God is to us, right?
There's things that we want.
God knows what's best
and we don't always get it.
And we have to understand
that he's God,
we're not.
He knows what's best
and we don't
and we're okay with that.
Hebrews 12,
5 through 11 says this,
My son,
do not regard lightly
the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary
when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines
the one he loves
and chastises every son
whom he receives.
For it is for discipline
that you may have to endure.
God is treating you as sons.
For what son is there
whom the father
does not discipline?
If you are left
without discipline
in which all have participated,
then you are illegitimate children
and not sons.
Besides this,
we have had earthly fathers
who disciplined us
and we respected them.
Shall we not much more
be subject to the father
of spirits and live?
For they disciplined us
for a short time
as it seemed best to them.
But he disciplines us
for our good
that we may share
his holiness.
For the moment,
all discipline seems painful
rather than pleasant.
But later,
it yields the peaceful fruit
of righteousness
to those who have been
trained by it.
It's teaching and correcting
according to God's plan,
according to God's word.
The same way we are learning
to live as Christians
from his word
with his strength
and through prayer,
we begin teaching that
to our children.
So that's what it means
to raise them up
in the discipline
and the instruction
of the Lord.
It's starting with that
cute little adorable,
precious,
selfish little sinner
and it's teaching them
about who God is.
This starts by pointing
to the most important thing
and that is that we realize
that there's a God
who loved us.
There's a God
who sent his son Jesus
to die for us
in our place
because we couldn't do it.
We couldn't have
a relationship with God
until Jesus died for us
to cover up the sins
that was the barrier
between us and God.
That was done
and we get to know God.
We get to have
a relationship with him
and we get to spend
eternity with him.
That's the foundation
of what we're trying
to teach to our kids.
Without that foundation,
everything falls apart.
Everything will leave
them empty
if you leave God
and eternal life
out of the question.
Without telling them
there's a God
that created and loved them,
there isn't any lasting hope.
So if you don't know God,
you're not going to be able
to teach your kids
what it is to know God.
So I would encourage you
if you're struggling
with that,
if you're struggling
with whether you are saved
or not saved,
who God is
and if he loves you,
then I would suggest
that you come
and talk with one of us.
Talk to Sean.
Talk to myself.
Come up and have prayer.
Spend time seeking the word
and just seeking God
to show himself to you
because you can't lead someone
down a path
that you've never been.
Our next section
is on servants
or bond servants.
This is verses 5 through 8.
Bond servants,
obey your earthly masters
with fear and trembling,
with a sincere heart
as you would Christ,
not by the way of eye service
as people pleasers,
but as bond servants of Christ,
doing the will of God
from the heart,
rendering service
with a good will
as to the Lord
and not to man,
knowing that whatever good
anyone does,
this he will receive back
from the Lord,
whether he is a bond servant
or whether he is free.
In the time around
where Ephesians was written,
slavery was a normal part of life.
There was somewhere between
a fourth and a third
of the population of Ephesus
was made up of servants.
So if their estimated population
was about 250,000 people,
then it would be safe to say
that 60,000 plus of those
would be slaves.
So it makes up a large group
of the existence.
It became a normal part
of everyday life
for the people of Ephesus.
And for that reason,
we find it quite fitting
that Paul is talking to us here
about servants and masters
in this section.
Immediately,
you might be thinking,
well,
I think Paul should be preaching
against slavery
and against the system
that is allowing it to continue.
And that might be true
to an extent.
God did create people equal
and slavery was wrong.
And that's true
and that's right.
But there's a couple things
to keep in mind.
First is that
in the society
that Paul finds himself,
slavery and ownership
of humans
was legal and accepted.
So it wasn't that
it was an illegal thing
that he would be
stepping in to stop,
but it was normal
and accepted.
Secondly,
and probably most importantly,
is that God did not
choose Paul
to end slavery.
Fighting to end slavery
would be a noble task,
but God called Paul
to preach the gospel.
He called him
to bring the good news
of salvation to Gentiles,
right,
to start churches,
to preach the word of God,
to make disciples,
to encourage Christians
to live for the glory of Christ.
That's why he wrote
this book for us.
That's what Paul's mission was.
It wasn't to end slavery.
It's also helpful
to keep in mind
that as Christianity grows,
slavery doesn't find
its place.
As people grow
in their knowledge of Christ
and how they should live
for Christ,
it starts to become obvious
that slavery has no place.
So,
and we could also see
that from Ephesus
is as Christianity grew,
the rights of slaves
and how they were treated
also improved,
even to the point
where they were able
to buy their own freedom
and to own businesses
so they were no longer
slaves anymore.
So,
Paul's speaking to slaves
in his time.
He's also talking to us
in our time.
So,
you might be thinking,
well,
I'm not a slave.
That doesn't seem to apply.
And that's true.
We're not.
But the work ethic
that Paul is laying out here
is the same work ethic
that applies to us,
right?
We get paid by someone
because we do work
for someone.
Yesterday,
I was thankful
to be able
to go to
a hair-cuttering place
and get my hair cut.
it was looking pretty bad
and I was thankful
for someone to do that
because I can't do it myself.
But for a time,
I paid the lady money
and she became a servant
to me in the area
of cutting my hair.
And that's normal.
That happens
all throughout life.
God calls us to work,
whether it be at home
or outside.
And while working
for someone,
we come under
their leadership.
We become under
their ownership
for a time
and we do that
with godly obedience.
Why?
Because regardless
of whoever we work for,
whoever the person
or company that we work for,
whoever signs our checks
that gives us the money,
ultimately,
we're working for God,
not just that person.
That's just the first layer
of that.
So as we look
at these verses,
notice the number of times
that our working
is connected back to God.
Verse 5,
obey your earthly masters
as you would Christ.
Verse 6,
as bondservants of Christ,
doing the will of God
from the heart.
Verse 7,
rendering service
with a good will
as to the Lord.
Verse 8,
whatever good anyone does,
this he will receive
back from the Lord.
As we work
and fulfill
our earthly obligations,
it's actually a service
we're doing for the Lord.
This is what he calls,
this is a good
and right thing to do.
Verse 5,
obey your earthly parents
with fear
or your earthly masters
with fear and trembling
with a sincere heart
as you would Christ.
We are to work
for employers.
We do our job
as if we're doing them
for Christ himself
because he's called us
to that job.
And while there's nothing wrong
with getting praise
for doing something,
that isn't what we want
to be working for,
right?
We want to be,
we don't want that
to be the driving force
behind what we're working for.
That should be
to please Christ
in our work.
He's the one
that saved us.
He's the one
that's placed us
in that job.
He's the one
that we're working for.
So in verse 6,
not by way of eye service
as people pleasers,
but as bondservants
of Christ
doing the will of God.
Don't work for the purpose
of looking good
to please people,
to get personal recognition.
We work out of a desire
to please Christ.
If we work for making
ourselves look good,
what happens is
we get pulled into
a number of sins
that pull us away
from God.
So if we think about
working for yourself,
you start to pull in pride
and self-centeredness.
Could be deceit.
Could be lying
as you try to get your way
in the workplace
and make yourself look good
maybe when you messed up
and you don't want
to get blamed.
Those should not be
characteristics of how
we work for the Lord.
But if we're working
for the purpose
of pleasing Christ,
it helps us avoid
those things
because we put on traits
like kindness to others
and thoughtfulness,
honesty, integrity.
Those things should describe
how we work
and by working that way,
we avoid the sins
that will pull us away
from being a child of Christ.
I think of an example
of particle board.
Does everybody know
what particle board is?
If you've bought
nice wood-looking furniture
for a fairly cheap price,
it's probably made
of particle board.
wood chips,
shaving stuff
that they've pulled together
and they put some glue,
some adhesive to it
and they heat it
and squish it together
and put it in the shape
that they want.
And it's strong.
They can make it look like wood,
but it's not wood.
If you ever chip
the corner of your furniture,
it doesn't chip like wood does.
It starts to look bad
and come apart.
And I think the biggest thing
is if it gets a little bit wet,
you might as well
throw it away.
You know,
I could leave
a nice piece of wood
out in the rain,
bring it in,
and wipe it off.
It'd be okay.
If I did that
with particle board,
I might as well
just take it to the dump.
It's just going to start
to fall apart
and it'll be useless.
This is the same
with our working for Christ.
It should be something
we're doing from the heart
and not just for the outside
so that we look good.
And this thought
continues on into verse 7
as it says,
rendering service
with a goodwill
as to the Lord
and not to man.
If we were to reword that,
change the words
a little bit of that verse,
it would be obeying
or being devoted to
with kindness
and enthusiasm
as to the Lord
and not to man.
So we are to be obeying
and we are to be devoted
to our job
and doing it
in a Christ-like way,
in an enthusiastic way
because we're doing it
not to man
but to the Lord.
And then in verse 8,
knowing that whatever good
anyone does,
this he will receive
back from the Lord,
whether he is a bondservant
or he is free.
We should serve
with good actions
coming from a good heart.
Those who bless others
will be blessed
by the Lord.
Colossians 3.24 says,
knowing that from the Lord
you will receive
the inheritance
as your reward.
You are serving
the Lord Christ.
So Christian workers
are to demonstrate
by their example
what love and submission
according to God
looks like.
And that's really the theme
that I'm trying to press
in each one of these areas.
It's how we demonstrate
what God calls us to
in the areas of love
and submission
and what that means.
The next section
starting in verse 9
is about masters.
Christians
at that time
who had slaves
like Philemon
he owned a slave.
They were charged
to treat their servants
or they're charged
to treat their servants
different than
how the rest of society
treated them.
They weren't called
to be overbearing
and violent
or mean
or fill in the blank.
I'm sure there was
a lot of things
that were just done
overboard
in the area
of slaves
and ownership
or slave and ownership.
But here in this case
in this passage
Paul is calling them
to act differently.
Stop threatening them.
He's telling them
to treat them
just like they were told
to treat their masters.
So the same principles
that we just talked about
with fear and trembling
serve them
with a sincere heart
not with eye service
with a good will
as to the Lord
not to man
knowing that whatever
good anyone does
he will receive
from the Lord.
Do all these things
just like I'm calling
them to do to you.
Oh and add to that
knock off your threatening
because it's not
Christ honoring.
And remember
that God is no
respecter of persons
so if you think
that you're going
to come and say
well he's my slave
I'm his master
I can do that.
Paul says no
God is an impartial judge.
So it doesn't matter
if you're a slave
or a master
if you're a worker
or a boss
a male or female
poor or rich
it doesn't make
any difference
in the eyes of God.
He rules over them
equally
and he requires
of them
the same obedience.
So by their example
masters
or in our case
employers
or owners
of companies
they can demonstrate
how God
our master
in heaven
rules over us
and that is with
patience
and forgiveness.
So if you're
a Christian
master
if you're a Christian
owner
or manager
and there's people
that are under you
you're called
to treat them
the same way.
So
what's the point
of all that?
In case you missed
some of it
in case it still
didn't like
okay that's great
all that sounds good
but what do I do
with it?
What's the point
of that passage?
What's the point
of our passage
last week
when we were
talking about marriage?
How does it fit
into Ephesians?
Again Ephesians
is about
our identity
in Christ
who we are
in Christ
our identity
in everything else
is going to fail
our identity
in our job
in our kids
in our workplace
in our money
all that is going
to fail at some point
so if you have
your identity
in there
then it's going
to let you down
at some point
if your identity
is in Christ
that will last forever
so Ephesians
is about that
our identity
in Christ
as part of that
identity
God has a plan
for each one of us
whether it's a husband
or wife
whether it's a child
whether it's an employer
or a worker
you have a job
given to you
by Christ
and that fits
into his framework
of submission
and love
that's how this
is practical
that's how this
means anything
to us
because we each
have a job
that fits
into this framework
it starts with
God at the top
God and Christ
the one who died
for us
who died
for his church
and then from there
we see love
and submission
come down
and it falls
into the church
it falls
into your workplace
it falls
into your family
and if we
fight against that
we find that life
gets very difficult
life won't
match up
with God's plan
because it's outside
of God's plan
it's outside
of that framework
so we love
one another
as Christ
loved us
and we submit
to one another
according to
the authority
and the order
that God
is laying out
for us
and that we do
for his glory
we do that
for his glory
we do that
for our good
thank you
let me close
in a word
of prayer
and then we'll
have some
prayer time
Lord we thank you
for Ephesians
we thank you
for identity
in Christ
that we can have
that matches
nothing else
we thank you
for a hope
that we can have
that nothing else
can touch
we thank you
for a God
who loves us
like no one
else can love us
Lord we ask
that you would
help us
to take
these commands
to heart
not as
heavy commands
that we have
to do them
but commands
that are given
to us
out of love
to make
our life
better
to make
our life
more in tune
to what you
have for us
to make
us more
Christ-like
that we would
reflect your glory
Lord we ask
for your help
in these things
and we ask
for these things
in Jesus' name
Amen