Ephesians 5:21; 6:5-6

[NOTE: As before, I am repeating my thoughts on 5:21, where Paul calls me to submit in all of the following relationships. First was the marriage relationship; then parent/child; now employee/employer.]

5:21

Submit – yield, give preference to; this does not suggest a lower value on me as the submitter; rather with my full value intact, I choose to give preference to you, to let go of my rights for the sake of yours.

to one another – two-way street. I submit to you; you submit to me. The trick is in submitting without keeping score. If I keep a running tally of who submitted last time, then I’m not really submitting.

out of – as a result of, evidence of, motive

reverence – respect, recognition of worth. Our submitting to each other somehow reflects on Him. Conversely, my pride or clinging to my rights reflects poorly on Him.

for Christ – the Anointed One

6:5

Slaves – Beginning of the third pair of relationships, illustrating what it looks like for believers to practice mutual submission. Slaves: employees of whatever position on the ladder of success

obey – do what I am told, meet the expectations my employer has for an outstanding employee

your – my

earthly masters – as distinct from my heavenly Master. In part, what Paul is leading to is that I should work for this physical, cold-hard-cash employer just as diligently as I would if that were Jesus Christ sitting in that corner office.

with – NIV lists 3 qualities or attitudes that should accompany my obedient service to my earthly master:

respect – honor, deference, give my input but defer to his/her decision, no bad talk or back-talking behind his/her back

and fear – he/she signs my paycheck, has authority to fire me; in the physical sense, my well-being depends on him/her

and with – NIV repeats the preposition ‘with’ presumably because it is in the original. In that case, Paul gives some emphasis to this third attitude:

sincerity of heart – we have all seen our boss walk into a room when we were lazing about. And we suddenly find something to do to look busy while he/she is around. We recognize that as false and Paul says that I as a follower of Christ must not act like that.

just as – comparison, in the same manner as

you would obey – I would seek to exceed the expectations of…

Christ – Promised One, Anointed One. Early in my working career, I heard the admonition that a follower of Christ should save his verbal witnessing for non-work times. When I am on the clock, my best witness comes from diligent, respectful, sincere service to my employer.

6:6

Obey them – Slaves are not the only ones who must obey. In fact, we are all under authority, whether I realize it or not. And most of us have more than one authority to whom we owe obedience and loyalty.

not only to win – avoid ulterior motives

their favor – I find it curious as I review my employment history with this in mind. With no pride or false motives, I can say that loyalty is one of my strongest qualities. So it has never occurred to me to put on a show for my bosses, to try to win their favor. I was loyal; I worked diligently. It made no difference. Some fired me; some wanted me never to leave.

when their eye is on you – I need to apply this to my relationship with Christ. Intellectually, I know that God is always watching. But sometimes I act as if He might not see. But that is becoming increasingly rare. More and more I talk with Him on the trail and in the car. But still I occasionally have a “Romans 7 moment.” Those are becoming rarer and my asking forgiveness is coming more promptly.

but – contrast; instead of the half-hearted service above…

like – in the same manner; or because I am…

slaves – bound, required to do another’s bidding

of Christ – belonging to the Promised, Anointed One

doing the will of God – Paul makes no distinction between obeying God and obeying my earthly master. It appears that he intends for the one to equal the other—obeying my earthly master IS the will of God for me.

from your heart – sincerely, whether being watched or not