Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Slaves, 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 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 slave or free. Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.The issue here in Ephesians 6:1-9, is submission. Paul has just laid out the orders for husbands and wives; and now turns to children to parents; slaves to masters; masters to slaves; and how parents should deal with their children.
God doesn’t judge on the basis of if you are a slave, child, parent, master, etc. He judges and rewards every faithful person equally. The issue is to be Biblical in everything we do, as if whatever it is (honoring our parents, or raising our kids), is done to and for God Himself and His Glorification. That’s what Paul wants us to get here– that everything we do should be done because we get to serve God, represent Him, and that ultimately our actions will bring Glory to God. I like to think of it by way of challenge: Look at everything God has put me over (family, parents, church, job) as if it were His not mine (because all of it is His, we are just stewards) and look for ways to glorify God in everything I do.
Paul is speaking in regards to the 4th commandment. God uses the 4th Commandment to show us how we fall short of God’s plan and how we cannot always do what is required of us from Scripture. If we examine our lives we must all admit that we have broken the 4th Commandment more times and in more ways than we can imagine. That’s why we need Jesus! Jesus is our Savior! Jesus has come to give us the long life that we can’t earn for ourselves. Notice that Jesus kept the 4th Commandment perfectly for us. Not only did Jesus honor his earthly parents perfectly. Even more, Jesus honored His heavenly Father perfectly.
Jesus obeyed His Father and went to the cross to suffer and die for all our sins – including our failure to keep the 4th Commandment. If you struggle with guilt because of times you did not honor your parents; if you are burdened with guilt because you have not been the perfect mother or father, you can come to Jesus and know that you are forgiven and holy before God.
This same Jesus who forgives you and covers you with His own perfection, this same Jesus will give you a new heart that longs to keep the 4th Commandment. In fact, that’s what Paul means when he tells children to obey their parents “in the Lord.” Paul knows that we can’t obey the 4th Commandment no matter how hard we try. Only Jesus who forgives us and loves us can help us to begin to obey this Commandment. So, confess your sins to God and know that He forgives you. Jesus will help you to honor your parents.
As God’s mercy and love moves us to obey the 4th Commandment, we will have peace in our homes and, in turn, we will be a blessing to our communities. But even more, we can look forward to a long, eternal life with our True Father in heaven who serves us now through the authorities He has placed over us.
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