Ephesians 6:5-9

Order of Service

• Sunday School Lesson — Ephesians 6:5-9
• Prayer of Dismissal

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Sermon Title: Slaves, Masters, and the Heavenly Lord — Principles for Work and Labor

Scripture: Ephesians 6:5-9

I. Historical Background on Slavery in the Roman Empire

A. Slavery was universal in the Roman Empire — estimated 60 million slaves, roughly half the population B. Slaves were not merely manual laborers; they served as teachers, administrators, and doctors C. Slaves could be acquired through conquest, purchase, inheritance, indentured servitude, or as prisoners of war D. Paul elevates the status of slaves as persons of worth, including them as members of the church community E. Paul neither condemns nor condones slavery as an institution, unlike his biblical grounding of marriage (Genesis) and parental authority (the fifth commandment)

II. Paul's Instructions to Slaves — Applied to Employees (vv. 5–8)

A. Christ is mentioned in all four verses addressed to slaves — the entire instruction is Christ-centered B. The phrase Earthly Masters (or "masters according to the flesh") signals that human masters have authority only over the body, not the soul — God alone is master of the conscience C. Four principles for exemplary work:

1. Obey with fear and trembling — not cowering servitude, but reverence and respect toward an employer (Ephesians 6:5)
2. Serve with a sincere heart — the Greek word (haplotes) means generous and liberal; give honest, wholehearted effort with no ulterior motives (Ephesians 6:5)
3. Not by way of eye-service as people-pleasers — work as unto Christ whether or not the employer is watching (Ephesians 6:6)
4. Serve cheerfully and willingly — render service with a good will, doing the will of God from the heart (Ephesians 6:7) D. Encouragement: no good work goes unnoticed — the Lord will reward whatever good is done, whether slave or free (Ephesians 6:8)

III. Paul's Instructions to Masters — Applied to Employers (v. 9)

A. Three principles for employers:

1. Do the same to them — the Golden Rule; give the respect and service you wish to receive (Ephesians 6:9)
2. Stop your threatening — do not misuse authority; motivate through encouragement, not intimidation or fear (parallel to parents not exasperating children)
3. Remember the impartial Heavenly Master — both employer and employee answer to the same Lord; there is no partiality with God (Ephesians 6:9) B. Illustration from R.C. Sproul's Search for Dignity: the hospital worker whose presence was ignored ("dropping his head") — a reminder that acknowledging the dignity of every person reflects godly leadership

IV. Why Did Paul Not Call for the Abolition of Slavery?

A. Christians were politically powerless and their religion was illegal in the Empire B. Emancipation was already gradually increasing — estimated 500,000 slaves freed between 81 BC and 49 AD; see 1 Corinthians 7:21 C. Humanitarian reforms were occurring within Roman law — slaves could own property and marry D. The church's long failure to actively oppose slavery remains a historical indictment; John Calvin called slavery "totally against all the order of nature"

V. Three Ways the Gospel Undermined Slavery

A. Equality — before God, slave and master stood equal; the same Lord, the same impartial judge (Ephesians 6:9); see also Colossians 4:1 B. Justice — Paul's call for fair and just treatment implied that slaves had rights; duties of one party become the rights of the other — a principle with direct application to modern labor relations (Colossians 4:1) C. Brotherhood — the most revolutionary concept; Paul urges Philemon to receive Onesimus back "no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother" (Philemon 16)

1. Galatians 3:26–28 — neither slave nor free, all one in Christ Jesus
2. Colossians 3:11 — there is not slave or free; Christ is all and in all
3. This truth — that master and slave were brothers in Christ — ultimately eroded the institution of slavery over time