Lessons #257 and 258
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual exposition not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GWT = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Slave-Master responsibilities: Slaves (Eph 6:5-9)
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. 9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
It is the instruction of the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul that slaves should obey their human masters. However, there is more to the concept of obeying someone in that there is a right way or a wrong way with respect to obedience. We are saying that there is a correct attitude or a wrong attitude when it comes to the matter of obedience. This we can understand from the instruction given to the Israelites with respect to obeying God. The Israelites were expected to give a whole-hearted obedience to the Lord, as we read in Deuteronomy 30:2:
and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today,
The Holy Spirit through Moses did not merely convey to Israel to obey the Lord their God but He added the phrase with all your heart and with all your soul. This phrase should be understood as conveying that Israel’s obedience should be “whole-heartedly” or that their obedience should involve their whole mind and being. If there is no right or wrong attitude with respect to obedience, it will be unnecessary for the phrase with all your heart and with all your soul to be added following the instruction that required obedience. But because our phrase was added then we should recognize that there is a right or wrong attitude with respect to obedience. It is because of this truth that the Holy Spirit directed the apostle to add additional comment with respect to the instruction given to slaves about obeying their human masters.
The additional comment of the apostle regarding the topic of obedience is concerned with the manner or the attending circumstances that define the correct obedience required of those who are Christian slaves with respect to the earthly masters. In effect, through the additional comment that we are about to consider, the apostle laid out a general principle that concerns correct obedience that is approved of God. This principle is that correct obedience involves proper attitude and right state of the soul. Therefore, the Holy Spirit through the apostle laid down for us two tests that should enable us to evaluate the kind of obedience we display towards those in authority over us, that is, whether the obedience we claim to have been involved with is indeed correct as approved by God.
The proper attitude for the right kind of obedience that should be present with anyone who obeys an authority is that of profound respect although in our context, the focus is on the attitude of Christian slaves with respect to their earthly masters but the attitude should apply to anyone who obeys one in authority. This attitude of profound respect is conveyed in the phrase with respect and fear of Ephesians 6:5 that is literally with fear and trembling as reflected in majority of our English versions. The literal translation or that reflected in majority of our English versions implies that there are two attitudes of fear and trembling that are required for the right kind of obedience as approved by God. However, it seems the apostle is concerned with one attitude of profound respect of the slaves with respect to their earthly masters. We mean that the phrase with respect and fear or literally with fear and trembling involves a hendiadys (the expression of a single idea by two words connected with “and”) where the single idea in the phrase we are considering is respect that is modified by the word “trembling.” There are two ways to substantiate our assertion. First, the apostle used two Greek words that have overlapping meaning as we will note later. Second, the apostle used a Greek conjunction (kai) that is often translated “and” but it can also be used to indicate a hendiadys. Anyway, we need to examine the two Greek words that contain overlapping meaning.
The word “respect” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (phobos) that may mean “fear” as referring to that which intimidates someone or that which causes terror, as the apostle used the word to describe governmental authority in Romans 13:3:
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.
The Greek word can refer to a state of severe distress or a feeling of anxiety, aroused by intense concern for impending pain, danger or evil. This is how the apostle used the word in describing the state of apprehension he and his team had when they came to Macedonia in 2 Corinthians 7:5:
For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within.
The word may mean “fear” in the sense of reverence shown to God or respect shown to a person. It is in the sense of reverence for God the apostle used the word in Ephesians 5:21:
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
However, it is in the sense of respect for humans that the apostle used the word in Romans 13:7:
Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Thus, our Greek word has a range of meanings with the basic sense of “fear.” In our context, the sense of the word is a feeling of profound respect for someone. This is probably the reason the translators of the NIV used the word “respect” instead of “fear” that is used in majority of our English versions.
The word “fear” of the NIV in the phrase with respect and fear of Ephesians 6:5 is translated from a Greek word (tromos) that means “trembling, quivering” from fear. The Apostle Paul used the word four times out of the five occurrences of the word in the Greek NT. In each of his usage of the word, it is in connection with the word “fear.” He used it to describe his state when he arrived in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 2:3:
I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
He used the word to describe the manner in which the Corinthians received Titus when he sent him to them in 2 Corinthians 7:15:
And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling.
He used it in his instruction to the Philippians to work out their deliverance from sin in their daily life and everything that will hamper them from enjoying fully their salvation in this life in Philippians 2:12:
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
The other usage of the Greek word is in our passage of Ephesians 6:5 where the translators of the NIV either used the meaning “fear” or “respect” in their translation of our Greek word. Regardless of how they used the word in our passage, one thing is certain, which is that the Greek word involved an element of fear that leads to trembling. Because of this meaning, we are correct in stating that the two Greek words used in the phrase with respect and fear has an overlapping meaning, which is fear.
Our consideration of the two Greek words translated “respect” and “fear” in the NIV of Ephesians 6:5 indicates that the apostle had one idea in his mind, that of respect. But this respect involves trembling or fear. Therefore, it is fitting to consider the phrase with respect and fear of the NIV or the literal with fear and trembling as referring to one concept of profound respect. This interpretation seems to be that conveyed in three English versions. The NJB rendered the literal phrase with fear and trembling as with deep respect, the CEV as with great respect and the GWT as with proper respect. The point is that it is one concept of profound respect that the apostle indicates is an important attitude that should characterize obedience for it to be considered the right kind of obedience that God approves. So, the apostle’s instruction to slaves who are Christians is that they should obey their human masters with a profound sense of respect for them. In the same vein, we are to have profound respect to any authority figure we obey if our obedience is to be correct and one that is approved of God. The fear that should accompany this respect is not so much the fear of punishment from humans as it is the fear of God’s punishment as implied later in verse 6 where the slave who is a Christian is instructed against eye service. In any event, we have considered the proper attitude of respect that is involved in the general principle that concerns correct obedience that God approves; so’ we proceed to consider the second thing that makes obedience proper and correct before God.
The second element of correct obedience or obedience that God approves is the right state of the soul. This right state of the soul is genuineness in which there is no pretense on the part of the one who obeys. We are saying that obedience that is approved by God is one in which there is no pretense on the part of the one who obeys. The individual’s obedience is genuine. It is this genuineness that is described in the phrase and with sincerity of heart of Ephesians 6:5. We use the word “genuineness” to capture the state described in our phrase first because of the word “sincerity,” is translated from a Greek word (haplotēs) that some have given the meaning “generosity” as the word is used in 2 Corinthians 9:11:
You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Although the word is rendered “generosity” here in 2 Corinthians, the stand Greek English lexicon of BDAG suggests that the meaning in this passage is that of “simple goodness,” which gives itself without reserve, without strings attached, or without hidden agendas. That aside, the Greek word has the meaning of “simplicity, sincerity, uprightness, frankness.” The meaning “sincerity” is that adopted by the translators of the NIV in their translation of the Greek word in 2 Corinthians 11:3:
But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
The phrase your sincere is literally the sincerity. The Authorized Version used the meaning “simplicity” in this passage but perhaps the meaning in this passage is “singleness of purpose” or “total.” In Ephesians 6:5, the meaning is “sincerity” in the sense of being honest and straightforward in attitude, that is, without any pretense. Another factor that led us to use the word “genuineness” to capture the phrase and with sincerity of heart of Ephesians 6:5 is the word “heart.” The word “heart” in the NT is never a reference to the human organ that is responsible for circulating blood throughout the body. No! It is used to describe the inner self of a person. In our passage, it is used in the sense of “disposition” that includes moods and attitude of a person with respect to the matter of obedience. Thus, the phrase with sincerity of heart we are considering is concerned with genuineness in which the obedience is free from any pretended attitude of obeying a master since it is possible for a slave to obey his master as an outward demonstration that hides the improper motivation of the such a person as the instruction of verse 6 reveals. The point is that the kind of obedience that God approves requires that the one who obeys do it genuinely and not grudgingly. In effect, there should be no pretense in obedience. A person should genuinely obey the authority in view without pretending to do so when inwardly there is resentment of the authority in question.
We have considered the manner or the attending circumstances that define the correct obedience required of those who are slaves with respect to their human masters. However, there is more to the topic of obedience of slaves with respect to the human masters that the Holy Spirit gave through the apostle. It is concerned with the standard that should govern the obedience of slaves who are Christians with respect to their human masters. It may not be that obvious that the apostle stated the standard that should govern the topic of obedience of the Christian slaves with respect to their human masters in the passage we are considering because of the manner in which the translators of the NIV rendered the first instruction of Ephesians 6:6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you. The word “obey” as used here does not appear in the Greek text but it is a carryover from verse 5 where the word appears so that the translators of the NIV repeat it since verse 6 is still concerned with the subject of obedience of the Christian slaves. Anyhow, the way this reads in the NIV makes it difficult to accept the point we have made, which is, that the Holy Spirit through the apostle gave us the standard that should govern the obedience of Christian slaves with respect to their human masters. To understand how we derive the point we have made, we need to consider the literal reading of the instruction from the Greek which is not according to eye service as men pleasers.
The literal translation we gave reveals the Greek used a preposition that is not directly translated by majority of our English versions although it seems that the English translations that are more literal, such as the NASB and the ESV, handled the Greek preposition by using the phrase by the way in their translation. The Greek preposition (kata) the apostle used is subject to various interpretations. The preposition may be used in a temporal sense in which case it may be translated “when.” This meaning appears to be the one adopted by such English versions as the TEV and NJB because they began the instruction of verse 6 with the phrase not only when. The preposition may be translated “with” to indicate the peculiarity or characteristic of a thing. It is this meaning that is reflected in the Authorized version that begins the verse with the phrase not with. These interpretations are possible and may well be included in the apostle’s overall thinking when he used the preposition. This notwithstanding, it seems that the apostle used the Greek preposition with the meaning of “according to” to indicate norm or standard that should govern obedience displayed by Christian slaves since the same preposition is used by the apostle in verse 5 to define the master of the slaves he had in mind as humans. So, the apostle having given the manner of this obedience, would be more likely concerned with the standard to be followed as the slave goes about with his obedience to his human master, especially since what he stated in verse 6 fits well to the norm or standard of operation of those slaves who do not have a true relationship with God through Christ. This standard or customary way of functioning of Christian slaves is also applicable to those who serve others in any capacity that does not involve slavery. In other words, those who work for others are prone to follow the norm or standard of unbelievers the apostle does not want believers who are slave to adhere. Anyway, it is because of this meaning of the Greek preposition that we stated the point that the Holy Spirit through the apostle gave us in this passage of Ephesians 6:6 the standard that should govern the obedience of Christian slaves with respect to their human masters.
The standard or norm that should govern the obedience of Christian slaves and their work is given first negatively in the verbal phrase only to win their favor when their eye is on you of Ephesians 6:6 or more literally not according to eye service as men pleasers. The phrase as given in the NIV is interpretative although a good one; nonetheless, we will use the literal translation in order to convey the truths we seek to advance based on the phrase. The literal translation reveals that the apostle’s use of the negative implies he recognized that what he forbids here is that which is prevalent in the world among those who do not know the true God. Those who do not know the true God are individuals that can be described as involved in eye service, that is, that such individuals perform their service in order to make an impression in the presence of the owner since eye service refers to that service performed to impress others. This standard of operation is common in the world today, especially in the workplace. People work very hard when their supervisors or the owner of the business is around so that the owner thinks that that is the case with the particular worker when that is not. Eye service is an indication of lack of respect or fear of God or it is a sign that one does not truly believe in God as he or she claims. This is because if a person believes that God is omnipresent and that he or she is accountable to Him then the individual would work hard all the time not because of a human supervisor but because of the Supreme Supervisor, God, who sees everything done in secret; the God who conveys in a question form that there is nothing beyond His perception, as given through Prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 23:24:
Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.
The God of reality is the One that will bring into judgment every act done in secret since He will reward each person according to what he or she has done, as stated in Psalm 62:12:
and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.
A person who believes that God sees everything and that He will judge everything cannot afford to be involved in eye service. Thus, eye service is an indicator of what one believes about God. Unbelievers do not believe in God, so they are not concerned with Him instead they are concerned with those, in their estimation, have power of promotion or reward in their workplace. A believer who knows that promotion comes from the Lord will not be involved in eye service but will work hard to please not the boss but God. Anyway, the point we need to stress is that the concept of eye service is one that determines the reality of what one believes about God. A person who believes in the reality of God should not be involved in eye service since those involved in such are generally those who do not believe in the God who is omnipresent and who rewards people according to their deeds.
It is our emphasis that those who are engaged in eye service do not really know the true God. This point is evident in the comparison the apostle made with respect to those involved in eye service. The apostle described them in the literal Greek as men pleasers. The expression “men pleasers” of the literal translation is rendered from a Greek word (anthrōpareskos) that refers to anyone who tries to please men and not God. Those who seek to please men but not God do so because they do not know God. They are more concerned with human power than they are of divine. Therefore, they do everything to impress human authority over them instead of God. These individuals do so because they are ignorant of the power of God. Hence, it is not fitting for a believer to be like such individuals. It is for this reason that the apostle wrote in a literal translation of the first part of Ephesians 6:6 not according to eye service as men pleasers. The point we want to impress upon you is that whenever you get involved in eye service or become someone that impresses others and not the Lord, you have acted like an unbeliever. This being the case, the believer should strive to do his or her best at work or in obeying those in authority because believers are commanded to do everything to the glory of the Lord, as we read, for example, in Colossians 3:17:
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
So far, we have considered the standard that should govern obedience of a Christian slave or a Christian who works for someone else or serves someone else in a given capacity but that was given negatively in the sense of avoidance of eye service and being involved in impressing humans instead of the Lord. However, there is a positive standard that is expected of believers. Our use of the term “positive” is due primarily to the fact that the standard that we are about to consider is introduced with the word but that begins the next phrase of Ephesians 6:6 like slaves of Christ. Its use here is to convey a contrast between what was given previously and what follows. If the preceding standard is given negatively but we have a marker of contrast before the next standard, then it follows that the standard given next is to be understood as a positive one in order to contrast between the one that precedes it. This standard is one that requires acknowledgement of the Lord. Therefore, the standard of obedience or service is the Lord. In other words, the Christian slave or Christian employee should do his or her work as to the Lord or as one who serves the Lord Jesus Christ. It is this standard that is given in the next expression of Ephesians 6:6 but like slaves of Christ.
Perspective a person takes with respect to any subject is an important factor that affects the individual’s conduct. Put in another way, it is a person’s attitude towards a particular subject that determines the individual’s conduct. It is this truth that is given in the phrase like slaves of Christ. The Holy Spirit tells a Christian slave to have a different perspective of his condition with respect to his earthly master different from that of an unbeliever counterpart. This means that a Christian slave although belongs to a human master but should view himself not in the negative sense of belonging to a human being instead in a positive sense of belonging to Christ as it is really a high privilege to be known as Christ’s slave. It is because of the high privilege of being a slave of Christ Jesus that the apostle severally described himself as a slave of Jesus Christ. Take for example, his description of himself in Romans 1:1:
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—
The phrase a servant of Christ Jesus is literally from the Greek a slave of Christ Jesus. It is because the word “slave” has a negative connation that the Greek word that means slave is often translated “servant” in our English versions. However, there is a difference between a slave and a servant. A servant is one who works for another for a fixed salary but a slave is one who works for another that totally supports the person without putting the individual on a fixed salary. A slave may be in a better position than a servant depending on the character of the master. Take for example, if a person who works for another is on a fixed salary then there is the possibility that the salary may not be enough for the individual’s support in contrast to the slave who is totally supported by the master in the sense that all his needs are met by the master. When Jesus Christ is the master then it is a high privilege to be His slave because of His total support of the one that is His slave. So, you can understand the apostle’s reason for calling himself a slave of Christ Jesus not His servant as though he was on a fixed income from Him. Of course, it is also possible that the apostle described himself as servant in keeping with the description given to the prophets in the OT.
We digressed to explain the importance of the word “slave” because we stated that it is a high privilege to be known as the slave of Jesus Christ. Nonetheless, the point we are stressing concerns perspective one has that affects the individual’s conduct. The perspective the Christian slave should have is that although he is a slave to a human being but ultimately, he is a slave that belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is similar to the instruction of the Holy Spirit through the apostle to slaves in Corinth who are Christians as to how they should view themselves. They are to view themselves as free in the Lord Jesus Christ, as we read in 1 Corinthians 7:22:
For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.
Anyway, the truth we seek to emphasize from the phrase like slaves of Christ of Ephesians 6:6 is that the perspective a person has with respect to any subject determines the individual’s conduct. Let me illustrate this point with the employee and employer relationship. If an employee considers his or her job beneficial only to the employer that will affect the effort the employee puts towards his/her job. In effect, if as some employees think that their hard work is only to enrich their employers then such employees do not put in their best effort towards their job. However, if such employees recognize that it is to their benefits that the company they work for continues to function so that they would have continuous employment then they would put their best effort because of self-interest. Hence, you see that perspective of the employees affects their performance at their job, proving the point that the perspective a person has towards a given subject affects the individual’s conduct. In our passage, the Holy Spirit wants Christian slaves to take the perspective that they are slaves who belong to Christ and not merely to human masters.
Why should Christian slaves take the perspective that they are Christ’s slaves or belong to Him? There are three reasons the Holy Spirit provided in the passage we are considering. A first reason a Christian slave should view himself as a slave that belongs to Christ instead of human master is because a slave of Christ Jesus is expected to carry out His instructions without any mental reservation or without questioning Him. It is this reason that is given in the last verbal phrase of Ephesians 6:6 doing the will of God from your heart. This verbal phrase is subject to at least three possible interpretations because of the word “doing” is translated from a Greek participle. But before we get to this, let us pay attention to the phrase the will of God. In a general sense, it refers to that which God wishes to bring about by the activity of believers to whom He assigned a given task. For example, what God wishes to take place among believers is that there will be no sexual immorality among us, as the Holy Spirit states through the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:3:
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;
Another example of the task God assigned believers is that of being thankful in all circumstances of life, as given in 1 Thessalonians 5:18:
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
In our context of Ephesians 6:6, the phrase the will of God has a specific reference to the command of obedience required of slaves to their human masters. We say this because of the use of the definite article in front of the word “will” is a way to refer to something that is already mentioned in the text rather merely distinguishing between what man wants from what God wants. The context has been concerned with the theme of obedience to authority which is certainly God’s will, as expressed throughout the Scripture. The apostle has been describing the various individuals that are expected to obey the ones so specified in the context; for example, slaves with respect to their masters. Hence, it makes sense that God’s will here has a specific reference to obedience to God’s instruction, which in this context concerns obedience to human masters by their slaves. Our point is that the phrase the will of God refers to the instruction to obey the stipulated authority. With this, we return to our concern with the interpretation of the verbal phrase doing the will of God from your heart.
It is our assertion that verbal phrase doing the will of God from your heart is subject to at least three possible interpretations because of the word “doing” is translated from a Greek participle. It could be understood to mean that a Christian slave obeys his master as the slave of Christ when he carries out his master’s instruction without questioning him since an individual is indeed a slave of Christ Jesus only while the person does the will of God. Another interpretation is that a Christian slave could be understood as obeying his human master as a slave of Christ Jesus because a slave of Jesus Christ does the will of God. Still another interpretation is that a Christian slave obeys his human master as a slave that belongs to Christ Jesus by doing what his master requires since an individual proves to be a slave of Jesus Christ by doing the will of God. Which of these interpretations is intended? Truly, the three interpretations make sense in the context and may all well be what the Holy Spirit intended for us to understand but because the command for slaves to obey their master is given in the present tense and the participle is also in the present tense, it is probably that the Holy Spirit through the apostle wants us to focus on the first interpretation that indicates a slave obeys his master as a slave of Christ Jesus when he does what his human master requires of him without questioning him. In effect, a Christian slave demonstrates that he has the perspective that he is a slave of Jesus Christ when he obeys his human master without any mental reservation or without questioning him.
The concept of a slave obeying his human master as a slave who belongs to Christ without mental reservation or without questioning him is given in the phrase from your heart. Literally, the Greek reads from (the) soul. This is because the word “heart” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (psychē) that may mean “soul” as that which possesses life. This is the sense of the use of the word in 1 Corinthians 15:45:
So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
The phrase a living being is literally a living soul as reflected in the NASB. Our word may mean “inner life, heart, mind” as the seat and center of the inner human life in terms of thinking, willing, and feeling. The word is translated “mind” in the NIV in the description of the state of cooperation between believers in the early church in Acts 4:32:
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
It is in the sense of the seat and center of the inner life that the word is used in Ephesians 6:6. Thus, the phrase from your heart refers to the involvement of the whole person or the inner life without any reservation. It can also mean “gladly.” This means that the obedience expected of the slave should be without any mental reservation or should be wholeheartedly as this will correspond to the requirement of being genuine in obedience that is given in Ephesians 6:5 in the phrase with sincerity of heart. In any event, a first reason a Christian slave should view himself as a slave that belongs to Christ instead of human master is because a slave of Christ Jesus is expected to carry out His instructions without any mental reservation or without questioning the Lord.
A second reason a Christian slave should view himself as a slave that belongs to Christ instead of human master is because a slave of Christ Jesus is expected to serve Him with eagerness. This reason is given in first part of Ephesians 6:7 that reads in the NIV as Serve wholeheartedly. The way it reads in the NIV implies that this has nothing to do with reason for a Christian slave to view himself as belonging to Christ instead of human master and so is expected to serve his master with eagerness. To understand that the first part of the verse is concerned with reason as we have stated, we need to consider the literal Greek reading which is with goodwill/eagerness serving. This is because first the word “serve” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (douleuō) that may mean “to be a slave, to be subjected” as it is used by Stephen in his sermon when he referred to the slavery of Israel in Egypt as prophetically given to Abraham, according to Acts 7:7:
But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’
Another meaning of the word is to act or conduct oneself as one in total service to another hence “to perform the duties of a slave, serve, obey.” The service rendered does not necessarily mean that a person is a slave. That this is the case is evident in the complaint of the older brother of the so called prodigal son in Luke 15:29:
But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.
The word “slaving” does not mean that the older brother was a slave rather it is a way of stating that he had been working hard for the father as a slave would do for his master. In some context, when the word is used it can have both the meaning of to worship and to obey. This is the meaning implied in the apostle’s use of it in describing how the Thessalonians renounced idolatry in favor of the true God in 1 Thessalonians 1:9:
for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
The word “serve” in this passage is equivalent to “to worship” or “to acknowledge” so that since it is used with respect to God, the full sense of the word is “to obey and to worship” Him. Thus, our Greek word has a range of meanings. In our passage of Ephesians 6:7, the sense is that of rendering service that involves obedience.
The real question is how to translate the Greek word in our passage, seeing that the apostle used a participle in the Greek. A Greek participle can be interpreted in many ways and so translated in several ways into the English in relationship with the main assertion of the sentence connected with it. The translators of the NIV and majority of our English versions interpreted the Greek participle as a command hence their translation of serve. The Greek participle could be interpreted to mean that when Christian slaves serve their human masters in the way stated in the passage, they would be functioning as those who are the slaves of the Lord Jesus. Another interpretation is that because Christian slaves serve their human masters in the manner described in the passage they would convey they are indeed slaves of Jesus Christ. Another interpretation is that serving of the human masters by the Christian slaves in the manner specified in the passage is indeed the means of showing that they are slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ. Which of these interpretations did the apostle have in mind? It seems to me that it cannot be the first interpretation that takes the participle as a command. This is because the main assertion of the section that is concerned with the primary responsibility of Christian slaves with respect to their masters is the command obey. Thus, regardless of how the participles that follow is interpreted it has to bear reference to the original command. This being the case, it is unlikely that the apostle is issuing another command to slaves. If anything, he would be explaining the means of obeying human masters or what it means for slaves to obey their earthly masters. Hence, it seems that the apostle probably intended for us to understand the participle as conveying truths that are contained in the three other interpretations that we have given. This means that the apostle intended to convey that when the Christian slaves serve as specified in the passage they demonstrate that they are slaves of Jesus Christ. Because they serve their masters in the manner specified in the passage then they prove they are slaves of Jesus Christ. The manner in which they show that they are slaves of Christ Jesus is to serve their masters in the manner specified in the passage. Of course, the interpretation is based on the understanding that the apostle is making a comparison to what a slave of Christ Jesus is expected to be. In effect, a slave of Jesus Christ is expected to serve Him in the manner specified in the passage. However, if one understands that the governing instruction is that of slaves obeying their master then the serving mentioned in Ephesians 6:7 really explains the means of Christian slaves obeying their human master. In any case, the apostle is concerned with the manner in which a slave of Jesus Christ should obediently serve his human master by obeying the instruction of the Holy Spirit given in the passage we are studying, that is, the instruction for Christian slaves to obey their human masters. What is this manner of obedient service expected of Christian slaves? We will answer the question in our next study.