Lessons #259 and 260
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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.
We ended our last study with the question: What is the manner of obedient service expected of Christian slaves? Before we get to the answer, let me first deal with our use of the phrase “obedient service.” The reason we use this phrase is because the main instruction of the apostle in the section of Ephesians 6:5-8 is concerned with obedience so that it can be argued that the attitudes described in our passage are to be associated with “obedience.” However, because the concept of eye service is introduced in verse 6 and service in verse 7, it may well be that obedience is evident in service so we use the phrase “obedient service” to indicate that it is obedience as reflected in service that is the concern of the Holy Spirit through the apostle. Secondly, let me refresh your mind that we are considering three reasons the Holy Spirit provided in the passage of Ephesians 6:6-8 as to why Christian slaves should take the perspective they belong to Christ or are His salves instead of merely slaves to humans. 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 or enthusiasm. This second reason indeed gives the answer to the question of the manner of service expected of Christian slaves.
In any case, the answer to the question of the manner of obedient service expected of Christian slaves is that their attitude should be governed by eagerness or enthusiasm that is associated with faithful devotion. It is this answer that is given in the word wholeheartedly of the NIV. It is doubtful that word wholeheartedly is what is intended in Ephesians 6:7 since that conveys the same sense as the phrase with sincerity of heart of Ephesians 6:5; so, what then is it the apostle meant to state in the beginning of Ephesians 6:7? This, we can determine by noting that instead of the word wholeheartedly the Greek reads literally with goodwill/eagerness. This is because first, the verse begins with a Greek preposition (meta) that may be used as a marker of condition or event that occurs at the same time something takes place and so means “with.” For example, the preposition may be used to describe emotion or a prevailing attitude present when something takes place. Thus, the apostle used the Greek preposition translated “with” to describe his humility in serving the Lord while in Asia, as recorded in Acts 20:19:
I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.
He also used the Greek preposition to describe the joy that occurs or results from the ministry of the Holy Spirit with respect to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 1:6:
You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
It is in this sense of marking attitude or mood that accompanies the obedience or service of a Christian slave to his master that is intended in our passage so that the Greek preposition should be translated “with” in Ephesians 6:7, as reflected in many of our English versions.
Another reason the word wholeheartedly of the NIV literally reads with goodwill/eagerness is that the apostle used a Greek word (eunoia) that in secular Greek is a common term in diplomatic documents in reference to positive attitudes displayed by a person, city, or state. It is a word that expresses “benevolent feeling” that does not exclude respect. It has the meaning of “goodwill” in the Septuagint as it is used to describe the action Mordecai displayed to King Xerxes by informing him of those who planned to assassinate him in the second chapter of Esther verse 23 of the Septuagint that reads:
Then the king examined the two eunuchs and hanged them. And the king ordered that a memorial be recorded in the royal library in praise of Mordecai concerning his goodwill.
This reads different from the Hebrew text based on the Masoretic Text as reflected in the NIV where the word “goodwill” does not appear. The word may convey the sense of faithfulness and loyalty, especially, when attachment to someone or friendship is in view. In its use in Ephesians 6:7, the meanings “willingness, good attitude”, “willing mind”, “eagerness”, and “enthusiasms” have been suggested by scholars. But as Spicq and Ernest in their Theological lexicon of the New Testament have argued, the sense in our passage could be that of “devotion” that involves respect and so a call to loyalty and faithfulness. This notwithstanding, it is probably that the apostle was more concerned with the enthusiasm or eagerness with which a Christian slave should serve his master that no doubt will include devotion or faithfulness. With this explanation, we can then assert that the answer to the question of the manner of obedient service expected of Christian slaves is that their attitude should be governed by eagerness or enthusiasm that should be associated with faithful devotion. This does not mean that the slaves should not be controlled with being benevolent towards their masters or having their interest in mind as they serve them but the emphasis is on being enthusiastic as they serve.
The assertion the Holy Spirit through the apostle conveys that Christian slaves should render obedient service to their human masters with eagerness or enthusiasm that should be associated with faithful devotion is indeed correct because of the comparison given in the verse. The obedient service in view is compared to that a believer should render to the Lord Jesus Christ as in the clause as if you were serving the Lord, not men. Although the apostle used the word Lord and not Jesus Christ, it is the Lord Jesus Christ he meant. This is because unless the apostle is quoting from the OT Scriptures, otherwise, whenever he uses the word “Lord” in his epistle he usually means Jesus Christ. Let me elaborate on this point. For sure, the apostle uses the word “Lord” in different senses. However, it is the context that helps us to recognize what he meant. The word “Lord” may be used by the apostle as a reference to God without any qualification as the person of the Godhead in view. Take for example, the apostle used the word “Lord” in 1 Corinthians 1:31:
Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
The word “Lord” here refers to the God of Israel since the apostle actually quoted from Jeremiah 9:23:
This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches,
The word “Lord” is translated from a Hebrew word that refers to the name of God of Israel. In some context, the Apostle Paul used the word “Lord” in such a way that it is not clear whether he means Jesus Christ or God, as in 1 Corinthians 4:19:
But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.
Another example of this usage is in 1 Thessalonians 4:6:
and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.
However, in most usages of the word “Lord” by the apostle in his epistles, he means Jesus Christ. An example of this usage is in 1 Thessalonians 4:15:
According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
There should be no doubt that the apostle refers to Jesus Christ most often when he used the word “Lord.” This is also clear from Paul’s account of those he met when he went to Jerusalem following his conversion in Galatians 1:19:
I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.
Thus, when the apostle uses the word “Lord” in his epistle and the context shows that he was not quoting from the OT then he usually means Jesus Christ. It is for this reason we assert that Lord in the clause as if you were serving the Lord, not men refers to Jesus Christ. That aside, this clause expresses an important governing standard for a Christian’s conduct. A Christian is one who is governed by his or her focus on the Lord Jesus Christ to the point that such an individual is more concerned with the Lord’s approval than that of any human being. A believer who understands the necessity of pleasing the Lord Jesus Christ will focus on Him in all the individual does. Thus, when a believer is focused on the Lord then such an individual will do everything to please Him. The implication with respect to the instruction given to a Christian slave is that when he serves his human master he should not think in terms of his master but of the Lord Jesus Christ as that is what is meant by the phrase not men. In effect, regardless of the attitude of a human being, the believer should carry out his responsibility by recognizing that it is the Lord that he serves although he serves a human being. If you have this understanding, then even when human masters are unfair to the believer, he is focused on the Lord Jesus so that he is not affected by human treatment as he carries out his duty or function. We are saying that a human master may make it difficult for the believer to serve him enthusiastically because of his conduct but if the believer looks beyond him to see the Lord Jesus Christ then that means that he would do the best he can in spite of the master’s conduct. You see, the clause as if you were serving the Lord, not men, states the same principle that a believer should do everything he does in order to bring glory to God and not to himself or to any human. We mean that this clause says essentially the same thing as the apostle stated in 1 Corinthians 10:31:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
In any case, it may not be evident to you that when the apostle wrote the clause as if you were serving the Lord, not men he was in effect, supporting the point that Christian slaves should render obedient service to their human masters with eagerness or enthusiasm that should be associated with faithful devotion. Therefore, to help us see that enthusiasm, among other attitudes, that should characterize the service of Christian slave to his master that is one of the concerns of the apostle, we should recognize that serving of the Lord in a manner He approves requires enthusiasm. The Lord expects those who serve Him to do so with enthusiasm that is to be recognized by joy. Thus, the Lord indicated that a reason for judging His covenant people is their failure to serve Him with joy and gladness when they experienced prosperity, as stated in Deuteronomy 28:47:
Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity,
The Lord is to be served both with fear and rejoicing, as indicated in Psalm 2:11:
Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.
Anyway, the enthusiasm expected in serving the Lord is conveyed by the Holy Spirit through the apostle in Romans 12:11:
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
An alternative translation of this passage that is literal is given in the Lexham English Bible reads not lagging in diligence, being enthusiastic in spirit, serving the Lord. From this reading, we can recognize that enthusiasm is expected of those who serve the Lord. Hence, it should not be surprising we indicated that the clause as if you were serving the Lord, not men is one that conveys the necessity of enthusiasm or eagerness in the service of the Lord.
We have been emphasizing the apostle’s instruction to Christian slaves with respect to their obedient service to their human masters. You may wonder how that applies to you since the institution of slavery no longer applies as such today. In effect, you may wonder how this instruction applies to you since you are not in a slave-master relationship with another individual. In order to apply the instruction to us, we need to remember that the issue is that of service and authority. Hence, the principle conveyed is applicable in any situation where one person renders service to another who has authority over that individual. A good example of this is work place, where a Christian employee has someone who exercises authority over the individual. Under this situation, a Christian employee should carry out his or her duties with enthusiasm or eagerness that is to be associated with faithful devotion to the employer. You should not be governed by the sentiments of your employer or supervisor, especially if they are not conducive to you; instead, you should do your work as if you are working for the Lord Jesus and not to a human being. In any event, 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 or enthusiasm.
A third reason a Christian slave should view himself as a slave that belongs to Christ instead of human master is because Jesus Christ is the One who will reward faithful service or obedient service that is carried out by a Christian slave to his master in keeping with the instruction of the Scripture. This reason is one that should be understood and applied by all believers regarding whatever service they render. In other words, a Christian employee, for example, should work hard or do his or her best not merely because of the expectation of monetary compensation from the employer but the expectation that the Lord Jesus will reward any faithful service performed in deference to Him. It is this reason that is given in Ephesians 6:8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
The clause because you know that the Lord will reward everyone is interpretative, although a very good one, but literally the Greek reads knowing that each whatever good he may do/shall have done, the same he will receive from the Lord. Some of our English versions translate the Greek participle literally using the reading “knowing” so that the reader is left to interpret how the word is related to the passage in which it is used. However, most of our English versions interpreted the Greek participle so that an English reader is led to a direction of interpretation of how the literal word “knowing” is related to the passage in which it is used. Consequently, there are two major approaches interpreters have handled the participle. An approach takes the participle as functioning as a verb that depends on a main verb in the passage we are considering so that the participle is translated because you know as in the NIV or the NET. Another approach takes the participle as functioning as a verb that is independent of any other verb in the passage that it occurs. Those who adopt this approach take the verb in one of two ways. Some take the verb as functioning as an imperative so that they translate it either “remember” as in the TEV or “never forget” as in the NJB. Others take it as a declarative verb. This seems to be the approach adopted by such English versions as the REB since they rendered the participle as “you know.” Grammatically, each of the two approaches is permissible but it does not seem to me that the apostle is making an independent assertion or giving another command in the midst of his major command addressed to Christian slaves of obeying their masters. For this reason, it seems to me that the approach that takes the participle as functioning as a verb that depends on another verb is probably what the apostle had in mind. This approach still presents problem as to what the controlling verb is. Based on the rendering of the NIV, it will seem that the controlling verb is that of “serve” mentioned in the previous verse, that is, verse 7. The implication is that Christian slaves are to serve their masters because of reward. However, the main controlling verb of the passage that deals with the instruction given to Christian slaves is that which has to do with obedience. This being the case, the implication is that the apostle encouraged Christian slaves to obey their human masters because of reward. Nonetheless, because the obedience expected of Christian slaves is linked to obedience to Christ then it is probably the case that the apostle meant to convey to Christian slaves that the reason they are to the view themselves as slaves that belong to Christ as they obey their masters is because of future reward from the Lord.
Regardless of how the Greek participle that literally reads knowing is translated in the English versions, there is the implication of an assumed previous knowledge. There are two reasons for this assertion. First, the Greek uses the perfect tense. A perfect tense is used to described a completed verbal action that occurred in the past but which produced a state of being or a result that exists in the present. Its emphasis in our passage is on the state of knowledge Christian slaves possess. In effect, the apostle implies that there is a state of knowledge Christian slaves possessed as a result of some knowledge acquired in the past. Second, the word “know” of the NIV is translated from a Greek verb (oida) with a range of meanings that would imply previous knowledge. The word can mean “to know” in the sense of having information about someone or something as the apostle used it to describe the information believers should have about the present body and what God has planned for the future of the body of the believer in 2 Corinthians 5:1:
Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
Another meaning of the word is to grasp the meaning of something so means “to understand, to come to know” as the apostle used the word in his apostolic prayer for the Lord to open the spiritual understanding of the Ephesians to grasp the ramifications of their salvation in Ephesians 1:18:
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
Another meaning of the Greek verb is “to remember” or “to recollect.” It is in this sense that the apostle used it as he described not recalling having baptized any other Corinthians besides those he named, as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:16:
(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)
It is this meaning of recollecting that is reflected in the English versions that used the word “remember” in translating our Greek word in our passage of Ephesians 6:8 which no doubt supports the assertion that the apostle assumed a previous knowledge of what he states in the passage. Anyway, the sense of the Greek word in our passage is that of having previous knowledge or information about something.
The knowledge the apostle assumed Christian slaves had already is that of the Lord rewarding good deeds as in the clause of Ephesians 6:8 that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does. Literally the Greek reads that each whatever good he may do/shall have done, the same he will receive from the Lord. This is primarily because the word “reward” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (komizō) that may mean “to receive” as a type of compensation as the Apostle Peter used it to describe the reward the Lord will give to faithful elders of a local church in 1 Peter 5:4:
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
The Greek word may mean “to receive back, to be paid back” as it is used in the pay back that will come to false teachers in 2 Peter 2:13:
They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
The word is used by the Apostle Paul to describe the receiving of a recompense for what believers do in this life in 2 Corinthians 5:10:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
It is in the sense of being paid back that the word is used in Ephesians 6:8. The apostle is certainly concerned with future rewards since in a parallel passage, he defined the reward as inheritance in Colossians 3:24:
since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
There is a sense that Apostle Paul states in Ephesians 6:8 the spiritual law of sowing and reaping, only that his focus was on the good sowing and reaping that which is good for he wrote Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does. Our assertion that this sentence is in a sense one that is concerned with spiritual law of sowing and reaping is more evident if we consider the literal translation that reads that each whatever good he may do/shall have done, the same he will receive from the Lord. The phrase the same refers to the good that a person may do. The sense being that the same good that a person does is what he will be rewarded. This is saying in effect that a person will reap the good he has sown as an eternal reward. It is for this reason we assert that the sentence under consideration is a kind of reference to the spiritual law of sowing and reaping.
The sentence Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does is a general statement of doctrine that we should understand in a broad sense with respect to the concept of doing good. The Holy Spirit gives us the simple doctrine through the apostle that every deed that is considered good will be rewarded by the Lord. Nonetheless, the broad understanding of this doctrine has to do with the word “good.” In effect, we should have a broad understanding of what is meant by “good” in order to know what is to be rewarded. The word “good” is translated from a Greek word (agathos) which when used as a noun may refer to “possession” or “good things” as the word is used in the instruction of the Holy Spirit given to believers with respect to sharing what they have with those who teach them God’s word in Galatians 6:6:
Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
However, the word as an adjective, as in our passage of Ephesians 6:8, has the general meaning of “good.” It can refer to the positive moral qualities of the most general nature, as it is used in the question of the Rich young man in Matthew 19:16:
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
The meaning “good” may refer to generosity, as it is used in Matthew 20:15:
Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
The meaning “good” may pertain to having the proper characteristics or performing the expected function in a fully satisfactory way so that it can mean productive or fertile in case of soil, as it is used in Luke 8:8:
Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
To describe soil as good is to say that it is fertile in the sense that it performs quite satisfactorily the function of producing crop in a manner that is satisfactory. The Greek word as an adjective may mean “right” as in the kind of things that a person who gets involved with has no reason to be afraid of those in authority, as stated 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 word may also mean “useful” as it is used in encouraging believers to work hard in
Ephesians 4:28:
He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
Another meaning of the Greek word is “helpful”, as it is used in Ephesians 4:29:
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Still another meaning of the Greek word is “kind” as is expected of a Christian wife in Titus 2:5:
to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
The range of meanings of the Greek adjective translated “good” reveals that there are several things related to the good that will be reward. Any act of righteousness is a good that will be rewarded. Any deed that is useful or beneficial to others that is done in the name of Christ or because of Christ is a good that will be rewarded. Anything a believer does to the best of his or her ability because of the Lord Jesus Christ will be rewarded. In the context, the apostle implies that obedient service rendered by a Christian slave to his human master will be eternally rewarded. This is a novelty in that the Holy Spirit wants believers to have a more comprehensive view of their activities. As we stated, it is true that a believer who works hard and truly devoted to his or her job may be well compensated by the boss or the employer but such a believer should look forward to being eternally rewarded. You see, there are many Christians who do their best in their various work places but they are not appreciated or recognized by their employers or they are not adequately compensated for their hard work or devotion to their work; this should not discourage the believer. A believer under such situation should derive comfort knowing that the Lord Jesus will eternally reward him or her. This truth is something that is to be known only through the revealed word of God. In effect, humans without divine revelation would not think of their job as that which will be eternally rewarded since most people do not think of their doing a good job in their employment places as part of good work because they are paid. The Holy Spirit says to the believer that although there is earthly compensation but there is an eternal compensation if a believer works or obediently serves in whatever capacity he or she finds himself so long as it is done because of Jesus Christ. This means that everything the believer does under the filling of the Spirit will be eternally rewarded.
Apostle Paul assumed that the Christian slaves already have the knowledge of the truth that the Lord rewards people who do good. This assumption of the apostle is different from the type some of us have when we interact with others in that we assume they know certain facts we know. In effect, it is not uncommon for us to expect others to know what we know although there is no evidence for us to have that expectation except that we assume that because we know something others should have also known the same. This kind of assumption can be harmful in that we expect others to know what we know and so we will not instruct them properly on how something is to be done and leave them to figure out what they should do and often that will result in a person doing a poor job in whatever it is that we expect a person to do. To avoid false assumption, it is important we be certain that a person is taught with regard to the subject matter. The apostle actually assumed the Ephesians knew what he stated since we read in Ephesians 6:8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does.
The sentence you know is one that the apostle uses commonly in his epistles. Sometimes he used it positively, at other times he used it negatively in a question form to convey that he is certain that those to whom he addressed have the knowledge involved. For example, he used the negative format in a question form in his epistle to the Romans in Romans 7:1:
Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?
The apostle used the question Do you not know because he was writing to those who know the law and so are aware of the fact he stated about the law. Actually, the question Do you not know is one that he used quite often, especially in his epistle to the Corinthians. Take for example, its use in 1 Corinthians 3:16:
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
The question Don’t you know is a negative rhetorical question that is equal to the positive statement “You certainly know” or “I am sure that you know.” When the apostle used this rhetorical question Don’t you know or when he used the positive statement you know, that is a way that the apostle asserts that he has taught the truth or fact in question to the recipients. Take for example, when the apostle used the positive statement with respect to the sufferings of the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 3:3:
so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them.
The apostle asserted You know quite well that we were destined for them because he has taught repeatedly this truth regarding the suffering of Christians to the Thessalonians, as we can gather from his reminder in 1 Thessalonians 3:4:
In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know.
The teaching that Christians would be persecuted of the apostle to the Thessalonians is in keeping with his practice during his missionary trips of teaching new converts that they will suffer for the faith. We say this because during his first missionary trip he taught believers of the trials and sufferings they will encounter in Acts 14:22:
strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
The point is that the apostle uses the statement you know because he has taught the truth involved or because such fact is a common one, as for example, when he used the statement with reference to Stephanas in 1 Corinthians 16:15:
You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you, brothers,
His assertion about Stephanas was a common knowledge among the Corinthians so that he used the statement you know. If the apostle had not taught a doctrine or has not provided information or if the fact is not a common one, then he uses the word “know” in a different manner. In effect, the apostle writes differently when believers are ignorant of the facts he had in mind. In such a situation, he would use the sentence I want you to know. Take for example, when he wanted the Galatians to know the source of the message he preached, he used the sentence in Galatians 1:11:
I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.
Anyway, we have gone this length to establish that the apostle when he wrote because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, assumed that the Ephesians knew the truth he stated because he has taught that to them. The apostle did not give us any clue as to when he taught that to the Ephesians but it is most certainly during the period he was with them. The apostle taught them for three years, as he reminded the elders of the Ephesian church in his farewell address to them, according to Acts 20:31:
So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
There can be no doubt that if the apostle spent three years teaching and warning believers that he would have taught them from the OT Scripture about God’s reward. He would have taught them the general truth that God will reward people in accordance to their performance, as stated, for example, in Psalm 62:12:
and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.
The apostle would have also brought to their attention the truth about the reward for righteousness, as we find in Proverbs 11:18:
The wicked man earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
In addition, the apostle would have brought to their attention the teaching of our Lord about reward for doing good in Luke 6:35:
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
The point is that the apostle had taught the Ephesians that the Lord rewards faithful service done in His name that is the reason he could say in the words of the NIV because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does.
We contend that the apostle had previously taught the truth he mentioned in Ephesians 6:8 to the Ephesians but there is a new doctrine that he added in the passage that we are considering that he probably did not teach the Ephesians. It is the doctrine that the social status of any believer does not affect his or her reward when the individual does good. It is this truth that he added in the last clause of Ephesians 6:8 whether he is slave or free. The Holy Spirit through the apostle makes clear to the Christian slaves that their position in life would not affect their reward in the eternal state so long as they rendered their service to their human masters or any good work they do as that done for the Lord. The doctrine is that regardless of your position in life, you can be certain that if you serve the Lord wholeheartedly in whatever you do in this life that He will reward you. He will not say that because you were an employee or the least of those employed and so He will not reward your faithful service. No! He will reward every service or good done in His name. Therefore, you should endeavor to serve in whatever capacity you find yourself as to the Lord knowing that He will reward you. Let me repeat that this passage we have studied is one that says that you should carry out your duties or functions anywhere or anytime as you were doing it directly to the Lord Jesus Christ.