Submission at Home and Work

Thank you, Carolyn.

I've never heard that about keeping track of the books of the Bible like that.

Now, I can't remember what the acronym was I was supposed to remember,

so I struggle with both, but that's good.

So, as we approach the end of our series in Ephesians,

I just wanted to do a quick review.

Ephesians, overarchingly, is about our identity in Christ.

So we have the first half of Ephesians, which is about our belief, our calling,

and the second half is the behavior that goes along with that,

and that's the section that we're in now, chapters 4, 5, and 6.

Last week, we heard from Paul Rocha about marriage and what that means,

and we'll be digging into more areas of that this morning.

But before we get into that, we see a progression in these last couple chapters

that help us get ready for this area of love and submission,

which is what we're talking about today.

So, the beginning of chapter 4, Paul urges us to bear with one another in love.

In chapter 5, in the beginning, he says,

Be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love,

as Christ loved us and gave himself for us.

And then right before last week's message,

chapter 5, verse 21 says,

Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

So, we are to walk in love as Christ loves us,

and we're to submit to one another for his sake.

But how do we do that?

What does that look like?

And this is what our current section in Ephesians is going to teach us.

So, again, last week, Dan Rocha hit on marriage and love and submission,

how a man and a woman should be a reflection of the relationship between Christ and the church.

How does that happen in marriage?

Well, you have a wife that submits to her husband with respect,

not as a lesser person, as an equal,

allowing him to lead the family, to nurture and grow the family.

So, the wife submits to her husband,

being a reflection of the church submitting to Christ.

And then also, as the husband should love his wife as his own body,

protecting and cherishing her,

loving her sacrificially as Christ loved the church.

So, there we have the perfect picture of the relationship between Christ and the church.

So, today's message is a follow-up of that,

because it follows verse 21 that says,

to submit to one another at a reverence of Christ.

So, we have husbands and wives submitting and following Christ's order and design,

and now we have a few other categories that we'll get into.

So, our message this morning, I entitled Love and Submission Part 2.

So, but before you hear submission and start rolling your eyes thinking,

I kind of heard enough about submission.

It's not really something I enjoy to listen to.

It's kind of old.

It sounds restrictive.

I would just encourage you to listen to what the Word of God has to say about submission,

and see really how it fits into our life as Christians,

and how it really fits into God's big picture for us.

Because without that, without that submission and love,

that's really what makes the church,

it's what makes marriages and families stand out to a world.

It's what God's big plan is for each one of us.

So, if we look at submission,

and in some of these cases, it's going to come out in the area of obedience.

If we look at those, it doesn't take long before we see how they really are needed

in every aspect of our life.

Last week, Dan talked about a company who tried to run itself according to a model

that kind of did away with hierarchy.

There wasn't really any boss.

Everybody kind of was their own boss,

and they led accordingly.

And what they found out was things fell apart.

People needed that management type of role.

They needed to report to somebody.

They needed structure.

And so, it didn't work.

And we also know that if we look at a lot of other areas of life, it won't work.

Professional sports is not going to go very far

if you have all the good athletes or the cocky athletes

deciding they want to do things however they want.

They'll show up when they want.

They'll play when they want.

They'll work out when they want.

Because they're that good, they can just do that.

It would never work.

The team wouldn't go far.

There's no winning.

There's no team aspect when it's all self-centered and personal focused.

So, we know that that won't work.

And it's the same if we look at companies,

if we look at governments, branches of the military,

or whole nations themselves.

If there's no structure, if there's no ownership,

if there's no leadership, then it's going to crumble.

It's going to fall.

So, that's what we're going to be looking at today.

Now, we're going to be looking at these different areas this morning

that covers parents and children and slaves and masters in the Bible.

But for us, it's going to be employees and bosses.

So, when we get to each one of these sections,

they may feel like they don't pertain to you.

So, I would submit to listen anyway because they do pertain to you.

They pertain not only because it might not be where you are now,

but it might be in the future.

So, you might be thinking, well, I'm not a child.

I don't have any kids.

I'm not married.

And I don't work.

So, that takes me out of all the categories.

And to that, I would say,

you're kind of in the perfect spot

where you could encourage those around you,

those in the family of God,

who are in all those categories

because you have a little bit more time or experience or whatever

to encourage those around.

And that's what we're all called to do, right?

We're called to encourage and help one another.

So, there's that aspect of it.

There's also, it may be helpful in your workplace

as you come across an unsaved friend

who is in a difficult marriage.

It could be a co-worker who is struggling as a mom

with kids who are rebellious and don't obey.

It could be co-workers that complain about their boss

and they try to pull you in on that.

These are all areas where we know where God tells us to stand,

where God tells us to live.

And we're able to speak into that,

into those other people's lives

in an encouraging way

and in a way that could bring the word of God,

the word of truth,

to an area they've never known about before.

So, I would say,

listen as we go through this part.

Sorry.

Sorry.

So, the first part.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord,

for this is right.

It only happens, like, right before I come up to speak.

Like, I sang great.

I mean, nobody could hear me,

but I sang great this morning.

Yeah.

Maybe it was because nobody heard me

that I sang so great.

So, verse 1.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord,

for this is right.

Right?

Obeying is something that we do

for someone else

when we don't necessarily want to do that thing.

Right?

We'd rather be doing something else.

So, why is it that we tell children

to obey their parents?

Well, we pretty much know the answer to that,

but there are a couple reasons.

The first one is because

God said that's what they should do.

The second reason is because

children learn and they grow,

but they don't start out knowing what to do.

They don't know what's right or wrong.

They don't know what's safe or what's not.

I was thinking of our youngest, Juliet.

She's learning how to crawl very well,

and in her eyes,

as she's moving across the carpet,

everything she wants.

It doesn't matter if it's a toy.

It also doesn't matter if it's a furry hairball.

It's on the floor,

and she'd like to have it.

So, sometimes we have to take that away,

and she's not real happy about it,

but we know she doesn't need a hairball.

Right?

We know she doesn't need

a small button that could choke her,

but there are toys that she can play with.

So, as we'll see shortly,

parents are to teach and guide their children,

and that can't be done with some obedience.

So, we have to start to teach that in our kids,

even when it's something that they don't want to do.

Sometimes it requires us to be a little forceful,

and that isn't always fun for the child.

It's not always fun for the parent,

because it's easy for us to want to be their friend.

It's easy for us to want to keep them on our side.

And it's not always possible

if you want to be a parent

who wants to protect their child

in a good and loving way.

So, while this obedience is taking place

between children and parents,

ultimately, it's obedience to God.

That's what we're looking to teach our children.

We want them to obey us,

but as they grow and get larger,

we want them to see

that it's conforming to God's desire

and His commands.

That's why we're doing this,

and that's what makes it right,

because it falls under God's commandment.

And in the next two verses,

verses 2 and 3,

We honor your father and mother.

This is the first commandment with promise,

that it may go well with you,

and that you may live long in the land.

This is a direct quote

taken from the Ten Commandments

in the book of Exodus.

And as we look at the Mosaic Law,

those first five books of the Old Testament,

we see there's a very great seriousness

on the command for children to obey

and to honor their parents.

In chapter 21,

just following the Ten Commandments,

it says,

Whoever strikes his father or his mother

shall be put to death.

Following that,

whoever curses his father or mother

shall surely be put to death.

He has cursed his father or his mother,

and his blood is upon him.

So we see that disobedience and dishonor

is taken very seriously

and dealt with very seriously

in the Old Testament.

And the reason for that

is because God is raising up for himself

a people who will stand out to the world.

The Israelites were his people,

his chosen family,

and disobedience among his family

starts to just wreak havoc.

You have kids that grow

and want to do their own thing.

They don't want to follow after God.

And it doesn't take very many generations

before you have a whole family,

a whole generation,

a whole nation

that is no longer following after God.

And that's something that was being watched

in on from all the other countries,

all the other nations at that time.

But here in Ephesians,

we see Paul quoting the same commandment,

but the focus is more on the positive aspect

of God's command.

He says,

Honor your father and your mother.

Then he draws attention to the promise.

Remember, this is the first and only commandment

that has a promise connected to it.

Now, this promise in the Old Testament

was a portion of the promised land

that God was given his people.

So to honor and to obey your parents

meant a share of that inheritance.

For those in the New Testament,

for us on this side of the cross,

part of the new covenant in Christ,

it means that life may go well

and that you may live long,

taking about,

that's talking about the promise of eternal life.

So not necessarily that we're going to get land,

land or money for obeying our parents,

but a promise of a better life

and eternal life with Jesus Christ.

Now, first you might be thinking,

well, wait, that sounds a little bit like

work salvation.

If you obey and honor your parents,

then things will go well

and you'll get to go to heaven.

But that's not what I'm saying here.

What is happening is if

Christians know that that isn't true,

that they're going to have an easy life.

And Jesus tells us that.

But what we're saying is

if you disobey,

if you bring dishonor to your parents,

then you can be sure that life will not go well.

And it's an indication

of you being a child of God

that brings about your desire to want to obey

and follow after your parents.

On occasion, I'll give some authority

to one of my children.

I might ask Daniel, my youngest son,

to go tell his older brother

that I want him to go do something.

And it's expected that that older brother

is going to go do it.

Why? Because I'm sending Daniel

with my authority to tell him

as if I went and told him myself.

And this really is a picture of

God giving authority to parents

for their children.

God gives them authority

to teach and instruct them.

And the children are to obey that

and to listen to their parents.

So for a child to disobey

and fight against their parents,

ultimately it's a fight against God

and what God has laid out

in his design and his rules.

And we also know that

as the problem continues,

as the child just doesn't want

to obey his parents

and is rebellious,

that as they leave home,

being at odds with their parents

means that they're going to continue

to be at odds with God

because that's how it started out.

And as they start their own life

on their own,

they're putting themselves

in that position of authority

where God used to be

and they're becoming their own God.

And at no point in history

has there been a way of,

that's never going to go well

for someone.

It's not going to,

it may look well in their life

successfully

from the world standards,

but it won't end there

because it's a life

that's void of God.

And if it continues,

if they don't correct that path,

then what happens,

the end is separation from God.

And that is tragic.

So God loves us.

He wants to protect us from that.

So he gives us commands for us

and to pass on to our children.

So Colossians 3, 20,

children obey your parents

in everything,

for this pleases the Lord.

As children learn to obey their parents,

they fall under God's authority

and this is pleasing to him.

So living a life pleasing to the Lord

does make your life easier

because you're not on your own side,

you're on God's side.

You're pleasing to him

and he's with you

and that's what makes life easier.

So children,

obey and honor your parents

and that means to submit

and to love them.

The next section

is fathers,

but also to parents.

Chapter 6 starts out addressing both.

It says that children,

obey your parents in the Lord.

So it's important to remember

that God's design

was never to separate

and only have one parent,

but that both parents together

work to raise their children.

Does that ring into you guys

or just me?

Is it ringing?

It's okay?

Okay.

Never mind what I said.

But as we come to verse 4,

we see that fathers

are addressed directly.

It says,

fathers,

do not provoke your children to anger,

but bring them up

in the discipline

and instruction of the Lord.

So as Paul has done before,

he starts with a negative action

to avoid

and he follows it up

with a positive action

that we want to improve on.

He says,

do not provoke your children to wrath,

but do bring them up

in the discipline

and instruction of the Lord.

So first we have this command

to do not provoke

your children to wrath.

We know that in disciplining

our children,

they're not going to like that.

They're going to get mad

when they can't have

or do what they want to do.

That's not what Paul

is talking about here.

Sorry, kids.

But he's talking about

provoking your children

to anger

because of discipline

that's done out of anger

or giving them commands

or rules

that are too restrictive

and don't have any reason.

It's basically discipline

without love.

And in that way,

you're going to provoke

your children

to wrath or to anger.

So I just want to hit

those sections,

kind of break them up

a little bit

because I think

they're important.

Not only for if you

have kids now,

but if you have kids

in the future,

this will kind of set

the foundation,

the framework

for what is going

to be helpful to you

as you study God's word

and how to be a parent.

But Ephesians 4.31 says,

be kind to one another,

tenderhearted,

forgiving one another

as God and Christ

forgave you.

So even before

this section to fathers,

Paul is concerned

about the anger

that is coming out of us.

And once it comes

into parenting,

that can be passed

on to our child.

Usually that takes

the form of yelling

or some type of

exaggerated action

or speech

that we lash out

at our child

when they're not doing

what they're supposed to

or they failed

to do something

that we required of them.

And when it comes

to parenting,

these outbursts

can get out of control.

These fits of anger

can be damaging,

not just physically damaging,

but they can be emotionally

damaging to your child

as well.

And this type of behavior

is worse for fathers.

I think we can all agree

that anger

when it comes to men

is worse than women.

Now, women or mothers

in this case

do struggle with anger.

They're not perfect

like the rest of us

and they get mad.

But in general,

if we look at

extreme destructive behavior,

if we look at

domestic violence,

road rage,

acts of terrorism,

all these are far more

likely to happen

from a man

than a woman.

So Paul,

it makes sense,

is pointing out here

that fathers

don't provoke

your children to anger.

You need to control

your anger.

James 1.20 says,

For the anger of man

does not produce

the righteousness of God.

Over our years

of raising kids,

this has been a great verse

for Cheryl and I to use.

Not just me,

for her

in raising kids,

in every aspect of life.

Because you can take that verse

and put your name in it.

It says,

For the anger of man

does not produce

the righteousness of God.

But you can put in,

For the anger of Matt

does not produce

the righteousness of God.

The anger of mom

does not produce

the righteousness of God.

The fit of anger of dad

will never produce

the righteousness of God.

If you're trying

to raise your kid

to love and obey God,

it's never going to happen

if you're using

your wrath,

your madness

to make it come about.

It will never produce

the righteousness of God.

That's James 1.20.

So if you're taking notes,

you can write that down.

That'll be real helpful

now and for years to come.

So parenting with anger

leads to frustration

and discouragement

on your child's part.

Colossians 3.21 says,

Fathers,

do not provoke your children

lest they become discouraged.

It also leads to more anger.

Proverbs 15.18 says,

A hot-tempered man

stirs up strife,

and he who is slow to anger

quiets contention.

So anger is only going to lead

to more anger.

It's not going to lead

to the righteousness of God.

It's not going to lead

to contentment

or anything like that.

One of the problems

with anger is

anger is like a cannibal

in that it's going to eat

all the other emotions up.

So a child taught

by an angry or violent father

usually will pass that down

to their child.

And as anger is allowed

to remain, it grows,

and it becomes

the dominant trait

of all the other traits

that that child

might have had before.

If you think of kindness

or tenderness,

thoughtfulness, forgiveness,

where is the place of those

when anger is in control?

They don't fit.

You can't be thoughtful

while you're being angry.

You can't forget

while you're angry.

So we see that

those don't go together.

So the more anger

is allowed to grow,

the other ones will die off.

And those are traits

that we as Christians

are trying to develop.

So Paul's warning us

against parenting with anger

because it teaches

the opposite

of what God wants us to learn.

It also paints a picture

of a father

who's not like

your heavenly father.

Psalms 86, 15 says,

But you, O Lord,

are a God merciful

and gracious,

slow to anger,

and abounding

in steadfast love

and faithfulness.

So an angry father

on earth

does not give his child

a picture

in any way

of what a loving father

in heaven is like,

which is what we want to do.

We want to give that example

to them

of what a loving father

looks like.

And as I go through this,

I understand

that there are

different families

and different situations

where a mother and father

might not be in place,

in which case

the mother takes that role.

There may not be a mother

and the father

takes that role.

And mothers

can be

that example

of a heavenly father

even though

there isn't a father there.

So when they come up,

just keep that in mind

that this still pertains

to you,

that God still loves

you and where you are.

And if you don't have

a perfect situation,

if your children

are older

and run away,

you don't have children

or you don't have a spouse

or you're divorced,

God doesn't expect you

to perfect yourself

and get yourself

in the right place

before he can love you

and work with you.

He works with you

where you are.

So like anger,

being too restrictive

or having boundaries

that are too small

can also lead to this

causing our children

to provoke them

to wrath.

And what I mean

by that really is

if you're parenting

with an iron fist,

if you're locking

your kids in too tight

and there really isn't

a lot of reason

for what you're doing

about that

or why you are doing that.

So like anger,

the child feels like

there's no way out,

like they can't be good enough

for what's happening.

And if we parent this way,

it's really opposite

of how God teaches us

because God is not oppressive.

God does not command us

to do things

that we are incapable of doing.

Instead,

he lays down for us.

He submits to us,

Jesus Christ,

who died out of love for us.

And that's the picture

that we have.

So we need to get rid of anger

in our parenting.

As for rules and restrictions,

that they are necessary.

We're raising kids

they don't know.

This is why they are

put under our authority.

But,

and I'm not going to give you

a list of all

of the rules and restrictions

you should have

on your child

because it's going to change.

It's going to change

based on family,

on situation,

and on child.

Every child is different.

But restrictions

are good and necessary.

So you need to think about them.

You need to pray about them.

Seek God's word.

And you need to lay them out

and explain it to your child.

You don't always have

the opportunity to tell them

why you're telling them no.

They need to,

they need to obey

when they're told to obey.

But in general,

you need to explain to them

why you,

why you're doing certain things,

why they can't do certain things.

And this leads to the second part.

That was all under the

don't do this.

This is under the do.

We want to bring them up

in the discipline

and instruction of the Lord.

This is discipline

that is tempered with love.

It's knowing what's best

and knowing that it may not

always be what the child

wants at the time.

And really,

if we look at it,

this is similar to

how God is to us, right?

There's things that we want.

God knows what's best

and we don't always get it.

And we have to understand

that he's God,

we're not.

He knows what's best

and we don't

and we're okay with that.

Hebrews 12,

5 through 11 says this,

My son,

do not regard lightly

the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary

when reproved by him.

For the Lord disciplines

the one he loves

and chastises every son

whom he receives.

For it is for discipline

that you may have to endure.

God is treating you as sons.

For what son is there

whom the father

does not discipline?

If you are left

without discipline

in which all have participated,

then you are illegitimate children

and not sons.

Besides this,

we have had earthly fathers

who disciplined us

and we respected them.

Shall we not much more

be subject to the father

of spirits and live?

For they disciplined us

for a short time

as it seemed best to them.

But he disciplines us

for our good

that we may share

his holiness.

For the moment,

all discipline seems painful

rather than pleasant.

But later,

it yields the peaceful fruit

of righteousness

to those who have been

trained by it.

It's teaching and correcting

according to God's plan,

according to God's word.

The same way we are learning

to live as Christians

from his word

with his strength

and through prayer,

we begin teaching that

to our children.

So that's what it means

to raise them up

in the discipline

and the instruction

of the Lord.

It's starting with that

cute little adorable,

precious,

selfish little sinner

and it's teaching them

about who God is.

This starts by pointing

to the most important thing

and that is that we realize

that there's a God

who loved us.

There's a God

who sent his son Jesus

to die for us

in our place

because we couldn't do it.

We couldn't have

a relationship with God

until Jesus died for us

to cover up the sins

that was the barrier

between us and God.

That was done

and we get to know God.

We get to have

a relationship with him

and we get to spend

eternity with him.

That's the foundation

of what we're trying

to teach to our kids.

Without that foundation,

everything falls apart.

Everything will leave

them empty

if you leave God

and eternal life

out of the question.

Without telling them

there's a God

that created and loved them,

there isn't any lasting hope.

So if you don't know God,

you're not going to be able

to teach your kids

what it is to know God.

So I would encourage you

if you're struggling

with that,

if you're struggling

with whether you are saved

or not saved,

who God is

and if he loves you,

then I would suggest

that you come

and talk with one of us.

Talk to Sean.

Talk to myself.

Come up and have prayer.

Spend time seeking the word

and just seeking God

to show himself to you

because you can't lead someone

down a path

that you've never been.

Our next section

is on servants

or bond servants.

This is verses 5 through 8.

Bond servants,

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 bond 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 bond servant

or whether he is free.

In the time around

where Ephesians was written,

slavery was a normal part of life.

There was somewhere between

a fourth and a third

of the population of Ephesus

was made up of servants.

So if their estimated population

was about 250,000 people,

then it would be safe to say

that 60,000 plus of those

would be slaves.

So it makes up a large group

of the existence.

It became a normal part

of everyday life

for the people of Ephesus.

And for that reason,

we find it quite fitting

that Paul is talking to us here

about servants and masters

in this section.

Immediately,

you might be thinking,

well,

I think Paul should be preaching

against slavery

and against the system

that is allowing it to continue.

And that might be true

to an extent.

God did create people equal

and slavery was wrong.

And that's true

and that's right.

But there's a couple things

to keep in mind.

First is that

in the society

that Paul finds himself,

slavery and ownership

of humans

was legal and accepted.

So it wasn't that

it was an illegal thing

that he would be

stepping in to stop,

but it was normal

and accepted.

Secondly,

and probably most importantly,

is that God did not

choose Paul

to end slavery.

Fighting to end slavery

would be a noble task,

but God called Paul

to preach the gospel.

He called him

to bring the good news

of salvation to Gentiles,

right,

to start churches,

to preach the word of God,

to make disciples,

to encourage Christians

to live for the glory of Christ.

That's why he wrote

this book for us.

That's what Paul's mission was.

It wasn't to end slavery.

It's also helpful

to keep in mind

that as Christianity grows,

slavery doesn't find

its place.

As people grow

in their knowledge of Christ

and how they should live

for Christ,

it starts to become obvious

that slavery has no place.

So,

and we could also see

that from Ephesus

is as Christianity grew,

the rights of slaves

and how they were treated

also improved,

even to the point

where they were able

to buy their own freedom

and to own businesses

so they were no longer

slaves anymore.

So,

Paul's speaking to slaves

in his time.

He's also talking to us

in our time.

So,

you might be thinking,

well,

I'm not a slave.

That doesn't seem to apply.

And that's true.

We're not.

But the work ethic

that Paul is laying out here

is the same work ethic

that applies to us,

right?

We get paid by someone

because we do work

for someone.

Yesterday,

I was thankful

to be able

to go to

a hair-cuttering place

and get my hair cut.

it was looking pretty bad

and I was thankful

for someone to do that

because I can't do it myself.

But for a time,

I paid the lady money

and she became a servant

to me in the area

of cutting my hair.

And that's normal.

That happens

all throughout life.

God calls us to work,

whether it be at home

or outside.

And while working

for someone,

we come under

their leadership.

We become under

their ownership

for a time

and we do that

with godly obedience.

Why?

Because regardless

of whoever we work for,

whoever the person

or company that we work for,

whoever signs our checks

that gives us the money,

ultimately,

we're working for God,

not just that person.

That's just the first layer

of that.

So as we look

at these verses,

notice the number of times

that our working

is connected back to God.

Verse 5,

obey your earthly masters

as you would Christ.

Verse 6,

as bondservants of Christ,

doing the will of God

from the heart.

Verse 7,

rendering service

with a good will

as to the Lord.

Verse 8,

whatever good anyone does,

this he will receive

back from the Lord.

As we work

and fulfill

our earthly obligations,

it's actually a service

we're doing for the Lord.

This is what he calls,

this is a good

and right thing to do.

Verse 5,

obey your earthly parents

with fear

or your earthly masters

with fear and trembling

with a sincere heart

as you would Christ.

We are to work

for employers.

We do our job

as if we're doing them

for Christ himself

because he's called us

to that job.

And while there's nothing wrong

with getting praise

for doing something,

that isn't what we want

to be working for,

right?

We want to be,

we don't want that

to be the driving force

behind what we're working for.

That should be

to please Christ

in our work.

He's the one

that saved us.

He's the one

that's placed us

in that job.

He's the one

that we're working for.

So in verse 6,

not by way of eye service

as people pleasers,

but as bondservants

of Christ

doing the will of God.

Don't work for the purpose

of looking good

to please people,

to get personal recognition.

We work out of a desire

to please Christ.

If we work for making

ourselves look good,

what happens is

we get pulled into

a number of sins

that pull us away

from God.

So if we think about

working for yourself,

you start to pull in pride

and self-centeredness.

Could be deceit.

Could be lying

as you try to get your way

in the workplace

and make yourself look good

maybe when you messed up

and you don't want

to get blamed.

Those should not be

characteristics of how

we work for the Lord.

But if we're working

for the purpose

of pleasing Christ,

it helps us avoid

those things

because we put on traits

like kindness to others

and thoughtfulness,

honesty, integrity.

Those things should describe

how we work

and by working that way,

we avoid the sins

that will pull us away

from being a child of Christ.

I think of an example

of particle board.

Does everybody know

what particle board is?

If you've bought

nice wood-looking furniture

for a fairly cheap price,

it's probably made

of particle board.

wood chips,

shaving stuff

that they've pulled together

and they put some glue,

some adhesive to it

and they heat it

and squish it together

and put it in the shape

that they want.

And it's strong.

They can make it look like wood,

but it's not wood.

If you ever chip

the corner of your furniture,

it doesn't chip like wood does.

It starts to look bad

and come apart.

And I think the biggest thing

is if it gets a little bit wet,

you might as well

throw it away.

You know,

I could leave

a nice piece of wood

out in the rain,

bring it in,

and wipe it off.

It'd be okay.

If I did that

with particle board,

I might as well

just take it to the dump.

It's just going to start

to fall apart

and it'll be useless.

This is the same

with our working for Christ.

It should be something

we're doing from the heart

and not just for the outside

so that we look good.

And this thought

continues on into verse 7

as it says,

rendering service

with a goodwill

as to the Lord

and not to man.

If we were to reword that,

change the words

a little bit of that verse,

it would be obeying

or being devoted to

with kindness

and enthusiasm

as to the Lord

and not to man.

So we are to be obeying

and we are to be devoted

to our job

and doing it

in a Christ-like way,

in an enthusiastic way

because we're doing it

not to man

but to the Lord.

And then in verse 8,

knowing that whatever good

anyone does,

this he will receive

back from the Lord,

whether he is a bondservant

or he is free.

We should serve

with good actions

coming from a good heart.

Those who bless others

will be blessed

by the Lord.

Colossians 3.24 says,

knowing that from the Lord

you will receive

the inheritance

as your reward.

You are serving

the Lord Christ.

So Christian workers

are to demonstrate

by their example

what love and submission

according to God

looks like.

And that's really the theme

that I'm trying to press

in each one of these areas.

It's how we demonstrate

what God calls us to

in the areas of love

and submission

and what that means.

The next section

starting in verse 9

is about masters.

Christians

at that time

who had slaves

like Philemon

he owned a slave.

They were charged

to treat their servants

or they're charged

to treat their servants

different than

how the rest of society

treated them.

They weren't called

to be overbearing

and violent

or mean

or fill in the blank.

I'm sure there was

a lot of things

that were just done

overboard

in the area

of slaves

and ownership

or slave and ownership.

But here in this case

in this passage

Paul is calling them

to act differently.

Stop threatening them.

He's telling them

to treat them

just like they were told

to treat their masters.

So the same principles

that we just talked about

with fear and trembling

serve them

with a sincere heart

not with eye service

with a good will

as to the Lord

not to man

knowing that whatever

good anyone does

he will receive

from the Lord.

Do all these things

just like I'm calling

them to do to you.

Oh and add to that

knock off your threatening

because it's not

Christ honoring.

And remember

that God is no

respecter of persons

so if you think

that you're going

to come and say

well he's my slave

I'm his master

I can do that.

Paul says no

God is an impartial judge.

So it doesn't matter

if you're a slave

or a master

if you're a worker

or a boss

a male or female

poor or rich

it doesn't make

any difference

in the eyes of God.

He rules over them

equally

and he requires

of them

the same obedience.

So by their example

masters

or in our case

employers

or owners

of companies

they can demonstrate

how God

our master

in heaven

rules over us

and that is with

patience

and forgiveness.

So if you're

a Christian

master

if you're a Christian

owner

or manager

and there's people

that are under you

you're called

to treat them

the same way.

So

what's the point

of all that?

In case you missed

some of it

in case it still

didn't like

okay that's great

all that sounds good

but what do I do

with it?

What's the point

of that passage?

What's the point

of our passage

last week

when we were

talking about marriage?

How does it fit

into Ephesians?

Again Ephesians

is about

our identity

in Christ

who we are

in Christ

our identity

in everything else

is going to fail

our identity

in our job

in our kids

in our workplace

in our money

all that is going

to fail at some point

so if you have

your identity

in there

then it's going

to let you down

at some point

if your identity

is in Christ

that will last forever

so Ephesians

is about that

our identity

in Christ

as part of that

identity

God has a plan

for each one of us

whether it's a husband

or wife

whether it's a child

whether it's an employer

or a worker

you have a job

given to you

by Christ

and that fits

into his framework

of submission

and love

that's how this

that's how this

is practical

that's how this

means anything

to us

because we each

have a job

that fits

into this framework

it starts with

God at the top

God and Christ

the one who died

for us

who died

for his church

and then from there

we see love

and submission

come down

and it falls

into the church

it falls

into your workplace

it falls

into your family

and if we

fight against that

we find that life

gets very difficult

life won't

match up

with God's plan

because it's outside

of God's plan

it's outside

of that framework

so we love

one another

as Christ

loved us

and we submit

to one another

according to

the authority

and the order

that God

is laying out

for us

and that we do

for his glory

we do that

for his glory

we do that

for our good

thank you

let me close

in a word

of prayer

and then we'll

have some

prayer time

Lord we thank you

for Ephesians

we thank you

for identity

in Christ

that we can have

that matches

nothing else

we thank you

for a hope

that we can have

that nothing else

can touch

we thank you

for a God

who loves us

like no one

else can love us

Lord we ask

that you would

help us

to take

these commands

to heart

not as

heavy commands

that we have

to do them

but commands

that are given

to us

out of love

to make

our life

better

to make

our life

more in tune

to what you

have for us

to make

us more

Christ-like

that we would

reflect your glory

Lord we ask

for your help

in these things

and we ask

for these things

in Jesus' name

Amen

Amen