OUR FATHER WITH WHOM THERE IS NO PARTIALITY

The Apostle Paul, having described the appropriate pattern of conduct that should govern marriage, now describes the pattern that should govern the relationships between children and their parents and as well, the relationships between bond-servants and their masters in  Ephesians chapter 6 verses 1 - 9 which says this:

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

With the understanding that  marriage is a feature designed and built into the creation to be a metaphor for the relationship between Christ and His Bride ( which is the  the ultimate reason for creation), there are other human relationships that also serve as metaphors for our relationship with God. 

Paul tells us that children should honor their parents and this is pattern that is a metaphor set in place for the children of God to honor their Father in heaven.

 Likewise, the pattern established by the  injuction to parents not to provoke their children to wrath but to bring them up in the counsel and admonition of the Lord is a pattern that God establishes so that we can understand His stance towards us and that is  that He would not provoke His children to wrath nor exasperate them but rather, He would undertake to train them in His counsel and admonition. 

Regarding the relationship between bond-servants and masters, this too is a metaphor for the relationship between those who voluntarily commit  their earthly lives to the service of Christ. Remembering that bond-servants were those who voluntarily made a public declaration of their lifelong submission to the will of their masters,  those who voluntarily gave their lives up to be bond-servants of Christ are  required to be obedient to Christ and to be sincere and whole-hearted in their service to Him even as earthly servants are told to be towards their earthly masters.

As for the way masters were to behave towards their bond-servants, Paul instructs them not to use threats and intimidation to elicit their work and in this way, the metaphor reveals that God does not threaten or intimidate those who commit themselves to serve Him as bond-servants.

Amen.

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