Eph 6:5-10, Col 3:22, 4:2 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 5. Servants . οιδουλοι. The word here used denotes one who is bound to render service to another, whether that service be free or voluntary; and may denote, therefore, either a slave, or one who binds himself to render service to another. It is often used in these senses in the New Testament, just as it is elsewhere. It cannot be demonstrated that the word here necessarily means slaves ; though, if slavery existed among those to whom this epistle was written-- as there can be little doubt that it did--it is a word which would apply to those in this condition. ; . On the general subject of slavery, and the Scripture doctrine in regard to it, . Whether the persons here referred to were slaves, or were those who had bound themselves to render a voluntary servitude, the directions here given were equally appropriate. It was not the design of the Christian religion to produce a rude sundering of the ties which bind man to man, but to teach all to perform their duties aright in the relations in which Christianity found them, and gradually to modify the customs of society, and to produce ultimately the universal prevalence of that which is right. Be obedient to them . This is the uniform direction in the New Testament. See . . The idea is, that they were to show in that relation the excellence of the religion which they professed. If they could be made free, they were to prefer that condition to a state of bondage, ; but while the relation remained, they were to be kind, gentle, and obedient, as became Christians. In the parallel place in Colossians, ,) it is said that they were to obey their masters "in all things." But evidently this is to be understood with the limitations implied in the case of wives and children, ; , and a master would have no right to command that which was morally wrong. According to the flesh . This is designed, evidently, to limit the obligation to obedience. The meaning is, that they had control over the body, the flesh . They had the power to command the service which the body could render; but they were not lords of the spirit. The soul acknowledged God as its Lord, and to the Lord they were to be subject in a higher sense than to their masters. With fear and trembling . With reverence, and with a dread of offending them. They have authority and power over you, and you should be afraid to incur their displeasure. Whatever might be true about the propriety of slavery, and whatever might be the duty of the master about setting the slave free, it would be more to the honour of religion for the servant to perform his task with a willing mind, than to be contumacious and rebellious. He could do more for the honour of religion by patiently submitting to even what he felt to be wrong, than by being punished for what would be regarded as rebellion. It may be added here, that it was presumed that servants then could read . These directions were addressed to them , not to their masters. Of what use would be directions like these addressed to American slaves--scarce any of whom can read? In singleness of your heart . With a simple, sincere desire to do what ought to be done. As unto Christ . Feeling that by rendering proper service to your masters you are in fact serving the Lord, and that you are doing that which will be well-pleasing to him. . Fidelity, in whatever situation we may be in life, is acceptable service to the Lord. A Christian may as acceptably serve the Lord Jesus in the condition of a servant, as if he were a minister of the gospel, or a king on a throne. Besides, it will greatly lighten the burdens of such a situation, and make the toils of an humble condition easy, to remember that we are then serving the Lord. (a) "be obedient"

Ephesians 6:5-10

Verse 5. Servants. οιδουλοι. The word here used denotes one who is bound to render service to another, whether that service be free or voluntary; and may denote, therefore, either a slave, or one who binds himself to render service to another. It is often used in these senses in the New Testament, just as it is elsewhere. It cannot be demonstrated that the word here necessarily means slaves; though, if slavery existed among those to whom this epistle was written-- as there can be little doubt that it did--it is a word which would apply to those in this condition. 1Cor 7:21; Gall 3:28. On the general subject of slavery, and the Scripture doctrine in regard to it, Isa 58:6. Whether the persons here referred to were slaves, or were those who had bound themselves to render a voluntary servitude, the directions here given were equally appropriate. It was not the design of the Christian religion to produce a rude sundering of the ties which bind man to man, but to teach all to perform their duties aright in the relations in which Christianity found them, and gradually to modify the customs of society, and to produce ultimately the universal prevalence of that which is right.

Be obedient to them. This is the uniform direction in the New Testament. See 1Pet 2:18, 1Timm 6:1-3. 1Cor 7:21. The idea is, that they were to show in that relation the excellence of the religion which they professed. If they could be made free, they were to prefer that condition to a state of bondage, 1Cor 7:21; but while the relation remained, they were to be kind, gentle, and obedient, as became Christians. In the parallel place in Colossians, Col 3:22,) it is said that they were to obey their masters "in all things." But evidently this is to be understood with the limitations implied in the case of wives and children, Eph 5:24; Eph 6:1, and a master would have no right to command that which was morally wrong.

According to the flesh. This is designed, evidently, to limit the obligation to obedience. The meaning is, that they had control over the body, the flesh. They had the power to command the service which the body could render; but they were not lords of the spirit. The soul acknowledged God as its Lord, and to the Lord they were to be subject in a higher sense than to their masters.

With fear and trembling. With reverence, and with a dread of offending them. They have authority and power over you, and you should be afraid to incur their displeasure. Whatever might be true about the propriety of slavery, and whatever might be the duty of the master about setting the slave free, it would be more to the honour of religion for the servant to perform his task with a willing mind, than to be contumacious and rebellious. He could do more for the honour of religion by patiently submitting to even what he felt to be wrong, than by being punished for what would be regarded as rebellion. It may be added here, that it was presumed that servants then could read. These directions were addressed to them, not to their masters. Of what use would be directions like these addressed to American slaves--scarce any of whom can read?

In singleness of your heart. With a simple, sincere desire to do what ought to be done.

As unto Christ. Feeling that by rendering proper service to your masters you are in fact serving the Lord, and that you are doing that which will be well-pleasing to him. 1Cor 7:22. Fidelity, in whatever situation we may be in life, is acceptable service to the Lord. A Christian may as acceptably serve the Lord Jesus in the condition of a servant, as if he were a minister of the gospel, or a king on a throne. Besides, it will greatly lighten the burdens of such a situation, and make the toils of an humble condition easy, to remember that we are then serving the Lord.

(a) "be obedient" 1Pet 2:18 Verse 6. Not with eyeservice. That is, not with service rendered only under the eye of the master, or when his eye is fixed on you. The apostle has here adverted to one of the evils of involuntary servitude as it exists everywhere. It is, that the slave will usually obey only when the eye of the master is upon him. The freeman, who agrees to labour for stipulated wages, may be trusted when the master is out of sight; but not the slave. Hence the necessity, where there are slaves, of having "drivers" who shall attend them, and who shall compel them to work. This evil it is impossible to avoid, except where true religion prevails--and the extensive prevalence of true religion would set the slave at liberty. Yet, as long as the relation exists, the apostle would enjoin on the servant the duty of performing his work conscientiously, as rendering service to the Lord. This direction, moreover, is one of great importance to all who are employed in the service of others. They are bound to perform their duty with as much fidelity as though the eye of the employer was always upon them, remembering that though the eye of man may be turned away, that of God never is.

As men-pleasers. As if it were the main object to please men. The object should be rather to please and honour God.

But as the servants of Christ. 1Cor 7:22.

Doing the will of God from the heart. That is, God requires industry, fidelity, conscientiousness, submission, and obedience in that rank of life. We render acceptable service to God when, from regard to his will, we perform the services which are demanded of us in the situation in life where we may be placed, however humble that may be. Verse 7. As to the Lord, and not to men. That is, he should regard his lot in life as having been ordered by Divine Providence for some wise and good purpose; and, until he may be permitted to enjoy his liberty in a quiet and peaceable manner, 1Cor 7:21, he should perform his duties with fidelity, and feel that he was rendering acceptable service to God. This would reconcile him to much of the hardships of his lot. The feeling that God has ordered the circumstances of our lives, and that he has some wise and good ends to answer by it, makes us contented there; though we may feel that our fellow-man may be doing us injustice. It was this principle that made the martyrs so patient under the wrongs done them by men; and this may make even a slave patient and submissive under the wrongs of a master. But let not a master think, because a pious slave shows this spirit, that therefore the slave feels that the master is right in withholding his freedom; nor let him suppose, because religion requires the slave to be submissive and obedient, that therefore it approves of what the master does. It does this no more than it sanctioned the conduct of Nero and Mary, because religion required the martyrs to be unresisting, and to allow themselves to be led to the stake. A conscientious slave may find happiness in submitting to God, and doing his will, just as a conscientious martyr may. But this does not sanction the wrong, either of the slave-owner or of the persecutor. Verse 8. Knowing that whatsoever good thing. Whatever a man does that is right, for that he shall be appropriately rewarded. No matter what his rank in life, if he discharges his duty to God and man. he will be accepted. A man in a state of servitude may so live as to honour God; and, so living, he should not be greatly solicitous about his condition. A master may fail to render suitable recompense to a slave; but, if the servant is faithful to God, he will recompense him in the future world. It is in this way that religion would make the evils of life tolerable, by teaching those who are oppressed to bear their trials in a patient spirit, and to look forward to the future world of reward, Religion does not approve of slavery. It is the friend of human rights. If it had full influence on earth, it would restore every man to freedom, and impart to each one his rights. Christianity nowhere requires its friends to make or to own a slave. No one under the proper influence of religion ever yet made a man a slave; there is no one under its proper influence who would not desire that all should be free; and just in proportion as true religion spreads over the world will universal freedom be its attendant. But Christianity would lighten the evils of slavery even while it exists, and would comfort those who are doomed to so hard a lot, by assuring them that there they may render acceptable service to God, and that they soon will be admitted to a world where galling servitude will be known no more. If they may not have freedom here, they may have contentment; if they feel that wrong is done them by men, they may feel that right will be done them by God; if their masters do not reward them for their services here, God will; and if they may not enjoy liberty here, they will soon be received into the world of perfect freedom--heaven. Verse 9. And ye masters. The object of this is to secure for servants a proper treatment. It is evident, from this, that there were in the Christian church those who were masters; and the most obvious interpretation is, that they were the owners of slaves. Some such persons would be converted, as such are now. Paul did not say that they could not be Christians. He did not say that they should be excluded at once from the communion. He did not hold them up to reproach, or use harsh and severe language in regard to them. He taught them their duty towards those who were under them, and laid down principles which, if followed, would lead ultimately to universal freedom.

Do the same things unto them. τααυτα. The "same things," here, seem to refer to what he had said in the previous verses. They were, to evince towards their servants the same spirit which he had required servants to evince towards them --the same kindness, fidelity, and respect for the will of God. He had required servants to act conscientiously; to remember that the eye of God was upon them, and that in that condition in life they were to regard themselves as serving God, and as mainly answerable to him. The same things the apostle would have masters feel. They were to be faithful, conscientious, just, true to the interests of their servants, and to remember that they were responsible to God. They were not to take advantage of their power to oppress them, to punish them unreasonably, or to suppose that they were freed from responsibility in regard to the manner in which they treated them. In the corresponding passage in Colossians Col 4:1 this is, "Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal." Col 4:1

Forbearing threatening. Marg., moderating. The Greek word means, to relax, loosen; and then, to omit, cease from. This is evidently the meaning here. The sense is, that they were to be kind, affectionate, just. It does not mean that they were to remit punishment where it was deserved; but the object is to guard against that to which they were so much exposed in their condition--a fretful, dissatisfied temper; a disposition to govern by terror rather than by love. Where this unhappy state of society exists, it would be worth the trial of those who sustain the relation of masters to see whether it would not be possible to govern their servants, as the apostle here advises, by the exercise of love. Might not kindness, and confidence, and the fear of the Lord, be substituted for threats and stripes?

Knowing that your Master also is in heaven. Marg., "Some read, both your and their." Many Mss. have this reading. See Mill. The sense is not materially affected, further than, according to the margin, the effect would be to make the master and the servant feel that, in a most important sense, they were on an equality. According to the common reading, the sense is, that masters should remember that they were responsible to God, and this fact should be allowed to influence them in a proper manner. This it would do in two ways.

(1.) By the fact that injustice towards their servants would then be punished as it deserved--since there was no respect of persons with God.

(2.) It would lead them to act towards their servants as they would desire God to treat them. Nothing would be better adapted to do this than the feeling that they had a common Master, and that they were soon to stand at his bar.

Neither is there respect of persons with him. See this expression explained in the Rom 2.11. The meaning here is, that God would not be influenced in the distribution of rewards and punishments, by a regard to the rank or condition of the master or the slave. He would show no favour to the one because he was a master; he would withhold none from the other because he was a slave. He would treat both according to their character. In this world they occupied different ranks and

conditions; at his bar they would be called to answer before the same Judge. It follows from this,

(1.) that a slave is not to be regarded as a "chattel," or a "thing," or as "property." He is a man; a redeemed man; an immortal man. He is one for whom Christ died. But Christ did not die for "chattels" and "things,"

(2.) The master and the servant, in their great interests, are on a level. Both are sinners; both will soon die; both will moulder back in the same manner to dust; both will stand at the tribunal of God; both will give up their account. The one will not be admitted to heaven, because he is a master; nor will the other be thrust down to hell because he is a slave. If both are Christians, they will be admitted to a heaven where the distinctions of rank and colour are unknown. If the master is not a Christian and the servant is, he who has regarded himself as superior to the servant in this life, will see him ascend to heaven while he himself will be thrust down to hell.

(3.) Considerations like these will, if they have their proper influence, produce two effects.

(a.) They will lighten the yoke of slavery while it continues, and while it may be difficult to remove it at once. If the master and the slave were both Christians, even if the relation continued, it would be rather a relation of mutual confidence. The master would become the protector, the teacher, the guide, the friend; the servant would become the faithful helper--rendering service to one whom he loved, and to whom he felt himself bound by the obligations of gratitude and affection.

(b.) But this state of feeling would soon lead to emancipation. There is something shocking to the feelings of all, and monstrous to a Christian, in the idea of holding a Christian brother in bondage. So long as the slave is regarded as a "chattel" or a mere piece of "property," like a horse, so long men endeavour to content themselves with the feeling that he may be held in bondage. But the moment it is felt that he is a Christian brother--a redeemed fellow-traveller to eternity, a joint heir of life--that moment a Christian should feel that there is something that violates all the principles of his religion in holding him AS A SLAVE; in making a "chattel" of that for which Christ died; and in buying and selling, like a horse, an ox, or an ass, a child of God, and an heir of life. Accordingly, the prevalence of Christianity soon did away the evil of slavery in the Roman empire; and if it prevailed in its purity, it would soon banish it from the face of the earth.

(1) "forbearing threatening" "moderating" (2) "your Master" "Some read both your and their (a) "of persons" Rom 2:11 Verse 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord. Paul had now stated to the Ephesians the duties which they were to perform. He had considered the various relations of life which they sustained, and the obligations resulting from them. He was not unaware that, in the discharge of their duties, they would need strength from above. He knew that they had great and mighty foes, and that to meet them they needed to be clothed in the panoply of the Christian soldier. He closes, therefore, by exhorting them to put on all the strength which they could to meet the enemies with which they had to contend; and in the commencement of his exhortation he reminds them that it was only by the strength of the Lord that they could hope for victory. To be "strong in the Lord," is,

(1.) to be strong or courageous in his cause;

(2.) to feel that he is our strength, and to rely on him and his promises.

(*) "might" "in his mighty power"

Colossians 3:22

Verse 22. Servants, obey in all things, etc. Eph 6:5, also Eph 6:6-8.

(i) "obey" 1Pet 2:18

Colossians 4:2

Verse 2. Continue in prayer. That is, do not neglect it; observe it at all stated times; maintain the spirit of prayer, and embrace all proper occasions to engage in it. Comp. Lk 18:1; Eph 6:18; 1Thes 5:17.

And watch in the same with thanksgiving. Watch for favourable opportunities; watch that your mind may be in a right frame when you pray; and watch, that when your mind is in a right frame you may not neglect to pray. Eph 6:1; Eph 6:8; Php 4:6.

(*) "Continue" "Persevere" (b) "in prayer" Lk 18:1 (c) "watch" Mk 13:33