Purpose! Newsletter - May 2025

Updated: Jun 3

Other Relationships

Ephesians 6:1-9

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;

3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.

After addressing, in Chapter five, the husband and wife protocol to be followed, the Apostle Paul continues in Chapter six with another aspect of family life; the children. It seems to be that the children were to either read these words or have them taught to them. He speaks to them directly.

Children

Obedience is expected from children of Christian parents. These parents are going to make every effort to raise up a child in the way he should go and therefore they are to be trusted and obeyed. Children should be in the church, taught the Word, and brought to a salvation experience early on so that they desire to be behave in a Christian manner. These components together with the love and affection received from Christian parents make that obedience is the right thing for a child. This is right. No arguments, excuses, or disclaimers.

And beside all that there is a commandment given by God himself to that effect. An apostolic, Spirit inspired, New Testament order is enough reason for acceptance of this injunction, but if there are some Old Testament adherents in the audience, the apostle lets it be known that Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai on stones written by the finger of God the same rule. That was the origin of it. There are not to be wild children in God related families. This was from the beginning of the Hebrew law. Children were included in the ten commandments with the other adult directed code of conduct.

Honor thy father and mother. This was not an order for minor children only, but also for adult sons and daughters. Children should obey, and once grown up should continue to honor, revere, venerate (Greek) the ones who brought them into the world. Bad-mouthing your parents, alive or deceased, is not right. Although imperfect, they are to be honored. This is right.

And besides that, there is a unique promise attached to the command.

That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

The fifth commandment says: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Exodus 20:12.

Paul expands on it in New Testament spirit. He includes wellness with longevity on the earth, not just on the land given to the Hebrew nation. This promise is good wherever you reside. It is not only the first commandment with promise it is the only one of the ten with a promise. While many promises would be made in the future, in the foundational law given to Moses it stands alone. It would behoove us to give heed to it today. Amen.

And ye fathers

The disciplinarians in the home, when they are around, are given a twofold admonition concerning their dealings

with their children.

4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath:

Provoke-Greek- to rouse to wrath, exasperate, anger.

First, in your instruction and discipline allow for grace and love. Heavy demands, restrictions, and super high expectations can negatively affect the emotional well-being of a child. Berating, comparing to a sibling, or ignoring the child will result in equally destructive feelings. As they grow a spirit of wrath may be fomenting that will be revealed later in undesired behavior and feelings toward the parent. Present wise fathers produce good children. It is not easy but a good Dad is essential in our society.

Secondly, …but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. v4b

Christian education is paramount in the Christian home. Sports activities, music, art, etc. are all valid curriculums, but not the most important. Nourishing and teaching the child with Biblical truth is the foundation on which to develop children that will honor their parents and succeed in life.

Note:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: v.1

Fathers…bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. v.4

It is all to be done in a Lord environment.

This is the cure for youthful malfeasance, crime, and incarcerations.

Servants and Masters

While servants were not part of the nuclear family they were an integral part of the homelife.

The Greek word doulos means: bondman, man of servile condition, a slave, an attendant, one devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests, It is use metaphorically for one who gives himself up to another's will, particularly those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men, as the apostles. Paul often uses the word to describe his relationship with Jesus.

So, these are the people Paul is addressing as servants. They worked for the master of the homestead performing various and sundry occupations. Paul did not write to abolish the practice but rather to bring it to proper order in the Christian community. That is apostolic ministry.

Servants

The instructions to servants could well apply today to that of an employee. Just as servants were to come under the authority of their masters, so an employee should respect those in authority over them and do the job they were hired to do to the best of their ability. The believer should be the best employee. Punctual, present, productive, reliable, and trustworthy are attributes of a Christian’s work ethic, even when the boss is not around. Perform your duty as if you are working for Christ. If your heart is not in it get out of it. The Lord is watching and he rewards the good that we do. Servants or free, faithfulness is required. Amen.

Masters

Masters, or those in authority over the servants, or employees, have responsibilities also. And he speaks especially to the Christian owner of a company, manager, leader, the boss, those with people under their direction.

9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.

Reciprocity of respect and good will should mark a good leader. Intimidation, threats, disrespect, discrimination, or verbal abuse is unacceptable. Exploitation in any form must not appear in the workplace. And there should be no discrepancies in pay. Proper compensation makes for happy and loyal employees.

James addresses that matter:

4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. James 5:4.

These rules apply to all in charge. The chief is not exempt. Neither is there respect of persons with him. Masters beware: You have a master in heaven.

Actually, these rules of engagement will be valid in any work environment, with believers and unbelievers alike.

Amen. -By PJ Flores-

Greek references are from Blue Letter Bible

And now a word from Pastor Shirley…

I Just Need a Word!

Years ago a coworker/friend invited me to a revival service at her church that night. Back then, I had a lot going on in my life. I didn’t have a home church at the time and I wasn’t comfortable going to services alone. When I said that I would go, she disclosed that the evangelist for the evening was “a little odd” and a little more “excited” than she was used to, but she testified that the man prophesied to her the last time he was there and what he said was true. I already said that I would go, but after hearing all of this new information I was super excited and couldn’t wait!

I did not know who the evangelist was at the time, I just knew that what he was saying was exactly what I needed to hear. He preached from the book of Ruth. Up until then, I had only heard sermons on Ruth with a kinsman redeemer point of view. The focus was always on Boaz and very little on Ruth and Naomi. At the time many “Christian” dating books came out and Boaz was always the focus as well. It cheapened the story for me so when the evangelist announced that he was preaching from the book of Ruth it sort of turned me off.

But, the man of God preached about Ruth’s decision and declaration to denounce her old life and commit herself to her mother-in-law and the God of her mother-in-law. This changed the whole book for me. When it was time, I ran to the altar. I stood and waited in the prayer line. My friend was standing next to me and the evangelist prayed for her. I noticed the man of God would come towards me and then turn around and pray for someone else. He would come near me again and then turn again. I must confess, I was a little annoyed… but I have learned that it is like that sometimes. Eventually, the evangelist prayed for me, but it was a generic prayer.

I left the service a little less than satisfied because I felt the evangelist had a word for me and wouldn’t give it. It might seem a little crazy to think that way, but that’s exactly how I felt. Regardless of how I felt, the message stayed with me. I read that story over and over until it was a part of me. One day as I was thinking about the story of Ruth and everything that happened, I realized that I didn’t need a word from the evangelist. The word of God was already preached and I didn’t need anything or anyone else. What was preached was all the “word” that I needed. It was now up to me to heed the word of God that was given and continue to move forward. -SAF-