The Lordship of Christ in the Household (Eph. 6:1–9)

Well, good afternoon, everyone. Jason is away in Atlanta Georgia at the send Network Church plants are gathering and I keep him in your prayers. They when he this is sort of the last thing that the send network does to encourage and and a train Church Planters and and what are the things they do is they actually bring out people with money to Atlanta and kind of put him with all these Church Planters and I told Jason you tell your story to everybody. You don't know who has a big checkbook and you just tell the story about Calistoga to everyone who knows maybe somebody will write that million-dollar check to fix up that building but be praying for Jason. He's there with another student at Cornerstone Seminary named Arturo solorzano and Arturo is planting a church. He's a pastor in Napa and they're currently meeting at Grace Church in Napa Valley and I just heard word this week. That we need to pick up the sending of Arturo. It's a little bit of a sad situation in Napa the church that was his sending Church his imploded in falling apart and it's really a disappointing Grievous thing to hear but Archer has been a student of mine for a couple years and I'll make sure to introduce him to you but he his church meets at exactly the same time as our church. So I don't know how when and how I'll get him down here but be praying for Arturo and I think it's Iglesia de La Roca in Napa Church of the Rock in Napa. I could have that wrong, but I think that's right. So we are in Ephesians chapter 6 And we are continuing really finishing up this book of Ephesians in the next couple weeks here before we get to Advent season. I'm going to cover chapter 6 verses 1 to 9 and I want to give you the summary before I begin because these two categories don't necessarily seem to go together. I could have done a sermon on children and parents and then a sermon on slaves and Masters, but we don't have slaves and Masters anymore and the correlate you may have heard that sermon about employers and employees, but I don't think that that fits what Paul is getting at and I'll talk about that a little bit. So what I decided to do is title this the lordship of Christ in the household, so the Roman household had husbands and wives and children and parents and slaves and Masters and I covered marriage last week, and I'm covering Children and parents and slaves and Masters this week. And so but what the goal I want you to see is that this attitude of self-denial and a deep concern for others. This idea of submission is essential to living as a Christian in the household and in the larger Community of Faith and not only that the only way that we can live out our roles and responsibilities in the household and in the church and in the world is if it's characterized by Spirit filling This is what we see in chapter 5 the section is tied back to verse 15 walk as wise not as unwise and Paul is applying what it means to walk is wise in the household. It also is characterized in verse 18 is being filled with the spirit and verse 21 as submitting to one another and submitting to one another in these properly ordered relationships. And if you notice in all three of these relationships, he starts with the one submitting first so wives and then husband's children and their parents slaves and then Masters and what Paul's doing here is actually countercultural. B speaking of the one submitting first, he's giving honor in the pairing that would not normally happen in the Roman culture wives did not have a position of Honor in Roman culture children did not have a position of honor and slaves. Most definitely did not have a position of Honor but by placing them first in this Arrangement Paul is giving them a place of honor in the household and in The Community of Faith. In fact Christianity in the Roman Empire was very countercultural it elevated the place of women and children and slaves as we're going to see but what I want you to see most of all out of this sermon today, is that the primary motive for each of us. Whether it's in our home or in the church is that we would be motivated by a desire to please our Lord Jesus Christ that all of our obedience whether it's a position of Authority or submission in our various relationships, the motive that Paul gets to very clearly is a love for Jesus a desire to please him and remembering who we are in him. This is what it means for Jesus to be Lord of our life and Lord of our home. So let's read Ephesians chapter 6 verses one through nine children. Obey your parents in the Lord for this is right honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land fathers. Do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord bondservants. Obey your Earthly masters with fear and trembling with a sincere heart as you would Christ not by way of eye Service as people Pleasers, but his 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 is free Masters do the same to them and stop you're threatening knowing that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven and that there is no partiality with him. So I just want to walk through a few of these implications in these various positions of relationship. So the implications of Christ lordship for children, and it's interesting that those of us who have had children. We sure would like a whole lot more instruction than 4 versus. We would like more than just simply children. Obey your parents and honor them and parents don't exasperate your children. I would like to know what Gavin when he was born. I didn't get a manual with him. And that poor kid. I think I was he was my guinea pig. It was a good thing. I had five you know that I don't know if he's not even in here for me to make fun of but it's you know, I felt so bad with some of the decisions I made is a dad exasperating my son provoking him to anger because of my foolishness my lack of experience, but it's interesting. He starts back he starts here in chapter 6 with children, obey your parents, but he's been building on the whole letter this idea. What true Parenthood is and true childhood is using God the father and US adopted as children and so it's not limited to these three or four versus we have to go back in fact Begins with a loving relationship with the Lord 5:1 therefore be imitators of God the father as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. So if we want to see what Parenthood looks like what being a child looks like kids this versus address to you teenagers children, if you're living in the home children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right the Lord he's talking about there's the Lord Jesus. What does it look like to obey our parents in the Lord Jesus while we look at what our relationship is like with God who is our father and it's rooted in love. That we want to be imitators of God the father because we love him and we know that his son. Jesus loved us and gave himself up for us. We turned back to chapter 1 we see another mention of adoption 1:2 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places. Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. He predestined us for adoption as Sons Through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will to the praise of his glorious Grace with which he's blessed us in the Beloved. The Eternal Sun became the incarnates son Jesus so that you and I might become adopted sons of God Sons and Daughters when I when I went back to this word sons and I was in chapter one. I reminded you that this is a position of privilege. This is the position of the firstborn are that we're inheriting everything. We've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ. This is the language of adoption into inheritance rights. So ladies don't be bothered the metaphors to say you are a first born are you're a Son of God and if it bothers you too much us men are called the bride of Christ. And that is it you that's what we heard in chapter 5 and that is a beautiful picture that we are the Bride of Jesus that he is our husband and he's devoted to us and he's going to wash us with the water of the word in presentas faultless and without blemish Before Our Father in heaven. beautiful pictures of everything that we have in Jesus and so when it comes to this command children for you to obey your parents in the Lord do what you need to do is that in the Lord Jesus his reminder to look to how Jesus obeyed his father in Heaven perfectly. It begins with a loving relationship. They were not bound by Earthly models. All of us can say that we know bad father's we've seen it you might have grown up with a bad father who was either abusive and angry or absence. or maybe he was a good dad. He did the best he could but he made lots of mistakes and ask for lots of forgiveness. What's the Our Father in Heaven is perfect and he's been acting as a father to us and toward us before the foundation of the world according to chapter 1. And I wouldn't say that even his parents in my experience as a dad now for 25 years almost 26 years. My greatest failures as a parent. Our greatest failures come from insecurities that turn into idolatry. What do I mean by that? Was parents what we do is we have these fears and insecurities for our children, whether its success or health or or having not going experiencing the same kind of sand that we experienced and then we turned that into an idol and say well that's the one thing if my kid goes through that. I don't know how I can survive. I don't know how I could could live as a parent. And so then what we do is we turn that into exasperatingly our children because we're determined to stop whatever it is. We're afraid of mycourse what ends up happening is we can't change the heart. We're not the Holy Spirit and is our kids grow up. They have minds and hearts of their own and unless Jesus gets a hold of their heart. They can go the way of the world. You so children obeying your parents in the Lord assumes that you know the Lord Jesus. Isn't it interesting that obedience as children?

Works it's expected of us as children to our parents when we were in the home. But the only way you're going to obey in a way that is satisfying to you in a way that is joyful to you is if you are in the Lord yourself, if you've believed Upon Jesus and put your faith in him. God doesn't have any grandchildren. what do I mean by that God has children all of us have to put our faith in Jesus and become a child of God nobody's born into Christianity just because your parents are Christians doesn't mean you will be I'm so come to Jesus if you don't know him. I think what's also implied here. This parenting is it's built on a healthy relationship between parents that he had started with husbands and wives earlier versus 22 to 33.

But what Paul is arguing here children. Obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. He saying this is proper. It's fitting it's characterized by righteousness. It's the right thing to do. The command is obey which is actually stronger than submit up in verse 21. And the motive is in the Lord for this is right. It seems like a simple command very obvious or most unnecessary children. Obey your parents.

And as parents, we've all been tempted with a thought. Should I insist that my child obey and got answers and says yes, this is right insist that your children. Obey you.

Isn't it interesting if we love our children too much to require them to do what's right, then we've not really love them enough. Have we? Obedience has motivated here by doing what's right, but that's not the ultimate motive. The ultimate motive is submission to the Lord Jesus. Obey your parents in the Lord. This is what I'm wanting to drive at this idea that the motive is the Lord Jesus. It's the right thing to do because this is what Jesus commands this is what God commands. but obedience is not enough Paul goes on to say

honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise verse 2. The command is to honor. And the motive is that it may go well with you verse 3 and that you may live long in the land quoting Exodus getting to the heart attitudes. Jesus taught us this principle Behavior. Where does it come from out of the Overflow of the heart what we say and do flows from the heart and all correction. All discipline. All training is parents must address. The heart or heart is at the core of our being it includes according to scripture our thoughts and Romans 12 are Will and Isaiah 7 or conscience in 1st Timothy 1 our motives in Hebrews 4 and our desires Psalm 37 And this is what God evaluates by the way is the heart remember when he said that in regards to David man looks at the outward appearance by the Lord. Look at the heart 1st Samuel 16 this why Jesus says what you need Changed by the gospel in John 3 is you need your heart changed and Jesus was simply teaching with the Old Testament had thought Deuteronomy. You need to circumcise your hearts. You need to have your hearts all of the hardness cutaway Ezekiel says a Heart of Stone taken out and a heart of Flesh put in Jeremiah says you need to have God's law written on your heart. What an incredible thoughts. We need heart surgery. and the only one who can do it is the spirit of God through the gospel of God, and when our heart is changed then our obedience in our Behavior follows, then it's not simply obeying but honoring Not merely obedience but honor and I know I've used this illustration once before but it comes to mind my dad when he was having us do chores growing up. He would say you need to do the dishes and you need to do it with a smile on your face. Well, I could paste a smile on my face while I was washing dishes, but I wasn't happy to be doing the dishes. That was for sure. But what was he getting at? He was saying I want you to have the the kind of hard that wants to serve your family that wants to think of others that wants to do your chores, not merely as a duty but because you're part of this house and it helps us. What took me a long time to figure that out. Probably not until I had kids and I wanted them to have the same attitude and they were I might have threatened to say you do the dishes and you put a smile on your face. I don't remember Gavin was that true. He doesn't know he's racist and he doesn't remember. I don't know that he ever did the dishes now. I'm just kidding.

The motives that you it may go well with you and you make live long on the earth. It is kind of a interesting phrase. Paul says that this idea that this command is the first with a promise. I think he's talking about. It's the first one you run across in the pentateuch with a promise. There's many other commands than the Ten Commandments and some have promises attached to them. But Paul universalize is Exodus 20:12, and he removes the reference to the land of Israel and he mentions the whole earth that it may go well with you verse 3 and you may live long on the Earth. In the land and there's exceptions to long life and we know that those who followed Jesus Christ will suffer persecution, but this verse is giving us wisdom like the Book of Proverbs. You want to enjoy your life and have a full life honor your parents. It's not incredible honor your parents Disobedience to parents is a mark according to the Bible of a sinful Society Romans 1 1st Timothy 1 its characteristic of the terrible times in the last days 2nd Timothy 3. And so he's giving this command to children in the household and saying obey your parents and honor them have the behavior and have the right attitude of honoring. And by the way, the honoring of our parents doesn't end when we leave the home you remember Jesus said in Mark that we need to honor our parents in their old age to care for them. to provide for them So what a what a command we need the spirit of God to help us with that, don't we? Goodnight. I love my parents. I honor him my dad. I'm not sure if he could live with me. I don't know we might but heads too much. He just walked in. So I wanted to give him a hard time. But this this idea man are my parents enough to care for them. Why better this is what Jesus commanded. It's a children are to obey their parents and honor them and then parents are then two verse four fathers. Do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. The implication of Christ lordship for parents. First is don't exasperate your children. Do not provoke them to anger. It echoes the earlier discussion in chapter 4 turn back to 4:26.

Be angry and do not send do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity for the devil. Then he goes down to verse 31. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. To he's giving this command to parents and he speaks to father's because the father's the head of the household who has the ultimate responsibility for this and he says don't provoke your children to anger. But instead bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and this idea of provoking is not just frustration anger or anxiety alone. This word provoked. It was used of God's Own righteous anger over Israel's idolatry. It was a rising up of sentiment that led to actions.

in the Roman world the law of Patria potestas this authority of the father. They had unlimited power over children. And for Paul to say to these Roman fathers don't provoke your children to anger. They would have said who cares I have ultimate authority over my children. I can do whatever I want with them. But what Paul is doing is he saying the gospel transforms the culture? What you think is right as a father as a parent in the Roman world is not what the gospel deems rights. You see one way that we provoke. Our children to anger is we rule by guilt by manipulation by shameful silent treatments or abusive denials of worth all of it undermines obedience and contradicts the gospel using our Words As Weapons to tear down because we have authority over our children. We want to make sure to put them in their place. We want to enforce obedience by manipulation and coercion. Will that doesn't actually bring about long-term Obedience of definitely doesn't bring about honor instead what it does is it provokes them to anger? Now there is a place for discipline. He says bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. So it doesn't mean that we let our children do whatever they want. The Bible is clear about loving discipline and instruction of children throughout the Old Testament The Book of Proverbs is especially talking about disciplining our children. Bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord Jesus. We are the primary dispensers of Grace into our children's lives. So Lincoln and his commentary says what Paul is ruling out by this statement is excessively severe discipline unreasonably harsh demands abuse of authority arbitrariness unfairness constant nagging and condemnation subjecting a child to humiliation in all forms of gross in sensitivity to a child's needs and sensibilities. That's not in keeping with the gospel. And we could go back to how our father has treated us. He's not a father like Earth Lee father's he's a perfect Father in heaven.

Will this idea of discipline if used in 5:29 of Christ nourishing disciplining the church that John Calvin translate this word let children be fondly cherished. Training them to maturity. It's a comprehensive word including providing for physical and emotional needs where to bring up children with the care. We give to our own bodies and then instruction correction admonition is a more specific word. Brian Chaplin his commentary says it includes discipline and he says this if we do not have a grip on Grace, we will not have the courage to discipline. But if Grace has no grip on us, there will be no constraint to our discipline. credibly wise this training. This instruction has the Lord Jesus as both its reference point and its goal back in 4:20. Paul tells us the way we learned Christ assuming we heard about him and were taught in him as the truth is in Jesus. That's the same way that we learned Jesus. We're to raise our children in the admonition and instruction of the Lord Jesus.

Put before them the beauty in the glory and the Majesty of Jesus and his sufficiency. To plead with our children to to come to Jesus and pray for them to know that we're not the Holy Spirit. We can't make them believe but we can share the hope we have that lies within us. we can do everything in our power to put them in front of the Gospel in the word bringing them to church having them involved in ministries having devotions that our home instructing them as we go along the way is Deuteronomy 6 says

The goal is training and instruction in the Lord Jesus. No way. I found it to be very helpful for me about raising children is it's the same goal is the Great Commission to make disciples baptizing them teaching them to obey everything. Jesus has commanded that what we're doing when we're raising children is by God's grace were making disciples. So if they're not saved we're sharing the gospel in the hopes that we see them come to Christ and want to publicly profess him in baptism and then teaching them to obey everything. Jesus has commanded and this is what Paul had talked about in Chapter 4 verses 11 to 15. That God gave the apostles the prophets the Evangelist the Shepherds and teachers to equip the Saints for the work of Ministry for the building up of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of faith in the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by waves and carried about by every wind of Doctrine by human cunning by craftiness in deceitful schemes rather speaking the truth in love were to grow up in every way into him. Who's the head into Christ. What an incredible thought that as we're raising children. Our goal is the same as what we see on the pages of scripture. We would want to see them come to a measure of the stature of the fullness that belongs to Jesus. By God's grace.

This is the first relationship that Paul was the second one. He's talked about in this structure wives and husbands children and parents and then he moves on to slaves and Masters and slaves and Masters. We don't have this in our society. We don't have this household situation in our culture today. And employers and employees can be an application but it's it's not specific to this passage. And so at first glance it's kind of hard to answer this. So what question of how is this going to help us in our lives? In fact, we see in this here in chapter 6 when he gets into the slaves and Masters that unlike marriage, there's no appeal to the creation order because there was no slavery before the fall and unlike children and parents. There's no appeal to Mosaic law because even under Mosaic law that was a different kind of slavery than Roman slavery. He does nothing to establish slavery is legitimate or beneficial and I think this is important. I'll mention more on this in a moment. What he does. Is he constantly brings slaves and Masters back to Jesus Christ. He's speaking on the effects of redemption and true freedom in Christ, and he tells slaves in Jesus. You're set free from every other so-called master. but I think it's helpful for a moment to talk about what Roman slavery was like because it's different than even American slavery was like Roman slaves became slaves through one of three ways either because they got themselves into debt and they had to pay off the debt. They were captured in war or they willingly sold themselves into slavery because it was a benefit to them. In Roman law slaves were considered persons in their treatment was widely varied. It depended on the owner. End slavery in Rome as I said was different than slavery in America. It was not based on the color of skin. Unlike American slavery. Freeman could sell themselves into slavery knowing that they could later regain their freedom. It was under contract. So if they had a death or if they wanted to get ahead in society, they could for a season 10 15 years sell themselves into slavery not be worried about paying the bills cuz your owner was going to pick it up and you could Advance yourself American slavery was not like that at all. It was permanent. So slaves in the Roman Empire, they would do it for Hap's to find a life that was easier than when they were free to secure special jobs to climb the social ladder. They were given food and clothing and shelter and taken care of. In fact, there's an example of a Man Who Sold himself into slavery so he could become the chief accountant of a private household slaves could become highly trained in the Roman Empire tutors professors Physicians philosophers. And as I mentioned they would become free eventually.

There were numerous methods. I don't want to get into all the details of it. But in the Roman culture slaves were a part of the household approximately estimates are half. The 60% of the Roman Empire was slaves. They weren't family, but they weren't simply employees and they definitely weren't property. Until he tells slaves here to be a witness for the gospel by working. Well versed 5 bondservants Obey your Earthly masters with fear and trembling with a sincere heart as you would Christ. Fear and trembling this is usually the what happens when we get a glimpse and scripture of the presence of God and his mighty acts but he tells the slaves to obey their masters with fear and trembling why because ultimately they're obeying Jesus. Who is God, who is the judge? So it's not that they're necessarily in fear and trembling to their own Bond servants, but they are with sincere Hearts obeying in such a way as they would obey the Lord Jesus Christ. He's going to say in verse 8. They're going to be rewarded by the Lord Jesus. So they're submitting with sincerity of heart verse 5. They're submitting in versus 6 and 7 to a sovereign God not by Way by Services people Pleasers, but Bond Servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart rendering service with a good will as to the Lord Jesus and not to man. They're serving the lord not simply men and they're submitting in verse 8 in order to receive a reward knowing

Sorry verse 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does this he will receive back from the Lord whether he is Bond servant or he is free and this is where we get a little glimpse into how this can apply to us slaves. We don't have slaves in our culture. But Paul here says when we submit in our appropriate relationships in such a way that we're submitting to Jesus and work doing it with sincerity of heart submitting to the sovereignty of God knowing that Jesus is going to reward us. He says whether he's Bond servant or he's free. Jesus is going to give the reward now, I think in the context, he's not talking about he's our most slaves and that these Roman slaves could become Friedman later on that weather when Jesus returns or they die their slave or free they're still going to get the reward. They don't have to earn the reward by getting their freedom. But we have this idea of the heart motive of what it looks like to submit to Authority. And we have various governing authorities in our life as I mentioned two weeks ago. If Paul took a different turn he would have said like Romans 13 submit to governing Authority. And the reason we submit the governing authorities is because God has ordained them all and we submit in such a way that we're submitting to the Lord Jesus Christ knowing that our submission is an act of worship and the Lord. Jesus is going to reward us for it. What an incredible thought and so this implication of Christ lordship for slaves is that slaves are to obey from the hearts in the implication for Masters is that there to do good without threatening again? This would have been countercultural. Seneca the famous speech writer said all slaves are enemies and in the Roman World many Masters were tyrants some slaves committed suicide to escape some did Escape like fugitives onesimus in the book of Philemon in the New Testament some rebelled course, the most famous is Kirk Douglas when he rebelled from Laurence Olivier in Spartacus. I was hoping you older folks would appreciate that. Kids, there's a movie called Spartacus and a slave rebelled and started a rebellion. But yeah treat your slaves the same way. This command would have been outrageous in the Roman culture. But in Jesus in the church, this is what the gospel does it transforms these relationships. So these Masters were to exercise Authority with Justice and fairness after all Jesus Christ. The judge is completely impartial and the exercise Authority is being under God's Authority. They're not the boss. They're just under the boss. Who is God and they have authority and I think that's a good implication for us in our various relationships of authority, whether it's his parents whether it's on the job whether it's in our town or Society is that we only have authority because we're under Authority

our attitudes are to be ruled by our submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says slaves and Masters have the same altimate Master Jesus and they're accountable to him. Now, what about slavery in the Bible? Paul in the early church did not advocate for the abolition of slavery as an institution. You can't find a verse that says end slavery. However, we know in church history that Christianity's emphasis on these principles on the transformation of individuals through the gospel who then influence Society. We know the scripture 1st Corinthians 7 Paul says every slave is free in Christ and every free person is a slave to Christ. He's laying the seed beds and foundation for theology that affects ethics that affects how we live and how the society lived. Paul we don't know why he didn't advocate for the abolition of slavery in his writings, but we have some thoughts on it that God is Sovereign that Romans 80 had a big picture eternity in perspective and suffering in this life. Was nothing in comparison to Eternity. We we can speculate that many may have become Christians for the wrong reason just to abolish slavery. Paul did say avoid becoming slaves don't sell yourself into slavery first Corinthians 7 and if you could gain your freedom you should do so First Corinthians 7, but I think in a little book of Philemon, we have him saying something very close to Ending slavery turn over to the book of Philemon if you can find it. Probably one page in your Bible.

right after Titus

and it's only one chapter. and Paul is in jail. Is there a Roman prison and evidently what happened was this slave? Onesimus had run away from his master and ended up in a Roman jail, alongside Paul and Paul let him to Jesus and onesimus became a Christian and now Paul is writing this letter back to Philemon to say receive back your slave and do it in a certain way. And so let's read through this a little bit. He says, but starting in verse 4 I thank my God. Always when I remember you in my prayers because I hear of your love and of the faith you have toward the lord Jesus and for all the saints and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ drive to ride much joy and comfort from your love my brother because the hearts of the Saints have been refreshed through you so this man Philemon is a Christian. He's a brother in the Lord. He's useful and influential in the local church. And then he says accordingly though. I'm bold enough in Christ to command you to do what's required. So I'm an apostle I could tell you to receive back your slave and you have to be obedient yet for Love's sake I prefer to appeal to you I Paul an old man, and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus I appeal to you for my child onesimus whose father I became in my imprisonment. So he can't onesimus became a Christian under the teaching of Paul formerly. He was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me and I'm sending him back to you sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel. But I prefer to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion. But if you're on a cord, so Paul's honoring this this slave ownership saying Philemon you own him. I'm not going to keep him here to be useful to me because I don't want to come tell you he's your slave. So I'm going to send them back to you verse for this is perhaps why he was parted from you for a while that you might have him back forever. No longer as a bondservant but more than a bond servant as a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you both in the flesh in the Lord? So in the Providence of God onesimus ran away, but maybe this is why you lost him for a while so that I could lead him to Jesus and when you get him back, he's more than your slave. He's a brother in the Lord. 417 so if you consider me your partner receive him as you would receive me if he's wronged you at all or owes you anything charge it to my account pulse and I'll pay whatever damages he's incurred. I Paul write this with my own hand. I will repay it to say nothing of you owing me. Even your own self. Yes, brother. I want some benefit from you in the Lord refresh my heart in Christ confident of your obedience. I write to you knowing that you will do even more than I say now that verse 22 even more than I say is interesting because what he said is receive back your slave as a brother in the Lord, which is exactly what Philemon would have understood to be the case as a Christian slave owner. So what does he mean even more than I say will commentators have said Paul was alluding to the fact that he would receive him back and not just received him back but free him of his slavery. That what Paul was basically appealing Philemon to do is to see the implication of the Gospel is not just a receive him back as a slave who loves Jesus who's now a brother in the Lord, but the implication would be that you would free him you haven't needed him for this time. And now you can free him and he can be your brother-in-law you could think of him receive him as you would receive me back in verse 17. It's not explicit. It's not clear but the doctrine of our Brotherhood as Christians undermine the practice of slavery in other words Christianity undermine slavery from within I do think it's important that Paul doesn't see himself fundamentally as a social crusader. As horrific as the things that accompanied slavery were in the Roman Empire the Apostle Paul is first and foremost concerned for the spread of the Gospel believing the rest will follow from that now the gospel and social good are not at odds, but we can eliminate or marginalize the gospel in favor of a particular social Crusade. And so we have to keep the main thing the main thing but it's not an either-or. It's a both ends, but in the bolt and the priority is the gospel, that's what we see here in the text before us. So the conclusion so what why would we do with this passage? Obviously, if your parents you have this command to not exasperate your children provoke them to wrath will bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord if your children your you have this this application to obey your parents in the Lord Jesus to honor them. We don't have slaves and Masters today. And so this passage doesn't have a immediate command an application for us. But I think what we can do is say that what Paul is teaching on is a freedom in Christ through the holy spirit. That is by faith where we now are in a new kingdom. We're in a new house and there's coming a day. We're going to receive our full inheritance as children of the king and so the attitude and application is that we live with self-denial and a deep concern about meeting the needs of others. It's essential to life in our household and it's essential to life in the church and life in the community. And what would this look like if we were known by this if the spirit filled Us in such a way that in the community of Benicia, we were known as those who love and serve and deny ourselves and Put others before ourselves, what would that look like? This is an outworking of God's plan in chapter 12 some of all things in Jesus. All of our lives are about Worship in Chapter 2 and the glory of God. We remain here for Mission everything else falls under that including the household and so think about this we don't exist for our home. We don't exist for our family merely I think one of the biggest Idols of our culture right now is the family. When I was pastoring in Brentwood, I saw it to a degree. That was far beyond what I even see here in Benicia that parents have made the family and the the children the idols of their home involved in so many things success and so many areas to the neglect of church to the neglect of mission to the neglect of why we are here is a church.

I considered it kind of a normal thing that the average Church go or in Brentwood would come two weeks a month because the other two weeks they were committed to family stuff. But I'd lamented it because I saw the children who the parents wanted to see their children raised up in the nurture of the Lord, but what they taught their children was the things of the Lord are peripheral. What's more important? Is your hobbies in your sports in your activities? And I see it here in Benicia to a degree. We see it in our culture. It used to be that Sports never happened on Sunday, but there was a turn and now Sundays just as good a day for the culture to do so for two packets become the family day and isn't it interesting that family is good. The Bible says the church is a family of families and yet we have this countercultural message. that says there's something more important than even family and it's the mission of the church to share the gospel to be Salt and Light in a city on the hill. And so as a parent raising children in this culture, I've often thought about how can I use these things of family in life in the community for the message of the Gospel? How can I be a missionary in my ZIP code? Even if I raise my children along the way? That's a challenge. That's difficult. We need wisdom. We need help. We need the spirit of God to give us insight to make those decisions and my desires not to put heavy burdens on you and to make you feel guilty about how busy your kids are.

in all of this the motive throughout whether it's children parents slaves or Masters was we do this for the sake of the Lord Jesus. Arc Automotive is we want to please Jesus. And if we have that heart attitude the actions will follow this is what it means to have christ-centered gospel-centered lives. And so if there's any conviction over this, may it be a desire to cling to Jesus more than anything. He's our salvation. He's our hope. He's our life. This is what we're going to be doing forever. And we have an opportunity to show what it looks like see if Louis you probably know this famous quote. He said that the problem with most Christians is not that their passions are too strong. It's that they're too weak that they settle for sex and drink and these kinds of things. It's like eating mud pies in the slum when a holiday at Sea is awaiting us. I think one of the biggest challenges is appearances families in in a household has to say all of the things that this culture offers that's second-best that won't satisfy. The only thing that will satisfy us forever is the Lord Jesus. At his right hand are Pleasures forevermore and fullness of joy. It's not that our Pleasures are too strong is that they're too weak will you get settled and satisfy for the the joys of the technology of this world in the the the pleasures of this world? When was awaiting Us in in the presence of God is what cannot be compared Eye Has Not Seen ear is not hurting or entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love him. It's a holding out to our families to our home to our culture this idea that the reason we have peace and joy is not because we filled our lives with all of these things that bring us peace and joy know the reason we have peace and joy is because we have Jesus and he gives all those other things meaning. And those other things apart from Jesus, they don't have any ultimate meaning because they can't save and they can't deliver. They might give peace for a moment. They might give joy for a moment. But they always wear out. I'm ready to buy a new phone now. Mine's only two years old. Why has a new version came out? It's this time of year. And isn't it how our culture trains us to just keep seeking? After that, which never satisfies and the gospel on the other hand says, so if you would receive Jesus you will find in you a Wellspring of water. You'll never thirst again. You'll be satisfied forever. Father. Thank you for your word this time.