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Introduction
For every great job out there, it seems as though there are an equal amount of ones that cause us to scratch our heads and ask, “why would anyone want to do that?”According to USA Today, some of the “worst” jobs out there include being a taxi driver, newspaper reporter, retail salesman, pest control worker and a roofer.
Now, we can surely think of some other jobs that aren’t exactly desirable for our skills and interests, however we can also think of some jobs that we would absolutely love to have!
Whether it be a doctor, teacher, farmer or even just your own boss.
We know that work is a gift from God and is something that we should certainly be thankful for, however we see that some jobs simply aren’t very desirable.
Because of this, we have to ask ourselves, why are we doing what we are doing?
There are a couple of answers to this question, on one hand you work because you get paid and you need money in order to survive and provide for your family.
The desire to make money is certainly one that our world has a deep passion for, however there should be a greater passion than simply making money for a Christian.
Our text today shows us a different answer to this question.
We see that Christ is the ultimate boss over our job.
We might think that our job stinks (maybe it literally smells wherever you work!), but from our text this morning we see that Jesus Christ is in fact our “master.”
Paul is going to show us how we should work in light of the fact that our work exalts Christ.
This has been a theme of Christians ever since the Protestant Reformation 500 years ago, how you can and should use your vocation to glorify Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, many Christians see next to no connection between their relationship with Christ and their occupation - you might see a connection for a pastor, minister or a chaplain, but for a teacher, photographer or a farmer you might not see the connection.
The fact of the matter is that everything we do as Christians should be done for the glory of God.
In the words of Abraham Kuyper, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’”
Before we read this text of Scripture, though, I want to point out as we have done often in Ephesians, that this is a text that many people read and immediately draw 21st century application from without understanding the 1st century application that Paul was making.
Certainly there are some applications for us to see from these 5 verses, however we must also do our best to understand the idea of “transferring” masters in the 1st century world.
With that in mind, let’s see what Paul has to say in
Understanding 1st century slavery
It is easy for us to read our American understanding of slavery into this passage of Scripture and think that slavery in the 1st century world was predicated upon one’s race and was a lifelong sentence.
Did this happen in the Roman empire?
Sure, it did, however in general the concept of slavery was significantly different than our understanding of it today.
Stott notes that it has been estimated that in the peak of the Roman Empire, there would have been upwards of 60 million slaves!
That means that in a city the size of Ephesus, 1/3 of the population could have been slaves.
Not only was this a very large population, but the concept of slavery was an accepted part of life and a major part of the economic system throughout the Roman Empire at this time.
Whereas we think of slavery being a lifelong sentence that fostered economic gaps between skin colors, slavery at this time period was different as Snodgrass notes.
Slaves did nearly all of the work during this time period.
Some of them were highly educated, in some instances they were more educated than their masters.
Slaves could own property and they could even save up their own money in order to buy their own freedom.
In fact, many slaves gained freedom by the age of 30.
Certainly, there were some slaves who endured hardships and persecution similar to that of the plantations in Brazil and the United States in the last 300 years, however there was a great amount that were able to escape from slavery and vault up the social ladder, and in some cases, to the very top!
In some instances, slaves were even made heirs of their masters estates and inherited millions upon millions of dollars worth of property and possessions!
To be a slave in this culture was not entirely a bad thing.
In , Paul paints the picture of this relationship as he talks about slaves and masters.
We see that there are positives and negatives associated with slavery.
A positive would be that you could have a much better life for yourself by selling yourself to a benevolent master, however you could also find yourself serving a wicked master.
If that was the situation that you were in, you have the hope of buying your freedom and serving a benevolent master!
The idea is that those who are slaves to others are freed in Christ and those who are masters are slaves of God.
This should unify the body of Christ, both master and slave alike!
What we must understand, again, is that slaves could obtain their own freedom.
They could obtain skills to earn a wage and their intellect could help them raise through the cultural ranks once they obtained their freedom.
Men and women could both gain this freedom!
Now, you might ask, if slaves became freed then how were there so many slaves in the Roman empire?
This is a great question!
People became slaves in this era through a variety of ways: birth, parents selling them into slavery or abandoning them, being taken captive during war, being unable to pay off a debt, or voluntary trying to make one’s life better (it was often better to live as a slave of a very wealthy family than try to make it by on your own).
Again, race was not a large contributing factor to slavery in this era while slavery in our minds was almost completely racially based.
Sure, some slaves had a harsh and cruel life, however their conditions were largely dependent upon their owner - which is why Paul addresses the masters in this text.
You might ask, why does Paul not simply say that slavery is wrong and that it should be outlawed?
After all, that is certainly the cry of the church today - we know that slavery in the United States was wrong and we proclaim that slavery in any nation today is wrong as well!
Why did Paul not do this?
Perhaps it was because Christianity was so powerless (from a political standpoint) during this time.
Another possible answer was because hundreds of thousands of slaves were freed in the 1st century and this was a relatively easy process.
Others will note that Paul is simply giving household instructions in instead of trying to write a document that will change the social structure of the Roman Empire.
With these things stated, I do want to spend some time this morning talking about why the type of slavery that we think of is completely unBiblical:
commands Christians to love their neighbor, not own our neighbor.
This goes against the Great Commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.
states that we should treat others the way that we would want to be treated.
Slavery is never showed as being a positive thing in Scripture (we think of the example of Israel being slaves in Egypt).
The term “masters” is similar.
We know that Christ came to set people free from bondage, not enslave them to other humans.
The New Testament might not come right on out and say slavery is evil, but it does destroy the argument for it.
Paul undermines slavery by showing that we are to imitate God - God is the father of the fatherless and He is a God of compassion who stands against oppressors and cares for the powerless.
Philemon is one of the greatest examples of undermining the concept of slavery.
Philemon is one of the least talked about books in the Bible, yet it contains within it some great Biblical truths that we can add valuable understanding from.
Onesimus ran away from his master, Philemon, then he met Paul and became a Christian.
Paul then writes Philemon to take Onesimus back “not as a slave, but as a dearly loved brother.”
The bond they shared in Christ super-seeded their previous relationship as slave/master.
How does this passage deal with undermining slavery?
Verse 5 comes out and says that slaves should be obedient as slaves of Christ.
To Paul, it’s all about the spread of the Gospel.
While Paul might not have come out and blatantly called out slavery for being evil, the spread of the Gospel immediately began to undermine the institution of slavery; it lit a fuse which eventually exploded and destroyed slavery.
Paul was telling Christian slaves and Christian masters that they were supposed to have a different relationship with one another (because of Christ) than what was typical for a slave/master relationship in this era.
They are supposed to treat one another how they would treat Christ.
Snodgrass notes, “That masters are to treat their slaves “the same way” is cryptic but still shocking.
For them to follow this instruction, they would have to treat their slaves with respect and fear and with sincerity of heart as to Christ.
That alone should have abolished slavery for Christians!
The ethics move beyond the “Golden Rule” to treating others as we would treat our Lord.”
We hear the Golden Rule often - treat others the way you want to be treated, but if we add the phrase, treat others the way you would treat Christ, that whole equation changes, does it not?
Not only are you supposed to be “nice” and “peaceful” towards others and treat then well, but you are supposed to treat them like you’d treat Christ.
Whenever we think about that, our entire outlook on relationships changes dramatically because it’s no longer about us, but it’s about Christ!
Paul reminds both slaves and masters that they are under the Lordship of Christ as we see at the conclusion of the text in verse 9 “there is no partiality with Him.”
Both the CEO of the company and the janitor share the same Lord and Savior - Jesus Christ.
If both of these individuals recognized that they were both living life under Christ, would that change the work conditions and hours for the low man on the totem pole?
Would it change the generosity and treatment of employees by the CEO?
It certainly would!
Slaves and Masters are to recognize the fact that they are both under Christ and that Christ does not show favoritism based upon one’s human occupation.
Whether you make $100,000 or $10,000 / year, Christ does not show partiality!
Therefore, you have a responsibility to treat everyone with respect as you would show Christ.
Paul also calls the masters to treat their slaves the same way, without threatening them - this was not a law or idea found in the civil code of Paul’s day, he was instrumental in the demise of slavery.
No Biblical figure would have endorsed slavery (especially as we know it), regardless of what some people in our world might claim.
In fact, as slavery began to die out in the 1700 and 1800s thanks to men like William Wilberforce, the reason that they fought so hard against the practice of slavery was because of the influence of Christianity!
These men and women recognized that they were brothers and sisters in Christ.
Now that we’ve taken some time to understand the idea of slavery at this time, let’s look specifically at Paul’s message.
Paul’s message to slaves and masters
Paul splits these verses up to give instruction to slaves (first) and then masters (last).
Christ is mentioned throughout these verses and the command is clear from Paul - live all of life for Jesus Christ.
You might see your master as your boss, however Jesus Christ is your ultimate master.
Paul’s message is for slaves to understand this and “transfer” masters from their current one to Jesus Christ.
How can they do this?
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