Ephesians 6:1

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ephesians 6:1-9

Here we have further directions concerning relative duties, in which the apostle is very particular. I. The duty of children to their parents. Come, you children, hearken to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. The great duty of children is to obey their parents (Eph. 6:1), parents being the instruments of their being, God and nature having given them an authority to command, in subserviency to God; and, if children will be obedient to their pious parents, they will be in a fair way to... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Ephesians 6:1-4

6:1-4 Children, obey your parents as Christian children should. Honour your father and your mother for this is the first commandment to which a promise is attached that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. Fathers. do not move your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and the admonition of the Lord. If the Christian faith did much for women, it did even more for children. In Roman civilization contemporary with Paul there existed certain... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Ephesians 6:1-4

Paul lays on children that they should obey the commandment and honour their parents. He says this is the first commandment. He probably means that it was the first commandment which the Christian child was taught to memorize. The honour Paul demands is not the honour of mere lip service. The way to honour parents is to obey them, to respect them, and never to cause them pain. Paul sees that there is another side to the question. He tells fathers that they must not provoke their children to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 6:1

Children, obey your parents in the Lord ,.... The persons whose duty this is, "children", are such of every sex, male and female, and of every age, and of every state and condition; and though the true, legitimate, and immediate offspring of men may be chiefly respected, yet not exclusive of spurious children, and adopted ones, and of children-in-law; and the persons to whom obedience from them is due, are not only real and immediate parents, both father and mother, but such who are in the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 6:1

Children, obey your parents - This is a duty with which God will never dispense; he commands it, and one might think that gratitude, from a sense of the highest obligations, would most strongly enforce the command. In the Lord - This clause is wanting in several reputable MSS., and in same versions. In the Lord may mean, on account of the commandment of the Lord; or, as far as the parents commands are according to the will and word of God. For surely no child is called to obey any parent... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 6:1

Verse 1 1.Children, obey. Why does the apostle use the word obey instead of honor, (167) which has a greater extent of meaning? It is because Obedience is the evidence of that honor which children owe to their parents, and is therefore more earnestly enforced. It is likewise more difficult; for the human mind recoils from the idea of subjection, and with difficulty allows itself to be placed under the control of another. Experience shews how rare this virtue is; for do we find one among a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 6:1

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. The first duty of children is obedience, and "in the Lord," i.e. in Christ, this duty is confirmed. The ἐν κυρίῳ qualifies, not "parents," but "obey," and indicates that the element or life which even children lead in fellowship with Christ makes such obedience more easy and more graceful. The duty itself rests on the first principles of morality—"for this is right." It is an obligation that rests on the very nature of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 6:1-3

The duties of children to parents. There is a beautiful and appropriate simplicity in the counsel here addressed to children. Their duties are founded in nature. They derive their being from their parents; they are fed by them; they are trained by them for the duties of life. I. THEIR DUTY IS SUMMED UP IN THE ONE WORD " OBEDIENCE ." But it includes four important elements. 1. Love . This is an instinctive feeling, but it is not the less a commanded duty, for... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 6:1-4

Duties of children and parents. It must have been an interesting day in the Church of Ephesus when it was known that a pastoral letter would be read in the public assembly from the beloved and venerable apostle whose labors had been attended with such a blessing. Whether the meeting was held in early morning or late in the evening, every effort would be made by every Christian to be present, and even as they were walking towards the place of meeting, a certain briskness of manner and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 6:1-4

Christian nurture. Having shown how Christ sanctifies the marriage union and gives to husbands the ideal of devotion, the apostle proceeds in the present section to show the relation which should exist between children and parents. He directs children to the fifth commandment and to the promise it contains, and he calls upon fathers to afford their children Christian nurture in place of provocation. The section suggests— I. PARENTAL QUALIFICATIONS . And here we fall back upon the... read more

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