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Matthew Henry

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 6:5-9

6:5-9 Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as you would Christ himself. Do not work only when you are being watched. Do not work only to satisfy men. But work as the slave of Christ, doing God's will heartily. Let your service be given with good-will, as to Christ and not to men. Be well assured that each of us, whether he is slave or free, will be rewarded by the Lord for whatever good we have done. And you masters, act in the same way towards your... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Ephesians 6:5-9

Paul's advice to slaves provides us with the gospel of the Christian workman. (i) He does not tell them to rebel; he tells them to be Christian where they are. The great message of Christianity to every man is that it is where God has set us that we must live out the Christian life. The circumstances may be all against us, but that only makes the challenge greater. Christianity does not offer us escape from circumstances; it offers us conquest of circumstances. (ii) He tells the slaves... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 6:5

Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters ,.... The apostle enlarges on the duty of servants, as well as frequently inculcates it in his epistles; because, generally speaking, they were more rude and ignorant, and less pains were taken with them to instruct them; they were apt to be impatient and weary of the yoke; and scandal was like to arise from servants in the first ages of Christianity through some libertines, and the licentiousness of the false teachers, who insinuated,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 6:5

Servants, be obedient - Though δουλος frequently signifies a slave or bondman, yet it often implies a servant in general, or any one bound to another, either for a limited time, or for life. Even a slave, if a Christian, was bound to serve him faithfully by whose money he was bought, howsoever illegal that traffic may be considered. In heathen countries slavery was in some sort excusable; among Christians it is an enormity and a crime for which perdition has scarcely an adequate state of... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 6:5

Verse 5 5.Servants, be obedient. His exhortation to servants is so much the more earnest, on account of the hardship and bitterness of their condition, which renders it more difficult to be endured. And he does not speak merely of outward obedience, but says more about fear willingly rendered; for it is a very rare occurrence to find one who willingly yields himself to the control of another. The servants ( δοῦλοι) whom he immediately addresses were not hired servants, like those of the present... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 6:5

Bond-servants, obey your masters according to the flesh. There were many slaves in the early Church, but, however unjust their position, the apostle could not but counsel them to obedience, this course being the best for ultimately working out their emancipation. The words of Christ were peculiarly welcome to them "that labor and are heavy laden;" and, as we find from Celsus and others, the early Church was much ridiculed for the large number of uneducated persons in its pale. With fear and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 6:5-8

Duties of servants. It is interesting to reflect that the New Testament devotes more space to the instruction of servants than to the instruction of either parents or children, husbands or wives. The servants, or rather slaves, were a large and interesting class in the cities of Asia Minor, often greatly more numerous than freemen, and very many of them had embraced the gospel with great heartiness. There were obvious reasons for a studious minuteness in the counsels given to such a class.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 6:5-9

Duties of servants and masters. I. DUTY OF SERVANTS . Recognized as constituent members of the Church, and, however little esteemed by man, as greatly regarded by God. In Christ all are brethren, for all are brothers of Christ, therefore of one another. 1. The duty of servants is obedience. Qualities of the obedience. 2. The reward of good service . Whatsoever good you do, you shall receive of the Lord; he will repay you. We are apt to be jealous of this doctrine. It... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 6:5-9

The Christian treatment of slavery. The treatment of slavery by Christianity is one of the most interesting of themes. Because Christianity did not preach a servile war, that is, did not propose emancipation by force, it was imagined that it was a conniver in the selfish plot against the liberties of man. But Christianity confines itself to spiritual means. It is by a spirit that it regenerates mankind. Force and mechanical appliances may subserve its purposes, judgment may have to take... read more

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