God Speaks
Children, obey your parents; this is the right thing to do because God has placed them in authority over you. 2 Honor your father and mother. This is the first of God’s Ten Commandments that ends with a promise. 3 And this is the promise: that if you honor your father and mother, yours will be a long life, full of blessing.
4 And now a word to you parents. Don’t keep on scolding and nagging your children, making them angry and resentful. Rather, bring them up with the loving discipline the Lord himself approves, with suggestions and godly advice.
5 Slaves, obey your masters; be eager to give them your very best. Serve them as you would Christ. 6-7 Don’t work hard only when your master is watching and then shirk when he isn’t looking; work hard and with gladness all the time, as though working for Christ, doing the will of God with all your hearts. 8 Remember, the Lord will pay you for each good thing you do, whether you are slave or free.
9 And you slave owners must treat your slaves right, just as I have told them to treat you. Don’t keep threatening them; remember, you yourselves are slaves to Christ; you have the same Master they do, and he has no favorites.
10 Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. 12 For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.
13 So use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up.
14 But to do this, you will need the strong belt of truth and the breastplate of God’s approval. 15 Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God. 16 In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. 17 And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God.
18 Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit’s wishes. Plead with him, reminding him of your needs, and keep praying earnestly for all Christians everywhere. 19 Pray for me, too, and ask God to give me the right words as I boldly tell others about the Lord and as I explain to them that his salvation is for the Gentiles too. 20 I am in chains now for preaching this message from God. But pray that I will keep on speaking out boldly for him even here in prison, as I should.
21 Tychicus, who is a much-loved brother and faithful helper in the Lord’s work, will tell you all about how I am getting along. 22 I am sending him to you for just this purpose: to let you know how we are and be encouraged by his report.
23 May God give peace to you, my Christian brothers, and love, with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 May God’s grace and blessing be upon all who sincerely love our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sincerely, Paul
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: The Apostle Paul continues his instructions about submission from chapter 5. After instructing husbands and wives to love and respect each other, Paul now talks to children and parents, workers and bosses. Children are to honor their parents. [As noted in the text, this is one of the Ten Commandments that comes with a promise of reward for obedience–long life and wellbeing.] Parents are to not exasperate their children. Workers are to work hard whether watched or not. Bosses are to treat workers fairly. All of them are to treat each other well as if the other person were Jesus Christ Himself. We must always remember God is our ultimate master, and He doesn’t play favorites. In verses 10-18, Paul deals with the weapons God has provided for us to use in our battle with Satan and his influence. These weapons are truth; righteous living; the readiness and stability that comes when we share the good news of how people can be at peace with God; trusting Jesus; and salvation–relying on God’s rescue plan. Our offensive weapon is God’s words and promises written by the Holy Spirit in the scriptures. Prayer is the line of communication between us and the Father to get what we or others need for the battle. Paul closes by saying that he was sending Tychicus to convey information as well as God’s peace, grace, and love to sustain them. (This letter was sent to those in Ephesus who truly loved Jesus.)
Prayer: Dear God who is our Husband, Father, and Master, thank You for sending Jesus who not only taught about these roles but also modeled them for us. Please help me to live them out in my day-to-day life. Please also help me to work hard at developing my skills so that I can appropriately and effectively use these weapons that You have so lovingly provided. In Jesus’s powerful name, AMEN.
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will look for a specific way to honor my parents (and/or a parent figure in my life), then do it.
- I will look for a specific way to encourage a child (my own and/or someone else’s), then do it.
- I will look for a specific way to serve a supervisor in my life, above and beyond the call of duty, then do it.
- I will look for a specific way to increase my skills in using my spiritual weapons, then do it.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.