Ephesians Study Week 12
Calvary Chapel Fayetteville Ladies’ Study
Ephesians 6:1-9
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 "Honor your father and mother" (this
is the first commandment with a promise), 3"that it may go well with you and that you may live
long in the land." 4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the
discipline and instruction of the Lord.
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would
Christ, 6not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the
will of God from the heart, 7rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8
knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he
is a slave or free. 9Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he
who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
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Paul is continuing this letter, the chapter break is not in the original manuscripts. This is a
continuing and connected thought.
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Beginning in Chapter 4, following 3 chapters of sweeping, majestic doctrinal truth, Paul
lays out for us what unity and maturity in Christ looks like, how it is walked out. He uses
the phrases
o Be renewed
o Put on the new man
o These things require cooperation with God. The Spirit will enable us, but we
must step out in obedience
o Paul begins a list of what the new man is—
 Speaks truth, doesn’t lie
 When angry, does not sin
 Gives no place to the devil
 Works honestly so that he can give generously, doesn’t steal
 Speaks what is good and edifying, ministering grace to the hearer
 Does not grieve the Holy Spirit
 Puts away all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and slander along with all
malice
 Hatred
 Passionate anger
 Angry temperament, punishing anger
 Wailing of those in distress
 Injurious speech
 Desire to injure
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Kind to one another, forgiving one another because Christ has forgiven us
Imitates God by
 Walking in love
 Giving ourselves as an offering
Sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness (idolatry) shouldn’t even be
mentioned
No filthiness or foolish talk or crude joking should be uttered
Walks as children of light
Discerns what is pleasing to the Lord
Takes no part in the works of darkness
Looks carefully at how he walks, as wise not unwise
Redeems the time
Is not foolish, but understands the will of the Lord
Is filled with the Holy Spirit and overflows with
 Worship
 Thanksgiving
 Submission
o In the church
o
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In the home
 5:22-6:4
 Wives submit to husbands
 Husbands submit to God’s will
 Children obey parents
 Fathers do not provoke (discourage, frustrate) your
children
o In the workplace
 Slaves obey your masters
 Masters do not threaten your slaves
What does submission look like?
 Submission is voluntary and mutual
 It is repeated “submit yourselves”—nowhere in this text to see one
person forcing another into submission
 5:21, 22 Submitting yourselves=hypotasso
o To arrange under, to subordinate
o To subject, put in subjection
o To subject one’s self, to obey
o To submit to one’s control
o To yield to one’s admonition or advice
o To obey, be subject
 5:21 to one another=allelon
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One another, reciprocally, mutually
Submission requires equal surrender—
 Just as a wife must submit herself to her husband, the husband, like
Jesus in the garden, has to submit himself to God’s will which is to be
the servant-leader in the home
 Submission is ultimately to Jesus not another person
 5:21—“out of reverence for Christ
 5:22—“as to the Lord”
 5:23, 25, 27—“as Christ”
 6:1—“in the Lord”
 6:4—“of the Lord”
 6:5—“as you would Christ”
 6:7—“as to the Lord”
 6:8—“from the Lord”
 6:9—“he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven”
 Submission involves obedience
 6:1, 6:5 hypakouō
o To listen, to hearken
o To hearken to a command
 Submission to a person in authority must never require sin
 A church member, wife, child, employee, etc., must never sin even if the
one in authority is demanding it
 Acts 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God
rather than men.”
The ongoing infilling of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer will have an effect on
relationship with others. There will be harmony in the church, in the home, and in the
workplace if all are submitted to the Lord.
What about when the other person is not in the Lord, or is in a state of rebellion at present?
o Know that God sees--6:6-8 “ . . . 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 slave or free”
o Do everything in your power to bring peace to the relationship--Romans 12:18 “If
possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
o Do not retaliate, Jesus is our example in this—1 Peter 2:13-3:9 13 Be subject for the
Lord’s sake to every human institution,[a] whether it be to the emperor[b] as supreme,
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or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do
good. 15For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the
ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a
cover-up for evil, but living as servants[c] of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the
brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
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Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle
but also to the unjust. 19For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures
sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten
for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a
gracious thing in the sight of God. 21For to this you have been called, because Christ also
suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He
committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did
not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting
himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that
we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
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For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and
Overseer of your souls.
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Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the
word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2when they see
your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding
of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4but let your
adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle
and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5For this is how the holy women
who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6as
Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and
do not fear anything that is frightening.
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Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to
the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you[d] of the grace of life, so
that your prayers may not be hindered.
8
o
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a
humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary,
bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
We can do everything right and still find ourselves in a situation where the other person is not
submitted. We cannot force another person to submit. We can only examine our own heart,
repent of anything that the Holy Spirit shows us, and then walk in love leaving the results to
God.
Prayer Challenge—pray this week that we will experience harmony in the church, in the home, and in
the workplace as we are filled with the Spirit and lead a life of worship, thanksgiving, and submission.
That regardless of the actions of others, we will individually submit to Christ and to the roles he has
assigned us to in this time and this place for His glory, trusting Him to see and knowing that we will
receive back good from Him even if not from others.