Honor Every Authority Person with a Cheerful Heart of Servitude. Why? ⋆ Effie Darlene Barba %

We are now approaching the last chapter of the book of Ephesians. Paul so fully expounded on our position in Jesus Christ in the first three chapters. Now he has been teaching us the application of that knowledge. In this last chapter, he will present us with the armor we need to battle against evil. However, before he does that, he presents us with one of the most difficult tasks we face. How do we honor every authority person in our lives with a cheerful heart of servitude? And why is that important?

Even though he addresses this with a few verses, do not get lost in its brevity. It is more important than what we might think to be at first. It displays clearly our heart and mind set, reflecting our relationship with our Savior. And this is more clearly displayed than we truly want to consider it as doing.

Consider this. How does your heart felt view of Jesus Christ affect your relationship with others? Do you fully understand your total dependence on Him for your righteousness? Or have you bought into the idea that your “feelings” are more important than His truth? When I see myself for who I really am without Him, how does that affect my responses to others? Furthermore, if I then loathe myself for the truth of who I am, have I grasped the truth of the value He placed on me? Either extreme is a formula for disaster in relationships. Particularly, when someone else has authority over you. Whether that be your parents, teachers, law officers, or your boss, the right view of oneself makes a difference. How we view ourselves changes our response to every situation.

So how do we honor every authority person with a Cheerful Heart of Servitude?

That is what Paul addresses here.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may turn out well for you, and that you may live long on the earth. Ephesians 6:1-3 NASB

Notice that this is commandment, not dependent on how one feels about his or her parents. It does not come with “obey if you feel like it”. In our new society we are to consider the “feelings” of the children more than their obedience or structure. Indeed, the focus on feelings is so great that responsibility, accountability, and safety are thrown out the window. It began with Jean Paul Sartre’s philosophy of Being and Nothingness which then bled into the humanistic philosophy and manifestos. Followed by Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs.” Close after Wayne Dyer came with “your erroneous zones” and “How to raise your children”. All believed humanity could grow higher, better, and more utopian if only we transformed society to have fewer rules.

Oddly enough, the initial humanistic manifestos led to the ideas behind Hitler’s replacement of God with the “idealized version of man” that could transform all the world. When we replace God with humanity as the idol, we naturally lead to a society filled with self-centered people who are incapable of true love. That leads to the breakdown of the family.

God often refers to Himself as our Father. He has adopted us into the family when we accept Christ. He loves us and desires our best. That is why He asks us to honor Him by trusting His commands with obedience. One of those is to obey your parents. God placed them in charge of you. God knows Your full story.

And to the Parents?

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6: 4 NASB

Or the CEB version reads:

As for parents, don’t provoke your children to anger, but raise them with discipline and instruction about the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 CEB

Now notice that the two are not dependent upon each other. The command to children is not to obey your parents only if they don’t “provoke you”. Let’s look back at the commandment as written in both Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. It is the 5^th commandment and addresses only the children’s obedience. Nothing is said about the parents at that juncture.

Honor Every Authority Figure Does Include Parents is a Command of God

‘Honor your father and your mother, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well for you on the land which the Lord your God is giving you. Deuteronomy 5:16 NASB

Jesus also mentions this commandment when speaking to the rich, young ruler.

As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do so that I may inherit eternal life?” But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth.” Looking at him, Jesus showed love to him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But he was deeply dismayed by these words, and he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. Mark 10: 17-22 NASB

The command is, honor your parents. The verse here in Ephesians, Obey your parents “in the Lord.” Our only reason to not obey is if our parents tell us to do something against God’s will. I remember a young girl in Juvenile prison for threatening her co-worker. She confided in me that as a young child of 7 or 8, she was taken on “drive-byes” and given the gun to be one of those shooting. She believed she had killed someone during one of those but was not certain. She had no teaching about God at the time to know to say no. Yet, in prison, she found God or professed to have. Last I saw her she was headed to a women’s prison as she had turned 18.

But pointing out that to honor our parents does not require we deny God. We can be respectful. Think of the Muslim convert whose parents’ demand they deny God or be killed. Quietly, calmly, they respectfully say, “No.” That is still following God’s command.

Honor Every Authority Figure, Even If You Are a Slave

Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With goodwill render service, as to the Lord, and not to people, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive this back from the Lord, whether slave or free. Ephesians 6:5-8 NASB

Notice this is not just obedience, but with sincerity of heart as to Christ. Maybe to a kind master, but to a cruel master. What then? But the Bible does not lack for examples here. Look at Joseph, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to begin with. They stood firm for God; yet were exemplary subjects to those in authority. Slaves who served God first and in doing so with sincerity assisted their Masters to the best of their abilities. They dissented only when it went against God. Even then they did it without any acts of rebellion nor riotous behavior.

They served with a sincere heart believing that God was whom they truly served, trusting even their circumstances to God. They believed God to be worthy of their praise and adoration no matter what had happened to them. Trusting God gave them the power to serve with sincerity of heart the Masters who had been placed over them.

Then we have the story of a young slave girl.

“Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in the view of his master, and eminent, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but afflicted with leprosy. Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” 2 Kings 5:1-3 NASB

Because of this little girl who had been taken captive from her home, Naaman was ultimately cured from his leprosy due to Elisha instructing him to wash in the Jordan River so God would heal him. Why? Because she was truly performing her job with a sincerity of heart for God. So quickly she wanted to help him and she knew only God could cure him. And Elisha was God’s true prophet. She must have truly known God in a time when few did. Therefore, she made an excellent representative of God, displaying His mercy to her captors.

Slave Masters versus Bosses versus Government

Certainly, obeying slave masters is far more defined than even obeying our bosses. We can at least either accept or decline a job. There may be other factors such as financial factors which we way into that decision, but for the most part, we choose. We are able to weigh the good and bad in making that choice. So, if it is true for slaves, how much more is it true that we are to represent Christ in the workplace. That means not gossiping, complaining, wasting time, nor stealing toilet paper to take home. Or packages of paper, etc, etc.

When we consider our position to be light and truth in the world as honoring to Jesus Christ, then we do honor every authority person. That includes police, military, government officials and all those in authority over us. After all, Paul was chained to the guards. Paul was thrown in prison. Never did he run from the authorities. He was let down in a basket to escape a riotous crowd once, but not the authorities. In fact, he placed himself in their command. Possibly for him a safer place, but he appealed to the law of his day.

Every person is to be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Romans 13:1 NASB

Even those we disagree with are appointed by God for His purpose in accomplishing all He has planned. So, we are to treat them with respect and honor, praying for them.

Perhaps, this speech of Paul best Expresses Our Position to Honor Every Authority Person

Now Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul extended his hand and proceeded to make his defense:

²“Regarding all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today, ³especially because you are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

⁴“So then, all Jews know my way of life since my youth, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and in Jerusalem, ⁵since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion. ⁶And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers; ⁷the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. For this hope, O king, I am being accused by Jews. ⁸Why is it considered incredible among you people if God raises the dead?

⁹“So I thought to myself that I had to act in strong opposition to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the ^[^e^]saints in prisons, after receiving authority from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being put to death. ¹¹And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was extremely enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.

¹²“While so engaged, as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, ¹³at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who were journeying with me. ¹⁴And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the ^[ⁱ^]Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you as a servant and a witness not only to the things in which you have seen Me, but also to the things in which I will appear to you, ¹⁷rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, ¹⁸to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’

¹⁹“For that reason, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰but continually proclaimed to those in Damascus first, and in Jerusalem, and then all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they are to repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with repentance. ²¹For these reasons some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to murder me. ²²So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place, ²³as to whether the Christ was ^[^m^]to suffer, and whether, as first from the resurrection of the dead, He would proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

²⁴While Paul was stating these things in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you insane.” ²⁵But Paul *said, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus; on the contrary, I am speaking out with ^[^q^]truthful and rational words. ²⁶For the king knows about these matters, and I also speak to him with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner. ²⁷King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you believe.” ²⁸Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you are going to persuade me to make a Christian of myself.” ²⁹And Paul said, “I would wish to God that even in a short or long time not only you, but also all who hear me this day would become such as I myself am, except for these chains.”

³⁰The king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them, ³¹and when they had gone out, they began talking to one another, saying, “This man is not doing anything deserving death or imprisonment.” ³²And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.” ACTS 26 NASB

Concluding thoughts:

Just as God placed order within marriages, representing our relationship with Him. He placed order in our relationship to the world as well. As children. Also, as employees. And as citizens of the nations to which we are placed in. God is an orderly God. But here, He also instructed us how to be as bosses or as those in authority. We are to bow to Him and show God honor in whatever walk of life we are given.

As for masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Stop threatening them, because you know that both you and your slaves have a master in heaven. He doesn’t distinguish between people on the basis of status. Ephesians 6:9 (CEB)

When you truly understand who you are in Jesus Christ, then everything changes. It becomes obvious that we are to Honor Every Authority Person with a sincere heart of love. Love like Jesus displayed for us. Willing to sacrifice our pride, arrogance, and self-will so they might come to know Him. Is that more important than our “feelings” here on earth? In one of my poems, I ended it with: “If I could ever fully see the truth the depth and breadth God’s love for me. How different then my life would be. I’d sing His praise so joyfully.”

Imagine that!! Our lives would transform immediately if we ever fully understood who we are in Jesus Christ. That moves us from our own self to seeing the majesty of Him.

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.

Therefore if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you today. Go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. I urge you to seek Him today.

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Please note: This Post only has quotes from the KJV Bible except where otherwise indicated

¹ J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

BSB (BEREAN STUDY BIBLE)

The Berean Bible and Majority Bible texts are officially dedicated to the public domain as of April 30, 2023.

English Standard Version (ESV)

Common English Bible (CEB)

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