Bondservants of Christ

Ephesians 6:1-9

What does it actually mean to call Jesus Christ our Lord?

That is a question Christians can answer quickly with words. We know the right language. We know how to say that Jesus is Lord, that we belong to Him, and that we want to follow Him.

But Scripture continually pushes us beyond what we say and asks us to examine how we live.

As Paul approaches the end of his letter to the Ephesians, he begins applying everything he has taught to everyday relationships. He speaks about husbands and wives, children and parents, bondservants and masters. These may seem like very different subjects, but they are connected by a truth Paul has already established: followers of Jesus are called to live Spirit-filled lives in submission to Christ.

And if Jesus is truly our Lord, that should change everything.

A Faith Our Children Can See

Ephesians 6 begins with an instruction to children:

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”

Paul then turns his attention toward parents:

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

For Christian parents, raising children is about much more than producing good behavior. Our responsibility is to raise children who know the Lord and understand His Word.

But that instruction begins with us.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 tells God's people that His words must first be upon their own hearts before they diligently teach them to their children.

That order matters.

You cannot expect your children to follow a Jesus they never see you following.

You cannot tell them the Bible is important if they never see you open yours. You cannot tell them prayer matters if they never hear you pray. You cannot tell them Jesus should be the center of their lives when they can clearly see that He is not the center of yours.

Our children are watching.

They watch how we respond when we are angry. They watch how we treat their mother or father. They watch how we speak about other people. They watch how we handle failure. They watch whether the Christianity we talk about on Sunday is the Christianity we live throughout the week.

Christian parenting begins with following Christ ourselves.

Discipline Is More Than Punishment

Paul also tells parents to bring their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Discipline has become an uncomfortable word for many people, but Scripture does not place love on one side and discipline on the other. Biblical discipline is supposed to be an expression of love.

That does not give parents permission to discipline however they want.

There is a significant difference between correction that comes from love and punishment that comes from anger.

Humiliating a child is not biblical discipline. Taking your frustration out on your children is not biblical discipline. Losing control and hurting a child is not biblical discipline.

Biblical discipline is intended to correct behavior, explain what was wrong, teach what is right, and train a child to make a different decision in the future.

There is a difference between correcting a child and crushing a child.

Discipline should produce wisdom rather than resentment. It should provide correction rather than discouragement. Ultimately, it should point our children toward the Lord rather than push them away from Him.

And for every parent who looks backward and sees mistakes, our failures can become opportunities to demonstrate the Gospel too.

Let your children see you repent.

Let them hear you say, “I was wrong.”

Let them see forgiveness.

Let them discover through your life that following Jesus does not mean we have never failed. It means we recognize our need for mercy, grace, and forgiveness and allow Christ to change us.

Bondservants of Christ

Then Paul moves from families to another relationship that existed throughout the Roman world: bondservants and masters.

The historical circumstances are different from our own, but Paul's teaching reveals something that applies directly to every follower of Jesus.

He writes:

“Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”

There are two words we cannot afford to overlook:

Bondservants of Christ.

If you belong to Jesus Christ, you belong to Him.

Jesus did not save us so we could continue being the lord of our own lives. He saved us so that we would belong to Him.

That idea runs against almost everything our culture teaches.

The world tells us freedom means doing whatever we want. Follow your heart. Live your truth. Do whatever makes you happy.

But Scripture presents a very different picture.

Romans 6 teaches that we become slaves to whatever we obey. We can live enslaved to sin, which leads to death, or through Christ we can be freed from sin and become servants of righteousness.

Anyone who has struggled with sin understands what slavery to sin feels like.

We tell ourselves, “Never again.”

Then we find ourselves doing the same thing.

We promise it was the last time.

Then we return to it.

Sin promises freedom while slowly becoming our master.

The incredible news of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ breaks those chains.

Freed From Something and Freed For Something

Romans 6:17-18 says:

“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart... and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”

Jesus did not simply set you free from something.

He set you free for something.

You were freed from the bondage of sin so that you could belong to Christ.

The One we now belong to is the same One who humbled Himself, entered His creation, was mocked, beaten, and crucified so that sinners could receive eternal life.

Scripture says that we were bought with a price.

That price was the blood of Jesus Christ.

We belong to Him.

That is what it means to be a bondservant of Christ.

Who Are You When Nobody Is Watching?

If Christ is our Master, our obedience cannot exist only when other people are watching.

Paul warns against “eye-service” and living as people-pleasers.

We all understand what that looks like.

Someone suddenly becomes the hardest-working employee in the building when the boss walks into the room. When the boss leaves, so does the work ethic.

Paul says followers of Christ should be different because our ultimate Master never leaves the room.

This reaches far beyond our jobs.

Who are you when nobody from church is around?

What are you looking at when nobody can see your phone?

What are you saying when the person you are talking about is not in the room?

How do you conduct your business when you know you could get away with dishonesty?

Our lives cannot simply be performances designed to convince other people that we follow Jesus.

We serve Christ.

That means whether we are at work, serving in ministry, raising our children, running a business, helping someone in need, or sitting alone where nobody else can see us, we should ultimately be doing everything for the glory of Jesus Christ.

Authority Does Not Make Anyone the Master

Paul also speaks to those who have authority.

He reminds masters that they have a Master in heaven and that there is no partiality with God.

The principle remains important today.

You may be someone's boss.

You may own the company.

You may lead a ministry.

You may lead your household.

You may have people who answer to you.

But you have a Master too.

One day the person with authority and the person under authority will stand before the same Jesus Christ.

God is not impressed by titles, positions, bank accounts, or how many people answer to us.

Whether we have authority or live under someone else's authority, everything comes back to Jesus Christ.

Is Jesus Really Your Master?

That brings us to the question we cannot avoid:

Is Jesus Christ really the Master of your life?

Not simply, “Do you call Him Lord?”

Do you live like He is Lord?

Jesus asked in Luke 6:46:

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”

We cannot have Jesus as Lord only when we agree with Him.

We cannot submit to Him only when it is convenient.

We cannot follow Him only when following Him costs us nothing.

Jesus said:

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

That is the life of a bondservant.

The question is no longer simply:

What do I want?

Instead, we begin asking:

What does my Master expect of me?

It is no longer simply:

What makes me happy?

It becomes:

Lord, what brings You glory?

Because my life no longer belongs to me.

It belongs to Him.

The Master Became the Servant

If surrendering everything to Christ sounds difficult, remember who our Master is.

Jesus Christ, although He is God, humbled Himself and took the form of a servant. He became obedient even to death on a cross.

The Master became the servant so that slaves to sin could be set free.

He took the punishment we deserved.

He paid the price we could not pay.

He died the death that belonged to us.

And three days later, He walked out of the grave.

When Jesus says, “Follow Me,” He is not calling us to remain in the life He died to save us from.

He is calling us to leave the old life behind.

To stop being enslaved by the things of this world.

To surrender ourselves to the Master who gave His life to save ours.

And there is no greater freedom than belonging completely to Jesus Christ.

So stop trying to belong to Jesus while still belonging to yourself.

Lay down your plans.

Lay down your pride.

Lay down your sin.

Lay down your will.

And become what you were bought with the blood of Jesus Christ to be:

A bondservant of Christ.