A New Relationship to Power (Ephesians): Slavery in Ephesus in the first century AD was different than most people think of when they think of slavery today. Still, the imbalance of power meant the slave/master relationship was often the context for exploitation and abuse. This is the default way of this broken world. But how do power and injustice work in the kingdom where Jesus is King? The gospel changes everything. Recorded on Jul 21, 2024, on Ephesians 6:5-9 by Pastor David Parks.
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Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you.
Sermon Transcript
This summer, we’ve been working through the book of Ephesians in a sermon series called The Gospel in Life. Throughout this powerful little letter from the Apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus in modern Turkey, we’ve seen that the good news of the person and work of Jesus Christ — and our union with Christ by grace and through faith — changes everything. First, we saw that the gospel changes our identity — from death to life and from without hope/God in the world to becoming a beloved child of God. Then we saw that the gospel changes our direction in life — from living for ourselves according to the way/values of this broken world to learning to follow the way of Jesus in true righteousness and holiness. For the last few weeks, we’ve considered how the gospel changes our relationships in life — including the relationship between the husband and wife, parent and child, and today, the relationship between the bondservant/slave and their master. If you missed any of the sermons in this series so far, you can always go back and watch or listen to the audio podcast if you’d like. But today, our text is a hard text, which would be tempting to skip over. But when you work through a book of the Bible, you need to deal with everything, whether it’s easy or difficult. But let’s deal with the elephant in the room right away: In addressing what was a typical household relationship in the first-century Roman Empire — the relationship between servants/slaves and their masters — many people today wonder if Paul (or, more broadly, if the Bible) teaches that slavery is ok. And that’s an important question. Could this passage be used to support the transatlantic slave trade that exploited millions of Africans from the 1500s to the 1800s? Could this passage be used to justify the human trafficking that exploits countless millions of people today, including many children, for forced labor or sexual slavery? I’ll say at the outset that the short answer is no; this text cannot be used to justify the brutality and exploitation of those practices. But what is Paul saying here? Well, not only does Paul show the Ephesians how the gospel transforms every relationship, including relationships with different levels or imbalances of power (such as the first-century relationship of slave and master), but the principles in this text would spread as Christianity spread and would eventually help bring an end to the whole institution of slavery. But we have some work to do here. So, grab your Bible/app and open it to Eph 6:5.
Ephesians 6:5 (NIV), “5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.” Now, you might wonder why Paul would address slaves and masters at all. Thankfully, this isn’t an issue we have to deal with in our church, right? But this would certainly have been a common issue for the first-century Ephesians. According to Dr. Lynn Cohick and other sources, about 10% of the Roman Empire and up to a third of the city of Rome would’ve been slaves at this time. Ephesus was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the Empire, so they likely had tens of thousands of slaves working in farming, in the mines, for wealthy households, and elsewhere in their society. Now, slavery was not necessarily a lifetime arrangement; many people were able to work to purchase their freedom. Slavery was also not necessarily based on the color of your skin or your ethnicity but generally had more to do with your income level, as slavery was maybe the only way to escape dire poverty. This is quite different than what most of us think of when we think of slavery today. However, that doesn’t mean that slavery in the Roman Empire was a good and noble institution. It led to all sorts of exploitation and abuse, as it has in every culture at every point in human history. But Paul’s message to slaves and masters is the third of three examples of how the way of Jesus transforms common household relationships. Remember, this section started with the radically different guiding principle of Eph 5:21, which says, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” And then Paul applied this countercultural principle first in the context of marriage and then parenting, both of which often have imbalances of power. Now here, he applies this principle to the relationship between slaves and masters. Interestingly, in all three examples, Paul addresses the person with less worldly power first. He addresses the wife first, not the husband, the children first, not the parents, and now here, the slave first. This, I think, is a hint of how the gospel changes our understanding of power and authority — the first becomes last, and the last becomes first. There’s a great reversal in the kingdom where Jesus is King. But we’ll see more of that as we go. But what does Paul actually say? Well, the first half of v. 5 is what anyone would’ve expected to hear in Paul’s day. Slaves are to obey their masters. Of course! Why? Because they’re slaves! Obedience to their authority is what defines them. Now, some people in Paul’s day thought this was the case because there was something about the slaves that made them inherently inferior. And as such, certain people or people groups deserved to be enslaved. Sadly, this was the thinking behind the transatlantic slave trade — that certain races or ethnic groups are inherently inferior. But that’s not true, and that’s not what Paul says. What Paul actually says is unexpected for three reasons. First, in addition to addressing the slaves before the masters, which I’ve already mentioned (which was certainly intentional), it must be noted that it’s unexpected that Paul addressed slaves at all. He assumed bondservants/slaves would be members of the church in Ephesus and that they deserved to be discipled just like everyone else. This means Paul believed that they had agency, the ability to choose to follow this instruction voluntarily, and that they should not be forced or coerced to behave this way. This would’ve been very empowering, but this certainly fits with the broader Biblical teaching that every human being — male/female, Jew/Gentile, slave/free — is made in the image of God and, therefore, has inherent dignity and worth. They deserved to be discipled, too. But first, it’s unexpected that he would address people with so little power, status, or rights. Second, it’s unexpected that Paul qualifies the masters as earthly masters or literally masters according to the flesh. This language places the master/slave relationship within the system/age of this broken world. Throughout the NT, the flesh represents the ways of a world influenced by sin and death as opposed to the ways of the Spirit and the Kingdom of God. Meaning that the master/slave relationship will not last forever. One day, they will come to an end, and all will be free. This would’ve been encouraging, especially if a slave’s situation was not good. Don’t forget, my brother or sister, one day this age will come to an end, and “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev 21:4). Paul addresses the slave, he places their situation as part of the system that God is working to redeem, and third, maybe it shouldn’t be unexpected given the rest of Ephesians, but it certainly would’ve been unexpected that Paul says slaves are to obey their earthly masters with fear and trembling and with sincerity of heart. This isn’t just about acting obediently; it’s also about their attitude/heart. God cares about our behavior, but he cares more about our hearts. And people who have been united with Christ and are imitators of God are to be people of integrity — people who are the same inside and out, whether slave or free. This, too, would’ve been empowering because it expected slaves to be free in their hearts to make moral judgments and be able to choose to act in upright and godly ways. But what could this look like? What would it look like to obey your earthly masters, “just as you would obey Christ?” Paul gives several examples starting in v. 6.
Ephesians 6:6-8 (NIV), “6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.” So, what would it look like to obey “just as you would obey Christ?” At the heart level, it would look very similar to working for someone as a free person today. It would look like doing what’s right whether or not anyone is watching you. A common principle for any organization is that what you measure improves. Why? Because when you pay attention to a process/team/person, it usually means the people involved know they need to do their best. But Paul says that followers of Jesus should work hard whether or not anyone is paying attention because you’re working for Christ. It would mean working hard and doing what’s right, not just to win the favor of others — not as people-pleasers — but simply doing the will of God from your heart. Again, this is about personal integrity. Whether you work in the home or outside the home, whether you get paid or you’re unpaid, serve wholeheartedly, not deceitfully or for selfish gain. Why? Paul says because you know that the Lord will reward (or repay) each person for whatever good they do, whether slave or free. This, too, would’ve been empowering for the slaves in Ephesus because they were on the same level as anyone else standing before their creator. And the Lord is a perfect judge. He knows what you’ve been through. He knows the situations that were especially difficult that you had to face in life. And certainly, Christian slaves were not always in a great situation. Perhaps their master was an unbeliever. Or perhaps their master was a believer but one who followed worldly ways of treating them as property and not as their brother or sister in Christ. I’m sure sometimes it would’ve been very difficult or even costly to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love their neighbor as themselves without their freedom. Some of the members of the church in Ephesus may have been exploited or abused. Of course, this isn’t what Paul was encouraging. This would violate the principle of neighbor love that was to define the Christian community. In 1 Co 7, he says that if slaves can gain their freedom, they should! The whole letter to Philemon is about a runaway slave who Paul said was to be welcomed back as a brother in Christ and not as a slave. But if a slave in Ephesus was abused by their master, they could take comfort that the Lord would know. And he is able to set every wrong to right. He is able to bring redemption out of every injustice. He is able to repay what is stolen or lost, including wages/time/dignity/anything else. But according to the Bible, this is true for anyone. Everyone, slave or free, will stand before their maker and give an account of their lives to him. But if this is true for everyone, then this would also be true for the masters, which is where Paul ends with v. 9.
Ephesians 6:9 (NIV), “9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.” This is God’s word. This last verse is truly revolutionary. As far as I’m aware, no one in the ancient world wrote anything like this. That masters were to treat their slaves in the same way. In the same way as what? As if serving the Lord and not people, doing the will of God from their heart, being a person of integrity, and so on. So, masters are not even to threaten their slaves. Why? Paul says, “…you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven.” Every master has a greater master. It doesn’t matter how much wealth/power/status you had there in Ephesus 2000 years ago or here in Appleton today. A Christian cannot act however you want towards others. You cannot use your power to abuse or exploit others in any relationship. And this is true whether anyone sees or cares or not — whether it’s legal or not. The Lord is not just your Master but is the Master of every human being. So if you mistreat another person, male/female, adult/child, slave/free, you will have to give an account of your actions to your maker. And Paul reminds us that there is no favoritism with him. The Lord of all will not look kindly on the exploitation or abuse of any man, woman, or child. He will not look the other way. Jesus said, “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Mt 18:6). You can’t read the Bible and miss God’s heart for the most vulnerable among us, including the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the poor. This would certainly include the slave. In fact, the first person to name God in the Bible is the Egyptian slave woman, Hagar. And the Lord saw her, spoke to her, and provided for her. The Lord took what was intended for evil and used it for good through Joseph when he was a slave in Egypt. The Mosaic Law gave rights and protections to slaves in ancient Israel found nowhere else on the planet. Here, Paul’s application of the gospel upends the power dynamics of the slave/master relationship. But nothing has the power to change our view of slavery, like the person and work of Jesus himself. Did you know that Jesus was willing to become a slave? In Philippians 2, the Apostle Paul was writing about relationships in the church again. And he wrote that, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” And what was the mindset of Christ? Well, Jesus was “…in [his] very nature God, [but he] did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant [slave], being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Php 2:5-11). At the heart of the gospel is the story of a God who was willing to become a slave because of his great love for us to free us when we were slaves to sin and death. He traded his freedom for our chains when he exchanged his life for ours. Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for the sins of the world for every image-bearer of God, slave or free. And he rose again from the dead, so that when you believe in him, when you trust/follow him in life — no matter how easy/hard/just/unjust your situation is, no matter how much power/status you have — you realize that “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” (Gal 5:1a). As I said, the principles in this text would spread as Christianity spread and would eventually help bring an end to the whole institution of slavery not once, but twice in history. However, the ways of the world run in the opposite direction — using power to exploit and abuse others for selfish gain. But today, let us follow a different way, the way of Jesus — and be people of integrity who work hard in everything we do, working for the Lord who became a slave so that we might be free. May we be people who use our power, like Jesus, for the good of others. And may we be people who work to bring true freedom to all people so that this church might be a place where chains are broken, captives are set free, and the name of Jesus is exalted in/through every time, place, and relationship. Let us pray.
