EPHESIANS
The Mystery Revealed!
Lesson 11: “Who Is the Master of Whom?”
Class Leaders’ Preparation Guide
Scripture Reference: Ephesians 6:5-9
You are encouraged to begin each class with prayer and reading of the Scripture Reference. Try to ensure a full 45-minute class interaction period devoted to the 5 class activities
Suggested Answers to Daily Home Study Questions
The following suggested answers to the daily home study questions are provided to facilitate your preparation for leading your Sunday Bible class discussion. Remember that these daily questions were provided to encourage the class members toward developing a daily personal Bible study and meditation routine. Though the suggested answers provided here should help you prepare for Sunday, remember that on Sunday you will only use the five numbered Class Interaction and Encouragement activities. Otherwise you will have no possibility of finishing. As the quarter proceeds, your faithfulness to this approach should encourage more and more class members to study at home. Let no week pass without encouraging them to do so.
Monday’s Questions:
Paul wrote in verse 5, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters.” In our society, this might be restated as, “Employees, obey your earthly bosses.” In this restated context, what is your response to the word “obey”? What does it make you “feel”?
• In our society, the word “obey” typically carries a negative connotation. For example, you would probably be a little (or a lot!) upset if the boss exclaimed, “Obey me!!”? It would likely make you feel that the boss does not see himself as an equal to you (and you would probably be correct!).
What words come to your mind when you hear the word “obey”?
• When we hear the word “Obey,” words like “mind,” “conform,” “comply,” “do what I say” and “just do it!” come to mind. We have similar reactions to these words. We tend to be more acceptant of the request if the boss softens it by saying, “I would really like for you to observe my policies and procedures.” We tend to rebel, at least in spirit, if words like “obey,” “mind,” “conform,” and “comply” are used by those in authority over us.
What would be your reaction if you were told to “obey your boss”? Why?
• You would likely be upset. We all tend to have these reactions because we value being treated as equals with others, even by those others we know are “over us” as in a manager-employee relationship. If we feel that someone does not see us as an equal, we tend to respond differently than if we feel that they do.
What should your reaction be?
• Our reactions should not be based upon being counted as an equal with another. After all, Jesus was God and yet did not choose equality with God something to be grasped (Phil. 2). Also, even though he found himself in appearance as a man, he submitted himself to other men (and women), even to the point of taking upon himself all their sins, dying on the cross, and going to hell for them. Instead of reacting negatively to others who “lord it over us” or “look down on us” as one unequal to themselves, our attitude and response should be like that of Jesus, our Lord and Master. Our submission to those “over us” as unto and out of reverence for Jesus Christ becomes a testimony of the power of God’s Holy Spirit in us.
Tuesday’s Questions:
Paul continued in verse 5 to say to these Christian slaves, “obey your masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.” What makes it difficult to be obedient to others “with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart”?
• Probably the one thing that most determines whether we have a hard time being obedient to others “with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart,” is the apparent attitude of the ones we are to obey. If our “bosses” treat us with respect and with sincerity of heart, we are likely to accept directives from them and willingly do as they direct. Alternatively, if our “bosses” do not show us respect, we will likely feel animosity or disrespect for them and reluctantly do as they direct.
Do you find it equally difficult to obey Christ? Why or why not?
• We should not find it difficult to obey Christ, for he paid us the ultimate respect when he, with sincerity of heart, went to the cross in our stead. Though we must obey him if we are going to follow him, we do so because he humbled himself to the point of death so that we might sit with him at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 1:18-23 in Lesson 2 and 2:4-10 in Lesson 3).
What does this say about our attitudes or beliefs regarding “obedience”?
• This says that our attitudes and beliefs regarding “obedience” ultimately depend upon the attitudes and spirit we attribute to the ones whom we are to obey. Whether with justification or not, if we see the person whom we are to obey as a disrespectful and insincere person, we will most likely find it difficult to obey that person “with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart.”
Wednesday’s Questions:
How do verses 6 and 7 clarify what Paul meant in verse 5?
• Consistent with what Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:21 (Lessons 8 and 9), he is saying in verses 6-7 that regardless of whether our “bosses” treat us with respect and with sincerity of heart, we can submit to them out of reverence for Christ.
How can “obeying your boss” be viewed as like being a “slave of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart”?
• Because we know Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price of his life for us, we find his commands not burdensome or heavy. Likewise, if we attribute the same attributes to our “bosses” in the world, regardless of what they are really like, we can see their commands as not burdensome or heavy. Also, as we serve them wholeheartedly, as if we were indeed serving the Lord Jesus himself, we can potentially win their favor (verse 6). Our reward will then come from the Lord (verse 8).
Compare or contrast your answers to the answers you gave in Monday’s and Tuesday’s questions above.
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• We noted in response to Monday’s and Tuesday’s questions that we have great difficulty with the word “obey” and with those whom we see as imposing “obedience” on us. But we also noted that our response to those over us is a matter of what attitudes and motives we attribute to them. If we see them as respecting us and sincerely interested in us, we will find it easy to follow or “obey” their commands and directions. If, however, we see them as disrespectful and insensitive, we will not find “obedience” so easy.
How should this affect the way you think and respond to your “boss” at work? Do you have a heart problem?
• If we do as Paul instructs and serve our “bosses” as if we were serving Jesus Christ, our attitudes and feelings toward obedience and service will change. This should make us all take stock of how we see our “bosses” in the workplace!! It is all a matter of the heart. When we react negatively to others “lording it over us” or to their violating our “need to feel respected and treated as an equal,” we have a heart problem. We need to get down on our knees before the Great Heart Doctor!
Thursday’s Questions:
How does Ephesians 5:21 put Paul’s instructions to these Christian slaves in perspective?
• As noted in answering Wednesday’s question above, Paul in Ephesians 5:21 instructed all Christians to “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” If the Christian slaves adopted an attitude of submission to their earthly masters out of reverence for Christ, then they could obey their masters’ commands “with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart” (verse 5). With such submission out of reverence for Christ, even the commands and burdens from the harshest masters could be obeyed as if they were from Jesus Christ himself.
What is the basic principle that undergirds Paul’s instruction to slaves in 6:5-8?
• The basic principle that undergirds Paul’s instruction to slaves is that the secret to obeying earthly masters “with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart” is to submit to them out of reverence for Christ, doing the will of God from the heart (verse6).
How can understanding and applying that principle change you?
• When we understand, apply, and live by this principle, our whole attitude toward our bosses and our work, as well as our demeanor when we are at work, will change. Suddenly, we will realize that our happiness with our job situation is not dependent upon others, but upon ourselves and the attitudes with which we approach our work and our bosses. God through Jesus Christ has given us an alternative approach to all we do and how we see and respond to those who are our “earthly masters.” And as we live in this way, we are witnesses for Jesus Christ!!
Do you understand it? Do you have difficulty applying it?
• Each student will have his or her own reaction/answer here. It would be helpful if you as class leader would share your own difficulties in applying this important principle. Perhaps pull out an example of when you didn’t, what happened, how you overcame it, and what the outcome was.
Friday’s Questions:
How do you think the phrase “whatever good he does” in verse 8 relates to Paul’s use of the phrases “with sincerity of heart” (verse 5), “from your heart” (verse 6), and “wholeheartedly” (verse 7)?
• Slaves were not accustomed to receiving rewards for good they did. Typically, at best they had their basic needs provided, and at worst they were threatened and mistreated (verse 9). Paul is here instructing slaves to do good before and regardless of the master’s disposition and recognition. He is instructing them to obey their masters “¼ with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them ¼ like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men” (verses 5-7). Paul is saying that when slaves serve “with sincerity of heart,” “from your heart,” “wholeheartedly,” “like slaves of Christ” (verse 6) and “as if you were serving the Lord, not men” (verse 7), then they will be rewarded by the Lord for whatever good they do, whether they are slaves or free.
How do these phrases and Ephesians 5:21 tie together?
• These verses and Ephesians 5:21 tie together in the phrases “out of reverence for Christ” (5:21), “just as you would obey Christ” (6:5), “like slaves of Christ” (6:6), and “as if you were serving the Lord” (6:8). Regardless of our circumstances, and no matter how harshly we are treated by others, when we submit out of reverence for Christ, the Lord himself will reward us for any good we do, no matter how little!
How do they apply to you and to your part in helping God achieve his mysterious eternal purpose?
• When we serve wholeheartedly as if we were serving Jesus Christ, then our rewards will be from the Lord himself. “Earthly masters” may not even notice the good we do. Regardless of the responses of our “earthly masters,” Paul is saying that we can do good as if we are doing it to and for Christ, out of reverence for him! This is a life- and spirit-changing approach to our work that will bring rewards from the One who gives perfect rewards! Let us so encourage one another!!
Saturday’s Questions:
What does Paul mean in verse 9 when he tells masters to “treat your slaves in the same way”? Does he mean that masters are to obey their slaves?
• Paul is not saying that the masters were to obey their slaves. Rather, he is saying that masters should treat their slaves the same way they would treat the Lord himself. Consistent with 5:21, they should do this “out of reverence for Christ.”
What is the basic principle? How do you know?
• Whether it is wives, husbands, children, adult children, fathers, slaves, or masters, the principle is the same: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (5:21). Paul’s message is that regardless of our circumstances, we are to treat or serve the other person in the same way we would treat or serve Jesus Christ himself. In this way, our rewards will come from the Lord (verse 8).
How would the application of this principle by your boss affect you?
• If our bosses applied this principle, we would likely find it easy to submit to and “obey” them wholeheartedly and with respect. Interestingly, contemporary authors write of a similar principle and refer to it as “servant leadership.”
What if your boss does not apply this principle?
• The ultimate “servant leadership,” and that to which we are called as Christians, was the “servant leadership” of our Lord Jesus Christ when he took on all our sins and died for us. As his followers, his disciples, that is what we are called to do, regardless of how our bosses treat or “boss” us. And Paul says that we know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether slave or free (and whether employee or boss!).
Sunday’s Questions:
What is the significance of Paul’s statement to the slaves’ masters, “… you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him”?