Episode 147: Ephesians 6:5-9 Roles and Responsibilities: Slaves and Masters

Living Water Community Church

We explored the section where Paul addresses slaves and masters. It is interesting historically because the roles of slaves and masters at this point in Roman history was much closer to the modern roles of employees and employers. Because of the slave uprisings and because it is estimated that two-thirds of the population of Rome were slaves, they were treated generally pretty well. Slaves had more legal rights then free laborers did. So when Paul addresses slaves and masters we should be thinking of employees and employers. In a nutshell the goal of Paul’s teaching is for slaves to serve their masters or employees to serve their employers as if they were serving Jesus. The opposite is also true employers should be treating their employees as if the employee was Jesus. Ultimately this approach to the relationship between employees and employers is going to be concerned with the relationship itself, and in this there is going to be a lot of depending on Jesus to help us. The hope for the Christian employer or employee should be the eternal state of the person they are working with.