Ephesians 6:5-8 – “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; 6 not by way of eye service, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.”  NASU

 

I want to talk about BEING RELEASED and I have a growing appreciation for this passage as a profound revelation from God.  I must put this in context for it is most assuredly not a ‘standalone’ passage.  This passage is placed within a set of passages that deal with the tense and difficult aspect of living the Christian life.  It begins with ‘husbands’ and ‘wives’, one of the most significant areas where your Christian life is tested.  Then, it deals with ‘children’ and next ‘slaves.’  All can be special areas of tension.  However, it begins much earlier in Ephesians 5:18 where we are advised,“…do not get drunk with wine… but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs…”  It is a directive to be ‘filled’ with the Spirit of God and allow the heart to be overflowing with praise to God and this text is how being ‘filled’ with the Spirit works out in daily life.  It works out in relationships, therefore what we are really talking about is what it really means to be filled with the Spirit.

That being said, there is an even greater context to consider.  In Ephesians 6:10 it deals with ‘spiritual warfare’ which is the finale of the Book of Ephesians.  Thus the passage regarding ‘slaves’ is really the end of what Paul has to say in Ephesians regarding ‘spiritual warfare.’  Everything in the book comes to a conclusion here and that alone makes it incredibly important.  I am convinced that if you understand the message here you will NEVER again be a victim of circumstances or people.  Interested yet?

THE CHARACTERS:

We know from the historical record that ‘slaves’ made up most of the Roman Empire in that time.  To the Romans one ceased to be ‘human’ once they were pressed into slavery and it was virtually permanent.  Slaves, to them, were not humans or animals they were machines!  Interestingly many of the slaves continued doing what they had done before as a vocation or job but it no longer had any meaning they were in bondage even if it was only in their heads.  They developed a sense that they DID NOT MATTER.  The only value a slave had left was their Performance.  It was all about what he did and how he did it.  Their significance came from pleasing their supervisor and have them smile.

They learned to become ‘men pleasers’ craving the smile, praise or simplest recognition and it became the oxygen that the lived by.  They became addicted to the praise of men.  Simply it was: Performance + What Someone Thinks = Worth.  The person in the predicament learns to try to read the minds, faces, actions, body language of those they are seeking to please.  We have all met ‘enslaved people’ and may have been one ourselves in this sense.  If a person is in the condition then if someone expresses or demonstrates any rejection it becomes incredibly traumatic and they fall apart.

Others become entrapped in ‘eye service’ or they only work when the boss or overseer is watching.  They seek to do minimum work for maximum return.  They serve the ‘eyes of men’ and come to view themselves as ‘victims’.  It is tragic that here in the ‘Land of the Free’ we have a large population of ‘Enslaved’.  Remember I am talking about being ‘Filled with the Spirit.’

             The RELEASE comes in knowing you are UNCONDITIONALLY LOVED and become secure in the Love of God realizing your importance and worth is not based on what you do but because of who He is.  Then you are able to relate to others from that position and are FREE!  Some become addicted to work or something trying to fill the hole inside that can only be filled by God.  Paul did not tell them to ‘rebel’ but to ‘obey’ for that was their way to FREEDOM.

People change jobs, houses, cars, and spouses trying to solve this issue but nothing changes by changing things.  Freedom comes when we change!  Obedience is a choice. Victims do not choose but Free Men/Women do.  Victims comply but Free Men/Women choose.  You have to make a choice!   Remember God chose to love you and in Christ you are NOW seated in heavenly places in Christ.  At that point we can ‘perform’ not to be accepted but because we are accepted in the beloved.  You ‘perform’ not to be loved for you cannot be loved more than you are in God.  You do not ‘perform’ for praise because you could not be more important than you are in God.

If you see this you will be RELEASED from bondage and LIVE FREE in Christ!  The spiritual application of this is not physical bondage to another but learning to be RELEASED in GOD!  God bless you as you go through your day!