12/21/17 – Eph 6:6-7, The Relationship Between Workers and
Bosses, Pt. 2. Lesson #17-136
Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard
Grace Fellowship Church
Before we
begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, (If You have - Trusted
in Him for Eternal Life), it is important to prepare yourself to: Take-in God’s
Word and/or Participate in a Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite,
or acknowledge your sins privately, directly to God the Father. This will
assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father & the Holy Spirit’s
convicting ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the
real teacher.
1 John 1:9 says— “If we confess [simply
name, cite, or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
[all unknown & forgotten sins].”
For those of you who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior, please see: The Salvation Message @ the
end of this document.
2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is
not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward
you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
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Ephesian 6:5-9, Working Relationships,
Part 2
Eph 6:6-7; Col 3:22-25; 1 Peter 1:15-16
Vs. 6
Eph 6:6, “Not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers,
but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”
Here we have two negative ways of
working and then two positive ways of working.
The first of the two negatives uses
the Greek Negative Particle ME, “not.”
Followed by the Accusative Preposition KATA, “with,” and the Accusative Noun OPHTHALMODOULEIA, ὀφθαλμοδουλεία that means, “eye slavery or eye service,” used only
here and Col 3:22. It is a compound
word from OPHTHALMOS that means, “eye” and DOULEIA, “slavery or service.”
Eyeservice means someone who wants to attract attention to themselves on the
job in a hypocritical function of their job. They do things just to look
good in front of the boss.
The second negative way of working
is classified, “as men-pleasers,”
which is HOS, “as” with Nominative Adjective, ANTHROPARESKOS, ἀνθρωπάρεσκος that means, “one who
tries to please men.” Paul coined this term from ANTHROPOS, “man,” and ARESKO,
“to accommodate, be pleasing, seek to please, etc.” It too is only used here
and Col 3:22. It refers to someone
who tries to please people or butter up people at the expense of principle,
someone who holds their job by flattery and fawning.
This means that you only work hard,
or do any work at all when the boss is watching you. Otherwise you are slacking
off, goofing around, or not working when they are not in your presence. Even
more egregious is when you go out of your way to do things in the presence of
the boss like showing off, doing special favors for them, running other people
down with your mouth to make yourself look good, gossiping, etc. Sometimes even
dressing in a certain way or provocatively to get the attention of your boss is
included here. Therefore, we are to do our jobs unto the Lord and not in a
self-aggrandizing way to simply please our bosses.
We
should always realize that as born-again believers, we are in full time
Christian service to God, which includes our earthly jobs whether outside or
inside the home. That means we are “professional Christians,” as royal priests
and royal ambassadors. Therefore, when we do our job, we are do it unto the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Then
the second positive way to serve on the job, “doing the will of God,” which is the Present Active Participle of
POIEO, “to make or do,” with the
Accusative of HO THELEMA that means, “will,
desire, determination, purpose, or inclination,” and HO THEOS in the Genitive
for, “of God.”
This
means that we are to walk in our Personal Sense of Destiny, a Problem Solving
Device, while on the job. It means that you know that God has a plan for your
life and you are walking / living it out daily. It means we are to accept our
circumstances and use them to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. If the Lord
wants to change your circumstances, He will, but in the meantime, do your job
unto the Lord. The dynamics of Bible doctrine comes from utilizing your own
circumstances assigned to you by God.
Therefore,
“doing the will of God,” means that
you do not commit sin to fulfill God’s plan for your life, but instead walk /
function in the holiness and righteousness of God, by not entering into sinful
behaviors and functioning with honesty and integrity. It means you have the
Christ-like nature and use it to perform your job. It means you function as God
would function, in righteousness. It means God’s will for you is to “be holy as
He is holy,” and therefore you perform motivated by how God wants you to
perform your job, in holiness. God has placed believers in every aspect of
life. God can bless a believer in any circumstances of life.
1
Peter 1:15-16, “But like the Holy
One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16because
it is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY’.” Cf. Lev 11:44; 19:2; 20:7.
The
place this service is to emanate from is “the heart,” which is not HO KARDIA in
the Greek, but is actually EK PSUCHE that means, “from the soul.” So, this is
better translated, “from the soul.”
As
in vs. 5, we noted the battle ground
of the Angelic Conflict is the soul where there it noted the heart or the right
lobe of the soul. So here, the whole soul (PSUCHE) is now in view. So, we see
the battle ground of your entire soul being the issue for dealing with the OSN
(flesh) of your boss on the job. The issue of your soul is, will you allow it
to be controlled by your own OSN when you are tempted to sin and be a lazy
worker when your boss is not around and a man-pleaser when he/she is, or will
you allow your soul to be led by the Word of God and the Filling of the Holy
Spirit and do your job in righteousness and holiness, with integrity and honor
at all times.
In
reality, Paul classified only two types of service: working to please men and
working to please the Lord. The first type is an outward show of loyalty and
goodwill when the boss is watching. But when the worker is no longer under
surveillance, the hardworking attitude is replaced by a begrudging one. Even if
the worker has a genuine desire to please superiors only for the purpose of
reaping the rewards they might bestow, this is still considered eyeservice
because it is not done to glorify God. Flattery and hypocrisy are also ingredients
of this kind of service. Yet, the second type we are exhorted to perform, is to
do our jobs unto the Lord, which means to do the things that are pleasing to
Him, as noted above, while performing your job.
Christians
can bring reproach on the name of Christ by stealing time; for example, some
witness for the Lord when they are being paid to work. Paul made it clear to
these Christian slaves/workers that faithful service would be a testimony to
their masters/bosses. Some of their masters/bosses were also Christians, but no
doubt many of them were not.
We
can also classify these two opposing concepts of performing our jobs as:
1. Working for personal, independent gain.
2.
Working to please Christ.
This
is also noted in the next verse, but in opposite order.
Vs. 7
Eph
6:7, “With good will render service,
as to the Lord, and not to men,”
This
time the passage begins with the positive and ends with the negative.
The positive, “with good will render service,” begins with META, “with,” EUNOIA, “good will, favor,
benevolence, or kindness.” It comes from EU, “well or good” and NOUS, “mind,
perceive, understand, realize, see, consider, take note of, or think over.” It
is a state of zeal based upon a desire to be involved in some activity or state,
therefore, “zeal, eagerness, or wholeheartedness.” It is a positive attitude
exhibited in a relationship; a good attitude or willingness. So, it originally
meant, “good thinking,” but came to be used for “loyal enthusiasm.”
With
this is DOULEUO, δουλεύω in the
Present, Active, Participle that means, “be a slave or be subject to obey.”
DOULEUO is also found in the promise of blessing for good service in Col 3:24, for “you serve.”
We
then have the motivation factor, “as to
the Lord,” HOS HO KURIOS in the Dative case. We do our job unto the Lord.
Then
we have the negation, “and not to men,”
KAI OUK ANTHROPOS in the Dative. As stated above, do not be men-pleasers.
Here
we are exhorted, “if you cannot transfer your job, transfer your boss,” i.e.,
from a man to Christ Himself. When we get our eyes off of our bosses and put
them squarely on the Lord Jesus Christ, Heb
12:2, we will have the proper motivation to do our jobs, and in most cases,
will do it well, pleasing the Lord. Bible doctrine changes things from the
soul, not from the function of people seeking change and improvement of
environment. Remember, the grass is not always greener at another job or
company. But if you change the way you think and approach your job from a
worldly viewpoint to a doctrinal view point, you will see the greenness
wherever God places you.
Therefore,
a worker is to serve his boss with goodwill that includes such characteristics
as zeal, enthusiasm, loyalty, devotion, etc. The believer with Bible doctrine
in his soul, especially the spiritually mature, does the most menial tasks with
loyal enthusiasm as to the Lord.
As
such, Paul gives instructions to slaves and masters, (workers and bosses),
exhorting them to glorify Christ with proper attitudes, work ethic, and a deep
awareness of Christ’s Lordship. We are to do our work as unto Christ, which
means:
1.
Glorify Christ by working respectfully,
Eph 6:5a. We are to work seriously and reverently, because we are working unto
Christ.
2. Glorify Christ by working
wholeheartedly, Eph 6:5b-6. Do not
be a hypocrite and work hard only when the boss is present. Remember that
Christ sees all things.
3. Glorify Christ by working willingly, Eph
6:7. Put your heart and soul into your work from your free will volition
led by the Word and Holy Spirit within your soul, because you are doing God’s
will.
4. Glorify Christ by working
expectantly, Eph 6:8, because the
ultimate reward is coming. No Divine good work goes unnoticed by God. We will
stand before the BEMA seat of Christ and be rewarded, Mat 16:27; Rom 2:6-11; 1 Cor 3:10-15; 2 Cor 5:10; Rev 2-3.
Col 3:22-25, “Slaves, in all things obey those who are
your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely
please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23Whatever
you do, do your work heartily (PSUCHE – from the soul), as for the Lord rather than for men.”
Paul further defined the Christian
work ethic in 2 Thes 3:6-15.
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A
PERSONAL NOTE FOR YOU
John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.”
Notice again
what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have;” it says,
“has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of
everlasting life, you have it, and it can never be lost or taken away from you [John 10:28-29]. Furthermore, the gift
of everlasting life [also called eternal life in Scripture] is available to
every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.
John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but
he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any
man should boast.”
If
you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I am here to tell
you that Jesus loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His life for you.
God the Father also loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His only Son
for you by sending Him to the Cross. At the Cross Jesus died in your place.
Taking upon Himself all of your sins and all of my sins. He was judged for our
sins and paid the price for our sins. Therefore, our sins will never be held
against us.
Right
where you are, you now have the opportunity to make the greatest decision in
your life. To accept the free gift of salvation and eternal life by truly
believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and was raised on the third day
as the proof of the promise of eternal life. So right now, you can pause and
reflect on what Christ has done for you and say to the Father:
"Yes
Father, I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ,
died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins."
If you have done that, I Welcome You to the Eternal
Family of God !!!
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Grace Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher: James H. Rickard
23 Messenger Street, Unit 3
Plainville, MA 02762
Copyright © 2001 - 2017.
Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries
All Rights Reserved.
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