12/31/17 - Eph 6:8, The Relationship Between
Workers & Bosses, Pt. 3, The Promise of Blessings
Lesson # 17-138
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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Eph 6:5-9, Working Relationships, Part 3.
Vs. 8, The Promise of Rewards in Time and Eternity.
Eph 6:8;
Mat 12:23; Col 3:24-25; 2 Tim 4:8; 1 Peter 1:15-16;
Rev 2-3
Vs. 8
Eph 6:8, “Knowing that whatever good thing each one
does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.”
Here we have the promise related to
doing our job well as described in these passages. It relates to the fourth
point noted above; Glorify Christ by Working Expectantly, knowing that
the ultimate reward is coming. No Divine good work goes unnoticed by God. We
will stand before the BEMA seat of Jesus Christ and be rewarded, Mat 16:27; Rom 2:6-11; 1 Cor 3:10-15; 2 Cor
5:10; Rev 2-3.
It begins with the Perfect, Active,
Participle of OIDA for “knowing,
understanding, or recognizing.” It means there is a base set of information
that is resident within the soul and applied; a fact of reality. In this case,
it is Bible doctrine, by way of the promises of God, resident within your soul.
The application here is that we have a base of information that we rely upon and
trust; faith-rest in. This thing spoken of should be a fact of reality in our
lives. So this is part of the faith rest life, knowing and trusting in the
promise of blessings and rewards.
The Conjunction “that” HOTI, sets up what the base of
knowledge is. Then in the Greek it reads, HEKASTOS. ἕκαστος, EAN TI,
for, “each whenever someone.” We translate it, “whenever each one.” TI linked with the Conjunction EAN gives us a
potential or 3rd class “if” statement that sets up a hypothetical
condition where something is uncertain but likely to be done. In this case, it
is Divine Good being produced from the obedient worker.
The Divine Good is found in the
words, “good thing” AGAHOS, which is
good of intrinsic value, that is preceded by POIEO in the Greek that means, “to
do, produce, work, perform,
accomplish, etc. In fact, POIEO is in the Aorist, Active, Subjunctive that
looks at the entirety of the action, (Divine Good Production), as a probable
occurrence performed by the obedient worker. Cf. Gal 5:22-23; Eph 5:9.
Next, we have the promise of
rewards, “this he will receive back from
the Lord,” that begin with the Demonstrative Pronoun HOUTOS, that
identifies the “Divine Good” produced. It is followed by the Future Middle,
Indicative of KOMIZO, κομίζω
that means, “provide for, care for; bear, bring,” but here means, “receive.”
The Future tense means post
Divine Good production.
The Middle voice says that
the obedient worker benefits from his actions and from the Lord’s blessings.
The
Indicative mood is for the
fact that the obedient worker will be rewarded by Christ, which is found in the
last phrase here, “from the Lord,”
PARA HO KURIOS in the Genitive of Source.
Jesus Christ is the One who rewards
believers. Therefore, whenever Divine Good is produced something happens; we
can be rewarded by our Lord Jesus Christ in time and will be in eternity.
The bottom line is the fact that a
Christian’s ultimate reward will come from the Lord, so service must be
rendered as unto Him. Everything is dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ, and all
believers, whether slave or free, will stand before the BEMA seat of Jesus
Christ on the same level and be rewarded for producing Divine Good, Mat 16:27; Rom 2:6-11; 14:10; 1 Cor
3:10-15; 9:16-27; 2 Cor 5:10; 2 Tim 4:8; 1 John 2:28; Rev 2-3.
2 Tim 4:8, “In the future there is laid up for me the
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me
on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
Jesus Christ is the only one who
knows whether or not a person produced Divine Good while on the job, or
anywhere else for that matter. A boss or an employer may have the wrong
attitude about certain things and may not credit the employee properly because
of that improper attitude. Nevertheless, there need be no fear of that
happening with Christ. His motives are always good and right. More than that,
He knows exactly what each believer’s motives are, and He will judge
accurately, rightly, and impartially.
Finally, we have the principle of
equal privilege and equal opportunity regardless of our socio-economic
differences, “whether slave or free,”
or any other types of differences. The Greek reads, EITE DOULOS EITE
ELEUTHEROS.
EITE is related to the EI, “if,”
and when used doubly, as here, it is for comparison that means, “whether –
or.”
ELEUTHEROS, ἐλεύθερος is an Adjective that basically means, “freedom, free, or
independent,” either politically or philosophically. In other words, freedom
either socially or mentally, yet the two often blend together.
The point here is that it does not
matter what your circumstances in life are. Everyone has the same privilege and
opportunity to produce Divine Good and be rewarded for it, whether they are a
hired hand, an indentured servant, or worse.
Therefore, this tells us that the
Bible promises God’s people an eternal reward that will far outweigh the
difficulties experienced in these few years upon this earth.
Remember, the parallel to our
passage is Col 3:24, “Knowing
that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is
the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
God is the One who can accurately
and impartially judge our performance and motivation while on the job, cf. 1 Peter 1:17.
1 Peter 1:7, “So that the proof of your faith, being
more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be
found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus
Christ.”
The negative aspect of this is
noted in Col 3:25, “For he who does
wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that
without partiality.”
Interestingly, in Col 3:25, Paul included failure to
fulfill your “Christian” responsibilities on the job. The principle of sowing
and reaping is emphasized in many places in the Scriptures. Just as a person
who sows corn can expect to reap a harvest of corn, so a person who sows
righteous acts can expect to reap righteousness.
Mat 13:23, “And the one on whom seed was sown on the
good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed
bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
No one is foolish enough to think
he can sow one type of seed and reap some other type of fruit, cf. Hose 8:7, but many people seem to think
they can sow unrighteousness without reaping the results. The reaping is just
as sure as the sowing.
And “without partiality” in Col
3:25, tells us that God does not show favoritism. “Partiality” comes from
the Greek root word PROOPON that means, “face.” Paul is saying that what a
person’s face looks like does not make any difference with God. Because of
attractive physical features, some people are able to get away with things
other people might not be able to get away with in their human relationships.
God, however, does not make His decisions based upon the facial features of a
person. He will reward according to the inner motives of the individual.
Prov 18:14 says, “The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but as for a broken
spirit who can bear it?”
If a person’s spirit is crushed,
life can become unbearable. But what lifts the spirit? Christ! Future hope!
Therefore, be freed from the mundane of serving man and be occupied with the
higher calling of serving God on the job.
1 Tim 6:1-2, “Let all who are under the yoke as slaves
regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our
doctrine may not be spoken against. 2And let those who have
believers as their masters not be disrespectful to them because they are
brethren, but let them serve them all the more, because those who partake of
the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and preach these principles.”
In conclusion, in each of the four
verses regarding “workers,” Jesus Christ is mentioned:
Vs. 5, Workers are to be obedient to their bosses, “as to Christ.”
Vs. 6, We perform our jobs not in eyeservice, but “as slaves of Christ.”
Vs. 7, With a positive attitude, we do a good job, “as to the Lord.”
Vs. 8, We do our job with absolute confidence that we will, “receive good back from the Lord.”
Therefore, we should work through
Christ, like Christ, and for Christ, cf. 1
Peter 2:18-25, because we are to serve Christ, not men, because we will
receive our rewards from Christ, not from men.
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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