Ephesians 6:5-9
All service and authority stand under Christ, the impartial Master in heaven.
5 Servants, be obedient to those who according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ,
6 not in the way of service only when eyes are on you, as men pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
7 with good will doing service as to the Lord, and not to men,
8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive the same good again from the Lord, whether he is bound or free.
9 You masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with him.
All service and authority stand under Christ, the impartial Master in heaven.
Paul applies Spirit-filled household order to bondservants and masters by commanding servants to obey with sincerity as serving Christ, and commanding masters to treat servants with the same Lord-conscious integrity, abandoning threats because both servant and master have one Master in heaven who shows no favoritism.
Ephesians 6:5-9 continues the household section that began in 5:22 and flowed from the command to be filled with the Spirit in 5:18 and to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ in 5:21. Paul has applied Spirit-filled household order to wives and husbands in 5:22-33 and to children and fathers in 6:1-4. He now addresses bondservants and masters, again placing both parties under the Lord. This section is not disconnected labor advice; it is part of the Spirit-filled life of the new humanity in Christ. It also prepares for 6:10-20, where Paul will call believers to stand against spiritual powers. Here, earthly authority and service are relativized by the heavenly Master, before Paul turns to the unseen powers behind the church's struggle.
Ephesians 6:5-9 addresses bondservants and masters within the household structures of the first-century Roman world. Slavery in the Roman Empire was widespread and varied in form, including domestic service, skilled labor, education, administration, and severe exploitation. It was not identical to modern race-based chattel slavery, yet it remained a fallen institution involving ownership, social hierarchy, and constrained freedom. Paul speaks pastorally to Christians living within that social reality. He does not give masters ultimate authority; he subordinates both servants and masters to the same heavenly Master. He dignifies servants by addressing them directly as responsible disciples of Christ, and he restrains masters by commanding them to give up threatening and remember God's impartial judgment.
Household Faithfulness and Standing Firm in the Armor of God
The church that has been blessed, reconciled, and made new in Christ must live faithfully under his lordship in household life and stand firm in God's armor against spiritual powers.