What advice does Paul give to children, and how does he support that counsel from the Old Testament? Ephesians 6:1-3. (See also Matthew 18:1-5,Matthew 18:10; Mark 10:13-16.)

To appreciate fully Paul’s counsel to children, we must imagine it being read out in the house churches of the thriving metropolis of Ephesus. The word “children” (Greek, ta tekna) could refer to a wide range of ages, since children remained under the father’s authority until the father was 60 (in the Greek tradition) or until his death (in the Roman one). These children, though, are young enough to be under parental training (Ephesians 6:4) but old enough themselves to be disciples in their own right.

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We hear Paul appealing to children, who were worshiping in Christian congregations, to obey and honor their parents “in the Lord,” that is, in Christ (compare Ephesians 5:22; Ephesians 6:4-5,Ephesians 6:7-9). We are invited here to respect children as themselves being disciples of Christ and to include them as active participants in worship. This makes the passage a foundational one for parenting and for ministry to children.

Paul’s command to obey is not absolute. When the commands of parents “contradict the requirements of Christ, then, painful though it may be, they [children] must obey God and trust the consequences with Him.”—Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home, p. 293.

Paul completes his exhortation to children by quoting the fifth commandment, bearing witness to the high value he places on the Ten Commandments as a source of guidance for Christian believers (an obvious feature of Ephesians 4:1-32; Ephesians 5:1-33; Ephesians 6:1-9; especially Ephesians 4:25,Ephesians 4:28; Ephesians 5:3-14). He begins the quotation (“ ‘Honor your father and mother,’ ” Ephesians 6:2), breaks into it with an editorial comment (“which is the first commandment with promise,” Ephesians 6:2), and then completes the citation (“ ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth,’ ” Ephesians 6:3). The fifth commandment bears witness that honoring parents is part of God’s design for human beings to thrive. Respect for parents, imperfect though they may be, will help foster health and well-being.

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Read for This Week’s Study

Ephesians 6:1-9; Mark 10:13-16; Colossians 3:21; 1 Peter 2:18-25; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Colossians 3:24-25.

Memory Text:

“And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him” (Ephesians 6:9).

In 2018, an artifact at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, attracted much attention. It was an abridged Bible designed to teach essentials of faith while deleting any passage inciting rebellion by slaves. Published in 1808, the text does not just remove a passage here or there. Ninety percent of the Old Testament is missing, and 50 percent of the New. Of the 1,189 chapters in the Bible, only 232 remain.

Passages seeming to reinforce the evils of slavery, especially in the absence of so much of the Bible’s narrative of “good news,” are left fully intact, including such oft-misused texts as “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ” (Ephesians 6:5).

Today, in our time and culture, our important challenge is to read Ephesians 6:1-9 in the context of the full story of salvation, as is revealed in the complete Bible. What can we learn as we watch Paul apply the values of the gospel to the flawed social structures of his day?

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 9.