Monday’s Master (Ephesians 6:5-9)
Joe was not well. It was morning, and his symptoms had been rising since dawn: a headache, fatigue, a heaviness in his chest. He made his regular morning coffee. And it helped… a little. But not much. He shuffled out the door and made his commute with hunched shoulders and a heavy brow.
Joe had a bad case of “the Mondays.”
I do not think you would find it in a medical textbook but perhaps you have had this diagnosis as well. Singapore ranks among the most overworked nations in the world. More than 6 out of 10 Singaporean workers say they are burned out.
More than 8 out of 10 say they are stressed every day. And only 1 in 7 workers say their job matches their passions and talents. For 6 of out 7, they are just getting by.
Joe is not alone.
What are Mondays like for you? Do you have hard time connecting your Sunday to your Monday? Your devotion for Jesus... to your daily grind? Does God say anything... that can give us some help?
Loved ones, we are in the final chapter of Ephesians. It has been such a rich book for us to soak in together as a church body over the last few months. We have covered gospel doctrine. We have seen how it fuels gospel living. And in the last couple of weeks, we have looked at how the gospel shapes particular relationships -- in marriage, in parenting and now, for today, even at work.
Now we will get into some of the first-century context of how Paul is unpacking this — between bondservants and masters. But the applications flow quite naturally into the modern workplace.
While I do think this text speaks to employees and bosses in a particular way, I will also make clear, right up front, that these truths apply to all of us, no matter what season of life you are in, or what job you might have. If you are a student or retired or self-employed, or a stay-at-home mom.
All of us are under the Lordship of Christ. He has prepared good works for each of us. So no matter what we do to earn a living or how we spend our days. We are to work in a way that pleases Him.
Jesus is not just Lord over the “religious” parts of your life. Jesus is Lord over everything, over all your life. God is uniting all things together in Him.
In other words, Jesus cares about connecting your church life to your work life. Because the Lord of the Sabbath is Lord of your Monday.
Our text has two clear sections — just like it has been the last couple of weeks — where Paul addresses those under authority, and then those with authority, calling both to submit to Christ.
Ephesians 6:5-8 are addressed to bondservants. Ephesians 6:9 is addressed to masters. And in each section, Paul exhorts them to know their Heavenly Master.
Whether you work or lead, know your Heavenly Master.
That is where our big idea comes this morning. Here is the sermon in a sentence: Whether you work or lead, know your Heavenly Master.
We will consider this in two points:
Work unto Christ (Eph 6:5–8)
Lead under Christ (Eph 6:9)
As we walk through the passage, I pray God would strengthen us to work and lead as those who belong to Christ.
Work Unto Christ (Eph 6:5-8)
Paul begins by addressing bondservants. Given the context of household instructions, it is only natural that Paul addresses bondservants and masters. Bondservants were part of the household.
It is worth noting that Paul addresses them directly. As he says to wives and children, Paul demonstrates that being under authority does not mean being without responsibility. Bondservants were responsible for their conduct before the Lord, and they were to live in a way that pleased Him — no matter how harsh their earthly master might have been.
So you might have the worst boss in the world. It is a hard place to be in. But that does not excuse you from responsibility. You can still work in a way that pleases the Lord.
Bondservants would have been roughly 1⁄3 of the population of a city like Ephesus. It is estimated that throughout the Roman Empire there were 60 million slaves. One scholar writes, “The institution of slavery was such a fact of Mediterranean economic life... that no one questioned whether it might be legitimate.”
So the Bible is not condoning slavery here. Not at all. It is simply addressing it here. And in fact, instead of barraging slavery from the outside, the Bible lights these fuses, in a few different ways, in a few different places, that cause the whole institution of slavery to implode from within.
One fuse is right here in the mutual ethics and responsibilities between slaves and masters. Another fuse is in the book of Philemon. Where Paul tells Philemon to receive his former slave, Onesimus back, not as a slave but as a brother. Paul tells the slaves in Corinth that if possible, they should seek their freedom (1 Cor 7).
So no, the Bible does not condone slavery. Jesus did not say, “Own your neighbour...” He said, “Love your neighbour.”
The Bible rejects and abhors slavery and at the same time, works to destroy it from the inside out. Not by changing policies but by changing hearts. Both for the slave, and the master.
Let us look more closely at Paul’s instructions to bondservants, and let us consider what that means for our work today. First, we can work unto Christ by working humbly.
In Ephesians 6:5, Paul says, “Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling.” This is where Paul starts. Obedience. It is the same way he started with children.
Bondservants are to obey their earthly masters.
Even in that phrase, “earthly masters”, he is highlighting the fact that their ultimate allegiance is to a Heavenly Master. So when they obey their earthly master, it shows their obedience to Him. Humility toward God is expressed in humility toward others.
We must work humbly.
He elaborates by adding the clause... “with fear and trembling.” This refers to fear and trembling before God. That word-pairing of “fear and trembling” shows up three other times in Paul’s writings, none of which refer to a posture before man, but rather before God.
The closest parallel, Colossians 3:22, makes this clear. He tells bondservants to “fear... the Lord.” So this “fear and trembling” is before God, which leads to humility before their earthly masters.
So, how about you? Would your coworkers say that you work humbly? Would your boss? At work, do you often challenge authority? When your boss tells you to do something, do you often push back and buck against it?
Or do you say, “Yes, I will jump right on that.” ... ? And do so with humility.
Keep in mind that Paul is saying this to slaves. They had no rights. Their masters were sometimes considerate. Other times, they were cruel.
And if Paul tells them to obey their earthly masters, how much more should we obey our earthly bosses?
Let your Godward humility not just be a Sunday thing. Bring it to work on Monday. For God opposes the proud. But He gives grace to the humble.
Practically, this means you should care more about fulfilling your responsibilities than securing your rights. That is what Paul says to bondservants here. And, amazingly, he is about to turn the tables and say the same sort of thing to their masters too.
What if you were the one most concerned about fulfilling your responsibilities? And what if everyone else was too? Wouldn’t your workplace be different?
Oh beloved, work unto Christ by working humbly. Fulfil your responsibilities. Have a high pain tolerance for being wronged. At a certain point, you can always walk away, unlike these bondservants, for instance, and trust that your Heavenly Master will secure perfect justice.
No wrong will be ignored in the end.
But Paul does not stop at behaviour. He pulls back the layers, and he gets to the heart behind obedience.
That is what we are about to see next...
Work unto Christ by working humbly and by working sincerely.
Work unto Christ by working humbly and by working sincerely.
Look at the rest of Ephesians 6:5-6. Paul continues, “Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”
This is the heart of work unto Christ. We must work, with a “sincere heart”, doing “God’s will” not just out of cold, bare obligation, but out of a warm, faith-filled heart! He says that our hearts have to be just as invested in our work as if Jesus were our boss!
Did you see that there, Ephesians 6:5, “ ... with a sincere heart, as you would Christ...”
Would your work ethic be different if you reported to Jesus? Would you be less distracted? Would you be more diligent? Would you be less concerned about a promotion? Would you be more excited if someone else got the promotion instead?
Our Monday work ethic should reflect our Sunday worship. That is what Paul is saying here.
Notice how he calls them “bondservants” of “earthly masters” (Eph 6:5), only to call them “bondservants of Christ” here in Ephesians 6:6!
In fact, in every one of these verses, Paul directly mentions the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 6: 5,6,7,8,9). He wants to make it clear, that no matter our position. We are positioned under Jesus Christ as Lord. So our work must be unto Him!
So tomorrow morning, as you make your Monday coffee and get out the door make sure to bring your heart with you. Commute with your convictions. Work unto Christ by working sincerely.
But Paul does not just tell us how we are to work. He also tells how we are not supposed to work... what insincerity looks like. Insincerity looks like: “Eye-service.” “People pleasing.”
Down in Ephesians 6:7, we see, “rendering service”, “unto man.”
Here in Singapore, this might mean working long hours only when the boss is around. Nodding your head in the meeting and nodding off, when you are out. Allow me to remind you, that Christ is always watching. Your earthly master’s eyes are limited. But your Heavenly Master sees all. Not just your actions, but your motivations.
So work unto Him. Remember that you are not your own but you have been bought at a price. You are His bondservant now! So do God’s will from your heart unto Christ. Work sincerely.
Beloved, I hope we are encouraged by this! You know what this means? It means that work matters! All of it! No matter what you do! You do not have to work in ministry for your job to be a ministry — a service unto the Lord!
The housewife can cook a meal as if Jesus were going to eat it. The doctor can perform the surgery as if Jesus were on the table. The teacher can prepare the lesson as if Jesus were in the classroom.
So even if you have a case of the Mondays, and you cannot change your circumstances, you can change who you work for.
Martin Luther put it this way: “The Christian shoemaker (or cobbler) does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”
So how is your craftsmanship been lately? Been making shoes as if Christ would wear them? Have you been working sincerely?
In Ephesians 6:8, Paul tells bondservants not just to look here and now, at their present circumstances but rather, to look ahead. He motivates them — by heavenly reward from their Heavenly Master! So let us work unto Christ, by working humbly, sincerely, and expectantly.
Ephesians 6:8 says, “ ... knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.”
What a promise! What assurance! Even on your most discouraging day of work! Your boss may never reward you. You may get passed over for every promotion! But hold on to this promise!
When you work unto Christ, you can expect great reward! Not here and now. Not materially or temporally. Those things tarnish and wither anyway. This is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, boundless joy received back from Christ. Even in the midst of loss and suffering, you gain fullness of joy in God’s presence forevermore.
No cup of water is too small. No service rendered will go unnoticed. Your Heavenly Master sees all. And “whatever good... anyone does... he will receive back from the Lord.”
Spurgeon said it well: “The only applause we should seek is that of the nail-scarred hands.”
Hear your Saviour clap for you, even if nobody else does. “Well done, good and faithful servant ... Enter into the joy of your master!”
Beloved, when we know this, we know it does not really matter how high or low we are on the org chart. We know it does not really matter how well we perform on our exams. We know what matters most is doing our work unto Christ. Doing it humbly, and sincerely, and expectantly, no matter if we are “bondservants or free” (Eph 6:8).
This is how the gospel shapes work. This is how the gospel gives us hope even on the hardest of Mondays. You were made to do all your work unto Christ, for the glory of God.
But the only problem is that none of us have. We have turned in on ourselves. We have worshipped our priorities and positions and paychecks. Grasping for our rights we have neglected our responsibilities. And like Adam, we have had sweaty brows and bloody hands. Toiling our way through the thorns and thistles of work in a fallen world.
But God did not give us a PIP to get out of it ourselves. ourselves.
In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son. Born through the labour pains of a woman. Born under the job description of the law — to redeem those who could never live up to it.
For thirty years, Jesus Christ worked a menial job. No status. No recognition. But He did His Father’s will from His heart. He said, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
His greatest work would require the utmost humility. With a sincere heart, and for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Having finished His work, He commands all people, everywhere to repent to turn away from working just for yourself or for your earthly masters. Having finished His work, He commands all people, everywhere to repent to turn away from working just for yourself or for your earthly masters.
And to come to Him in faith.
If you are weary, if you are heavy laden, if you are tired of vain toil, Monday after Monday and you want to work for something more. Jesus says, “Come to me... and I will give you rest.” Not even the best earthly master could make such a promise as that!
So beloved, whatever your work may be, work unto Christ. Work humbly, work sincerely, and work expectantly. Work knowing your Heavenly Master.
Lead under Christ (Eph 6:9)
To the first-century ear, that sentence would have sounded shocking and outrageous. Nobody spoke to masters like this. In the ancient world, masters had absolute power over their slaves. Even the power to take the life of their slaves, as they so pleased. So beatings were commonplace. Threatening was a normal part of speech. Nobody questioned these things.
And yet Paul writes, “Masters, do the same to them. (Eph 6:9)”
Everything he just said to the bondservants — the humility, the sincerity, the accountability before a Heavenly Master — Paul turns it around and brings it to bear on the masters in the exact same way. “Do the same to them.”
Our Heavenly Master rules and reigns through an upside-down kingdom. A kingdom that belongs not to the high and mighty but to the poor in spirit. That is why threatening has no place here. Not among God’s people! Paul does not say, “Moderate your threats.” He does not say, “Use them carefully.” No... he says, “Stop.” ... “stop your threatening...”
And did you notice the present tense command here? Clearly, these threats were actively happening, even among Christian masters. They were being more influenced by the world around them than by God’s Word.
Brothers and sisters, take heed of this. We will be discipled either by the world or by the Word. So let us be on guard. Let us be careful not to drift along with what everybody else says is normal.
The way we talk to our employees, or our Grab drivers, or our domestic helpers has to be different. How could we speak harsh and cutting words to those under our authority? When our Heavenly Master speaks to us with gracious words of life? Ephesians 4:29 is not just a verse for your kid to memorize -- perhaps you need to own it in your heart too. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
There is one word that ties both of these sections together. One word that the worker and the leader cannot forget. Do you see it? It is the word “knowing.” It is there in Ephesians 6:8, and it is there in Ephesians 6:9. In Ephesians 6:8, workers are to know that “whatever good [they] do, [they] will receive back from the Lord.” And in Ephesians 6:9, masters are to know they share a Heavenly Master with their bondservant, and that “there is no partiality with him.”
Both are future-oriented. Both are eschatological. For the bondservant, it is their coming reward. For the master, it is the coming judgment.
If you are a boss, if you have any measure of authority, whether it is leading staff or volunteers or students, know that those under your authority do not belong to you. Their Master is in heaven. And He is your Master too. So you must lead under Christ. And the people who should see that posture of heart most clearly are the ones who are under you.
If Ephesians 6:9 sounds like a warning to you, you are reading it the right way. Not because there is anything wrong with authority. Authority is a good gift from God, but this warning is to say that we must exercise our authority carefully.
Think about it this way. When you have authority, people will flatter you. They will put their best foot forward and seek to curry your favour. Some will be partial to you, hoping that you will be partial to them.
But hear this warning in Ephesians 6:9. Whether you have one employee or one thousand, know that there is no partiality with your Heavenly Master. You will give account for the use of your authority. And He will exercise perfect justice.
So if you are leading, with authority, in any sense know that you have great opportunity to reflect your Heavenly Master. You can be a great boss. And you can help your people see their work as a gift from God.
Everybody wants to be on the team with the good coach. Everybody wants to be in the class of the good professor. Everybody wants to have a good boss, a good parent, a good politician, and a good pastor.
The solution to bad authority is not no authority. It is good authority. Humble, Christ-like servant leadership, seeking their good more than your own, knowing you are both under a Heavenly Master. Would the people you lead have those kinds of stories about you? I hope they do. And I pray you would give them one more story to tell this week.
Know your Heavenly Master. Know that He is always watching, and that there is no partiality with Him.
Know your Heavenly Master. Know that He is always watching, and that there is no partiality with Him. So lead your people, and lead as one who is also under Christ.
So, are you ready for Monday? More ready than Joe, I hope? You might not be able to change your boss, or your team, or your circumstances, but you can change who you are working for.
Mondays matter. You can work and lead knowing that there is more to work for than paychecks, promotions, and pats on the back. You can put your Mondays and your every day to work for Christ. Whether you work or lead, know your Heavenly Master. So work unto Christ. Lead under Christ.
Soon, there will be no more Mondays. Soon, He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.”
And until then... let us work, and lead, knowing Him.