Ephesians 6:7

Eph_6:7-8

With goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.

The honour of serving

Is it not possible that a man can look upon all the inequalities of human life, and upon the varieties of condition out of which come such discontent, such hardship, such injustice, and such torment, and say, I am not a servant of these things; I am a servant of my God; and wherever He puts me, I am going to stand for His sake. Whatever may be the experience of that position, I am going to take it as becomes a child of God? A poor woman washes for a living, and has a flock of children to support; and it is for her to split the wood, to draw the water, to wash the clothes, rubbing on the soap, and putting in the blueing, and to shove the iron; and what does she do all these things for? What is the stimulus that enables her to cheerfully perform all these duties? It is the thought of those dear children. There is not an hour when she does not think, I am working for my darlings. It is hard for her to get up at four oclock in the morning, but she thinks of her children, and of the warm meals, and pleasant fire, and cheerful light that she will be able to supply for them; and these thoughts are her consolation. Whatever she does, she does for her children. Now, seeing it in this humbler sphere and lower instance, can you not magnify it and carry it up, and think that a man can come to a state in which he thinks that the world, nature, life, human society, all the endless events into which time and the experiences of men are broken up, are Gods, and that out of the vast and mighty mixture are being evolved final qualities, and say, I will do all things to the honour and glory of God, and whether I eat or drink, work or rest, go or stay, whether I am in prosperity or adversity (and more in adversity, because, that being harder to bear, shows more manhood), I am Gods child; and loving Him, and being loved of Him, all these things are easy and noble to me? (H. W. Beecher.)

The fruits of life

You have heard of the old deaf musician who used to sit in twilight and roll from his instrument the most wonderful symphonies and harmonies that seemed to run down to the very source and centre of all things, and that, emerging, bore upon them all sweet treasures of melody. Though he heard not one note of it, it was poured out, and poured out upon the darkness and upon the silence sometimes to select listening ears. We are like musicians playing in the dark who are deaf to the sounds which they produce in human conduct, and which run clear through to the other life. The fruits of life are not to be recognized here; but they are sounding, and sounding forever. Whatever right thing you do, here is the endorsement of the Lord for it: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. (H. W. Beecher.)

Our motto

Notice well that the Holy Spirit does not bid us leave our stations in order to serve the Lord. Our great Captain would not have you hope to win the victory by leaving your post. Grace does not transplant the tree, but bids it overshadow the old house at home as before, and bring forth good fruit where it is. Grace does not make us unearthly, though it makes us unworldly. Grace makes us the servants of God while still we are the servants of men; it enables us to do the business of heaven while we are attending to the business of earth.

I. Our subject opens with this reflection, that if henceforth whether we live, we live unto the Lord, or whether we die, we die unto the Lord, this consecration will greatly influence our entire work.

1. You will have to live with a single eye to Gods glory. The Lord Jesus is a most engrossing Master. He will have everything or nothing. As no dog can follow two hares at one time, or he will lose both, certainly no man can follow two contrary objects and hope to secure either of them.

2. To do service to the Lord we must live with holy carefulness. In the service of God we should use great care to accomplish our very best, and we should feel a deep anxiety to please Him in all things, There is a trade called paper staining, in which a man flings colours upon the paper to make common wall decorations, and by rapid processes acres of paper can be speedily finished. Suppose that the paper stainer should laugh at an eminent artist because he had covered such a little space, having been stippling and shading a little tiny piece of his picture by the hour together, such ridicule would itself be ridiculous. Now the worlds way of religion is the paper stainers way, the daubing way; there is plenty of it, and it is quickly done; but Gods way, the narrow way, is a careful matter: there is but little of it, and it costs thought, effort, watchfulness, and care. Yet see how precious is the work of art when it is done, and how long it lasts, and you will not wonder that a man spends his time upon it; even so true godliness is acceptable with God, and it endures forever, and therefore it well repays the earnest effort of the man of God. The miniature painter has to be very careful of every touch and tint, for a very little may spoil his work. Let our life be miniature painting; with fear and trembling let it be wrought out.

3. Further, if henceforth our desire is to live as to the Lord, and not unto men, then what we do must be done with the heart. in singleness of your heart, says the context; and again in the sixth verse, As the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. Our work for Jesus must be the outgrowth of the soil of the heart. Our service must not be performed as a matter of routine; there must be vigour, power, freshness, reality, eagerness, and warmth about it, or it will be good for nothing.

4. Under subjection. Doing the will of God--not our own. The freedom of a Christian lies in what I will venture to call an absolute slavery to Christ; we never become truly free till every thought is brought into subjection to the will of the Most High.

5. Again, we must do all this under a sense of the Divine oversight. Notice in Eph_6:6 it is said of servants, Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers. What a mean and beggarly thing it is for a man only to do his work well when he is watched. Such oversight is for boys at school and mere hirelings. You never think of watching noble-spirited men. Here is a young apprentice set to copy a picture: his master stands over him and looks over each line, for the young scapegrace will grow careless and spoil his work, or take to his games if he be not well looked after. Did anybody thus dream of supervising Raphael and Michael Angelo to keep them to their work? No, the master artist requires no eye to urge him on.

6. One more thought, and it is this. If henceforth we are to serve the Lord, and not men, then we must look to the Lord for our reward, and not to men. Knowing, saith the eighth verse, that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. Wage! Is that the motive of a Christian? Yes, in the highest sense, for the greatest of the saints, such as Moses, have had respect unto the recompense of the reward, and it were like despising the reward which God promises to His people if we had no respect whatever for it.

II. Should this text become the inspiration of our life, it would greatly elevate our spirits.

1. It would lift us above complaining about the hardness of our lot, or the difficulty of our service. What wonders men can do when influenced by enthusiastic love for a leader! Alexanders troops marched thousands of miles on foot, and they would have been utterly wearied had it not been for their zeal for Alexander. He led them forth conquering and to conquer. Alexanders presence was the life of their valour, the glory of their strength.

2. This lifts the Christian above the spirit of stinting. Christs servants delight to give so much as to be thought wasteful, for they feel that when they have in the judgment of others done extravagantly for Christ, they have but begun to show their hearts love for His dear name.

3. This raises us above all boasting of our work. Is the work good enough? said one to his servant. The man replied, Sir, it is good enough for the price, and it is good enough for the man who is going to have it. Just so, and when we serve men we may perhaps rightly judge in that fashion, but when we come to serve Christ, is anything good enough for Him?

4. It elevates above that craving for recognition which is a disease with many. It is a sad fault in many Christians that they cannot do anything unless all the world is told of it.

5. It lifts above the discouragement which sometimes comes of human censure. The nightingale charms the ear of night. A fool passes by, and declares that he hates such distracting noises. The nightingale sings on, for it never entered the little minstrels head or heart that it was singing for critics; it sings because He who created it gave it this sweet faculty.

6. This, too, will elevate you above the disappointments of non-success, ay, even of the saddest kind.

7. This lifts us above disappointment in the prospect of death. We shall have to go away from our work soon, so men tell us, and we are apt to fret about it.

8. Ay, and this lifts us above the deadening influence of age and the infirmities which come with multiplied years.

III. I close by saying, that if we enter into the very spirit of this discourse, or even go beyond it--if henceforth we live for Jesus only, so as never to know pleasure apart from Him, nor to have treasure out of Him, nor honour but in His honour, nor success save in the progress of His kingdom, we shall even then have done no more than he deserves at our hands. For, first, we are Gods creatures. For whom should a creature live but for his Creator? Secondly, we are His new creatures, we are the twice-born of heaven; should we not live for Him by whom we have been begotten for glory? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eph 6:7 . μετʼ εὐνοίας δουλεύοντες [ ὡς ] τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώποις : with good will doing service [as] to the Lord and not to men . Further explanation of what is meant by the bond-service of Christ, viz. , a service rendered with good will and as a service to the Lord Himself, not to men. μετʼ εὐνοίας means not simply with readiness , but with the disposition that wishes one well. In the NT the noun occurs only here; in 1Co 7:3 the accredited reading is not εὐνοίαν but ὀφειλήν . The TR omits ὡς before τῷ Κυρίῳ (with [748] 3 [749] [750] , etc.). It is given, however, by [751] [752] [753] [754] * [755] [756] , Vulg., Syr., etc., and is rightly inserted by LTTrWHRV. It got a place in Beza’s edition of 1598.

[748] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.

[749] Codex Mosquensis (sæc. ix.), edited by Matthæi in 1782.

[750] Codex Angelicus (sæc. ix.), at Rome, collated by Tischendorf and others.

[751] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.

[752] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.

[753] Codex Alexandrinus (sæc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).

[754] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.

[755] Codex Boernerianus (sæc. ix.), a Græco-Latin MS., at Dresden, edited by Matthæi in 1791. Written by an Irish scribe, it once formed part of the same volume as Codex Sangallensis ( δ ) of the Gospels. The Latin text, g, is based on the O.L. translation.

[756] Codex Porphyrianus (sæc. ix.), at St. Petersburg, collated by Tischendorf. Its text is deficient for chap. Eph 2:13-16 .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eph_6:7

The whole character of the obedience of the slave is summed up in this verse, δουλεύοντες ὡς τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώποις, doing service, to the Lord and not to men. This, as the Scriptures teach, is not peculiar to the obedience of the slave to his master, but applies to all other cases in which obedience is required from one man to another. It applies to children in relation to their parents, wives to husbands, people to magistrates. Those invested with lawful authority are the representatives of God. The powers (i.e. those invested with authority) are ordained by God; and therefore all obedience rendered to them out of regard to his will, is obedience to Him. And as obedience to God is rendered to one infinitely true and good, it is even more elevating than obedience to truth and goodness. Foreign as all this is to the proud and rebellious heart of man, which spurns all superiority and authority, it is daily illustrated by the cheerful and patient submission of the people of God even to the capricious and unreasonable exercise of the authority of those to whom God has placed them in subjection. It is to be remarked that the apostle presents this principle not merely in a religious, but a Christian form. We are required to do service, as to the Lord, and not to men. It is to Christ, God manifested in the flesh; to him, who being in the form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God, but humbled himself, taking on him the condition of a slave, μοπφὴν δούλου λαβών; it is to this infinitely exalted and infinitely condescending Savior, who came not to be served, but to serve, that the obedience of every Christian, whether servant, child, wife, or subject, is really and consciously rendered. Thus the most galling yoke is made easy, and the heaviest burden light.

The words μετ ̓ εὐωοίας qualify δουλεύοντες, with a willing mind doing service. This stands opposed to the sullenness and inward indignation with which a service extorted by fear of punishment is often rendered. No service rendered to Christ can be of that character. It is rendered with alacrity and cheerfulness.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Being moved with a reverence so Godward, as though ye served God himself.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

good will--expressing his feeling towards his master; as "doing the will of God from the heart" expresses the source of that feeling (Col 3:23). "Good will" is stated by XENOPHON [Economics] to be the principal virtue of a slave towards his master: a real regard to his master's interest as if his own, a good will which not even a master's severity can extinguish.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 7. With good will] μετ ευνοιας. With cheerfulness; do not take up your service as a cross, or bear it as a burden; but take it as coming in the order of God's providence, and a thing that is pleasing to him.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

With good will doing service. (Ver. 7.) This is contrasted with the suppressed indignation which swells the bosom of slaves. Though they dare not openly break out or give signs of obstinacy, their dislike of the authority exercised over them is so strong, that it is with the greatest unwillingness and reluctance that they obey their masters.

Whoever reads the accounts of the dispositions and conduct of slaves, which are scattered through the writings of the ancients, will be at no loss to perceive that the number of injunctions here given does not exceed that of the diseases which prevailed among this class, and which it was of importance to cure. But the same instruction applies to male and female servants of our own times. It is God who appoints and regulates all the arrangements of society. As the condition of servants is much more agreeable than that of slaves in ancient times, they ought to consider themselves far less excusable, if they do not endeavor, in every way, to comply with Paul’s injunctions.

Masters according to the flesh. (Ver. 5.) This expression is used to soften the harsh aspect of slavery. He reminds them that their spiritual freedom, which was by far the most desirable, remained untouched.

Eye-service (ὀφθαλμοδουλεία) is mentioned; because almost all servants are addicted to flattery, but, as soon as their master’s back is turned, indulge freely in contempt, or perhaps in ridicule. Paul therefore enjoins godly persons to keep at the greatest distance from such deceitful pretences.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(7) With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.—Here we ascend to a still higher quality than “singleness of heart.” To do service “with good will,” that is, gladly and cheerfully, “counting it joy to spend and to be spent” in the service, is really to serve, not as a slave, but as a freeman. Only so far as in the relation of slaves to masters there is, or has been, any shadow of the filial and parental relation, is this possible on merely human grounds. But St. Paul urges, in 1Co_7:22, that the slave “when called in the Lord, becomes the Lord’s freeman,” entering a “service which is perfect freedom.” That conception, logically worked out, has ultimately destroyed slavery. Meanwhile it gave to the slave in his slavery—lightened though not yet removed—the power of service “with good will, as to the Lord.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

With good will doing service,.... To their masters; not grudgingly, with an ill will; no otherwise, nor longer than when they are forced to it; but of a ready mind, and with a cheerful spirit, taking delight in their work, and reckoning it a pleasure to serve their masters; as an Israelite that is not sold, who does his work "with his good will", and according to his own mind (b); doing what they do

as to the Lord, and not to men; not merely because it is the will of men, and they are commanded by them, and in order to please them, but because it is the will of the Lord, and is wellpleasing in his sight.

(b) Maimon. Hilchot Abadim, c. 1. sect. 7.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

Ver. 7. As to the Lord] In obedience to his will, and with reference to his glory.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

As to the Lord, and not to men - That is, he should regard his lot in life as having been ordered by Divine Providence for some wise and good purpose; and until he may be permitted to enjoy his liberty in a quiet and peaceable manner (notes, 1Co 7:21), he should perform his duties with fidelity, and feel that he was rendering acceptable service to God. This would reconcile him to much of the hardships of his lot. The feeling that “God” has ordered the circumstances of our lives, and that he has some wise and good ends to answer by it, makes us contented there; though we may feel that our fellowman may be doing us injustice. It was this principle that made the martyrs so patient under the wrongs done them by people; and this may make even a slave patient and submissive under the wrongs of a master. But let not a master think, because a pious slave shows this spirit, that, therefore, the slave feels that the master is right in withholding his freedom; nor let him suppose, because religion requires the slave to be submissive and obedient, that, therefore, it approves of what the master does. It does this no more than it sanctioned the conduct of Nero and Mary, because religion required the martyrs to be unresisting, and to allow themselves to be led to the stake. A conscientious slave may find happiness in submitting to God, and doing his will, just as a conscientious martyr may. But this does not sanction the wrong, either of the slave-owner or of the persecutor.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

With good will doing service; not grudgingly or as of constraint, but freely and cheerfully.

As to the Lord, and not to men; not only regarding men your masters, but Christ your great Master. That which is done for the worst masters, and in the hardest things, is service done to Christ, when out of love to him servants bear their masters’ folly or cruelty.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. From the heart, (Eph_6:6,) with good will—There should be a hearty good will to truly serve the master. This feeling will ever constitute the great distinction of a true servant.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men. Some join the last words of the preceding verse to this clause, "from the heart with good will," etc., on the ground that it is not needed for ver. 6, for if you do the will of God at all, you must do it from the heart. But one may do the will of God in a sense outwardly and formally, therefore the clause is not superfluous in ver. 6, whereas, if one does service with good will, one surely does it from the heart, so that the clause would be more superfluous here. Jesus is the Overlord of every earthly lord, and his follower has but to substitute him by faith for his earthly master to enable him to do service with good will.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Unto the Lord, and not to men - That is, rather than to men; and by making every action of common life a sacrifice to God; having an eye to him in all things, even as if there were no other master.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

7. With good will. With a well disposed mind towards the master. As to the Lord. It pleases the Lord, whatever may be the relations of life, for us to do our service well. We may engage in very lowly duties to the glory of the Lord.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

7. ἐκ ψυχῆς μετʼ εὐνοίας δουλεύοντες. It is better to connect ἐκ ψυχῆς what follows. It marks the transition to the second characteristic of whole-hearted service. It is capable of standing the most searching inspection not only in itself but in its motive.

ἐκ ψυχῆς. Col 3:23 only. It is done heartily, the whole man is in the act. μετʼ εὐνοίας. It is permeated by a genuine devotion to his master’s interest. ὡς τῷ κυρίᾳ καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώποις. The thought is repeated, but this time to show how the ultimate destination of the work can be a source of enthusiasm.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

With good - will. Bengel quotes Xenophon : "The slave that is a steward must have good - will if he is to on thy place adequately." Compare Col 3:23.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.