“Children, Honor and Obey Your Parents in the Lord.”

 

Text: (Eph. 6:1-3)   1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, because this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, 3 so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land.” (CSB)

         In Paul’s Epistles he stressed that they be read to the whole congregation.  Since adults as well as children would be present, he dealt with each group in his writings, especially here in the first part of Ephesians 6.

         Children were created to glorify God.  On one level, all of us are to live lives that glorify God. In regards to children, this is partially lived out by them honoring and obeying their parents.

         Why. should children obey their parents? Warren Wiersbe gave 4 reasons,

  • They are Christians (“in the Lord,” V. 1a)
  • Obedience is right (V, 1b)
  • Obedience is commanded (V. 2a)
  • Obedience brings blessings (vv. 2b-3)

The command to honor father and mother appears in five other places in the New Testament (Matt. 15:4; 19:19; Mark 7:10; 10:19; Luke 18:20).  The fact that this admonition, yea, command, is mentioned throughout the whole Bible underscores how important God feels about it.

Wiersbe further writes about what it means. To honor parents,

“To ‘honor our parents’ means much more than simply to obey them. It means to show them respect and love, to care for them as long as they need us, and to seek to bring honor to them by the way we live.”

In verse 2 and 3, Paul, referring back to the 5th commandment, gives a motivating promise. God promises both blessing. “That it may go well with you,” and safekeeping: “That you may have a long-life in the land.”  Paul combines Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16.

     The principle of children obeying their parents has responsibilities as well as privileges for both parties. When children obey their parents in the Lord, they will escape a good deal of sin and danger in this world.

 

Larry Miles is Co-Editor of Word & Work and attends Cherry St. Church of Christ in New Albany, IN.