Doing Service – as to the Lord
Ephesians 6:5-8
"5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free."
Paul's instructions to servants (Eph. 6:5-8) are full of meaning for all who profess to be servants of Jesus ChristA title of the Lord Jesus, which is also used as an epithet; Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) mean "anointed one". The title refers to the fact that Jesus is... More.
First, they show that any honorable work, no matter how menial, can be done for the glory of God. The slaves to whom Paul wrote may have mopped floors, cooked meals, washed dishes, tended animals, or tended crops. Yet the apostle said that these tasks could be done "as to ChristA title of the Lord Jesus, which is also used as an epithet; Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) mean "anointed one". The title refers to the fact that Jesus is... More" (v. 5); that in doing them, the slaves were "bondservants of ChristA title of the Lord Jesus, which is also used as an epithet; Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) mean "anointed one". The title refers to the fact that Jesus is... More, doing the will of God" (v. 6); that they were "doing service as to the Lord" (v. 7); and that they would be rewarded by the Lord for doing a “good” job (v. 8).
It is easy in our thinking to make a dichotomy between the secular and the sacred. We think of our weekday work as secular, while our preaching, witnessing, and Bible teaching are sacred. But this passage teaches that for the Christian there need be no such distinction. Realizing this, the wife of a well-known preacher put a sign over her kitchen sink that read, "Divine services are held here three times a day."
There is another lesson here, namely, that no matter how low a man may be on the social ladder, he is not excluded from the choicest blessings and rewards of Christianity. He may never trade in his work clothes for a business suit, but if his work is of such good quality that it brings glory to Christ, he will be fully rewarded. "knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free" (v. 8).
