Ephesians 6:1-4

Ephesians 5 provides some context for the main scripture today

  1. Verse 8 tells us the first thing that we need is a relationship with God. Verse 9 tells us that relationship is what can bring good things to our family.

  2. Verse 18 tells us we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit so our homes can be filled with the fruits of the Spirit.

  3. Verse 21 tells us the importance of a mutually submissive marriage.

What is the responsibility of children to their parents?

  1. Obey your parents (Ephesians 6:1). … This is part of our spiritual growth. Submitting to our parents’ rules teaches us how to submit to God. The only time children shouldn’t obey their parents is if their command goes against God.
    What does this mean?

    1. Listen to them. … The root word of “obey” in Greek is “listen” and so we should listen to them. Even Jesus listened to and obeyed His earthly parents.

    2. Respond promptly.

    3. Respond completely. … Partial obedience is disobedience.

    4. Respond without whining or complaining.

  2. Honor your parents (Ephesians 6:2-3). … This is the first commandment with a promise. We are told that honoring our parents gives us a better chance at a long life. … While obedience is a temporary obligation, honoring them is a permanent obligation. Once children become adults, they leave the house and are no longer obligated to obey their parents but should continue to honor them.
    How can adult children do?

    1. Express gratitude.

    2. Seek wisdom.

    3. Refuse to speak evil of them. … It’s possible that your parents wronged you in some way. In this case, forgive them. Don’t bring up the past mistakes. This is how we want God to treat us and should be how we treat our parents.

    4. Communicate with them.

    5. Provide for them.

What is the responsibility of parents to their children?

There are two extremes to avoid in parenting:

  1. Do not over-correct your children (Ephesians 6:4a). … This is the extreme of being too hard on your children. This can come from the parent who always expects perfection and focuses on the negative. Or the parent who is always angry and takes it out on their children.

  2. Do not under-discipline your children (Ephesians 6:4b). … This extreme is the permissive parent who does not correct enough. Children need to be trained and instructed; they need to be warned and disciplined. This can come from parents who are just lazy or maybe they have a medical issue that makes it harder to discipline. Or sometimes this is the parent who seeks satisfaction from their kids because that parent isn’t in the right relationship with God. Sometimes this parent is living with guilt from some past event and refuses to discipline because of that.