Sabbath Afternoon - September 2, 2023

Reading for the Week

Eph. 6:1-9; Mark 10:13-16; Col. 3:21; 1 Pet. 2:18-25; 2 Cor. 5:10; Col. 3:24, 25. 

Prayer Thought

There are many who will spend and be spent to win souls to Christ. In obedience to the great commission, they will go forth to work for the Master. Under the ministration of angels ordinary men will be moved by the Spirit of God to warn people in the highways and byways. Humble men, who do not trust in their gifts, but who work in simplicity, trusting always in God, will share in the joy of the Saviour as their persevering prayers being souls to the cross. We would say to them, Go forth, brethren; do your best humbly and sincerely, and God will work with you. They should be strengthened and encouraged, and as fast as possible fitted for labor, that success may crown their efforts. They harmonize with unseen, heavenly instrumentalities. They are workers together with God, and their brethren should bid them Godspeed, and pray for them as they labor in Christ's name. No one is authorized to hinder such workers. They should be treated with great respect. No one should speak a disparaging word of them as in the rough places of the earth they sow the gospel seed.  {SpM 195.2} 


Memory Text

And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.  {Eph. 6:9}


This week's SS Lesson will disclose the inter and intra-personal relationship in the family, and the community dwellers, especially in the Christian community, a church in the days of the apostle. It also includes the counsel provided by Paul to the intimate relationship in the family, and in the church.


Study Outline
Unity Across Generations

Sunday - September 3, 2023

Advice to Children - Ephesians 6:1-3

Eph. 6:1-3; 5:22; 6:4, 5, 7-9; 4:1-6:9, 25, 28; 5:3-14; Matt. 18:1-5, 10; Mark 10:13-16. 

Monday - September 4, 2023

Advice to Parents - Ephesians 6:4

Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21. 


Unity Across Hierarchies

Tuesday - September 5, 2023

Slavery in Paul's Day - Ephesians 6:5-8

Eph. 6:5-9; Col. 3:22-4:1; 1 Cor. 7:20-24; 1 Tim. 6:1, 2; 1 Pet. 2:18-25. 

Wednesday - September 6, 2023

Slaves to Christ - Ephesians 6:9

 Eph. 6:5-8;  1 Pet. 2:19, 20 .

Thursday - September 7, 2023

Masters Who are Slaves

2 Cor. 5:10; Col. 3:24, 25; 1 Pet. 2:20;  Eph. 3:6; 4:1-16; 4:25-32; 5:1-14; 6:5-9.  


Friday - September 8, 2023

Further Study and Meditation

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Unity Across Generations
Sunday - September 3, 2023

Advice to Children - Ephesians 6:1-3

Eph. 6:1-3; 5:22; 6:4, 5, 7-9; 4:1-6:9, 25, 28; 5:3-14; Matt. 18:1-5, 10; Mark 10:13-16. 

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. {Eph. 6:1-3} 


Guided Children with a Command Binding on All

Children, when they become of age, will prize the parent who labored faithfully, and would not permit them to cherish wrong feelings or indulge in evil habits.  {AH 292.2}  

"Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." This is the first commandment with promise. It is binding upon childhood and youth, upon the middle-aged and the aged. There is no period in life when children are excused from honoring their parents. This solemn obligation is binding upon every son and daughter and is one of the conditions to their prolonging their lives upon the land which the Lord will give the faithful. This is not a subject unworthy of notice, but a matter of vital importance. The promise is upon condition of obedience. If you obey, you shall live long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. If you disobey, you shall not prolong your life in that land.  {AH 292.3}  


No Place in Heaven for Ungrateful Children

I saw that Satan had blinded the minds of the youth that they could not comprehend the truths of God's word. Their sensibilities are so blunted that they regard not the injunctions of the holy apostle:  {AH 294.2}  

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the [new] earth." "Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord." Children who dishonor and disobey their parents, and disregard their advice and instructions, can have no part in the earth made new. The purified new earth will be no place for the rebellious, the disobedient, the ungrateful son or daughter. Unless such learn obedience and submission here, they will never learn it; the peace of the ransomed will not be marred by disobedient, unruly, unsubmissive children. No commandment breaker can inherit the kingdom of heaven.  {AH 294.3}  


Consider the Following

The word "children" (ta tekna) includes both sons and daughters, regardless of age. This implies that the advice applies to all those whose parents (or at least one of them) are still alive.

However, when thinking about relationships among church members, Paul likely had teenagers and young people in mind who are already active church members and are also still subordinate to their parents or dependent on them.

Although in Christ we are all equal, a teenager or young person cannot treat their parents disrespectfully but must obey them, as the fifth commandment states. This obedience is only limited by obedience to Christ and the rest of the Law.


Monday - September 4, 2023

Advice to Parents - Ephesians 6:4

Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21. 

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  {Eph. 6:4}


Parental Government to Be a Study

The work of the parent is seldom done as it should be. . . . Parents, have you studied parental government that you may wisely train the will and impulse of your children? Teach the young tendrils to entwine about God for support. It is not enough that you say, Do this, or, Do that, and then become utterly regardless and forgetful of what you have required, and the children are not careful to do your commands. Prepare the way for your child to obey your commands cheerfully; teach the tendrils to cling to Jesus. . . . Teach them to ask the Lord to help them in the little things of life; to be wide awake to see the small duties which need to be done; to be helpful in the home. If you do not educate them, there is one who will, for Satan is watching his opportunity to sow the seeds of tares in the heart.  {CG 31.1}  


Guide the Children Into Paths of Obedience

A sacred duty rests upon parents to guide their children into paths of strict obedience. True happiness in this life and in the future life depends upon obedience to a "Thus saith the Lord." Parents, let Christ's life be the pattern. Satan will devise every possible means to break down this high standard of piety as one altogether too strict. It is your work to impress upon your children in their early years the thought that they are formed in the image of God. Christ came to this world to give them a living example of what they all must be, and parents who claim to believe the truth for this time are to teach their children to love God and to obey His law. This is the greatest and most important work that fathers and mothers can do. . . . It is God's design that even the children and youth shall understand intelligently what God requires, that they may distinguish between righteousness and sin, between obedience and disobedience.  {CG 80.3}  


Reactions of Children...

To Provocation.--Children are exhorted to obey their parents in the Lord, but parents are also enjoined, "Provoke not your children to wrath, lest they be discouraged."  {CG 279.1} 


To Faultfinding.--You have no right to bring a gloomy cloud over the happiness of your children by faultfinding or severe censure fo r trifling mistakes. Children may wish to do right, they may purpose in their hearts to be obedient; but they need help and encouragement.  {CG 279.3}  


To Too Harsh Discipline.--Oh, how God is dishonored in a family where there is no true understanding as to what constitutes family discipline, and children are confused as to what is discipline and government. Many parents professing to be Christians are not converted. Christ does not abide in their hearts by faith! Their harshness, their imprudence, their unsubdued tempers, disgust their children and make them averse to all their religious instruction.  {CG 280.3}  


To Continual Censure.--In our efforts to correct evil, we should guard against a tendency to faultfinding or censure. Continual censure bewilders, but does not reform. With many minds, and often those of the finest susceptibility, an atmosphere of unsympathetic criticism is fatal to effort. Flowers do not unfold under the breath of a blighting wind.  {CG 280.4}  


To Ordering and Scolding.--Some parents raise many a storm by their lack of self-control.  {CG 281.2}  


To an Arbitrary Course of Action.--The will of the parents must be under the discipline of Christ.   {CG 281.3}  


To Injustice.--Children are sensitive to the least injustice, and some become discouraged under it and will neither heed the loud, angry voice of command, nor care for threats of punishment. A mother who does not have perfect control of herself is unfit to have the management of children.  {CG 282.1}  


To a Jerk or Blow.--When the mother gives her child a jerk or blow, do you think it enables him to see the beauty of the Christian character? No indeed; it only tends to raise evil feelings in the heart, and the child is not corrected at all.  {CG 282.2} 


To Harsh, Unsympathetic Words.--Christ is ready to teach the father and the mother to be true educators...  This is often the reason why children speak disrespectfully to parents.  {CG 282.3}   


To Ridicule and Taunting.--They [parents] are not authorized to fret and scold and ridicule. They should never taunt their children with perverse traits of character, which they themselves have transmitted to them.   {CG 282.4}  


To Impatience.--Impatience in the parents excites impatience in the children. Passion manifested by the parents creates passion in the children and stirs up the evils of their nature. . . . Every time they lose self-control and speak and act impatiently, they sin against God.  {CG 283.1}  


To Alternate Scolding and Coaxing.--I have frequently seen children who were denied something that they wanted throw themselves upon the floor in a pet, kicking and screaming, while the injudicious mother alternately coaxed and scolded in the hope of restoring her child to good nature.   {CG 283.3}


To Lack of Firmness and Decision.--Great harm is done by a lack of firmness and decision. I have known parents to say, You cannot have this or that, and then relent, thinking they may be too strict, and give the child the very thing they at first refused.   {CG 284.1}    


To Unnecessary Restrictions.--When parents become old and have young children to bring up, the father is likely to feel that the children must follow in the sturdy, rugged path in which he himself is traveling. It is difficult for him to realize that his children are in need of having life made pleasant and happy for them by their parents. {CG 284.2}  


To the Denial of Reasonable Privileges.--If fathers and mothers have not themselves had a happy childhood, why should they shadow the lives of their children because of their own great loss in this respect? {CG 285.2}  


To Severity.--Parents who exercise a spirit of dominion [domination] and authority, transmitted to them from their own parents, which leads them to be exacting in their discipline and instruction, will not train their children aright.   {CG 286.2}  


To Quiet, Kind Manner.--If parents desire their children to be pleasant, they should never speak to them in a scolding manner. The mother often allows herself to become irritable and nervous. Often she snatches at the child and speaks in a harsh manner. If a child is treated in a quiet, kind manner, it will do much to preserve in him a pleasant temper.  {CG 286.3}  


To Loving Entreaty.--The father, as priest of the household, should deal gently and patiently with his children. He should be careful not to arouse in them a combative disposition.   {CG 287.1}  


Consider the Following

The obligatory obedience of children places parents in a position where they can potentially abuse their power.

Therefore, parents must exercise restraint in their authority. They should not overwhelm their children with severity that leads them to anger.

All discipline, admonition, and instruction should be "in Christ." The purpose of parental authority is to lead the children to the feet of the Savior.


Unity Across Hierarchies

Tuesday - September 5, 2023

Slavery in Paul's Day - Ephesians 6:5-8

Eph. 6:5-9; Col. 3:22-4:1; 1 Cor. 7:20-24; 1 Tim. 6:1, 2; 1 Pet. 2:18-25. 

Servants, be obedient to them that are [your] masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether [he be] bond or free. {Eph. 6:5-8} 


His Faithful, Loyal Servants Be Obedient Although They Lost Everything

Behold the glories of the firmament. Look up to the gems of light which like precious gold stud the heavens. . . . Cannot He who spread above us this glorious canopy, who, if the sun, moon, and stars were swept away could call them again into existence in a moment, requite His faithful, loyal servants who would be obedient to Him though they lost wealth, honor, or even a kingdom for His sake?  {OHC 193.6}  


Pattern of Good Works, Obedient to Their Own Masters

The admonition to the Israel of today is, "The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." "Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded. In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." Resist the enemy; do not be seduced by his flattering inducements and presentations. It is the work of the human agent to be strong, not in his own finite strength, but in the strength of the Lord, in the power of His might. . . .  {SD 346.2} 

God's Servants Not Slothful in His Business 

God is found of those who diligently seek him. His servants are not to be slothful in business. They may understand that it is their privilege to be obedient to all his requirements. They are to be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. They are not to serve worldly interests. They are not to seek for gold and silver as their god. All their desires are to be directed heavenward. Those who believe the truth are to use their entrusted capital of intellect and wealth in God's service. God has made them his stewards; they are to act in his stead. God has a controversy with those who misapply the capabilities and powers given them. Souls that might have been saved are lost through their unfaithfulness, indolence, and neglect.  {RH, July 19, 1898 par. 8}  

Consider the Following

Slaves in the church? Unfortunately, that was a reality in the first-century churches.

Why didn't Paul ask Christian masters to free their slaves, or slaves to escape from their masters or rebel against them? See Galatians 3:28.

The church was not called to change the social reality at that moment but to lay the foundation that would eventually end that unjust situation.

However, silence was not an option. The master/slave relationship needed to be redefined "in Christ."

What advice did Paul give to slaves or subordinates?

(1) Obey your masters with respect and sincerity, as to Christ (v. 5).

(2) Don't work only when being watched. Work as if you were serving Jesus (v. 6).

(3) Serve willingly, as if you were serving God rather than men (v. 7).

(4) Know that you will receive a reward not from men but from the Lord (v. 8).

We serve earthly, temporal masters or bosses. But our true service is to Jesus. Therefore, our reward will come from Christ at His Coming.

If you work under someone's authority, how can you apply these pieces of advice?


Wednesday - September 6, 2023

Slaves to Christ - Ephesians 6:9

Eph. 6:5-8;  1 Pet. 2:19, 20 .

And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.  [Eph. 6:9}


Followers of Christ - We are Not Our Own

The man traveling into a far country represents Christ, who, when speaking this parable, was soon to depart from this earth to heaven. The "bondservants" (R.V.), or slaves, of the parable, represent the followers of Christ. We are not our own. We have been "bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:20), not "with corruptible things, as silver and gold, . . . but with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18, 19); "that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:15).  {COL 325.3}  

Abiding in Christ - Unreserved Surrender to His Service 

“Abide in me” are words of great significance. Abiding in Christ means a living, earnest, refreshing faith that works by love and purifies the soul. It means a constant receiving of the spirit of Christ, a life of unreserved surrender to His service. Where this union exists, good works will appear. The life of the vine will manifest itself in fragrant fruit on the branches. The continual supply of the grace of Christ will bless you and make you a blessing, till you can say with Paul, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20). {OFC 124.3} 


Not Slaves, but Children of God

"Ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price." The world is under the most solemn obligation to render to the Lord Jesus his purchased possession,--soul, body, and spirit. But because the people of the world ignore their responsibility to God, and refuse to accept the great gift of salvation, they are not excused from their obligation to be faithful servants of Christ. In serving their own lust, they make it manifest that they are not subject to the rule of Christ, but day by day are robbing God of that which is his due. They refuse to be the children of Christ, and choose rather to be the slaves of Satan. In astonishment at their blindness, we reiterate the words of the apostle, "Who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth?"  {YI, October 27, 1892 par. 5}  

Consider the Following

Surprising! Masters must do "the same things" as their (Christian) slaves do to them and not threaten them.

Why does Paul give this advice to masters?

(1) Every master has a heavenly Master above. We are all "fellow slaves" of Christ.

(2) Masters must treat their slaves with dignity, as there is no difference between them and their slaves before God.

The only way masters and slaves (bosses and subordinates) can come together and worship in the church is if both act courteously in their relationships, treating each other as Jesus, their Master, treats them.


Thursday - September 7, 2023

Masters Who are Slaves

2 Cor. 5:10; Col. 3:24, 25; 1 Pet. 2:20;  Eph. 3:6; 4:1-16; 4:25-32; 5:1-14; 6:5-9.  

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad.  {2Cor. 5:10}


Masters, Give to Servants Just and Equal

 "Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven." Let us now resolve to work out the Lord's plans, instead of working our own plans, according to our own disposition and natural feelings. A great reformation could be most successfully carried out, if each one claiming to be a child of God would be obedient to Bible truth, showing in the life the fruits of true conversion.  {PUR, December 15, 1904 par. 10}  

The Master of masters is in Heaven Preparing a Reward

Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as unto Christ; (lest ye be unguarded, and be disrespectful of authority) not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart (working from principle and not from selfish motives or from impulse); "With good will doing service, as to the Lord; and not to men: knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven, neither is there respect of persons with Him." (Ephesians 4:29-5:2; 6:5-9.) These words of inspiration are to be studied and obeyed. They cannot be ignored or disregarded, not treated with indifference. It is the doers of the Word that are to receive the reward.  {7MR 198.2} 

The Masters and Not Slaves of Circumstances

Every human being, created in the image of God, is endowed with a power akin to that of the Creator-- individuality, power to think and to do. The men in whom this power is developed are the men who bear responsibilities, who are leaders in enterprise, and who influence character. It is the work of true education to develop this power, to train the youth to be thinkers, and not mere reflectors of other men's thought. Instead of confining their study to that which men have said or written, let students be directed to the sources of truth, to the vast fields opened for research in nature and revelation. Let them contemplate the great facts of duty and destiny, and the mind will expand and strengthen. Instead of educated weaklings, institutions of learning may send forth men strong to think and to act, men who are masters and not slaves of circumstances, men who possess breadth of mind, clearness of thought, and the courage of their convictions.  {Ed 17.2}  


Friday - September 8, 2023

Further Study and Meditation

One great reason why there is so much evil in the world today is that parents occupy their minds with other things than that which is all-important--how to adapt themselves to the work of patiently and kindly teaching their children the way of the Lord. If the curtain could be drawn aside, we should see that many, many children who have gone astray have been lost to good influences through this neglect. Parents, can you afford to have it so in your experience? You should have no work so important that it will prevent you from giving to your children all the time that is necessary to make them understand what it means to obey and trust the Lord fully. . . .  {AH 183.3}  

Cultivate tenderness, affection, and love that have expression in little courtesies, in speech, in thoughtful attentions.  {AH 198.3}  

The best way to educate children to respect their father and mother is to give them the opportunity of seeing the father offering kindly attentions to the mother and the mother rendering respect and reverence to the father. It is by beholding love in their parents that children are led to obey the fifth commandment and to heed the injunction, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right."  {AH 198.4} 


Questions to Ponder


From the Pen of Inspiration

“Christ calls us His servants, if we do what He commands us. There is to every man assigned his particular sphere, place, and work, and God asks no more and no less from the lowliest, as well as the greatest, than that they fulfill their calling. We are not our own property. We have become servants of Christ by grace.” E. G. W. (This Day With God, June 6)