Duties of Children Literally, Paul says children are to keep on obeying their parents. This is restricted by the expression "in the Lord" which means a child may refuse to obey his parents if they ask him to do something that is wrong in God's sight. Obedience is not only a good thing, it is right... [ Continue Reading ]
Duties of Fathers To facilitate the child's obedience, Paul commands fathers not to provoke their children to wrath. Discipline is an important part of the parent/child relationship (Hebrews 12:5-11). Yet, harsh discipline can cause a child to want to strike back. Also, being inconsistent in discip... [ Continue Reading ]
Duties of Slaves Christ and his apostles did not violently oppose slavery, but set in motion the principles that would destroy it. Paul told Christian slaves to have proper respect for their master's authority. He said they should serve their masters sincerely, with no hidden motives. All of a Chri... [ Continue Reading ]
Duties of Masters Masters were to act toward their slaves with the same respect for God slaves were commanded to have. Christ does not threaten his followers. Neither should they threaten those who work in their service if they would truly be like him (1 Peter 2:21-24). Christian masters were comma... [ Continue Reading ]
The Christian's Battle At the conclusion of this letter, Paul wanted to remind the brethren of the battle they were fighting. He also stressed the importance of being prepared for it. A Christian's true strength is in the Lord. His power comes from the Lord's great might (6:10; 1 Peter 4:13). Again,... [ Continue Reading ]
The Christian's Armor Christians were urged by Paul to put on God's armor. He said they should stand their ground because the forces of evil were going to attack (1 Corinthians 15:58; 1 Corinthians 16:13). The "evil day" is a day of crises when the fight is on. One must prepare for a battle before... [ Continue Reading ]
The Prayer Supply Line To be completely prepared, the Christian soldier must pray in addition to putting on his armor. Prayer should be more than occasional (Luke 18:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:17). We need to endure in it during good times and bad. It should be used in behalf of all we know in the Lord b... [ Continue Reading ]
Concluding Remarks Tychius was a Christian from Asia (Acts 20:4), who carried this letter as well as the one to Colosse (Colossians 4:7). He may also have born the letter to Titus as well as doing some further work in Ephesus (Titus 3:12; 2 Timothy 4:12). Paul's love for him and reference to his fa... [ Continue Reading ]