Who's In Charge Here? A Series on Authority
Sunday, February 1, 2004
Authority Bible Study Calendar
Daily Bible Study Menu
A note about online study
My Prayer Today
Dear Lord, I thank you that your are my heavenly Father. I want to obey you in everything, because I know your ways are right. I know my parents were not perfect in all that they did. But Father, I know you are perfect in every way. Help me to respect, obey, and honor my parents. Teach me to know how to do so properly. I do this because I want to please you. I thank you that I am accepted as your child, no matter how I have failed in the past. Help me to learn how to obey this day. I pray this all in the name of Jesus. . . Amen.
Bible Verses
Ephesians 6:1-4
"Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. 'Honor your father and mother.' This is the first of the Ten Commandments that ends with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, 'you will live a long life, full of blessing.' And now a word to you fathers. Don't make your children angry by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction approved by the Lord."
Reflecting on God's Word
According to verse 1, what are children commanded to do?
Why are children commanded to do this?
According to verse 1, to whom do children ultimately belong?
A Deeper Exploration of God's Word
If children ultimately belong to the Lord, how does this truth help to shape how one is a parent?
Is parental authority, which is implicit in this text, something that is derived from the Lord? How so?
Is a child disobeying God when they disobey their parents?
Understanding God's Purpose for Us
How long does God want us to obey our parents? Does the nature of the relationship between parents and children change? How does this effect things?
Has it been easy to obey your parents? Why or why not?
If you are not teaching your children (if you have children) to obey, are you being disobedient to God?
Applying God's Word to Our Purpose
If you are a parent, how would you rank your children's obedience level to you? (1-10 and 10 as always obeying) Why do you think it is where it is? How could it improve?
As a child growing up, where would you rank your obedience level toward your own parents? (1-10) Why was this so?
Do you find any links between the way you obeyed your parents and the way your children obey you?
Thoughts
All of us are children, because we all have parents. Some of us grew up knowing our parents well, some of us did not. Some of us grew up in homes of love, some of us did not. Some of us grew up respecting our parents, some of us did not. Some of us had our parents around, some of us did not. Whatever your situation may be, we all have parents (whether they are alive today or not). The apostle Paul gives some specific teaching to children in Ephesians 6:1-4. And this teaching applies to all of us in one way or another. In verse one he specifies that "Children must obey their parents because they belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do." Now almost everyone can acknowledge that their parents have had authority over them at some point in their life. But exactly how long does this verse mean? Should children who are 40 years old obey parents who are 70 years old? What ages is Paul speaking about?
I believe the answer to that is "throughout our entire life", but this answer must be understood with some additional comments. It is obvious that when a child moves out of the home they grew up in, or gets married, the dynamics of the parent/child relationship changes. The child is no longer like a 5 year old, but has responsibilities of their own. Yes the child is to obey their parents for their life, but on the other hand, parents are not to treat their children as if they were perpetually 5 years old. The dynamics of the relationship have changed, therefore the requests for ongoing obedience must also subside or change, and the demands of parents decrease. Part of obeying parents is linked to honoring them -- this continues throughout life. The entire message of obedience to parents is based upon the deeper understanding that when we do this we are really obeying God. When you obey your parents, you are obeying God. Younger children need to know this, older children need to probably understand more of the concept of "honoring."