Vs. 9 “And, ye masters, do the same thing unto them, forebearing threatening: Knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with Him.”

Paul outlined the duties of slaves to their masters in verses five thru eight, and now Paul addresses the master, reminding them that too had a Master to which they were answerable.

“And, ye masters, do the same thing unto them…” The Christian slaves were to render service unto his earthly master as if he was doing it unto the Lord of heaven,

Vs. 7 “With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.”

Paul, in turning to the masters reminds them of their obligation to act in the same way to toward their slaves. That is, they too, were to consider the will of God as being superior to their own in the Master-slave relationship.

It was commonly thought in that era of time that slaves had no rights or privileges whatsoever. It was the general belief that slaves were their wasters property, and that the will of the master was unquestionably binding on the slave. With the coming of Christianity to the heathen (Gentile) world, slavery was cast in somewhat of a different light. The slave was to recognize the dominance of the master, and was to obey their masters even when they deemed the demands unjust. On the other hand as regards the principles of Christianity the master was not to be a despot, or in any way abuse his authority or power over the slaves.

One prohibition enjoined on the masters was, “forebear threatening.” It is evident that threatening was one of the most effective means of keeping slaves in check. Fear of harsh and severe punishment would keep the slaves in line, and the masters were making it a practice to remind the slaves we have the power to afflict such punishment, and will at exercise that power. But the master is to remember that he too, has a master, the ultimate and Supreme Master, Jesus Christ, to whom he must give an account of his stewardship over the slaves.

Christian masters were ever to keep in view these facts, that he and his Christian slaves were saved by the unmerited favor of God, that both were treated with the ultimate kindness when deserving the ultimate ill? That both when in the same church spared equal importance, and that both would eventually, side by side, bowed their knees to the one and same Master who is in heaven. The keeping of these facts in mind by the masters would help them to treat their slaves with due regard.

The master will not be able to say in the day of final accounting, “I was a master of slaves on the earth, and that man over there was my slave, that should make me more preferable than he.” Of our Master in heaven we read, “neither is there respect of person with Him.” It is not the office that counts, but faithfulness

Our Master in heaven is just and unvarying. The plush coach of the temporal master, his priceless signet ring, his golden crown, Nor his magnificent estate make him more acceptable to the heavenly Master, than the cold iron shackles of the slave, nay, on the contrary, if the rough fetters which the slave wears is due to faithfulness to his heavenly Master, then those bonds attract the loving eye of him that was bound with the cruelest of all cords, Jesus Christ the Lord.

Psa. 34:7 “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.” The believer’s deliverance is sure, the season and means of his deliverance is with the Lord.
 

It is incumbent on the employer to treat the employee with fairness and respect, the employee should reciprocate, he should respect his employer, and should have his employer‘s interest at heart. Such interest will provide the employee with incentive to earn his wage. This being true as regards men in the sphere of secular employment, it surely applies all the more to the saint’s servitude toward his heavenly Master, His heavenly Master saved him out of the bonds of iniquity, and delivered him from the horrible mastership of Satan. The very least service the saint should render unto his Lord is perfect obedience, for this is his duty.

Every believer comes short in discharging his obligations to God, and the saved person outside the church, though zealous and sincere miss mark of acceptable performance by a distance that is near zero productive, God gets all of His glory Christ, and it is in and through the church that Christ has been pleased to glorify His Father. All of God’s glory is not shut up in the church, but for this age He is primarily glorified in the Church. Yea, so – much - so that there are no rewards given to those outside the church. With this all Christendom agrees, the difference arises proper and improper concert of the church.

Paul says, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though
I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing” (I Cor. 13:3).
 

A proper love for Christ calls for and produces a true love for His church, and vice versa. It is inconceivable that a person could love Christ, and at the same time be destitute of love for His church. Yet, this is the condition of professing Christendom in our day. The Arminian laboring under the double delusion, that by his supposed freewill he was saved and added to the church at the same time, runs hither and thither, crossing “sea and land” to make proselytes to their God debasing and church diminishing doctrine.

It is for service connected with and under the authority of a New Testament Church that rewards are given. The church is “. . .The pillar and ground of the truth” (I Tim. 3:15), every other Ecclestical institution is the pillar and ground of heresy, producing only wood, hay, and stubble. A man may give himself totally to such an institution and its cause, even becoming a martyr in its defense, yet the Lord does not give rewards for the propagation and defense of heresy. “...Fine linen clean and white” (Rev.19:8), Is the reward given to the faithful in the Lord’s church.

Let the saint remember, that the church is purchased with the Blood of Christ (Acts 20:28), and while it was His love for all the elect that kept His course set toward Calvary, yet it cannot be successfully denied that the bride (church) held a special place in His love. The church is singled out as a particular object of His love and favor, “...Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Eph. 5:25). The Christian family, as an institution has no guarantee of perpetuity independent of the church, and it is through the church that the family of God is blessed, for the commission was given to the church of God, not the family of God.

Heretical religion will fight the Baptists over their position on the doctrines of grace, but it is the Baptists position as Regards the Lord’s church that has the greater number of martyrs. But in spite of all opposition to the truth as regards the church, Let us be faithful to the church, and thereby bring glory to our beloved Lord. Christ is the head of the church, and He has determined to glorify His Father through the church, and we, who have been blessed to be in His church, ought to without reservation, be determined to glorify our Head through the church.