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Chapter 6

Christ and the Members of the Household[a]

Children and Parents. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for it is only right that you should do so. “Honor your father and your mother.” This is the first commandment that is connected with a promise: “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on earth.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 6:1 Christian life also gives a new meaning to relations between children and parents. In an age less attentive than ours to the lot of little children, Paul was already emphasizing the responsibility of parents, without denying the duties of the young. The atmosphere he suggests is one of dialogue.


    As for slavery, Paul does not pass judgment on the social structure of his age (see 1 Cor 7:21-22; Col 3:22-25; 1 Tim 6:1-2; Tit 2:9-10; Philem), but he does foretell new relations between master and slave, since all are equal before God, whatever the differences in their roles and social obligations.