The Forty-Third Sermon, which is the first upon the sixth Chapter - Ephesians 6:1-4
The Forty-Third Sermon, which is the first upon the sixth Chapter.
1. Children, obey your fathers and mothers in the Lord, for that is right.
2. Honour thy father and thy mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3. That thou mayest fare well and be long-lived upon the earth.
4. Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but nurture them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Our resorting unto sermons must be, not only to hear the things that we knew not, but also to be stirred up to do our duty, to be awakened when we are slothful and drowsy by good and holy warnings, and to be rebuked if there is any stubbornness and malice in us. And that is the thing which Saint Paul tells us here, which every one of us ought to have engraved in our hearts.
For it is something that all of us understand by natural reason, that children ought to be obedient and subject to their fathers and mothers, and also that there should be such gentleness in those that have children to govern, as to use them mildly and not to give them cause for frowardness through their excessive harshness. This, I say, is well enough known to all people, yet the warning that is given here is more than necessary. For who is it that fully discharges himself of the things that are told us here by Saint Paul?
Fathers and mothers oftentimes spoil their children by indulging them too much, making them so pampered that they lead them to utter ruin. Again, sometimes they are so heated and angry with them, without measure or discretion, that they lose control of themselves and fail to deal with them fairly, as they ought to do.
As for children, although it is sufficiently proven to them that they ought to be obedient and subject to their parents, does not the world see how they despise them, and as it were, hold them in utter scorn?
There are hardly any who hold themselves in awe and show proper reverence to their fathers and mothers, considering that God has bound them to it, and that they ought to do it.
Therefore, seeing that Saint Paul exhorts the faithful to things that are so common, we may perceive the stubbornness of our own nature. For these are such things as we ought not to need reminding of, but every one of us ought to be inclined of ourselves to do our duty without warning.
God's Spirit then rebukes us for being so fleshly, that although we know a thing to be as righteous as can be, yet we cannot give ourselves to it. Wherefore, let us endeavor to fight against our own vices. For it is not enough for us to have learned what we ought to do; but also, since there is much fighting and striving within ourselves against it, once we know God's will and what is righteous and fitting, each of us must examine ourselves, and beware that we do not draw back completely. Instead, we must imprison and bridle ourselves, and bear in mind that it is not enough merely to have been instructed and taught, unless we also thrust ourselves forward with force, subdue all our wicked affections, and strive to bring it to pass, however difficult it may be.
Now let us come to what is said here. "Ye children," says Saint Paul, "obey your fathers and mothers." It is true that (as Paul mentions afterward), God has in His law set down a more general term: that is to say, honor. For God meant to make us understand that children ought to yield both subjection and reverence to their fathers and mothers. For someone might yield obedience and subjection, yet still have a spiteful, proud, and lofty heart, and despise the one whom he serves.
But when our Lord commands us to honor our fathers and mothers, He means to include reverence, and moreover, a fulfillment of all duties: that is, children should understand that they are bound to serve their fathers and mothers, to be subject to them in all things to the utmost of their power. You see, then, that God generally wills children not only to be obedient and subject to their parents but also to yield them reverence, and further, to perform their duties toward them, assisting them and providing them all the ease and comfort they can, knowing that they are not their own, nor at their own liberty, but that they owe all service to those by whose means they came into the world.
Saint Paul says expressly, in the Lord, meaning that there is a double bond to hold us in this subjection. First, there is the order of nature; and again, God tells us that He has set us in this earthly life with the condition that fathers and mothers should have superiority over their children. The heathen will not escape being found guilty, even though they did not have the law to direct them, nor were taught the doctrine which we hear now through the mouth of Saint Paul. So much so, that if a child was stubborn against his father and mother among the heathen, he was as it were abhorred, and there was neither great nor small who could not judge of it.
Neither shall they escape God's hand, seeing that they are condemned already in this world. For (as I said before) it is a thing that is engraved in the hearts of all of us and is as clear as can be.
However, besides that which we know naturally, God adds His own will for a further and more ample confirmation, and tells us that He has so ordained and appointed it, and therefore we must submit to it.
Then, since we perceive that God holds us under the authority of our fathers and mothers, it is certain that we are so much the more without excuse if each of us does not submit himself with meekness and humility.
And those who have followed the order of nature among the heathen and blind souls shall be our judges. For who stirred them up to it?
They had not the helps that we have, yet they performed their duty.
That is the thing which Saint Paul intended in saying that children ought to obey their fathers and mothers in the Lord.
Now he adds that "this is right." As if he should say, no man will gain anything by striving in this matter. For we know that man's mind is so full of pride that there is no man but would want to be a lord. As for subjection, it irks men to yield to it until our Lord has framed us to it by His Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). And for that reason, the Spirit of God is called the spirit of meekness and gentleness
(Colossians 3:12). Why? Because pride makes men like wild beasts and puffs them up like toads, so they cannot humble themselves.
Saint Paul, therefore, perceiving that this vice is so rooted in our nature, and seeking to redress it, shows that it is right and that it becomes every man to employ himself in it. Although there is some stubbornness in us that will not allow us to be subject to our superiors, this rightful order of God must outweigh it. For when he says, "it is right," he brings us back to God's authority, as if he should
say, "Since God has spoken the word, there is no further debate about it. Men must stop their mouths, and since God has commanded it, men must obey, assuring themselves that His will is a sure and infallible rule from which it is not lawful to stray, neither to the right side nor to the left."
And this is a good warning. For we see that even when men are willing to do well and have some good zeal toward it, yet each of us will be wise in our own conceit. And when it comes to governing ourselves, we want to bear sway above the Word of God. As men are so foolish and presumptuous as to continually attribute something to their own wit, it is all the more important for us to take heed of what is said here. That is to say, we must have the discernment to perceive what God commands and allows, as well as what He disallows.
Have we a warrant of God's will? We must be content with it. And if He once says, This pleases me, then it is right, even if we do not perceive the reason for it. Again, if there is some difficulty, let us not ask why, nor let us reply against God when He condemns the thing that seems not to be utterly evil in our eyes. Let us beware of such malapertness and devilish rashness, and let us follow what Saint Paul tells us here: that is to say, that all that God has spoken by His Word is right, and we also must avow it to be so without gainsaying.
For the true proof of our faith and obedience is that when we think this or that ought not to have been commanded or forbidden, yet we accept it as good and beneficial because God has spoken it.
Now, hereupon Saint Paul quotes the commandment of the Law, "Honor thy father and thy mother." And again, he adds further that it is the first commandment with a promise. As if he should say, God intended to bring us by all means to the subjection which we should yield to our fathers and mothers. It ought to suffice us that it is
acceptable to God, but seeing He also allures us by gentleness, and does not frighten us with authority and force but promises to prosper us if we serve our fathers and mothers, this ought to make us more willing in our subjection.
Therefore, Saint Paul, having shown us that we must be subject to our fathers and mothers unless we wish to be rebels against God, bending our will against Him and turning all right and order upside down, adds that we shall be too hard-hearted and willfully stubborn if this promise of God does not move us, whereby He graciously intends to induce us to do what He wills. Surely, if we are not moved, yea even softened, by this promise, it can be said that the devil reigns wholly in us and possesses our hearts.
His statement then is that it is a commandment with a special promise, unlike any other commandment in the law. The promise is that we shall live long upon the earth, and in prosperity, because God will bless us if we honor those who were the means by which we came into the world.
On the other hand, Saint Paul shows what the duty of fathers and mothers is toward their children: that is, to treat them gently. Not to pardon them altogether or to lay the bridle in their necks and let them do what they want, but to deal so mildly with them that they are not discouraged (as it is said elsewhere), but instead are nurtured in the fear of God. By this word nurture, Saint Paul means that they should deal gently with them and show themselves loving toward them. However, this word is also seasoned with nurture and correction of God. Thus, on the one side, there is nurture—that is to say, kindness and gentleness—and on the other side, chastisement and discipline, so that children may be kept in awe, and not be allowed to become wanton and unruly, but rather brought up in the
fear of God, knowing that He has not left them without oversight or law, but has given them overseers to rule their lives. This is the essence of what Saint Paul teaches us here.
Now, to gain a fuller and more certain understanding of this text, we must first of all remember that, properly speaking, we have no father but only God. It is true that, at times, He is called the Father of our souls and spirits (Hebrews 12:9). Yet, even concerning the flesh, the honor and dignity of bearing the name of father do not belong to any mortal creature. For it is God who fashions us, as it is said in the book of Job (Job 10:8-12). Is the seed of man (which is but corruption) able to fashion a body in which the excellent workmanship of God appears? No. Therefore, we must understand that since our bodies are all records of God's wonderful power, He alone deserves to be held and accounted as our Father.
Yet, for all that, those who beget us and by whom we are brought into this world are also our fathers. By what title? Because God has vouchsafed to make them partakers of the honor that belongs to Himself alone. And here we are reminded that in striving against our fathers and mothers, we make war against God. For He has imprinted His mark upon them, and their title shows us that God has set them in His place. Therefore, we must hold it as an undoubted truth that in honoring our fathers and mothers, we are rendering to God the service He requires of us and which we owe Him.
Conversely, if we despise our fathers and mothers, holding scorn for them and refusing to fulfill our duties toward them, we are expressly offending God. This is not only because we are breaking the commandment of His law but also because we are despising His majesty, of which our fathers and mothers bear a certain mark, as I mentioned before.
This is why there is such rigorous punishment in the Law against those who are disobedient to their fathers and mothers. "Whoever curses his father or mother shall surely be put to death" (Exodus
21:17). If children are so far out of line as to set light by their fathers and mothers, God will have them removed from the world, for they are like monsters and an infection that defiles the whole earth.
Furthermore, He will not require a long examination. If the father and mother once give this witness, "Behold, this our son will not be corrected," then let him be stoned to death immediately
(Deuteronomy 21:18-21), and let the world be rid of such an infection.
God says this to show us that it is a grievous and horrible crime when children cannot find it in their hearts to submit to their fathers and mothers, for it is as if they are determined to abolish the entire order of nature. Therefore, that is the lesson we must begin with to profit well from this doctrine.
And the same also is the reason why Saint Paul says that we ought to be subject to our fathers and mothers in God, meaning thereby that the thing which the pagans and unbelievers conceive darkly ought to be much better known to us. For the pagans did not well understand how to give a reason why children ought to yield this subjection and obedience to their fathers and mothers, except that it appeared there was a certain equity and right that required it, and that this was reason enough. But as for coming to the foundation of the matter— that God is our Father, and that He requires this subjection at our hands—that they could not do. And why? Because they did not know whether there was a God who created and fashioned them or not.
But we, who know that God is our Creator and Father, and that this belongs to Him, and that He has reserved that honor and dignity to
Himself, and again, that He wills fathers and mothers to be partakers of that privilege, must necessarily conclude that we ought to obey our fathers and mothers, yes, even in God, as though He Himself received from us the honor and service we give to those who represent His person and majesty here (as I said before), which is despised in the stubbornness and disobedience of children toward their fathers and mothers.
Here again, I must remind you of something I mentioned before: that when God's will is once known to us, we must bridle ourselves and not take liberty to reply against God, asking why God likes this or dislikes that. Instead, we must accept His will as the sovereign righteousness and equity. And where shall we find His will? In His
Word. For when Saint Paul intends to prove God's will, he does not soar in the air above the clouds but brings forth and cites the things contained in the Law. So then, to rule our lives rightly, let us apply our whole minds to seek out the things that are pleasing and acceptable to God, as He reveals them in His Law, in the Prophets, and in the Gospel. That is all our wisdom. And let us beware of the boldness I said was diabolical, which is to be wise in our own conceits and to say, "How can this be? Why should that be?" But let us simply obey our God.
Furthermore, here is also a promise. Indeed, a question might arise here: why does Saint Paul say this is the first commandment with a promise, seeing there is also a promise attached to the second commandment of the Law? "I, the Lord, show mercy to a thousand generations, to those who love Me and keep My commandments"
(Exodus 20:6). Here is a much larger promise than the one mentioned in this text. So how does Saint Paul say that this is the first commandment with a promise?
The answer is simple: God's promise of mercy to a thousand generations in the first table is not restricted to that commandment alone but extends to the whole Law. As if He should say, "There is nothing better for you than to submit yourselves to My will, for otherwise, you are in a cursed state. And to prove this, do not all the things you hope for come to you from My free goodness alone? Now, for My part, I will not fail those who serve Me and seek to honor Me, but they shall continually find that I am a merciful God."
Herein (as I said before) the Lord's intent is to draw us to obey His commandments and ordinances with a willing heart. Therefore, this is no special promise confined to any one commandment alone. But the promise that Saint Paul speaks of here—"Honor your father and mother, that you may live long upon the earth" (Ephesians 6:2-3)— is peculiar to that commandment alone. As if he should say, "God is so gracious that He will cause those to prosper through His blessing and favor who behave humbly and meekly, yielding due reverence to their fathers and mothers."
Therefore, Saint Paul rightly says that this is the first commandment with a promise, namely with such a promise as is special and applies to no other commandment but this one.
Now let us come to the promise. God says that those who obey shall live long. Hereupon we may gather that this present life is not to be despised because it is a record of God's fatherly goodness and love towards us. And, in truth, it is no small thing that God vouchsafes to create us and to set us in this world, not only to live here as brute beasts but also to reign as His children and to have dominion over all other creatures.
It is said that His goodness and mercy extend even to asses, oxen, and horses. And why? When He makes the earth bring forth hay for
cattle, does He not therein show wonderful goodness towards the poor brute beasts, as I said before? But there is a far different reason concerning us. How do we enjoy all the goods and riches with which the earth is full? God has poured out His bountifulness in that the earth brings us forth such a variety of fruits. Yea, we cannot look up to heaven, high or low, without perceiving a thousand (yea, infinite) records of God's goodness.
To what end does the sun shine, but to give us light? Are not the moon and the stars ordained to serve us? And yet they are as noble creatures as may be, insomuch that the heathen people worshipped them, thinking that some godhead was enclosed within them. Again, when we look downward, we see what good things God has appointed for our use. Although He feeds the beasts, yet in the end, all redounds to us, as Saint Paul speaks of them, saying: "Does God care about oxen?" (1 Corinthians 9:9). That is to say, when God vouchsafes to succor the beasts in their need by His providence, He does it for man's sake.
Seeing then that God has harbored us in such a way as to make us possess so many good things, besides creating us in His own image and likeness, is this not an inestimable benefit? So then, this present life is not to be held in scorn. But there is yet more: God has set us here as if in a journey to come to a further matter, that is, to the everlasting rest and to the heritage of heaven. If this present life guides us to that end—that is, to the glory which God has prepared for us, and which was purchased for us by the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ—then we see that it is a great benefit and worthy of our esteem.
It is true that there are so many miseries in our life that it might seem better never to have been born than to linger continually as we
do. Therefore, if a man considers how wretched life is in itself, and to what a number of griefs, anguishes, pains, and vexations it is subject, surely he will say it would be better never to have come out of our mother's womb than to enter into such a sea of confusion as we see upon earth. Nevertheless, when all is considered, we shall find that God's goodness exceeds all the chastisements He sends us for our sins. This life should of itself be nothing but happiness and rest, if God did not make us reap the fruit of our sins and transgressions.
Yet, notwithstanding, when God afflicts us now and then with barrenness, or kills our vines with frost, or drowns our crops with rain, or parches them with drought, and, to be brief, when He sends famine and scarcity—these are as rods of God, to show us that instead of His former liberality, He is now against us. Likewise are the plague, war, personal diseases and sicknesses, harms, reproaches, and all other things that cause us grief or displeasure.
They are all chastisements by which God reminds us of our sins and faults, with the purpose of humbling us so that we might know what we are, and finally, to make us ready to forsake the world more willingly.
However, when we have gathered all the afflictions, troubles, and griefs that we see into one heap, yet we still see (as I said before) that God causes us to feel the taste and savor of His goodness in that He gives us sustenance in this world. And this present life is always a record of His love. For proof of this, we would fail at every temptation and every vexation that might befall us in this world, were it not that God gives us some consolation to mitigate His rigor.
For He always shows such mercy that we might understand He does not intend to deal with us according to our deserts, but that in His chastisements, He leaves room for His mercy, as He Himself says in Habakkuk: "In wrath, remember mercy" (Habakkuk 3:2).
Not without cause, then, does God promise prosperity in this life to those who obey their fathers and mothers. It is true that Moses meant the land of Canaan because he was speaking to the people of Israel, who were to be settled there. Therefore, in respect of that people, it was a particular lesson. Yet, even today, none of us can set our foot in any place without being, after a sort, harbored there by God. Therefore, we must all hope for the blessing that was promised in old times to the Jews, of bringing them into the land that was bequeathed to them for their inheritance.
A man might raise other questions here. For we see some who are disobedient to their fathers and mothers, yet they still live, while others who are of a good, gentle, and tractable nature die young. It may seem that God annuls the promise He made in His law. The answer to this is as follows: God does no wrong to those whom He calls out of this world to take them to Himself, nor does He diminish their state.
To make the answer clearer and easier to understand, let us note that things do not always turn out the same regarding temporal promises
(as in the example). God promises to prosper all who serve and love Him with singleness of heart. How does this unfold? We see many poor believers who, in the eyes of the world, are wretched and despised by all. So, where is God's promise?
As I said, we must always keep in mind that God gives us whatever He knows is expedient for us. There are two sorts of God's promises, and we must distinguish them. Some promises relate to the salvation of our souls—His receiving us in mercy, His pardoning our sins, His revealing His will to us, His giving us power to withstand Satan, and His strengthening us against all temptations by holding us up with a strong hand so that we never falter. In all these things, we must
firmly believe that God will perform whatever He says, far more than we can understand or conceive. God will surpass all our wit and capacity in things concerning the everlasting salvation of our souls.
But there are other promises meant for easing us in our miseries during this life. In these, God may "portion out" His blessings to us, sometimes allowing us to face hunger and thirst alongside them. Yet this does not impeach His faithfulness. For, as I said, He knows what is best for us, and we must not take His promises precisely word for word in these cases. We should not interpret them according to the bare letter, expecting God to fulfill them exactly to the utmost syllable. No, we must always remember that He knows what is for our benefit.
Now, if He takes someone early out of this world, it is because He knows it is for their welfare and salvation. So, you see, God does not falsify His promise when He takes away those who have obeyed their fathers and mothers in the flower of their age. Surely, no one discharges their duty perfectly, such that they could escape fault if God were to sift them with rigor. Yet some will have done their duty in a way that pleases God, and He may still take them out of the world because He sees it is not for their profit to remain here longer.
As for other reasons hidden in His secret wisdom, we must cast down our eyes because we cannot attain them.
Nevertheless, we must understand that if there were no hope of a better life, those who are taken away early from the world would be greatly lamented. But knowing that this world is merely a pilgrimage and this life only a journey leading us to the rest of heaven, we must not complain when God delivers us from the many miseries that besiege us here on earth and takes us up to the perfect happiness that awaits us above.
However, whatever the case, let us bear in mind what is said here:
When God holds us for a long time in this world, it is as a pledge of His fatherly love toward us. Therefore, we ought to be the wiser in reckoning the days we live while we are in this life. For the same reason, Moses also says in his Song that it is great wisdom when people can skillfully count their days and consider the shortness of their life, so they may hasten to heaven (Psalm 90:12).
But we must also count our days for a different purpose, which is not contrary but agrees well with the first. When we reach the age of discretion, knowing that God has created us to glorify Him in this world, we must, on the other hand, consider how we have dishonored Him. We should continually reflect on the time we have spent, day by day, and month by month. When we come to the year's end, let us think to ourselves: "Behold, God has bound me to Him in many ways. How have I acknowledged the benefits I have received from Him all my life long? Can my mind fully grasp them? Alas, no, not even the hundredth part of them."
Therefore, we must review all our years and days, reminding ourselves to love and honor God when we see how greatly we are indebted to Him for sustaining us for so long and for His patience in bearing with us. For if we compare the faults we have committed, even the smallest fault demands that we should be confounded before Him. Yet, He continues to extend His goodness toward us.
Thus, let us take note of this doctrine: this present life binds us to God because He allows us to taste His fatherly goodness by sustaining us and extending His generosity toward us. Furthermore,
He turns His corrections to our benefit, showing us that He desires us to become accustomed, in this world, to knowing Him as our
Father. He gives us His Word and Sacraments, assuring us that
placing us here for a time is meant to draw and gather us to Himself in the end. Therefore, if we consider to what we are called and the purpose for which we were created—to pass through this world and be taken into the inheritance of heaven—we will see that this present life is indeed worthy of esteem when we reflect on the benefits God imparts to us here.
It should also be noted that we will never experience true prosperity or well-being in this world unless we are in God's favor. Thus, in saying, "that thou mayst live long and fare well," it shows that merely having long life is not enough; we must also feel His blessing with it.
The wretched unbelievers, who fail to grasp the point I am making— that God pours out His riches upon us so that we may know Him as our Father and be further confirmed in trusting His goodness and love—may well live to great ages. But what do they accomplish in this world? What is their life? It is certain that all they have will lead to greater condemnation. The riches they enjoy, together with their delights and pleasures, will provoke God's wrath. All the goods they enjoy will serve only to further increase their wickedness and render them more damnable. It is indeed a wretched life if we cannot perceive any token of God's goodness in it.
Moreover, we must proceed further to the second point: those who are disobedient to God and their superiors find no rest. Instead, a worm gnaws at their conscience, and they are constantly in turmoil.
In short, experience shows that there is no well-being in this life unless we are blessed by God. Though this difference is not always seen outwardly, the faithful know well enough that God provides them with all that they need. Thus, God promises not only long life but also His blessing. As if He were to say: "You shall not live merely to linger here beneath or to bring upon yourselves greater
damnation, nor to gnash your teeth in torment and affliction, but to taste My goodness. Though I do not exempt you from the troubles, burdens, and griefs of this world, you will always have some cheer, so you may feel that I have not forgotten you. I consider you as My children, and even your sorrows and griefs will work for your benefit and well-being."
Whereas the devil labors to keep you from coming to Me and to turn you away from perfect felicity, I will draw you to it through the afflictions you face in this world. Therefore, the thing we must remember is that being filled with the benefits God bestows upon us in this world and living at ease is not all we should desire. Rather, we must know that it is God who causes us to prosper, that He gives us life and will sustain us in it, providing all that is necessary and needful.
Let this truth be well imprinted in our hearts.
Now then, if we are desirous to enjoy this promise of God, let each of us look to the discharging of his own duty. Indeed, I cannot, as of now, go through all the things that are enjoined here to children and to fathers and mothers, and therefore I will reserve them for another time. Yet, for a short conclusion, let us understand that God allures us to our duty by showing that He seeks nothing else but our welfare and benefit. This is to the intent that we should, with a frank and free heart, receive the yoke that He lays upon our shoulders.
Although it may be an irksome thing to be subject to those whom God has appointed to be superiors over us, when we have first condemned ourselves for it, let us nevertheless yield to what He says and utters. Let us assure ourselves that He seeks our welfare and would rather win us by gentleness than by rigour, and let that make us more obedient. Also, generally, since we see that all superiorities
are from God, let us understand that we cannot oppose them without lifting ourselves up against His majesty and defying Him. Contrarily, if we bear subjection willingly, we may assure ourselves that it is an acceptable sacrifice to Him and not doubt that our labor will be in vain in serving Him.
Not that God will recompense us by His promises as though we had deserved anything at His hand, but He will do it out of His abundant grace. As I have already declared, we are bound to obey Him in all things that He commands. We must not think He is beholden to us for it, nor should we believe we can bind Him to us by any means.
Although we are bound to Him, as we are wholly His, He, out of His overflowing goodness, vouchsafes to bless us and make us feel His favor when we reverently follow the things that He ordains in His
Word.
That, then, is the recompense we ought to hope for from God's hand, not as the Papists say, "God promises us, therefore we deserve it."
They persuade themselves that God is indebted to them because He has bound Himself willingly. Yes, but that is out of His free and undeserved goodness. We must not fall into such errors but understand that God, being in no way bound to us, still vouchsafes to win us by gentleness, so that we might serve Him with freer minds and more cheerful hearts. Thus, He calls us to Him by all means.
Therefore, we are even more stubborn if we do not willingly bow our necks to give ourselves wholly to Him, seeking only to conform ourselves to His good pleasure and will, which is our chief rule, by renouncing our own affections.
Now, let us fall down before the majesty of our good God, acknowledging our faults, praying Him to vouchsafe to bury them, and to wash us from them for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake. May He