Family Portrait Series

Family Portrait

Ephesians 6:1-4

Intro

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I like pictures.

I like to look at pictures from the past. They are great reminders of what we were like and can help to remind us of times we were enjoying life or happy when things are not going as great, so that we can make some changes to help get us back to that time.

As a family, we have tried to take pictures of our family during those blessed times while on vacations or at various special events.

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Whenever we take pictures we try to look our best so we might remember these times and so they might help us live that way. These are a couple of our last family pictures.

Now sometimes, we may not be as interested in just looking our best but in showing how we are enjoying our time, like in this family portrait!

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Now this picture probably tells you something different about our family than the other 2 pictures. Maybe it tells you that we can be a little goofy at times when we are together.

Pictures can tell you something about a person or a family, and can remind you again of times in your family that you would like to aspire to again.

Transition

Well, in today’s passage in Ephesians 6:1-4, (you can turn there)

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Paul paints for us a portrait of family and he shows us the ideal of some of the roles within the Christian family.

Paul began this section at the end of Ephesians 5 that Tom spoke on last week regarding husbands and wives.

Now Paul moves on to a couple of different roles in the family so we can learn how to live out life as Christians who are part of a family in a way that honors the Lord.

So, let’s read Ephesians 6:1-4 and learn how to live in the roles we have.

Ephesians 6:1-4

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 "Honor your father and mother"-which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Pray.

Ok, in just a few short verses, Paul paints a picture of how Christians in their roles in the family should look and he starts by giving us a

A Portrait of a Christian Child

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And he says that if a child is living out their Christianity, we will see it as

They Obey their Parents

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Now, this is something that kids know that they should do, but often they don’t want to do.

Why is that?

For the same reason that adults don’t want to submit or obey anyone.

We want what we want and we have a sinful nature that seeks to control us if we let it.

This section of Scripture goes along with last week’s Scripture and next week’s Scripture and are all part of the same general teaching of Submission in the various roles we find ourselves in in life.

We are all to submit to one another out of love as Ephesians 5:21 tells us, but then it goes on to get specific on how this looks in the roles of life.

Last week we saw that

Husbands are to be submitted to Christ

Wives are submitted to husbands

This week we see that

Children are to be in submission to parents.

This submission plays out differently in our different relationships, but in this section of Scripture, it comes in the form of Children being in obedience to their parents.

And the Scripture tells us that obeying your parents is the right thing to do because

It is Commanded by God

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Paul quotes the 5th Commandment saying to "Honor your father and mother"-which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." (Ephesians 6:2-3)

Ok so what does that look like in reality?

Exceptions

Now often, no matter whom I am talking to about a command of God or something God wants us to do, people will typically bring up situations that they will feel justified in not following what God tells us.

People always want to talk about the exceptions.

Well, I will tell you that there are exceptions. But the Scripture is not about the exceptions, it is about a way of life.

Yes, if your parents tell you to do something illegal or immoral, you are right in not obeying.

Example – Apostles disobey Sanhedrin

We see the Apostles live out an exception similar to this when they refused to follow what the leaders in the Sanhedrin were telling them. The Jewish leaders wanted the apostles to stop speaking in the name of Jesus and telling of the things they knew to be true about Him and His resurrection from the dead.