Ephesians 6:9 9And masters, do the same things to them, stopping the threats, because you know that the Lord in heaven is theirs and yours, and there is no partiality with him.
Masters should show the same virtues to slaves and those listed in verses 5-8. This is a significant statement because it shows a mutuality in relationship. Although culturally, socially, or legally, masters were above slaves, in a Christian household, there is mutual respect and responsibility. Paul is making a radical statement in this verse that gives a significant blow to the idea of one human being dominating and owning another human being. Paul gives similar ideas in 1 Timothy 6:1-2 where he tells masters and slaves that they are “brothers.”
The added participial phrase, stopping the threats, implies that the masters were potentially doing something harmful to the slaves. It is possible that the slaves had found a sense of freedom and liberation from their new faith in Jesus Christ and this was causing friction in the households. The masters were responding with frustration and even abuse. To stop the threats would require looking at the slaves from a new perspective, much like Paul invites Philemon to do in his letter. Philemon was to accept Onesimus back as a brother. Philemon did not live far from Ephesus, in nearby Colossae in the Lycus Valley. It is possible that Philemon heard Paul’s directions in this letter or in the letter to the Colossians, which has similar content.
The motivation for stopping the threats and following the same actions as slaves and free persons in verses 5-8 is that both masters and slaves serve the same Lord. This is essentially the same motivation Paul gave slaves in verses 7-8. The word for master and Lord is the same in the Greek (kyrios). Masters are slaves of Jesus as are the slaves. We all must realize that we serve a Master to whom we must give an account. This Master loves us and even gave himself for us, and he also wants us to be his representatives of this sacrificial love in our relationships with other people. By adding heaven to the description of the Lord Jesus here, Paul is pointing out his sovereignty. He is Lord and invites us as his servants to acknowledge his proper place in our lives.
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