We continue our study this week with Ephesians 6:2-3:
that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.”
Last week our verse stated that children are to obey their parents “in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:1). This week our verse takes this further. It is one thing to obey, but it can be an entirely different matter to honor someone. We can obey for many different reasons, some of which can be selfish or even with evil intent. However, when we honor the one we are obeying it purifies the motives.
We also understand that honoring our fathers and mothers is simply the right thing to do. The Lord esteems this so much that it is the only one of His commandments that carries a promise or a reward with it. If we do this, we are promised that it will be well with us and we will live long on the earth. Honoring our fathers and mothers is very important to the Lord because it is one of the primary foundations in our life that will help us to resist the spirit of lawlessness, which is growing and will ultimately bring near destruction upon the world. It is for a good reason that the anti-Christ who brings such destruction is called “the man of lawlessness” or “the lawless one.”
As stated in our verse last week, children are commanded to obey their parents “in the Lord,” which many have interpreted to be our spiritual parents. It is obviously both our natural parents and spiritual parents, but as we addressed our earthly family relationships last week, we will look at our spiritual parents this week.
One reason why many churches and movements do not last long is their failure to honor their spiritual parents. They dishonor them by seeking to point out their flaws and mistakes. Flaws and mistakes do not need to be covered up, but when we do this disrespectfully in order to make ourselves look better, we will not last long on the earth. This mentality develops into many, so they spend a great deal of effort trying not to be like their parents. Because of this unrighteous judgment, they inevitably become like their parents, and often end up making even greater mistakes.
From the perspective of church history we can see a definite spiritual progression with each new spiritual generation. However, we could never advance as far as we have if it were not for those who went before us making the progress that they did. We must always keep this in mind, and respect our fathers and mothers in the Lord who have given us so much.
One of the ways the children of Israel honored their fathers and mothers was to drink from the wells that they had dug, and continually acknowledge this. We can do this by reading and honoring the teachings of our spiritual parents who went before us. This is one reason why I spend so much of my time reading church history, and the works of those who had a great impact on the church.
I also think that one of our greatest failures is to honor our spiritual fathers without honoring our spiritual mothers. There are many great women of God whose contribution to the church was extraordinary and yet they are rarely mentioned. It is by honoring both fathers and mothers that the promise is given that it will go well with us and we will live long on the earth. It is good to honor our fathers and mothers in history, but it is even more important to honor the spiritual fathers and mothers who are still with us.
It is interesting, as the Lord Jesus remarked, the Pharisees loved to honor the tombs of the prophets, while they were resisting the greatest prophet of all who was with them. It is much easier to honor those who are dead and can no longer be a threat to us, than those who are commanding our obedience now. As Francis Frangipane once pointed out, “It is a religious spirit that gives honor to what God has done while resisting what He is doing.”
What can you do to honor your natural father and mother? Also, what can you do to honor your spiritual father and mother? Why not take at least one service a year to teach on the great things that the founders of your denomination, movement, or church did and taught. If your spiritual parents are still alive, why not have them come at least once a year to honor them in a special way?
These are just a couple of ideas, but my point is that this is not a passive matter. If we are going to combat the emerging spirit of lawlessness we must actively resist it by obeying these exhortations of Scripture.