Household Code for Slaves – 1 Timothy 6:1,2

When Paul led the runaway slave, Onesimus, back to his master, Philemon, he urged Philemon to receive Onesimus “no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother” (v.16).  You can see in this statement the seed of a different perspective on slavery.  It isn’t right for one made in the image of God to be the property of another image bearer.  There is inherent equality in all men, and slavery is a disrespecting of that equality.

Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.  Teach and urge these things.  (1 Timothy 6:1-2 ESV)

This is actually some more teaching on family relationships.  In the household of that day there were often slaves.  The gospel had reached both slaves and masters.

In a household in which believing slaves lived, they were to treat their masters with honor in order to demonstrate the character of God in regard to authority.  Failure to show respect for authority would bring Christian teaching into disrepute.

If the slave’s master was a believer, there was another ground for honor.  The believing master was a brother in Christ and the benefit of the slave’s labor was going to a believer, a member of God’s household.

In other contexts (Ephesians 6) Paul also calls on believing masters to treat their believing slaves as brothers in Christ and all their slaves with respect.  Such teaching sowed the seeds for a demolishing of slavery.  None of the apostles purposely fought for that.  As an upstart movement Christianity was not concerned as much with reforming society as it was redeeming individuals for God and giving them radically different perspectives on their lives.  The by-product was a reformed society.