Ephesians 6:9 (ESV): “Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.”
Paul gives bosses only one verse in Ephesians, but every word of it counts. In a world where masters held near-total power, he told them to lead with the same heart, the same accountability and the same fairness they expected from everyone else.
1. Model what you expect. “Do the same to them.”
Paul has just told servants to work with a sincere heart and with goodwill, “as to the Lord” (vv. 5–8). “Do the same” puts that same obligation on the boss. Being the boss doesn’t give you the right to a lower standard of effort or enthusiasm than the people who report to you. Entitlement creeps in slowly and grows into arrogance. A Christ-honoring leader goes the other way: humility that sets a real example.
Instead of this:
- Expecting your team to go the extra mile while you coast.
- Holding people to deadlines and standards you don’t keep yourself.
- Working hard only when the board or your own boss is watching.
Do this:
- Set the pace for effort and excellence by how you work.
- Keep your commitments as carefully as you expect others to keep theirs.
- Do your work “as to the Lord,” whether anyone is watching or not.
2. Fear and intimidation should never be a driver. “And stop your threatening.”
The Greek is literally “letting go of the threat.” Aniēmi means to loosen or release (Thayer, 1889), and the article points to the customary threats masters held over servants (Vincent, 1887, p. 405), such as beatings or being sold away from the household (O’Brien, 1999). Consequences aren’t wrong. Telling someone the truth about where they stand is accountability. What Paul forbids is fear as a management style. Clear consequences give people security. Threats take it away.
Instead of this:
- Dropping vague hints about job security to keep people anxious and compliant.
- Using your tone, temper or silence to keep people on edge.
- Correcting people publicly so they’ll be afraid to fail again.
Do this:
- When someone’s job really is at risk, tell them plainly, explain what needs to change, and give them a fair path to fix it.
- Make it safe for your team to bring you problems, mistakes and bad news.
- Correct in private, and aim to restore the person, not punish them.
For more on what fair, impartial leadership looks like on a team, read 7 Characteristics of a Godly Leadership Team.
3. You answer to the same Master. “Knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven.”
The boss is a kyrios (master) who has a Kyrios. Your title gives you a role over your people, not a rank above them. They report to you, but they belong to Him, and you’ll give an account for how you treated them. Here’s the good news: their ultimate loyalty isn’t to you. People who work “as to the Lord” work hard when you’re not watching and stay honest when it’s uncomfortable. You don’t have to be the center of their world.
Instead of this:
- Treating your position as something you own or have earned.
- Using your authority to protect your comfort, image or turf.
- Measuring your success only by results and ignoring how you treated people along the way.
Do this:
- Hold your role as a stewardship you’ll give an account for.
- Use your authority to serve, develop and protect the people under you.
- Ask regularly, “How would my Master evaluate the way I’m leading my people?”
4. God isn’t partial with you, so don’t be partial with others. “And that there is no partiality with him.”
“Partiality” is prosōpolēmpsia, literally “receiving the face”: judging someone by appearance, rank or position. God doesn’t do that. He won’t side with the boss because he’s the boss. Verse 8 had just said the Lord repays “whether he is a bondservant or is free,” and verse 9 drives it home. A boss who is judged without favoritism has no business showing favoritism to the people under him.
Instead of this:
- Giving your favorites the best opportunities, the most grace and the benefit of the doubt.
- Treating people differently based on their title, personality or usefulness to you.
- Applying the rules strictly to some people and loosely to others.
Do this:
- Give everyone on your team the same access, respect and opportunity to grow.
- Value each person as someone who serves the same Lord you do.
- Apply standards, grace and consequences consistently across the board.
Your title tells people where you sit on the org chart, but how you lead tells them who you serve. Lead like someone with a Master in heaven, because you have one.
References
O’Brien, P. T. (1999). The letter to the Ephesians (Pillar New Testament Commentary). Eerdmans.
Thayer, J. H. (1889). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament (Corrected ed.). American Book Company.
Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 3). Charles Scribner’s Sons.