Empowered For Life In A Corrupt System

We were thankful to have Kyle Essary, one of GCC’s covenant partners, bring us through Ephesians 6:5-9 today, a challenging and sobering passage. We were met with the horrifying reality of slavery practised during the Roman empire, but also confronted with the reality of human sin. Humans are capable of such evil, and we continue to wield power over the powerless in unjust, humiliating, and disgusting ways even today.

Yet, Jesus Christ, the true master of the universe, the king of kings, became a slave for His people. He endured injustice and suffering, bearing God’s wrath on the cross in the place of sinners, and died a slave’s death before rising victorious to rule. Christ became a slave not only for the good and gentle, but also the unjust. Christ endured sorrows while suffering unjustly. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.

Christ, therefore, is how we can live in a corrupt world, allowing us to endure a lifetime of unjust suffering. In Christ, an eternal eternity awaits, where there is neither slave nor free. In Christ there is a new king, who brings redemption to every aspect of creation that sin has corrupted. Today, we too must submit all our relationships to the Lordship of Christ. In all our relationships, we are empowered by the Spirit to submit to one another as we submit to the Lord. May these truths apply whether we are in situations where we are powerless or powerful. May we obey Christ as slaves who belong to Him!