AN EXEGETICAL STUDY OF EPHESIANS 6:1-4 IN THE CONTEXT OF PARENTS-CHILDREN RELATIONSHIP IN IGBOLAND

Abstract

Obedience as a term may appear very common to both modern day layman and the contemporary scholar. It is an attribute that works hand in hand with trust, loyalty and true commitment. Thus, it is not really as simple as it appears, considering the fact that the first sin of man recorded in the Christian Bible is the sin of disobedience; the direct opposite of obedience. Again, in the Old Testament, there is an assertion that “obedience is better than sacrifice†(1Samuel 15:22). Also, in the whole of the Decalogue in Exodus 20:3-17, the act of obedience is the first and only code accompanied by a promising reward. It must be noted at this point that in human cosmology, hardly will there be a reward attached to an easy task. Hence, this research paper maintains the view that obedience as a concept could be more complex than it appears. It believes that viewing the concept with the lens of exegesis will expose as well as simplify this complexity. The exegetical work here is especially interested in the New Testament part of the Bible. In the presentation of what appears to be a family or household code, the apostle Paul or whoever wrote the epistle to the Ephesians made mention of obedience with special reference to its condition as seen in the Decalogue. Specifically, Ephesians 6:1 in the LXX (Greek Septuagint) reads; “Ta. te,kna( u`pakou,ete toi/j goneu/sin u`mw/n ÃŽevn kuri,w|Ã\ tou/to ga,r evstin di,kaionņ(The children, obey your parents in the Lord. For this is right). Here, the prepositional phrase evn kuri,w|( (in the Lord) is kept in parenthesis. This is what drew that attention of the researcher who is of the opinion that if there is obedience ‘in the Lord’, then there is the possibility of obedience ‘outside of the Lord’. Again, with the rise in cases of family crises and conflicts seen amongst parents and children (youths to be precise) today which mostly hinges on obeying or not obeying the former and equally affects the larger society, the researcher believes that a proper exegetical interpretation of Ephesians 6:1-4 can serve as a lasting panacea.