Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
What does Ephesians 6:1 mean?
The great duty of children is, to obey their parents. That obedience includes inward reverence, as well as outward acts, and in every age prosperity has attended those distinguished for obedience to parents.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Ephesians 6:1-4 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Ephesians 6:1
Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Children - τεκνα tekna This word usually signifies those who are young; but it is used here, evidently, to denote those who were under the care and government of their parents, or those who were not of age. Obey your parents - This is the first great duty which God has enjoined on children. It is, to do what their parents command them to do. The God of nature indicates that this is duty; for he has impressed it on the minds of all in every age; and the Author of revelation confirms it.
Context in Ephesians 6
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Ephesians 6 belongs to the closing movement of the book, especially the section often described as household life and spiritual warfare. Ephesians presents the church as Christ’s body and temple, chosen in grace, united across dividing walls, and called to mature holy life. Read this chapter with the wider themes of union with Christ, church, and grace in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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What the Bible teaches about the value of children, raising them in the faith, their place in God's kingdom, and parental responsibility.
Key passages on God's unmerited favour, the grace of Christ, salvation by grace through faith, and how grace transforms the way believers live.