1 Timothy 6:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Then, since he had said, "doing nothing from partiality," he added, by way of necessary explanation, "Let as many servants as are under the yoke." But what relation does this have to a bishop, you ask? A very close one: he must exhort and teach them.

Concerning servants he gives proper instruction here also. We see that everywhere he gives more commands to servants than to masters. He shows them how they must obey, and he speaks much about them.

Specifically, he exhorts the former to submit with great meekness, while he counsels the latter to lessen fear, saying, "forbearing threatening" (Eph 6:9).

But why does he command this? With respect to unbelievers, rightly so, because there is no reason to address those who do not listen. But why with respect to believers?

Because masters provide more for servants than servants provide for masters. The former spend gold on them and take care to supply them with necessary things, clothing, and everything else.

Thus masters render them more services. The Apostle indicates this here also, saying, "because they are faithful and beloved and benefit them." They trouble themselves and labor for your rest. Should they not receive great honor from their servants?

If he commanded servants to remain in such obedience, then consider how disposed we ought to be toward the Master. He brought us from non-being into being, and He also feeds and clothes us.

Therefore let us strive to serve Him, if in no other way, at least as much as our servants serve us. Have they not devoted their whole life to securing rest for their masters?

Is this not their occupation? Is this not their life, to care for their masters' affairs? Do they not spend the whole day on their master's affairs, while often only a small part of the evening remains for their own?

We, however, do the opposite. We are constantly occupied with our own affairs, and we do not give even a small part of time to what concerns the Master.

And we act so when He not only has no need of our services, as masters need the service of servants, but turns those very services to our own benefit.

There the servant's service benefits the master. Here the servant's service means nothing to the Master, but benefits the servant himself. "My goods are nothing to Thee" (Ps 15:2).

Indeed, tell me, what benefit will there be to God if I am righteous? What harm will there be if I am unrighteous? Is not His nature unmixed? Is it not free from injury? Is it not above every suffering?

Servants have nothing of their own. Everything they have belongs to the master, even if they are endlessly wealthy. We, by contrast, have much of our own. Not without reason have we received such honor from the King of all.

What master ever gave his son for his servant? None. On the contrary, all would rather give up servants for sons. But here it is otherwise. He did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all.

He delivered Him for enemies who hated Him. Servants, even if ordered to do something burdensome, do not become vexed, especially if they are well disposed. But we grow despondent a thousand times.

A master promises servants nothing like what God has promised us. What does he promise? Freedom from slavery in this world. Often this is heavier than slavery, because famine often happens, and then such freedom becomes worse than slavery.

Yet this is considered the greatest gift. With God there is nothing temporary, nothing corruptible. What then is there? Do you wish to know? Listen. "I no longer call you servants," the Lord says. "You are My friends" (Jn 15:15, 14).

A teacher must use not only authority, but also great meekness. Conversely, he must use not only meekness, but also authority. Blessed Paul teaches all this, at times saying, "Command and teach these things" (1 Tim 4:11), and at times, teach and entreat this.

Physicians exhort the sick not in order to become healthy themselves, but to deliver the sick from illness and raise those who lie low. Much more, then, must we follow this practice when exhorting disciples.

Blessed Paul does not even deny that he is their servant, saying, "We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Cor 4:5). Again he says, "Whether Paul or Apollos, all are yours" (1 Cor 3:22).

He willingly accepts this servitude, because it is not servitude, but better than freedom. "Whoever commits sin," the Lord says, "is a servant" (Jn 8:34).

Let us be ashamed, beloved. Let us fear. Shall we not serve the Master at least as much as our servants serve us? Or rather, shall we not display our service even in the smallest part?

They practice philosophy by necessity, having only shelter and food. We, having partly received and partly expecting countless blessings, insult the Benefactor through excessive luxury.

If from no other source, let us at least receive rules of philosophy from them. Scripture is accustomed to send people not only to servants, but even to irrational animals, as when it commands imitation of the bee or the ants.

I urge you to imitate at least servants. What they do from fear of us, let us do at least from fear of God. Yet we do not find that you do this.

From fear of us they endure insults a thousand times and stand in silence, more undisturbed than any philosopher. They receive insults justly and unjustly, and do not contradict, but ask forgiveness, often when they have done nothing wrong.

Receiving nothing but what is necessary, and often less than that, they are content with it. Sleeping on a straw bed, eating only bread, and living in every respect scantily, they do not complain or grow bitter because of the fear we inspire.

When money is entrusted to them, they return it in full. Do not point me to wicked servants, but to those who are not very evil. When we threaten them, they at once humble themselves.

Is this not philosophy? Do not tell me that it happens by necessity. You too face the necessity of falling into Gehenna, and yet you are not instructed by it.

You do not render God the honor which you receive from servants. Every servant has his appointed dwelling and does not assault his neighbor's dwelling. He is not consumed by the desire to acquire more.

Everyone sees that servants observe this out of fear of their masters. Rarely will you see one servant carry off or ruin something belonging to another. Among free men the opposite occurs.

We gnaw and devour one another. We do not fear the Master. Before His eyes we plunder, rob, and strike our fellow servants. A servant would not do this.

Even if he struck someone, he would not do it before the master's eyes. Even if he abused someone, he would do it so the master would not hear. We dare to do this before God, who sees and hears everything.

They always have fear of the master before their eyes. We never have it. Therefore everything among us has fallen into disorder, mingled together, and become corrupt.

Our own transgressions do not even come to our mind. But when our servants sin, we investigate everything exactly, down to the smallest detail.

I say this not because I wish to make servants lazy, but to destroy our laziness and rouse us from negligence. Let us serve God at least as servants serve us.

Let us serve Him who created us as those who are consubstantial with us serve us, though they have received nothing of the kind from us. By nature they too are free. "And have dominion over the fish" (Gen 1:26) was said to them also.

This slavery is not from nature, but arose from circumstance and conditions. Nevertheless they show us great honor.

Meanwhile we demand service from them and rush upon them with all severity. At the same time we do not assign God even the smallest part of service, although the benefit from it returns again to us.

The more zealously we serve God, the more benefit we shall receive for ourselves. The greater the profit will be for us. Let us not deprive ourselves of so great a gain.

God is self-sufficient and needs nothing. The reward and benefit return again to us. Therefore I beseech you, let us try to acquire such a disposition as though we were serving not God, but ourselves.

Let us serve Him with fear and trembling, that we may be counted worthy of the promised blessings in Christ Jesus our Lord. With Him, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, belong glory, dominion, and honor, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

By saying "beloved," the Apostle drives out fear, through which servants often fall into hatred toward their masters. In place of fear, he introduces love. Thus, he says, those who receive benefits, that is, the slaves, must serve all the more. To make a convenient transition in the discourse, he adds this, while in the expression "they are faithful and beloved" the word "masters" must be understood. Or it may be understood simply as the text says: "and they do them good," that is, the masters, who carefully strive to benefit their slaves.

"Teach and exhort these things." A teacher needs not only authority, expressed by the word "teach," but also meekness, contained in the present expression "exhort." For he is a physician, and a physician cares for the sick sometimes by gentleness and sometimes by strict compulsion.

Therefore Christianity is a beautiful thing in general. This is how the unprejudiced could think. For Christian slaves themselves, the question was resolved here in this way. Having been freed from sin, they could not consider themselves free from external dependence in daily life. The inner matter and the external position are two different spheres of life. They are determined by God and by men, with Caesar at their head. Thus one can say here what Christ said concerning this: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

According to the explanation of St. John Chrysostom, the Apostle speaks to the Christian slave as though saying: "Do not think that because you are faithful, you are also free. No. If an unbeliever sees that through faith people fall into self-conceit, he will often revile it as a teaching that disposes people to rebellion. But if he notices that they have become more obedient, he will submit all the sooner and will be more attentive to what is said in the preaching of the Gospel. If you have been deemed worthy of such honor as to have brethren as masters, then for this reason you must especially obey them. Masters provide more to slaves than slaves provide to masters. They labor and trouble themselves for the sake of their very tranquility. Should they not enjoy great honor from their household servants?"

To this Bishop Theophan adds: "It is assumed that the masters, having believed and been sanctified by grace, changed their despotic disposition. They began to deal with their slaves as with their own kin, supporting them well and showing a loving disposition toward them. Therefore these latter should naturally serve them more zealously now than before. This last observation also concerns modern servants, who should treat their masters more zealously. For, besides all that has been said, they are free servants, not perpetual slaves."

Only for slaves who are in service to their Christian brethren does he indicate a special motive for the faithful fulfillment of their duties. By calling the masters recipients of benefaction from the service of their fellow-believing slaves, the Apostle raises the slave's dignity and gives him strength to endure his condition. For what Christian, after this, would refuse to be the brother and benefactor of his master?

"Slaves whose masters are pious must not turn their masters' piety into an occasion for negligence. Rather, for this reason they should deem them worthy of greater service" (Blessed Theodoret). Tell them: "If you have been counted worthy of such honor as to have brothers as masters, or to have masters as brothers, then for this very reason you ought especially to obey them" (Saint Chrysostom). "It cannot be that, because through baptism you have your master as a brother, you may treat him negligently. On the contrary, find in this very thing a motive to serve and be a slave to him with still greater zeal" (Blessed Theophylact).

The motive for this is set forth: "because they are faithful and beloved, who partake of the benefit." Faith does not take away the right of mastery, but adorns it. A servant who highly honors the faith also honors it highly in his master, and for its sake honors the master too. Hence the feeling of obligation to serve is not diminished, but elevated and, as it were, sanctified.

He says, "Serve all the more, because they are faithful." By virtue of faith they are also beloved. They are beloved by God (cf. Oecumenius). They are beloved also by the slaves, because faith obliges and disposes them to this. It teaches them to love all strangers, not only their own, and especially those who are their masters.

You cannot fail to feel what a blessing it is for you to have masters who are faithful and beloved. But "to the same degree that you have been benefited by having brothers as masters, so also be grateful yourselves by serving them more zealously" (Oecumenius). "By saying 'beloved,' the Apostle drives out fear, through which servants often fall into hatred toward their masters, and introduces love in its place" (Blessed Theophylact). Or he "joins love to fear" (Oecumenius).

"Who partake of the benefit" means those who receive grace, who are partakers of grace. That is, they have received remission of sins, have been accepted into sonship by God, and have been supplied with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Those who have been received into such mercy from God and so honored by God must they not also be more honored by servants, through the manifestation of greater submission and greater zeal in serving them?

This is the thought offered by the Slavonic translation. Such a translation is also allowed by the Greek text: οι της ευεργεσιας αντιλαμβανομενοι, those who receive the benefaction, or are partakers of the benefaction. This means God's benefaction to us sinners, whose summit is the ordering of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. "Grace for grace" (cf. Jn 1:16).

But the Greek text may also offer this thought: those who care for and are zealous for benefaction, namely toward slaves. "Those who attentively strive to benefit the slaves" (Oecumenius, Blessed Theophylact). In Russian it is translated in this way: those who benefit them, that is, the slaves. All our interpreters hold this thought.

Saint Chrysostom says: "Masters provide more for slaves than slaves provide for masters. The former spend gold on them and care for supplying them with necessities, clothing, and everything else. Pointing to this here, the Apostle says, οι της ευεργεσιας αντιλαμβανομενοι, those who take care to do good to you, slaves. They are anxious and labor for your peace. Should they not enjoy great honor from their household servants?"

The same is found in Blessed Theophylact: "Remember, servant, that he, the master, is also your benefactor, not only faithful and beloved. He is anxious and cares for you, to feed you, to clothe you, and to satisfy every other requirement and need of yours. Thus he has many claims on you, on your submission and service to him, besides having bought you."

It is assumed that masters, having believed and been sanctified by grace, changed their despotic temper. They began to treat slaves as their own kin, both maintaining them well and showing them loving disposition. Consequently, being beloved by their slaves through faith, they are still more beloved because of their benefactions toward them. Therefore the latter naturally ought now to serve them more zealously than before.

The Apostle says that slaves must serve believing masters more zealously because they are faithful and beloved. They must do so all the more because those masters benefit them, as though repaying them with good before they do anything for them. Consider yourselves already benefited by your masters for your service to them (cf. Oecumenius). By serving them, you will repay the debt of gratitude for their benefactions toward you, which cover and embrace you.

"These things teach and exhort." Teach as one who has authority. Exhort, persuade, and convince as a loving father or brother. "Do the first as a teacher, the second as a father" (Blessed Theodoret). "A teacher must use not only authority, but also great meekness. On the other hand, he must use not only meekness, but also authority" (Saint Chrysostom). "For he is a physician, and a physician sometimes works by gentleness and sometimes by strict compulsion" (Blessed Theophylact).

These words in our text are connected with what precedes, namely with what should be impressed upon slaves. This may have been required not so much by the importance of the subject itself, the submission of slaves to masters, as by the harm their disobedience could have done to the Church and to believers. But it seems better to connect them with what follows and to apply them to everything said above. Saint Chrysostom separates these words from this second verse and joins them to the following, the third.