Gospel Relationships: Parenting
Gospel Relationships: Parenting
(Devin H. Dunn)
Ephesians 6:1-4
Big Idea: Gospel families are households where a child’s obedience, a father’s leadership, and the Lord’s instruction are transformed by Jesus.
The gospel reshapes the home. Children are not burdens or lesser members of the community, but people of great value who are being formed to know, trust, and obey God.
1. The Child’s Obedience
Paul speaks directly to children:
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” — Ephesians 6:1
Children obey not because they are less valuable, but because God has placed parents over them for their good.
Christian parents are not merely raising children to become independent adults. They are training them to become people who depend on and obey God.
The goal is not lifelong dependence on parents, but lifelong dependence on the Lord.
2. The Father’s Leadership
Paul also limits and reshapes parental authority:
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger.”
Christian leadership in the home is not harsh, controlling, or self-centered. Fathers are called to lead with the same grace, patience, and sacrifice Christ has shown them.
A gospel home is not a home without sin.
It is a home where repentance, forgiveness, and grace are normal.
3. The Lord’s Instruction
Parents are called to:
“Bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
To “bring them up” means to nourish and cultivate.
Parents are gardeners, not owners, of their children’s souls. They teach, correct, pray, model the gospel, and create an environment where faith can grow—but ultimately, God gives the growth.
And this calling belongs to the whole church as well. Children are part of the gathered body and one of the church’s most important mission fields.
Takeaway
We are shaping the next generation right now.
So let our homes and our church be places where children are loved, taught the gospel, shown grace, and pointed beyond their earthly parents to their perfect heavenly Father.
Cultivate gospel homes. Cultivate a gospel church. Give the next generation Jesus.
Application Questions
What are my children learning about God from the way I lead and respond to them?
Is repentance and forgiveness normal in our home?
Am I training children merely to obey me, or ultimately to trust and obey God?
How can I help disciple the children God has placed in our church?