Ephesians 6:4 - a closer look
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4
Ektrephete
First, "bring them up" in Greek is ektrephete, which carries the idea of "nourishing to maturity", or giving a child what he or she needs to become a mature adult. It is not just marking time while a child grows up, but parenting with intention and purpose. It is making deliberate decisions because you believe that choosing this, or not choosing that, is essential in your child's development to maturity.
Paideia
"Discipline" is the Greek word paideia, not referring simply to punitive discipline, but instruction that trains someone to reach maturity. In the first century, this was a term loaded with meaning. It referred to the system of educating and training the ideal citizen, one who would likely lead others. It was a holistic education, with intellectual training taking place alongside practical skills, moral instruction, and physical conditioning. Paul's Gentile readers of the letter to the Ephesians would have understood this idea instantly, although he was clearly applying the contemporary idea to an entirely new context - “in the Lord.” As Kolby Atchison writes, "For the apostle Paul, parents have a responsibility to promote and pass on a God-centered culture as one of their parental duties."
Nouthesia
Finally, "instruction" here is the Greek word nouthesia, or "setting the mind through God-inspired warning". It is used only three times in the New Testament: Ephesians 6:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11; and Titus 3:6.
In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul uses it to refer to the purpose of past accounts of the people of Israel: “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” The Scriptures were to be used to instruct future believers who could learn from the examples of others, and to make wise choices.
In his letter to Titus, Paul uses it in this way: “Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning, knowing that such a person has deviated from what is right and is sinning, being self-condemned.” In that instance, someone in the church had been warned, presumably from the Scriptures, and yet that person rejected the teaching and deviated from what is right.
In both of these situations, and in Ephesians, nouthesia is the careful use of the Word of God to train the mind to reason well and to choose rightly, understanding the danger and consequences of not doing so.
Putting this all together, our goal as Christian parents (with special responsibility given here to Christian fathers) is to direct our children's education, training, and instruction with the goal of maturity (the goal of ektrephete) in the Lord (the goal of paideia) and and the wisdom to recognize, desire, and make righteous choices (the goal of nouthesia).
What does this look like in real life? Click here for more.
First, "bring them up" in Greek is ektrephete, which carries the idea of "nourishing to maturity", or giving a child what he or she needs to become a mature adult. It is not just marking time while a child grows up, but parenting with intention and purpose. It is making deliberate decisions because you believe that choosing this, or not choosing that, is essential in your child's development to maturity.
Paideia
"Discipline" is the Greek word paideia, not referring simply to punitive discipline, but instruction that trains someone to reach maturity. In the first century, this was a term loaded with meaning. It referred to the system of educating and training the ideal citizen, one who would likely lead others. It was a holistic education, with intellectual training taking place alongside practical skills, moral instruction, and physical conditioning. Paul's Gentile readers of the letter to the Ephesians would have understood this idea instantly, although he was clearly applying the contemporary idea to an entirely new context - “in the Lord.” As Kolby Atchison writes, "For the apostle Paul, parents have a responsibility to promote and pass on a God-centered culture as one of their parental duties."
Nouthesia
Finally, "instruction" here is the Greek word nouthesia, or "setting the mind through God-inspired warning". It is used only three times in the New Testament: Ephesians 6:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11; and Titus 3:6.
In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul uses it to refer to the purpose of past accounts of the people of Israel: “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” The Scriptures were to be used to instruct future believers who could learn from the examples of others, and to make wise choices.
In his letter to Titus, Paul uses it in this way: “Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning, knowing that such a person has deviated from what is right and is sinning, being self-condemned.” In that instance, someone in the church had been warned, presumably from the Scriptures, and yet that person rejected the teaching and deviated from what is right.
In both of these situations, and in Ephesians, nouthesia is the careful use of the Word of God to train the mind to reason well and to choose rightly, understanding the danger and consequences of not doing so.
Putting this all together, our goal as Christian parents (with special responsibility given here to Christian fathers) is to direct our children's education, training, and instruction with the goal of maturity (the goal of ektrephete) in the Lord (the goal of paideia) and and the wisdom to recognize, desire, and make righteous choices (the goal of nouthesia).
What does this look like in real life? Click here for more.