You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
9 And,[kai] ye masters,[kurios] do[poieo] the same things[autos] unto[pros] them,[autos] forbearing[aniemi]
threatening:[apeile] knowing[eido] that[hoti] your[humon][autos] Master[kurios] also[kai] is[esti] in[en] heaven;[ouranos] neither[kai][ou] is there[esti] respect of
persons[prosopolepsia] with[para] him.[autos] KJV-Interlinear
9 And,
masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both
their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him. NASB
And to reinforce the previous verse. Anyone who is a master or a person in authority needs to place themselves on notice.
Whether you are a king, a boss, a husband, a parent or someone enforcing the law or anything else, you have a master over you, namely God.
Jesus Christ is the one and only evaluator, and issuer of rewards and blessings. So, do not abuse your position, lest your eternal reward gets reduced, if not removed entirely.
So, no one has the right to abuse or misuse others in their quest for power or profit or self-righteousness.
Don't ever believe that you are absolved if you have a bureaucracy or some hidden agenda to cover your actions.
Whether in private or in public, whether by your own initiative or by written regulations, you have a first obligation to God to do that which is right.
You do not have the right to determine for yourself what is right or wrong. Often times too many folks will use this excuse to avoid or to get out of something, or to justify their agenda.
But no one in authority ever has the right to abuse their authority such that you are advanced while others are harmed. No one has the right to advance themselves at the expense of others. If you need others to pursue your dream or project, then they should benefit as well.
If you have employees, they should prosper simultaneously while you prosper. Employees should never suffer in order that you may prosper.
If you have a position of advantage over someone, then your policies need to benefit both, placing an additional burden on yourself to aid those who are at a disadvantage.
Just as we have already studied, the husband has authority over his wife, but at the same time, she is a part of himself, and he needs to treat her as he would himself. So also, everyone in authority needs to switch roles and apply their standards to others the same as if they were applying them to themselves.
And as the last of this verse states, God does not respect man.
So what does that mean?
You have nothing that God did not first give to you. You are nothing that God did not first make you. You have no destiny that God did not first provide for you. God has no respect for your position or for your things, and certainly not for your attitude or self opinion.
What God does respect is His word, in you. Therefore, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, a king or a peasant, the only thing that God will accept from you, is His word in you and your compliance with His standards. Your own standards do not mean squat.
So, the spiritual life is level and equally available for everyone. Your station in life does not give you a disadvantage nor an advantage as compared to anyone else. Neither money nor position nor rank nor ability, nor health, nor anything else are an advantage, nor a disadvantage in the spiritual life.
The only obstacle to your spiritual success, is you.
