have a master in heaven to whom they are responsible for their treatment of their slaves. The common text has here the reading καὶ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν ὁ Kipios—your master. Lackman, Riickert, Harless, Meyer and others adopt the reading αὐτῶν καὶ ὑμῶν, of them and of you, i. e. your common master as in heaven. .
It is thus that the Holy Spirit deals with slavery. Slaves are not commanded to refuse to be slaves, to break their bonds and repudiate the authority of their masters. They are required to obey with alacrity and with a sincere desire to do their duty to their masters, as part of their duty to Christ. Masters are not com- manded as an immediate and imperative duty to eman- cipate their slaves, but to treat them according to the principles of justice and equity. It is not to be ex- pected that men of the world will act in conformity with the Gospel in this, any more than in other respects. But believers will. And the result of such obedience if it could become general would be, that first the evils of slavery, and then slavery itself, would pass away as naturally and as healthfully as children cease to be minors.