![]() A father’s first responsibility is to acquaint his children with Scripture. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Christian discipline is needed to enable children to grow up with reverence for God, respect for parental authority, knowledge of Christian standards, and habits of self-control. Chastening, discipline, and counsel by the Word of God, giving both reproof and encouragement, are at the core of “admonition.” The instruction proceeds from the Lord, is learned in the school of Christian experience, and is administered by the parents-primarily the father, but also, under his direction, the mother. Martin Luther said, “Keep an apple beside the rod to give the child when he does well.” Discipline must be exercised with watchful care and constant training with much prayer. ![]() It is only by making God the teacher and ruler on whose authority everything is done that the goals of education can best be attained. ![]() The human father should never present himself as the ultimate authority to determine truth and duty. The whole process of instruction and discipline must be that which God commands and which He administers, so that His authority should be brought into constant and immediate contact with the mind, heart, and conscience of children. The Christian father is really an instrument in God’s hand. The word admonition carries the idea of reminding the child of faults (constructively) and duties (responsibilities). This is the whole process of educating and discipline. The positive part of Ephesians 6:4 is expressed in a comprehensive direction-educate them, bring them up, develop their conduct in all of life by the instruction and admonition of the Lord. A wise parent seeks to make obedience desirable and attainable by love and gentleness. Such provocation will produce adverse reactions, deadening children’s affection, reducing their desire for holiness, and making them feel that they cannot possibly please their parents. The word provoke means “to irritate, exasperate, rub the wrong way, or incite.” This is done by a wrong spirit and wrong methods-severity, unreasonableness, sternness, harshness, cruel demands, needless restrictions, and selfish insistence upon dictatorial authority. Harsh, unreasonable conduct toward a child will only serve to nurture evil in the heart. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” The negative part of this verse indicates that a father is not to foster negativity in his children by severity, injustice, partiality, or unreasonable exercise of authority. ![]() To commence a child’s early education in this way is of great importance.Įphesians 6:4 is a summary of instructions to the father, stated in both a negative and positive way. The training is designed to make clear to children the manner of life they are intended for. This brings us to Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” To “train” indicates the first instruction that a father and mother give to a child, i.e., his early education. The father who was obedient to the commands of Scripture did just that. Israelite history reveals that the father was to be diligent in instructing his children in the ways and words of the Lord for their own spiritual development and well-being. ![]()
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