Ephesians 6:4 (WEB)

Passage

You fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Nearby Context

Ephesians 6:2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with a promise:

Ephesians 6:3 “that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.” Deuteronomy 5:16

Ephesians 6:4 You fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:5 Servants, be obedient to those who according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ;

Ephesians 6:6 not in the way of service only when eyes are on you, as men pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "fathers", "provoke", "children", "wrath", "nurture", "discipline", "instruction", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fathers" and "provoke", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "that it may be well with you..." into verse 5's "Servants be obedient to those who according...", so "fathers" and "provoke" belong inside that flow. In Ephesians context, the local focus is grace, union with Christ, the church, and new creation.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "fathers" and "provoke" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.