Ephesians 6:5 (YLT)

Passage

The servants! obey the masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling, in the simplicity of your heart, as to the Christ;

Nearby Context

Ephesians 6:3 which is the first command with a promise, `That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live a long time upon the land.'

Ephesians 6:4 And the fathers! provoke not your children, but nourish them in the instruction and admonition of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:5 The servants! obey the masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling, in the simplicity of your heart, as to the Christ;

Ephesians 6:6 not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but as servants of the Christ, doing the will of God out of soul,

Ephesians 6:7 with good-will serving, as to the Lord, and not to men,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "servants", "obey", "masters", "flesh", "fear", "trembling", "simplicity", and "heart". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "servants" and "obey", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And the fathers provoke not your children..." into verse 6's "not with eye-service as men-pleasers but as...", so "servants" and "obey" 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 "servants" and "obey" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.