Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Ephesians 6:3

"that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." — Ephesians 6:3 (ASV)

The promise attached to the fifth commandment in Dt 5:16 is not in itself appropriate to the church, so Paul stops short of the final clause, which speaks about the specific land God has given his people. What was originally a specific assurance to the Jews about Canaan becomes a generalization for Christians. The prospect of longevity is not held out elsewhere in the NT as part of the Christian hope, and commentators have tended to spiritualize the application by linking it with eternal life. “On the earth” rules out that interpretation. It is more likely that Paul wished to emphasize that by obeying their parents, children will live to prove that their true welfare depends on God .