Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Ephesians 6:7

"with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not unto men:" — Ephesians 6:7 (ASV)

Such service must be rendered with genuine goodwill. Among papyrus letters found in Egypt was a will dated A. D. 157, in which the testator freed five slaves “because of their goodwill and affection.” If even pagan slaves could display such qualities, how much more should Christians do so, without expecting their freedom as a reward. “As if” implies no fiction: they actually do serve the Lord rather than mere human beings.