Ephesians 6 - Who Gets To Determine What is Absolute Truth?

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Paul goes from giving counsel to those who are married to instructions for children. He tells children to obey their parents, and reminds them that this is the only commandment with a promise attached to it. The promise is pretty awesome, "That it might go well with you and that you might enjoy a long life on earth." 

I was blessed to have two amazing parents. My mom died a month ago, and it was a big loss in my life. She and I were very close and I always tried to honor her.  I have tried to honor both of my parents all my life, including my mom right up to her death. One of the hardest things I had to do when I left the Midwest to go to seminary, when I was 27, was saying goodbye to my parents. I would like to think God has honored me with a long life for honoring them. It has definitely gone well for me. 

It always grieves me when I see a broken relationship between a parent and their child. Oftentimes theses moms or dads have had a difficult relationship with their own parents as they grew up. Thankfully many people break the chain of dysfunctional parenting and pass on a good legacy to their kids. 

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4

Like Paul pointed out in marriage, a parent/child relationship is one of mutual respect. A child's job is to honor their parents. A parent's job is to not overwhelm their kids with excessive discipline or pressure to succeed. Many parents try to live their lives through their children.  Or, push them to do the things they themselves had never accomplished. This is not healthy and often leaves the child feeling unaccepted or never measuring up. 

My dad gave me great advice. He said, "Just find something you like to do and be the very best at it that you can!" What great advice for a parent, "Just do the best you can that's all I ask of you!" My dad would say if the best you can do is getting a B in class that is great. But if you could get an A, and got a B, you should have worked harder. 

As Paul closes this chapter, he realizes that if they put all these things into practice they are likely to be under spiritual attack. The devil doesn't waste his time on a nominal Christian, but on those who are living in the power of the Holy Spirit and bringing in God's kingdom. 

The Armor of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:10-11

To fight this spiritual battle, we need spiritual weapons. Paul calls it "the armor of God".  Paul has several names for the enemy. 

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

Ephesians 6:11 tells us that all of our warfare is combating the wiles of the devil. At the end of the day it is completely irrelevant if the particular opponent we face is a principality, a power, or a ruler of the darkness of this age. Collectively, they are all members of spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. They are all part of a spiritual army that is organized and established into ranks and is under the headship of Satan who comes against us. - Guzik

Paul then lists different parts of a soldier's armor metaphorically and matches them with a spiritual discipline. 

Belt of Truth - The belt of truth puts on the Biblical beliefs of the Christians as a whole, what other passages call the faith. 

Truth is under assault right now as the secular world is pushing hard an agenda that is anti-God and anti-Christian. Our worldview is properly described as relativism where, "My truth is my truth, and your truth is your truth."  There is no absolutes. truth is in the eyes of a the beholder. 

The political correctness movement goes even farther. Unless one is politically correct on a variety of issues, you are seen as one of the following depending on the issue: judgmental, hypocritical, racist, homophobic, or a hate monger. 

My biblical values a PC person might say are obsolete and untrue. But if I judge your beliefs and opinions, then I am narrow minded and/or self righteous. After all, Christians are supposed to love everyone and not judge them right? But even if I love the person but disagree with their lifestyle, then I am a hypocrite or judgmental at best. In this case my truth can't be my truth but their truth can be their truth. 

Bottom line is by saying there are no absolutes, one is making an absolute statement. Just like I making an absolute statement when I say there is an absolute truth. I just happen to believe it is contained in the bible and you may not.  You can't have it both ways. The problem become when I disagree with your absolute truth because of my absolute truth. Your view is respected because it is politically correct, and my view is denigrated because it is not.  

Breastplate of Righteousness - The breastplate is an important piece of the armor because it protects the heart. 

"This is not our own earned righteousness, not a feeling of righteousness, but a righteousness received by faith in Jesus. It gives us a general sense of confidence, an awareness of our standing and position." - Guzik

Since Christ is my righteousness, it protects me from legalism where I think I have to be perfect so God will love me. 

Shoes fitted for the gospel of peace -  The preparation of the gospel is represented as the protective shoes (or sandals) worn by Roman soldiers. No one can fight effectively or effectively go about his business without this equipment.

"The shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."

The devil's ultimate goal is to destroy our faith. He will use any means necessary to make a direct hit and take us out of the battle. Notice a shield protects you from something coming at you. If we are aware of the devil's attack, we can be prepared with the shield. This is why Paul says, "Don't be unaware of the devil's schemes." 

When the devil tries to get me to refute one of God's promises, my shield of faith can quickly extinguish his fiery arrows. With the shield of faith the devil cannot hurt me!

Take the helmet of salvation.

Besides the heart the other most important part of our body is our brain.  The helmet of salvation gives us hope not only in knowing that we are saved, but that we will be saved. It is the assurance that God will triumph.

"One of Satan’s most effective weapons against us is discouragement. When we are properly equipped with the helmet of salvation, it’s hard to stay discouraged."

"The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

All of the rest of the armor of God might be categorized as defensive weapons, but the Sword of the Spirit is an offensive weapon. God's Word has power because it is the truth. Satan's greatest tools is deception, lies. and confusion. He is a liar and can only distort truth, he cannot change it. 

This is why memorizing scripture is so important. When you are tempted you can be led by the Spirit to cut down Satan's argument. Scripture has power because it God's Word and obliterates the false arguments and pretenses Satan tries to use.

When Jesus was tempted in the garden three times, after being in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights, every time he responded to the devil's temptations by saying, "It is written!" Satan tried to take scripture and twist it so Jesus would give in to his lies, but every time because Jesus knew the correct scripture.

If Jesus needed to memorize and call out scripture how much more do we?

This why I enjoy writing this blog so much, which I have done for the last 12 years. It helps me to stay in God's Word. It reminds me of God's promises, and dispels the lies of the enemy.

God bless you as you use the sword of the Spirit it will protect you in any and every situation!