Ephesians 6 - This is How We Fight Our Battles!

 Click Here to Read or Listen to Ephesians 6

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

After giving instructions on marriage, Paul continues to give practical guidance for households. He reaffirms the fourth commandments for children to honor their father and mother. This is the first commandment, after the first three which all refer to our relationship with God. We might call this our vertical relationship. Commandments four through ten deal with how we are to treat one another. We might call these are horizontal relationships. 

The first horizontal relationship he mentions is how we treat our parents. After all, they are the ones responsible for us being here. Bottom line is we are to honor our parents. We are to obey them and treat them respectfully. As they get older, we should take care of them, as they cared for us when we were young. 

And, as he points out, this is the only commandment with a promise. The promise is, "So that it might go well with you and that you might enjoy long life on the earth." While we can't quantify this, I bet if you looked at the lives of those who obeyed this commandment, you would find they were blessed. I know it is true in my life. 

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

Though literally the greek is "fathers", by application it would include mothers too. Note the simple nature of the instruction to the parents. Don't exasperate them. 

What does this mean? I think it means we should not be overly heavy handed with our children. While we need to give them boundaries with consequences, we also need to give them grace. They need a freedom to fail and take risks. While discipline and consequences for bad behavior are important, they can't break a child's spirit. 

Maybe more importantly, parents are to bring their children up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Note they are given the sole responsibility of training their children to be Christ followers in this passage. So often parents don't feel responsible for their kids' life of faith. They bring them to church and rely on the Children and Youth programs to train and instruct them on how to be a Christian and live out their faith.

While the church certainly needs to provide these programs, they shouldn't replace the fact that the parents should be the "primary faith mentors" for their kids. After allm that is the commitment they made when they baptized their children. In my tradition (Lutheran). The parents and sponsors promise to, 

"Faithfully bring him to the services of God's house, and teach him the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments. As he grows in years, you should place in his hands the Holy Scriptures and provide for his instruction in the Christian faith, that, living in the covenant of his Baptism and in communion with the Church, he may lead a godly life until the day of Jesus Christ."

5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

Some people think that in this passage Paul is endorsing slavery and/or the bible condones slavery, as we have seen it in our recent history. The slavery in Paul's day was in some ways the same, as we have seen, and in others ways not like it. 

“The Gospel found slavery in the world; and in many regions, particularly the Roman and the Greek, it was a very bad form of slavery. The Gospel began at once to undermine it, with its mighty principles of the equality of all souls in the mystery and dignity of manhood, and of the equal work of redeeming love wrought for all souls by the supreme Master. But its plan was – not to batter, but to undermine… So while the Gospel in one respect left slavery alone, it doomed it in another.” (Moule)

But since it was a practice in Paul's culture, he instructs the slaves on how to act within this system to show their masters who their true master was, Jesus Christ. As they served their master, they were to replace their view of their slave master with their view of their Lord and Savior Jesus. 

Many people in their jobs today might feel that they are under the heavy hand of their boss. In a similar way, when we are working in company, we are to work hard and honor the people who are employing us. This will give us a better chance of showing who Christ in in our work ennvironment. If we are sloppy, lazy, and cut corners this is a poor reflection of our master Jesus and totally hinders our chance to share the gospel at work. 

9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him

Conversely Paul has similar instructions for the master. They are to treat their slaves fairly and not harass them, knowning that they too are accountable to their own Master in heaven. 

It is to be noted that there were Christians in recent history like William Wilberforce in England, and Martin Luther King Jr. in our country who led movements to rid their societies of slavery and racism. So this doesn't mean we should not be involved in the political/social/moral issues of our day. The gospel first and foremost lead us to salvation in Christ, but is also can and should transform the culture if we as the church are the salt and light of the world we are called to be. 

The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

As Paul concludes his letter to the Ephesians, he ends with some very powerful words about the spiritual battle we all become a part of when we declare Jesus as our Lord and Savior. In John 10, the evangelist tells us that the thief (the devil) comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But we have a power greater than him living in us. "Greater is he that is within you than he that is in the world."

Though the devil has some limited power and will do everything he can to shipwreck our faith, God has given us powerful weapons as well. He has given us spiritual weapons to fight the spiritual battle. These weapons represent a power greater than ourselves and also the forces of darkness. We can't fight the devil on our own power or strength, we will lose every time. But we will win every time if we use the armor of God to fight. 

To illustrate this Paul uses the analogy of a Roman soldier and the armor he puts on when he goes into battle. He takes each part of the armor and gives a spiritual analogy with the spiritual armor God has given us. Here is commentary from Enduring Word on each part of the armor and what it represents. 

1. Having girded your waist with truth: Truth is symbolically represented as a belt which both protects our abdomen and gathers up our garments so that we can fight effectively.

The belt of truth puts on the Biblical beliefs of the Christians as a whole, what other passages call the faith. Many people believe that the church will never go forward until it takes off this belt of truth, but that is completely wrong. This is part of the armor to have, which is a foundation to live upon all the time, our understanding of and confidence in the basic doctrines of the faith.

2. Righteousness is represented as a breastplate which provides essential protection for the most vital organs. We can no sooner battle against spiritual enemies in our own righteousness than a soldier can effectively fight without his breastplate.

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.

3. 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 idea of preparation is really readiness. We must be mobile, flexible, and ready with the truth. This is a place to have in the Christian life, to live in constant readiness and flexibility.

4.Faith is represented as a shield, protecting us from the fiery darts of the wicked one, those persistent efforts of demonic foes to weaken us through fear and unbelief.

The shield Paul describes is not the small round one, but the large, oblong shield that could protect the whole body. In ancient warfare, these fiery darts were launched in great numbers at the beginning of an attack. The idea was not only to injure the enemy, but to shoot at him at all sides with a massive number of arrows, and thus to confuse and panic the enemy. 

5. And take the helmet of salvation: In the ancient world this usually was a leather cap studded with metal for extra strength. Often some kind of plume or decoration was added, perhaps to identify the solider to his regiment. Salvation is pictured as this kind of helmet, protecting an essential part of the body. A soldier would be foolish to go into battle without his helmet.

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.

6. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: The idea is that the Spirit provides a sword for you, and that sword is the word of God. To effectively use the sword of the Spirit, we can’t regard the Bible as a book of magic charms or tie one around our neck the way that garlic is said to drive away vampires.

Think of a soldier or a gladiator in training, practicing sword thrusts and moves and positions. Now, he must practice them ahead of time and if he is a superior fighter and has a great fighting instinct, at the time of battle he will instantly recall which thrust, which position suits the precise moment. He will never be able to use the thrust in the fight if he has not first practiced it; but he still needs to make the move at the moment. Therefore, effectively using the sword takes practice. The great example of this was Jesus combating the temptation of Satan in the wilderness.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Out of all the weapons Paul gives us to fight the evil one with, the last two are offensive. The sword of the Spirit, the word of God, is how we go on the offensive. It's how we fight our battles. God's Word cuts through the lies of the enemy and renders them powerless. As Martin Luther wrote in the great hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is our God", "One little word subdues him (satan)".  

Paul talks about praying in the Spirit on all occasion. Note he says to "pray in the Spirit". The Holy Spirit gives us the words to pray. When we don't know what to pray the Holy Spirit directs our prayers. We can pray about anything, anytime. Paul also asks them to pray for him in all of his efforts to bring the gospel to the whole world. Paul knew there was power in prayer and wasn't afraid to ask for it for himself. 

Which of the pieces of the armor of God did you know the least about? By reading the Daily Bread, you are equipping yourself with the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit. That's why I write this blog, because I know there is inherent power in God's Word if you will read it, medidate on it, memorize it, and be careful to do all that is written it. It will never lead you astray. 

Also prayer applies God's Word and helps us to obey it, especially prayer in the Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit we can never overcome our natural tendency to indulge the sinful nature. It is only by praying and quoting scripture that enabled Jesus to overcome Satan's temptation in the wilderness. And if Jesus needed it how much more do we!