Ephesians 6 - How To Win the Spiritual Battle Against the Devil!
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.” 4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Paul closes Ephesians with instructions for various places in life, after giving his admonition for husbands and wives at the end of chapter 5. He starts with families with kids and the fact that children should respect their parents. Then he gives a reason and promise for this command. The reason is that it is the 4th commandment. The promise is, "So that it will go well for you and enjoy long life on the earth."
It's interesting that we don't stress this promise very much to kids today. Paul teaches about about the assurance of a great life, when one honors their parents. I have certainly found this to be true in my life. I had two wonderful parents, who have both died in the past two years. I did my best to honor and obey them, and I would humbly say I did a pretty good job. Partly because of what great parents they were. And they also applied Paul's instructions to not over parent me either.
Then, Paul instructs fathers. Today you would add "mothers" to this. In Paul's day the father was responsible for disciplining kids. Paul's admonition interestingly starts with, "Fathers do not exasperate your children."
Obviously he isn't saying don't discipline your kids, but apparently there was some fathers who were being too hard on their kids. But the primary goal of good parenting is, "To bring up your children in the training and instruction of the Lord!" I like to say, "Parents should be the primary faith mentors for their kids." What does this mean?
Paul simply says to bring them up in the "training and instruction of the Lord." I think we could confidently say he means to teach them how to be disciples of Christ, which means, "To learn to do and say the things Jesus would do if we were you."
Of course, the most important aspect of this is for parents to be an example. Discipleship is often more "caught than taught".
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. 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.
Paul then addresses the relationship between masters and slaves. Some people argue and say, 'See the bible supports slavery", of the type we saw in the past century which was dehumanizing!" But this is a gross misinterpretation of the historical context of Paul's culture and what he is teaching in this passage. In fact, Paul is teaching how the believers in Ephesus, who had slaves, should to treat their slaves with dignity and respect.
“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)
The bottom line is Paul tells the slaves to treat their master with respect and sincerity of heart, obey them, as if they were obeying the Lord. In the bible we are always called to obey any earthly authority, even if we don't like them. When they do this they are promised a reward from the Lord.
Masters are similarly enjoined to treat their slaves respectfully, fairly, and not use intimidation with them. The motivation is the same. By treating their slaves in this way they too will receive a reward from the Lord.
I think we could correctly apply these verses to any job today. Most people have a boss, and bosses have those they supervise. As a believer in the marketplace, we are called to act in this way both as a boss and/or employee. By treating people with respect and fairness, you are giving witness that you are a Christian.
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.
Finally, Paul turns to the spiritual battle we all face. As the Ephesians seek to live out their faith, they are going to find themselves in a spiritual battle. Against who? The devil and all the powers of darkness. No, we don't just struggle against the devil, but all of his minions as well. But Paul does not want them (or us) to be afraid of the devil, but to stand up against him and his agents.
In John, the apostle says, "Greater is He that is in you than he that is the world!" In this passage Paul gives us a strategy to stand up, not give in, and defeat the devil and his dark angels. To do this he calls us to "Put on the full armor of God!"
He uses the metaphor of a Roman soldier, and the armor he puts on before he goes to war. Read the Enduring Word commentary by clicking on the link above, where David Guzik gives an explanation for each piece of armor. Note all of the pieces of armor are defensive until the last one. Paul says to use in our battle, "the sword of the Spirit", which is the Word of God!
The type of sword he is referring to is a "short sword", which is best used in hand to hand combat. Here a large sword would be unwieldy. This is a weapon that Spirit uses to cut through the enemies' lies and scheming. As you read a chapter of scripture a day, and read the Daily Bread, you are learning about the Word of God and hopefully how to use it. Hebrews 4:12 says this about the Word of God.
"The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double edged sword. It penetrates dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitude of the heart."
When you are in spiritual attack lean on God's Word. It has power to help you stand up against the evil. I found this to be the best verses in overcoming temptation from 1 Corinthians 10:13,
"13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[c] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."
Note you will never face a temptation beyond your ability to endure it and overcome it. The word for temptation is also translated test. When Satan tempts you, God uses it as a test of our faith. When we overcome temptation our faith in strengthened.
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.
Finally, Paul urges them to "pray in the Spirit". What does that mean?
The Holy Spirit lives in us and it is the Spirit of Christ with whom we pray. When we pray, the Holy Spirit gives us the words to say. Sometimes people get worried about praying in front of other people. But if you rely on the Holy Spirit, He will give you the words to say. It's kind of cool to think the Holy Spirit prays through us in Jesus' name.
Paul believes in prayer so much, he doesn't hesitate to ask them for their prayers for his life and ministry. He asks them to pray for him to be fearless in his proclamation of the gospel.
Do you pray for this kind of fearlessness to share the gospel?
Of course we pray for ourselves and others, but this is a great prayer to pray!
Final Greetings
21 Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. 23 Peace to the brothers and sisters,[c] and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
Paul gives the name of yet another co-worker with him in the gospel, who is in the church at Ephesus.
Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister: Tychicus was an associate of Paul’s mentioned in other letters (Acts 20:4, Colossians 4:7, 2 Timothy 4:12, Titus 3:12). Tychicus seems to have been often used by Paul as a messenger (that you may know our affairs). - Guzik
Paul ends by reminding them how much he loves them and to guard the faith they have been given by God their Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Friends, we have now finished Paul's letter to the Ephesians, next we move to Paul's letter to the Philippians, one of my favorite books in the bible!
Comments
Post a Comment