Ephesians 6 Commentary

Ephesians 6 Commentary

We have instructions for different interactions and relationships in the first section: Children versus parents; parents versus children; employees versus employers and vice-versa. It’s the weak versus the strong, and vice versa. It’s the have-nots versus the ‘haves’. Ponder.

Verse 4 underlines two parental functions: Training and teaching. The two are different. Training is what a coach does. Teaching is what a teacher does. Parents must do both. Teaching is often a one-off event while training is repetitive. Do both.

You don’t teach praying; you train praying.

Obedience may exist in an environment of “don’t want” and “must do”. Submission (for couples in Chapter 5) may exist in an environment of options. Submission may be a difficult act in a world of ‘me’, ‘I’, and ‘myself’.

The final section of this chapter and book focuses on the Christian battle. We cannot see the enemy – rulers, authorities, powers, and spiritual forces.

Regardless of who the enemy is, there is one armor and one armory. Verse 11 introduces the armor. We have details of the armor in the verses after 11. The armory comes in verse 18.

The armor fends off all “weapons fashioned against you”. The belt of TRUTH comes up first because it is a qualification for every soldier; you are not one without it. You won’t be part of the army without Jesus – the Truth.

The breastplate of righteousness protects the heart. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander”. Matthew 15 verse 19. Don’t expose your heart! Have these thoughts and know the battle is lost.

The armory would be Prayer. Verse 18. All kinds of prayer. We would guess the scripture refers to all things prayer – meditation included. Think about God’s word; declare God’s word; and live God’s word. Requests or petitions: you define your destiny on your knees.

The closing section of Ephesians becomes heavier each time we think of Paul. He was given unique visions. He must have known more about the world we cannot see. But the saint doesn’t have to know anything about the unseen world of spiritual forces. Do the simple things of the Christian walk. Let the fruit of the Spirit flow: Love, peace, joy, patience, goodness… Pray and pray. Then you don’t have to know anything about the “seven satanic weapons” or the “resolutions of the latest satanic board meeting”.

Simple things: Love, peace, joy…faithfulness, self-control; know the strongholds come down with a big bang. Pray and pray. Declare God’s word and “they” fall down from their positions. Their plans come to nothing.

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