Verses 1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
After dealing with the proper behavior and attitude between husbands and wives, the Apostle Paul continues in this sixth chapter of the letter to the Ephesian’s in giving advice and commandments to believers in other types or relationships. Children are to obey, the Greek word used being”hupakouo” which means to listen or to hearken to, to obey, to be obedient to, or submit to. Just as believers need to obey the commandments of God, so children need to obey the commandments of their parents. Notice that, like the marriage relationship, the child/parent relationship is to mirror that of the Christian believer and the LORD Jesus Christ. After all, the LORD is the spiritual Father of all Christian believers. “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” Exodus 20:12 “Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” Deuteronomy 5:16 This one of the Ten Commandments promises that the man or woman that honors his/her parents will have a long life on this Earth along with other blessings.
Verse 4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Notice that it is the fathers and not the mothers that are commanded to not provoke (parorgizo: to rouse to wrath, to exasperate, to anger) their children. The responsibility of the family is firmly placed upon the men in God’s system. They are the head of the family and therefore they must bear the responsibilities of caring for, nurturing, training, educating, providing for and guiding their families. This writer has not found any teaching in the Scripture that places blame or responsibility upon women in regards to the family and its welfare. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the Christian father to be sure his children know the LORD and the contents of the Bible. It is the commanded responsibility of the Christian father to treat his wife and his children in a Christ like manner so that they do not become angry or exasperated.
Application: In society today, many fathers are absent from the family. Single parent families are in abundance, and the burdens associated with raising a family are being born by women who traditionally earn less at their jobs than their male counterparts. This was not how God set up the family structure. Churches need to come along the side of those mothers trying to do the job delegated by God to the absentee father, and assist in any way they can. Although divorce is often the reason for single parent homes, the children in those homes are basically orphans in that they have no father regularly in their lives. “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27
Verses 5-8 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; 6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: 8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
In Western cultures, there are very few servants found working in the private sector. Servants still exist in other cultures. During Biblical days, servants were often slaves, sold into slavery and therefore having very few or no rights. Their masters could be kind or brutal. Some servants sold themselves into slavery in order to rid themselves and/or their families of financial debt. It was usually a difficult life. Here the Apostle Paul commands Christian servants, regardless of their circumstances, to be obedient to those in authority over them. In so doing, their masters hopefully would treat them kindly because of their obedience. They would also present a Christian testimony to those in their lives. So all that the Christian servants did obediently for their masters would be pleasing to and glorify the LORD. They would then receive God’s blessings because of their faithfulness and obedience to Him and to their masters.
Application: The employee is basically a servant of the employer. When hired to work for a company, it is the Christian believer’s responsibility to obey the orders given in regards to how the job is to be done, unless in doing so harm could be caused to anyone or anything. Therefore, the Christian worker should do the job assigned as if he/she was doing it to please the LORD Jesus Christ. This will provide a Christian testimony to bosses and co-workers and will please the LORD. Think about it.
Verse 9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
It may seem strange that the Apostle Paul had to remind Christian masters to treat their servants as Christ would treat the Church, but the culture was such that servants were mere possessions to do with as their master saw fit. The LORD Jesus Christ’s coming freed many classes of people. Women and servants and children were to be respected and treated as people rather than things. Why? Because they were all equal to men in God’s kingdom and just as He had no respect of persons, neither could the Christian believer if following Jesus.
Verses 10-12 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The Christian faith and walk is not for wimps. If a believer does not get strength from the LORD, he/she will not do well as the three enemies – the world, the flesh, and the devil – will attack at every opportunity. The world wants the believer to fall away from the LORD and to fail. The flesh wants the believer to sin. The Devil wants the believer backslidden and ultimately physically dead. So there is a spiritual war going on constantly as long as the Christian believer is in a physical body, and this spiritual war can include physical, emotional, and psychological battlefields. Where ever the Christian believer has weakness, the enemies will attack. So the Apostle Paul, who faced many spiritual and physical battles, was well aware of this when he penned verses 10-20 of this epistle.
The Roman soldiers carried as many as 9 implements when in a battle. Each soldier was to defend the area around them which was about 6 square feet. They wore armour for protection. Roman soldiers were everywhere in Palestine and the Apostle Paul spent time chained to several of them, so he would have been very familiar with their battle dress and weapons. So he likens the Christian battle to that of the Roman soldier. But unlike the Roman soldier who battled and killed people, the enemy of the Christian believer is the Devil and the fight is not against flesh and blood or people but against spiritual darkness.
Verses 13-14 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Today, modern soldiers do not carry shields, swords, and lances, and wear greaves and breastplates for protection. The Roman soldiers did, and the Apostle Paul was very aware of their military attire when he penned these verses. Each one of these items in the natural sense has a spiritual application, and by using a natural representation of Roman armour, the reader of this epistle could related to it and better understand the spiritual armour of God. Just as a Roman soldier would not be properly protected if one of these items was missing, the Christian believer will not be protected without the “whole armour of God” being in place all the time. If the armour of God is in place, the believer should be able to stand against anything the enemy sends against him/her.
The Greek word translated as “loins” is “osphus” and it means just that, loins. It was also the place where the Hebrews thought reproductive power was located. If the believer’s spiritual loins are surrounded by truth, only truth will be reproduced. Falsehoods and lies will not reproduce
Anatomically the loins are the part of the body on both sides of the spine that extends from the lowest ribs to the hipbones. This area was/is vulnerable to piercing with sword or lance, so a breastplate would help cover this area as it extended from the neck to the middle or waist on both sides of the body. The breastplate also protected the heart, lungs and other organs related to the GI system. Spiritually, a breastplate of righteousness (the quality of being morally right or justifiable) would mean that the believer’s heart and therefore spirit was right with God. The breastplate supported the loins physically. The spiritual breastplate is in place because of the truth of the Gospel and the truth of God’s scripture or Word. Without truth, the breastplate would slip and slide around the body and righteousness would be difficult to attain as it comes from the righteousness of the LORD Jesus Christ and the truth of His Word.
Verse 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
The Greek word translated as “preparation” is “hetoimasia” and it means the act of preparing, preparedness, or readiness. The Roman soldiers had footwear that could withstand the conditions of weather and terrain and they wore greaves which were pieces of armour that protected the lower leg or shin. The Christian believer is to be prepared for spiritually rough or rugged terrain and days of spiritually and emotionally cloudy times when walking through this life on Earth and when sharing the reason for his/her faith to an unbelieving people. Knowledge of the Scripture and living in the peace that is from the LORD and which is part of the believer’s gifts from the LORD keeps the believer on the correct path and in the will of the LORD. The believer is not to stand still, but to move forward in his/her faith and walk which will make the believer stronger with each spiritual step.
Verse 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
The Greek word translated as “shield” is “thureos” and it means a large oblong or four cornered shield. This could be carried in front of a soldier by his servant or it could be held in front of the body by the soldier, depending on its size and weight. It was used to deflect arrows or any other object hurled at the soldier. Spiritually, believers are targeted by Satan and his army on a daily basis. The Apostle Paul refers to these attacks as “fiery darts of the wicked”. These are darts that are set on fire and they can burn or harm, or even destroy. But fire also purifies, so these darts can purge believers of unbelief or of any retained sin. They can come directly from demonic sources or from people being used by demonic spirits to further their evil agenda. Some of the things may be small, but many of the attacks involve large issues that can derail the believer from his/her spiritual walk and relationship with the LORD as the attacks can be draining of both time and attention, energy, and finances. Often these attacks are physical in nature which can also interfere with the believer’s relationship with the LORD. Faith is the believer’s strong belief in God and in His promises and His provision. It is complete trust or confidence. That faith grows through experience with the fiery darts. The more spiritual battles won, the greater the faith. So faith should function as a shield and be foremost and in front of believers like a shield. If Satan cannot breach the defense of the shield of faith, he will have to accept defeat and go elsewhere with his attacks.
Verses 17-20 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
The helmet physically protected the Roman soldiers head. A severe head injury could make the soldier useless in battle with the enemy even though he was still alive and breathing. For the believer, the head houses the brain or mind with its knowledge and intellect and ability to learn. It is the brain or mind that lets the believer have knowledge of God and knowledge of salvation. It is the brain or mind that allows the believer to communicate with the LORD. It is the brain or mind where much spiritual battling occurs. Satan and his demons cannot read the believer’s mind or thoughts, but they can put thoughts into the believer’s mind that are lies and half truths. The believer has to constantly guard his/her thoughts as those thoughts can lead to sinful actions. The believer has to know for certain that he/she is saved from sin, death and Hell. There can be no doubt or the enemy will use doubt to attack spiritually. To know for certain, the sword of the Spirit or the Word confirms all things.
Praying is talking to God. Supplication is seeking, asking or entreating God for something or for someone. The Apostle Paul commands Christian believers to suit up with God’s armour and then do spiritual battle by praying to the LORD and seeking His assistance with the needs and difficulties the saints in the Church may be facing. Satan and his army hate believers interceding in prayer for themselves and for others because they know prayer gets results. Things happen and circumstances change when God’s people get down to serious prayer and supplication. Paul’s personal request was that the Ephesian Church pray that he would remain bold in proclaiming the Gospel and that his words would be those God wanted him to utter. Remember that he was in prison at the writing of this epistle. Few things can be more intimidating than being in a prison unjustly and not knowing the future. The Apostle Paul’s sincere desire was that, regardless of his physical circumstances, he would be able to speak forth the Word of God boldly which meant to be able to speak freely, confidently and with assurance.
Verses 21-24 But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: 22 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts. 23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. To the Ephesians written from Rome, by Tychicus. (Ephesians 6)
Tychicus is mentioned in Acts 20:4, Colossians 4:7, 2 Timothy 4:12 and Titus 3:12. He was a friend and fellow worker in the ministry with the Apostle Paul. He often was sent by Paul to others to give a report on Paul and all that he was doing. And it appears that he also fulfilled a secretary position in that he wrote this epistle as Paul dictated it to him.