Here is my commentary on Ephesians 6:13. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 6:13

“Therefore, take up the whole armour of God so that you will be able to withstand in that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

Paul again exhorts us to take up the whole armour of God. A soldier in battle with only part of his armour clearly remains vulnerable. Whenever we are engaged in spiritual warfare, that is everyday, we must be fully protected against the attacks of the foes describe in verse 12.

We must never underestimate the ferocity of the warfare in which we are involved. The enemy searches for any weakness that can be exploited, and he never gives up.

Paul talks about the “evil day.” While every day is a day of battles, some days are more ferocious than others. Our lesser battles are preparations for the greater battles or the evil day.

Our battles can be internal in terms of temptation and natural, but sinful, desires. There are days when we seem to have mastered these things. There are other days when the voices and images sown into our brains are amplified and become almost unbearably intense. How we respond to the lesser temptations will determine our response to the greater or more intense temptations.

The battle can also be external. Various pressures can come against us, such as persecution and other forms of opposition. We need to be prepared and ready to stand firm in Christ when these events come.

As we take up the whole armour of God, we will be able to withstand (more literally, “stand against”) these pressures. This suggests a positive resistance in which we not only refuse to give in, but we push back in order to stand our ground.

To stand against the enemy means that we do not just avoid giving Into temptation or persecution when they come. It means that we take the initiative, take the battle up to the enemy. For every temptation, we fight and we replace it with a positive virtue. For every opposition, we need to reach out to show love to those who persecute us.

Then, having done everything, we stand, even on the evil day.

To give up before the battle is over is to fall and be defeated. We have to do everything in our power, under the direction of God, to keep on fighting.

In the Second World War, and Australian seaman, Teddy Sheean, earned a Victoria Cross for extreme courage. As his ship was sinking after being hit by Japanese bombers, he strapped himself to an anti aircraft gun to protect his crew mates from strafing. Despite being already wounded by two bullets, he kept firing until the ship sank beneath the waves, taking down at least one enemy bomber.

This is an example of “having done everything”.

We might feel like we are being destroyed by the enemy, but we must do everything to stand against the evil one .

Finally, having done everything, we stand firm .

We stand firm in Christ, in the gospel, in the faith.

The aim of every believer, and the desire of God’s heart, is that we overcome all the opposition – external and internal – and we stand firm. No compromise. No retreat.

And if we fall, there is no condemnation from God. We stand up, fight the next battle, knowing that in God, even their our become stepping stones to greater victory.

Key points in this verse:

• We need the full armour of God
• There are greater and lesser battles, all are part of the constant spiritual warfare
• We must do all that we can to stand firm in Christ

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 6:12. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 6:12

“ for our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

A more literal translation of this verse is:

“For our struggle/ wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the authorities, against the cosmic rulers of this darkness, against the evil spirits in the heavenly realms.”

Paul changes his analogy briefly from the soldier in the army to the wrestler on the ground, to make the point that the struggle is personal, one in which every christian is engaged.

With ever-evolving military technology taking warfare from a battlefield to the safety of a computer lab, we can think of the life and death struggle of warfare as being a comfortable thing for us. No, we are wrestling an enemy, it is hand to hand, brute strength wrestling.

Our enemy in this struggle is not blood and flesh, but spiritual. When we are rejected, mocked, hated, or suffer violence for our faith in Christ, we are not to hate those who who oppose us, but love them. They are not doing it to us, but the spirits and rulers of the heavenly realms are doing it.

Paul here lists four different spiritual powers that oppose us. These are evil spirits, not human beings. They are the fallen angels who serves satan in various areas and with various levels of authority and power.

There is a definite hierarchy in the infernal kingdom, just as there is a succession of authority in God’s Kingdom. it is unwise to make too much of these various terms for spiritual rulers and powers. God has not given us a detailed description all these spirits that oppose us, except to highlight that there is a struggle, and the sacrifice of Christ on the cross of Calvary has ensured their defeat.

The rulers or principalities (in Greek “archas”) are spirits which rule over geographic areas such as cities, regions, nations, and so on. They influence culture through religious expressions, through arts, media and governmental institutions. Wherever there are people, there are principalities seeking to control them, and most importantly, resist the gospel in an area.

A biblical example of this is Daniel 10. Daniel has a vision of an angel who describes a three week struggle against the prince over the kingdom of Persia. This is a real struggle initiated by Daniel’s prayer and fasting.

The authorities are spirits which exercise governmental power to oppose christians. They persecute believers and stand in the way of the preaching of the gospel. In many countries, they may take a nationalistic cover, or a religious cover ( for example Islamic or Hindu), or a civil religion such as secularism that opposes all public expressions of belief. Extreme forms such as Nazism, communism, and fascism, result from a combination of authorities and principalities which hold people in extreme bondage, sometimes over generations.

The “cosmic powers of this darkness” are spirits which energise seemingly impersonal forces that control the lives of large swathes of humanity. These would include wars, revolutions, abortion, ritualised murder, drugs, and so on. They seem impossible to overcome because their power is not localised. As soon as one manifestation is defeated, another pops up to replace it. The ongoing strife in the Middle East and in Afghanistan are examples of this.

The “evil spirits in the heavenly realms” are the kinds of spirits which bring affliction, addiction, torment, and destruction to individual lives and family groups. These are the demons which Jesus dealt with daily.

As christians, we are involved in fighting this battle each day. The fact that the battle is fought in the heavenly realms does not make this battle less real than other struggles we might engage in.

For Western christians, there is widespread ignorance of the spiritual realm. Our modern mindset ignores anything that is non-material. When we ignore the power that satan exerts over us, we are unable to fight effectively.

The other problem is that we have failed to discern the spirits and the nature of the struggle. We end up fighting the wrong battles against flesh and blood enemies. The battle must be fought at the heavenly level not at the ground level. The enemy is not coming against us with tanks and artillery, but bombs and missiles. Our warfare must be fought in the air, not on the ground.

Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 10:4 that the weapons of our warfare and not fleshly but spiritual. In verse 13 of Ephesians 6, he describes what the weapons are which God has given us.

Key points in this verse:

• We are not struggling against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers
• This is a personal wrestle which every christian is engaged in
• The enemy has a wide variety of spirits embedded in various layers of society and culture
• We need to discern the true nature of the battle or we will be consumed by the enemy

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 6:11. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 6:11

“Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

It is easy for christians to forget that we are involved in spiritual warfare. The devil continues to war against the Lord, and the field of battle is in the hearts of human beings.

When christians join with the wider society in viewing things from a humanistic point of view, then we miss what is really happening in the spirit realm. Christianity can easily become a religion, a subculture, or a code of behaviour with no spiritual power.

When Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord (v. 10), it is not merely an encouragement to keep the faith and read our Bible. Paul’s intent is that we stay strong in the Lord in order to withstand the wiles of satan as he seeks to pull us down.

The phrase “ put on the whole armour of God” is so important that’s Paul repeats it two verses later, as he does with the word ”stand.”

There is an urgency in this and the subsequent verses.”There is a war going on,” Paul is saying. “You must ensure that you are properly equipped so that you can stand firm.”

Paul will describe shortly what the armour and also who the enemy is that we are fighting. What is important is that we recognise the reality of the existential warfare that we are engaged in. The war for the souls of men and women has been unrelenting since the time of Adam and Eve. The death and resurrection of Jesus bought the final victory over sin and death, but the fighting continues to this day.

Paul tells us to put on the whole armour of God. Our spiritual victory depends on our being protected at every point. A soldier who put on his helmet but left off his breastplate was vulnerable.

We all have points of weakness in our souls. Temptations can assail us at every turn, but some are more easily with stood than others. For one person greed is a weakness, for another it is lust, for another it may be pride. Many of us have false gods which demand to be served – family, work, sport, and so on.

These vulnerabilities are so easily turned against us, causing us to trip at vital moments. We decide to spend more time praying, and then find a barrage of almost Irresistible temptations hammers us so that we feel defeated, unworthy, or unable.

Putting on the whole armour of God means determining in our hearts that at all times, in all places, and in every situation, Christ comes first. Even in making that decision we may find a hundred temptations and distractions will come in. The one thing that Satan fears above all else is a Christian determined to put Christ first. He will rage and rail against such a person.

Paul describes Satan as having “ wiles.” The Greek word literally means cunning plans. One variation of the word suggests thorough planning.

Be under no illusions. The devil knows you better than you know yourself. Since you were born, he has been probing your soul, finding what temptations you are most taken in by. There is no potential weakness that he will fail to employ against you.

Paul says that satan dresses himself up as an angel of light to deceive the elect. (2 Corinthians 11:4).He will use seemingly good things to turn us away from God’s path. He will even use well-meaning christians to undermine our walk with the Lord.

Does this mean that we are doomed to fail? Of course not!

The key to standing firm against the wiles of the devil is to constantly keep our eyes focused on the Lord. When we look at him, and not at ourselves, or the devil, or our friends, then we can know continual victory in the Lord.

When we do fall, we confess our sins to the Lord, and He cleanses us. He picks us up, brushes the dirt off us, and equips us to continue the journey. As long as we keep on getting up and maintaining our walk with Christ, we will overcome to the end.

Key points in this verse:

• We need to see with the eyes of the spirit, and not just the eyes of the flesh
• We need to stand in the strength of the Lord in order to withstand the enemy
• We are in a war for our souls and we must continue to fight
• We need all of God’s armour to be fully protected
• The devil will use all tactics and every weakness to pull us down
• Victory comes when we refuse to let our failures hold us down

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 6:10. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 6:10

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the might of his power.”

Paul is now getting ready to conclude his letter. He has covered the topics of the glory of Christ, the cosmic importance of the church and each member of it, the implications of this for our morality and our relationships at home and at work. He now finishes it all with a remainder of the battle in which we are engaged and the source of our strength.

In this verse, Paul uses three different words for the same idea: strength, might, and power. He wants to emphasise this idea that we need strength, and that it comes from the Lord.

Nobody can live the Christian life out of their own resources. Not only is this impossible, the idea of self sufficiency apart from God is the definition of sin. We cannot live for God from this underlying position of sinful pride.

Our strength for spiritual battle does not come from ourselves. Tto think that I can take on satan, or sin, or evil, by myself is a recipe for defeat. The devil is bigger and stronger than any human being .

Our strength must come from the Lord. When Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord, he is telling us that the Lord is where we go to gain our strength.

We strengthen ourselves in the Lord when we seek to know him more. Our delight should be in God’s word, the Bible. It is in the word that we discover the nature of God, His personality, and His desires for our lives in relationship with Him.

The word by itself is not enough. We need to read scripture prayerfully, constantly asking the Holy Spirit to make the written word come alive to us. The Bible must never be read merely for information. When we read it this way, we lose the power of the word.

We become strong in the Lord as we learn to pray. Prayer is not just my words to God, but a two-way conversation. The process of listening prayer in which we both speak and listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit is the way to grow to maturity and strength in the Lord.

Power and strength in the Lord come as we learn to obey Him. Paul has given us instructions about how we are to live as Christians in Ephesians and in his other writings. But we must not reduce Christian living to a moral code or series of regulations

To obey the Lord also means being sensitive to the Holy Spirit in other ways. We need to grow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit described in 1 Corinthians 12, allowing the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself through us in words of knowledge, wisdom, faith, miracles, and so on.

Our relationship with the Holy Spirit will result in the grace of character in such areas as love, joy, peace, patience, and so on (Galatians 5:22-23)so that we grow to be more like Christ.

To be strong in the Lord and in the might of his power means that we pursue a relationship with God by every means possible.

Key points in this verse:

• We must become strong in the Lord’s power
• This means that we read God’s word, pray, listen, and obey
• As we seek the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit, we will grow in maturity and strength

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 6:9. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 6:9

“And masters do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.”

Paul now turns his attention to slave owners. In all of these admonitions, he always balances out his demands so that both parties are clear of the Lord’s expectations of them. His instructions to slave owners are perhaps the most radical of all.

He has just told slaves that they are to obey their masters with fear and trembling, and to serve enthusiastically as to the Lord.

He now tells masters that the same also applies to them. Masters are to direct their slaves as though they are doing it for the Lord.

Slavery was a fact of life in the ancient world. Rather than demanding that masters free their slaves, which might condemn some of them to poverty and even re-enslavement, Paul tells the owners to treat their slaves well. They are to represent Christ in their relationship with their slaves.

He specifically tells them to stop threatening their slaves. This is not the way of Christ. Jesus laid down his life without resisting his captors in anyway. Masters must lay down their rights to make threats of death or violence against their slaves. They must, in fact, become like servants in their attitudes.

Both slaves and masters have the same Master in heaven. The word for master is kurios, the same word as Lord. So Paul says,” Lords you also have the same Lord in heaven.” The one who is lord in his own household is subject to the Lord in heaven, as are his slaves.

This reasoning is very similar to the centurion who tells Jesus, “I am a man under authority. I say to this one go and he goes.” ( Matthew 8:9) All authority comes from our relationship to the ultimate authority of God in heaven.

Because christian masters are subject to the lordship of Christ, they must love their neighbours, even their slaves, as they love themselves.

With God there is no partiality. The word used here means a “respecter of persons.” Paul is saying that the Lord does not distinguish between slave and master; both are held to the same requirements, even though their social standing is different, and one certainly wields more power than the other.

Masters are subject to the same judgement by God as their slaves are. Social position will not determine the outcome, but faithfulness to Christ will .

In our economy, where we no longer have slaves, this suggests that directors and managers should show the same deference to their workers that they expect to receive. Impersonal emails and texts delivered from “on high” may get the job done. Concern and compassion for those doing the work “at the coal face” are more important from God’s perspective.

Key points in this verse:

• Paul presents an radical redefinition of the relationship between slaves and their masters
• Slave owners are to treat their slaves as people for whom Christ died
• Masters must always remember that they also are accountable to the Lord
• Employers and managers have a responsibility before God to care for their workers beyond the requirement of the law.