Since this is the final week of summer and we will begin our new blog series shortly, I am going to try to tackle all of Ephesians 6 today. While today’s post will be far from exhaustive, I hope that it will serve you well.
Verses 1–4
Paul opens the final section of his letter with instructions to children and fathers. He commands children to obey their parents in the Lord, because that is right. It is right because all of God’s creation points back to Him and to His order, including the family. Children learn to submit to God by first learning to submit to their parents, just as wives are called to submit to their husbands as the church is called to submit to Christ. Fathers are then commanded to avoid provoking their children to anger, but instead to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Dads, disciplining our children will keep them from being provoked to anger. Discipline must be biblically informed, which means it must be done consistently out of love with a view toward restoration, not toward punishment. You will provoke your children to anger if you discipline inconsistently, out of anger, or with a view toward punishment rather than restoration. I encourage you to meditate long and hard on Hebrews 12, considering how God’s discipline of His children should inform our discipline of our children.
Verses 5–9
Paul moves on to slaves in the next five verses. Throughout history and even today, some have believed and taught that Paul condoned slavery. This is not the case; much of the Bible is descriptive rather than prescriptive. Paul is merely acknowledging the fact that slavery does exist, and that Christian slaves should act in a manner worthy of the Gospel. This section can be applied as instructions to employees and employers. Employees should not “go through the motions” of their jobs, but work as though they were serving God Himself. Employers should treat their employees fairly by compensating them appropriately and treating them decently, especially those who are of the household of faith.
Verses 10–20
Finally, Paul instructs the Ephesians to be strong in the Lord and to put on the whole armor of God, which includes:
1. The belt of truth (to combat the enemy’s lies)
2. The breastplate of righteousness (to deflect the false gospels of works righteousness)
3. Shoes of readiness given by the Gospel of peace (to ensure preparedness to preach the Word)
4. The shield of faith (to extinguish the flaming darts of the evil one)
5. The helmet of salvation (to protect us from doubts about the promise of God)
6. The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (the only offensive weapon we have)
And how do we put on this armor? By praying at all times in the Spirit, with all power and supplication (v. 18). We must pray both for ourselves and others that we would open our mouths boldly to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel. In order to do this, we must have the power of the Spirit to war against our enemy, the devil, because our fight is not against people, but against Satan and sin.
Verses 21–24
As he closes, Paul lets the Ephesians know he is sending Tychicus to them so that they may know how Paul and his companions are and so that their hearts may be encouraged. This is the kind of love and consideration that we must show for one another. Sending Tychicus to them meant that Tychicus was not with Paul, helping him and keeping him company. But it meant that the Ephesians would know what was going on with them and that their hearts would be encouraged. I pray that I would have that same selfless attitude in my life and ministry. Last, Paul blesses the Ephesians with peace, love, and grace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus.
I hope you have enjoyed our quick tour through the book of Ephesians this summer. We’ll begin our next blog series shortly, and I hope that God will use it to bless you. Thanks for following along!