Ephesians: Chapter 6

Summary:

1. Believers have been called to be God’s children only by His Mercy and Grace.
2. We have been raised from the dead and reconciled to God!
3. Christ is victorious over Satan.
4. We are called to live in Love and unity.
5. True Believers are the Bride of Christ.

6:1

Children are commanded to obey their parents in the Lord. (Parents must be God’s representative to their children; they are not to use or manipulate their children for evil.) Obeying parents is Just and Right. Parents have a serious moral obligation to bring up their children in a godly manner. (See Col 3:20) Rebellion to parents brings disaster. (See Isa 3:4, 12; Tim 3:1) When children rule the parents it is an indication of degeneracy. Haven’t we all seen families where an out-of-control, or spoiled, child rules the household and literally controls the parents?

6:2-3

Honor your father and mother; this means to esteem and value them as precious. This is the first commandment, with a promise. (given in Exodus 20) This commandment is the fifth of the Ten commandments, yet it is the First of the ‘Relationship’ commandments of how we treat one another. (The first four deal with our relationship with God). vs. 3. Now the promise that God gives when children honor father and mother: That it may be well with you and that you may live long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. God promises obedient children, that honor their father and mother, great blessings of long and prosperous lives. Should we continue to honor parents when we become adults? Absolutely! As children, we needed our parents. As parents age they need the love and appreciation of their children; they may even need assistance in life. God carefully planned the family structure for the benefit and blessings of all of us. We are to work together to love, help and nurture one another. To ignore or reject His plan for the family unit causes great pain, disaster, and failure in life. Our current situation in America is largely due to the breakdown in the family unit and moral decline. Sin always robs us. Disobedient children will suffer. Sin brings pain, suffering, danger, and death. Disobedience to one’s parents is rebellion against God.

6:4

Fathers do not irritate and exasperate your children so that they become angry and resentful (wrath). Teach and train them with tender love and patience in the discipline, counsel and admonition of the Lord. Notice that patience and love are the key attributes and attitudes needed by godly parents. Warning: Indulging a child makes spiritual growth for the child extremely difficult. We are given many examples: David pampered Absalom ~ with disastrous results. Eli failed to discipline his sons ~ their deaths resulted. Jacob showed favoritism to Joseph ~ the entire family suffered greatly. Our family relationships are the most important and rewarding AND at the same time are very challenging, yet always worth the effort. Never give up on your family members ~ pray for them daily; sometimes that is all you can, or should, do.

This next section deals with Slaves and Masters ~ in our modern culture these Truths would apply to Employees and Employers.

6:5

Servants, (in our day this would refer to Employees, and also include Christian volunteers); Obey and respect the directives of your Master, this means bosses, or leaders; as well as have an attitude and motive to do your best job and seek to please your Employers, or leaders (as the case may be). We are to work as though we are working directly for Jesus. If we are working for Jesus, what kind of effort should we put forth?

6:6

We are not to do a ‘good job’ only when we are being watched or monitored, but we are to seek to give our very best work as a servant of Jesus Christ. We are to seek to do the Will of God from our born-again hearts. Our goal should be to please God, not men. Think about how diligently you would work if you owned the company, or the project was for your own home, vehicle, or for your own benefit. What kind of effort would you put forth? Now you can see the difference in your attitude. Any other attitude is being dishonest; and not doing the work for Jesus. Be honest with yourself.

6:7

We are to be working and serving with such enthusiasm that we are doing a superior job; just as IF we are working directly for Jesus to please Him. Even if the boss is unreasonable and unfair. If the boss is abusive, cruel, and heartless, it may be best to seek other employment, or make the matter known, with love and honest tactfulness, to the owner or the Pastor. God doesn’t want us to suffer needlessly.

6:8

All the time we are working, or serving, we know that the Truth is that whatever good things we do for Jesus Christ will bring great rewards from God. We honor Jesus now, and cause others to see the good that comes from a true servant of Jesus. Our true rewards will be eternal ~ yet we know that those rewards are the most valuable! Remember, they last forever. (Remember African Missionary & Teddy Roosevelt’s Safari coming home to America.)

6:9

Now comes the commands for the Masters, employers, and Christian leaders. Treat your servants, that means employees, respectfully, honestly, and fairly, all the time remembering that you have a Master in Heaven, God, that you must answer to for all your actions and treatment of your servants, or employees. Never be abusive or threatening, using violence or evil toward those servants, or employees, God has placed you over. God will demand an answer for all your words and actions. Try to be both kind and generous.

Now the next section deals with the current battle we are in. We are in a desperate life and death struggle. A vicious warfare situation, even if we fail to realize it. If we don’t recognize that we are in this life-and-death struggle, we are doomed to failure. (Review information of Satan, his origin, agenda and destiny)

6:10

In conclusion, or, in summary; Paul tells us to get prepared! Be strong in the Lord. We are to first draw our strength from our union with our Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit. We are to seek to be empowered by Him, not trusting ourselves, only trusting in God. Remember, there is no limit to the Power and Might of the Holy Spirit, we have finite limits!

6:11

Now we are told to ‘put on’ God’s whole Armor, this is the heavy armor for the Soldier which God supplies; so that we would be prepared to do battle with the enemy. We are now in enemy territory here on earth, and we must know God’s word so well that we can stand up to all the deceitful and clever strategies of the devil. Our Armor should be on all the time. Remember, Satan and his demons are not going to warn us when they attack. Ever been blindsided by the enemy?

6:12

We are clearly and sternly warned that we are not fighting against just physical opponents, (we are really contending against all the fallen angels and demons; the evil spirits who are currently the world rulers of this present age of darkness and spiritual wickedness). Open your eyes and look around, see the increase in our world of immorality, witchcraft, and those who deal with wicked spirits (demons). These are real entities who want to destroy us! Never, Never underestimate the power and relentless intent of the enemy; our complete and utter destruction is their goal.

6:13

Therefore, this is crucial to your survival, you MUST put on all God’s complete Armor every single day; so that you would be able to resist and stand your ground. We must rely on God’s Word, His Armor, His power, and strength, always seeking Him when being attacked by, or confronting evil. We must never rely on our own power and strength. If you start your day without prayer, and seeking God’s Will for the day, you are without your Armor!

6:14

Stand strong, making certain the belt of Truth is around you and have on the breastplate of righteousness. The Roman belt was 6-8 inches wide, and all the body armor and weapons were attached to it. Truth is when the Word and Deed are one. The ultimate Truth is the fulfillment of God’s promises in His Messiah, Jesus. Jesus said, “I am Truth”. Why a breastplate of righteousness? We must guard our heart (the seat of our righteousness as ‘born again believers’) and the breastplate protected the heart and vital organs. So, the very first thing is to be surrounded by God’s Truth, revealed in His Word. Therefore, DAILY BIBLE STUDY is so important! Next, we must guard our hearts with that Truth.

6:15

We are to be ready with our feet firmly planted in the Truth of the Gospel given in God’s Word. If the soldier fell, he was usually killed, so he needed to be sure-footed; and so do we. We need to be prepared to give an answer to those who challenge our claim of the good news of the Gospel of peace. (See Isaiah 52:7) Anyone ever say to you. “Oh, I don’t believe in that stuff!”? Did you give them a strong loving answer of Truth? Just because someone doesn’t believe something, doesn’t mean it’s not true. Many people believed the world was flat; that the sun revolved around the earth, etc. none of it was true. Today people believe lies like there are many ways to Heaven; there is no hell, no Satan, no punishment in the afterlife, there is no God. All of these are lies. God gives us the opportunity to tell these people the Truth.

6:16

Now, above all, take your strong shield of saving Faith, which will give you the power to quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked. Those flaming missiles are often vile, hateful words attempting to overpower you and cause you to give up in defeat.

6:17

Now you must take your helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The helmet protected the head; we must remember in our brains that we are Saved; no one can take us out of the hand of God, no one, ever! We know we have eternal security; we need not fear the enemy. The enemy wants to intimidate us and cause us to fear; we must remember we are the protected, guarded, born again child of the All-Powerful Living God, Creator of the Universe! Now we must rely on the Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom, power and necessary words and actions to win against the enemy.

6:18

Now the most powerful thing we can do ~ Pray in the Spirit of God. Pray, seeking the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts and prayers to bring about victory. Praying at all times. Interceding on behalf of all the saints. We are to seek and ask our prayer warriors to support us. We are to persevere by honoring God, confessing our own sins, humbling ourselves and turning from them, praising, and thanking God. Prayer is the most powerful thing we can do.

6:19-20

Now Paul asks them to pray for him, that he would be given the freedom to speak boldly (with the power of the Holy Spirit) the Truth of the mystery of the Gospel. Keep in mind that as he wrote this, he was chained to guards day and night. So, it would seem that the guards were probably the ones he was speaking to regarding the Gospel. Paul continues to ask them to also pray that he would continue to be an Ambassador for the Good News of Jesus Christ; even though he was in chains in prison. Paul believed that he must preach, no matter where he was, or what the circumstances were. Do we make sharing the Truth of God’s Word our priority, even when we are in terrible circumstances? Have any of us been chained in a filthy dungeon, knowing we were going to die, as Paul was? It can’t get any worse.

6:21

Now Paul wants them to be certain that this letter comes from him, so he tells them he is sending Tychicus, a fellow bondslave. Tychicus is also mentioned in Acts 20:4; 2 Tim. 4:12; and Titus 3:12. This way they would know this was a genuine letter from Paul because Paul wanted them to understand these mysteries.

6:22-23

Then Paul says something remarkable; that he is sending them Tychicus to console, cheer, encourage and strengthen their hearts. So that they might be strong enough to follow Paul’s example of leading others to Jesus. Can you imagine, instead of seeking sympathy or asking them to pray for his release from prison and his suffering to end; he tells them he is concerned about them! This reminds us that when Jesus was facing death, He prayed for His disciples for strength, courage, and faith. (23.) Then Paul gives God’s blessings to them by saying “Peace to the Believers who walk with Love and faith;” asking that this comes from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice that the blessings were only for Believers “who walk with Love and Faith”.

6:24

Paul ends with God’s Grace for all those that love our Lord Jesus Christ in Truth and sincerity. Amen, so may it be. Notice again that Grace was to be with those that “Love our Lord Jesus Christ in Truth and sincerity.” We must live our Faith, not just say it.

Summary: Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals incredible Truths not revealed before. He sets forth our position of authority in Christ; how deeply God loves us with His UNCONDITIONAL LOVE; as well as the purpose for us as Believers. We are to lovingly share the Truth of Jesus, as Lord, God and Savior. We are warned to be prepared for the lies of the enemy, yet always being strong and courageous, in Christ Jesus. The phrase “in Christ Jesus” is used repeatedly to remind us we cannot do anything successfully without being in the Will of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. And that is our secret to True Success in life, being in the WILL OF GOD! We pray you will reflect often on this book of Ephesians, and prayerfully seek to apply God’s Word faithfully to your life. May God richly grant you His Shalom.