The One Year Bible Club with Teaching
Commentary by Nick Boork
September 28
Ephesians 6:1-24
Commentary by Nick Boork
September 28
Ephesians 6:1-24
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September 28 – Ephesians 6:1-24
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” 4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. 5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. 9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 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, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; 22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts. 23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
In this last chapter of the Book of Ephesians Paul continues to teach on proper Christian attitudes in child / Parent relations and Employee / Employer relations. Following this, the chapter ends with the greatest revelation concerning the spiritual warfare Believers are engage in with a description of the armor of God that is ours and how to use it to live victoriously over the attacks of the devil but let’s start with interpersonal relationships. The Bible has some very specific standards that should govern our conduct and how we treat each other. Let’s break the word down to understand what it means for us today.
Children – Paul addresses the children directly teaching them what the Word of God commands of young people on how to relate to their parents from Exodus 20:12 which says “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. From the perspective of God this is the first and foremost characteristic that children must develop honoring their father and their mother teaches them how to respect the authority that God has placed over them in the home and prepares them to correctly relate to God and society as well.
Parents – In the culture of the ancient world the father was the supreme authority of the household and Paul was introducing a concept that would challenge the way fathers that had become Christians would discipline their children. He specifically addresses the fathers saying do not provoke your children to wrath which means that fathers need to abstain from acting out in anger any discipline and they need to be careful not to crush a child’s spirit by being overly critical and putting them down with their words instead of lifting them up. Provoking a child to wrath can certainly come from abuse and mistreatment until they snap and rise up in hatred against their parents doing all kinds of evil just because they feel that they have been mistreated Instead of loving and respecting their parents they can become hardened and provoked to wrath. Paul says the right approach for fathers is to bring up their children to know God and lead them to faith in Jesus Christ and be a godly example through their own commitment to the Lord.
Employees – The word of God teaches that employees should do their work as if they were doing it for the Lord. This is truly amazing to me! It means that there is an eternal reward just for being a good employee if we are a Christian and we commit our service to the Lord and do the best we can for the good of your employer. We shouldn’t do a good job only when our boss or Leader is watching us but we should do our work as if we were doing it for Christ himself! So as believers we can get an entirely new and fresh perspective that to me provides real significance to sometimes the boring, mundane jobs that we may find ourselves in. For example somebody that’s working in a production job at a factory that does the same thing over and over and over for eight or ten hours a day really needs some encouragement to do their job and I think that this is it. What we do we do for the Lord and he’s going to reward us just for being a good employee think of that!
Employers – If you’re a business owner or in a management position with a company then it is important as a Christian that you treat the employees under your care according to the word of God. The Bible says to give up threatening and I believe that this is very important because nobody likes to feel manipulated or threatened in the workplace. The idea here is that no matter what position of leadership or authority you possess on we’re all going to ultimately answer to a higher power and that is God himself. How we treat people down here on earth really matters in the sight of God. It's better to keep your cool and have patience with people but be sure to train employees correctly in the way you want them to do the job, what's expected and hold them accountable according to the instructions that you have given them but not in a mean spirited way. Always try to bring the best out of people and let them know that you believe in them. Give employees the opportunity to prove themselves. It’s a good idea to have some kind of written disciplinary policy written in your employee handbook that outlines very clearly what is offensive and the exact procedure and sequence of disciplinary measures all the way to being fired if necessary. There’s one thing you don’t want to do as a business leader or a manager and that’s show partiality. This is a huge mistake because it will breed miss-trust in your employees so you cannot show favoritism and discipline one but not the other or you undermine peoples respect for you.
The Christians Spiritual Warfare – Now Paul concludes his letter to the Ephesians with a teaching on the Christian’s spiritual warfare. He says very clearly that our struggle is not against flesh and blood which means our struggle is not against people. Your spouse is not your enemy and your boss is not your enemy. No, it’s the devil that is your enemy! He says that we are to put on the full armor of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles or the schemes of the evil one. The goal of the devil is to take down as many Christians as he can but we can be totally victorious if we will take our position in Christ and draw on the strength that comes from Jesus and the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Christ already defeated the devil and his demons on the cross and through his resurrection from the dead. Jesus ascended back to his father that sent him and he sat down at the right hand of God with all power and authority! By faith, we enter into the same victory of Christ and rule spiritually. That’s what it means to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might!
However we still have to deal with the attacks of the devil against us but we need to remind him who we are in Christ Jesus and that’s where the whole armor of God comes in. You see the armor of God is really everything that we have in Jesus Christ. He says we need to put on the whole armor of God to be able to stand and having done all to stand continue to stand which means don’t give up your position in Jesus Christ ever! Remember that the apostle Paul received this revelation while he was in a Roman prison and he probably had a Roman guard near him clothed in the armor of a Roman soldier. It's obvious that the Holy Spirit used this to speak to Paul about the Christians armor and brought a revelation of what God has given us in Christ so let’s go through each piece together:
The Belt of Truth – Represents all the truth of the word of God to counter the lies that Satan would use to attack us. Christians need to fill themselves with the word of God so they will know the truth because Jesus said if you continue in my word then you be my disciples and will know the truth and the truth will make you free.
The Breastplate of Righteousness – Represents the gift of righteousness that we have been given as born-again Christian’s when we were saved. One of the things that the devil will do is attack you in your mind concerning your righteousness but the truth of the matter was settled when Christ cried out on the crossed it is finished. Jesus took the place for all of us and paid for our sins. When we believe in him God gives us his righteousness or his right standing with God so that brings great confidence and boldness. The Bible reveals to us that Satan is the accuser of the brother in but that we overcome him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony. The breastplate of righteousness protects us from the accusations of the devil.
The Gospel Shoes of Peace – Represents the peace that we have with God through Jesus Christ. The Bible says that having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The truth is that we have been made right with God through Jesus Christ and therefore we have great confidence and assurance. Let nothing take your peace!
The Shield of Faith – Here the Bible says that we can take the shield of faith and quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one! The devil attacks us through people speaking hurtful words and suggestions to sin. The Bible says that the victory that overcomes the world is our faith through Jesus Christ. Quenching the fiery darts of the wicked one means that his attacks do not stop us and everything that he throws at us is overcome by our faith in God.
The Helmet of Salvation – This piece of the armor is given to cover our mind and our thought life. For me it represents the total meaning of the word salvation that I have been forgiven and am saved. The helmet of salvation is the mind of Christ and that my mind agrees with the word of God which says we are more than a conqueror through Him who loved us. Wearing the helmet of salvation covers past, present and future. God saved me, God is my salvation and God will deliver me in the future.
The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God – This is our only offensive weapon we use to attack the devil. When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness he quoted the Scriptures saying it is written and defeated the devil three times. If you truly want to be a strong Christian then you need to fill yourself with the word of God because the Bible says in first John chapter 5 if you’re strong spiritually to defeat the devil it’s because the word of God lives in you. We have to learn how to speak the word of God boldly in faith and in the anointing of the Holy Spirit as an offense of weapon against the attacks of the evil one. The word of God is the authority of God and when an obedient believers speaks it in Jesus name demons have to flee!
Prayer – This is where we wage spiritual warfare. In prayer we declare our victory through faith in Jesus Christ and proclaim and confess the promises of the word of God. We face all kinds of attacks from the devil but in prayer, mark my words, this is where we struggle and we gain the victory over him. We are to pray with all kinds of prayers and to pray in the spirit which for me means that we pray in our heavenly language or in tongues. Through prayer we are strengthened and built up in the presence of the Lord. Through prayer we pray about all the different circumstances and people going on in our lives for God’s will to be done. God hears our prayers and his answers are sure to come if we don’t give up our faith believing. Paul asked for specific prayers that God would enable him to preach as his ambassador with all boldness to lead others to faith in Christ. Every pastor should be covered by the congregation with prayer to use him fully as God intends.
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) The Bible teaches how Parents, Children, Employees and Employers should treat each other.
2) God has given us his full armor to overcome the attacks of the devil.
3) The sword of the Spirit is the word of God and we must learn to speak it in faith.
4) We win every spiritual battle through prayer and faith in God.
5) Never stop praying because you will see the answers to your prayers
6) Pray mightily for your pastor to preach as God has called him.
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” 4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. 5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. 9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 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, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; 22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts. 23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
In this last chapter of the Book of Ephesians Paul continues to teach on proper Christian attitudes in child / Parent relations and Employee / Employer relations. Following this, the chapter ends with the greatest revelation concerning the spiritual warfare Believers are engage in with a description of the armor of God that is ours and how to use it to live victoriously over the attacks of the devil but let’s start with interpersonal relationships. The Bible has some very specific standards that should govern our conduct and how we treat each other. Let’s break the word down to understand what it means for us today.
Children – Paul addresses the children directly teaching them what the Word of God commands of young people on how to relate to their parents from Exodus 20:12 which says “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. From the perspective of God this is the first and foremost characteristic that children must develop honoring their father and their mother teaches them how to respect the authority that God has placed over them in the home and prepares them to correctly relate to God and society as well.
Parents – In the culture of the ancient world the father was the supreme authority of the household and Paul was introducing a concept that would challenge the way fathers that had become Christians would discipline their children. He specifically addresses the fathers saying do not provoke your children to wrath which means that fathers need to abstain from acting out in anger any discipline and they need to be careful not to crush a child’s spirit by being overly critical and putting them down with their words instead of lifting them up. Provoking a child to wrath can certainly come from abuse and mistreatment until they snap and rise up in hatred against their parents doing all kinds of evil just because they feel that they have been mistreated Instead of loving and respecting their parents they can become hardened and provoked to wrath. Paul says the right approach for fathers is to bring up their children to know God and lead them to faith in Jesus Christ and be a godly example through their own commitment to the Lord.
Employees – The word of God teaches that employees should do their work as if they were doing it for the Lord. This is truly amazing to me! It means that there is an eternal reward just for being a good employee if we are a Christian and we commit our service to the Lord and do the best we can for the good of your employer. We shouldn’t do a good job only when our boss or Leader is watching us but we should do our work as if we were doing it for Christ himself! So as believers we can get an entirely new and fresh perspective that to me provides real significance to sometimes the boring, mundane jobs that we may find ourselves in. For example somebody that’s working in a production job at a factory that does the same thing over and over and over for eight or ten hours a day really needs some encouragement to do their job and I think that this is it. What we do we do for the Lord and he’s going to reward us just for being a good employee think of that!
Employers – If you’re a business owner or in a management position with a company then it is important as a Christian that you treat the employees under your care according to the word of God. The Bible says to give up threatening and I believe that this is very important because nobody likes to feel manipulated or threatened in the workplace. The idea here is that no matter what position of leadership or authority you possess on we’re all going to ultimately answer to a higher power and that is God himself. How we treat people down here on earth really matters in the sight of God. It's better to keep your cool and have patience with people but be sure to train employees correctly in the way you want them to do the job, what's expected and hold them accountable according to the instructions that you have given them but not in a mean spirited way. Always try to bring the best out of people and let them know that you believe in them. Give employees the opportunity to prove themselves. It’s a good idea to have some kind of written disciplinary policy written in your employee handbook that outlines very clearly what is offensive and the exact procedure and sequence of disciplinary measures all the way to being fired if necessary. There’s one thing you don’t want to do as a business leader or a manager and that’s show partiality. This is a huge mistake because it will breed miss-trust in your employees so you cannot show favoritism and discipline one but not the other or you undermine peoples respect for you.
The Christians Spiritual Warfare – Now Paul concludes his letter to the Ephesians with a teaching on the Christian’s spiritual warfare. He says very clearly that our struggle is not against flesh and blood which means our struggle is not against people. Your spouse is not your enemy and your boss is not your enemy. No, it’s the devil that is your enemy! He says that we are to put on the full armor of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles or the schemes of the evil one. The goal of the devil is to take down as many Christians as he can but we can be totally victorious if we will take our position in Christ and draw on the strength that comes from Jesus and the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Christ already defeated the devil and his demons on the cross and through his resurrection from the dead. Jesus ascended back to his father that sent him and he sat down at the right hand of God with all power and authority! By faith, we enter into the same victory of Christ and rule spiritually. That’s what it means to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might!
However we still have to deal with the attacks of the devil against us but we need to remind him who we are in Christ Jesus and that’s where the whole armor of God comes in. You see the armor of God is really everything that we have in Jesus Christ. He says we need to put on the whole armor of God to be able to stand and having done all to stand continue to stand which means don’t give up your position in Jesus Christ ever! Remember that the apostle Paul received this revelation while he was in a Roman prison and he probably had a Roman guard near him clothed in the armor of a Roman soldier. It's obvious that the Holy Spirit used this to speak to Paul about the Christians armor and brought a revelation of what God has given us in Christ so let’s go through each piece together:
The Belt of Truth – Represents all the truth of the word of God to counter the lies that Satan would use to attack us. Christians need to fill themselves with the word of God so they will know the truth because Jesus said if you continue in my word then you be my disciples and will know the truth and the truth will make you free.
The Breastplate of Righteousness – Represents the gift of righteousness that we have been given as born-again Christian’s when we were saved. One of the things that the devil will do is attack you in your mind concerning your righteousness but the truth of the matter was settled when Christ cried out on the crossed it is finished. Jesus took the place for all of us and paid for our sins. When we believe in him God gives us his righteousness or his right standing with God so that brings great confidence and boldness. The Bible reveals to us that Satan is the accuser of the brother in but that we overcome him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony. The breastplate of righteousness protects us from the accusations of the devil.
The Gospel Shoes of Peace – Represents the peace that we have with God through Jesus Christ. The Bible says that having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The truth is that we have been made right with God through Jesus Christ and therefore we have great confidence and assurance. Let nothing take your peace!
The Shield of Faith – Here the Bible says that we can take the shield of faith and quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one! The devil attacks us through people speaking hurtful words and suggestions to sin. The Bible says that the victory that overcomes the world is our faith through Jesus Christ. Quenching the fiery darts of the wicked one means that his attacks do not stop us and everything that he throws at us is overcome by our faith in God.
The Helmet of Salvation – This piece of the armor is given to cover our mind and our thought life. For me it represents the total meaning of the word salvation that I have been forgiven and am saved. The helmet of salvation is the mind of Christ and that my mind agrees with the word of God which says we are more than a conqueror through Him who loved us. Wearing the helmet of salvation covers past, present and future. God saved me, God is my salvation and God will deliver me in the future.
The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God – This is our only offensive weapon we use to attack the devil. When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness he quoted the Scriptures saying it is written and defeated the devil three times. If you truly want to be a strong Christian then you need to fill yourself with the word of God because the Bible says in first John chapter 5 if you’re strong spiritually to defeat the devil it’s because the word of God lives in you. We have to learn how to speak the word of God boldly in faith and in the anointing of the Holy Spirit as an offense of weapon against the attacks of the evil one. The word of God is the authority of God and when an obedient believers speaks it in Jesus name demons have to flee!
Prayer – This is where we wage spiritual warfare. In prayer we declare our victory through faith in Jesus Christ and proclaim and confess the promises of the word of God. We face all kinds of attacks from the devil but in prayer, mark my words, this is where we struggle and we gain the victory over him. We are to pray with all kinds of prayers and to pray in the spirit which for me means that we pray in our heavenly language or in tongues. Through prayer we are strengthened and built up in the presence of the Lord. Through prayer we pray about all the different circumstances and people going on in our lives for God’s will to be done. God hears our prayers and his answers are sure to come if we don’t give up our faith believing. Paul asked for specific prayers that God would enable him to preach as his ambassador with all boldness to lead others to faith in Christ. Every pastor should be covered by the congregation with prayer to use him fully as God intends.
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) The Bible teaches how Parents, Children, Employees and Employers should treat each other.
2) God has given us his full armor to overcome the attacks of the devil.
3) The sword of the Spirit is the word of God and we must learn to speak it in faith.
4) We win every spiritual battle through prayer and faith in God.
5) Never stop praying because you will see the answers to your prayers
6) Pray mightily for your pastor to preach as God has called him.
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll