Ephesians
6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Family
Relationships
6
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 Honor your father
and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 so that it may be
well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.
4
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the
discipline and instruction of the Lord.
5
Slaves, be obedient to those who are your [a]masters according to the flesh,
with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not
[b]by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the
will of God from the [c]heart. 7 With good will [d]render service, as to the Lord,
and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will
receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.
9
And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that
both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
The
Armor of God
10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the
full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes
of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against [e]flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this
darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in
the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm
therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the
breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation
of the gospel of peace; 16 [f]in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith
with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil
one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God.
18
[g]With all prayer and petition [h]pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this
in view, [i]be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the
saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the
opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20
for which I am an ambassador in [j]chains; that [k]in proclaiming it I may
speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
21
But that you also may know about my circumstances, [l]how I am doing, Tychicus,
the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything
known to you. 22 [m]I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you
may know [n]about us, and that he may 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 those who love our Lord Jesus Christ [o]with
incorruptible love.
Matthew
Henry's Commentary
Verses
10-18
Here
is a general exhortation to constancy in our Christian course, and to encourage
in our Christian warfare. Isa. not our life a warfare? It is so; for we
struggle with the common calamities of human life. Isa. not our religion much
more a warfare? It is so; for we struggle with the opposition of the powers of
darkness, and with many enemies who would keep us from God and heaven. We have
enemies to fight against, a captain to fight for, a banner to fight under, and
certain rules of war by which we are to govern ourselves. “Finally, my brethren
(Eph. 6:10), it yet remains that you apply yourselves to your work and duty as
Christian soldiers.” Now it is requisite that a soldier be both stout-hearted
and well armed. If Christians be soldiers of Jesus Christ,
I.
They must see that they be stout-hearted. This is prescribed here: Be strong in
the Lord, etc. Those who have so many battles to fight, and who, in their way
to heaven, must dispute every pass, with dint of sword, have need of a great
deal of courage. Be strong therefore, strong for service, strong for suffering,
strong for fighting. Let a soldier be ever so well armed without, if he have
not within a good heart, his armour will stand him in little stead. Note,
spiritual strength and courage are very necessary for our spiritual warfare. Be
strong in the Lord, either in his cause and for his sake or rather in his
strength. We have no sufficient strength of our own. Our natural courage is as
perfect cowardice, and our natural strength as perfect weakness; but all our
sufficiency is of God. In his strength we must go forth and go on. By the
actings of faith, we must fetch in grace and help from heaven to enable us to
do that which of ourselves we cannot do, in our Christian work and warfare. We
should stir up ourselves to resist temptations in a reliance upon God’s
all-sufficiency and the omnipotence of his might.
II.
They must be well armed: “Put on the whole armour of God (Eph. 6:11), make use
of all the proper defensitives and weapons for repelling the temptations and
stratagems of Satan—get and exercise all the Christian graces, the whole
armour, that no part be naked and exposed to the enemy.” Observe, Those who
would approve themselves to have true grace must aim at all grace, the whole
armour. It is called the armour of God, because he both prepares and bestows
it. We have no armour of our own that will be armour of proof in a trying time.
Nothing will stand us in stead but the armour of God. This armour is prepared
for us, but we must put it on; that is, we must pray for grace, we must use the
grace given us, and draw it out into act and exercise as there is occasion. The
reason assigned why the Christian should be completely armed is that he may be
able to stand against the wiles of the devil—that he may be able to hold out,
and to overcome, notwithstanding all the devil’s assaults, both of force and
fraud, all the deceits he puts upon us, all the snares he lays for us, and all
his machinations against us. This the apostle enlarges upon here, and shows,
What
our danger is, and what need we have to put on this whole armour, considering
what sort of enemies we have to deal with—the devil and all the powers of
darkness: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, etc., Eph. 6:12. The
combat for which we are to be prepared is not against ordinary human enemies,
not barely against men compounded of flesh and blood, nor against our own
corrupt natures singly considered, but against the several ranks of devils, who
have a government which they exercise in this world. (1.) We have to do with a
subtle enemy, an enemy who uses wiles and stratagems, as Eph. 6:11. He has a
thousand ways of beguiling unstable souls: hence he is called a serpent for
subtlety, an old serpent, experienced in the art and trade of tempting. (2.) He
is a powerful enemy: Principalities, and powers, and rulers. They are numerous,
they are vigorous; and rule in those heathen nations which are yet in darkness.
The dark parts of the world are the seat of Satan’s empire. Yea, they are
usurping princes over all men who are yet in a state of sin and ignorance.
Satan’s is a kingdom of darkness; whereas Christ’s is a kingdom of light. (3.)
Ashburys
Bible Commentary
The
pieces of armor require minimal comment. The belt of truth represents loyalty
and faithfulness. Isa 11:5 says that faithfulness (the LXX has “truth”) is the
sash around the waist of the Messiah. The breastplate of righteousness
represents the Christian's character, which models that of God (cf. Isa 59:17).
Being faithful to God and being righteous in conduct as God is, are essential
elements in the believer's strategy for survival. Also, the true disciple of
Jesus will have his feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel
of peace. The allusion here is most likely to Isa 52:7, and the implication is
that bearing good news to others helps Christians keep their own souls from
spiritual lethargy and thus less vulnerable to the Devil.
The
shield of faith is necessary to ward off (NIV “extinguish”) the Devil's evil
assaults. The word used for shield is the large whole-body shield, rather then
the small shield used for deflecting sword thrusts in hand-to-hand combat. This
larger shield provided comprehensive protection for the Roman soldier, so use
of that image is appropriate to Paul's purpose. Jesus met the most subtle of
Satan's temptations with a faith that did not depend on any special display of
divine power. The helmet of salvation (cf. Isa 59:17) had also been urged upon
the Thessalonian believers (1Th 5:8) as a basis of hope. The helmet protects
the head, essential to the proper functioning of all other parts. Thus, the
apostle suggests that the hope of salvation is a most important weapon at the
disposal of all Christians, aiding them as they struggle toward “the prize for
which God has called [them] heavenward” (Php 4:14).
The
sword of the spirit is the word of God that is “sharper than any two-edged
sword” (Heb 4:12; cf. also Hos 6:5; Isa 11:4). Paul may very well have intended
to mean by the term word (rhema) of God the sacred Scriptures of Judaism that
Jesus had used so effectively at the time of his own temptation, particularly
Dt 8:3 (“Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the
mouth of the Lord”). The same word is used in Eph 5:26, however, to connote
words spoken at the time of baptism. If the latter is the intended sense, then
the word of God is any helpful word from God in the moment of need (as is
suggested in Lk 12:12; 21:15; and possibly Eph 6:19). One other resource is
available: prayer. It, too, is part of the equipment accessible whenever
believers are tempted or on the verge of surrendering to the enemy.
Having
thus called their attention to the power of prayer, the author now encourages
his readers in Asia to keep on praying for all the saints. By praying for one
another, Christians everywhere help fellow believers overcome the evil
influences bent on destroying those whom God has called. Moreover, he includes
himself among those who need the prayers of the saints. He requests his readers
to pray that, whenever he speaks, the right words will come to him so that he
will declare the mystery of the gospel, even though and because of which, he is
in chains. In those chains, he remains, nonetheless, an ambassador, intent on
carrying out his mission fearlessly (lit. “boldly”). (Luke uses the same root
word in Ac 28:20 to describe Paul's two-year ministry under guard in Rome,
perhaps answering the question of the epistle's origin.)
The Bible Panorama
Ephesians 6
V 1–4: FAMILY EXHORTATIONS The outworking of oneness with Christ and unity with Christians is
to be reflected in the relationship between children and parents. Children must
obey and honour their parents, who must give fair, non-provocative and faithful
training and spiritual admonition to their children.
V 5–9: FAITHFUL EMPLOYMENT Similarly,
those under authority in their place of work are to honour and give good
service to those responsible for them, as to the Lord. They are not to work
well only when observed; they are always to work well ‘as to Christ’. Those
responsible for employing others must also act responsibly before the Master,
and renounce threatening. That is how Christ would act in their place.
V 10–20: FIGHTING EFFECTIVELY Strengthened
by God and His mighty power, all Christians must put on each piece of their
spiritual armour prayerfully. Thus fully equipped and strengthened by the
all-prevailing weapon of prayer, the Christian soldier should do what Paul
aspires to do, namely to proclaim the gospel boldly, even if it means
imprisonment.
V 21–23: FINAL ENCOURAGEMENTSPaul
wants the Ephesians to know his situation. He tells them that Tychicus will
fill in gaps in their knowledge and encourage them. Paul closes the letter by
wishing them peace, love, faith, and grace, all from God through Christ.
Dictionary
of Bible Themes
8422
equipping, spiritual
Scripture
provides examples of individuals who have been equipped to carry out tasks or
responsibilities of a spiritual nature.
Jesus
Christ was equipped for his work
Isa
61:1-2 See also Ps 72:1; Isa 50:4-7; Mt 12:18; Isa 42:1; Lk 4:18-19; Lk 19:31;
Jn 3:34; Ac 10:38; Heb 10:5
God’s
people are equipped for service
In
the OT Ex 4:10-12 Bezalel and Oholiab: Ex 31:1-6; Ex 35:30-36:2
Lev
8:7-9; Jdg 3:10 Gideon: Jdg 6:14,34
Jdg
11:29; Jdg 14:19 Samson; 1Sa 10:10 Solomon: 1Ki 3:7-9; 2Ch 2:12
2Ki
2:9 Elisha; Ne 13:9; Isa 6:6-7; Jer 1:9; Eze 1:1; Eze 3:23
In
the NT 2Ti 2:20-21 See also Mt 4:19; Lk 1:15 John the Baptist; Lk 1:41,67
Zechariah; Lk 12:33; Ac 4:8 Peter; Ac 6:3; Ac 9:17 Ananias; Ac 11:24 Barnabas;
Ro 13:12; Eph 4:12; Eph 6:11-18; Php 4:19; 2Ti 3:16-17; Heb 13:20-21; 1Pe 3:15
Believers
are equipped for spiritual tasks
By
the call of Jesus Christ Mt 4:19 pp Mk 1:17 See also Mk 10:24-31; Lk 9:1-2; Lk
10:1-3; Jn 1:35-42
By
spiritual gifts 1Co 12:7 See also Ac 6:3-6; Ro 12:6-8; 1Co 12:8-11,27-31; Eph
4:7,11-12
By
the word of God 2Ti 2:15 See also Col 3:16; 2Ti 3:16-17; 2Pe 1:19; 1Jn 2:14
By
the empowering of the Holy Spirit Ac 2:4; Ac 4:31; Ac 13:9; Eph 5:18
For
spiritual conflict Eph 6:11 See also Ro 13:12; Eph 4:20-24; Eph 6:12-18; Col
3:12-15; 1Th 5:8; 1Ti 6:12; Heb 13:21; 1Pe 3:15
Galatians
5:1-13Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Freedom
of the Christian
5
Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a
yoke of slavery. 2 Take note! I, Paul, tell you that if you get yourselves circumcised,
Christ will not benefit you at all. 3 Again I testify to every man who gets
himself circumcised that he is obligated to keep the entire law. 4 You who are
trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen
from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of
righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision
accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love.
7
You were running well. Who prevented you from obeying the truth? 8 This
persuasion did not come from the One who called you. 9 A little yeast leavens
the whole lump of dough. 10 I have confidence in the Lord you will not accept
any other view. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty.
11 Now brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In
that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 I wish those who are
disturbing you might also get themselves castrated!
13
For you were called to be free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an
opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.
1
Peter 5:8-11New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
8
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring
lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith,
because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is
undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after
you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong,
firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
2
Peter 1 English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)
Greeting
1
Simeon[a] Peter, a servant[b] and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To
those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the
righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ:
2
May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus
our Lord.
Make
Your Calling and Election Sure
3
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to[c] his own glory and
excellence,[d] 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great
promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature,
having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful
desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with
virtue,[e] and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and
self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and
godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if
these qualities[f] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective
or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks
these qualities is so short-sighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he
was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers,[g] be all the more
diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practise these
qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided
for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.
12
Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know
them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as
long as I am in this body,[h] to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I
know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ
made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure
you may be able at any time to recall these things.
Christ's
Glory and the Prophetic Word
16
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the
power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his
majesty. 17 For when he received honour and glory from God the Father, and the
voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son,[i] with
whom I am well pleased”, 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from
heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have something
more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to
a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises
in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture
comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced
by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the
Holy Spirit.
William
Gurnall, Puritan Pastor, The Christian
in Complete Armour
Doctrine. That the Christian's strength lies in the
Lord, not in himself. The strength of
the general in other hosts lies in his troops.
He flies, as a great commander once said to his soldiers, upon their
wings; if their feathers be clipped, their power broken, he is lost; but in the
army of saints, the strength of every saint, yea, of the whole host of saints,
lies in the Lord of hosts. God can
overcome his enemies without their hands, but they cannot so much as defend
themselves without his arm. It is one of
God's names, 'the Strength of Israel,’ I Sam. 15:29. He was the strength of David's heart; without
him this valiant worthy (that could, when held up in his arms, defy him that
defied a whole army) behaves himself strangely for fear, at a word or two that
dropped from the Philistine's mouth. He
was the strength of his hands, 'He taught his fingers to fight,’ and so is the
strength of all his saints in their war against sin and Satan
. Why should this one word work more than all
the former, but that now God struck in with his word, which he did not
before? He is therefore said to 'teach
his people to profit,’ Isa. 48:17. He
sits in heaven that teacheth hearts.
When God's Spirit, who is the headmaster, shall call a soul from his
usher to himself, and say, —Soul, you have not gone the way to receive by
hearing the word. Thus and thus conceive
of such a truth, improve such a promise —presently the eyes of his
understanding open, and his heart burns within him while he speaks to him. Thus you see the truth of this point, 'That
the Christian's strength is in the Lord.’
“A pilot without his chart, a scholar without
his book, and a soldier without his sword, are alike ridiculous. But, above all
these, it is absurd for one to think of being a Christian, without knowledge of
the word of God and some skill to use this weapon. - William Gurnall, The
Christian in Complete Armour”
Let
this encourage those of you who belong to Christ: the storm may be tempestuous,
but it is only temporary. The clouds that are temporarily rolling over your
head will pass, and then you will have fair weather, an eternal sunshine of
glory. Can you not watch with Christ for one hour?
William
Gurnall, The Christian in Complete
Armour
Part 2 Words for The Wise,
Called to Serve, Ephesians 2 Nasb
Further Reading
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