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This is part 8 of my blog commentary series on the book of Ephesians. In this post, we look at Ephesians 6:10–24 verse by verse. Ephesians 6:10 NKJV 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. How we can be strong, and why we need to be strong are mentioned in the next verse... Ephesians 6:11 NKJV 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. We can be strong Christians by putting on the full armor of God. We need God’s amour because of the ‘wiles of the devil’, which refers to the devil’s plans against us. Paul tells us more in verses 12-13... Ephesians 6:12 NKJV 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. Our real fight is not against other humans. Our real fight is against invisible spiritual forces that are opposed to Christ and His purpose for us. These forces are said to be 'in the heavenly places'. These are not the same heavenly places where Christ is. These are the lower heavenly realms. Ephesians 1:20-21 tells us that Christ is seated in the heavenly places 'far above' the forces of darkness. We must remember that we are not fighting a foe that has equal authority to Jesus - 'He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world' (1 John 4:4 NKJV). But neither should we have a false sense of security. If we don't have on the armor of God, then we are vulnerable to the devil’s attacks. Paul continues... Ephesians 6:13 NKJV 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. So, wearing God’s armour will enable us to successfully withstand the devil’s attacks. Paul then says, ‘and having done all, to stand’. What does this mean? One view is that it means when we have won the battle, we will still be standing. Another view is that it means when we have put on all the armour, we will be able to take our stand against the enemy. This latter view may be correct, as it seems to fit with how verse 14 begins... Ephesians 6:14 NKJV 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; Paul tells us that we are to stand, but we can only stand against the devil if we have put on the armour of God. So Paul begins to mention the armour that we should put on. 1. 'having girded your waist with truth’ - We to be truthful people. If you are a liar, you cannot be a strong Christian. Never think that spiritual warfare is only about praying the right prayers. It’s the way you live that will give you the victory over Satan. This is reinforced by the next item of armour... 2. 'The breastplate of righteousness' - in other words, be a person of integrity. Be someone who does what is right, and stands up for what is right. Obedience to God is what will make you strong - keep every commandment which I comman you today, that you may be strong...' (Deuteronomy 11:8 NKJV). 3. 'Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace' - our shoes are to be the gospel of peace. A soldier is not ready to go into battle if he doesn’t have his shoes on. His shoes give him a firm footing. Likewise, we are not ready for spiritual warfare unless we are wearing the shoes of the gospel of peace. The gospel of peace is what gives us a firm footing and foundation from which we can wage warfare. You cannot fight Satan victoriously unless you know that you have peace with God. You have to know that God is with you, and that there is no barrier between you and God. If the devil can convince you that there is a barrier between you and God, you won’t have the confidence to fight victoriously. Paul told the Romans, 'having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ' (Romans 5:1 NKJV). We have peace with God. God is not against us. Nor is He at war with us. The reason we have this peace is because have been justified (that is, made right with God), through faith in Jesus. This truth is to be the foundation from which we wage warfare successfully. 4. 'the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one' - The devil launches fiery arrows against us. These include temptations, doubts, lies and discouragements. Every time we yield to one of the devil’s temptations, it is actually a lack of faith. Yielding means that we don’t believe that God’s way is better than the devil’s. The same is the case with the devil’s doubts, lies and discouragements. Who do we believe? God, or the devil? Taking the shield of faith also means that we trust God in difficult times. We hold onto His word and His promises. We maintain our faith in Jesus through it all. And importantly, we trust that whatever God does is right and for the best. 5. 'The helmet of salvation' - Paul told the Thessalonians to '[put on] as a helmet the hope of salvation' (1 Thessalonians 5:8 NKJV). Notice that here Paul calls the helmet ‘the hope of salvation’. The word ‘hope’ points to the future. The ‘hope of salvation’ refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ, when our salvation will be completed and we will be glorified with Christ. Wearing the helmet of salvation means that we live ready at all times for the coming of Jesus Christ. If Jesus came right now, would you be ready to meet Him? If there are things you would need to put right, that you are not putting right, you are not ready to meet Him and you are not wearing the helmet of salvation. 6. ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God’ - The word of God is so important. Feasting on the word makes us spiritually strong. Paul referred to Timothy being ‘nourished in the words of faith’ (1 Timothy 4:6 NKJV). ‘Nourishment’ is defined as ‘the food necessary for growth, health, and good condition’. God’s word is what causes us to grow and to be strong in the faith. Make sure that you are being nourished by God by spending time in the word. If you find reading it difficult, make use of the various audio Bibles that are available. Do you want to hear God’s voice? Simply open your Bible and start reading/listening to it! Through prayer, we speak to God. But through the Bible, God speaks to us. But prayer itself is also vitally important. After listing these pieces of armor, Paul continues... Ephesians 6:18–20 NKJV 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. Paul says that we are to be praying Spirit-empowered prayers for our Christian brothers and sisters. Both those we know, and those we don’t - 'for all the saints'. Paul also asked his readers to be praying for him. He reminds them that he is ‘an ambassador in chains’. In other words, he was an ambassador of Christ who was also currently a prisoner because of his message. As a prisoner he may have been tempted to bow to the fear of what the political powers may do to him. But instead, he asked his readers to pray that he would preach the gospel boldly. Despite the amazing things that God did through Paul, he remained human and knew that like anyone else, he was capable of failing. Christianity is not about pretending to be more spiritual than we actually are. If Paul could ask for prayer, then we certainly should follow his example. Notice that in Paul’s instructions about spiritual warfare, there isn’t any mention of calling the devil a whole host of bad names. Jude wrote, 'Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”'(Jude 8–9 NKJV). Also, notice that in our passage, there is no mention of binding the devil! Having spent some years in Pentecostal/charismatic contexts, I’ve done my fair share of binding and loosing. But then I realized that this practice is not found in the New Testament. When Jesus gave His disciples the authority to bind and loose (Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:18), it had nothing to do with spiritual warfare. In first-century Judaism, binding and loosing were rabbinical terms that referred to prohibiting or permitting certain activities. As the apostles were sent forth by Jesus to be the leaders of the Church, He invested them with the power to bind and loose i.e. to make authoritative decisions regarding the rule of the Church. The one time that Jesus used the word ‘bind’ in relation to spiritual warfare was when the Pharisees accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan. Jesus told them that a house divided against itself cannot stand, and that if Satan is helping Him to cast our demons, Satan is doomed as he is fighting himself. Jesus then told them that if you want to rob a strong man’s house, you have to first tie up (i.e. bind) the strong man, so that he cannot stop you from taking his goods (Mark 3:27). Jesus’ point was that it wasn’t Satan’s power that enabled Him to cast our demons. Instead, the reason He could cast out demons is because He was Satan’s enemy and had conquered him. He had rendered Satan unable to stop Him from destroying his kingdom. The point I want us to note here is that Jesus has already bound and overcome Satan. The following verses bear witness to this: John 12:31 NKJV 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. Luke 10:18 NKJV 18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Hebrews 2:14 NKJV 14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, Brothers and sisters, let us remember that in this spiritual journey, we are fighting a foe who is already defeated. He has no answer for the armor of God that we are to put on. So let us make sure that we are always wearing it, because that is how we will win! This brings us to the end of Ephesians, which Paul concludes with a blessing of grace. Ephesians 6:21-24 NKJV 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. Summary
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Stuart PatticoPastor of Joy Community Church, Milton Keynes. Archives
August 2023
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