Verse 1.
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”
People everywhere resist being obedient,
and especially it is hard for us to obey God. We KNOW
He will revolutionize our lives and take us in directions we
should go, but never would have gone without Him. But
even bad circumstances can seem safer than the unknown.
To obey Him is to TRUST Him and that’s difficult because, through
fear, people want to control everything, and we can’t be in
control if we give up and let Him lead us.
God has set up systems in this world
in which we MUST learn to obey someone outside of ourselves
– which teaches us discipline. We learn to obey God through
responding to other people. And we learn leadership the
same way. Moses thought he could lead the nation Israel
at age 40, but God sent him out to tend sheep until he was 80.
Just as Moses learned to lead and obey through herding sheep,
you and I can learn to respond to God by obedience to our parents.
Verse 2.
“Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment
with a promise),”
God has given many commandments to the
world through Israel and the Church, but the actual “Commandments”
are thought of as the ten given to Moses, as reflected in Exodus
Chapter 20. Most of them are negative in form, carrying
the words, “Thou shalt not…”
However, the 5th Commandment (Exodus 20:12), which
is quoted here in Romans, carries a very positive “promise,”
as we shall see in Verse 3 of this Chapter.
It’s amazing how important the family
unit has been to this world, and we live in a time when the
idea of a simple family unit, consisting of a man and woman
who marry for life (and have children only by each other) is
in decline. God always intended that the father and mother
would look to God in their role as parents, and because they
are Godly people, the children can safely look to them and honor
their parents.
Verse 3.
“So that it may be well with you, and that you may live long
on the earth.”
Continuing the thought of the previous
verse, the 5th Commandment (“Honor
your father and mother” – Exodus 20:12) was a concern
for the Early Church. Paul’s contemporaries had already
been shocked to learn that, as revealed in Christ, we are not
merely under a religious system of rules and regulations, but
actually are given great freedom in the Lord, through the grace
of God. Yet here is Paul, invoking the Law in relation
to boys and girls in the Church.
When I look back on my own life, I did
not listen to my parents or respond to them. I resisted
them and was wrong in what I did. Even though everybody’s
parents have negative characteristics, we can learn from them.
They made many mistakes as we all do, and we can avoid many
of them in our own lives by listening to their advice and example.
For instance, a child has much to learn from his or her diabetic
parent about eating habits, and it will not only be “well”
for the children who learn, but they can also “live
long” if they do.
Verse 4.
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them
up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
So many children, so many families have
been ruined by abusive fathers. Men seem to confuse harshness
with leadership, and don’t see that constant physical and emotional
beatings will not only ruin his children, but also his own life
as well. The “instruction of
the Lord” does not mean you constantly harass your little
ones – they need to see that you practice what you tell them.
The Lord has called you to love; not be brutal.
The “instruction
of the Lord” is good, but if you constantly “preach”
at your children, they are likely “tune you out,” and at the
same time learn to only pretend to hear your words. To
“not provoke” your children,
to “bring them up in the discipline
and instruction of the Lord,” includes listening to the
Spirit about them, and responding to them as individuals.
If you want them to love the Bible, you must love it, too.
Note that this verse relates to mothers also, for obviously
you raise those children as well.
Verse 5.
“Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according
to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your
heart, as to Christ;”
There were many literal slaves in the
ancient culture of the Roman Empire (probably more than half
the population), and that has been the case with many cultures
throughout history. Problems arose in connection with
the freedom offered in Christ Jesus. What would they do
with certain statements of our Lord, such as, “If
the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed” (John
8:36)? What is this “freedom” in Christ?
Note the context of Jesus’ words: “Whoever
commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34). Real
slavery is something deeper than our external circumstances.
We can seem to be outwardly “free,” but actually be in “chains”
deep inside. Are you angry? If you keep on being
angry, you become enslaved by that anger. The attitude
of your heart is more far important than your outward situation,
though obviously, as we see in Ephesians, everything about you
is important to God.
Audio Bible Study – Ephesians 6:6-10
Verse 6. “not
by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ,
doing the will of God from the heart.”
I recently attended a men’s retreat
and listened to a talk by a full-time pastor, who also has a
job as a building inspector, in addition to being a police chaplain
and a volunteer fireman. (He’s a busy guy). He remarked,
in relation to his job as a building inspector, that he has
noticed something interesting about the work sites of Christian
construction workers: “Their
work sites are a little cleaner, their work is done a little
better, and they don’t gripe so much.”
That’s good. Our real employer,
whether the work is secular or religious, is not the man who
yells at his employees, but instead we work for the Lord and
report to Him. Behind all authority on earth is God Himself,
no matter how much His Presence with us is obscured by the sinfulness
of man. You can safely work “from
the heart,” recognizing that Your direct service
is to the Lord, and only in a secondary sense it is to the one
who outwardly gives the orders.
Verse 7. “With
good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men,”
Paul, in these verses, is giving
us good advice: give up resisting authority and SERVE those
who are over us. Peter gave the same advice and went even
further. We are not only to serve the masters who are
nice to us, but also those who are mean-spirited. He said,
“Servants, be submissive
to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle,
but also to the harsh” (1 Peter 2:18).
As we saw in Ephesians 6:5-6 and
in this verse, our real employer is not the person who gives
our wages to us, but Jesus Christ, who is the real authority
in heaven and on earth. And, as in these verses, not only
are we to fulfill our employer’s expectations, but exceed them,
doing all with “good
will.” The point in this is that your employer
needs the Lord, just like you needed Him. Your good works
may be the best sermon he or she will ever hear.
Verse 8. “knowing
that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive
back from the Lord, whether slave or free.”
As stated in relation to verse
7, the real need in your workplace is that your employer(s)
and co-workers will come to the Lord. You may or may not
be sufficiently gifted as an evangelist to accomplish that end.
But your hard, clean and honest work sends a message – there
is something different about you. Others may perform slovenly,
careless work, but you don’t.
Jesus said, “Do
not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…
but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven…” (Matthew 6:19-20).
Working for a paycheck isn’t enough. You will eventually
become “burned out,” rendered cynical by the insufficient goals
of this world. Note that we are determining our eternal
future right now. Our condition on this earth is important,
but what comes after is – everything! Not only for you,
but also for your supervisor, who looks and decides his own
eternal future, at least in part by what he sees in you.
Verse 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.”
Verses 5 through 8 describe the
attitude and manner that should be present in the worker (slave)
who has been “born
again” (John 3:3, 7) in Christ. They are
to be responsive and sincere (verse 5), serving the Lord through
their work (verses 6 & 7), and understanding that our real reward
for what is done is in Christ, in eternity, and not on earth
at all (verse 8). Now we travel to the other side of the
employment picture.
Christian bosses, company presidents,
managers, crew chiefs, government officials and supervisors
are to have the same attitude. The “secular” work of a
supervisor, just like the work of his or her employee, is to
be accomplished from a completely different perspective than
the world understands – Our true “Master”…
“is in heaven.”
The phrase, “there
is no partiality with Him,” means that kings and
slaves are just the same in the sight of God.
Verse 10. “Finally,
be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”
The concept revealed in this verse
is a great theme that is found throughout the whole Word of
God. The work that we do for the Lord, whether “religious”
or “secular” is to be done in HIS strength, and not in our own.
God’s intention is clear: “Not
by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts”
(Zechariah 4:6). The Holy Spirit of God works through
ordinary people. You and I (and everybody else) can’t
even truly control our OWN circumstances, even though we all
have tried to do just that.
Paul, the human author of Ephesians,
HAD come to realize the need we all have for the Lord, but tended
to be surprised by the answers he received. He had sincerely
called out more than once to God, expecting a positive response.
God’s answer Paul was, more than once, emphatically “No”
(see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10). The Lord’s said: “My
grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect
in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul
understood, concluding: “When
I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).
We need the “the
strength of (the Lord’s)
might,”
not our own.
Audio Bible Study - Ephesians 6:11-15
Verse 11. “Put on the full armor
of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes
of the devil.”
We will see details
about the “armor of God” in
the following verses. It can all be summed up by Galatians
3:27 – we are to “put on Christ.”
He is our “truth” and “righteousness”
(verse 14). He is essential for our “preparation
of the gospel of peace” (verse 15). Our “faith”
(verse 16) comes from Him. He is our “salvation”
and He is the “Word of God”
(verse 17). HE clothes us with the “full
armor of God” – we are to look to Him – in everything.
There really is a
“devil” who has “schemes”
for all of us that run counter to God’s will for our lives.
God’s equipment, His weaponry, is all carefully designed to
help us in this battle, which has raged for thousands of years,
long before you and I were ever even thought of by any in humanity.
We would be knocked down in a minute, but we can “stand
firm” through the power of God.
Verse 12. “For our struggle is
not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against
the spiritualforces of wickedness
in the heavenly places.”
In a war, in a fight,
an argument, or any other kind of confrontation, our “struggle”
DOES seem to be “against flesh and
blood.” There are physical, “flesh
and blood” human beings who take a stand against us,
waving a finger at us in argument or using a weapon in battle
to defeat us. But there is more. Behind the anger
of that moment, we are also encountering “the
spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Life is much more
profound, deep and yes, more SCARY than we thought. There
are “rulers…
powers…
forces of…
darkness” that are indeed bent
on your destruction. Movies and other forms of “entertainment”
present mythical enemies to frighten us, but THIS is REAL.
There really are “spiritual forces
of wickedness,” and the only method possible to guard
against them is presented in the verses that follow.
Verse 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.”
You need protection!
Or more accurately, you need a Protector, “so
that you will be able to resist in the evil day.”
From a pastor’s perspective, listening to those who come for
counseling, every day is an “evil day”
for a great many on this earth. A “happy” day for you
is an “evil day” for someone
else. And the only way to “stand
firm” in this life with any success, is by looking to
the Lord.
As discussed in the
commentary on verse 11, the “full armor
of God” can be summed up in Galatians 3:27 – we are to
“put on Christ.” When
we do place our trust in Christ, He begins a process in us,
in which we are indeed equipped as soldiers in the army of God,
made able to “resist in the evil day”
and “stand firm” in and through
Him.
Verse 14. “Stand firm therefore,
having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate
of righteousness,”
Paul, in the power
of the Holy Spirit, now gives the Ephesians (and you and me)
vivid imagery that describes who we are in Christ – we are soldiers,
serving in the army of God. And Paul tells us how we may
be equipped to carry out His intentions for our lives.
Christ is as close (closer, actually) than the clothing we wear.
He is like armor that protects us, especially when we don’t
inhibit His actions on our behalf by trying to do the protecting
on our own.
“Truth”
is extremely important. – If you are not of the truth, you are
not of the Lord. Jesus IS the “truth”
(John 14:6) and when you are girding yourself with the truth,
you are girding yourself with Him. This is truth like
the world does not know, for it is truth “in
love” (Ephesians 4:15). And as to “righteousness,”
He IS “our righteousness” (Jeremiah
23:6). If you are in the Lord, you will begin to love.
Truth, love and His righteousness will be seen in you – because
of Him.
Verse 15. “and having shod your
feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”
Occasionally we meet
persons in Christian religions who do not read the Bible.
That’s unfortunate, for it is God’s love letter to them, to
you and to me. “Gospel”
translates as “good news” – God has given the world “good news”
in the person of His Son Jesus Christ. The “good news”
about Him is recorded in the Bible, the Word of God. It
is a Book in which we all need “preparation,”
for the very good reason that: “FAITH
comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans
10:17). If you want more faith, now you know where to
get it – through God’s written Word.
We actually participate
in the “putting on” of the armor of God (verse 13 & forward),
by yielding to the Holy Spirit, who reveals God’s will for your
life. God’s will for you includes “the
preparation of the gospel of peace,” in which you prayerfully
study the Book that God has given to you. In God’s written
Word, the Bible, we learn about our Lord Jesus Christ, who IS
our “peace.” We prepare
for life and for eternity by learning of Him.
Audio Bible Study - Ephesians 6:16-20
Verse 16.
“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.”
Paul, the author of Romans, compares
“faith” in the life of God’s
people, to the shields of Roman soldiers, used and seen everywhere
in the area of the Roman Empire. This was a large oblong
shield which covered a great part of the body, not the smaller
and more round shields often seen in the movies. “Flaming
arrows” and other combustible weapons would bounce off
the large metal shields and the result would be that the soldiers
were not harmed.
The “flaming
arrows” (or “fiery darts”
in some translations) sent by the “evil
one” (Satan) are designed to reach the human senses.
This is a “shield of FAITH,”
in which we look to the LORD for our deliverance (He is our
shield) and not to our own strength. Satan’s darts are
aimed at the soul, and are meant to render us ineffectual in
the Lord’s service by bringing us into shame, depression, anger
and fear. Feelings included in that category are enumerated
in Galatians 5:19-21, as “works of
the flesh.” We cannot defend against the enemy’s
attacks, except through FAITH that the Lord can and will bring
us through.
Verse 17.
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God.”
In 1st Thessalonians 5:8,
Paul tells us to “put on “the breastplate
of faith and love” (and also see Ephesians 5:14).
In that same verse in 1 Thessalonians, he urges us to wear “as
a helmet the hope of salvation.” “Hope”
is not real hope, unless it is based in REALITY; in a TRUE event
that exists in the future. Hebrews 6:19 describes “hope”
as “an anchor of the soul, both sure
and steadfast,” and hope, it continues, “enters
the Presence behind the veil” (the Holy of Holies).
God, who knows the future and has utter control of it, IS our
helmet, He is our hope and salvation.
God’s soldiers need weapons and we have
the greatest one of all – “the Word
of God.” The words that came through the prophets
are called the “Word of the Lord”
(as in Joel 1:1). (Some of those words were written in
the Bible and some not). The apostle’s words were called
the “Word of God” (Acts 4:31).
The Bible is the Word of God (called the “Scriptures”
in John 5:39). Jesus Christ is the “Word
of God” (John 1:1, 14), and He is God’s final Word to
mankind. Jesus gave a great example of using Scripture
as a “sword,” as seen in his
confrontation with Satan (Matthew 4:1-11).
Verse 18.
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit,
and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance
and petition for all the saints,”
Paul now drops the analogy of the “armor
of God” (begun in verse 13), which has served its purpose.
The word “prayer” includes all
forms of prayer, including praise, adoration, confession and
thanksgiving. “Petition”
is called “supplication” in
other translations and contexts, and it simply means: ASKING
for something. As an example that we are to ASK the Lord
for our needs, Jesus told us to ASK for our “daily
bread” (Matthew 6:11).
Here in this verse is a great qualification
that helps us understand what prayer is all about. In
prayer, we reach out and touch the very throne of God with our
requests, and it’s important to understand that we don’t deserve
to be at that throne. “We do
not know what we should pray” (Romans 8:26), which is
why many earnest prayers have seemed to not be answered.
We are to “pray…
in the Spirit” and He will show
us how and what to pray. We are to “pray
without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) – looking to
Him as the Spirit of God leads us in prayer.
Verse 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,”
Some have said in the church that we
should not pray for ourselves and that we should not ask for
prayer on our own behalf. We’ve heard that idea quite
often, which means that Paul’s words, “pray
on my behalf” (in some translations, “pray
for me”) are important to us all. If you think
about the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), we are URGED to pray
for our own needs, such as our “daily
bread,” forgiveness for our “debts”
(or “trespasses” – sins), and
deliverance from “temptation.”
Here in this verse, Paul specifically
asks for success in the central calling of the Lord for his
life. We have met those who have felt called to certain
“secular” types of work, including those who are drawn to be
in military service. If Paul can pray for success in his
role as an “apostle,” should we not pray for OUR work as well?
– that we might remain honest, willing and diligent in our work
as a bank clerk or plumber, for example.
Verse 20.
“for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming
it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
Paul, at the time he wrote this Epistle
(Letter) to the Ephesians, was a federal prisoner, a jailed
person, under the authority of the Roman government (Ephesians
4:1). It is difficult enough that he was in prison, as
anyone who has been incarcerated can tell you, but with Paul
it was even more confining: he was literally “in
chains.” That was the custom of the time – PETER
was previously in chains during at least one of his incarcerations
(Acts 12:6-7).
An “ambassador”
is an official on behalf of the king, sent to a foreign government
or sovereign, on a specific mission for his king. Paul,
Peter, you and I, and ALL who are in Christ are citizens of
God’s kingdom and ambassadors to this world on behalf of our
Lord (2 Corinthians 5:20). One of our greatest prayers
should be that we might “boldly”
perform our duties to the people of this world, as led by our
King.
Audio Bible Study - Ephesians
6:21-24
Verse 21.
“But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am
doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in
the Lord, will make everything known to you.”
Here’s what we know about Tychicus,
who is named in this verse: Along with Trophimus, he was from
the Roman Province of Asia (Acts 20:4). He was the one
who was given the role of a mailman, carrying Paul’s letter
to the Ephesians to its recipients, and he carried another one
to the Colossians (Colossians 4:7). He accompanied Onesimus
to his master, at the same time delivering Paul’s letter to
Philemon (Colossians 4:7).
Tychicus was lovable in word and action
(“beloved”), loyal to God’s
calling (“faithful”), and therefore
was much like Paul, who also exhibited such traits. Tychicus
was faithful in service, tender-hearted toward others, and he
successfully ministered to those around him. Do you have
those qualities? We all need to pray that we will each
become the kind of person in God’s service that typified the
life of Tychicus, after he trusted in the Lord.
Verse 22.
“I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may
know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts.”
Have you ever thought much about the
authors of the various Books in the Bible? What kind of
people WERE they, anyway? We know there were about 40
of them, and they wrote over a period of approximately 1,500
years. The best thing about all of them was that they
were “faithful ministers” of
God’s Word, not unlike Tychicus (Verse 21), who is the subject
of these verses in the Book of Ephesians.
Paul, the author of Ephesians, had learned
he could TRUST Tychicus, to the extent that the man would deliver
the ONLY manuscripts of Paul’s letters safely into the hands
of their proper recipients. He also was a man of the truth,
who would not embellish Paul’s circumstances and the situations
of those who were with him. And Tychicus was a comforter
– he knew how to speak the truth with love, an approach to life
discussed in Ephesians 4:15.
Verse 23.
“Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul’s (the Holy Spirit’s) Epistle (Letter)
to the Ephesians begins with “peace”
and with “grace” (Ephesians
1:2), and it ends the same way, with “peace”
(this verse) and with “grace”
(verse 24), and so it is with the Lord’s Presence in our lives.
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you,
My peace I give to you; not as the world gives…” (John
14:27).
The “peace” of this world does not last,
and it is infinitely less than the peace offered by our Lord.
The peace of this world is based on temporary circumstances
and not in the character of God. And notice the “love
with faith” described in this verse. Love without
faith in the person you “love” is not true love. The one
requires the other, and real faith, honest love, only comes
“from God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.”
Verse 24.
“Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with
incorruptible love.”
We NEED the infinite “grace” of God,
don’t we? As used in Scripture, the word “grace”
has a wide variety of meanings, including joy, pleasure, delight,
sweetness, loveliness, and the kindness of a master toward a
slave. The word came to refer to God’s unmerited favor
upon mankind, as seen in Luke 1:30, where the angel said to
Mary that she had found “favor”
(grace) with God. “Grace and
truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17) and He is
reaching out to you right now.
God’s “grace” is given to those who
“love our Lord Jesus Christ” with an “incorruptible
love” as stated in this verse and elsewhere in Scripture,
denoting a permanent gift, unlike the rain that comes on a land
and then is gone. It is the “grace”
of God, which refreshes those who trust in the Lord – forever!
God has given us His love, and if you think about it, we love
Him with His own love, which we exhibit toward Him and get credit
for it, as though it were our own. He is wonderful, and
He shares everything with you and me.
Father, thank You for the Book of
Ephesians, for Paul the human author, and for Your Holy Spirit,
who taught these concepts to Paul and imparts understanding
to those who prayerfully read his words. Thank You for
Christ Jesus, in whom we have the grace of God. Fill our
hearts and lives with the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
and open Your Word to our understanding, through Your Spirit.
Give us the grace, love and peace of God. In Jesus Name.
Amen.
Ron Beckham,
Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
The First Church On The Net
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org "While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
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