Ephesians: Part 5 - Ch. 6

An Encouraging Ending

As we come to the final chapter of Ephesians, Paul’s message here builds off of what he communicated at the end of chapter 5, but also concludes with one final instruction for all believers to hear and follow. When we concluded our post last week, you can recall how Paul broke down the relationship between husbands and wives and how we can have a Godly centered marriage with Christ being our foundation. Paul then builds off of this in chapter 6, where he addresses the relationship between parents and children from both perspectives. This is very important to break down for families because Paul isn’t just instructing how parents should treat their kids or how kids should treat their parents; he’s addressing both. Then, to conclude, Paul breaks down the infamous Armor of God and explains how we must be ready to defend our faith against everything that will come against it in our lives. We must be ready to embrace all types of spiritual warfare that come against us from every angle. Just as Garrett Kell says, “Spiritual warfare is about God’s people joining their Lord in his warfare. He equips and empowers us to accompany him into enemy territory and further his kingdom purposes.” I couldn’t agree more with this statement. When Paul is talking about spiritual warfare and putting on the Armor of God, he isn’t doing so in a way that makes it sound like we are fighting demons every minute of our lives. Rather, Paul is telling us to be ready to fight the Lord’s battles that He has destined us to fight in and to be equipped to do so. This is a momentous section of scripture in Ephesians, and there is a reason Paul decides to close his letter with this. With this in mind, let’s dive in to see what our Lord has for us. 

Children & Parents

As we can clearly see at the beginning of this chapter, Paul is now talking to families and the relationship between children and their parents. And just as we stated earlier, these commands are not just for one side, they are for both sides. We can clearly see this by reading the first few verses Paul records. Ephesians 6:1-4 says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), SO THAT IT MAY TURN OUT WELL FOR YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” I love how Paul points out that children obeying their parents isn’t just some command that now applies to children in the New Testament, but he is sure to point out that this commandment has been around since the very beginning! Children obeying their parents has been a godly practice since our Lord wrote down the 10 Commandments, and nothing since then has changed. What’s beautiful about this is the promise that is included with it. Those children who obey their parents will have a life that turns out well for them, so that they may enjoy a long life here on earth. 

Now, we must address the elephant in the room here. Does this promise mean that if we obey our parents, no matter what life throws at us, we will overcome because this passage says that we’ll live long lives? Not quite. What God intended with this passage is to instruct children to understand that the wisdom and guidance that they’ll learn from obeying their parents will lead to a long life, and that is, of course, true. This wisdom and guidance, however, do not overcome sin, tragedy, and the overall fallenness of this world, so of course, there is still evil that can affect us. What Paul is communicating here is not some code to immortality, but rather a rule for how to use the wisdom and guidance that God has given us that can lead to a long life. Notice that God doesn’t stop here, though. Our Lord continues this message by adding that parents shouldn’t provoke their kids to anger but to raise them up in the discipline of the Lord. Now, why would a parent purposely try and lead their child to be angry? That sounds miserable for both sides! What Paul is communicating here is that parents shouldn’t use their authority in ways that frustrate their children, but rather they should use it to lead them to the Lord, even amid trials. As easy as it can be for a parent to just tell their child, ‘becasue I said so’, whenever a problem arises, it is much more beneficial to explain to the child the relationship between kids and their parents and the relationship between God and mankind. This as a whole shows us how parents can lead their children in the discipline of the Lord, which will in turn lead them to a long life full of wisdom and guidance. 

The Armor of God

Furthermore, Paul makes sure to not just address the family dynamic of a husband and wife, but he addresses the whole family of the church when discussing the Armor of God. While Paul breaks all of this down beautifully in these last 14 verses, I want us to focus on what Paul says here in these first 4 verses. Ephesians 6:10-13 tells us, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 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 spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” Right away, we see that Paul instructs us to put on the full Armor of God so that we can stand firm against the schemes of the devil. This is the overall point of this armor: to withstand the attacks from the enemy. Why is this important to note? Whether you want to admit it or not, you are no match for the devil on your own. It’s time we all have a big glass of humility and understand that our weakness as fallen human beings is no match for the devil himself. This is why Paul goes further and tells us that our battle is not against flesh and blood. He is explaining to us that this battle that we are a part of is not one that we can physically fight as human beings, but is rather a spiritual battle that we need the armor of God for. As we live our lives as Christ-followers, we must be putting on the armor of God daily until Christ returns to take us home. Until then, we can be sure that the enemy will continue to do everything he can to take us down and bring us with him when that last day comes. I hope and pray that as you read this, you understand the importance of leading your children in the discipline of the Lord, and that you would also understand the vitality of putting on the armor of God in your day-to-day life. May our Lord bless your family as you raise them on the foundation of Christ, and may His Spirit lead and guide you each day as you put on His armor to withstand the attacks of the enemy. 

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Sources

[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/

[2] Kell, Garrett. “Tempted and Unarmed: Why We Need the Armor of God.” Desiring God, 18 Jan. 2021, www.desiringgod.org/articles/tempted-and-unarmed.