Ephesians Study
Chapter 6
Ephesians 6 is probably most known for a description of the armor of God. It is interesting that before Paul describes the armor, he talks some more about relationships…children/parents, servants/masters. He uses the word obedient to enlarge these relationships. He doesn’t talk about submission as he did in Chapter 5. I think that is significant. Submission has a feel of something between equals of some sort. Obedience…relationships when someone has authority over you. Increasingly, I am seeing that authority is something to be respected as it is there to protect you when done correctly.
Ephesians 6:6 speaks of bondservants of Christ….doing the will of God from the heart. All of these relationship issues are a “matter of heart.” We are to be obedient to those in authority “as to Christ.”
Paul ends Ephesians covering relationships of equals (Chapter 5) and unequals (Chapter 6). Ephesians 6:10: “Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” The way we can do this is given in verses 11-19. We are told to put on the whole armor of God. And then it is described. Growing up in church, I remember the picture of the Roman solider outfitted in his armor as a visual aid for these verses. That was a distorted example. Rome was an enemy of the jews, and it was Rome that imprisoned Paul. Paul would not have used this as his illustration in regard to the armor.
Below is a website that is a great explanation of the armor. Because I do not know all about Pastor Mark Blitz and what else he believes, I do not endorse anything but what he speaks in this sermon on the armor of God. It is terrific! It is well worth the watch, and I encourage you to get a different perspective on God’s armor…God’s dressing for His priests. We are all called to this priesthood and this adds to our understanding.
Paul starts out Ephesians and builds upon the theme of God’s identify and our identity in Christ. He continues with our identity as the Body of Christ and relating to these truths as they regard others. It seems to be very fitting that Paul ends Ephesians with a relationship reminder that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. The armor that we need is against spiritual powers. In the Old Testament, what seemed to be their physical battles were fought in the spiritual realm with the Ark of the Covenant and the priests going ahead of the people. There is a real lesson here for us.
Matthew 5:14 gives us direction on how to conduct ourselves with those who are in battle with the physical: Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. This is a good description of what our High Priest, Jesus, did for us. As a part of the priesthood, it is a description of how we are to battle the flesh using spiritual principles.
We are the people of God, the Body of Christ, and a royal priesthood. The battles are spiritual. This victories are spiritual. Please listen to the sermon below and be blessed with the truth that continues to make us free. His presentation is a perfect ending to our commentary on Ephesians. It leaves us “dressed” in the armor of God. What better way for Paul to leave God’s people and finish his ministry message to the saints of Ephesus.
Pastor Mark Blitz: https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=youtube+blitz+armor+of+god&fr=ush-mailn_02&fr2=p%3Aml%2Cm%3Asb&hspart=att&hsimp=yhs-att_001&type=yahoo_pc_mailhttps://
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