¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 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 firm.

The chief reason we need to put on the whole armor of God is because of who our enemy is. The Bible tells us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. No matter what it looks like in the physical world, our real foe is not a flesh and blood enemy. We may have battles and forces that appear to be physical. There may be fights and arguments that take place between people and political structures for very moral and upright reasons. But underneath are the spiritual forces that are at work.

Our actual wrestling is with principalities, powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this age. Paul uses the word “wrestle” because it demonstrates how close the conflict is to us. Wrestlers are in face-to-face, body-to-body competition. It’s not like lobbing a missile at an enemy a thousand miles away. Spiritual wrestling is in-your-face wrestling!

The enemy is described as being principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual enemies in heavenly places. Our enemies are the spiritual forces that are at war with God in the unseen realms here on earth as well as in the heavenly places.

Satan, of course, is the chief of these hordes. He hates God and he is out to do anything he can to defeat God and the people of God. He knows our characteristics. He knows the flaws that sin has introduced into the human race, and he knows how to capitalize on those weaknesses. This is a tough enemy we are up against, but not an insurmountable one if we make use of God’s armor and methods.

“Therefore,” Paul says, “take up the whole armor of God.” Why? so that we might be able to withstand the onslaught. And in the end, having done all, we are to still be standing. The phrase, “having done all” is an important one. The battle is not won by doing nothing. We are to give our all to the conflict. Having done all; having put on the whole armor; having fought the good fight; having resisted, where that is called for. Having done all, to still be standing when it’s over. That’s the goal.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Paul has just told us to be strong in the Lord. Now in verse 11, he adds to the admonition by telling us to put on the whole armor of God. The emphasis is on the word “whole.” Most of you are familiar with the rest of the passage, and so you know he is going to describe the various parts of the armor and what role they play in the offensive and defensive aspects of our battle. It’s important to have the whole armor on. With that in mind, we’ll need to pay particular attention to each piece as we get there in our study.

But remember, even the armor in its entirety, won’t do us any good if it is not put on, and put on correctly. We’re told “Put on.” The armor doesn’t just jump up on us from some shelf in the armory! In a figurative but at the same time literal sense, we need to pick up each piece and intentionally put it on.

And the reason? So that we will be able to stand against the schemes, tricks, wiles, methods of the devil. It will not be possible to remain standing during and after the battle, if we do not have the armor on. It simply can’t be done.

Satan is a master planner. He knows our characteristics and foibles. Even though he is not omniscient, he does understand human nature. He has a strategy, and if we hope to be able to be standing when the fight is over, we will need to be sure our armor is on.

As an addendum here, let me say that Banner of Truth has published a 3-volume paperback edition of “The Christian in Complete Armour” by William Gurnall. I highly recommend it for your devotional reading.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Paul now comes to the passage where he describes the importance of putting on the whole armor of God. He starts with the word “finally.” He is wrapping up his letter to the Ephesians with this important truth.

Verse 10 is a command or instruction, something we are supposed to do. Be strong in the Lord. The word “be” is in a present continuing sense. We might say, “Continue being strong…” or “Continually be strong.” We are to be strong today, tomorrow, and next week.

When given commands like this, we often shrink back because we don’t know if we can be strong forever. But no matter what the goal is, the aim is to be strong at this moment. Let the next moment take care of itself. You can’t be strong next week until you get there, so don’t worry about that. Focus on being strong now.

Next we notice that we are to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. It’s not our strength that is the focus here. We are to be strong in His mighty power. It’s similar to Philippians 2:12, where Paul tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling FOR it is God who works in us both for the doing and willing of His good pleasure. When we work, He is working. When we exert strength, it is His strength we are relying on.

The last thing we need to notice as we wrap up this verse is the double use of the word strength/power. This is to emphasize the power that God has. We are to be strong in the strength of His strength or the power of His power. It focuses on how powerful His power is. When we are strong in His power, it’s not just any ordinary reserve of power. It is an infinite source of power that is at our disposal. Keep that in mind as we move through this passage focusing on how we should stand against Satan’s onslaughts and the battles he wages against us.

⁵ Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, ⁶ not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷ rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, ⁸ knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. ⁹ Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

In this next section, Paul is talking to bondservants. In Paul’s day, slavery was a common practice. By speaking to bondservants, Paul is not advocating slavery. It existed, and so he is addressing those who are bondservants. In 1 Corinthians 7:21, he tells bondservants that if they can gain their freedom, they should avail themselves of the opportunity, and in verse 23 he tells his readers not to become bondservants of men.

Given the reality of servitude, what is his instruction to them? A further question is, “What is the application to employees in our culture?”
First, he says that they should serve their earthly masters in the same way they would serve Jesus Christ. In our situation, I would take that to mean that an employee should work for his employer and boss with the same attitude that he would if serving Christ directly. We often work under contracts and there are laws and regulations that apply. If we feel unfairly treated, and if our contracts and laws speak to that situation, certainly we should avail ourselves of the process. We also have the ability to quit our jobs and look for a different one. So the bottom line here is to do your work as though you were working for Christ directly.

Verse 6 amplifies the standard to say that our work should not be merely with eye-service as people pleasers, but serving God from the heart. Often we have a temptation to work well and efficiently when the boss is around, but not so much when he is out of sight. But we know that our actual master knows everything we are doing at all times, and therefore, we should be giving an honest day’s work for a day’s pay. Our work is to be done with good will and from the heart.

This kind of thinking is contrary to the way most people, including Christians, think about their work. In responding to our work in this way, we know that our real reward will be from the Lord. He is the one who ultimately rights all wrongs and rewards us for what we do right.

Verse 9 changes the focus to the masters, the bosses, the employers. Their way of supervising is to be in a way that avoids threatening because Christian employers should realize that they serve the same Lord that their Christian employees serve. Just think what the workplace would be like if these principles were followed!

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)

After having commanded children to be obedient to their parents, God gives an admonition to fathers. Do not provoke your children to anger. In Colossians 3:21, he words it this way, “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”

Right at the beginning let me say emphatically that this does not mean fathers should not discipline their children. In Hebrews 12:7, the author says, “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?” Proverbs 13:24 says, “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.” So this passage in Ephesians is not talking about correct fatherly discipline, which, yes, may make a son angry.

Children get angry and hold bitterness when their parent’s discipline is excessive and when parents obviously are not listening to their children. The rest of this verse tells parents to train and nurture their children according to their own individual needs, personality, temperament, etc.

When discipline follows quickly after the offense, and is given in love, and when the parents are obviously forgiving of their children and not disciplining out of anger, the children are trained by that discipline. Hebrews 12:11 says, “No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” You can see the emphasis at the end of this passage: “To those who have been trained by it.”

We’ve already touched on the rest of the verse. Bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Discipline means training. When someone trains a vine to climb in a certain pattern on a wall, he is nudging and moving the vine regularly so that it follows a desired pattern. The discipline the Lord is asking parents to give children is similar. It is regular correction of behavior using many different methods to help the child follow patterns of living that are best for him.

Deuteronomy 6 gives some solid advice along this line. Parents are to talk about the Lord and His principles when they get up, as they walk through the day and when they go to bed. What does this mean? It means that we should be bringing spiritual truth to bear for every facet of life and on multiple occasions throughout each day.

Instruction has the meaning of warning and admonition. There are consequences to our behavior. Some of the consequences, whether good or bad, come immediately. Some come later on. Parents are to help their children understand what the consequences are for behaviors they are choosing. This is to be started very early so, as in the ivy example, children can be nudged onto the right path in small increments, rather than trying to make massive changes in a teen’s behavior later on.

The responsibility of training, discipline, and instruction resides in the father and by delegation to the mother. Ultimately God holds the father responsible for how the children are raised. It is a responsibility we should not take lightly.

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.””

Earlier in chapter 5, Paul had been talking about walking in the Spirit and putting off the old and putting on the new. He then talked about the relationship between husband and wife. Now he begins to discuss principles for godly children.

Children are to obey their parents, for this is right. The King of the universe says that it is right for children to be obedient to their parents. He is talking about Christian families because he says “in the Lord.” God determines what is right and wrong. It’s not up to us to define right behavior. God does the defining. Obedience is right.

Next, children are told to honor father and mother. This is a quote from the ten commandments, Exodus 20:12. This commandment applies to adult children as well because Jesus derides the grown Pharisees for trying to find ways to squirm out of this commandment (Matt 15:4).

It’s important in God’s eyes that we show respect and honor toward our parents. They are the ones who sacrificed to bring us into the world and to care for us through all of our growing-up years. Even if your parents were not ideal, perhaps even abusive in some ways, honor is still due to them because God used them as vessels to bring you into existence. Therefore, they deserve honor.

God says this is the first commandment that has a promise associated with it. The promise is that it may go well, and that you may live long in the land. This promise is taken directly out of the ten commandments. I look at this as a principle promise. In other words, it does not apply specifically to every individual all the time. I say this because, for example, there may be a young man who honors his parents. Later on he joins the military and is killed in action. I don’t think this promise is saying you won’t be killed in action, or in a car accident.

I think what the promise is saying is that people who honor their parents are generally people who have the rest of their lives in order as well, and as such, their lifestyle is one that will typically produce a long life. I may be wrong and you can feel free to disagree. But that’s what I think when it comes to this command and the associated promise.