Ephesians 6 holds the best-known battle image in the New Testament — belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet, sword — and the striking thing about it is how little attacking it asks for. Five of the six pieces are defensive, and every verb attached to them is some form of "stand": make your stand, stand your ground, stand firm. There is no order to advance. The other surprise is where Paul puts it. The armor arrives immediately after nine verses about children, fathers, slaves and masters, and then verse 12 says the struggle is not against flesh and blood — which lands very differently right after instructions about the people you live with.
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Children are pointed to the commandment about honouring parents, the one Paul notes comes with a promise attached. Then a sentence aimed at fathers that would have been unusual in that world: do not provoke your children to rage. The instruction to the person with power is a restraint.
Paul addresses enslaved people directly as members of the church, which is itself remarkable, and tells them to work as though for Christ. Then he turns to the masters and levels the ground: stop threatening, you have the same Master, and he shows no favouritism.
Strength is located in the Lord rather than the reader. The purpose of the armor is stated twice as standing rather than winning, and verse 12 rules out the obvious candidates for the enemy: not flesh and blood, but rulers, authorities and powers.
Belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of readiness from the gospel of peace, shield of faith against flaming arrows, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit — which is the word of God, and the only item that can be used offensively.
After all the equipment, no charge and no battle: pray, at all times, in every kind of prayer, staying alert, for all the saints. Then Paul asks for prayer himself — not to be released from his chains, but to be given words while he is in them.
Tychicus is carrying the letter and will fill in the details Paul has not written. The blessing at the end returns to the words the letter opened with: peace, love, faith, grace.
Count them. Make your stand against the devil's schemes, stand your ground, having done everything, to stand, stand firm then. Four times in four verses, and not one instruction to advance, charge, pursue or defeat. The equipment matches: a belt, body armour, boots, a shield and a helmet are all for absorbing what is coming at you, and only the sword could be used the other way. That shapes what the passage is promising. It is not a strategy for winning a spiritual campaign. It is what you need in order to still be there when the day of evil has finished.
Paul does not call it the Christian's armour but the armor of God, and every piece he names is something this letter has already said God supplies: truth, righteousness, peace through the gospel, faith, salvation, and the word. So "put it on" is closer to getting dressed in what you have been given than to building your own kit out of effort. That is why the passage opens with strength located somewhere other than the reader — be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. A person who reads the list as six spiritual disciplines to develop has quietly reversed the sentence.
There is no break at verse 10 in Paul's argument, only in our headings. What comes immediately before the armor is domestic: children and parents, and then enslaved workers and the men who owned them — the most ordinary and most loaded relationships in a first-century house. Then, two verses into the battle, Paul says the struggle is not against flesh and blood. Read in sequence, that is not an abstraction. It is a warning to people who had just been given instructions about the difficult individuals they lived and worked with, and who might reasonably have identified them as the problem.
A reader expecting a fight is given, in verse 18, an instruction to pray — at all times, in every form, staying alert, and for other Christians rather than only for themselves. The armour section does not end in combat; it ends in intercession. And Paul's own prayer request is the quietest thing in the chapter. He is in prison, and what he asks for is not release but words: that when he opens his mouth he will speak boldly. An ambassador in chains is his own description, and it is a fair summary of what the whole passage expects of a Christian.
Church language, in ordinary English. Nothing here assumes you have heard the word before.
The instruction the rest of the passage unpacks, and the place where the strength is located. It is God's power and God's armor; the reader's job is to put it on and be found standing.
The verse that decides how the whole passage is used. It removes human beings from the category of enemy, and it does so two verses after Paul finished writing about parents, children, slaves and masters.
"Having done everything, to stand." The clearest statement of what winning looks like here — not conquest, but still being on your feet when the day of evil is over.
The helmet and the sword, and the only offensive item in the kit. Paul names what the sword is rather than leaving it to imagination: the word of God.
The turn most readers do not expect. After six pieces of armour, the action is prayer — constant, alert, and for other people rather than oneself.
Two things get read into this chapter that are not in it. The first is a habit of finding a demon behind every difficulty. Verse 12 is the verse usually cited for it, and the verse says the opposite: our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It is a sentence that takes an enemy away rather than handing you one, and using it to identify a person, a relative or a colleague as the spiritual opposition inverts it — especially given that Paul has just spent nine verses on exactly those relationships. The second is smaller but very common in sermons: the claim that the armor has no covering for the back, so Christians must never retreat, or must stand back to back. It is a good line and it is not in the text. Paul lists six items and says nothing about what is missing, and Roman soldiers were in fact armoured behind. Any point that depends on a detail the passage does not contain is worth dropping, because the passage's real emphasis — five defensive pieces and four commands to stand — makes the same point honestly.
Six items, each matched to something God gives. The belt of truth goes on first, the piece that holds everything else in place. The breastplate of righteousness covers the chest — being right with God, protecting what an accusation aims at. Shoes are the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, so you can keep your footing. The shield of faith is large enough to put out flaming arrows. The helmet of salvation protects the head, meaning the assurance that you belong to God. And the sword of the Spirit, which Paul says plainly is the word of God, is the only piece you could use to strike. Five defend, one attacks.
It means the real opposition is not the people in front of you. "Flesh and blood" is an ordinary phrase for human beings, and Paul rules them out as the enemy before naming rulers, authorities and spiritual powers instead. The placement is pointed: he has just written about parents and children, enslaved workers and slave owners, which are precisely the relationships in which a first-century Christian would have had someone to blame. The verse does not say people cannot harm you. It says they are not what you are fighting.
Paul's language for organised spiritual evil — powers with structure and intent rather than random misfortune. He is deliberately vague about the details, and the New Testament nowhere gives the taxonomy that later writers built out of verses like this one. What matters for reading the chapter is what this same letter said earlier: Christ has been seated above every ruler and authority, with everything under his feet. The powers are real and they are already outranked, which is why the instruction is to stand rather than to fight for the outcome.
Paul says what it is in the same breath: the word of God. The Greek word for sword here is the short blade used at close quarters rather than a long cavalry sword, and the word he uses for "word" tends to mean something spoken rather than a text in the abstract — so the picture is closer to saying something true at close range than to owning a Bible. It is the only item in the list that can be used to strike, which makes it worth noticing that the weapon Christians are given is a sentence.
Arrows tipped with burning pitch, shot to set fire to whatever they landed on. Paul matches them with the shield of faith, and the match is practical: a large Roman shield, made of layered wood and leather and often soaked with water, could stop one and put it out at the same time. What the arrows stand for is not spelled out. Readers have most often taken them as temptations and accusations — the sudden, targeted thoughts that arrive from outside and catch fire if nothing absorbs them.
No. It is a widely repeated sermon illustration and it has no basis in the passage or in Roman equipment. Paul lists six pieces and makes no comment at all about anything being left uncovered, and Roman soldiers wore armour that protected the back. The lesson usually drawn from it — do not retreat, stand together — is a fair reading of the chapter for a completely different reason: Paul says "stand" four times and gives no order to advance. The point survives without the invented detail, which is a better reason to drop the detail than to keep it.
It does not abolish it, and pretending otherwise is not honest. Paul writes to people inside the arrangement and tells enslaved Christians how to work, which is very far from calling for their freedom, and these verses were quoted by defenders of slavery for centuries. Two things in the text pull the other way. He addresses enslaved people directly, as full members of the church being spoken to rather than property being discussed — unusual in itself. And he turns to the owners in verse 9 and removes the ground they stood on: stop threatening, you have the same Master, and God shows no favouritism. That is not abolition, but it is incompatible with the belief that made the institution work, and Christians who later argued for abolition drew on it.
It is an instruction to the person with the power, and in a household where a father's authority was close to absolute it was pointed. The verb means to goad or exasperate — the sustained unfairness, mockery or unreasonable demands that build resentment rather than a single loss of temper. What Paul puts in its place is bringing them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, so he is not arguing against correcting children. He is against correcting them in a way that leaves them angry, and he makes the parent responsible for that outcome.
Do not start at verse 10, even though that is where the famous part begins.
Start at verse 1, and you will notice something the chapter headings hide. Before the armor, Paul is writing about a household: children and their parents, then enslaved workers and the men who owned them. Ordinary, close-quarters, often difficult relationships. Then, with no break in his argument, he says be strong in the Lord, put on the full armor of God — and two verses later, that the struggle is not against flesh and blood.
That sequence is the key to the passage. A Christian in that house had obvious candidates for an enemy, and Paul takes all of them off the table before he starts describing the fight.
Then read the armor slowly and count two things. Count how many pieces are for defence: belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet — five, and only the sword could be swung. And count how many times Paul says “stand”: make your stand, stand your ground, having done everything, to stand, stand firm. Four times, and never once advance, charge or defeat.
So the passage is not a plan for winning a war. It is a description of how to still be on your feet at the end of a bad day, wearing equipment somebody else supplied. And when the instruction finally comes, in verse 18, it is not to fight. It is to pray — constantly, alertly, and for other people. Paul, who is writing this in chains, asks them to pray for him too, and the thing he wants is not to be let out. It is to be given the right words while he is still in there.
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What the commentaries say about Ephesians 6
Three commentaries, oldest last. Each is shown in full with its author and licence, and every scripture reference inside them links through to the verse.
Tyndale Open Study Notes on Ephesians 6
Tyndale House Publishers, released openly in 2023
Short, plain-English notes written for people reading the Bible for the first time. They explain what a word meant to its original audience, why a detail is there, and where else in Scripture the same idea shows up. If you only read one set of notes on this page, read this one.
19 notes on Ephesians 6
Verse 1
6:1-4 The relationship between parents and children is to be a reflection of their devotion to the Lord. Christian children are to obey their parents, and Christian parents are to discipline their children gently (see Col 3:20-21).
Verse 2
6:2-3 Children who honor and respect their parents also honor and respect God himself, and blessings follow.
Verse 4
6:4 Fathers can often provoke their children to anger by being harsh or unjust (see Col 3:21). Parents should give their children the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord (or the discipline and instruction about the Lord) so that they will learn a way of living that is good and pleases God. Such discipline is not to be excessive, but loving and gentle, so that children are not turned from the Lord but are drawn to him (cp. Heb 12:5-11).
Verse 5
6:5-9 The relationship between slaves and masters (and, by analogy, between employees and employers) is to be shaped by their commitment to the Lord and their desire to build one another up in Christ. Christian slaves are to obey their masters, and Christian masters are to treat their slaves kindly (see Col 3:22–4:1). • Paul was not promoting slavery but teaching Christians how to live in it as a fact of life in that culture (for Paul’s treatment of slavery, see Philemon Book Introduction, “Meaning and Message”).
6:5 Obedient service to earthly masters expresses a Christian slave’s service to Christ (see Col 3:22-23; 1 Tim 6:1-2; Titus 2:9-10; 1 Pet 2:18-23).
Verse 6
6:6-7 As slaves of Christ: As those who have been bought by the blood of Christ, believers no longer belong to themselves (see 1 Cor 6:19-20; 7:22; cp. Rom 1:1; Gal 1:10; Phil 1:1). For Christian slaves, the will of God is that they honor him by serving their human masters faithfully and with enthusiasm.
Verse 8
6:8 The master of all believers is the Lord, and he will reward those who are faithful (see 1 Cor 3:12-15).
Verse 9
6:9 in the same way: That is, with integrity and concern for their welfare (see Col 4:1). • Don’t threaten them: Christian masters, too, will be held accountable by the same Master in heaven for their lives on earth. Pleasing him requires treating their slaves humanely and kindly. • he has no favorites: God judges all people by the same standard (see Deut 10:17; Acts 10:34; Rom 2:11; Col 3:25).
Verse 10
6:10-20 Paul’s final word is to remind the believers of the devil’s opposition and urge them to protect themselves with all of God’s armor.
Verse 11
6:11 Put on all of God’s armor: See Rom 13:12; 2 Cor 10:4-5. It is only by the Lord’s protection that a believer can stand firm against all strategies of the devil (cp. 1 Pet 5:8-9).
Verse 12
6:12 Believers should not consider human beings to be their enemies. Instead, the opposition they face comes from the unseen world of spiritual evil, and Christ has authority over that realm (see 1:21-22).
Verse 13
6:13 God’s armor gives believers the ability to resist the attacks of the devil in the time of evil—when evil seems to prevail—and to keep standing firm.
Verse 14
6:14-17 Paul uses the physical armor worn by Roman soldiers as imagery for spiritual armor used by believers. Most of this equipment is to defend, not to attack. Paul’s focus is not on the precise functions of each piece but on God’s gifts. Grounding in Christ and Scripture provides protection and ability to stand your ground (cp. Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8-9).
6:14 God’s righteousness: Either the righteousness God credits to those who believe in Christ, or the righteous way of life brought about by the transforming work of the Spirit of God in believers’ lives. The one implies the other.
Verse 15
6:15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News: In this context, the focus is on letting one’s life be governed by the peace that the Good News gives (see Rom 5:1).
Verse 16
6:16 Faith is trust in Christ as Savior or trust in God to meet one’s needs in evil times. • fiery arrows: Paul graphically pictures the nature of temptation to sin (cp. Matt 6:13; 26:41; 1 Cor 10:13; Jas 1:12-15). Arrows were sometimes dipped in pitch and ignited before being shot.
Verse 17
6:17 Put on salvation as your helmet: Protect the mind with the assurance that God has indeed saved and given eternal life to those who believe in Christ. • The sword of the Spirit pictures using the word of God to respond to an attack, either with the Good News or with the spoken or written word of God more generally (cp. Jer 23:29; Heb 4:12).
Verse 18
6:18 Paul contrasts purely mental prayer with prayer in the Spirit, prayer that arises from the Spirit of God within (see 1 Cor 14:15; Jude 1:20; cp. Rom 8:26-27). • at all times and on every occasion: Believers are to make prayer a way of life and turn the whole of life into prayer (see Phil 4:6-7; 1 Thes 5:17)—not simply for themselves, but for all believers everywhere. • Stay alert and be persistent: Because the danger of the devil is constant.
Verse 19
6:19-20 Paul’s missionary calling was primarily to help Gentiles realize that they are now accepted by God and welcomed into his church. • mysterious plan: See study notes on 1:8-10; 3:3. • I am in chains now: Though writing as a prisoner (see 3:1; 4:1), Paul knew that his calling as God’s ambassador (cp. 2 Cor 5:20) was to keep on speaking boldly for him.
Verse 21
6:21-24 Paul closes with some personal words and a benediction that repeats the desires expressed at the beginning of the letter.
Verse 23
6:23-24 Peace . . . love . . . faithfulness . . . grace: These qualities, highlighted at the beginning of the letter (1:2, 15), are what Paul most desired for believers. • dear brothers and sisters: Literally brothers. Paul uses this generic term to refer to members of the same family, both male and female. • be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ: Or be upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ eternally.
Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Reformatted for the web by BibleHearth; wording unchanged. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Read the original
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible on Ephesians 6
Matthew Henry, 1706–1714
A pastor writing for his own congregation three hundred years ago. Henry is less interested in historical background than in what a chapter asks of the person reading it, which is why he is still quoted in sermons today. He is warm, direct, and unafraid to apply a text to you.
Before you start: Written in the early 1700s. The sentences are long and some words have shifted meaning since — "conversation" means how a person lives, "want" means to lack something. Read it slowly; it rewards that.
Chapter overview and 3 notes on Ephesians 6
What this chapter is doing
In this chapter, I. The apostle proceeds in the exhortation to relative duties which he began in the former, particularly he insists on the duties of children and parents, and of servants and masters (Eph 6:1-9). II. He exhorts and directs Christians how to behave themselves in the spiritual warfare with the enemies of their souls; and to the exercise of several Christian graces, which he proposes to them as so many pieces of spiritual armour, to preserve and defend them in the conflict (Eph 6:10-18). III. We have here the conclusion of the epistle, in which he takes his leave of them, recommending himself to the prayers of the believing Ephesians, and praying for them (Eph 6:19-24).
Verse 1
Here we have further directions concerning relative duties, in which the apostle is very particular.
I. The duty of children to their parents. Come, you children, hearken to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. The great duty of children is to obey their parents (Eph 6:1), parents being the instruments of their being, God and nature having given them an authority to command, in subserviency to God; and, if children will be obedient to their pious parents, they will be in a fair way to be pious as they are. That obedience which God demands from their children, in their behalf, includes an inward reverence, as well as the outward expressions and acts. Obey in the Lord. Some take this as a limitation, and understand it thus: "as far as is consistent with your duty to God." We must not disobey our heavenly Father in obedience to earthly parents; for our obligation to God is prior and superior to all others. I take it rather as a reason: "Children, obey your parents; for the Lord has commanded it: obey them therefore for the Lord's sake, and with an eye to him." Or it may be a particular specification of the general duty: "Obey your parents, especially in those things which relate to the Lord. Your parents teach you good manners, and therein you must obey them. They teach you what is for your health, and in this you must obey them: but the chief things in which you are to do it are the things pertaining to the Lord." Religious parents charge their children to keep the ways of the Lord, Gen 18:19. They command them to be found in the way of their duty towards God, and to take heed of those sins most incident to their age; in these things especially they must see that they be obedient. There is a general reason given: For this is right, there is a natural equity in it, God has enjoined it, and it highly becomes Christians. It is the order of nature that parents command and children obey. Though this may seem a hard saying, yet it is duty, and it must be done by such as would please God and approve themselves to him. For the proof of this the apostle quotes the law of the fifth commandment, which Christ was so far from designing to abrogate and repeal that he came to confirm it, as appears by his vindicating it, Mat 15:4, etc. Honour thy father and mother (Eph 6:2), which honour implies reverence, obedience, and relief and maintenance, if these be needed. The apostle adds, which is the first commandment with promise. Some little difficulty arises from this, which we should not overlook, because some who plead for the lawfulness of images bring this as a proof that we are not bound by the second commandment. But there is no manner of force in the argument. The second commandment has not a particular promise; but only a general declaration or assertion, which relates to the whole law of God's keeping mercy for thousands. And then by this is not meant the first commandment of the decalogue that has a promise, for there is no other after it that has, and therefore it would be improper to say it is the first; but the meaning may be this: "This is a prime or chief commandment, and it has a promise; it is the first commandment in the second table, and it has a promise." The promise is, That it may be well with thee, etc., Eph 6:3. Observe, Whereas the promise in the commandment has reference to the land of Canaan, the apostle hereby shows that this and other promises which we have in the Old Testament relating to the land of Canaan are to be understood more generally. That you may not think that the Jews only, to whom God gave the land of Canaan, were bound by the fifth commandment, he here gives it a further sense, That it may be well with thee, etc. Outward prosperity and long life are blessings promised to those who keep this commandment. This is the way to have it well with us, and obedient children are often rewarded with outward prosperity. Not indeed that it is always so; there are instances of such children who meet with much affliction in this life: but ordinarily obedience is thus rewarded, and, where it is not, it is made up with something better. Observe, 1. The gospel has its temporal promises, as well as spiritual ones. 2. Although the authority of God be sufficient to engage us in our duty, yet we are allowed to have respect to the promised reward: and, 3. Though it contains some temporal advantage, even this may be considered as a motive and encouragement to our obedience.
II. The duty of parents: And you fathers, Eph 6:4. Or, you parents, 1. "Do not provoke your children to wrath. Though God has given you power, you must not abuse that power, remembering that your children are, in a particular manner, pieces of yourselves, and therefore ought to be governed with great tenderness and love. Be not impatient with them, use no unreasonable severities and lay no rigid injunctions upon them. When you caution them, when you counsel them, when you reprove them, do it in such a manner as not to provoke them to wrath. In all such cases deal prudently and wisely with them, endeavouring to convince their judgments and to work upon their reason." 2. "Bring them up well, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, in the discipline of proper and of compassionate correction, and in the knowledge of that duty which God requires of them and by which they may become better acquainted with him. Give them a good education." It is the great duty of parents to be careful in the education of their children: "Not only bring them up, as the brutes do, taking care to provide for them; but bring them up in nurture and admonition, in such a manner as is suitable to their reasonable natures. Nay, not only bring them up as men, in nurture and admonition, but as Christians, in the admonition of the Lord. Let them have a religious education. Instruct them to fear sinning; and inform them of, and excite them to, the whole of their duty towards God."
III. The duty of servants. This also is summed up in one word, which is, obedience. He is largest on this article, as knowing there was the greatest need of it. These servants were generally slaves. Civil servitude is not inconsistent with Christian liberty. Those may be the Lord's freemen who are slaves to men. "Your masters according to the flesh (Eph 6:5), that is, who have the command of your bodies, but not of your souls and consciences: God alone has dominion over these." Now, with respect to servants, he exhorts, 1. That they obey with fear and trembling. They are to reverence those who are over them, fearing to displease them, and trembling lest they should justly incur their anger and indignation. 2. That they be sincere in their obedience: In singleness of heart; not pretending obedience when they design disobedience, but serving them with faithfulness. 3. They should have an eye to Jesus Christ in all the service that they perform to their masters (Eph 6:5-7), doing service as to the Lord, and not to men; that is, not to men only or principally. When servants, in the discharge of the duty of their places, have an eye to Christ, this puts an honour upon their obedience, and an acceptableness into it. Service done to their earthly masters, with an eye to him, becomes acceptable service to him also. To have an eye to Christ is to remember that he sees them and is ever present with them, and that his authority obliges them to a faithful and conscientious discharge of the duties of their station. 4. They must not serve their masters with eye-service (Eph 6:6) - that is, only when their master's eye is upon them; but they must be as conscientious in the discharge of their duty, when they are absent and out of the way, because then their Master in heaven beholds them: and therefore they must not act as men-pleasers - as though they had no regard to the pleasing of God, and approving themselves to him, if they can impose upon their masters. Observe, A steady regard to the Lord Jesus Christ will make men faithful and sincere in every station of life. 5. What they do they must do cheerfully: Doing the will of God from the heart, serving their masters as God wills they should, not grudgingly, nor by constraint, but from a principle of love to them and their concerns. This is doing it with good-will (Eph 6:7), which will make their service easy to themselves, pleasing to their masters, and acceptable to the Lord Christ. There should be good-will to their masters, good-will to the families they are in; and especially a readiness to do their duty to God. Observe, Service, performed with conscience, and from a regard to God, though it be to unrighteous masters, will be accounted by Christ as service done to himself. 6. Let faithful servants trust God for their wages, while they do their duty in his fear: Knowing that whatsoever good thing (Eph 6:8), how poor and mean soever it may be, considered in itself, - the same shall he receive of the Lord, that is, by a metonymy, the reward of the same. Though his master on earth should neglect or abuse him, instead of rewarding him, he shall certainly be rewarded by the Lord Christ, whether he be bond or free, whether he be a poor bond-servant or a freeman or master. Christ regards not these differences of men at present; nor will he in the great and final judgment. You think, "A prince, or a magistrate, or a minister, that does his duty here, will be sure to receive his reward in heaven: but what capacity am I, a poor servant, in, of recommending myself to the favour of God." Why, God will as certainly reward thee for the meanest drudgery that is done from a sense of duty and with an eye to himself. And what can be said more proper either to engage or to encourage servants to their duty?
IV. The duty of masters: "And you masters, do the same things unto them (Eph 6:9); that is, act after the same manner. Be just to them, as you expect they should be to you: show the like good-will and concern for them, and be careful herein to approve yourselves to God." Observe, Masters are under as strict obligations to discharge their duty to their servants as servants are to be obedient and dutiful to them. "Forbearing threatening; anientes - moderating threatening, and remitting the evils with which you threaten them. Remember that your servants are made of the same mould with yourselves, and therefore be not tyrannical and imperious over them, knowing that your Master also is in heaven:" some copies read, both your and their Master. "You have a Master to obey who makes this your duty; and you and they are but fellow-servants in respect of Christ. You will be as punishable by him, for the neglect of your duty, or for acting contrary to it, as any others of meaner condition in the world. You are therefore to show favour to others, as ever you expect to find favour with him; and you will never be a match for him, though you may be too hard for your servants." Neither is there respect of persons with him; a rich, a wealthy, and a dignified master, if he be unjust, imperious, and abusive, is not a jot the nearer being accepted of God for his riches, wealth, and honour. He will call masters and servants to an impartial account for their conduct one to another, and will neither spare the former because they are more advanced nor be severe towards the latter because they are inferior and mean in the world. If both masters and servants would consider their relation and obligation to God and the account they must shortly give to him, they would be more careful of their duty to each other. Thus the apostle concludes his exhortation to relative duties.
Verse 10
Here is a general exhortation to constancy in our Christian course, and to encourage in our Christian warfare. Is not our life a warfare? It is so; for we struggle with the common calamities of human life. Is not our religion much more a warfare? It is so; for we struggle with the opposition of the powers of darkness, and with many enemies who would keep us from God and heaven. We have enemies to fight against, a captain to fight for, a banner to fight under, and certain rules of war by which we are to govern ourselves. "Finally, my brethren (Eph 6:10), it yet remains that you apply yourselves to your work and duty as Christian soldiers." Now it is requisite that a soldier be both stout-hearted and well armed. If Christians be soldiers of Jesus Christ,
I. They must see that they be stout-hearted. This is prescribed here: Be strong in the Lord, etc. Those who have so many battles to fight, and who, in their way to heaven, must dispute every pass, with dint of sword, have need of a great deal of courage. Be strong therefore, strong for service, strong for suffering, strong for fighting. Let a soldier be ever so well armed without, if he have not within a good heart, his armour will stand him in little stead. Note, spiritual strength and courage are very necessary for our spiritual warfare. Be strong in the Lord, either in his cause and for his sake or rather in his strength. We have no sufficient strength of our own. Our natural courage is as perfect cowardice, and our natural strength as perfect weakness; but all our sufficiency is of God. In his strength we must go forth and go on. By the actings of faith, we must fetch in grace and help from heaven to enable us to do that which of ourselves we cannot do, in our Christian work and warfare. We should stir up ourselves to resist temptations in a reliance upon God's all-sufficiency and the omnipotence of his might.
II. They must be well armed: "Put on the whole armour of God (Eph 6:11), make use of all the proper defensitives and weapons for repelling the temptations and stratagems of Satan - get and exercise all the Christian graces, the whole armour, that no part be naked and exposed to the enemy." Observe, Those who would approve themselves to have true grace must aim at all grace, the whole armour. It is called the armour of God, because he both prepares and bestows it. We have no armour of our own that will be armour of proof in a trying time. Nothing will stand us in stead but the armour of God. This armour is prepared for us, but we must put it on; that is, we must pray for grace, we must use the grace given us, and draw it out into act and exercise as there is occasion. The reason assigned why the Christian should be completely armed is that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil - that he may be able to hold out, and to overcome, notwithstanding all the devil's assaults, both of force and fraud, all the deceits he puts upon us, all the snares he lays for us, and all his machinations against us. This the apostle enlarges upon here, and shows,
1. What our danger is, and what need we have to put on this whole armour, considering what sort of enemies we have to deal with - the devil and all the powers of darkness: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, etc., Eph 6:12. The combat for which we are to be prepared is not against ordinary human enemies, not barely against men compounded of flesh and blood, nor against our own corrupt natures singly considered, but against the several ranks of devils, who have a government which they exercise in this world. (1.) We have to do with a subtle enemy, an enemy who uses wiles and stratagems, as Eph 6:11. He has a thousand ways of beguiling unstable souls: hence he is called a serpent for subtlety, an old serpent, experienced in the art and trade of tempting. (2.) He is a powerful enemy: Principalities, and powers, and rulers. They are numerous, they are vigorous; and rule in those heathen nations which are yet in darkness. The dark parts of the world are the seat of Satan's empire. Yea, they are usurping princes over all men who are yet in a state of sin and ignorance. Satan's is a kingdom of darkness; whereas Christ's is a kingdom of light. (3.) They are spiritual enemies: Spiritual wickedness in high places, or wicked spirits, as some translate it. The devil is a spirit, a wicked spirit; and our danger is the greater from our enemies because they are unseen, and assault us ere we are aware of them. The devils are wicked spirits, and they chiefly annoy the saints with, and provoke them to, spiritual wickednesses, pride, envy, malice, etc. These enemies are said to be in high places, or in heavenly places, so the word is, taking heaven (as one says) for the whole expansum, or spreading out of the air between the earth and the stars, the air being the place from which the devils assault us. Or the meaning may be, "We wrestle about heavenly places or heavenly things;" so some of the ancients interpret it. Our enemies strive to prevent our ascent to heaven, to deprive us of heavenly blessings and to obstruct our communion with heaven. They assault us in the things that belong to our souls, and labour to deface the heavenly image in our hearts; and therefore we have need to be upon our guard against them. We have need of faith in our Christian warfare, because we have spiritual enemies to grapple with, as well as of faith in our Christian work, because we have spiritual strength to fetch in. Thus you see your danger.
2. What our duty is: to take and put on the whole armour of God, and then to stand our ground, and withstand our enemies.
(1.) We must withstand, Eph 6:13. We must not yield to the devil's allurements and assaults, but oppose them. Satan is said to stand up against us, Ch1 21:1. If he stand up against us, we must stand against him; set up, and keep up, an interest in opposition to the devil. Satan is the wicked one, and his kingdom is the kingdom of sin: to stand against Satan is to strive against sin. That you may be able to withstand in the evil day, in the day of temptation, or of any sore affliction.
(2.) We must stand our ground: And, having done all, to stand. We must resolve, by God's grace, not to yield to Satan. Resist him, and he will flee. If we distrust our cause, or our leader, or our armour, we give him advantage. Our present business is to withstand the assaults of the devil, and to stand it out; and then, having done all that is incumbent on the good soldiers of Jesus Christ, our warfare will be accomplished, and we shall be finally victorious.
(3.) We must stand armed; and this is here most enlarged upon. Here is a Christian in complete armour: and the armour is divine: Armour of God, armour of light, Rom 13:12. Armour of righteousness, Co2 6:7. The apostle specifies the particulars of this armour, both offensive and defensive. The military girdle or belt, the breast-plate, the greaves (or soldier's shoes), the shield, the helmet, and the sword. It is observable that, among them all, there is none for the back; if we turn our back upon the enemy, we lie exposed. [1.] Truth or sincerity is our girdle, Eph 6:14. It was prophesied of Christ (Isa 11:5) that righteousness should be the girdle of his loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. That which Christ was girded with all Christians must be girded with. God desires truth, that is, sincerity, in the inward parts. This is the strength of our loins; and it girds on all other pieces of our armour, and therefore is first mentioned. I know no religion without sincerity. Some understand it of the doctrine of the truths of the gospel: they should cleave to us as the girdle does to the loins, Jer 13:11. This will restrain from libertinism and licentiousness, as a girdle restrains and keeps in the body. This is the Christian soldier's belt: ungirded with this, he is unblessed. [2.] Righteousness must be our breast-plate. The breast-plate secures the vitals, shelters the heart. The righteousness of Christ imputed to us is our breast-plate against the arrows of divine wrath. The righteousness of Christ implanted in us is our breast-plate to fortify the heart against the attacks which Satan makes against us. The apostle explains this in Th1 5:8, Putting on the breast-plate of faith and love. Faith and love include all Christian graces; for by faith we are united to Christ and by love to our brethren. These will infer a diligent observance of our duty to God, and a righteous deportment towards men, in all the offices of justice, truth, and charity. [3.] Resolution must be as the greaves to our legs: And their feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, Eph 6:15. Shoes, or greaves of brass, or the like, were formerly part of the military armour (Sa1 17:6): the use of them was to defend the feet against the gall-traps, and sharp sticks, which were wont to be laid privily in the way, to obstruct the marching of the enemy, those who fell upon them being unfit to march. The preparation of the gospel of peace signifies a prepared and resolved frame of heart, to adhere to the gospel and abide by it, which will enable us to walk with a steady pace in the way of religion, notwithstanding the difficulties and dangers that may be in it. It is styled the gospel of peace because it brings all sorts of peace, peace with God, with ourselves, and with one another. It may also be meant of that which prepares for the entertainment of the gospel, namely, repentance. With this our feet must be shod: for by living a life of repentance we are armed against temptations to sin, and the designs of our great enemy. Dr. Whitby thinks this may be the sense of the words: "That you may be ready for the combat, be shod with the gospel of peace, endeavour after that peaceable and quiet mind which the gospel calls for. Be not easily provoked, nor prone to quarrel: but show all gentleness and all long-suffering to all men, and this will certainly preserve you from many great temptations and persecutions, as did those shoes of brass the soldiers from those galltraps," etc. [4.] Faith must be our shield: Above all, or chiefly, taking the shield of faith, Eph 6:16. This is more necessary than any of them. Faith is all in all to us in an hour of temptation. The breast-plate secures the vitals; but with the shield we turn every way. This is the victory over the world, even our faith. We are to be fully persuaded of the truth of all God's promises and threatenings, such a faith being of great use against temptations. Consider faith as it is the evidence of things not seen and the substance of things hoped for, and it will appear to be of admirable use for this purpose. Faith, as receiving Christ and the benefits of redemption, so deriving grace from him, is like a shield, a sort of universal defence. Our enemy the devil is here called the wicked one. He is wicked himself, and he endeavours to make us wicked. His temptations are called darts, because of their swift and undiscerned flight, and the deep wounds that they give to the soul; fiery darts, by way of allusion to the poisonous darts which were wont to inflame the parts which were wounded with them, and therefore were so called, as the serpents with poisonous stings are called fiery serpents. Violent temptations, by which the soul is set on fire of hell, are the darts which Satan shoots at us. Faith is the shield with which we must quench these fiery darts, wherein we should receive them, and so render them ineffectual, that they may not hit us, or at least that they may not hurt us. Observe, Faith, acted upon the word of God and applying that, acted upon the grace of Christ and improving that, quenches the darts of temptation. [5.] Salvation must be our helmet (Eph 6:17); that is, hope, which has salvation for its object; so Th1 5:8. The helmet secures the head. A good hope of salvation, well founded and well built, will both purify the soul and keep it from being defiled by Satan, and it will comfort the soul and keep it from being troubled and tormented by Satan. He would tempt us to despair; but good hope keeps us trusting in God, and rejoicing in him. [6.] The word of God is the sword of the Spirit. The sword is a very necessary and useful part of a soldier's furniture. The word of God is very necessary, and of great use to the Christian, in order to his maintaining the spiritual warfare and succeeding in it. It is called the sword of the Spirit, because it is of the Spirit's inditing and he renders it efficacious and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword. Like Goliath's sword, none like that; with this we assault the assailants. Scripture-arguments are the most powerful arguments to repel temptation with. Christ himself resisted Satan's temptations with, It is written, Mat 4:4, Mat 4:6, Mat 4:7, Mat 4:10. This, being hid in the heart, will preserve from sin (Psa 119:11), and will mortify and kill those lusts and corruptions that are latent there. [7.] Prayer must buckle on all the other parts of our Christian armour, Eph 6:18. We must join prayer with all these graces, for our defence against these spiritual enemies, imploring help and assistance of God, as the case requires: and we must pray always. Not as though we were to do nothing else but pray, for there are other duties of religion and of our respective stations in the world that are to be done in their place and season; but we should keep up constant times of prayer, and be constant to them. We must pray upon all occasions, and as often as our own and others' necessities call us to it. We must always keep up a disposition to prayer, and should intermix ejaculatory prayers with other duties, and with common business. Though set and solemn prayer may sometimes be unseasonable (as when other duties are to be done), yet pious ejaculations can never be so. We must pray with all prayer and supplication, with all kinds of prayer: public, private, and secret, social and solitary, solemn and sudden; with all the parts of prayer: confession of sin, petition for mercy, and thanksgivings for favours received. We must pray in the Spirit; our spirits must be employed in the duty and we must do it by the grace of God's good Spirit. We must watch thereunto, endeavouring to keep our hearts in a praying frame, and taking all occasions, and improving all opportunities, for the duty: we must watch to all the motions of our own hearts towards the duty. When God says, Seek my face, our hearts must comply, Psa 27:8. This we must do with all perseverance. We must abide by the duty of prayer, whatever change there may be in our outward circumstances; and we must continue in it as long as we live in the world. We must persevere in a particular prayer; not cutting it short, when our hearts are disposed to enlarge, and there is time for it, and our occasions call for it. We must likewise persevere in particular requests, notwithstanding some present discouragements and repulses. And we must pray with supplication, not for ourselves only, but for all saints; for we are members one of another. Observe, None are so much saints, and in so good a condition in this world, but they need our prayers, and they ought to have them. The apostle passes hence to the conclusion of the epistle.
Verse 19
Here, I. He desires their prayers for him, Eph 6:19. Having mentioned supplication for all saints, he puts himself into the number. We must pray for all saints, and particularly for God's faithful ministers. Brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run and be glorified. Observe what it is he would have them pray for in his behalf: "That utterance may be given unto me; that I may be enlarged from my present restraints, and so have liberty to propagate the faith of Christ; that I may have ability to express myself in a suitable and becoming manner; and that I may open my mouth boldly, that is, that I may deliver the whole counsel of God, without any base fear, shame, or partiality." To make known the mystery of the gospel; some understand it of that part of the gospel which concerns the calling of the Gentiles, which had hitherto, as a mystery, been concealed. But the whole gospel was a mystery, till made known by divine revelation; and it is the work of Christ's ministers to publish it. Observe, Paul had a great command of language; they called him Mercury, because he was the chief speaker (Act 14:12), and yet he would have his friends ask of God the gift of utterance for him. He was a man of great courage, and often signalized himself for it; yet he would have them pray that God would give him boldness. He knew as well what to say as any man; yet he desires them to pray for him, that he may speak as he ought to speak. The argument with which he enforces his request is that for the sake of the gospel he was an ambassador in bonds, Eph 6:20. He was persecuted and imprisoned for preaching the gospel; though, notwithstanding, he continued in the embassy committed to him by Christ, and persisted in preaching it. Observe, 1. It is no new thing for Christ's ministers to be in bonds. 2. It is a hard thing for them to speak boldly when that is their case. 3. The best and most eminent ministers have need of, and may receive advantage by, the prayers of good Christians; and therefore should earnestly desire them. Having thus desired their prayers,
II. He recommends Tychicus unto them, Eph 6:21, Eph 6:22. He sent him with this epistle, that he might acquaint them with what other churches were informed of, namely, how he did, and what he did; how he was used by the Romans in his bonds, and how he behaved himself in his present circumstances. It is desirable to good ministers both that their Christian friends should know their state and that they should be acquainted with the condition of their friends; for by this means they may the better help each other in their prayers. - And that he might comfort their hearts, by giving such an account of his sufferings, of the cause of them, and of the temper of his mind and his behaviour under them, as might prevent their fainting at his tribulations and even minister matter of joy and thanksgiving unto them. He tells them that Tychicus was a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord. He was a sincere Christian, and so a brother in Christ: he was a faithful minister in the work of Christ, and he was very dear to Paul, which makes Paul's love to these Christian Ephesians the more observable, in that he should now part with so good and dear a friend for their sakes, when his company and conversation must have been peculiarly delightful and serviceable to himself. But the faithful servants of Jesus Christ are wont to prefer the public good to their own private or personal interests.
III. He concludes with his good wishes and prayers for them, and not for them only, but for all the brethren, Eph 6:23, Eph 6:24. His usual benediction was, Grace and peace; here it is, Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith. By peace we are to understand all manner of peace - peace with God, peace with conscience, peace among themselves: and all outward prosperity is included in the word; as if he had said, "I wish the continuance and increase of all happiness to you." And love with faith. This in part explains what he means in the following verse by grace; not only grace in the fountain, or the love and favour of God, but grace in the streams, the grace of the Spirit flowing from that divine principle, faith and love including all the rest. It is the continuance and increase of these that he desires for them, in whom they were already begun. It follows, from God the Father, etc. All Grace and blessings are derived to the saints from God, through the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ our Lord. The closing benediction is more extensive than the former; for in this he prays for all true believers at Ephesus, and every where else. It is the undoubted character of all the saints that they love our Lord Jesus Christ. Our love to Christ is not acceptable, unless it be in sincerity: indeed there is no such thing as love to Christ, whatever men may pretend, where there is not sincerity. The words may be read, Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption, who continue constant in their love to him, so as not to be corrupted out of it by any baits or seductions whatsoever, and whose love to him is uncorrupted by any opposite lust, or the love of any thing displeasing to him. Grace, that is, the favour of God, and all good (spiritual and temporal), that is, the product of it, are and shall be with all those who thus love our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is, or ought to be, the desire and prayer of every lover of Christ that it may be so with all his fellow-christians. Amen, so be it.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (Matthew Henry, 1706–1714). Public domain. Reformatted for the web by BibleHearth; wording unchanged. Public domain · Read the original
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary on Ephesians 6
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, 1871
Three Scottish scholars working phrase by phrase through the whole Bible. Where a translation had to choose one English wording, they tell you what the Hebrew or Greek actually says and what the alternatives were. Useful when you want to know why two Bibles word the same verse differently.
Before you start: Written in 1871 and organised around short quoted phrases followed by a dash, then the explanation. It reads more like reference notes than prose, and it assumes you have the verse in front of you.
Chapter overview and 23 notes on Ephesians 6
What this chapter is doing
MUTUAL DUTIES OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN: MASTERS AND SERVANTS: OUR LIFE A WARFARE: THE SPIRITUAL ARMOUR NEEDED AGAINST SPIRITUAL FOES. CONCLUSION. (Eph. 6:1-24)
obey—stronger than the expression as to wives, "submitting," or "being subject" (Eph 5:21). Obedience is more unreasoning and implicit; submission is the willing subjection of an inferior in point of order to one who has a right to command.
in the Lord—Both parents and children being Christians "in the Lord," expresses the element in which the obedience is to take place, and the motive to obedience. In Col 3:20, it is, "Children, obey your parents in all things." This clause, "in the Lord," would suggest the due limitation of the obedience required (Act 5:29; compare on the other hand, the abuse, Mar 7:11-13).
right—Even by natural law we should render obedience to them from whom we have derived life.
Verse 2
Here the authority of revealed law is added to that of natural law.
which is . . . promise—The "promise" is not made the main motive to obedience, but an incidental one. The main motive is, because it is God's will (Deu 5:16, "Honor thy father and mother, as the Lord thy God hath COMMANDED thee"); and that it is so peculiarly, is shown by His accompanying it "with a promise."
first—in the decalogue with a special promise. The promise in the second commandment is a general one. Their duty is more expressly prescribed to children than to parents; for love descends rather than ascends [BENGEL]. This verse proves the law in the Old Testament is not abolished.
Verse 3
long on the earth—In Exo 20:12, "long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee," which Paul adapts to Gospel times, by taking away the local and limited reference peculiar to the Jews in Canaan. The godly are equally blessed in every land, as the Jews were in the land which God gave them. This promise is always fulfilled, either literally, or by the substitution of a higher blessing, namely, one spiritual and eternal (Job 5:26; Pro 10:27). The substance and essence of the law are eternally in force: its accidents alone (applying to Israel of old) are abolished (Rom 6:15).
Verse 4
fathers—including mothers; the fathers are specified as being the fountains of domestic authority. Fathers are more prone to passion in relation to their children than mothers, whose fault is rather over-indulgence.
provoke not—irritate not, by vexatious commands, unreasonable blame, and uncertain temper [ALFORD]. Col 3:21, "lest they be discouraged."
nurture—Greek, "discipline," namely, training by chastening in act where needed (Job 5:17; Heb 12:7).
admonition—training by words (Deu 6:7; "catechise," Pro 22:6, Margin), whether of encouragement, or remonstrance, or reproof, according as is required [TRENCH]. Contrast Sa1 3:13, Margin.
of the Lord—such as the Lord approves, and by His Spirit dictates.
Verse 5
Servants—literally, "slaves."
masters according to the flesh—in contrast to your true and heavenly Master (Eph 6:4). A consolatory him that the mastership to which they were subject, was but for a time [CHRYSOSTOM]; and that their real liberty was still their own (Co1 7:22).
fear and trembling—not slavish terror, but (See on Co1 2:3; Co2 7:15) an anxious eagerness to do your duty, and a fear of displeasing, as great as is produced in the ordinary slave by "threatenings" (Eph 6:9).
singleness—without double-mindedness, or "eye service" (Eph 6:6), which seeks to please outwardly, without the sincere desire to make the master's interest at all times the first consideration (Ch1 29:17; Mat 6:22-23; Luk 11:34). "Simplicity."
Verse 6
(Col 3:22). Seeking to please their masters only so long as these have their eyes on them: as Gehazi was a very different man in his master's presence from what he was in his absence (2Ki. 5:1-18).
men-pleasers—not Christ-pleasers (compare Gal 1:10; Th1 2:4).
doing the will of God—the unseen but ever present Master: the best guarantee for your serving faithfully your earthly master alike when present and when absent.
from the heart—literally, soul (Psa 111:1; Rom 13:5).
Verse 7
good will—expressing his feeling towards his master; as "doing the will of God from the heart" expresses the source of that feeling (Col 3:23). "Good will" is stated by XENOPHON [Economics] to be the principal virtue of a slave towards his master: a real regard to his master's interest as if his own, a good will which not even a master's severity can extinguish.
Verse 8
any man doeth—Greek, "any man shall have done," that is, shall be found at the Lord's coming to have done.
the same—in full payment, in heaven's currency.
shall . . . receive— (Co2 5:10; Col 3:25; but all of grace, Luk 17:10).
bond or free— (Co1 7:22; Co1 12:13; Gal 3:28; Col 3:11). Christ does not regard such distinctions in His present dealings of grace, or in His future judgment. The slave that has acted faithfully for the Lord's sake to his master, though the latter may not repay his faithfulness, shall have the Lord for his Paymaster. So the freeman who has done good for the Lord's sake, though man may not pay him, has the Lord for his Debtor (Pro 19:17).
Verse 9
the same things—Mutatis mutandis. Show the same regard to God's will, and to your servants' well-being, in your relation to them, as they ought to have in their relation to you. Love regulates the duties both of servants and masters, as one and the same light attempers various colors. Equality of nature and faith is superior to distinctions of rank [BENGEL]. Christianity makes all men brothers: compare Lev 25:42-43; Deu 15:12; Jer 34:14 as to how the Hebrews were bound to treat their brethren in service; much more ought Christians to act with love.
threatening—Greek, "the threatening" which masters commonly use. "Masters" in the Greek, is not so strong a term as "despots": it implies authority, but not absolute domination.
your Master also—The oldest manuscripts read, "the Master both of them and you": "their Master and yours." This more forcibly brings out the equality of slaves and masters in the sight of God. SENECA [Thyestes, 607], says, "Whatever an inferior dreads from you, this a superior Master threatens yourselves with: every authority here is under a higher above." As you treat your servants, so will He treat you.
neither . . . respect of persons—He will not, in judging, acquit thee because thou art a master, or condemn him because he is a servant (Act 10:34; Rom 2:11; Gal 2:6; Col 3:25; Pe1 1:17). Derived from Deu 10:17; Ch2 19:7.
Verse 10
my brethren—Some of the oldest manuscripts omit these words. Some with Vulgate retain them. The phrase occurs nowhere else in the Epistle (see, however, Eph 6:23); if genuine, it is appropriate here in the close of the Epistle, where he is urging his fellow soldiers to the good fight in the Christian armor. Most of the oldest manuscripts for "finally," read, "henceforward," or "from henceforth" (Gal 6:17).
be strong—Greek, "be strengthened."
in the power of his might—Christ's might: as in Eph 1:19, it is the Father's might.
Verse 11
the whole armour—the armor of light (Rom 13:12); on the right hand and left (Co2 6:7). The panoply offensive and defensive. An image readily suggested by the Roman armory, Paul being now in Rome. Repeated emphatically, Eph 6:13. In Rom 13:14 it is, "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ"; in putting on Him, and the new man in Him, we put on "the whole armor of God." No opening at the head, the feet, the heart, the belly, the eye, the ear, or the tongue, is to be given to Satan. Believers have once for all overcome him; but on the ground of this fundamental victory gained over him, they are ever again to fight against and overcome him, even as they who once die with Christ have continually to mortify their members upon earth (Rom 6:2-14; Col 3:3, Col 3:5).
of God—furnished by God; not our own, else it would not stand (Psa 35:1-3). Spiritual, therefore, and mighty through God, not carnal (Co2 10:4).
wiles—literally, "schemes sought out" for deceiving (compare Co2 11:14).
the devil—the ruling chief of the foes (Eph 6:12) organized into a kingdom of darkness (Mat 12:26), opposed to the kingdom of light.
Verse 12
Greek, "For our wrestling ('the wrestling' in which we are engaged) is not against flesh," &c. Flesh and blood foes are Satan's mere tools, the real foe lurking behind them is Satan himself, with whom our conflict is. "Wrestling" implies that it is a hand-to-hand and foot-to-foot struggle for the mastery: to wrestle successfully with Satan, we must wrestle with GOD in irresistible prayer like Jacob (Gen 32:24-29; Hos 12:4). Translate, "The principalities . . . the powers" (Eph 1:21; Col 1:16; see on Eph 3:10). The same grades of powers are specified in the case of the demons here, as in that of angels there (compare Rom 8:38; Co1 15:24; Col 2:15). The Ephesians had practiced sorcery (Act 19:19), so that he appropriately treats of evil spirits in addressing them. The more clearly any book of Scripture, as this, treats of the economy of the kingdom of light, the more clearly does it set forth the kingdom of darkness. Hence, nowhere does the satanic kingdom come more clearly into view than in the Gospels which treat of Christ, the true Light.
rulers of the darkness of this world—Greek, "age" or "course of the world." But the oldest manuscripts omit "of world." Translate, "Against the world rulers of this (present) darkness" (Eph 2:2; Eph 5:8; Luk 22:53; Col 1:13). On Satan and his demons being "world rulers," compare Joh 12:31; Joh 14:30; Joh 16:11; Luk 4:6; Co2 4:4; Jo1 5:19, Greek, "lieth in the wicked one." Though they be "world rulers," they are not the ruler of the universe; and their usurped rule of the world is soon to cease, when He shall "come whose right it is" (Eze 21:27). Two cases prove Satan not to be a mere subjective fancy: (1) Christ's temptation; (2) the entrance of demons into the swine (for these are incapable of such fancies). Satan tries to parody, or imitate in a perverted way, God's working (Co2 11:13-14). So when God became incarnate, Satan, by his demons, took forcible possession of human bodies. Thus the demoniacally possessed were not peculiarly wicked, but miserable, and so fit subjects for Jesus' pity. Paul makes no mention of demoniacal possession, so that in the time he wrote, it seems to have ceased; it probably was restricted to the period of the Lord's incarnation, and of the foundation of His Church.
spiritual wickedness—rather as Greek, "The spiritual hosts of wickedness." As three of the clauses describe the power, so this fourth, the wickedness of our spiritual foes (Mat 12:45).
in high places—Greek, "heavenly places": in Eph 2:2, "the air," see on Eph 2:2. The alteration of expression to "in heavenly places," is in order to mark the higher range of their powers than ours, they having been, up to the ascension (Rev 12:5, Rev 12:9-10), dwellers "in the heavenly places" (Job 1:7), and being now in the regions of the air which are called the heavens. Moreover, pride and presumption are the sins in heavenly places to which they tempt especially, being those by which they themselves fell from heavenly places (Isa 14:12-15). But believers have naught to fear, being "blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places" (Eph 1:3).
Verse 13
take . . . of God—not "make," God has done that: you have only to "take up" and put it on. The Ephesians were familiar with the idea of the gods giving armor to mythical heroes: thus Paul's allusion would be appropriate.
the evil day—the day of Satan's special assaults (Eph 6:12, Eph 6:16) in life and at the dying hour (compare Rev 3:10). We must have our armor always on, to be ready against the evil day which may come at any moment, the war being perpetual (Psa 41:1, Margin).
done all—rather, "accomplished all things," namely, necessary to the fight, and becoming a good soldier.
Verse 14
Stand—The repetition in Eph 6:11, Eph 6:14, shows that standing, that is, maintaining our ground, not yielding or fleeing, is the grand aim of the Christian soldier. Translate as Greek, "Having girt about your loins with truth," that is, with truthfulness, sincerity, a good conscience (Co2 1:12; Ti1 1:5, Ti1 1:18; Ti1 3:9). Truth is the band that girds up and keeps together the flowing robes, so as that the Christian soldier may be unencumbered for action. So the Passover was eaten with the loins girt, and the shoes on the feet (Exo 12:11; compare Isa 5:27; Luk 12:35). Faithfulness (Septuagint, "truth") is the girdle of Messiah (Isa 11:5) : so truth of His followers.
having on—Greek, "having put on."
breastplate of righteousness— (Isa 59:17), similarly of Messiah. "Righteousness" is here joined with "truth," as in Eph 5:9 : righteousness in works, truth in words [ESTIUS] (Jo1 3:7). Christ's righteousness inwrought in us by the Spirit. "Faith and love," that is, faith working righteousness by love, are "the breastplate" in Th1 5:8.
Verse 15
Translate, "Having shod your feet" (referring to the sandals, or to the military shoes then used).
the preparation—rather, "the preparedness," or "readiness of," that is, arising from the "Gospel" (Psa 10:17). Preparedness to do and suffer all that God wills; readiness for march, as a Christian soldier.
gospel of peace—(compare Luk 1:79; Rom 10:15). The "peace" within forms a beautiful contrast to the raging of the outward conflict (Isa 26:3; Phi 4:7).
Verse 16
Above all—rather, "Over all"; so as to cover all that has been put on before. Three integuments are specified, the breastplate, girdle, and shoes; two defenses, the helmet and shield; and two offensive weapons, the sword and the spear (prayer). ALFORD translates, "Besides all," as the Greek is translated, Luk 3:20. But if it meant this, it would have come last in the list (compare Col 3:14).
shield—the large oblong oval door-like shield of the Romans, four feet long by two and a half feet broad; not the small round buckler.
ye shall be able—not merely, "ye may." The shield of faith will certainly intercept, and so "quench, all the fiery darts" (an image from the ancient fire-darts, formed of cane, with tow and combustibles ignited on the head of the shaft, so as to set fire to woodwork, tents, &c.).
of the wicked—rather "of the EVIL ONE." Faith conquers him (Pe1 5:9), and his darts of temptation to wrath, lust, revenge, despair, &c. It overcomes the world (Jo1 5:4), and so the prince of the world (Jo1 5:18).
Verse 17
take—a different Greek word from that in Eph 6:13, Eph 6:16; translate, therefore, "receive," "accept," namely, the helmet offered by the Lord, namely, "salvation" appropriated, as Th1 5:8, "Helmet, the hope of salvation"; not an uncertain hope, but one that brings with it no shame of disappointment (Rom 5:5). It is subjoined to the shield of faith, as being its inseparable accompaniment (compare Rom 5:1, Rom 5:5). The head of the soldier was among the principal parts to be defended, as on it the deadliest strokes might fall, and it is the head that commands the whole body. The head is the seat of the mind, which, when it has laid hold of the sure Gospel "hope" of eternal life, will not receive false doctrine, or give way to Satan's temptations to despair. God, by this hope, "lifts up the head" (Psa 3:3; Luk 21:28).
sword of the Spirit—that is, furnished by the Spirit, who inspired the writers of the word of God (Pe2 1:21). Again the Trinity is implied: the Spirit here; and Christ in "salvation" and God the Father, Eph 6:13 (compare Heb 4:12; Rev 1:16; Rev 2:12). The two-edged sword, cutting both ways (Psa 45:3, Psa 45:5), striking some with conviction and conversion, and others with condemnation (Isa 11:4; Rev 19:15), is in the mouth of Christ (Isa 49:2), in the hand of His saints (Psa 149:6). Christ's use of this sword in the temptation is our pattern as to how we are to wield it against Satan (Mat 4:4, Mat 4:7, Mat 4:10). There is no armor specified for the back, but only for the front of the body; implying that we must never turn our back to the foe (Luk 9:62); our only safety is in resisting ceaselessly (Mat 4:11; Jam 4:7).
Verse 18
always—Greek, "in every season"; implying opportunity and exigency (Col 4:2). Paul uses the very words of Jesus in Luk 21:36 (a Gospel which he quotes elsewhere, in undesigned consonance with the fact of Luke being his associate in travel, Co1 11:23, &c.; Ti1 5:18). Compare Luk 18:1; Rom 12:12; Th1 5:17.
with all—that is, every kind of.
prayer—a sacred term for prayer in general.
supplication—a common term for a special kind of prayer [HARLESS], an imploring request. "Prayer" for obtaining blessings, "supplication" for averting evils which we fear [GROTIUS].
in the Spirit—to be joined with "praying." It is he in us, as the Spirit of adoption, who prays, and enables us to pray (Rom 8:15, Rom 8:26; Gal 4:6; Jde 1:20).
watching—not sleeping (Eph 5:14; Psa 88:13; Mat 26:41). So in the temple a perpetual watch was maintained (compare Anna, Luk 2:37).
thereunto—"watching unto" (with a view to) prayer and supplication.
with—Greek, "in." Persevering constancy ("perseverance") and (that is, exhibited in) supplication are to be the element in which our watchfulness is to be exercised.
for all saints—as none is so perfect as not to need the intercessions of his fellow Christians.
Verse 19
for me—a different Greek preposition from that in Eph 6:18; translate, therefore, "on my behalf."
that I may open my mouth boldly—rather, "that there may be given to me 'utterance,' or 'speech' in the opening of my mouth (when I undertake to speak; a formula used in set and solemn speech, Job 3:1; Dan 10:16), so as with boldness to make known," &c. Bold plainness of speech was the more needed, as the Gospel is a "mystery" undiscoverable by mere reason, and only known by revelation. Paul looked for utterance to be given him; he did not depend on his natural or acquired power. The shortest road to any heart is by way of heaven; pray to God to open the door and to open your mouth, so as to avail yourself of every opening (Jer 1:7-8; Eze 3:8-9, Eze 3:11; Co2 4:13).
Verse 20
For—Greek, as in Eph 6:19, "On behalf of which."
an ambassador in bonds—a paradox. Ambassadors were held inviolable by the law of nations, and could not, without outrage to every sacred right, be put in chains. Yet Christ's "ambassador is in a chain!" The Greek is singular. The Romans used to bind a prisoner to a soldier by a single chain, in a kind of free custody. So Act 28:16, Act 28:20, "I am bound with this chain." The term, "bonds" (plural), on the other hand, is used when the prisoner's hands or feet were bound together (Act 26:29); compare Act 12:6, where the plural marks the distinction. The singular is only used of the particular kind of custody described above; an undesigned coincidence [PALEY].
Verse 21
that ye also—as I have been discussing things relating to you, so that ye also may know about me (compare Col 4:7-8). NEANDER takes it, "Ye also," as well as the Colossians (Col 4:6).
my affairs—Greek, "the things concerning me."
how I do—how I fare.
Tychicus—an Asiatic, and so a fit messenger bearing the respective Epistles to Ephesus and Colosse (Act 20:4; Ti2 4:12).
a beloved brother—Greek, "the beloved brother"; the same epithet as in Col 4:7.
minister—that is, servant.
in the Lord—in the Lord's work.
Verse 22
for the same purpose—Greek, "for this very purpose." Col 4:8 is almost word for word the same as this verse.
our affairs—Greek, "the things concerning us," namely, concerning myself. "Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas" (Col 4:10).
Verse 23
love with faith—Faith is presupposed as theirs; he prays that love may accompany it (Gal 5:6).
Verse 24
Contrast the malediction on all who love Him not (Co1 16:22).
in sincerity—Greek, "in incorruption," that is, not as English Version, but "with an immortal (constant) love" [WAHL]. Compare "that which is not corruptible" (Pe1 3:4). Not a fleeting, earthly love, but a spiritual and eternal one [ALFORD]. Contrast Col 2:22, worldly things "which perish with the using." Compare Co1 9:25, "corruptible . . . incorruptible crown." "Purely," "holily" [ESTIUS], without the corruption of sin (See on Co1 3:17; Pe2 1:4; Jde 1:10). Where the Lord Jesus has a true believer, there I have a brother [BISHOP M'IKWAINE]. He who is good enough for Christ, is good enough for me [R. HALL]. The differences of opinion among real Christians are comparatively small, and show that they are not following one another like silly sheep, each trusting the one before him. Their agreement in the main, while showing their independence as witnesses by differing in non-essentials, can only be accounted for by their being all in the right direction (Act 15:8-9; Co1 1:2; Co1 12:3).
Next: Philippians Introduction
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary (Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, 1871). Public domain. Reformatted for the web by BibleHearth; wording unchanged. Public domain · Read the original