Tag: ephesians

Lesson 20

Ephesians 6: 21-24, closing words

V 21, But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you;

Paul sent Tychicus back to Ephesus to give an update regarding his situation in Rome. Tychicus was a beloved brother and a faithful minister in the Lord.

V 22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.

Paul sent Tychicus back to Ephesus to reassure and comfort them.

VV 23-24, 23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

Paul ended the epistle of Ephesians with a doxology, benediction, and prayer. He pronounced to his listeners, and us, peace, love, faith, and grace.

Lesson 19

Ephesians 6:17-20, spiritual warfare, part 3.

V 17, And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

The fifth component is the helmet of salvation. The helmet protects against head injury. The spiritual helmet of salvation is the hope of salvation. The assurance of salvation strengthens our faith.

1Thessalonians 5:8, “But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation”.

VV 18- 19, 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints, 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,

The sixth component is prayer, the sword of the Spirit. Prayer is a weapon of defense as well as a weapon of offense. Prayer protects against demonic attacks and tears down demonic strongholds. We must pray persistently and with perseverance for all Christians. Even Paul requested his audience to pray for him for boldness in preaching the gospel.

Hebrews 4:12, ‘’For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart”.

Rev 2:12, “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this”.

Ezekiel 22:30, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one”.

2 Chronicles 7:14, “ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land”.

V 20, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Paul was an ambassador for Christ and preached the gospel boldly even when he was chained to a Roman guard under house arrest.

Lesson 18

Ephesians 6:14-16, Spiritual warfare, part 2.

The armor consists of 6 components, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.

V 14, Stand, therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

The first component of the spiritual armor is the belt of truth, (NIV). We must wear the belt of truth on our waist. The belt of truth is Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth, and life. Jesus is full of grace and truth. Knowing the truth about Jesus will set us free from deception and false doctrines. Jesus, the word of God is truth.

John 1:14, John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”.

John 14:7, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. Jesus is the breastplate of righteousness.

John 8:32, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

John 17:17, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth”.

The second component is the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate of righteousness is the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ to us.

Romans 1:17, For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith”.

2 Cor 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”.

Matthew 6: 33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”.

V 15, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

The third component is the gospel shoes of peace. The gospel is the good news of peace. To wear the shoes of the gospel of peace is to do evangelism. We are to be ready to share the gospel with anyone, in season and out of season.

2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching”.

1 Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear”.

John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

V 16, above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

The fourth component is the shield of faith. The shield of faith is our faith in God. We are to be strong in faith. The shield of faith will block off the fiery arrows of doubts that satan threw at us.

Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”.

Hebrews 11: 6, And without faith, it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Ephesian 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith”.

Psalm 35:1-2, “Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me. Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help”.

Lesson 17

Ephesians 6:10-13, spiritual warfare, part 1.

V 10, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Paul encouraged his listeners, (and us) to stand firm in the Lord in the power of His might, not ours. We are weak but He is strong, and our weakness is perfected in His strength.

2 Corinthians 12:19 a, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

V 11, Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

God provided us with spiritual armor. We are to wear this armor to defend and attack against the demonic onslaught. These are the spiritual weapons to fight spiritual warfare.

2 Cor 10:4-5, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”.

VV 12-13, 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness 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.

Our battle is not physical but spiritual. Our battle is against the hierarchy of satanic demons called the principalities and powers, the rulers of darkness, and the spiritual wickedness in high places. Paul commanded his audience (and us), to wear the whole armor of God and stand firm in the faith. We must win the battle in the spiritual realm before we can see a breakthrough in the physical realm.

Lesson 16

Ephesians 6:1-9, children, father, slave, master.

VV 1-3, 1 Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

Children are to obey their parents. This is a commandment with a promise of long life, Exodus 20:12.

Exodus 20:12, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you”.

V 4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Fathers must not provoke their children to anger, but teach, raise, and train them in the Lord’s when they are young.

Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it”.

VV 5-8, 5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Slaves, servants, or employees are to obey their masters, just as they obey the Lord. They must obey with fear, trembling, sincerity, goodwill, devoid of hypocrisy, as if doing a service to the Lord and not to men. The Lord who sees everything from heaven will reward them for their deeds.

V 9, And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

Masters or employers are to treat their slaves or employees with kindness, sincerity, fairness, and goodwill knowing that their Master in heaven who sees everything will reward them for their deeds.

Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him”.

1 Cor 10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”.

Lesson 15

Ephesians 5: 22-33, Husbands and wives

VV 22-24, 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

A wife is to submit to her husband just as she submits to the Lord. The husband is the head over his wife, just as Christ is head and Saviour over His bride, the church.

V 25, Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

Greek for love is “agape”, which means unconditional and sacrificial love. A husband is to love his wife just as Christ loved His bride, the church, and sacrificed His life for her.

VV 26-27, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Christ sanctified and cleansed His bride, the church, by the washing of the word, to make her holy, spotless, and glorious.

VV 28-29, 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

Greek for cherish is “thalpo”, which means to care with tenderness. A husband is to love and care tenderly for his wife as his own body, just as the Lord loves and cares tenderly for His bride, the church.

VV 29-31, 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. 31 “For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Christians are members of the body of Christ, the church. Christ is the head of the body and Christians are parts of the same body, the bones, the ligaments, the joints, etc. In marriage, a man is to leave his parents and be joined with his wife.

VV 32-33, 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Marriage between a man and a woman is a great mystery, just as marriage between Christ and His bride, the church, is a great mystery. A husband is to love his wife unconditionally and sacrificially and in return the wife is to respect her husband.

Lesson 14

Ephesians 5: 15- 21

VV 15-16, 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time because the days are evil.

Greek for circumspectly is “akribos”, which means with precisely, carefully, or diligently. . We must conduct ourselves diligently and wisely. Greek for redeeming is “exagorazo”, which means to buy up or rescue from loss. We must try to buy back lost time by practicing good time management and using our time wisely for the kingdom of God.

V 17, Therefore do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Paul commanded his listeners, and us, not to be foolish, but to understand and discern the Lord’s will.

V 18, And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

Paul commanded his listeners, and us, not to be drunk with wine but instead be filled with Holy Spirit.

V 19, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

Paul commanded his listeners, and us, to speak to each other in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. To worship the Lord by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to Him as our spiritual act of worship.

V 20, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Paul commanded his listeners, and us, to be thankful to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and submit to each as we submit to God with fear.

1 Thess 5: 16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”.