Michael Hunter is a high school senior who took our Saturday Bible Institute Class on Ephesians. Here is his paper on Eph 6:10-20 that he taught on Saturday.
The second section of Ephesians focuses on the practical application of the doctrinal truths of the first section. Paul is saying, “Because of A, act like B.” This particular section (vv. 10-17) is the last in a series of exhortations to godly living. Paul realizes that believers who acknowledge the blessings and unity they have in Christ and live in light of this will face the attacks of Satan. Here, Paul tells these believers what God has supplied for them to hold on to the joy, peace, love, and unity they already have as members of Christ’s body. Paul has already described what the Church looks like and should behave like. Now he writes about the types of attacks the Church will face and how it can face these attacks.
Paul says, “Be strong in the Lord.” The meaning is actually more like “Be strengthened in the Lord.” This is the first and foundational step, yet we immediately find that we can’t do it. We cannot make ourselves strong. In fact, we must acknowledge our own weakness. We cannot rely on ourselves for victory. We have no strength of our own! If we try to win our own battles, we’ve already lost. That’s why 1 Cor. 10:12 says, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” Calvin said, “There is no worse screen to block out the Spirit than confidence in our own intelligence.” Instead, we must acknowledge our dependence on God. That’s why Paul prayed earlier that believers would be given “a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might…” (Eph 1:17-19). And that is why Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13). It is always Christ who strengthens (1 Tim 1:12, 2 Tim 4:17). Paul writes, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Php 4:13). In context, Paul is saying that he can live in all circumstances when strengthened by Christ’s provision. He could win because he was “strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 2:1; cf. 2 Co 12:9). How do we become strengthened or empowered? Romans 4:20 says Abraham “grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.” By focusing on the glory of God’s character and the certainty of God’s promises, Abraham grew strong. Once we see our weakness, we must turn to see God’s glory, and then we learn to fall on Him so that His grace is so much sweeter. God has already empowered us to fulfill our roles in His Church (2 Tim 1:7). We don’t need to pray for more power. Like Paul, we need to pray that we understand how to use the power we have. We need not be afraid of losing the battle. Christ has ultimately already won (1 Co 15:56-57). But we still must fight daily and depend on the inherent strength of God. Paul also says to be strong “in the strength of His might.” “Strength” refers to mighty deeds, is associated with dominion, and has to do with supremacy and military victory. Actually, it was used in the phrase “to take by storm” in the ancient world. Colossians 1:11-12 underscores the purpose of this strengthening: “May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” This is what Paul is trying to say in Ephesians. God strengthens us so that we may see God’s majesty and rejoice and give thanks for it so that we can endure trials. This dependence on God in the battle glorifies God because it reveals His grace: “whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies- in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Pe 4:11; Eph 1:6). “Might” is the capability of God’s inherent nature upon which we are depending. Thucydides used the term for a fortified place, and Xenophon used it in reference to a force of soldiers. God is our fortified place and military force.
We are to “put on the whole armor of God.” Paul was inspired to use the armor analogy because he was chained to a Roman soldier. This verb indicates that it should be a one-time act. We should put on the armor and never take it off. This is the panoplia, or full armor. We are to have on all parts of the armor at all times. Romans 13:11-14 clarifies what this armor is like: “The hour has come for you to wake from sleep…Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light…Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” This armor is armor supplied by God. In fact, this armor is the very armor worn by Christ because it is Christ’s character (Is 11:4-5, 59:17). We are actually putting on through the Spirit’s sanctifying work (Php 2:12-13) Christ’s very nature (2 Co 3:18). In Romans 13, Paul is calling believers out of spiritual apathy to throw off the old clothes of immorality and put on once for all Christ; that is, we are to walk in close fellowship to Him and act as He acts. God has made provision for the battle. He will carry us to victory (1 Thess 5:23-24). Here is divine/human tension. Apathy is not an option, but neither is fear. Why wear this armor? To stand firm. This is something God enables us to do. There’s no room for boasting here. God alone “is able to keep [us] from stumbling” (Jude 24). This standing demands unity. We cannot stand alone and we cannot stand against one another (Mk 3:26). In the Roman soldier analogy, we must fight as a legion, not alone. We are bracing ourselves against the enemy charge. What’s the purpose of standing? The church’s job is not to fight to get new blessings. Paul has already made clear that we have the “surpassing riches of His grace…in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:7). We are simply to remain holding strong to the joy and blessings and unity we have in the face of attack. We are standing against the “schemes of the devil.” What are these schemes? Satan repeatedly comes to tempt us (Lk 4:13). Ephesians 4:14 says we are not to be “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” These schemes are particularly false doctrine taught in the church. Doctrine doesn’t divide. Lack of knowledge about Christ and Christ’s blessings divides. False doctrine attempts to distort truth (1 Pe 3:15-16). Now we’ve come “full circle” in Paul’s epistle. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 describes how the weapons God supplies are sufficient: “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds [contrast with God as a fortress]. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God [false doctrine]…”
Paul highlights that we need spiritual weapons because we are fighting spiritual enemies (v. 12). Paul says we are wrestling. This is hand-to-hand combat. Paul is serious here. In Greek wrestling matches, the loser would have his eyes gouged out. The Ephesian culture was heavily influenced by demonic arts (Acts 19:19). It is important for them to know that God is greater than all those demonic powers. Rulers are the supreme demonic spirits. The authorities are lower demonic spirits. The “cosmic powers over this present darkness” (lit. world rulers-contrast with verse 10) are Satan and his forces. Ephesians 5:6-14 warns us that the unregenerate are deceived and controlled by Satan (Eph 2:2), and we must have no part in that because we have been delivered from Satan’s domain of darkness (Col 1:13). Instead, we are to expose evil and deceit by shining the truth of God’s Word on it.
It is our responsibility to resist Satan (Jms 4:7; 1 Pe 5:9) in the evil day. God intends for us to be tested to build our character, but He always provides a way of escape (Jms 1; 1 Co 10:13). The evil day has been every day since the Fall of man: “The days are evil” (Eph 5:16). Evil is not simply moral evil. It refers to that which is burdensome and troublesome.
The first piece of spiritual armor Paul mentions is the belt of truth or truthfulness. God’s truth is referred to in v.17, so this must be referring to truthfulness or sincerity. Paul uses the word meaning “to gird up the loins” or “to be dressed for action” (Lk 12:35-37). This fits with the purpose of the belt worn by Roman soldiers. The belt was worn in battle to pull back the loose parts of the tunic. In other words, it kept the hindrance of the tunic out of the way. Paul is saying that sincerity and devotion in the spiritual war are essentials. We can’t just sit back and relax. We must press on especially through suffering (Heb 12:1-2). In 2 Tim 2:3-4, Paul writes, “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” We are to have a wholehearted devotion to the fight.
The next piece of armor is the breastplate of righteousness. Roman soldiers typically wore metal breastplates to protect their heart and gut area. The heart was considered the source of thinking, and the gut area was considered the source of emotions and feelings. Basically, Paul was saying that this piece of armor protected our essential self. This righteousness he is talking about is the practical righteousness (we’re in the practical section). Paul speaks of this practical righteousness in Romans 13:12-14. Satan tries to attack our emotions and thought processes so that we don’t God as glorious as He is, so that we don’t love God and have joy in God to the full extent, so that we don’t control our emotions instead of our emotions controlling us. For example, Satan wants us to have doubt, anxiety, and discouragement in life instead of standing in the blessings and joy we have in Christ.
The next piece of gear is the boots. Paul uses a verb that means “to bind up” or “to be ready for action” and a word meaning “preparation” or “sure-footedness.” Roman foot soldiers were called caligati because they wore sandals called caligae with spikes on the bottoms. The spikes helped them to grip the ground so they could stay standing. In the spiritual realm, God gives us boots to stand our ground. These are the gospel of peace. “Peace” is a word that refers to legal protection in the pax Romana or a state of peace. This is the objective peace we have with Christ beginning at our justification (Rom 5:1; Eph 2:14). Recognition of our relationship with God enables us to keep standing. This prevents us from being discouraged because we recognize that we are on the same side as God.
The shield was a 4 ft. x 2.5 ft. rectangular or oblong shield made of wood. The shield was covered in thick leather. These shields could guard against arrows and were also covered in a flame-retardant to put out the fire on flaming arrows. Our shield is faith (Heb 11:1, 13, 33-38). Faith is our complete trust in the character of God and the truth of His Word. It’s relying on His promises. We must hold on to our shield of faith as we slowly advance toward the enemy. It’s not for some occasions. Our faith must persevere through trials. We must hold on to our belief that God is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6). This is necessary to extinguish Satan’s arrows (Gen 3, Matt 4). Satan’s arrows are those things in life that attempt to sow doubt and disbelief in God’s Word and sap our joy in God. Satan’s attacks are indirect and often the results of temptation and sin spread. By depending on God in complete trust, we remove the fuel by which Satan’s attacks can spread- self-confidence.
The helmet of salvation speaks of our ongoing salvation from the power of sin and our eventual salvation from the presence of sin which we receive from God. We must hold on to the reality of our future salvation from the presence of sin. We must hold on to the reality of our future salvation or else we will give up the fight. We must see that there is an end to this thing (1 Co 15:32). We are to have a joy and hope in our future as glorified people (Rom 5:2-4). By the way, part of this is not only that we are discouraged by length of time but that we misunderstand heaven and our final salvation. We must have an assurance in our salvation, understanding of the doctrine of eternal security, and understanding of our eternal state with God. This will help us to get through and even thrive in the tough times.
Next is God’s Word. Paul is referring to a small 12-18 in. dagger used in close combat, sacrifices, and surgical procedures (Matt 26). Also, the word for “word” here is not the more general logos but a specific statement. Basically, Paul is saying that we, like soldiers, must learn to use this small dagger precisely. We can’t just go flailing around with it. We must know exactly how to attack with it. For example, Jesus quoted specific statements from Deuteronomy to deal with specific problems. God’s Word is flawless (Ps 19:7, Prov 30:5-6). It is our source of strength (Matt 4:4, Acts 20:23). It is completely sufficient for our lives (2 Tim 3:16-17). It is eternal (Matt 5:18). It is effective (Is 55:11). It is liberating (Jn 17:17; 8:32). It is defensive in the sense that it protects us from self-deception (Heb 4:12) and Satan’s attacks (Matt 4). It is offensive in the sense that it saves people (James 1:18; Ps 19:7; 2 Tim 3:15).
Praying in the Spirit is vital. It is probably the most intimate form of worship (Jn 4:23-24) This is entirely related to the foundation of victory. By praying, we are falling on God’s strength. We are admitting that we are incapable of victory and focusing completely on God’s sufficiency. Then God steps in to get the glory. “In the Spirit” is an important phrase. We do not always know how exactly we should pray. Sometimes we’re too “me-focused” to pray correctly. By praying in the Spirit we’re lining up with God’s will. Often, the Holy Spirit goes into this inner-Trinitarian council on our behalf. He intercedes for us in ways that can’t be expressed in words. In fact, the Holy Spirit and the Father have such an intimacy that they always are thinking the same thing (Rom 8:26-27, 1 Co 2:11). So, of course, whatever the Spirit prays for happens. We are to pray “with all prayer and petition.” This means we pray in a variety of ways. There are many ways to pray for different circumstances. Just read the Psalms. We are also to pray “at all times” (Php 4:6-7). 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 simplifies this: “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” God commands us to express our genuine joy to Him and give thanks! Praying without ceasing does not mean praying without breaks. It simply means praying regularly with constancy. In fact, one may argue that this includes a continual awareness of God’s presence and acknowledgement of His will at all times. Furthermore, we are to be very alert in our lives by constantly probing our own souls to see if there is any wickedness there as we pray that God would deliver us from evil (Matt 6:13; Ps 19:12; Matt 26:41). We are to persevere in prayer (Lk 11:9, 18:7,8). Lastly, we are to pray for all the saints. This prayer brings unity and draws attention away from self. Prayer is necessary to seek God’s wisdom and understanding (Jms 1:5; Eph 1:15-23) and find refuge in His strength. By resting in Him through prayer, we have peace.
