Chapter 6

6:1: "children..." Here, Paul is referring not to all of one's offspring or even a certain age range. It appears that adultship is marked by ones independency to their parents. Although you can never stop being one's biological child or biological offspring, it appears that when you assume adultship and adult "responsibilities" that you stop being one's "moral" child. Obedience can be given to one's parent as an adult but should not be demanded. Honor is always given to parent's regardless of their person or character but obedience and authority changes. "obey..."* see notes on Colossians 3:20. "in the Lord..." The motive to obey parents come from obedience to Christ.

6:2: "which is the first command with a promise..." This is the first command that comes with a special promise that is given.

6:3: This is the promise which is given. (see notes on verse 2) The promise is that those who honor their parents will live a long life.

6:4: "Fathers..." The word father here is used as history and human experience would show that fathers are more prone to discourage their children than a mother is, as well as the fact that fathers were seen as the primary "disciplinarians" in the ancient world. This truly applies to both mother and father figures. Rather than provoke or discourage their children, parents are to raise them up in the Lord.

6:5: Although slaves might have been bound to their master in a worldly, physical sense, we all have one spiritual master in Christ that we are bound to. When we serve our earthly masters we are serving the Lord. This is not Paul accepting slavery but rather applying the gospel to the situation of slavery on account of their hardship and condition.

6:6: This "service" is not to be done with physical/external obedience alone but rather is supposed to be internal and from the heart, with fear and trembling, as if unto our Lord Christ.

6:7: Seeing as this service is unto the Lord (see verse 6), We are doing the Lord's preceptive will (his commands and asks) when we serve earthly masters as if unto Him. This is not to say the Lord has appointed such people to slavery but instead is to say, as the word says, He works all things for good for those who are called.

6:8: No good thing done won't be taken account of by the Lord. Whether you are a slave or a free man, there is no distinction in Christ.

6:9: Paul here is showing the contrast between earthly position morally and spiritual position. In the earthly sense, the master is above the slave. Spiritually, both are in the same position of sonship in Christ. That is also why Paul appeals to Philemon to "no longer accept him (onesimus) as a slave but as a brother". God is authoritatively over all, but as believers in Christ we are willingly subject to the servanthood of God.

6:10: We are not called to be strong in our strength or be strong in our own might. We as believers in Christ are called to be strong in the Lord and His might, not our own. His power is made perfect in our weakness and in His strength we are made strong, but we can only lean on this strength when we realize our own weakness. To realize our own weakness is not to self deprecate or look down on ourselves but rather to come to the Lord in humility and love seeking the compassion and strength of our Heavenly Father by his tender mercies.

6:11: Paul here is using military terms to describe the spiritual battle we have. Just as we are new light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8), we wear the armor of light (Romans 13:12). We are called to wear the armor of God for the purpose of "standing firm" or "staying strong".

6:12: We do not fight physical enemies, our enemies are spiritual. The terms used here are: rulers, authorities, world forces of this darkness, spiritual forces of wickedness. They all refer to "demons" or "unholy spiritual beings", which are co-workers with and under Satan. The word used here for "struggle" gives us the picture of the act of wrestling and struggling against an opponent. This is not to say that we will never struggle against flesh and blood but rather that our battle is against spiritual beings.

6:13: Paul continues elaborating on his statement in verse 11. The war we are fighting is perpetual, never ceasing while on earth. Satan lurks like a lion ready to attack at all times. This armor is not taken off rather it is put on by every believer as a child of light, and is "furnished" and "prepared" for us by God.

6:14-17: Paul starts describing what armor he just spoke about beforehand. All of these "parts" of the Armor of God are crucial strongholds or places in the Christian walk which are necessary for standing against the devil and all evil.

6:14: "belt of truth..." The belt which was around a soldiers waste helped support the breastplate and gave a spot for the sword to be attached as well as helped "cinch up" the loose material of the armor. We are called to put on the belt of truth. We are guided into truth by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13) and are called not to love in word or talk but in deed and truth. (1 John 3:18) Truth is what ties everything up together and allows us to be sincere in our actions and words. We are not to only know what the truth is but also to have conviction towards that which we know to be true in the Lord. breastplate of righteousness... Some people take Christ's imputed righteousness on us to be the "breastplate of righteousness". I think this interpretation is dubious because we do not put Christ's righteousness on by our own volition, Christ's righteousness is put onto us. It is credited by God not given as an item.

6:15: In our old dead nature we were swift to shed blood and our feet did not just walk but rather we used our feet to run to evil. (Isaiah 59:7) Now, as children of light, we are no longer to run with the sandals of our previous death. We are to put on the sandles or "shod our feet" with that of a new nature and we are to be prepared or furthermore, ready to share the gospel of peace. Before, we shed blood but now we run not to evil but we spread peace and run to goodness. We spread the good news of Christ; He does not merely give peace but He is peace in Himself, as well as the Prince of Peace and Maker of Peace. We no longer stumble but we love the Lord's law in peace. (Psalm 119:165, Psalm 34:14)

6:16: The soldier uses the shield as his primary defense in the day of battle. When we are in battle, our greatest defense is our lasting trust and faith in the Lord. Faith and truth conquers temptation and deceit.

6:17: In this verse it does not tell us to "put on" the helmet of salvation or the sword of the Spirit but rather tells us to receive. It is offered by God and is His gift, not earned or put on by us, rather it is received by us. "the Helmet of Salvation..." Compare with 1 Thessalonians 5:8 "the word of God" the sword, which is sharper than any two edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). It is sharped than any two edged sword, although being a weapon, because it is not a earthly crafted sword but the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

6:18: Prayer is not to be an afterthought but is to be done "at all times".

6:19: Paul asked the Ephesians to pray on his behalf not only that he would have boldness in the proclamation of the gospel but also that he would have the words to say.

6:20: "ambassador..." An ambassador in Roman times was someone sent on a diplomatic mission to other leaders or nations that represented the "senate" or "emperor". They delivered messages and helped negotiate terms. They were granted something called "sacrosanctity" which meant under "international custom" they weren't allowed to be harmed or imprisoned. Paul here makes a statement: "an ambassador... in chains?" this statement might seem contradictory or like a heavy contrast with what I just explained but there is something to take into account. Paul is an ambassador of Christ. Christ's kingdom is not of this world. We are not to expect Paul as an ambassador or a πρεσβεύω to be treated with the customs of this world. He is sent as an ambassador of Christ sending this message: "We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) That is the message that all ambassadors of Christ are sent with. It appears in these verses Paul was especially sent with a slightly distinctive message of the mystery of the gospel, which was made known to Him by revelation (Ephesians 3:3).

6:21-22: These verses aligns with what we see in Colossians 4:7-9. Paul was sending Tychicus to both Ephesus and Colossae for the purpose of "making everything known to them". Tychicus was to inform them about Paul's current conditions and "all his affairs" as well as encourage their hearts.

6:23: The lack of personal commendations and references at the end of this letter attest to the fact that it was likely a circular letter. (See Chapter 1 Forenotes) "love with faith..." That love may accompany their faith.

6:24: "incorruptible love..." The love that true believers have the Lord is not perishable or corruptible but it is lasting. Not an earthly love but a lasting, spiritual love.