Equipping God’s People to Stand Firm: EphesiansSample

God’s holy protection for the family and the family of God.

Paul begins chapter 6 talking about the relationship between child and parent and slave and master. To fully understand these passages of Scripture, we need to look at the first-century perspective on these two relationships. Honoring and respecting parents was a social expectation in the first century, across all cultures. This expectation was just as important in Gentile circles as it was for those from a Jewish background. In fact, honoring parents was as important to the Gentiles as honoring the gods.

With regard to slaves and masters, it is important to remember when studying this passage that slavery in the first century was very different than how we view slavery today. One-third of the Roman population were slaves in some form, and while some were treated with cruelty and lived in harsh conditions, others were prized for their educational or intellectual abilities and skills. Roman-era slavery consisted of all races and most expected to be freed by the time they were thirty. Slave labor included a multitude of work, including household management, teaching, business, and industry. Many actually owned property. Many free laborers experienced poverty, while slaves often experienced much better living and economic conditions. As a result, free laborers would indenture themselves in order to maintain a higher standard of living. This in no way means that slavery was ethical or godly. It simply paints a picture of first-century slavery and how different it was from the reality of slavery experienced in the New World.

Paul’s audience included husbands, wives, parents, slaves, and masters. He was writing to an extremely diverse church to strengthen all of them, whatever their walk of life, so that they could mature in their Christian faith. His final challenge in Chapter 6 is to “stand firm.” He uses a suit of armor as a metaphor to teach his readers, then and today, how to stand firm in the battle between good and evil. Let’s look at these final verses to see how we can apply Paul’s instructions to our own lives.

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2).

As believers in Jesus Christ, Satan can no longer claim us. As a result, he will work hard to damage our ministry and our witness. His goal is to prevent you from experiencing God’s will for your life, and he will try to undermine the unity of Jesus’ people and compromise who they are in Christ. Our only hope is to fight this spiritual battle in the strength of Christ and his victory at the cross. His victory is ours, but we must stand firm in his strength and not our own. We must make the daily choice to put on the armor of God and live grounded in God’s truth, righteousness, power, and strength. Then we are equipped and ready to spread the gospel of peace.

Ephesians presents the gospel story and how the good news of Christ should reshape every part of our lives. Through Paul’s letter, we are urged to live in the newness of life in Christ. How has the letter to Ephesians strengthened your life in Christ? What changes/improvements have you been led to make because of Paul’s teaching?

“Paul tells the Ephesians over and over: stand (6:11, 13–14). In other words, stay in the area where victory has been achieved under the cover of God’s armor. When you stand under an umbrella, it doesn’t stop the rain. But it does stop you from getting wet. You have to dress for success in this called the Christian life.” Tony Evans

If you haven’t discovered what your unique gifting from the Holy Spirit is, I encourage you to go to https://www.denisonforum.org/spiritual-gifts-assessment/ and find out how you have been gifted through God’s Holy Spirit to serve his kingdom.