Ephesians 6 Verses 12 to 20 Battle Ready October 2, 2022

Ephesians 6 Verses 12 to 20 Battle Ready October 2, 2022

Class Presentation Notes AAAA

Background Scripture: James 5:13-16 (NASB) 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Main Idea: Effective prayer is true, aggressive, warfare praying.

Study Aim: To understand that praying in the spirit is prayer that listens.

Create Interest:

· In preparing this lesson I expanded the scope of the lesson back up include Verse 12 to 16 in honor of a great friend and Christian brother Charlie Harper who played for the New York Giants from 1966 to 1973 as an offensive lineman. To be ready for the game he had to suit up completely with the helmet, protective gear and shoes that would give him the best chance of standing up to the challenges he would face.

· This scripture became real for him when his son, Scott, was almost killed in an automobile accident and lived for another 20 years in total care of his every need. After hearing of a large blood clot in his son’s leg, Charlie received this scripture in his agonizing prayer time. It was life changing and prayer became very real for him from then on.

· Charlie has shared this with countless people over the years who cared for his son, and those that have cared for him in his battle with cancer and other challenges. As I write this Charlie is in hospice and looking forward to hearing Jesus say, “well done, my good and faithful servant”.

· Our lesson is entitled, Battle Ready….Let’s “suit up” as Scripture directs and be blessed by what we learn in the preparation and the actual battle we face in prayer and our lives every day😊.

Lesson in Historical Context:

· Paul has been speaking of the ethical and relational challenge we have in 4:1–6:9. Now he points out with more emphasis the cosmic and spiritual battle that exists. We should note that Paul has already mentioned life in the Spirit. However, here he addresses it with greater, more sustained, emphasis. He shows us that more is going on than meets the eye. We cannot simply say that our relational challenges in the church, our behavioral challenges in the home, or our ethical challenges in society are the results of everything except spiritual problems. They may surely involve physical and psychological challenges, but we are complex beings; and many of our problems are spiritual warfare issues. Paul takes us from a moral perspective to a cosmic perspective. As Stott says, “Beneath the surface, an unseen spiritual battle is raging” (Ephesians, 261).

· In Ephesians 6:10–17 Paul exhorts the Ephesians (and us) to stand firm, by God’s strength, in God’s armor, in the midst of spiritual warfare. The three imperatives are “be strengthened,” “put on the full armor of God,” and “stand.” These imperatives “dominate the text, the rest of the verses are explanatory” (Snodgrass, Ephesians, 337). Notice the lead sentence in verse 10: “Be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.” The next verse shows how this strength is appropriated: “Put on the full armor of God”; and why it is necessary: “So that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil.” Again, the point is to stand in God’s strength with God’s armor in the midst of spiritual warfare.

· Notice the repetition: “stand” (v. 11), “withstand” (v. 13 ESV), “take your stand” (v. 13), and “stand, therefore.” In verse 14 “stand” is issued as an imperative, and according to O’Brien it “is the chief admonition of the passage” (Ephesians, 472).

· He says there is another way to look at the believer’s life in Christ. The believer’s life is a battlefield. Immediately upon receiving Christ, the believer finds himself in a constant struggle. He is engaged in an unceasing fight, an unending war. He is a combatant, a soldier in conflict. His calling is not to a life of enjoyment and ease, but to a life of hard conflict. There are foes within and foes without. From the cradle to the grave there is constant struggle against the corruptible lusts of the flesh and the imposing temptations offered by the world and Satan—a struggle against an excessive corruption that inevitably leads to death (Ro. 7:21; Gal. 5:17; 6:8; Ep. 4:22b; 6:10).[1]

· In our culture everyone wants to talk about problems without talking about evil, faith, or the Spirit. Anyone who proposes a spiritual cause to a problem is labeled as a fanatic, or naïve, silly, unenlightened, or uninformed about the real issues. Some may give a sentimental value to those of faith but nothing more. In their hearts they believe such talk is insane.

· We think we are so advanced, and yet the streets still run with blood; humans are being oppressed, treated like animals; families are breaking down everywhere, and so on. We are in a broken world that is influenced by the “god of this age” (2 Cor 4:4). The Bible will not allow for a simplistic answer to the problems of this world. Clearly there are some answers in the fields of sociology, biology, etc., but they cannot and will not provide all the answers. You must take into account sin and Satan when you try to assess the problems of this world. Paul, as a trustworthy and inspired apostle, is not uninformed about the real problems; he is informing us about the real, unseen battle beneath these visible problems. Let us now consider his words,[2] and focus on our prayer life in the process.

Thoughts to Soak on as we begin our study: Psalm 40:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17

· We have trusted Him to lift us out of the pit, and now that we are His child, we must continue to trust Him to strengthen us and be the stable Rock of our life. "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!" (Romans 5:10).

· The solid Rock is no place to tremble, no place to fear. He will remain solid for all eternity, and as we stand on Him, He will accomplish through us what we are unable to do in our own strength. He is our new life, our strength, our identity, and all our self-worth. He is our comfort when we grieve, and He is our guiding light when we have lost our way. Let's honor our Heavenly Father as we continue to stand. Let's bring Him glory as we resolve to stand firm on the Rock!

o Psalm 40:2 (NASB) 2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

o 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB) 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Bible Study:

Ephesians 6:12 (NASB) 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

· The armor provides protection against the devil’s deception by enabling believers to be able to stand. Paul describes the situation as a “struggle,” using a noun referring to a wrestling contest and by extension to a physical struggle with an opponent (6:12). The struggle is not against humans—or, as Paul puts it, “flesh and blood”—but against spiritual rulers and authorities. Paul speaks of “the rulers and the authorities,” using terms found earlier in Ephesians (1:21; 3:10; see also 1 Cor 15:24; Col 1:16; 2:10, 15; Titus 3:1). He continues with a term found only here in the New Testament, “powers of [this dark] world,” a combination of the terms “cosmos” and “power/strength.” The term is similar to an Old Testament title for God, pantokratōr, “all powerful” (2 Sam 5:10; 1 Kgs 19:10), but Paul might also have drawn from the broader culture that used the term for spirits. We find the term in Jewish texts such as the Testament of Solomon in reference to demonic beings (8.2; 18.3), and Paul might be reflecting a general Jewish understanding of the evil spiritual world. These malevolent superpowers rule “this dark world.” Paul ends his list by pointing to “spiritual forces of evil.”

· This final category catches all “classes of hostile spirits.” These four categories exist in the heavenly realm and desire nothing more than human faltering and failure.

o The expression occurs in the New Testament only in Ephesians 6:12 where Paul explained that the Christian struggle is “not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers (archas [see 741]), against the authorities (exousias[see 1833]), against the powers of this dark world (pros tous kosmokratoras tou skotous toutou) and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (NIV). The context confirms that Paul is not speaking about physical world rulers or powers but of supernatural, spiritual forces which are opposed to the Church and to the redemptive work of God on earth. That the world (kosmos) is subject to the satanic forces alluded to in Ephesians is not new (e.g., John 12:31; cf. John 13:1; 16:11; 1 Corinthians 3:19; 5:10; 7:31).

o The broader context of the entire letter of Ephesians also contributes to this understanding. The cosmic overtones are inescapable. Furthermore, we encounter some celestial terminology elsewhere (e.g., 3:18; cf. verse 10 of the same chapter and the cosmic language of 1:20ff.; 2:6ff.)[3]

· What might such a struggle look like? Jesus faced Satan in the wilderness, experiencing the onslaught of his half-truths and shortcuts to power.

o Jesus shows his steadfast loyalty and faithfulness to God the Father through the testing.

o Jesus does not assert his power independent of God and thus rejects the devil’s challenge to change stones to bread (Matt 4:1–4; Luke 4:3–4).

o Jesus rebuffs the devil’s offer of the world’s kingdoms in favor of the everlasting kingdom promised him by God (Matt 4:8–11; Luke 4:5–18, perhaps drawing on Ps 2:8).

o Parenthetically, notice the unchallenged claim by Satan that he rules the human world (Luke 4:6), a conviction that Paul shares (Eph 2:2).

o Finally, Jesus repudiates the devil’s interpretation of Scripture because it lacks understanding of God’s true nature and no acknowledgement of sin’s hold on the world (Matt 4:5–7; Luke 4:9–13). Satan sees Scripture as promising a way to demonstrate personal power and wow the crowds.

o Jesus understands that his ministry proceeds through the cross—there is no cheap grace or easy solution to the problem of sin.

Ephesians 6:13 (NASB) 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

· Paul repeats his call to put on God’s whole armor, having identified the terrible foe. He begins 6:13 with the conjunction “therefore” and follows with the aorist imperative “put on” God’s armor. Paul explains that with this armor, believers can withstand the onslaught in “the evil day” (6:13).

· Paul might be referring to the present time, which he earlier described with the phrase “the days are evil” (5:16). If so, then believers must imagine themselves in a constant struggle with spiritual forces against which their only hope is standing firm in the Lord’s strength and armor. Alternatively, it might refer to specific times in a believer’s life that involve deep struggles with the deception of demonic forces. A ready example is Jesus’s temptations.

· Finally, it is possible that Paul has in mind the end of this age, when Christ judges the world and the devil’s schemes are forever destroyed. It is most likely that Paul does not draw a sharp distinction between the current struggles of the faithful and the final cataclysm—it is a matter of degree, not kind. Paul concludes 6:13 with the plural neuter adjective “all things” and the aorist participle “to do/work.” The participle can also mean “to conquer/subdue,” which leads some to suggest that Paul’s emphasis is on the believer having survived the assault. While it is true that Paul proclaims Christ’s victory, his more limited point here is that, having put on God’s armor, the believer is equipped to stand.[4]

Ephesians 6:14 (NASB) 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,

· Stand firm therefore. Resist every attack—as a soldier does in battle. In what way they were to do this, and how they were to be armed, the apostle proceeds to specify; and, in doing it, gives a description of the ancient armor of a soldier.

· Having your loins girt about. The girdle, or sash, was always with the ancients an important part of their dress, in war as well as in peace. They wore loose, flowing robes; and it became necessary to gird them up when they travelled, or ran, or labored. The girdle was often highly ornamented, and was the place where they carried their money, their sword, their pipe, their writing instruments. The “girdle” seems sometimes to have been a cincture of iron or steel, and designed to keep every part of the armor in its place, and to gird the soldier on every side. The following will give an idea of part of the armor of an ancient soldier.

· With truth. It may not be easy to determine with entire accuracy the resemblance between the parts of the armor specified in this description, and the things with which they are compared, or to determine precisely why he compared truth to a girdle, and righteousness to a breast-plate, rather than why he should have chosen a different order, and compared righteousness to a girdle.

o Perhaps in themselves there may have been no special reason for this arrangement, but the object may have been merely to specify the different parts of the armor of a soldier, and to compare them with the weapons which Christians were to use, though the comparison should be made somewhat at random.

o In some of the cases, however, we can see a particular significancy in the comparisons which are made; and it may not be improper to make suggestions of that kind as we go along.

§ The idea here may be, that as the girdle was the bracer up, or support of the body, so truth is fitted to brace us up, and to gird us for constancy and firmness. The girdle kept all the parts of the armor in their proper place, and preserved firmness and consistency in the dress; and so truth might serve to give consistency and firmness to our conduct. “Great,” says Grotius, “is the laxity of falsehood; truth binds the man.”

§ Truth preserves a man from those lax views of morals, of duty, and of religion, which leave him exposed to every assault. It makes the soul sincere, firm, constant, and always on its guard. A man who has no consistent views of truth, is just the man for the adversary successfully to assail.

· And having on the breastplate. The word here rendered “breast-plate” (θώρἀξ) denoted the cuirass, Lat., lorica, or coat of mail; i. e., the armor that covered the body from the neck to the thighs, and consisted of two parts, one covering the front and the other the back. It was made of rings, or in the form of scales, or of plates, so fastened together that they would be flexible, and yet guard the body from a sword, spear, or arrow. It is referred to in the Scriptures as a coat of mail (1 Sam. 17:5); an habergeon (Neh. 4:16), or as a breast-plate.

o We are told that Goliath’s coat of mail weighed five thousand shekels of brass, or nearly one hundred and sixty pounds. It was often formed of plates of brass, laid one upon another, like the scales of a fish.

· Of righteousness. Integrity, holiness, purity of life, sincerity of piety. The breast-plate defended the vital parts of the body; and the idea here may be that integrity of life, and righteousness of character, is as necessary to defend us from the assaults of Satan, as the coat of mail was to preserve the heart from the arrows of an enemy.

o It was the incorruptible integrity of Job, and, in a higher sense, of the Redeemer himself, that saved them from the temptations of the devil.

o It is as true now that no one can successfully meet the power of temptation unless he is righteous, as that a soldier could not defend himself against a foe without such a coat of mail.

o A want of integrity will leave a man exposed to the assaults of the enemy, just as a man would be whose coat of mail was defective, or some part of which was wanting.

§ The king of Israel was smitten by an arrow sent from a bow, drawn at a venture, “between the joints of his harness” or the “breast-plate,” (margin), 1 Kings 22:34; and many a man who thinks he has on the Christian armor is smitten in the same manner.

§ There is some defect of character; some want of incorruptible integrity; some point that is unguarded—and that will be sure to be the point of attack by the foe.

📷 So David was tempted to commit the enormous crimes that stain his memory, and Peter to deny his Lord.

📷 So Judas was assailed, for the want of the armor of righteousness, through his avarice; and so, by some want of incorruptible integrity in a single point, many a minister of the gospel has been assailed and has fallen.

§ It may be added here that we need a righteousness which God alone can give; the righteousness of God our Savior, to make us perfectly invulnerable to all the arrows of the foe.[5]

Ephesians 6:15 (NASB) 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;

· This verse does not speak of the spreading of the gospel, for Christians are pictured in vv. 10–16 as standing, not advancing. Instead this refers to a believer’s stability or surefootedness from the gospel which gives him peaceso he can stand in the battle.[6]

· A soldier’s shoes are more important even than an athlete’s, because his very life could depend on them. As he marches on rough, hot roads, climbs over jagged rocks, tramples over thorns, and wades through streambeds of jagged stones, his feet need much protection. A soldier whose feet are blistered, cut, or swollen cannot fight well and often is not even be able to stand up—a perilous situation in battle. He cannot very well handle his sword or shield and cannot advance rapidly or even retreat.

o In addition to being made tough and durable to protect his feet, the Roman soldier’s shoes, or boots, were usually impregnated with bits of metal or nails to give him greater traction as he climbed a slippery cliff and greater stability as he fought.

· A Christian’s spiritual footwear is equally important in his warfare against the schemes of the devil. If he has carefully girded his loins with truth and put on the breastplate of righteousness, but does not properly shod his feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, he is destined to stumble, fall, and suffer many defeats.

· Hetoimasia (preparation) has the general meaning of readiness. In Titus 3:1 Paul uses the term to exhort believers “to be ready for every good deed” (emphasis added). A good pair of boots allows the soldier to be ready to march, climb, fight, or do whatever else is necessary. Christ demands the same readiness of His people.

· Because Paul quoted Isaiah 52:7 in the context of preaching the gospel (“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!” Rom. 10:15), many commentators also interpret Ephesians 6:15 as a reference to preaching. But in the Ephesians text Paul is not talking about preaching or teaching but about fighting spiritual battles. And he is not talking about traveling about but standing firm (vv. 11, 13, 14). His subject is not evangelizing the lost but fighting the devil.

· In this passage the gospel of peacerefers to the good news that believers are at peace with God. The unsaved person is helpless, ungodly, sinful, and an enemy of God (Rom. 5:6–10). The saved person, on the other hand, is reconciled to God through faith in His Son (vv. 10–11).

· As Paul had proclaimed a few verses earlier, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:1). “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,” Paul explained to the Colossians, “yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach” (1:21–22).

· The gospel of peaceis the marvelous truth that in Christ we are now at peace with God and are one with Him. Therefore, when our feetare shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, we stand in the confidence of God’s love for us, His union with us, and His commitment to fight for us.[7]

Ephesians 6:16 (NASB) 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

· The word Paul uses for “shield” is not the small one, the size of a Frisbee, that left the body exposed, but the big one, the size of a door, that covered the whole body. Biblical writers often refer to God as a shield (Ps. 18:30; 28:7; Prov 30:5). We have a shield to protect us from the darts of the enemy when we put on Christ, believing the promises of God. As we believe what He says about us, what He says is ours.[8]

· Take up “the shield of faith,” Paul says, “with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” We must ask two questions of this verse.

o First, what sorts of arrows does Satan launch at God’s people? What is it that we are to guard against, exactly? He aims the arrows of theological doubts at our minds:

§ “Are you really, in today’s world, prepared to believe the entireBible?” He aims to strike fear into our hearts—that perhaps we have sinned our way past the point of grace;

§ or that maybe the promises of God will not prove faithful after all. He fires accusations at us: “How can you call yourself a Christian, having stumbled so many times?”

§ He looses the arrows of false doctrine at God’s people, too.

§ In addition, he constantly seeks to inflame us with sinful desires and passions. How do we fend off all these attacks? With “the shield of faith.”

o The second questionis this: How is faith like a shield? Roman shields were sometimes coated in leather and doused in water so that arrows tipped with fire would be quickly extinguished before the fire could spread or do damage.

§ Paul says that this is precisely the function of “faith” in the life of a Christian. Faith in God will snuff out the fires of doubt, fear, accusation, false doctrine, and temptation that Satan wants to create in your soul.

§ For instance, when difficult circumstances arise in our lives, Satan often whispers the lie that God has surely forgotten us, or that everything in our lives is an irreparable wreck. How do we extinguish these “flaming arrows” of doubt and fear?

📷 By exercising “faith” in a specific promise of God—perhaps one like Romans 8:28, which tells us that “God causes all things [even difficult circumstances] to work together for good” for his beloved people.

📷 To give another example, how do we respond when we have sinned and the accuser tempts us to think that our failings are irremediable and unforgiveable? We extinguish the “flaming arrows” of accusation by calling to mind and believing a biblical truth like 1 John 1:7: “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

· The above are just two of many potential examples, with the main point being that it is “the shield of faith”—faith in specific promises of and truths about our God—that extinguishes the arrows of doubt, temptation, fear, false teaching, and accusation that Satan constantly slings our way!

· Biblical faith knows and trusts God, and is able, therefore, to recognize the devil’s lies and schemes for what they are. Biblical faith functions, therefore, like a shield—extinguishing the devil’s lies and accusations before they catch fire in the soul. Let us be diligent to take up this “shield”! Let us have “faith” in the promises and character of our God![9]

Ephesians 6:17 (NASB) 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

· Continuing his description and exhortation, Paul urges us to take the helmet of salvation. Take (dexasthe) should be translated “receive.” After putting on the other pieces of armor, the soldier received from the attendant the helmet, a more delicate and properly fitted apparel for the protection of this vital part of the body. Likewise, he received the sword. The timing, however, is not the significant fact in Paul’s figure. Rather the salvation which we receive from God is our great protection for every worthwhile value in human life.

· It does not seem proper to interpret the helmet of salvation as solely the great confidence which we possess that God has power to save. Rather, it symbolizes the protection which participation in God’s salvation assures.If a soldier goes into the fray estranged from God, a foreigner and alien, without God, he has no guarantee of protection. But if he has been, and is, a partaker of the grace of God unto salvation, he will be “more than conqueror.” God takes care of His own. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31; cf. 8:37–39). And this salvation embraces both the present and future. 1 Thess. 5:8 speaks of the helmet as “the hope of salvation.” Westcott states the point tersely: “The sense of salvation puts life beyond all danger.”[10]

Ephesians 6:18 (NASB) 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

· Although the military imagery continues into this verse—arm yourselves and be alert—the prayer to which the readers are summoned should not be taken as a seventh piece of the Christian’s armor. God has given his splendid armor to the believer, but the “putting on” and the utilization of that armor in battle calls for discipline in prayer in the Spirit. According to Stott, “Equipping ourselves with God’s armor is not a mechanical preparation; it is itself an expression of our dependence on God, in other words, of prayer” (p. 283).

· The prayer that the believers are admonished to utter has some significant qualities about it.

o First, it is to be unceasing: pray … on all occasions. The Christian warrior, although heavily armed, can only stand firm against the enemy through the agency of prayer. Praying is done in the Spirit. To do so is not to be transposed into some ecstatic or euphoric condition beyond the senses but to live in the realization that the Spirit is the believer’s helper (5:18) and intercessor (Rom. 8:15, 16, 26, 27). “It is an approach to God relying not on our own piety, but on the help which God in his Spirit offers to us” (Mitton, p. 228).

§ The Greek, and most English translations (rsv, niv), employ the two expressions prayers (proseuchē and “supplication” or requests (deēsis). Most commentators feel that “prayer” always addresses God, whereas “supplication” may be used to address either God or humankind. The gnb “asking for God’s help” takes the Greek as a request to God and not as intercession on behalf of human beings.

o Second, prayer is to be intense. Be alert and always keep on praying. In other words, maintain a spirit of watchfulness and perseverance. A Christian warrior must not be caught off guard. This exhortation toward constancy and watchfulness in prayer and the Christian life is common to the nt (Luke 18:1; Rom. 12:12; 1 Cor. 16:13; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17; 1 Pet. 5:8). But since this phrase falls between two other exhortations, it is not entirely clear where “perseverance” (pray at all times) belongs. Should it go with the idea of praying constantly with all alertness, or does it relate to the following phrase, in which believers are summoned to intercede for others? Beare suggests that alertness refers to the believer’s spiritual conflict but that this, in turn, leads to “persevering intercession on behalf of all his comrades in the fight” (p. 746).

o Third, prayer is unlimited. Always keep on praying for all the saints. Since all believers are involved in a spiritual battle, prayer must transcend its narrow individualism and encompass the entire body of Christ. As members of an army, believers must manifest a concern for all who are fighting along with them. Here the apostle’s concerns are not unlike those in 1 Peter, where, in a similar context of warning his readers about the devil, Peter writes: “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (5:9).[11]

Ephesians 6:19 (NASB) 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,

· Prayer cannot quite be described as a part of the armor, but the description of the Christian’s equipment for the conflict cannot but include reference to prayer. rsv begins a new sentence with this verse, but the Greek has a participle, ‘praying’, which may in fact be taken with all the foregoing commands. The different parts of the armor have been described, and in effect the apostle would say ‘Each piece put on with prayer’, and then continue still in all prayer and supplication. The word all or its equivalent is used four times in this one verse in the original.

o As Barth (AB) puts it, ‘Nothing less is suggested than that the life and strife of the saints be one great prayer to God, that this prayer be offered in ever new forms however good or bad the circumstances, and that this prayer not be self-centered but express the need and hope of all the saints.’ The New Testament frequently exhorts Christians not to cease from prayer (e.g. Luke 18:1; Rom. 12:12; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17), and here the particular point is that every incident of life (kairos is the word used—see on 1:10 and 5:16) is to be dealt with in prayer. The apostle is aware that this is no light demand to be made. People very easily take their difficulties to their fellows instead of to God.

§ ‘The power of prayer is gained by systematic discipline’ Westcott wisely says. Constancy in prayer and the natural recourse of the Christian to prayer come only as prayer has become a habit of life, and as a person has learnt to keep alert with all perseverance. Keep alert or ‘watch’ was frequently the exhortation of Jesus himself to his disciples, and most significantly at the time when they needed to find strength by prayer for their hour of trial in Gethsemane.

· There is a wonderful balance in Paul’s presentation. Even this watchfulness and discipline is not just a matter of human striving; for true Christian prayer is prayer in the Spirit. The Spirit is given as helper, and not least for the task of prayer (Rom. 8:26–27); but as in the case of the other uses of this phrase in the Greek in this letter (2:18, 22; 3:5; 5:18) in the Spirit means more than by the Spirit’s help.

o The Spirit is the atmosphere of Christians’ lives, and as they live in the Spirit grace will be given to watch and power to continue in prayer.

· Such prayer, Paul says finally, unlimited in the times and the ways in which it may be offered, is to be unlimited in outreach to those for whom it is offered. Christians are not to think only of their own spiritual conflict, but to be concerned for the whole church of Christ, and for the victory of all their fellows in the fight (cf. 1 Tim. 2:1).There is a similar thought in 1 Peter 5:9, where those who are called to resist the devil are reminded that their ‘brother Christians are going through the same kinds of suffering’ (neb) ‘throughout the world’ (rsv).[12]

Ephesians 6:20 (NASB) 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

· One of the most important officials in the Roman world was the imperial legate. As one of the emperor’s personal representatives, a legate lived in an outpost of the empire and enforced imperial policy. He was directly accountable to the emperor, and lesser officials were responsible to the legate. He was an ambassador. The word translated “ambassador” in Ephesians 6:20 is presbeuō, which means “the emperor’s legate.”

· Paul was Christ’s legate. As Christ’s ambassador Paul had already magnificently represented the throne of Heaven in province after province and city after city throughout the empire. In Athens, Antioch, Paphos, Philippi, Corinth, and Crete, God had used Paul to shake Satan’s kingdom to its very foundations.

o Now Satan had him in chains, but Paul was dauntless. He was still Christ’s ambassador; Satan could not change that. Paul was an ambassador in bonds.

· Every time Paul moved his arm, his chain rattled, making him aware of the enemy’s opposition. Through prayer his fellow believers could help him face that opposition to the gospel. They could help bear his chains. They could lighten his load and buoy up his spirits.

· We do not understand how prayer works. How a brother praying for me in southern California can lift my spirits as I minister in northern Canada is beyond my understanding. How my prayers in Chicago can bring a fresh surge of victory to a believer in China, I cannot say. You and I only know that when God considers all the aspects of a situation and all the forces that govern the universe, prayer is one of the key factors He takes into account. We know prayer works because God says it does.[13]

Thoughts to Soak on to wrap up this vignette on prayer

Warren Wiersbe entitles this section of his comments as “The Energy”.

· Prayer is the energy that enables the Christian soldier to wear the armor and wield the sword. We cannot fight the battle in our own power, no matter how strong or talented we may think we are. When Amalek attacked Israel, Moses went to the mountaintop to pray, while Joshua used the sword down in the valley (Ex. 17:8–16). It took both to defeat Amalek—Moses’ intercession on the mountain, and Joshua’s use of the sword in the valley. Prayer is the power for victory, but not just any kind of prayer. Paul tells how to pray if we would defeat Satan.

· Pray always. This obviously does not mean “always saying prayers.” We are not heard for our “much speaking” (Matt. 6:7). “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17) says to us, “Always be in communion with the Lord. Keep the receiver off the hook!” Never have to say when you pray, “Lord, we come into Thy presence,” because you never left His presence! A Christian must “pray always” because he is always subject to temptations and attacks of the devil. A surprise attack has defeated more than one believer who forgot to “pray without ceasing.”

· Pray with all prayer. There is more than one kind of praying: prayer, supplication, intercession, thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6; 1 Tim. 2:1). The believer who prays only to ask for things is missing out on blessings that come with intercessions and giving of thanks. In fact, thanksgiving is a great prayer weapon for defeating Satan. “Praise changes things” as much as “prayer changes things.” Intercession for others can bring victory to our own lives. “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends” (Job 42:10).

· Pray in the Spirit. The Bible formula is that we pray to the Father, through the Son, and in the Spirit. Romans 8:26–27 tells us that only in the Spirit’s power can we pray in the will of God. Otherwise, our praying could be selfish and out of the will of God. In the Old Testament tabernacle, there was a small golden altar standing before the veil, and here the priest burned the incense (Ex. 30:1–10; Luke 1:1–11). The incense is a picture of prayer. It had to be mixed according to God’s plan and could not be counterfeited by man. The fire on the altar is a picture of the Holy Spirit, for it is He who takes our prayers and “ignites” them in the will of God. It is possible to pray fervently in the flesh and never get through to God. It is also possible to pray quietly in the Spirit and see God’s hand do great things.

· Pray with your eyes open. Watching means “keeping on the alert.” The phrase “watch and pray” occurs often in the Bible. When Nehemiah was repairing the walls of Jerusalem, and the enemy was trying to stop the work, Nehemiah defeated the enemy by watching and praying. “Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch” (Neh. 4:9). “Watch and pray” is the secret of victory over the world (Mark 13:33), the flesh (Mark 14:38), and the devil (Eph. 6:18). Peter went to sleep when he should have been praying, and the result was victory for Satan (Mark 14:29–31, 67–72). God expects us to use our God-given senses, led by the Spirit, so that we detect Satan when he is beginning to work.

· Keep on praying. The word perseverance simply means “to stick to it and not quit.” The early believers prayed this way (Acts 1:14; 2:42; 6:4); and we also should pray this way (Rom. 12:12). Perseverance in prayer does not mean we are trying to twist God’s arm, but rather that we are deeply concerned and burdened and cannot rest until we get God’s answer. As Robert Law puts it, “Prayer is not getting man’s will done in heaven; it is getting God’s will done on earth” (Tests of Life, [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1968]). Most of us quit praying just before God is about to give the victory. Not everybody is so constituted that he can sincerely spend a whole night in prayer, but all of us can persevere in prayer far more than we do. The early church prayed without ceasing when Peter was in prison and, at the last moment, God gave them their answer (Acts 12:1–19). Keep on praying until the Spirit stops you or the Father answers you. Just about the time you feel like quitting, God will give the answer.

· Pray for all the saints. The Lord’s Prayer begins with “OurFather”—not “My Father.” We pray as part of a great family that is also talking to God, and we ought to pray for the other members of the family. Even Paul asked for the prayer support of the Ephesians—and he had been to the third heaven and back. If Paul needed the prayers of the saints, how much more do you and I need them! If my prayers help another believer defeat Satan, then that victory will help me too. Note that Paul did not ask them to pray for his comfort or safety, but for the effectiveness of his witness and ministry.[14]

Thoughts on prayer to consider as you “Put on the whole armor of God”

· Beloved, one person that knows how to get a hold of the throne of God is a powerful force to be reckoned with in this world. A person who knows how to pray has great influence. John Piper observed, “Prayer … is the splicing of our limp wire into the lightning bolt of heaven.… God loves to bless His people. But even more He loves to do it in answer to prayer.”

· Everything God does in the work of ministry; He does through prayer.

o Prayer is the way you defeat the Devil (Luke 23:31–32; James 4:7).

o Prayer is the way you get the lost saved (Luke 18:13).

o Prayer is the way you acquire wisdom (James 1:5).

o Prayer is the way a backslider gets restored (James 5:16–20).

o Prayer is how saints get strengthened (Jude 20; Matthew 26:41).

o Prayer is the way to get laborers out to the mission field (Matt 9:38).

o Prayer is how we cure the sick (James 5:13–15).

o Prayer is how we accomplish the impossible (Mark 11:23–24).

· One of the greatest lies of Satan is that we don’t have enough time to pray. However, all of us have enough time to sleep, eat, and breathe. As soon as we realize that prayer is as important as sleeping, eating, and breathing, we will be amazed at how much time we have to pray.

· Pastor E. M. Bounds wrote, “God has of His own motion placed Himself under the law of prayer, and has obligated Himself to answer the prayers of men. He has ordained prayer as a means whereby He will do things through men as they pray, which He would not otherwise do.”

· R. A. Torrey made an astounding observation when he wrote, “Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God’s infinite grace and power. All that God is and all that God does, is at the disposal of prayer, but we must use the key. Prayer can do anything God can do, and as God can do anything, prayer is omnipotent.”

· Hudson Taylor was an English missionary to China. He founded the China Inland Mission which became miraculously influential for God in China. At his death, the mission included 205 mission stations with more than 800 missionaries and 125,000 Chinese Christians. How did he do it? He said that he discovered, “It is possible to move men through God by prayer alone.”[15]

[1]Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Galatians–Colossians, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1996), 221. [2] Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Ephesians (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2014), Eph 6:10–24. [3]Thoralf Gilbrant, “Κοσμοκράτωρ,” The New Testament Greek-English Dictionary, The Complete Biblical Library (WORDsearch, 1991). [4] Lynn H. Cohick, The Letter to the Ephesians, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse et al., New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2020), 413–414. [5]Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians, ed. Robert Frew (London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885), 127–129. [6]Harold W. Hoehner, “Ephesians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 643. [7] John F. MacArthur Jr., Ephesians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), 354–355. [8] Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Ephesians (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2014), Eph 6:16. [9] Kurt Strassner, Opening up Ephesians, Opening up Commentary (Leominster: Day One, 2014), 145–146. [10] Willard H. Taylor, “The Epistle to the Ephesians,” in Galatians through Philemon, Beacon Bible Commentary (Beacon Hill Press, 2020), Eph 6:17. [11]Arthur G. Patzia, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011), 290–291. [12]Francis Foulkes, Ephesians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 10, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1989), 182–183. [13]John Phillips, Exploring Ephesians & Philippians: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Eph 6:20. [14]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 59–60. [15] Rod Mattoon, Treasures from Ephesians, First Edition., Treasures from Scripture Series (Springfield, IL: Rod Mattoon, 2016), 327–328.