We finished the Bible study on Ephesians this week by looking at Ephesians 6. Famous for its passage on the armour of God, this chapter has much to say about Christian conduct as well as Christian conflict, with Paul finishing with closing comments to the church.
Christian Conduct
The first verses continue looking at relationships. The submission discussed in Chapter 5 continues by looking at the relationship between children and parents and between slaves and masters (or, in a more modern context, the wider relationship between employees and employers.) Equal value doesn’t necessarily mean equal roles, but the key here is the mutual respect which results from submission to God.
We looked at the limits of obedience (‘in the Lord’) and at the meaning of words such as ‘honour’, ‘exasperate’ and ‘training and instruction in the Lord’. Parents should not be dominated by their children, nor should children be dominated by their parents – love and respect have to be the motivating forces. In an increasingly secular society, the role of parents in teaching and leading by example can never be underestimated; moreover, this teaching should be as much by example and lifestyle as by words.
Similarly, in a work context, whether we are subordinate or in a position of authority, we should work honestly and treat people with respect because ultimately we are all working for the Lord. There really is no such thing as a ‘sacred’ job compared to a ‘secular’ one: all we do is unto the Lord and God has prepared works for each one of us to do.
Christian Conflict
The conflict all Christians are engaged in is real and is not just for zealots. We are all involved, whether we like it or not – maybe not as ‘front line soldiers’, but as Dave reminded us, in the Second World War, even civilians were engaged in working to help the war effort and were attacked by the enemy. This war is not like the ‘Cold War’ where weapons were stockpiled but never used; God equips us with weapons because we need these weapons to be able to stand against the enemy!
The enemy is not people. We have a spiritual enemy who has both strengths and weaknesses, but we have a God who has won the victory and who has equipped us to stand firm.
Closing Comments
The final verses show us that Paul requested prayer for himself (to make known the mystery of the gospel fearlessly… if even the apostle knew fear, then we certainly need to pray for ourselves and others to be given the words to speak out boldly!) and that prayer is something we are called to do all the time – living prayer, constant communion, ‘practising the presence of God’ in all situations. We also looked at Paul’s final words and realised that if we have peace, love, faith and grace, we have all that we need.