Ephesians 6:10-24

Ephesians 6:10-24

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Our society here in the US of A tends to down play the spiritual realm.  They deny the spiritual battle that goes on everyday.

¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

The Christian walk is not passive.  We've been given tools by God for this battle.  It's up to us to wear them and learn how to use them.

¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Notice that all our defenses are in the front?  If you turn your back you will be exposed to the enemies attacks.  

Also note that the only offensive tool we have is the word of God.  Our words, our weapons and our ideas will not help us in fighting this battle.  This also answers the confusion I had with balancing "stand firm" found in the verses above and "flee" sexual immorality found in 1 Corinthians 6:18.
Our weapon tells us to flee and in that case we obey.



¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

We need to be mindful of the Spirit when we pray.  He intercedes for us as he knows our heart and the heart of God.

¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

We need to pray for our leaders in the church.

²¹ Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. ²² I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.
²³ Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

I read these few verses and don't see any deep theological mysteries, nor any instructions for our daily lives.  What I do see is a community that cared for one another.  That is what God called us to do.

God Bless.