Eph 6:10-13

Pray for God to show you something to use from the passage Read the Passage at least twice Who is in the passage? What action verbs do you see? What other words stick out in your mind

Paul moves from living in unity with others by submitting to then saying who we should never submit to.

Paul has been about telling us to live in unity with each other from early in his letter. 2:19-22. A unity that comes through Jesus alone. He has just told how to live in harmony in the relationship in our lives. Now he switches to the battle that rages to destroy that unity and our purpose in Christ.

First step in warfare- Know your enemy so you can know how to defeat them.

It is a battle not with humans (flesh and blood) but with spiritual forces that seek to destroy what God builds up. It reminds me of preschoolers playing with building blocks. One child spends a great deal of time building a tower of blocks as tall as she can only to have another child come and knock it down. The forces that Paul describes are powerful. (you cannot withstand them in your own strength) See Jesus' prayer for Peter in Luke 22:31-32.

The behind the scenes story of how these evil forces came into being is not given. But they do exist. Jesus dealt with demons throughout his ministry. Satan himself came to tempt Jesus to break from God the Father. (Luke 4) . Satan in that attack on Jesus states that he does have the authority to give the kingdoms of earth. (Luke 4:6) Jesus doesn't deny Satan having that authority. Rather Jesus stands on the higher authority of serving God. That is now what Paul asks us to do. It is relying on that tremendous power of God that we stand against Evil. In 1:18-23 Paul has already laid out his argument of God's conquering power. Now he wants us to rely on it. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power available to us.

vs 10 the call is for us to strengthen ourselves through God. Trusting Him is a matter of faith. Do we believe that God is stronger than the forces Paul next speaks of? Then the question is do we rely on that strength. We are an active part of this war. It is our choice on what we rely on.

vs 11 part of our involvement in this war is to realize there is a battlefield and be prepared for battle. The equipment we need to fight with is available. We must decide to wear it. It is easy to forget we are in a battle and relax (that one of the devil's schemes) When we are unprepared then we can be taken advantage of.

Satan is no fool. He seeks a foothold and takes advantage of it in our lives. (4:2) In 2 Cor 2:10-11 Paul talks of how Satan will use an unforgiving person to his advantage. Satan seeks to outwit us.

vs 12 Paul means to scare us. This is not a game. This is a war. The most violent and unrelenting enemy seeks to destroy. While Satan is the supreme evil he is not alone. The worst evil on earth is not our ultimate enemy. It is the evil spiritual powers that aren't human.

vs 13 if you go out in the world unprotected you will face the consequences. Evil will come to you. So you need the full armor of God. Just part will not do. You need everything God has prepared for you so you can stand the evil schemes of the enemy and do His purpose. Satan wants to keep us from being a God follower. If he loses that battle then he wants to make us ineffective in helping others for God. (see 1:10)

Eph 6:5-9

Pray for God to show you something to use from the passage Read the Passage at least twice Who is in the passage? What action verbs do you see? What other words stick out in your mind

To understand this section we must understand the life of ancient times. Slavery was everywhere. Jesus talks of it in terms of being freed from sin. (John 8:34-36) . But he also uses the terms of servants and Masters (Luke 12:36-38) . Yet Jesus also very clearly shows that ones position in this life does not effect how God sees the individual. In John 13 Jesus washes the disciples feet then says If I your Master do this then you should do it also (John 13:12-14) Also in John 15:15 Jesus breaks the cycle of Master and servant in terms of how the disciples are viewed. They are placed on equal footing as friends not servants.

Paul himself takes slavery as a given in how society works. Yet he also understands that slaves should be treated very differently than they way the world did. Slaves were property and as such could be treated by their Master in any way. Paul rejects this notion. While the Slave is to treat his master with respect so to is the master to treat the slave (vs 9) They are not to use their position to threaten the slave.

For Paul your position in this life is far less important than your position in heaven. Christians should base how they treat each other solely from God's point of view. (Gal 3:28) This is perhaps most clearly seen in Paul's letter to Philemon where Paul writes a friend concerning an escaped slave, Onesimus, who Paul is now sending back. Paul tells Philemon to receive him as a brother not a slave. Philemon 16.

Yet Paul also tells slaves here and other places to serve their masters well. Titus 2:9-10 gives us the reason why. It is all about being an example that will cause the teaching of Christ to be appealing. For Paul everything we do should reflect well on our God.

While Paul does not say get rid of slavery he does say a slave should be treated as a human and with the respect that you treat yourself. These ideas over the years finally did away with slavery in many parts of the world. Would Paul had said something different if he didn't believe that Christ was coming back soon? We do not know.

vs 5-8 Paul uses the term earthly master - Why? It is his way of saying they are Masters only temporarily. The true Master of all is what our focus should be on (vs 9)

Even though they are only short-term Masters they should be respected. Even beyond that the slave should do the best job possible not only when the master is looking but also when he is not. Act like you are serving God! Why? First your heavenly reward is partly based on how you treat others. Therefore what you do is not as important as your attitude as you do it. The other reason is the witness you give of your faith. The way you do your job reflects on the God you serve. It is a way of pointing out to people that you are different not because of something in you but because you have been changed by Christ. This is something to think about as we work today. Do we give our best or do we just do enough to keep our job? How does that reflect on our God?

vs 9 Masters treat your slaves the same way. This is even more of a radical statement than the treatment of husband to wives. Remember the first statement of this section is vs 5:21. IT IS ABOUT SUBMITTING TO ONE ANOTHER!

Paul places a warning into the statement as well. You may be able to beat and threaten your slaves here with cost but don't think God is going to let that go. With God all are treated the same whether slave or master. Applying it today means treating your employees fairly and with respect. It isn't just about the bottom line. It is also how you treat those that serve under you. You are no better than the lowest person of the Corporation.