Ephesians 6:10-24. Armed, Prayerful, Encouraged
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How conscious do you think the average person is about the spiritual realm? Not very, I suspect. The average person tends to live as though there is no spiritual realm. Many people these days assume that science and material stuff explain everything. Even Christians today tend to have a low awareness of the spiritual battle that’s going on. Paul knows that there are spiritual forces—both good and evil—at play in the world. He’s spoken of them several times, like in Ephesians 1:20-21, 2:2, 3:10, 4:27.
Half a century ago, Martyn Lloyd-Jones said:
I am certain that one of the main causes of the ill state of the Church today is the fact that the devil is being forgotten. All is attributed to us; we have all become so psychological in our attitude and thinking. We are ignorant of this great objective fact, the being, the existence of the devil, the adversary, the accuser, and his “fiery darts”.
The Christian Warfare, An Exposition of Eph. 6:10–13 by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Banner of Truth, 1976)
I seriously doubt that much has changed since then.
In Ephesians 6:10-24, Paul’s brings his letter to the Ephesians to a close, beginning with the word “finally” in verse 10. In it, he reminds us of the significance of the forces of evil at work in our world, and gives instructions on how we might persevere despite these powers.
1. Wear God’s Armour to Stand Against Evil (6:10–17)
To begin with, Paul encourages his readers to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power”. God is strong, and Paul wants his readers to share in that strength. This involves armour.
What’s the deal with the armour? If Paul’s readers are going to be strong (verse 10), they’re going to need to “put on the full armour of God” (verse 11).
Why do we need it? In verses 11-12, we’re reminded that we face powerful, wicked, and cunning spiritual enemies. Paul speaks of “the devil’s schemes” and “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”. These enemies aim to destroy the unity, holiness, and gospel witness of the church. We’re too weak to stand on our own. We need God’s strength.
We need the armour “so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” In other words, so that we can endure the forces of evil trying to bring us down.
What is the armour? Paul mentions six different pieces of armour:
Belt of Truth. Like a soldier’s belt holding everything together, truth, especially the truth of the gospel, helps us stand firm.
Breastplate of Righteousness. God’s righteousness protects our hearts, directly behind the breastplate.
Readiness Shoes. Like good shoes help you stand and move, the “gospel of peace” gives stability and readiness to move as we seek to share Jesus with people. As Paul tells us in Romans 10:15, feet that mobilise gospel sharing are beautiful.
Shield of Faith. Our faith in Jesus, and the “Christian faith” more generally, protects us from the flaming arrows of the devil.
Helmet of Salvation. Salvation protects our heads and everything inside our heads.
Sword of the Spirit. This is the Word of God, our only offensive weapon. Rightly used it defeats lies and even the devil himself (see Matthew 4:1–11).
Remember, these aren’t separate things we “put on” every morning. These are realities given to us by Jesus, so that we can keep going and resist the works of the devil. This armour helps us to stand against evil.
2. Keep Praying for Fearless Gospel Sharing (6:18–20)
In addition to wearing the armour, we need to keep praying.
How should we pray? In verses 18-19 we’re told to:
Pray in the Spirit. The Spirit empowers and enables us to pray. The Spirit prompts us to pray, giving us the desire to pray. The Spirit helps us work out what to pray through his Word in the Bible, which is “the sword of the Spirit”. The Spirit also helps us when we’re feeling weak, carrying our prayers and interceding for us (Romans 8:26). So, Christians pray in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18), through the Son’s name (John 14:13–14), to the Father (Matthew 6:9).
On all occasions. We pray all the time.
What should we pray for? Paul shows us that we can pray:
All kinds of prayers and requests. We can pray about literally anything on our heart.
Fearless gospel sharing. In particular, Paul prays that he will proclaim the gospel fearlessly. It’s so important that he says it twice in verses 19 and 20. This is a great thing for us to pray for the people we know too.
3. Be Encouraged, Knowing Grace and Peace (6:21–24)
How does Paul end his letter? Paul finishes off his letter with personal news—regarding Tychicus—and an encouragement.
What does he hope to achieve by sending this letter? Paul ultimately aims to encourage the believers, especially since he’s in prison. He wants them to know the grace (verse 23) and peace (verse 24) on offer through Jesus, the same grace and peace he opened his letter with (Ephesians 1:2) and which he has spoken about throughout his letter. If they’ve come away with nothing else, he wants his readers to understand these two realities.
Discussion Questions
Pray and Get Going
1. How conscious do you think the average person is about the spiritual realm?
Read Ephesians 6:10-24
2. What’s the deal with the armour? Why do we need it? (6:10-17) Bonus points for a diagram.
3. How should we pray and what should we pray for?
4. How does Paul end his letter? What does he hope to achieve by sending this letter?
5. We’re now at the end of Ephesians. What have you learned? What have you been encouraged by? What have you been challenged by?
Pray and Give Thanks
Other Posts in this Series
Ephesians 1:1-14 (marticles.net/eph1a)
Ephesians 1:15-23 (marticles.net/eph1b)
Ephesians 2:1-10 (marticles.net/eph2a)
Ephesians 2:11-22 (marticles.net/eph2b)
Ephesians 3 (marticles.net/eph3)
Ephesians 4:1-16 (marticles.net/eph4a)
Ephesians 4:17-6:9 (marticles.net/eph4b)
Ephesians 6:10-24 (marticles.net/eph6)
If a link doesn’t work, either the article hasn’t been written, or I’m bad at coding.
