God’s Marvelous Grace

July 12, 2026July 12, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

²¹So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. ²²I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.

²³Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. – Ephesians 6:21-23 ESV

For the first time in his letter, Paul turns his attention to himself. He wrote the letter while under house arrest in Rome, awaiting trial. He had been arrested in Jerusalem, having been accused by the Jews of defiling the temple by bringing a Gentile into it (Acts 21:28-30). The Jews were so incensed at Paul that they attempted to kill him, but he was rescued by Roman soldiers. Paul ended up defending himself before the Sanhedrin, the Roman governor, and King Agrippa, and was eventually shipped off to Rome because, as a Roman citizen, he had appealed for a trial before Caesar.

So, while under house arrest, he wrote this letter to the Ephesians. In fact, Paul wrote many of his letters during his Roman imprisonment. He made very good use of his time and continued to minister to the churches he had helped to plant.

Paul had a special place in his heart for the believers in the cities to which he wrote. He viewed them as his spiritual children, and his pastor’s heart worried about their spiritual well-being. He knew they were all under spiritual attack from the enemy and that is why he wrote his many letters. He wanted to educate, encourage, and instruct them in the faith. and desired to see them grow in Christ-likeness and continue to spread the good news of Jesus Christ around the world.

Paul knew that the churches to which he had ministered so faithfully worried about him. They were concerned with his well-being, but also depended on him as their spiritual mentor and father in the faith. So Paul regularly updated them about his circumstances. With everything else going on in their lives, he did not want them to worry about him. So he told them he would send Tychicus, “the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord,” to bring them up to speed about his status in Rome.

Tychicus was one of Paul’s regular traveling companions, accompanying him on his missionary journeys.

Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. – Acts 20:4 NLT

Tychicus will give you a full report about how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper who serves with me in the Lord’s work. I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you. – Colossians 4:7-8 NLT

I am planning to send either Artemas or Tychicus to you. As soon as one of them arrives, do your best to meet me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to stay there for the winter. – Titus 3:12 NLT

Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. – 2 Timothy 4:10-12 NLT

Paul sent Tychicus to travel to these various cities to keep the believers informed of the current status of Paul’s imprisonment and trial. Paul’s main purpose in sending Tychicus was to encourage them and to keep them from worrying about him. He knew that they did not need any more distractions or discouragement.

Paul loved and cared for others and was willing to do whatever it took to see them grow in faith. He could be hard on them, pointing out their weaknesses and flaws, but he could also be passionately compassionate, encouraging them in their weaknesses and to not lose faith. Like a loving parent, Paul wanted what was best for his children, and he was willing to sacrifice his own life to see that the flock of God was healthy and whole.

Paul was a faithful shepherd who modeled his life after “the chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4 ESV). The author of Hebrews described Jesus as “the great shepherd of the sheep” (Hebrews 13:20 ESV). And it was Jesus who said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11 ESV).

Paul took his role as a shepherd seriously. He was probably familiar with the words Jesus spoke to Peter just before His ascension.

After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.” – John 21:15-17 NLT

Paul took these words to heart. In fact, prior to heading to Rome to await his trial before Caesar, Paul called for the elders from Ephesus and told them, “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock – his church, purchased with his own blood – over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders” (Acts 20:28 NLT). Paul had lived out that admonition in his own life, all the way from Rome. He had lived out the words Peter wrote to the elders of the churches throughout Asia Minor.

Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly – not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. – 1 Peter 5:2 NLT

In keeping with his role as a shepherd, Paul closed out his letter with a prayer for his flock in Ephesus. He prayed for three things: peace, love, and faith. Peace is not an absence of trouble, but an awareness of God’s presence in times of difficulty. Peace can also refer to harmony between individuals. Paul knew there would be plenty of potential for turmoil in the churches of Ephesus because churches are made up of people. He also knew that peace would be necessary if they were going to grow together and experience the unity that God desired for them. But peace is only possible when love is present; mutual love is the fertile ground in which peace flourishes.

The sacrificial, selfless love for which Paul prayed is unifying, not dividing. It is healing, not hurtful. It is other-oriented, not self-centered. But this kind of love is only possible through faith in Christ. It is not self-manufactured, but is a supernatural manifestation of God’s love for us, demonstrated in the offering of His own Son to die on our behalf.

The apostle John reminds us, “We love each other because he loved us first” (1 John 4:19 NLT). In fact, peace, love, and faith all come from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. They are divine gifts to the church, and they are to be used for the mutual edification of one another.

Paul closes his letter the same way he opened it, with an emphasis on the grace of God.

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. – Ephesians 6:24 ESV

The grace of God, His undeserved favor, is the most remarkable thing any of us has ever received. But it is easy to lose sight of His grace and mistakenly assume that we somehow deserve His love. We can end up thinking that we are worthy of His forgiveness and capable of living the Christian life in our own strength. But Paul would have us remember that it is the grace of God that made our salvation possible, and that same grace makes our sanctification achievable. God’s unmerited gift of grace enables us to love Him and His Son. All that we are and all that we do is made possible by the grace of God, and not only is His grace amazing, but it is marvelous.

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin! – Julia H. Johnson, Grace Greater Than Our Sin (1910)

Father, Your grace is marvelous. Your love is unfathomable. Your peace is beyond our comprehension. And You have called us to reflect all of these divine attributes to the world around us. You have commissioned us to serve as Your shepherds to the flock of Jesus Christ. Like Peter, we are to care for them and feed them. We are to provide them with protection and, when needed, correction. And this is not just the role of the full-time paid pastoral staff. Each believer is to view themselves as an undershepherd of the Good Shepherd. We serve on His behalf and act as His hands and feet, lovingly caring for His flock in His absence. Father, show me how to shepherd well. Help me to love like Jesus loved and to serve with the same sense of selfless sacrifice that He demonsrated on my behalf. What a difference it would make in this world if more of took seriously our role as loving shepherds. Give me the determination to take Jesus’ words to heart: “Take care of my sheep” (John 21:16 NLT). Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Fighting From Our Knees

July 11, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁸ To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. – Ephesians 18b-20 ESV

Paul ended his description of the armor of God with a call to prayer, strongly advising his readers to “pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion” (Ephesians 6:18a NLT). Constant communication with the Father is essential for our spiritual survival. Prayer is not simply a tool we use to get what we need from God.

As Paul will show, prayer is not to be used for our own selfish desires either. Throughout this letter, Paul has been addressing God’s mysterious doctrine of the church, the body of Christ. In chapter one, Paul addressed Christ’s headship over the church, which He had earned through His sacrificial death and resurrection.

And he [God] put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. – Ephesians 1:22 ESV

And all believers are members of that body because they share a common faith in Christ, and that faith was a gift from God, “not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:9 ESV). The church was the mysterious or previously undisclosed plan of God to miraculously join Jews and Gentiles into one body, “that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross” (Ephesians 2:14 ESV).

It was God who made us “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19 ESV). And it is through the church that “the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:10 ESV). It was Paul’s prayer that the Ephesian believers would “know the love of Christ” and be “filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19 ESV). Paul knew that God had a divine plan for the church. He also knew that the future success of the church, including all those who would become part of it through faith in Christ, was totally dependent on the work and glory of God. That is why he ended his prayer in chapter three with the following words:

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV

The body of Christ, the church, is a powerful force, but only as long as it remains dependent upon God. It is a divinely ordained agency of change in the world, but only when it remains committed to the will of God and connected to His power made available through His Spirit. When we lose sight of the fact that God saved us and placed us within the context of the body of Christ, and begin to see our salvation as something individualistic and isolated, we miss the whole point.

A self-centered, what’s-in-it-for-me attitude has no place within the body of Christ. Even the armor of God is of little use to the Christian if worn in isolation and utilized as a one-man army. As Christians, we must come to grips with the fact that we are in this battle together. Even the best-equipped, most highly trained army will fall to its enemy if its members fail to fight as one. And without constant communication with and obedience to its commander, even the most powerful army will suffer defeat. So Paul calls the army of God to “pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere” (Ephesians 18 NLT).

There is a sense of camaraderie and co-dependent community in his words. We are to pray not only for ourselves, but for one another. We should desire that every believer on the planet live in the power of the Spirit and in accordance with God’s will. The body of Christ requires members who are healthy, whole, and committed to the cause of Christ. That is why Paul even asks for prayer on his behalf.

And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. – Ephesians 6:19 NLT

Paul knew he needed the prayers of the saints to remain committed to the call God had given him. He coveted their prayers, and he longed for them to pray for one another.

What more selfless, loving thing can we do than pray for God to protect, guide, strengthen, and embolden our fellow believers? We must realize that our strength, while provided by God, depends on our unity with other believers. Together, we form a powerful force that can dramatically alter the landscape of the world in which we live. Solitary soldiers, even though well-armored, will have little impact “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV).

So we must pray. We must seek God’s face, determined to know His will, lift up our fellow soldiers, and rest in His divine strategy for ultimate victory.

Father, I am amazed at how prayerless I can be at times. My prayer life always seems to ebb and flow based on the severity of my circumstances. When times get tough, I turn into a veritable prayer warrior. But when things are going my way, I tend to go radio silent in my prayer life. In those moments are comfortable in my life, I talk with You less because I think I need You less. But nothing could be further from the truth. I desperately need You at all times, and prayer is not intended to be an emergency response system I use in times of trouble. That is why Paul said, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:15-17 NLT). And Paul reminds me that prayer is not solo-sport with me as the focus. It is a group endeavor. That is why he said, “Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere” (Ephesians 6:18b (NLT). I am part of the divine team You have created and I fight alongside a host of other Christ followers who deserve my support and supplications. I need their prayers and they need mine, so that the body of Christ might remain strong, unified, and able to “resist the enemy in the time of evil” (Ephesians 6:13 NLT). Thank You for this much-needed reminder. Now, help me to live, not as an army of one, but as a prayerful and properly equipped member of the army of God. Amen

Victory In Jesus

July 10, 2026July 10, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. – Ephesians 6:13-18a ESV

This passage deserves a second look. Paul tells us to “put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm” (Ephesians 6:13 NLT).

He uses two Greek words, ἀνθίστημι (anthistēmi) and ἵστημι (histēmi). The first means “to stand against,” and the other means “to stand” (“G436 – anthistēmi, G2476 – histēmi – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). To “withstand in the evil day” carries the idea of standing your ground in the midst of battle. You are under attack and surrounded by the enemy, but you refuse to surrender your position; instead, you resist. Paul is describing a defensive posture, not an offensive one, because the enemy is bringing the battle to you.

Jesus told Peter, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18 NET). Satan is out to destroy God’s people and is constantly assaulting His church from without and within. But Paul calls us to stand our ground, to resist. James uses the same Greek word, ἀνθίστημι (anthistēmi), when he writes, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7 ESV).

Paul is calling us to stand firm, immovable, ready, and prepared for action. But how are we to accomplish that? What is the secret to standing firm? Paul makes it quite clear: it is the whole armor of God. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet shod in the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. These six items comprise the indispensable equipment for every soldier of God. You can’t survive without them. It isn’t a question of whether the enemy will attack; you will see battle, and it will be intense. Satan is bringing the war to your doorstep each and every day, but God has given us all that we need to withstand and stand firm in the heat of the battle.

The belt of truth is the first and most essential piece of equipment. It most likely refers to the truth as revealed in God’s Word. Truth is key to standing up to the enemy’s lies. Remember, the goal is to “stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11 ESV). That word, “schemes,” means “deceit or trickery.” Jesus confirmed that Satan is a liar.

“He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” – John 8:44 NLT

He is cunning and clever, and he uses falsehood as his primary weapon of choice. So, truth will be one of our greatest assets as believers.

The breastplate of righteousness refers to the righteousness of Christ. Like the armor of a Roman soldier, this breastplate is designed to be the primary source of protection against the enemy’s assaults. A Roman breastplate was designed to shield the main portion of a soldier’s body, from the neck to the thighs. As believers, we are covered by the righteousness of Christ. It is His righteousness that has made us right with God. When the enemy attacks and hurls darts of accusation against our self-righteousness, we are protected by the righteousness imputed to us by Christ. Satan can accuse us, but he cannot harm us. We must take up Christ’s righteousness daily and understand that it is what He has given us that protects us from the enemy’s assault.

No soldier would go into battle without shoes. How can you stand firm without proper footwear? And Paul describes these shoes as “the readiness given by the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15 ESV). The gospel of peace, the good news, enables us to stand firm without slipping or sliding amid uncertainty or losing our spiritual footing. Because of what Christ accomplished on the cross, we have peace with God. We are His, and He is ours. That is why Paul could confidently claim, “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 ESV).

The shield of faith is not something you wear, but something you hold. Like all of the other pieces of armor, it is provided by God; it is His armor. Our faith is not self-manufactured; it is a gift of the Spirit, provided for us by a gracious and loving God. As long as we stand behind our faith, we are safe. It is when we set aside our faith that we become vulnerable to the enemy’s darts. Faith is our trust in God and in His promises regarding us. The author of Hebrews describes it this way: “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see” (James 11:1 NLT). God has promised to never leave or forsake us. He has assured us that He is preparing a permanent place for us in His eternal Kingdom. He has also promised to fight all our battles for us and has placed His all-powerful Spirit within us. But we must trust in these truths at all times. A weak shield is of little use in the heat of battle. Strong faith in a powerful and faithful God will provide protection every time, no matter how difficult the circumstances.

The helmet of salvation protects our mind. It is the awareness of God’s ongoing saving work in our lives. It refers not only to our coming to faith in Christ but also to our ongoing sanctification and God’s daily saving work. Through His Son’s death, he saved us from sin and death, but He is also saving us from the flesh, the world, and the enemy. Our salvation was not a one-time event; God continues to save and protect us from the enemy’s attacks, preserving us for the destiny He has planned for us. But we must remain focused on His saving work regardless of the circumstances we face. We must constantly remind ourselves that He is faithful and strong, and that the battle is already won.

The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, and it is designed for hand-to-hand combat. The Scriptures are what we use when the enemy gets up close and personal. God’s Word provides us with the truth we need to deflect the lies of Satan. It is both a defensive and an offensive weapon, allowing us to protect ourselves and to bring harm to the enemy. Referring to the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “when he comes he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment” (John 16:8 NLT). The Spirit of God, in conjunction with the Word of God, is essential in our fight against the forces of this world.

Finally, Paul tells us to keep “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:18a ESV). Prayer is nothing more than communication with God. Like a soldier on the battlefield, timely communication from headquarters is key to victory. We must listen to our heavenly commander, the Lord of Hosts. He is the captain of the armies of heaven, and He has a battle plan in place. We are not to act as freelance mercenaries, operating on our own agenda and implementing our own battle plan. It is through prayer and the reading of God’s Word that we receive instructions. Prayer provides us with a means of sharing our needs and news from the battlefield. Staying in touch with God is essential to our survival.

The battle is real. The enemy is powerful. But our God is great, and our armor is time-tested and proven reliable in the heat of battle. God has designed it and provided it to us so that we might stand firm in the ongoing spiritual battle we face. And John assures us that we can fight confidently, for our victory is assured by God.

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. – 1 John 4:4 NLT

Father, we are the most well-equipped military force on the planet. We have an all-powerful, all-knowing Commander in Chief and have been equipped with the finest defensive and offensive weapons to assist in the battle. We have a training manual that is second to none, a secret source of power in the form of the Holy Spirit, and a battle plan that guarantees our victory. You, the Creator of the universe, have promised to fight alongside us. There is no battle or skirmish we will face that You will not be there with us. And even when we grow weak and tired, Your Holy Spirit will renew our strength and reinvigorate our efforts. As Isaiah said, “those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 NLT).

I don’t like to think of life as a battle, but my experience tells me that it is. I have learned that the enemy is real and his assaults produce casualties among God’s people. But it’s not because he is more powerful, it is because we fail to wear the spiritual armor You have provided. Many of us refuse to admit that this world is a war zone. We would rather view it as some kind of extended vacation with a few hiccups and headaches along the way. But this life can be dangerous and deadly, because the enemy is alive and well. He is out to steal, kill, and destroy, and yet, he is a defeated foe because of Christ’s death on the cross. But until Your Son returns, we must continue to stand firm, fight well, and trust faithfully. Then we will be able to say with Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return” (2 Timothy 4:7-8 NLT). Amen

The Battle Is Real

July 9, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹²For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. – Ephesians 6:10-18a ESV

Having just addressed the topic of godly submission by illustrating its impact and influence across three different relationship settings, Paul now makes a somewhat jarring shift in thought to spiritual warfare. But upon closer examination, it seems clear that Paul is simply continuing the same thought he began when he called them to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which they had been called.

For two chapters, Paul has emphasized the need for believers to live out their faith in everyday life. He has called them to put off their old selves and to be renewed in the spirit of their minds. They are to put on their new natures, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). They are to walk in love, as children of light, and submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, willingly sacrificing their rights and selflessly loving others as Christ has loved them.

But this was not going to be easy and would not come naturally. Paul knew that their old sin natures, their flesh, would fight them every step of the way. Their natural inclination would be to lord over one another, not submit. They would be prone to pride and self-exaltation rather than humility and selfless service. Submitting to those who don’t deserve it or loving those who don’t appreciate it is not easy. To make matters worse, Paul knew that believers have an enemy at work behind the scenes, making our walk of faith as difficult as possible.

He was keenly aware of the invisible spiritual battle taking place, to which most Christians remain oblivious. What Paul is asking us to do is impossible to pull off in our own strength; we are not equipped for it. Our human nature, apart from God’s help, is not suited for spiritual warfare. We are like the man who brings a knife to a gunfight. So Paul tells us to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10 ESV).

Earlier in this letter, Paul told the Ephesian believers that he prayed for them regularly, asking that God would strengthen them “with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (Ephesians 3:16 ESV). He prayed the same thing for the believers in Colossae:

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. – Colossians 1:11 ESV

When Paul called the believers in Ephesus to “be imitators of God” and to “walk in love as Christ has loved us” (Ephesians 5:1), he knew he was asking the impossible, but not if they did it in God’s strength. Their insufficiency should drive them to rely upon God’s all-sufficiency. The impossibility of the task should increase their reliance upon God. The life to which God called them was possible only through the power He had graciously provided, and that same power is available to us today.

Paul calls it the whole armor of God. Notice he refers to it as the whole or complete armor. We can’t afford to be selective or picky about it. Not a single piece of the armor is to be left out or left behind. It is only as we are wholly equipped that we will “be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11 ESV). God has provided all the armor we need for the battle, but we need to put it on. And we must always keep in mind that his “armor” is spiritual in nature because “we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies” (Ephesians 6:12 NLT).

Twice, Paul tells his readers to put on “the whole armor of God.” He is not providing them with a menu of optional items to choose from. They were not to decide which piece of God’s divine equipment they were interested in utilizing. But that is exactly the way many of us, as Christians, approach this passage. Whether we intend to or not, we jeopardize our spiritual well-being by self-selecting the armor of God we want to put on. But Paul would have us understand that when it comes to the armor of God, it’s all or nothing.

And Paul would have us understand that our battle is not against other people. Our enemies are not those on the left or the right, they are not liberals or conservatives, Muslims or atheists, the irreligious or the immoral. Paul reminds us we are fighting “against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 NLT). Pul is not trying to intimidate or scare them; he is attempting to motivate them. He also wants them to understand that everything happening around them was an orchestrated effort on the part of the enemy of God to subvert His will and supplant His authority. Satan stands opposed to all that is godly, and that includes every single believer. As Jesus Himself warned, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10 ESV).

So Paul provides the stratagem for facing this formidable foe.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. – Ephesians 6:13 NLT

Notice that Paul says “to resist,” not defeat. Our job is not to destroy Satan, but to resist His efforts to destroy us. James provides invaluable insight into how this all works.

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. – James 4:7 NLT

Humility before God comes before resistance to Satan. Acknowledgment of your need for God’s strength must precede any attempt to withstand the enemy’s attack. So many of us fail as Christians because we refuse to put on the whole armor of God. God has provided all that we need; our arsenal is complete, and each piece is designed to work in concert with every other. These are spiritual tools designed to fight a spiritual battle. Paul told the Corinthian church, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4 ESV).

We live in evil days, and we have a formidable enemy whose mission is to destroy us. We still have our old sin-prone nature that is weak and worthless when it comes to resisting a spiritual enemy. But we have not been left defenseless or devoid of help. Our gracious, all-powerful God has equipped us with the tools we need to do battle with the enemy, and He has given us the indwelling presence of His Spirit to fight alongside us.

Like Paul, we need to recognize our own insufficiency, the enemy’s potency, and God’s gracious provision for our security.

So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT

Father, most of us would admit that the battle is real, but we tend to think it is being fought on a physical level. In our minds, the enemy takes the form of an opposing political party or idealogy. We see unbelievers as the ones who are waging war against us, making the world an immoral and unpleasant place to live. But Paul reminds us that our battle is spiritual in nature and our real enemy is not of this world. Yet, from our earth-bound vantage point, it is difficult for us to see behind the curtain and grasp the reality of the epic battle going on in “the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV). But unless we recognize that the battle is a spiritual one, we won’t recognize our need for spiritual assistance and we’ll end up focusing all our energies on the wrong enemy. Open our eyes to see the reality of what Paul is describing. Help us understand the gravity of the situation and our need for divine assistance. If we don’t think the battle is real, we will find ourselves unarmed and ill-prepared for the enemy’s attack. If we think the war is being fought in the physical realm, we will see other people as our adveraries, rather than Satan. Don’t let us minimize the threat, mistake our foe, neglect our armor, or run from the battle. Help us stand against the schemes of the enemy, not in our strength, but in Yours, equipped with Your weapons and empowered by Your Spirit. Amen

The Redemptive Revolution

July 8, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

⁵Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, ⁶not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, ⁸knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. ⁹Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. – Ephesians 6:5-9 ESV

As Paul continues to discuss the application of what it means to walk as children of light, in love and in submission to one another, he brings up a relationship that is particularly difficult for contemporary believers to understand. He has already addressed the relationships between husbands and wives and between children and their parents. Now he takes on the relationship between slaves and their masters.

There are those who have labeled Paul as a proponent of the institution of slavery because he does not speak out against it. But Paul, like Christ, was not out to revolutionize civil institutions or bring about social upheaval. He was interested in redeeming the lives of those who comprised the existing society. So, while it is true that Paul does not speak out against or condemn the socially accepted practice of slavery in his day, this does not mean he was a supporter of it. In fact, in the letter he wrote to Philemon, Paul appeals to his brother in Christ regarding one of his slaves, a man called Onesimus. Evidently, Onesimus had run away from Philemon, somehow met Paul, and became a believer. This runaway slave ended up ministering to Paul while he was a prisoner in Rome. Paul had encouraged Onesimus to do the right thing and return to his master, Philemon. Slavery was legal in Paul’s day, and Onesimus was obligated to return to Philemon or face severe punishment.

But Paul wrote his letter to Philemon to explain the change that had taken place in Onesimus’s life and to ask Philemon to view his former slave as a brother in Christ.

For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. – Philemon 1:15-16 NLT

This is exactly the kind of context Paul has been addressing in his letter to the Ephesians. Slavery was a socially accepted and legally sanctioned part of the culture of the day. Yet Paul was calling slaves and masters who came to faith in Christ to radically change their perspective regarding this institution. It has been estimated that in the 1st century AD, roughly 10 to 20 percent of the entire Roman Empire’s population were slaves. In Rome, the estimate jumps to as high as 33 percent. Anyone could become a slave. It was common for prisoners of war to be sold as slaves, yet Roman citizens could also become enslaved if they were unable to pay back a debt.

It was into this complex cultural milieu that the gospel began to spread. As a result, slaves, who were viewed as property and considered sub-human in many ways, were coming to faith in Christ. Not only that, they were becoming members of local congregations. It was not uncommon for a 1st-century church to include slaves and their masters among its members, and within the church there was a unity and equality unheard of elsewhere in the culture of that day. Which is why Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia: “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28 NLT).

In the context of the body of Christ, everyone was considered equal and to be treated with dignity and honor. But while coming to faith in Christ freed someone like Onesimus from sin, it did not free him from slavery. In fact, Paul wrote to the Corinthians and told them, “Yes, each of you should remain as you were when God called you. Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it. And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ” (1 Corinthians 7:20-22 NLT).

Paul was primarily concerned with seeing a change in believers’ behavior, not in their social status. He was focused on their walk, the daily living out of their faith within the context of their existing social relationships. He wrote to the church in Ephesus, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ” (Ephesians 6:5 NLT). Once again, Paul insists that their motivation be Christ-centered, as if they were serving Christ. Jesus had become a slave, a servant on their behalf, even dying in their place so that they might be freed from slavery to sin. Now, Paul was calling them to serve their earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Rather than forced subservience, Paul was calling them to willing submission. He even gives them very specific instructions on how their faith should manifest in their relationship with their masters.

Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. – Ephesians 6:6-7 NLT

Notice that Paul encourages them to do God’s will with all their heart. What would God’s will be in their particular situation? To walk as children of light. To walk in love. To walk in a manner worthy of their calling. Yes, even within their context as slaves because, in reality, they were slaves of Christ. Their earthly situation was temporary. So they could work with enthusiasm, performing their earthly responsibilities as if they were doing it for the Lord, knowing that “the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free” (Ephesians 6:8 NLT).

But Paul is not done. He also addresses those individuals in the Ephesian church who were masters. He tells them, “Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites” (Ephesians 6:9 NLT). Paul does not castigate them for their role as masters or demand the immediate emancipation of their slaves; he calls them to apply their newfound faith to their cultural context. Their faith in Christ was to have a relationship-altering impact on their lives. Masters were to view their slaves as brothers, not property. And, in their role as masters, they were to do everything as unto the Lord. This was a game-changing, life-altering moment for these individuals. Can you imagine what kinds of renewal of the mind and shifts in their paradigm were taking place as they wrestled with the newfound faith in Christ and the reality of the social construct in which they found themselves? This particular relationship between slaves and masters would put the daily application of faith in Christ to the test like no other.

Jesus did not come to revolutionize the structures of society; He came to transform the lives of the people who make up that society. He did not come to radically alter institutions, but to redeem individuals. Political change and legal sanctions do nothing to remedy the condition of the heart. Overthrowing a society’s evil social structures through rebellion or civil disobedience may bring about external change, but it will never fix the problem of sin. Believers, living as children of light in the midst of darkness, loving unconditionally, submitting to one another willingly, and obeying Christ joyfully, are the true change-agents in the world.

Father, we like to fix things. We are wired to right all wrongs and set the record straight on all injustices and inquities. But we live in a fallen world where man’s inhumanity to man is on constant display and unrighteousness seems to be the factory default setting. When Your Son entered the world, He did so at the zenith of Rome’s power. Yet He didn’t rail against the injustices of Roman rule or demand the overthrow of the emperor. He didn’t lead an insurrection or call for a grassroots uprising against the status quo. No, Your Son preached repentance and the need for salvation from sin. He called for heart change, not regime change. And Paul continued to preach Jesus’ message of freedom from slavery to sin and death because he knew that was the key to impacting society. Only changed hearts and lives will produce lasting change in a society. The gospel alone can turn masters into brothers, slaves into servants of Christ, oppressors into encouragers, and persecutors into proponents of the gospel. Jesus’ disciples had hoped He was the Messiah who had come to overthrow the Roman government, but He had come to conquer sin and death. Help me to understand that changing the culture is an inside job that begins within the hearts of people. The gospel is the key to changing the culture, one individual at a time. Amen

The High Privilege of Parenting

July 7, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ²“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), ³“that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” ⁴Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. – Ephesians 6:1-4 ESV

When considering Paul’s call for believers to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, it is important to remember that this is impossible without the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, you could pull it off in your own power for a season, but it wouldn’t be long before your old sin nature raised its ugly head, causing pride and self-centeredness to take center stage again. For wives to submit to their husbands and husbands to sacrificially love their wives, the Holy Spirit is a non-negotiable necessity. He alone can provide the fruit we need to “walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true” (Ephesians 5:8 ESV).

Here in Chapter 6, Paul draws our attention to yet another relationship in which the fruit of the Spirit will be essential; he calls for children to obey their parents. The Greek word Paul uses is hypakouō, which conveys the idea of hearing as well as obeying. It implies a child submitting to the God-given authority of their parents, and that the obedience rendered to them must be “in the Lord,” which is another way of saying “out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21 ESV). Just as wives are to submit to their husbands “as to the Lord,” children are to obey their parents with an awareness that they are really submitting to the will of God for their lives.

Paul knows this will be very difficult for young children to comprehend. Even after a child comes to faith in Christ, they will have difficulty understanding what it means to obey in the Lord. That is where the careful, patient, and persistent training from godly parents comes in. Even very young children are naturally prone to disobedience. Their wills develop quickly, and their innate desire to do what they want shows up very early in their development. Obedience is not natural to children. They may not initially realize they are being disobedient, but their natural drive toward autonomy will lead them to choose their own will over their parents’.

In these first three verses, Paul seems to address two phases of childhood, starting with young children and then focusing on adult children. After commanding children to obey, Paul turns to the Mosaic law and quotes the fifth commandment: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12 ESV). And he adds a side note: “This is the first commandment with a promise” (Ephesians 6:2 ESV).

Paul calls for honor, not just obedience. The word “honor” carries with it the idea of reverence and veneration. In Hebrew, it is kabad, which means “heaviness” or “weight.” There should be a sense of weightiness or significance that adult children give to the God-given role of their parents in their lives. While young children will not be able to grasp the significance of this concept, older children, especially adult children, can and should.

It is interesting to note that in Deuteronomy 6, Moses told the people of Israel, “Now this is the commandment — the statutes and the rules — that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long” (Deuteronomy 6:1-2 ESV).

Moses was calling the people of God to obedience so that their days would be long in the land. Then Moses went on to give them the motivating factor behind their obedience to God:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. – Deuteronomy 6:5-9 ESV

Verse five contains the Shema, which Jesus would later say is the greatest commandment. Love is to be the primary motivating factor behind obedience to God. And Paul seems to be saying that, ultimately, love should underlie children’s obedience to their parents and the honor they give them in their later years. But for this to happen, Moses said parents were to teach their children diligently. They were to talk about the things of God all the time. Obedience to God was to be a constant topic in the home, and parents were to be the primary source of instruction and illustration of what that obedience looks like.

Which is why Paul addresses fathers. In God’s economy, fathers are held to a higher standard; they are responsible for the spiritual well-being of their household. So Paul warns fathers about provoking or exasperating their children. Nothing will frustrate a child more than inconsistency in their father’s life. His behavior toward and in front of his children will have a dramatic impact on their spiritual well-being. Parental hypocrisy is one of the most damaging influences on a child’s life. Fathers who say one thing and do another end up frustrating and confusing their children. Fathers who demand one set of standards for their children while failing to apply those standards to themselves will cause anger and resentment in their children. Which is why Paul says, “Fathers, don’t provoke your children to anger” (Ephesians 6:4 ESV).

Another surprising cause of anger within children is a lack of discipline. Children need boundaries, supervision, and discipline in their lives. This will require the parents to train their children, and the father is ultimately responsible. A father who is overly strict or heavy-handed in his discipline will end up exasperating his children. But it is also true that a father who is lax in providing his children with loving discipline and godly instruction will provoke his children to anger. That is why Paul tells fathers to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. It should be the goal of every believing parent to raise godly children. While we can’t cause our children to come to faith in Christ, we can provide an environment in which the truth of the gospel is lived out in their presence and the love of God is modeled in their lives.

Parenting is a God-ordained role that comes with weighty responsibilities. But the Psalmist reminds us that “children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!” (Psalm 127:3-5 ESV). Our children are to be seen as blessings, not burdens. Their presence in our home is a gift from God, an inheritance designed to outlast our lives and bring Him glory for generations to come. But the hope of their future faithfulness begins under our watch and depends on our willingness to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4 ESV). What we say and do matters. How we live and love makes a difference. Faith cannot be inherited, but faithfulness to God can be modeled so that the next generation can learn of His goodness and greatness.

We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.

He commanded our ancestors
    to teach them to their children,
so the next generation might know them—
    even the children not yet born—
    and they in turn will teach their own children.
So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
    not forgetting his glorious miracles
    and obeying his commands.
Then they will not be like their ancestors—
    stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful,
    refusing to give their hearts to God. – Psalm 78:4, 5-8 NLT

Father, the job of parenting is never done. Even as our children leave the nest, we find ourselves still listening, loving, guiding, and directing. Even as our children move into adulthood, they continue to watch our lives and mirror our behavior. They may stop asking our advice, but they continue to recall the lessons we taught them along the way, both good and bad. The things we said and did when they were young are seared into their memories. What we do when they are young has long-term implications. Even when we are gone, they will still remember our words and actions. They will recall the life lessons we imparted and either embrace or reject them. The degree of our faithfulness to God when they were young will either motivate or demoralize them when they are older. Give us the strength to parent well, to grandparent faithfully. Don’t let us grow weary in doing good. Holy Spirit, empower and equip us to run the race well and to finish strong. Our children’s lives depend upon it. We cannot save them, but we can provide them with a safe and fertile environment in which truth is taught, love is boundless, patience is abundant, and faith is lived out in everyday life. Amen

Peace, Love, and Faith

May 21, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

²³Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. – Ephesians 6:21-24 ESV

For the first time in his letter, Paul turns his attention to himself. He has written the letter while under house arrest in Rome, awaiting trial. He had been arrested in Jerusalem having been accused by the Jews of allegedly bringing Gentiles into the temple and defiling it (Acts 21:28-30). The Jews had been so incensed at Paul that they wanted to kill him, but he had been rescued by Roman soldiers. Paul ended up having to defend himself before the Sanhedrin, the Roman governor, and King Agrippa. Eventually, he was shipped off to Rome because, as a Roman citizen, he had appealed for a trial before Caesar. So, while under house arrest, he wrote this letter to the Ephesians. In fact, Paul wrote many of his letters while physically detained in Rome. He made very good use of his time and continued to minister to the churches he had helped to plant.

Paul had a special place in his heart for the believers in each of the cities to which he wrote. He saw them as his spiritual children. He had a pastor’s heart for them, worrying about their spiritual well-being because he knew they were under spiritual attack from the enemy. That is why he wrote his many letters. He wanted to educate, encourage, and instruct them in the faith. He desired to see them grow in Christ-likeness and continue to spread the good news of Jesus Christ around the world.

Paul was also aware that the believers to whom he had ministered so faithfully worried about him as well. They were concerned with his well-being and felt a certain sense of dependency upon him as their spiritual mentor and father in the faith. So Paul regularly them about his circumstances. With everything else going on in their lives, he didn’t want them worrying about him. So, he told them he would send Tychicus, “the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord” to bring them up to speed. It seems that Paul used Tychicus in this way quite often (Acts 20:4; Colossians 4:7; Titus 3:12; 2 Timothy 4:12). He was one of Paul’s constant companions and was able to travel to these various cities and keep the believers there informed as to the current status of Paul’s imprisonment and trial. Paul’s main purpose in sending Tychicus was that they might be encouraged. He knew that they didn’t need any more distractions or discouragement than they already had.

Paul loved others. He cared deeply about them and was willing to do whatever it took to see that they grew in faith. He could be hard on them, pointing out their weaknesses and flaws. But he could also be deeply compassionate, encouraging them in their weaknesses, and calling them to remain faithful. Like a loving parent, Paul wanted what was best for his children, and he was willing to sacrifice his own life to see that the flock of God was healthy and whole. Paul was the consummate shepherd. He shared the heart of Jesus, who said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11 ESV). As a matter of fact, prior to heading to Rome to await his trial before Caesar, Paul had called for the elders from Ephesus and told them, “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock – his church, purchased with his own blood – over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders” (Acts 20:28 NLT). And Paul had lived out that admonition in his own life – all the way from Rome. Paul had lived out the calling for elders penned by the apostle Peter.

Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly – not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. – 1 Peter 5:2 NLT

And in keeping with his role as a shepherd, Paul closed out his letter with a prayer for his flock in Ephesus. He prayed for three things: peace, love, and faith. Peace is not an absence of trouble, but an awareness of God’s presence in the midst of trying times. Peace also can mean harmony between individuals. Paul knew that there would be plenty of potential for turmoil in the Ephesian church because churches are comprised of people. And he knew that peace was going to be necessary if they were going to grow together and experience the unity that God desired for them. But peace is only possible when love is present. Mutual love is what brings about peace. The sacrificial, selfless love for which Paul was praying is unifying, not dividing. It is healing, not hurtful. It is other-oriented, not self-centered. And that kind of love is only possible through faith in Christ. It is not a self-manufactured kind of love but is a natural expression of the love that God expressed to us by sending His own Son to die on our behalf.

We love each other because he loved us first. – 1 John 4:19 NLT

All three of these attributes – peace, love, and faith – come from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. They are divine gifts to the church and they are to be used for the mutual edification of one another.

Paul closes his letter the same way he opened it, with an emphasis on the grace of God.

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. – Ephesians 6:24 ESV

The grace of God, His undeserved favor, is the most remarkable thing any of us have ever received. But it is easy to lose sight of His grace and mistakenly assume that we somehow deserved or earned His love. We can end up thinking that we are worthy of His forgiveness and capable of living the Christian life in our own strength. But Paul would have us remember that it is the grace of God that made our salvation possible and it is the grace of God that makes our sanctification achievable. It is the grace of God that makes loving Him and His Son feasible. All that we are and all that we do is made possible by the grace of God.

Suit Up, Stand Up, Speak Up!

May 20, 2022May 21, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁸To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. – Ephesians 6:18b-20 ESV

Paul ended his description of the armor of God with a call to prayer, strongly advising his readers to “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion” (Ephesians 6:18a NLT). Constant communication with the Father is essential for our spiritual survival. Prayer is not simply a tool we use to get what we need from God. As Paul will show, it is not to be used for our own selfish desires either.

Throughout this letter, Paul has been addressing the great doctrine of the church, the body of Christ. In chapter one, Paul addressed Christ’s headship over the church, having earned that role through His sacrificial death and resurrection.

And he [God] put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. – Ephesians 1:22 ESV

And all believers are members of that body because they share a common faith in Christ, and that faith was a gift provided to them by God, “not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:9 ESV). The church was and is the mysterious or previously hidden idea that God would miraculously join Jews and Gentiles into one body.

…that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross. – Ephesians 2:14 ESV

It was God who made us “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19 ESV). And it is through the church that “the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:10 ESV). It was Paul’s prayer that the Ephesian believers would “know the love of Christ” and be “filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19 ESV). Paul knew that God had a divine plan for the church. He also knew that the future success of the church, including all those who would later become a part of it through faith in Christ, was totally dependent upon the work of God and for the glory of God. That is why he ended his prayer in chapter three with the words:

The body of Christ, the church, is a powerful force, but only as long as it remains dependent upon God. It is a God-ordained agent of change in the world, but only when it stays committed to the will of God and connected to the power God has made available through His Spirit. When we lose sight of the fact that God saved us and placed us within the context of the body of Christ, and begin to see our salvation as something individualistic and isolated, we miss the whole point. A self-centered, what’s-in-it-for-me attitude has no place within the body of Christ. Even the armor of God is of little use to the Christian, if he wears it in a futile attempt to act as a one-man army.

As Christians, we must come to grips with the fact that we are in this battle together. Even the best-equipped, most highly trained army, without unity, will fall to its enemy. And without constant communication with and obedience to its commander, even the mightiest army will fail. So, Paul calls Christians to prayer.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. – Ephesians 18 NLT

There is a sense of camaraderie and unity in his words. We are to pray not only for ourselves but for one another as well. We should desire that each and every believer on the planet lives in the power of the Spirit and according to the will of God. The body of Christ requires members who are healthy, whole and committed to the cause of Christ. That is why Paul even asks for prayer on his behalf.

And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. – Ephesians 6:19 NLT

Paul knew that he needed the prayers of the saints in order to stay committed to the call given to him by God. He coveted their prayers. And he longed that they would pray for one another.

What more selfless, loving thing can we do than pray for God to protect, guide, strengthen, and embolden our fellow believers. We must realize that our strength, while provided by God, is found in our unity with fellow believers. It is together that we form the powerful force that can dramatically alter the landscape of the world in which we live. Solitary soldiers, even though well-armored, will have little impact “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV). So, we must pray. We must seek God’s face, determining to know His will, lifting up our fellow soldiers, and resting in His divine strategy for ultimate victory.

Not surprisingly, Paul asks his flock in Ephesus to pray for him. He is writing his letter while under house arrest in Rome, awaiting trial before the emperor. But Paul doesn’t request that they pray for his timely release. While there’s little doubt that Paul longed to be set free so that he could continue his ministry, he also saw his confinement as a God-ordained opportunity to share the message of Jesus Christ with a “captive” audience. In his letter to the Philippians, he mentioned those he had been able to lead to faith in the household of Caesar.

The brothers who are with me send you their greetings. And all the rest of God’s people send you greetings, too, especially those in Caesar’s household. – Philippians 4:22 NLT

Paul had been busy while under house arrest in Rome. He had been bemoaning his circumstances or complaining about his sorry lot in life. No, he had been spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to anyone and everyone.

I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear. – Philippians 4:12-14 NLT

Paul was an equal-opportunity evangelist. He was ready, willing, and able to share the gospel with Jews, Gentiles, Romans, freemen, slaves, guards, and even emperors if given the chance. No one was “safe” when Paul was around. So, instead of asking that his friends in Ephesus pray for his release, he asks them to pray that he will “keep on speaking boldly for him” (Ephesians 6:20 NLT). He desires strength, endurance, and a fearlessness to boldly proclaim Christ even in the face of possible rejection and ridicule.

Paul knew that he would need just the right words to speak in each situation. He was totally dependent upon God to provide him with just the right message at just the right time. Paul didn’t preach a one-size-fits-all kind of gospel. He allowed the Holy Spirit to custom-fit the message for each individual. That is why he asks that the Ephesians pray that God would give him “the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike” (Ephesians 6:19 NLT).

Paul didn’t ask for release from confinement, but instead, he asked for Spirit-empowered communications skills. He wanted to make the most of his time while under house arrest. He viewed his situation as part of the sovereign will of God, and not as some kind of difficulty from which to escape. He was in God’s hands and what he desired most was the Ephesians’ prayers so that he might have God’s help in proclaiming the news of God’s Son.

Paul‘s prayer request reminds me of the words of an old hymn that echoes the same sentiment. Oh, that we would have the same perspective as Paul and share his desire to be used by God no matter the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free

Silently now I wait for thee
Ready, my God, thy will to see
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!

Open my ears, that I may hear
Voices of truth thou sendest clear;
And while the wavenotes fall on my ear
Everything false will disappear

Silently now I wait for thee
Ready, my God, thy will to see
Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine!

Open my mouth, and let me bear
Gladly the warm truth everywhere;
Open my heart and let me prepare
Love with thy children thus to share

Silently now I wait for thee
Ready, my God, thy will to see
Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine!

Resources to Resist the Enemy

May 18, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

Having just addressed the topic of godly submission by illustrating its impact and influence on three different relationship settings, Paul now makes a somewhat jarring shift in thought as he brings up the seemingly unrelated topic of spiritual warfare. But upon closer examination, it seems clear that Paul is simply continuing the same train of thought he began when he called the Ephesians to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which they had been called. Throughout two chapters, Paul has been emphasizing the need for believers to live out their faith in everyday life. He has called them to put off their old selves and to be renewed in the spirit of their minds. They were to put on their new natures, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). They were to walk in love, as children of light. There were to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ and willingly sacrifice their rights in order to selflessly love others as Christ had loved them.

But this was not going to be easy, and it wasn’t going to come naturally. Paul knew that their old sin nature or flesh would fight them every step of the way. Their natural inclination would be to lord it over one another, rather than submit. They would be prone to pride and self-exaltation, not humility and selfless service. Submitting to those who don’t appear to deserve it or loving those who don’t seem worthy of it are not easy things to do. And to make matters worse, Paul knew that believers have an enemy at work behind the scenes to make their walk of faith as difficult as possible.

He was keenly aware that there was an unseen spiritual battle taking place to which most of us as Christians were blissfully oblivious. What Paul was asking the Ephesians to do was impossible to pull off in their own strength. They were not equipped for it. Their fallen human nature, apart from the help of God, was not suited for spiritual warfare. Without the assistance of God, they would be like someone bringing a knife to a gunfight. So Paul tells encourages them to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10 ESV).

He doesn’t tell them to gut it up or get busy. Paul doesn’t berate or belittle them for their lack of effort and determination. No, he calls them to place their hope and trust in the all-sufficient strength of God. Earlier in this letter, Paul told the Ephesian believers that he prayed for them regularly. His request was God would empower them so that might be “strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (Ephesians 3:16 ESV). He prayed the same thing for the believers on Colossae.

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. – Colossians 1:11 ESV

When Paul called the believers in Ephesus to “be imitators of God” and to “walk in love as Christ has loved us” (Ephesians 5:1), he knew that he was asking them to do the impossible. But not if they did it in the strength that comes from God. Not if they recognized their insufficiency and God’s all-sufficiency. The impossibility of the task should drive them to the reliability of their Father. The life to which God had called them was only possible through the power He had graciously provided for them.

And the good news is that the very same power is available to us today. Paul calls it the whole armor of God. Notice that he refers to it as whole or complete armor. We can’t afford to be selective or picky about it. Not a single piece of the armor was to be left off or left behind. It is only as we are wholly equipped with the divine protection God has provided that we will “be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11 ESV). God has given us the armor but we still need to put it on. And we must always keep in mind that his “armor” is spiritual in nature because “we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies” (Ephesians 6:12 NLT). In other words, our battle is not against other people. Our enemies are not those on the left or the right, the liberals or conservatives, the Muslims or the atheists, the irreligious or the immoral.

Paul reminds us we are fighting “against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 NLT). Sound scary? It’s meant to be because it’s true and the enemies are very real. What we see happening all around us today is an orchestrated effort on the part of the enemy of God to subvert His will and supplant His authority. Satan stands opposed to all that is godly, and that includes every single believer because the Spirit of God lives within them. As Jesus Himself warned, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10 ESV).

So what are we to do? Paul is quite clear.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. – Ephesians 6:13 NLT

Notice that Paul says, “to resist,” not go on the attack. Our job is not to destroy Satan, but to resist His efforts to destroy us. James gives us some invaluable insight into how this is all supposed to work. He writes:

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. – James 4:7 NLT

Humility before God comes before the resistance of Satan. Acknowledgment of your need for God’s strength must precede any attempt to withstand the enemy’s attack. By putting on the armor God has provided, you are acknowledging your need for Him. The reason so many of us fail as Christians is that we refuse to put on the whole armor of God. We think we can survive without it.

But God has provided a complete set of armor that must be put on and depended upon. Each piece is designed to work in concert with every other. They are spiritual resources designed to fight a spiritual battle. Paul told the Corinthian church, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4 ESV).

We live in evil days. We have a formidable enemy whose mission is to destroy us. We still have our old sin-prone nature, weak and worthless when it comes to resisting a spiritual enemy. But we have not been left defenseless or devoid of help. Our gracious, all-powerful God has given us His divinely empowered armor to protect us and the indwelling presence of His Spirit to do battle beside us. Like Paul, we need to recognize our own insufficiency, the enemy’s reality, and God’s gracious provision for our security.

A Radical Change in Relationships

May 17, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

Paul continues to discuss the practical implications of walking as children of light, in love and in submission to one another. But in doing so, he brings up a relationship that is particularly difficult for 21st-Century believers to understand. He has already addressed the relationship between believing husbands and their wives, and he has covered God’s will concerning children and their parents. But now he takes on the the rather awkward topic of slaves and their masters. But in keeping with the rest of his letter, he is still focusing his attention on believers. So, in this case he is addressing slaves who have come to faith in Christ but still find themselves in the same hopeless position they had been in before their conversion.

Based on this passage, there are those who have accused Paul of being a proponent of the institution of slavery, because he refuses to speak out against it. But Paul, like Jesus Himself, was not out to revolutionize the civil or cultural institutions of his day. Nor was he out to bring about social upheaval. He was interested in redeeming the lives of all those who made up the the variegated fabric of society. So, while it’s true that Paul did not condemn the socially accepted practice of slavery in his day, it doesn’t mean he was in favor of it. In fact, in his letter to Philemon, he makes an appeal to his brother in Christ regarding one of his slaves, a man called Onesimus. Evidently, Onesimus had run away from Philemon and had somehow ended up meeting Paul in Rome. Under the apostle’s influence, Onesimus became a follower of Christ.

He ended up ministering to Paul while he was under house arrest. Eventually, Paul encouraged Onesimus to do the right thing and return to his master. Slavery was legal in Paul’s day and Onesimus was obligated to return to Philemon or face severe punishment. But Paul sent his letter to Philemon explaining the change that had taken place in the life of Onesimus and to ask Philemon to see his former slave as a brother in Christ.

This is exactly the kind of context Paul is addressing in his letter to the Ephesians. Slavery was a socially-accepted and legally-sanctioned part of the culture of the day. And yet Paul was calling those slaves and masters who had come to faith in Christ to radically change their perspective regarding their relationship and the institution that determined dictated it. The interesting thing is that slaves, who were viewed as property and sub-human in many ways, were coming to faith in Christ. Not only that, they were becoming members of the local churches. It was not uncommon for a 1st-Century church to have slaves and their masters as part of its congregation. And within the context of the church, there was a unity and equality that was unheard of anywhere else in the culture of that day.

This is why Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia: “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28 NLT).

In the context of the body of Christ, everyone was on an equal footing. But while coming to faith in Christ had set Onesimus free from sin, it had not freed him from slavery. In fact, Paul wrote to the Corinthians and told them, “Yes, each of you should remain as you were when God called you. Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it. And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ” (1 Corinthians 7:20-22 NLT).

Paul’s primary concern was the behavior of believers. He was focused on their walk – the daily living out of their faith within the context of their existing social relationships. This is reflected in what he wrote to the church in Ephesus.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. – Ephesians 6:5 NLT

We see once again, that their motivation was to be Christ-centered, as if they were serving Christ. Jesus had became a slave on their behalf, even dying in their place so that they might be freed from slavery to sin. Now He was calling them to serve their earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Rather than forced subservience, Paul was calling them to willing submission. Paul gives them some very specific instruction about how their faith should manifest itself in their relationship with their masters.

Notice that Paul encourages them to do the will of God with all their heart. What would the will of God be in their particular situation? To walk as children of light. To walk in love. To walk in a manner worthy of their calling. Yes, even within their context as slaves because, in reality, they were slaves of Christ. Their earthly situation was temporary. So, they could work with enthusiasm, performing their earthly responsibilities as if they were doing it for the Lord, knowing that “the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free” (Ephesians 6:8 NLT).

But Paul is not done. He also addresses those individuals in the churches in Ephesus who happened to be masters. He tells them, “Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites” (Ephesians 6:9 NLT).

Their faith in Christ was to have a relationship-altering impact on their lives. Their slaves were now their brothers. And everything they did was to be done as to the Lord. This was a game-changing, life-altering moment in the lives of these individuals. Can you imagine what kinds of renewing of the mind and shifting of their paradigm was taking place as they wrestled with their new-found faith in Christ and its impact on the social construct in which they found themselves? This particular relationship between slaves and masters would put the daily application of faith in Christ to the test like no other.

Jesus did not come to revolutionize the structures of society, but He came to dramatically transform the lives of the people who make up that society. He did not come to radically alter institutions, but to redeem individuals. Political change or legal sanctions do nothing to remedy the condition of the heart. Overthrowing the evil social structures of a society through rebellion or civil disobedience may bring about external change, but it will never fix the problem of sin. Believers living as children of light in the midst of darkness, loving unconditionally, submitting to one another willingly, and obeying Christ joyfully are the true change-agents in the world.

As modern-day Christians, we find Paul’s discussion of slavery to be distasteful and outdated. After all, we live in a nation that outlawed slavery a long time ago. But in Paul’s day it was alive and well. And becoming a believer did not set slaves free from slavery. It didn’t change their circumstances, but it did radically alter the way they were to live their lives. Because of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, slaves were expected to do their jobs differently. They were expected to relate to their masters differently. They were to obey with “deep respect and fear.” And they were to do it as they would serve Christ. Their subservience was now to become willing submission, performed for the Lord, not for their earthly masters. Their work ethic was to be motivated by their love for the Lord. They were still slaves, but they were slaves who had been changed by Christ and had a new capacity to love – even within the context of their slavery. And those masters who happened to be believers, were to treat their slaves with dignity and respect, knowing that they would one day be held accountable by God for their actions.

Paul makes a significant statement regarding God’s view of slaves and masters. He says, “remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites” (Ephesians 6:9 NLT). God doesn’t see as man sees. While He has ordained there to be order, structure, and degrees of authority in the world, He sees all men as equals. He views husbands and wives as equals. He regards parents and children as equals. And He sees slaves and masters in the same way. The key issue is how His Spirit can radically change each of the individuals in those relationships and give them a new capacity to interact and interrelate so that He is honored.

Spirit-filled, Spirit-controlled believers bring a whole new meaning to their earthly relationships. They view their roles and responsibilities differently. They see their positions as opportunities to serve others and honor God. They do their work as unto the Lord. They serve others as they would serve Christ. They submit to others as they would submit to Him. They love as He would love. They obey as if He were the one giving the command. Living under the influence of the Spirit is a life-changing, relationship-altering experience.

Devotionary

The Bible Made Accessible and Applicable

Ephesians 6