SLASB Ephesians Sampler - Flipbook - Page 14
Ephesians 6
14
Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have be standing firm. 14Stand your ground, putting
the same Master in heaven, and he has no on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s
righteousness. 15For shoes, put on the peace that
favorites.
comes from the Good News so that you will be
The Whole Armor of God
fully prepared.* 16In addition to all of these, hold
10A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in
up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of
his mighty power. 11Put on all of God’s armor the devil.* 17Put on salvation as your helmet, and
so that you will be able to stand firm against take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
all strategies of the devil. 12For we* are not of God.
18Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every
fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but
against evil rulers and authorities of the un- occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your
seen world, against mighty powers in this dark prayers for all believers everywhere.*
19And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me
world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly
places.
the right words so I can boldly explain God’s
13Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor
mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews
so you will be able to resist the enemy in the and Gentiles alike.* 20I am in chains now, still
time of evil. Then after the battle you will still preaching this message as God’s ambassador.
6:12 Some manuscripts read you. 6:15 Or For shoes, put on the readiness to preach the Good News of peace with God.
6:16 Greek the evil one.
6:18 Greek all of God’s holy people. 6:19 Greek explain the mystery of the Good News; some manuscripts read simply explain the mystery.
GOD’S ARMOR
FOR US
In the Christian
life, we battle
against “evil
rulers and authorities of the
unseen world”
(Ephesians
6:12)—the
powerful enemy
forces of fallen
angels headed
by the devil,
who is a vicious
fighter (see,
for example,
1 Peter 5:8). To
withstand their
attacks, we must
depend on God’s
strength and
use every piece
of his armor
(Ephesians
6:10-17).
Piece of Armor
Meaning
Application
Belt
Truth
The devil fights with lies, and sometimes his
lies sound like the truth; believers have God’s
truth, however, which can defeat those lies.
Body armor
Righteousness
The devil often attacks our hearts—the seat
of our emotions, identity, and trust. God’s
righteousness is the body armor that protects our
hearts and ensures his approval. He approves of
us—having sent his Son to die for us—because
he loves us.
Shoes
The peace that comes
from the Good News
The devil wants us to think that telling others the
Good News is a worthless and hopeless task—
the size of the task is too big and the negative
responses are too much to handle. But the shoes
God gives us are the motivation to continue to
proclaim the true peace that is available in God—
news everyone needs to hear.
Shield
Faith
What we see are the devil’s attacks in the form
of things like accusations, setbacks, and temptations. But the shield of faith protects us from his
fiery arrows. With God’s perspective, we can see
beyond our circumstances and know that ultimate victory is ours.
Helmet
Salvation
The devil wants to make us doubt God and doubt
our salvation. The helmet protects our minds from
doubting God’s saving work for us.
Sword of
the Spirit
The Word of God
The sword is the only offensive weapon in this list
of armor; all the others are defensive. There are
times when we need to take the offensive against
the devil. When we are tempted, we need to trust
in the truth of God’s Word and use it to fight.
6:12 Real Spiritual Enemies Our enemies who aren’t
“flesh-and-blood” are demons, who are under the control of
the devil. They aren’t imaginary—they are very real. We face
a powerful army whose goal is to defeat the church. When we
believe in Jesus, these beings become our enemies, and they
try to turn us away from him and back to sin. Although God
assures us that we will ultimately have the victory (Romans
16:20; Revelation 20:10), we must engage in the struggle
until Jesus returns because Satan will constantly be battling
against all of us who are on the Lord’s side. God has provided
us with the supernatural power we need to defeat Satan by
filling us with his Holy Spirit and equipping us with his armor
(Ephesians 6:13‑17).
