Ephesians 6

24 verses

The household code continues with the relationships of children, fathers, servants, and masters: children obey parents (invoking the first commandment with promise—Exodus 20:12/Deuteronomy 5:16—affirming familial bonds in the renewed creation), while fathers are exhorted not to provoke their children but to raise them in the paideia and nouthesia (discipline and instruction) of the Lord. Servants are called to obey earthly masters as serving Christ, doing the will of God from the heart with sincerity, rendering service as to the Lord rather than to human masters, trusting that the Lord will reward faithful obedience; masters, in turn, must do the same to their servants, knowing that both slaves and masters stand equally accountable before the heavenly Master who shows no partiality. The letter's practical section concludes with the arraying of the full armor of God (panoply)—drawn from Isaiah 59:17 and the Wisdom tradition—with which believers contend not against flesh and blood but against cosmic spiritual forces: the belt of truth girds the loins, the breastplate of righteousness guards the heart, gospel-peace shoes prepare the feet, the shield of faith extinguishes flaming arrows, the helmet of salvation protects the head, and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God) becomes the sole offensive weapon for spiritual warfare. Prayer undergirds all: constant vigilance in the Spirit with petitions for all the saints, intercession for boldness in proclaiming the mystery, and watchfulness to the end. Paul closes by sending Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, to deliver the letter and encourage their hearts, concluding with the benediction of peace, love, and grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible (en aphtharsia)—an appropriate ending that echoes the letter's opening blessing and secures the readers in God's eternal mercy.

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