In exhorting the children and the parents, the apostle dealt with the children first, since trouble comes mostly from the children.

Verses Eph. 6:1-9, which deal with the relationship between children and fathers and between slaves and masters, are inserted between the section on the church as the bride (Eph. 5:22-33) and the section on the church as the warrior (vv. 10-20). If we neglect the points dealt with in vv. 1-9, we cannot be a proper bride or a proper warrior. In the exhortations in these verses, Paul made one key point, which is a very important lesson for us to learn: for the sake of the church life, we need to have a proper human living in this present age.

In the Lord indicates that children need to obey their parents
1) by being one with the Lord,
2) not by themselves but by the Lord,
3) not according to their natural concept but according to the Lord's word.

Or, just, reasonable. For children to obey their parents is not only right but also just.

Honoring is different from obeying. Obeying is an action, whereas honoring is an attitude. It is possible for children to obey their parents without honoring them. In order to honor their parents, children need an honoring attitude, an honoring spirit. All children need to learn to obey their parents and, at the same time, honor them.

This is not only the first commandment with a promise but also the first commandment concerning man's relationship with man (Exo. 20:12).

To have it well with ourselves is to be prosperous in material blessings, and to live long is to have longevity. Prosperity and longevity are God's blessings in this life to those who honor their parents. If we wish to prolong our days and enjoy blessings, we must learn to obey and honor our parents. The commandment to honor our parents is the first commandment with a promise.

Provoking children to anger damages them by stirring up their flesh. Not to provoke his children to anger requires that a father deal with his anger by leaving it on the cross. In this way he is able to render suitable discipline to his children.

Admonition includes instruction. Parents should instruct their children with the Word of God (Deut. 6:6-7), teaching them to know the Bible. However, how the children develop depends on God's mercy.

Concerning the relationship between slaves and masters, the apostle exhorted the slaves first, because the source of trouble was mostly with them.

In the apostle's time slaves were purchased by their masters, and the masters had the right over their lives. Some slaves and masters became brothers in the church. As brothers in the church, they were equal and without distinction (see Col. 3:11), but at home those who were slaves still were obligated to obey the brothers who were their masters according to flesh.

Fear is the inward motive for service, and trembling the outward attitude.

To be single is to be pure in motive, without a mixed purpose.

The relationship between slaves and masters also is a type of our relationship with Christ, who is our Master. We should be like slaves, obeying Him in singleness of heart.

If a brother who is a slave stands in his position and obeys his master, he is in the eyes of the Lord a slave of Christ, doing the will of God, and he serves as serving the Lord and not men (v. 7).

From the soul here equals from the heart. This means to serve not only with the physical body but also with the heart.

See note Eph. 6:6¹.

Whatever good thing we do, we will receive back the same from the Lord, and it will become a reward to us.

The masters, who had the right over the lives of their purchased slaves, needed to give up their threatening, because the Lord in the heavens was the real Master of both them and the slaves.

The passage from 1:1—6:9 completes the revelation on the positive side concerning the church's fulfilling of God's eternal purpose; yet on the negative side, concerning the church's dealing with God's enemy, there is more to be covered.

This implies that we need to exercise our will strongly.

This word in Greek has the same root as the word for power in Eph. 1:19. To deal with God's enemy, to fight against the evil forces of darkness, we need to be empowered with the greatness of the power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the heavens, far above all the evil spirits in the air.

In the spiritual warfare against Satan and his evil kingdom, we can fight only in the Lord, not in ourselves. Whenever we are in ourselves, we are defeated.

On the positive side, in the first five chapters the church is portrayed in many ways for the fulfilling of God's eternal purpose. On the negative side, the church is seen here as a warrior for the defeating of God's enemy, the devil. To defeat God's enemy, we need to put on the whole armor of God. "Put on" is an imperative, a command. God has provided the armor for us, but He does not put it on for us. Rather, we ourselves must put it on, exercising our will to cooperate with Him.

To fight the spiritual warfare, we need not only the power of the Lord but also the armor of God. Our weapons do not avail, but God's armor, even the whole armor of God, does avail.

The whole armor of God is for the entire Body of Christ, not for any individual member of the Body. The church is a corporate warrior, and the believers are parts of this unique warrior. Only the corporate warrior, not any individual believer, can wear the whole armor of God. We must fight the spiritual warfare in the Body, not as individuals.

In ch. 2 we sit with Christ in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:6), and in chs. 4 and 5 we walk (Eph. 4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15) in His Body on the earth. Then in ch. 6 we stand in His power in the heavenlies. To sit with Christ is to participate in all His accomplishments; to walk in His Body is to fulfill God's eternal purpose; and to stand in His power is to fight against God's enemy.

The evil plan of the devil.

Blood and flesh refers to men. Behind men of blood and flesh are the evil forces of the devil, which are against God's purpose. Hence, our wrestling, our fighting, must not be against men but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.

The rulers, the authorities, and the world-rulers of this darkness are the rebellious angels, who followed Satan in his rebellion against God and who now rule in the heavenlies over the nations of the world — such as the prince of Persia and the prince of Greece in Dan. 10:20. This indicates that the devil, Satan, has his kingdom of darkness (Matt. 12:26; Col. 1:13), in which he occupies the highest position and in which the rebellious angels are under him.

This darkness refers to today's world, which is fully under the dark ruling of the devil, who rules through his evil angels.

Heavenlies here refers to the air (Eph. 2:2). Satan and his spiritual forces of evil are in the air. But we are seated in the third heaven above them (Eph. 2:6). In fighting a battle, the position above the enemy is very important strategically. Satan and his evil forces are under us, and they are destined to be defeated by us.

It is the whole armor of God, not just a part or some parts of it, that we need for the spiritual warfare. To take up the whole armor, the Body of Christ is needed; individual believers are not sufficient for this.

To withstand is to stand against. To stand is crucial in fighting.

Verse Eph. 5:16 says that the days are evil. In this evil age every day is an evil day because Satan, the evil one, is at work every day.

In fighting we need to stand to the end. Having done all, we still must stand.

From this point to the end of v. 16 we are given a description of how to stand.

The girding of our loins is for the strengthening of our entire being.

According to the usage of this word in ch. 4 — see note Eph. 4:15¹ (on truth), note Eph. 4:21^1b (on reality), and note Eph. 4:24⁵ (on reality) — truth here refers to God in Christ as reality in our living, that is, God becoming our reality and experience in our living. This is actually Christ Himself lived out by us (John 14:6). Such truth, such reality, is the girdle that strengthens our whole being for the spiritual warfare.

To put on the breastplate of righteousness is to cover our conscience, signified by the breast. Satan is the one who accuses us. In fighting against him we need a conscience void of offense. Regardless of how clear we feel our conscience is, it needs to be covered with the breastplate of righteousness. To be righteous is to be right with both God and man. If we are just a little wrong with either God or man, Satan will accuse us, and there will be holes in our conscience through which all our faith and boldness will leak out. Hence, we need the covering of righteousness to protect us from the enemy's accusation. Such righteousness is Christ (1 Cor. 1:30).

We shoe our feet to strengthen our stand in the battle. It is not for walking a way or running a course but for fighting the battle.

Firm foundation may also be rendered readiness. Here it means the establishing of the gospel of peace. Christ made peace for us, with both God and man, on the cross, and this peace has become our gospel (Eph. 2:13-17). This gospel of peace has been established as a firm foundation, as a readiness with which our feet may be shod. Being thus shod, we will have a firm footing that we may stand to fight the spiritual warfare. The peace for such a firm foundation also is Christ (Eph. 2:14).

The shield of faith is taken up to protect ourselves against the attacks of the enemy.

We need to have our loins girded with truth, our conscience covered with righteousness, our feet shod with peace, and our entire being protected with the shield of faith. If we live by God as reality (truth), we have righteousness (Eph. 4:24), and righteousness issues in peace (Heb. 12:11; Isa. 32:17). Having all these, we can easily have faith as a shield against the evil one's flaming darts. Christ is the Author and Perfecter of such faith (Heb. 12:2). For us to stand firmly in the battle, we need to be equipped with all these four items of God's armor.

The flaming darts are Satan's temptations, proposals, doubts, questions, lies, and attacks. Flaming darts were used by fighters in the apostle's time. The apostle used this term to illustrate Satan's attacks on us.

Receiving the helmet of salvation is for covering our mind, our mentality, against the negative thoughts shot in by the evil one. Such a helmet, such a covering, is God's salvation. Satan injects threats, worries, anxieties, and other weakening thoughts into our mind. God's salvation is the covering that we take up against all these. Such a salvation is the saving Christ whom we experience in our daily life (John 16:33).

Among the six items of God's armor, this is the only one that is used for attacking the enemy.

The antecedent of which is Spirit, not sword, indicating that the Spirit is the word of God. Both the Spirit and the word are Christ (2 Cor. 3:17; Rev. 19:13). Christ as the Spirit and the word furnishes us with a sword as an offensive weapon to defeat and slay the enemy.

The instant word spoken at the moment by the Spirit in any situation. The sword, the Spirit, and the word are one. When the constant word in the Bible becomes the instant word, that word is the Spirit as the sword that kills the enemy.

This phrase modifies the verb receive in v. 17, which tells us to receive not only the helmet of salvation but also the word of God. This indicates that we need to receive the word of God by means of all prayer and petition. We need to pray to receive the word of God.

The whole armor of God is composed of six items. Prayer may be considered the seventh. It is the unique, crucial, and vital means by which we apply the other items, making the armor available to us in a practical way.

Prayer is general and petition is particular; both are needed that we might have a proper, overcoming church life.

This is our regenerated spirit, indwelt by the Spirit of God. It may be considered the mingled spirit — the spirit that is our spirit mingled with God's Spirit. In praying, the main faculty that we should use is this spirit.

We need to be watchful, on the alert, for the maintaining of this prayer life.

To maintain a life of prayer, we need all perseverance, a constant, persistent care.

This indicates that we need to pray in a particular way for all the saints.

Or, word, speech, expression.

The mystery of the gospel is Christ and the church for the fulfillment of God's eternal purpose (Eph. 5:32). See Rom. 16:25 and note Rom. 16:25^3e.

An ambassador is one sent by a particular authority to contact certain people. Here this word implies that the apostle was one who was sent by God, the highest authority in the universe, to contact certain people.

A coupling chain, a chain that bound the prisoner to his guard.

A ministering servant.

This kind of fellowship is necessary and beautiful. Today such a loving concern between the apostles and the churches needs to be restored.

In the beginning of the book the apostle's greeting is first with grace as the enjoyment and then with peace as the result of the enjoyment (Eph. 1:2). But in the conclusion the elements are presented vice versa, progressing from the result, peace, to the enjoyment, grace. After we have come into peace, we still need grace, indicating that our experience is from grace to grace.

The reason the apostle inserted love between peace and grace is that the only way we can be kept in a situation of peace is by continually enjoying the Lord in love. Paul realized that love is crucial. He spoke of love in relation to peace and grace, indicating thereby that love is needed to preserve us in a condition of peace.

Love with faith is the means by which we partake of and experience Christ (1 Tim. 1:14). Faith is for receiving Him (John 1:12), and love is for enjoying Him (John 14:23). Here it is not faith and love nor love and faith, but love with faith. This indicates that we need faith as a match and support for our love. Love with faith is needed. This is the conclusion of the book on the church. The church needs to enjoy Christ in love with faith, which operates through love (Gal. 5:6). Love comes from God to us, and faith goes from us to God. By means of this traffic of love and faith, peace remains our portion. We are kept in peace by the coming of God's love to us and by the going of our faith to Him. This traffic also keeps us in the continual supply of grace, in the enjoyment of the Lord (v. 24).

Love is from God; it originates with God, not with us. Eventually, however, God's love becomes our love. God's love for us becomes our love for Him.

Grace is needed for us to live a church life that fulfills God's eternal purpose and solves God's problem with His enemy.

The enjoyment of the Lord as grace is with those who love Him. In this book the phrase in love, which is rich in feeling, is used repeatedly (Eph. 1:4; 3:17; 4:2, 15-16; 5:2). Later, the church in Ephesus was rebuked by the Lord because she had lost her first love toward Him (Rev. 2:4). One of the main points revealed in this book is that the church, which is the Body of Christ, is also the bride of Christ, Christ's wife. With the Body, the emphasis is on taking Christ as life; with the wife, the emphasis is on loving Christ. Therefore, this book emphasizes and also concludes with our love toward the Lord. The church in Ephesus, the recipient of this Epistle, failed in the matter of loving the Lord. Such a failure became the source of and main reason for the failure of the church throughout the ages (Rev. 2, Rev. 3).

For the proper church life we need to love the Lord in incorruptibility, that is, in and according to all the crucial things revealed and taught in the six chapters of this book, such as the church as the Body of Christ, the new man, the economy of God's mystery, the oneness of the Spirit, reality and grace, light and love, and the items of God's armor, all of which are incorruptible. For the sake of the church, our love toward the Lord must be in these incorruptible things.