Additional Teaching
I want to welcome all the new subscribers to our Inside Forum!
This week we dive back into a portion of last week's sermon (watch it here). On Sunday we teased that this final piece in Ephesians was directly connected to teachings throughout the entire letter. To help you work through that, below we have broken down verses 10-17 line-by-line, listed the biblical text in bold, and bulleted underneath the correlating verse (or word) that appears earlier in Ephesians.
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
power: 1:19–20; 3:7, 16, 20
11 Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
strategies: translated as "lies so clever" in 4:14. Both statements have the same root word - methodeia in the greek
devil: do not give the devil a foothold in 4:27 (cf. 2:2)
12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
"darkness" in 5:8, 11
"heavenly realms" in 1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10
13 Therefore, 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.
"time of evil" translated as "evil days" in 5:16
14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness.
“truth” in 1:13; 4:15, 21, 24, 25; 5:9
"righteousness" in 4:24; 5:9
15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.
"Good News or Gospel" in 1:13; 3:6
16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
“faith” in 1:15; 2:8; 3:12, 17; 4:5, 13 (cf. 1:13, 19)
17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
"salvation" in 1:13 (cf. 5:23)
"the Spirit" in 1:13–14, 17; 2:18, 22; 3:5, 16; 4:3–4, 30; 5:18
"the word" in 5:26
There is a lot of connective tissue in the closing section of Ephesians. The way the Apostle Paul brings in so many of the truths and applications from earlier in his letter is stunning and worth meditating upon. A simple question to help stimulate our rumination - how do the truths of God's word connect to the various aspects of my life?
As we settle into the weekend and look forward to the conclusion of our “Ephesians” series, I pray along with the Apostle Paul,
"...that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms." - Eph 1:18–20
-Bradley