6. Provisions for triumphant living (6:10-20)

The antecedent of the word finally is not clear. Does it suggest merely a final word of exhortation, or should the reader go back to 5:1? If the latter was Paul’s intention here, then one must understand the exhortation to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power as one of the appropriate consequences of being imitators [kjv “followers”] of God. In other words, while Christians must be submissive to one another, they must be strong in resisting the evil forces that surround them. Claiming the Lord’s strength, they can stand against the devil’s schemes (cf. 1Pe 5:1-9). After all, the real enemy of Christians is not physical torment, but spiritual treachery. Christians do not struggle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities, and powers that are merely representative of the spiritual forces of evil in “the ‘unseen universe,’ which lies behind the world of sense . . . [where] great forces are at work” that oppose and wrestle against God’s people (Robinson, 21).

These forces, of course, have already been conquered (1:19-23). The mighty strength that God exerted when he raised Jesus from the dead and exalted him above all authorities (1:19) is the same mighty power available to believers (6:10) in their struggle against evil spiritual forces. God is a great defender, a mighty fortress, “a bulwark never failing.” He has provided the full armor for his followers. With this armor, when the day of evil comes, whether it be future (as in 1Th 2:1-10a) or present (as in Eph 5:16), they may be able to stand their ground. At such a time as this, human strength will not suffice.

So Paul urges, as he did in 1Th 5:8, that believers put on the full armor of God. The description can almost certainly be traced to Roman soldiers with whom Paul was all too familiar. We might imagine that as he wrote he glanced from time to time at the soldier who guarded him, giving each piece of armor a spiritual function. Only by the armor provided by God can the Christian hope to overcome “the strategems by which the supreme enemy endeavors to gain an advantage over the people of God” (Bruce, Ephesians, 127). According to tradition, the fallen angels, unable to overcome God in heaven, turned upon God’s Son in his human weakness, only to find themselves once again defeated (Col 2:15). Thus, in union with Christ, believers also are able to overcome those forces that stand between them and their eternal salvation (cf. Ro 8:35-39).

The pieces of armor require minimal comment. The belt of truth represents loyalty and faithfulness. Isa 11:5 says that faithfulness (the LXX has “truth”) is the sash around the waist of the Messiah. The breastplate of righteousness represents the Christian’s character, which models that of God (cf. Isa 59:17). Being faithful to God and being righteous in conduct as God is, are essential elements in the believer’s strategy for survival. Also, the true disciple of Jesus will have his feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. The allusion here is most likely to Isa 52:7, and the implication is that bearing good news to others helps Christians keep their own souls from spiritual lethargy and thus less vulnerable to the Devil.

The shield of faith is necessary to ward off (NIV “extinguish”) the Devil’s evil assaults. The word used for shield is the large whole-body shield, rather then the small shield used for deflecting sword thrusts in hand-to-hand combat. This larger shield provided comprehensive protection for the Roman soldier, so use of that image is appropriate to Paul’s purpose. Jesus met the most subtle of Satan’s temptations with a faith that did not depend on any special display of divine power. The helmet of salvation (cf. Isa 59:17) had also been urged upon the Thessalonian believers (1Th 5:8) as a basis of hope. The helmet protects the head, essential to the proper functioning of all other parts. Thus, the apostle suggests that the hope of salvation is a most important weapon at the disposal of all Christians, aiding them as they struggle toward “the prize for which God has called [them] heavenward” (Php 4:14).

The sword of the spirit is the word of God that is “sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb 4:12; cf. also Hos 6:5; Isa 11:4). Paul may very well have intended to mean by the term word (rhema) of God the sacred Scriptures of Judaism that Jesus had used so effectively at the time of his own temptation, particularly Dt 8:3 (“Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”). The same word is used in Eph 5:26, however, to connote words spoken at the time of baptism. If the latter is the intended sense, then the word of God is any helpful word from God in the moment of need (as is suggested in Lk 12:12; 21:15; and possibly Eph 6:19). One other resource is available: prayer. It, too, is part of the equipment accessible whenever believers are tempted or on the verge of surrendering to the enemy.

Having thus called their attention to the power of prayer, the author now encourages his readers in Asia to keep on praying for all the saints. By praying for one another, Christians everywhere help fellow believers overcome the evil influences bent on destroying those whom God has called. Moreover, he includes himself among those who need the prayers of the saints. He requests his readers to pray that, whenever he speaks, the right words will come to him so that he will declare the mystery of the gospel, even though and because of which, he is in chains. In those chains, he remains, nonetheless, an ambassador, intent on carrying out his mission fearlessly (lit. “boldly”). (Luke uses the same root word in Ac 28:20 to describe Paul’s two-year ministry under guard in Rome, perhaps answering the question of the epistle’s origin.)