Chapter 6, verses 10-24 (cont’d)
Ephesians 6:10-24
Fourth in the list is (verse 16) the shield of faith which protects the believer from the fiery darts of the wicked one. How varied are the attacks of Satan! He would weaken the Christian’s confidence in God, filling him with doubt and distrust in place of that quiet trust which marks faith.
Notice the divine order in which the various pieces of “armor” are mentioned. The girdling of the loins is first, speaking of the very needful good foundation of the applied knowledge of the Word of God; and next is the breastplate of righteousness, telling of a good conscience. With these, faith is in exercise; through it God is known, and becomes better known. Faith then, when active, is a shield against which all the inflamed or burning darts of our enemy may strike in vain; “the eternal God is our refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
Fifth is the definition of the believer’s armor is the helmet of salvation. This is the last piece of defense, crowning the rest; we are to “have” it or “receive” it, for it is God’s gift to every saved sinner. Refer to 1 Thessalonians 5:8, where the helmet is the “hope of salvation,” joined there with the breastplate of faith and love (forming the “these three” of 1 Cor. 13:13). Salvation in both these passages refers to the whole person, spirit, soul, and body (1 Thess. 5:23-24); and the helmet received speaks of the consciousness of the wearer of the full deliverance God has wrought for believers in Christ.
Sixth in order is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. This is the only weapon, if such you would call it; the only instrument of offensive energy, as it has been called, included in the “armor” for war against the adversary. This is, according to divine wisdom, placed at the end, not at the beginning of the list of “armor”. The believer must, for intelligent use of the “sword,” be well established in what has been set forth in what has gone before. Then, too, the weapon must have the character of the “sword of the Spirit.” Handled according to His direction, it is a powerful instrument against every adversary.
Verses 18 to 20 set before us the seventh and last of the instrumentalities for war a hidden spring of power without which, as another has said, nothing avails— “the expression of weakness, strange to say, but of weakness in dependence on God.”
Thus the words read: “praying at all seasons, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching unto this very thing with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints; and for me in order that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the glad tidings, for which I am an ambassador (bound) with a chain, that I may be bold in it as I ought to speak.” JND.
Let us note with care what is here said of prayer, and practice it,— “at all seasons, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching unto this very thing with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” It has been said with truth that there is nothing the enemy of our souls more dreads, than the heartfelt prayers of the saints. “Prayer and supplication in the Spirit” is not true of all our prayers, but should we not seek much to pray according to His mind and leading?
After asking for prayer for himself, that utterance might be given him to make known with boldness the mystery of the glad tidings—he an ambassador bound with a chain at Rome—the Apostle makes known that he was sending Tychicus, “the beloved brother and faithful minister (or servant) in the Lord” to Ephesus to let the saints there know what concerned him, and to encourage their hearts.
And thus the epistle ends, with a message of “peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; Grace with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption.” JND.