Ephesians 6

Notes

Ver. 1. Do you children, whatever be your age and circumstances in the world, submissively, readily, and cheerfully hearken to and obey the counsels and commands of your parents in all lawful things, from love to Christ, regard to his authority, and for his glory and honour; for, according to all laws, human and divine, this is a just debt, and is highly fit and acceptable in itself, as ye have been brought into being by their means. and are so much beholden to their care and kindness. 2. Yea, the first command of the second table of the moral law, and the only command which has a promise annexed to itself in particular, requires every one of you to think and speak of, and conduct yourselves towards, both your parents in the most affectionate, reverential, submissive, obedient, and honourable manner; 3. That, through the blessing of God upon your obedience, your life on earth may continue long and prosperous. 4. And do you parents carefully avoid everything humoursome, unreasonable, or harsh towards your children, which might provoke their resentment, exasperate their passions, and prejudice them against you or your Christian religion; and, by a holy and diligent example, by much fervent prayer, by earnest and persuasive instruction, and by prudent, moderate, and seasonable correction, administered to them in obedience to Christ's authority, and in dependence on his blessing to concur therewith, bring them up in the knowledge, fear, worship, and obedience of God in him.—Earnestly watch over and restrain the first appearances of inward corruptions, errors, or immoralities, and direct and encourage them to everything dutiful towards God or men.—5. Servants, make conscience of obeying all the lawful commands of your earthly masters and mistresses, who, in things pertaining to this world, are set over you by God's providence, and have a right to your services, whether they are believers or not. Be willingly and faithfully subject to them, with a reverential fear of their, and especially of God's displeasure, if ye should betray your trust, and embezzle their goods, or disobey their just orders. And see that ye do all this with a sincere, ingenuous, and honest heart, as therein desiring and intending to serve the Lord Christ, and adorn the doctrines of the gospel. 6. Fulfil your services with diligence, constancy, and fidelity—not merely when the eyes of your masters or others are upon you, as if ye only aimed at pleasing men for your own honour or advantage, but as from regard to Christ's authority, and always under his eye, and in view of being judged by him, and in order to promote his honour, doing whatever God requires of you in this matter from a sincere principle of religious regard towards him. 7. In this manner perform every part of your due service freely, affectionately, and industriously, and with all readiness of mind, as persons who love your masters, and have their interest at heart—doing everything which God or they call you to from a sense of duty to Jesus Christ, your supreme Lord and Master, that ye may serve, please, and glorify him, and not merely to acquit yourselves in the sight and gain the esteem of men. 8. And know, for your encouragement, that however your masters may reward you in this world, ye shall receive a gracious and eternal reward of all your faithful services from the Lord Jesus in the great day of judgment. 9. And ye believing masters, take heed that ye fulfil the duties of your stations with the like views, in singleness of heart as to Christ, and according to the will of God; and that ye behave towards your servants not in a domineering, severe, threatening, insolent, cruel, or oppressive manner, but with gentleness and humanity—always remembering that ye yourselves are the servants of our Lord Christ, who takes notice of your conduct, and will call you to account for it, without paying any more respect to you than to the meanest of your servants. 10. And that ye may perform your relative and other duties, and resist all the influences of sin, Satan, and the world, who labour to oppose you in your progress heavenward, set out and press forward, like valiant soldiers, under the Captain of salvation, not in your own strength, but in the strength of Christ, and through his almighty influences enabling you to every duty, service, and suffering to which ye are at any time called. 11. And that, while ye set out in his strength, ye may be thoroughly furnished for all encounters with your spiritual enemies, always earnestly endeavour, under a sense of their power and your own weakness and danger, to live in the constant exercise of all those graces, and use of those means, which God appoints, gives, and makes powerful for the full defence and spiritual safety of his people, that ye may be able to withstand and defeat the numerous, insnaring, fallacious, and cunning attacks of the devil and his instruments. 12. And great need we have of all this help; for, in our holy warfare, we ministers and others who have enlisted under Christ's banner have to engage in close and sharp contention not only with the carnal reasonings, authority, and violence of men, but with all ranks and orders of malicious, crafty, deceitful, powerful spirits who, through the permission of God, have erected an usurped empire over the minds and hearts of blinded sinners! and being in themselves most vilely and implacably wicked, make it their whole business to propagate spiritual wickedness, unbelief, pride, idolatry, error, malice, wrath, envy; and who, hovering in the air, and seated in our souls, strenuously labour to prevent our obtaining the eternal inheritance. 13. Since ye have therefore so many subtle and powerful enemies to contend with, see that ye be fully armed, and, in Jesus' strength, make a proper use of every spiritual weapon, defensive or offensive, wherewith God hath furnished you, that ye may be able to resist and overcome all these or other formidable enemies, in every day of conflict and trial. 14. In order therefore to your obtaining a glorious victory, it is necessary that, in the strength of Christ, ye, in your stations, indefatigably and incessantly, with all watchfulness, diligence, and steadfastness, keep your ground in the field of battle, having your whole man girt about with the truths of God revealed in his Word, and with sincerity and uprightness of heart and conversation, that thereby ye may be steady, resolute, and active: let your heart be protected by the sacrifice of Christ applied to your conscience, and by the daily exercise of righteousness and true holiness, which proceed from faith and love. 15. And that ye may be enabled to hold out against all hardships and snares, and be ready for every encounter, let your affections and conversation be duly influenced by the doctrines, promises, encouragements, and provisions of the gospel, by which God exhibits, offers, and applies the whole peace and consolation of the new kingdom, that nothing may hurt, discompose, or embroil you. 16. But especially let a lively exercise of faith in Christ's person, blood, righteousness, and fulness, and the power and grace of God in him through the declarations and promises of the new kingdom, be your all-protecting shield, by which you may be enabled to silence every terrifying charge of guilt; to repel every attempt to surprise you into hard or blasphemous thoughts of God or Christ, or sudden emotions of wrath, revenge, unchastity, or other wickedness; and to disarm of its force every furious temptation or sudden suggestion wherewith the devil may attempt to penetrate and influence your soul with horror, anguish, or guilt. 17. And let the hope of eternal salvation protect you from fear in danger, and fortify you against the most furious and threatening attacks of Satan and his confederates. And let the doctrines, promises, commands, threatenings, and histories of God's Word, which the Holy Ghost indited, explains, and applies, be used, in the hand of your faith, for the destruction and confusion of your spiritual enemies. 18. And as none of your efforts, or even the graces, oracles, or ordinances of God, can be effectual without the special aids of the divine Spirit, maintain always a praying frame of heart; and let all your conflicts be attended with solemn, stated, or ejaculatory prayer, in all sorts of addresses to God, and on all occasions, public or private, in the name of Christ, and by the assistance of his Spirit, and with your whole heart, for all seasonable help and direction. And while ye watch against the designs and stratagems of your enemies, and for opportunities to annoy and defeat them, watch also for convenient opportunities of spiritual influences in and gracious answers to your prayers; and continuing constant and unwearied therein, earnestly beg that God would not only avert evils from, or bestow blessings on yourselves, but also all your fellow-Christians, that they, along with you, may stand their ground in their spiritual warfare, and more and more abound in light, grace, comfort, and holiness, to the glory of God and confusion of Satan and his instruments. 19. And particularly pray for me, your faithful and affectionate apostle and friend, whose work and trials are so important and difficult, and whose strength is so small, that God would relieve me from my present imprisonment, and give opportunity and ability to publish the great mysteries of the gospel, in an open, bold, plain, impartial, earnest, and successful manner; 20. That I, the graciously honoured ambassador of Christ, who am now a prisoner for preaching that gospel, may yet have opportunity, and be enabled to preach it undauntedly, freely, and plainly, according to the duty of my office, without molestation. 21, 22. And that ye may the better know how to order your supplications or thanksgivings for me, I have sent Tychicus, one of your dear Asiatic friends, and an upright, diligent, and laborious minister of Christ, with this letter, that he may fully acquaint you with my various sufferings and comforts under them, and my labours and success—that, by informing you how the Lord supports, directs, and comforts me under my trials, and by his preaching the gospel to you, he may comfort your spirits, and encourage you to trust in the Lord, and persevere in his way, amidst all the opposition ye can meet with. 23. And for this end, may abundant peace with God, your own consciences, and one another, and all prosperity of soul or body, abide with you; and the most ardent love to Jesus Christ and his people, together with, and springing from, a lively exercise of faith, flourish and increase in your souls and the souls of other Christians and ministers—by special influence from God the Father, the original fountain of all new-covenant blessings, and from Jesus Christ, through whose merits and mediation they are conveyed. 24. May the free love and favour of Christ, and of God in him, and all its blessed fruits and effects, especially in all seasonable discoveries, communications, and assistances for the producing of strong and lively exercises of every grace, be richly extended to you at Ephesus, and to all others who heartily, unfeignedly, perpetually, and according to the truth and tenor of the gospel, desire, esteem, and delight in our only and complete Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ver. 12. Of the constitution of the kingdom of darkness nothing is known beyond what is revealed in the Word of God. In that Word, however, the existence of a satanic kingdom, ordered into different ranks and principalities, is explicitly declared, of which a few historic facts are recorded—such as, the deception in paradise; the afflictions of Job; the persuasion of David to number the people; the temptation of our Lord in the wilderness—which, with some others, are specimens sufficient, not to gratify a prying curiosity, yet to produce a more important result—the inculcation upon believers of constant watchfulness and earnest prayer lest they enter into temptation. C.

Ver. 16. Fiery darts were slender reeds filled with combustible materials, ignited, and shot from bows, for the purpose of burning tents, stockades, or besieged towns. These the adroit and courageous soldiers were accustomed to receive on their ordinary shields, or other defences, covered with raw and wet hides, which are said to have been sometimes saturated with alum. 'These 'fiery darts' form apt emblems of many of those persecutions by which believers have in all ages been assailed—persecutions sometimes against their principles, sometimes against their character, sometimes against their property, and sometimes against their lives; against all which, trust in Jesus is their only sufficient shield. See Ge. 15. 1; Ps. 5. 12; 84. 11. C.

Reflections.—Happy are those families in which parents, children, masters, and servants make Christ's law their rule, his example their pattern, his love their motive, and his honour their end, in all their conduct. Numerous and subtle are the enemies and hard the trials of every true Christian. But since they are rooted in Christ, the Captain of their salvation, his strength, and the complete armour he has provided for them, are sufficient to withstand and overcome all opposition. Happy are they who are taught of God to cleave to him, follow his direction, and improve his armour. And nothing is more useful than a vigorous faith and persevering and fervent prayer. As ministers are peculiarly exposed to temptations and troubles, they ought to have a double share in the prayers of Christians; and never will a minister's heart be actuated by the grace of God but he will be ready to pray for his people.

Concluding Remarks on the Epistle to the Ephesians.

Having read the Epistle to the Ephesians, it is impossible to overlook how distinctly it assumes, at the close, a domestic character. The Epistle to the Romans, commencing with the deep things of God, and continuing to expound the mysteries of redemption, draws out its practical conclusions, ch. xii. xiii. xiv., in the form of the most beautiful and splendid generalities. Throughout the Epistles to the Corinthians, like general precepts are interspersed; and in the Epistle to the Galatians, in a form more condensed, ch. 5. 14-26; 6. 1-10. But in this epistle, while the general precepts of a holy morality are earnestly enforced, ch. 4. 15-32; 5. 1, 2, the domestic duties and virtues, with their motives and obligations, assume a distinct and specific form, ch. 5. 21-33; 6. 1-9. By what peculiar circumstance, in the case of the Ephesians, the apostle was led to accumulate and urge these beautiful and holy precepts, is not declared; but if conjecture may be allowed, perhaps the cause may be found in that long-continued and frequent domestic intercourse with them to which the apostle alludes, Ac. 20. 20, 31, and the deep affection towards the apostle with which that intercourse had inspired his Ephesian converts, Ac. 20. 37, 38. In writing to them, the apostle's heart was naturally carried back to their 'happy homes;' and husbands and wives, and parents and children, and masters and servants, all rose up to his recollection, and the Spirit of God employed the occasion to enrich the church with that lovely code of domestic laws by which the Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians stand peculiarly distinguished. C.