Christians are soldiers of Christ. The New Testament is filled with imagery of war, battle, and fighting. It is not a carnal war, but a spiritual one (2 Cor. 10:3-5). In Ephesians 6:10-24, Paul gives a detailed description of the armor we are provided to fight and win the war.

Christians generally have done a good job of knowing about the different pieces of armor: truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, word of God. These need to be understood and used.

What we have failed at more often than not—generally speaking—is prayer (Eph. 6:18). It is the element that helps us don the armor, fight the fight, receive the strength, and press on. Paul requested the prayers of the Ephesians that he may speak boldly in teaching the gospel. How often do we pray, really pray, about the battles we are fighting?

If we will put on the armor of God and pray always, there is nothing that can stand in our way or stop our final victory.

Ephesians 5:22-33 is an overlooked, misused, and generally misunderstood section of Scripture. It is primarily addressing the relationship of the church to Christ. He is its head with the right to command it. The church is His body and subject to submit to Him. He loved the church enough to die for it. Therefore, the church owes Him respect.

To illustrate the relationship between Christ and the church, Paul uses the husband and wife.

The husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He is to sacrifice for her, and in this manner “submit” to her. He sets aside his own will, desires, pleasures, and comfort for her well being. He must cherish and nourish her; this is what she needs. If he does not do this, he will lose his soul.

The wife is to respect her husband as the church is to respect Christ. She is not his head or a co-head. When she submits to her husband, she will be happier and the home better. As long as the decisions and actions are not contrary to God’s will, she needs to support her husband.

Each have their duty. The husband is to love and sacrifice for his wife regardless of how she acts or feels. The wife is to respect and submit to her husband regardless of how he behaves. NOTE: we are not talking about sinful, abusive, illicit, or immoral behavior on the part of either the wife or husband. What we are talking about is what most couples face…a lack of care and consideration, a lack of love and respect. Stating that the husband is to sacrifice and the wife to submit does not preclude either of them voicing objections and taking reasonable actions to correct the behavior of the other. Each man and woman will have to determine the righteousness of their behavior in a given situation; they must examine themselves in light of God’s word and act accordingly.

The bottom line is that most marriages would improve drastically if the husband would love his wife and the wife would respect her husband.

Wisdom is paramount in our walk before God, as Ephesians 5:15-21 states.

A fool is one who ignores God. Whether one ignores the existence of God or just His word does not matter, that one is still a fool (Psa. 14:1). All such people will fall short in the Day of Judgment.

Wisdom is the application of God’s will to your life. As Paul has stated, we are to imitate God and walk in the light. When we do these things, we are being wise. Too, and more specific, Paul tells us to redeem the time. We are to do what we can while we can for the glory of the Lord. No more and no less is expected of us.

Ephesians 5:8-14 is an admonition to stay true to the Lord by walking in the light. Light and darkness are incompatible in both the physical and spiritual realms. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 Jn. 1:5). If we are in darkness, we are not in Christ.

As a child of God who has left darkness, our duty is to remain in the light…and more. We are charged with exposing the unfruitful works of darkness. This will bring a reaction. Darkness does not like to be exposed and rebuked. It will be difficult, but we must do it nevertheless.

Take note of three things in Ephesians 5:1-7.

First, we are to imitate God; mimic Him in love. The love is connected to the sacrifice of Christ. Hence, we are to sacrifice to please God and help others.

Second, worldly behavior—as exemplified by fornication, uncleanness, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, and course jesting—is contrary to the life of a child of God; to one who walks in love. Those who live in such a manner will not go to heaven. If we really want to go to heaven, not hell, we will get rid of these things in our lives.

Third, anyone who tells you to the contrary is a liar. The devil, through his servants, will try to get you to thing fornication, uncleanness, etc. are consistent with being a child of God. It is not so. If we listen to these lies, we will face the wrath of God—remember the flood, Sodom, and other instances where God judged men in His wrath.

A saint is expected to behave in a way that is pleasing to God. Any other behavior is unacceptable and damaging to our eternal well being. Let us be faithful and consistent in our life.

There are a lot of issues covered in Ephesians 4:25-32.

Christians are not to lie or have sinful anger. Anger is fine in its place. In fact, we must have righteous anger, for without it we are not truly passionate about the truth.

Saints are not to steal or use corrupt speech. We are commanded to work to provide for ourselves and help those in need. This is opposite of what some in the world espouse, that we should look for a handout whenever possible. Too, our words are to be good and tend toward a positive effect on the world.

We are not to grieve the Holy Spirit. If we do, we will pay the consequences. And, instead of having bitterness and a generally bad attitude, we are to be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving. Not only will it lead to an eternal reward, it will also pay dividends in this life.

The gospel is perfect, addressing every area of man’s life. If we would only apply it consistently, we would be far better off and much happier.

There is a distinct point at which one goes from being lost in the world to being saved in Christ (Gal. 3:26, 27). However, growth is ongoing. All our old habits and desires do not die overnight. It is a constant battle to put on the new man. In Ephesians 4:17-24, Paul addresses this issue. If he had to admonish the great Ephesians saints in this matter, are we any exception?

One or two things to note here: the way of the world (Gentiles) is futile (4:17). The philosophy, religion, and wisdom of the world is bankrupt as far as spiritual matters go. There is nothing but ignorance and blindness; a condition we see as repugnant in any other pursuit in life.

Hence, we are told to renew our mind. It is to be educated, disciplined if you will, in Christ where truth may be found. By the way, spiritual truth is only found in Christ. We are to put of the old man, put on the new, honoring the very purpose for which we were created anew.

There is a oneness in the body of Christ like no other on earth. God has designed it this way so we may help each other get to heaven. Everything needed to unify the body and provide for its growth is supplied. Each member of the body must do his/her part. When this is done, we are not only protected from false doctrine, but also becoming more like our Savior.

We need to examine ourselves to see if we are contributing to the unity, health, and growth of the body or hindering it. Then we either need to keep up the good work, not growing weary, or change our ways so we may be a blessing to the church.

It is hard to imagine, but wonderful to contemplate, that God’s plan of saving man in the church is an eternal plan. God worked it out in spite of man’s rebellion and Satan’s scheming. If He could bring about the establishment of the church and the securing sacrifice of His Son, He can bring about our final redemption in the Lord.

Paul was pleased to preach this salvation in Christ and did not want the saints to become weary because of his tribulations. Sometimes we can see fellow Christians being abused and become discouraged. Rather than this, we ought to be encouraged that they are willing to endure such for the Lord. Would we want someone else to lose heart over our suffering for the Savior?

Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21, is beautiful. First, Christ dwells in our hearts by faith. He is with us when His word is with us (Rom. 10:17). Second, the love of Christ passes knowledge; that is, it is overwhelmingly abundant and beyond human ability to fully comprehend. Third, the Lord is able to do even more than we can imagine…and He does. What a blessing; what a God!

Ephesians 3:1-7, is a hope-filled passage.

First, that which was once a mystery was revealed to the apostles and prophets (3:5). God’s plan of saving both Jew and Gentile in the Son was made known about 2,000 years ago and we have that plan before us in the Bible even today.

Second, we can know what Paul knew. We can understand as Paul understood. Reread Ephesians 3:3, 4; this is exactly what the apostle is saying. The apostles and prophets did not have miraculous understanding of God’s will. They had to meditate on it and think about it. The revelation was miraculous, the understanding was not. Take Peter on the Day of Pentecost. He preached that all men would receive the promise (Acts 2:39). However, it was not until a series of events in Acts 10 that he came to understand what that meant.

Paul understood and lived by God’s will – fighting the good fight…and was confident about a home in heaven (2 Tim. 4:6-8). I can be too when I do what he did.