2. The Church’s Call to Spiritual Arms 6:16-18
               a. Take up the Shield of Faith 6:16
                    (1.) Equipped
               b. Salvation’s helmet & the Word of God 6:17
                    (1.) The Helmet
                    (2.) The Salvation Minded
                    (3.) The Spirit’s Sword
               c. Prayer is the Undergirding weapon 6:18
                    (1.) The Contest
                    (2.) Watch
                    (3.) Pray
                    (4.) The Seasons

6:16-18 [Mac]
16 In addition to these three,
when you have taken up the shield, which is the faith.
You will be equipped to extinguish all the blazing arrows of the wicked one.

17 Take up, also, salvation's helmet, and the Spirit's sword, which is the spoken Word of God.

18 Throughout the entire contest
     pray
          through the Spirit
          in all seasons
          with all prayer and petition.

     With respect to this praying
          watch persistently,
          praying for all the other soldiers.

6:16-18 [NASB]
“16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,”

THE COMMENTARY

So now you are in your Bible and you know the Truth. You have acquired the primary armor that is necessary for holding your position in this battle. You have changed your life into conformity with righteousness, and you are eager to engage people with the Gospel. Now, be ready for the attacks against you.

So we move on to the necessary defensive and aggressive weapons you need as a soldier of Christ. This part of the outline moves on to:

          2. The Church’s Call to Spiritual Arms 6:16-18
              a. Take Up The Shield of Faith 6:16
                   (1.) Be Equipped

6:16
16 In addition to these three, when you have taken up the shield, which is the faith. You will be equipped to extinguish all the blazing arrows of the wicked one.

In this paragraph, Paul first talks about “Faith.” It is your “shield.” In today’s world – you need a shield, you need to be equipped with a strong shield – and your best and strongest shield is your faith. I don’t mean “what you believe, or what the name of your church organization is,” as in “What is your faith?” I mean, “where does your heart stand as to holding to the truth of the Scriptures?” When “push comes to shove,” do you believe what the Bible says?” Can you reliably stand behind what Jesus has to say in the gospels about how to live and act in this world? Is your “Faith” such that you can reliably stand behind, support, fight for God’s Word, and not yield when forces come against you in spiritual warfare? That is the purpose and strength of your FAITH. If you can’t then there is no faith. Biblical faith – withstands and extinguishes the “Blazing arrows of the wicked one.”

You will probably remember all those movies where the enemy comes on horseback and surrounds a community of villagers and before they pillage and capture all the young women, and do away with all the men and old women and children… the shoot flaming arrows in to the barns and homes and burn them all down into the ground. That’s what the enemy does. Burn everything that has value and meaning… leaving only the people behind.

So it is important to be ready to shield yourself from the evil one’s flaming arrows. The Holy Spirit says through Paul’s words that you must “Take Up” the Shield of Faith and be equipped.

Paul talks a great deal about faith in his letters. Faith and Hope go together. Where the faith is strong… so is the Hope. Where there is Hope, it means that the Faith has been made strong. Your Faith is your shield against the evil one. When you look at or read about today’s news around the world, especially in those places where non-Christian religions are battling and often killing Christians – It is the believer’s Faith that shields them from destruction – “You can take my life, but you can’t take my Faith in Jesus Christ – He alone is my Faith and my Hope.” Be Equipped… Take up your Shield of Faith.
 
               b. Salvation’s helmet & the Word of God 6:17
                    (1.) The Helmet

               6:17

                Take up, also, salvation's helmet,

I find it interesting that Paul relates salvation with your head (the place for your helmet). Salvation is your knowing that Jesus is your savior God and that you are safe and secure (no matter what) because you are In-Christ. As a result of knowing this, your mind is protected, and you know it. This inner “head-knowledge” protects you. God created you with five senses (remember high-school physiology? Touch, Taste. Smell, Sound (Hearing), Sight. These last two are primary in the adventure of Faith. This is why these lessons are gone over in class – Word-for-word, along with a written script for each member of the class. You SEE the words and HEAR the narration of the script. Your brain experiences two different ways of experiencing God’s Word. And then there is the influence and teaching of God’s Holy Spirit living and indwelling inside your body – Talking to your brain. Look at all the inputs God has put in place to learn His Word. The Pastor-Teacher, the visualized Script. The audible Script, The input of the Holy Spirit, the comments from your co-students. In it all goes into your brain and becomes your Faith in your Salvation which continually renews your Hope. And Paul tells us that this is your “Helmet.” All these inputs give to you your Spiritual armament for your head and your mind.

Then there is “The Spoken Word of God.” My favorite image here is Jesus in the Garden on the night before Calvary, John 18:4-6, and Jesus said, “Whom do you seek?” And they answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene,” and He replied… “I Am He!” “They drew back and fell to the ground.” This just demonstrates the power of the Word of God. When you speak the Word of God it comes forth with Power. It changes people – sometimes immediately. The Word of God is HIS Word – and He makes it powerful.

               (2.) Then there is the necessary being “Salvation Minded”
               (again) 6:17a Take up, also, salvation's helmet,

It is essential to remain on target with your warfare. The salvation of the person(s) you are speaking with. Watch out for the evil one’s tactics of leading a conversation on to other subjects. BE Salvation Minded, and remember to use…

               (3.) The Spirit’s Sword
               6:17b and the Spirit's sword, which is the spoken Word of God.

“The Spirit’s Sword,” The very Word of God. If you can… memorize specific texts to use in your Salvation battles. You must remember that the Holy Spirit is both resident in you – and at least visiting in the person with whom you are ministering. The Spirit of God is there with you both – speaking to you both. Learn to listen to Him and follow His direction in your conversations. He is trying to lead you both to the same conclusion – That Jesus is the very Son of God and that He gave His life willingly to offer Salvation and freedom from Sin for all of eternity – for simply coming to the conclusion that He is who He says He is, and His offer is the truth.

          c. Prayer is the Undergirding Weapon 6:18
          18 Throughout the entire contest
                pray
                      through the Spirit
                      in all seasons
                      with all prayer and petition.
                      With respect to this praying
               watch persistently,
                      praying for all the other soldiers.

And finally at the end of this paragraph is the need to apply prayer, At All Times, At All Times In The Spirit. Prayer isn’t real prayer if you don’t really mean what you pray. So often, many just go over their list with little or no thought about the actual situation involved in the need for prayer. NO, think it through, pray to and in the Spirit of God. If you have the feelings and not the words – He will supply the words to the Heavenly Father for you – but Pray, Pray with your heart and mind for the Will of the Father to be done – for the will of the Father is that none should be lost.

6:18 [NASB]
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit,
and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,”

In closing, from the New American Standard translation, Paul uses the word “Petition.” If you KNOW what you are praying for is God’s will… don’t be afraid to push the limits about how much you want His will to be done. Petition Him. He is waiting for you to be deeply committed to the things on your prayer list (you do have one, right?). And don’t forget that Paul’ intention here is that your Petition to God should be on behalf of all your companion soldiers who are battling along side you for the souls of friends, family, neighbors and all those around the whole world.

Just before this as Paul was wrapping up the “Army’s armor,” I remembered reading in the works of John Nelson Darby as he was talking about the Sword as The Word of God.

“The sword is also used actively in the spiritual warfare, in which it judges all that is opposed to us. In this sense it is both defensive and offensive. But, behind all this armor, there is a state, a disposition, a means of strength, which quickens and gives us all the rest its power: this is a complete dependence on God, united to trust in Him, which expresses itself in prayer. Praying always;’ this dependence must be constant."

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THE STUDY – 6:19-20
LESSON TWENTY-TWO
“The Church’s Oversight Included”
“Oversight at the Apostolic Level”
GOD’S SPECIAL SECRET

VI. CHAPTER 6 – The Church AS the Army of Christ
     A. P-1, The Orders Planned for His Army 6:1-9
     B. P-2, The Army is Opposed by Satan 6:10-12
     C. P-3, The Church’s Offense Indicated 6:13-18
     D. P-4, The Church’s Oversight Included 6:19-24
     (The Army Must Recognize Its oversight)
          1. Oversight at the Apostolic Level 6:19-20
               a. Prayers for Paul
               b. The Sacred Secret Springs from the Gospel

6:19-20 [Mac]
Pray on my behalf also that when I open my mouth, He might give me the opportunity for a message so that I may fearlessly make known the open sacred secret springing from the good news. 20 It is on behalf of this that I am ambassador in a chain, so that I may speak boldly about that secret, as I must.

6:19-20 [NASB]
and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

 

THE COMMENTARY

So, here we are closing the last verses of Paul’s “God’s Special Secret,” the beginnings of Christ’s assembly of “Set apart People,” His Church, His Bride, His Army. As we move into words about Paul’s life, let us remember this really great man of God who came out of the enemy’s army – at the behest of Christ Himself - to become “The Apostle to the Gentiles." It was Paul who was chosen to give the “Push Start” to this then New vehicle to become known as the Church. That Push Start became the driving force to this body of believers who will go on into Eternity as the very Children Of Almighty God, the adopted Brothers and Sisters of Jesus Christ – to enjoy Him forever.

Doug MacCorkle’s outline gives us two segments from these two verses, but they can’t be separated from each other. Paul is asking the whole church at Ephesus to pray for Him – That “When I open my mouth,” it would always and totally be about establishing this new “secret” the establishment of the “Body of Christ.”

He is, at the time of this writing, in prison in Rome. He will eventually be sentenced to death while in prison as well. He is asking that he may Fearlessly press forward with the establishment of Christ’s Church body. He desperately wants prayer support so that, as we now know, millions upon millions of people will go on to Heaven with Jesus as their Savior… because of His efforts two thousand years ago.

He is not ashamed that he is “an Ambassador in Chains” on this assignment directly from Jesus. He asks all of his spiritual children in his time to pray so that this new “Secret” will be established as “The Body of Christ.”

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THE STUDY – 6:21-22
LESSON TWENTY-TWO
“The Church’s Oversight Included”
“Oversight at the Sub-Apostolic Level”
GOD’S SPECIAL SECRET

 

VI. CHAPTER 6 – The Church AS the Army of Christ
     A. P-1, The Orders Planned for His Army 6:1-9
     B. P-2, The Army is Opposed by Satan 6:10-12
     C. P-3, The Church’s Offense Indicated 6:13-18
     D. P-4, The Church’s Oversight Included 6:19-24
     (The Army Must Recognize Its oversight)
          1. Oversight at the Apostolic Level 6:19-20
          2. Oversight at the Sub-Apostolic Level 6:21-22
               a. Tychicus
               b. The Possible Purpose

 

21 Now Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful bondservant in the Lord, will make known everything about how I am faring in order that you may know the events that have happened to me. 22 I sent him to you for this very purpose that you might come to know these things about us and that he might encourage your hearts.

We may not know much about Tychicus, but what we do know is impressive and praiseworthy. Tychicus was a trusted messenger, faithful preacher, and loyal friend. Paul placed great confidence in him, sending him to accomplish important works.

He was present in Paul’s third missionary journey, he was a Gentile from Asia Minor (as we would call it today). He was in Colossae with Onesimus (the former slave). He was in Rome for Paul’s second imprisonment where Paul stated he had great confidence in him. A later description given to him said, “a brother who often proved to us in may ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his confidence in you.”

Paul sends Tychicus to the Church in Ephesus for two stated reasons. First, as a messenger who would be telling the members of that church body about all the relevant happenings in Paul’s life in a Roman prison – all the people he has been able to see, and all the activities of importance going on around Paul.

Secondly, Paul is sending them as a ministry from his heart – he desires that Tychicus will bring much encouragement to them. For there they are in a newly established church in Asia. Their master teacher is writing to them from a Roman prison in Rome Italy. If you were to drive there today it would take approximately 28 hours, on major highways. The “shortest distance” is 1,706 miles. You could also go by ship, as Paul had done. So, he’s far away and imprisoned by the dreaded Romans, for starting new Christian churches. The Romans, greatly encouraged by the Jews, have his case under advisement – as he seeks to make the Christian faith allowable under Roman law. He is well loved and respected. His writings contain the revelations of God, through the Holy Spirit to Paul. Now think of such a great man that has been so involved in your local church, imprisoned over a thousand miles away, because he’s starting Christian churches. Now, how would you feel while your pastor is reading Paul’s letter. He has sent Tychicus to you to bring you encouragement in His mission and encouragement in your faith. Think of how you feel about Paul, and his writings concerning “God’s Special Secret.”

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THE STUDY – 6:23-24
LESSON TWENTY-TWO
“The Church’s Oversight Included”
“Oversight at the Supportive Level”
GOD’S SPECIAL SECRET

 

VI. CHAPTER 6 – The Church AS the Army of Christ
     A. P-1, The Orders Planned for His Army 6:1-9
     B. P-2, The Army is Opposed by Satan 6:10-12
     C. P-3, The Church’s Offense Indicated 6:13-18
     D. The Church’s Oversight Included 6:19-24
     (The Army Must Recognize Its oversight)
          1. Oversight at the Apostolic Level 6:19-20
          2. Oversight at the Sub-Apostolic Level 6:21-22
          3. Oversight at the Supportive Level 6:23-24
               a. Peace
               b. Godly Love
               c. Faith
               d. Love the Lord Jesus – in Immortality

6:23-24 [Mac]
23 Peace and godly love, along with faith, be to the brothers from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

24 May this grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in [His] immortality.

6:23-24 [NASB]
23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ [o]with incorruptible love.

 

THE COMMENTARY

As we begin to close out our study on this wonderful book of Ephesians we need to take a moment and review Paul’s writings. Paul lived approximately 58 years. He was born just a few years after Jesus, probably about 7 A.D., and His conversion would have been just after he was about 30. He had to be 30 to function in the local synagogue. He wrote 13 or more books of the Bible. Here’s a quick list: Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Philemon, Colossians, Philippians, Ephesians, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus – and all these were written in the last 10 years of his life.

In the last two lines of this letter we can see his heart. Perhaps the things Paul prayed for were on the top of his list for what the Ephesians needed the most. It is the last epistle he will write to a functioning church body. He begins his close with what he wants for them the most – Peace and godly love. What a lovely beginning to his close. I’m reminded immediately of the Apostle John’s relating of Jesus’s words in Chapter 14… “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Ideal words for the moment. The church was new and there was much persecution – even there in Ephesus. As we know, even today, the world does not know Jesus the Savior – they know something about Him, but they don’t know Him. The evil one sets the world’s minds on edge against Him, and as we have seen in the gospels, they often wish to “destroy Him.” And in the midst of this evil world, Paul, through his writings to so many in the past, sends the Ephesians believers, and us, his message of “Peace and godly love.”

Godly love is not something the world knows much about nor do they understand it. It therefore falls upon our shoulders, in a one-on-one relationship with the members of this world, to attempt to win them for Christ. We must take both our defensive and offensive weapons with us at all times, put our trust in our God in all three persons of His being, and do the work we are called upon to do. And as verse 24 calls us…

 

“May this grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in [His] immortality.”

 

There, in the very beginning of this verse is the key to the entire process, from before creation until the far reaches of eternity, stands the GRACE of GOD, brought forth through the LOVE of GOD in providing a way to establish a human people who would be called “The Children of God.” We have a graceful and loving Father. We have an indwelling Spirit of power and wisdom. We have a Son of Almighty God who is our Brother, and we are to him as this book brings forth in a loving relationship to Jesus the Christ, as His “Bride.”

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HOMEWORK: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS – 6:13-24

 

Look at the question and ignore the answer. Then study the answer! 

 

 

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1. Can you think back through the book of Ephesians and come up with a simple outline for the six chapters?

I.       The Father’s gifts to those who would become the brothers and sisters of His Son, Jesus.
II.     The People who would Believe in Jesus for their Salvation and their positions in this new Secret – The Church.
III.    The Purpose of the People who make up The Church.
IV.     The Changes and Goals for the People of the Church.
V.       The Members of the Church become the Bride of Jesus, the Christ.
VI       The Church as the Army of Christ and our Call to Action

There are, of course, many possible outlines for this book. One of my favorites comes from my very first study of the book.

I.       Chapter-1 – What You Have!
II.      Chapters 2-3 – Why You Have It!
III.     Chapters 4-6 – Now, What are you going to do about it?

My point here is to make you aware that there is so much splendid information in just this short book that is vital to your Christian growth and understanding. Go back over it and develop an easy way to remember what’s in the book. This can be of great help as you go out into the world and seek others to become your spiritual brothers and sisters in-Christ.

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"Don't stumble from the Ancient Path.”

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2025-04-11 update