Ephesians 6, Luke 1-3

Through the New Testament Reading - Luke 1-3

(see more notes on Ephesians 6)

Ephesians 6 (NIV 1984)
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

21 Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.

23 Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

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My Reflection:

Every relationship we have in this world is an opportunity to reflect Jesus. In romance we reflect Jesus, who is both worthy of the highest respect and honour, and also submitted himself sacrificially for us in the most humble way. His love for us makes him the most lovely of all creatures, and we respond to him with great love. God is Father and Son. Like Abraham of Isaac, God the Father required of his son the greatest of any humble submissive obedience. In his obedience he was glorified, and so were we. Our earthly family affords us the opportunity to reflect the family of God.

Finally, our Saviour has become our Master and Lord, the King of kings. Yet, though he was God, he made himself nothing, and became a servant among humanity. Like Jesus' example in washing his disciple's feet, we now serve each other, and the greatest among us is the servant of all. We take every opportunity in every relationship to see Jesus in each other, and be Jesus for each other.

Finally, we stand in resistance to the authorities of this world who do not reflect the gospel of Jesus' kingdom of justice and mercy and love. As agents of change in this lifetime, carrying the seed of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Spirit of God, we walk in the authority of the King of kings to live lives of love, grace, humility, and true justice. There is no authority on this earth that can oppose the authority which we represent. We stand firm with peace, truth, and faith against injustice, unrighteousness, and oppression. We will refuse to allow the authorities of this earth to advance any agenda against the justice, grace, and love of God. We do not do this in our own power, but from the inner working of the Spirit, who equips us spiritually and practically to stand firm. We have the word of God, which reveals his plan for redemption and reconciliation. The world will not stop his work on earth. The devil will not stop his work on earth.

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This beautiful letter is written from prison, reminding us that in this life we do may not see a personal favourable outcome from a life of walking in love and standing in resistance against dark worldly authority. It was a shackled hand that penned the verse that we are seated in heavenly realms in Christ. It is the life and glory of Jesus that Ephesians reveals, not our own. It is because we are in him, seated by faith in his righteousness, that we are children of God. God's power to live his resurrection life through us is based on his infinite love and grace, and therefore it transcends any and all circumstances. Wherever we sit, by faith we sit in his righteousness. Wherever we walk, we walk as children of light. Wherever we stand, we wrestle against the dark authorities and the spiritual forces that oppose the grace and justice and love of God. However weak we may be, we are strong in his mighty power.

We fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or think or even imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

Amen.

(most of the following reflection came from a previous entry, also on Ephesians 6)