Ephesians Chapter 6 Breakdown

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Paul then goes into another commandment from the Old Testament to start this chapter. Remember, this is a letter and was not intended to be broken down into chapters.

2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

Deuteronomy 5:16

‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Honor your father and your mother is the fifth commandment and it is the first that is dealing with loving people. The first four deal with loving YHWH.

4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Fathers should be raising their children according to the word of YHWH, training them to be cautious in the word of YHWH. If you raise your children to fear YHWH they will grow up righteous.

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

If you are a bondservant, working for another person, you are to be obedient to their wishes. Not for these men, but for YHWH. There are rules for these masters to follow as well.

9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

This is a portion of the rules for the bondservant masters.

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Be strong in YHWH, keep your faith in Him, and continue to do His will and follow His commands.

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Believers are to wear the entire suit of armor YHWH has given to us. Satan is full of deceit and we need to be prepared against his trickery.

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Other men are not our enemies, no matter how much we may believe it is them. For example, if you are to get into an argument with your spouse, do you really think your problem is with them? No! That person loves you and you love them. It is a tool of Satan to try to destroy your marriage. Somehow one or both of you have allowed Satan to plant a seed of deceit within your mind causing the argument.

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Now we know there will be a day, the last day, were the line is drawn in the sand and we will have to choose who to serve. It is either YHWH, or Satan. Having the whole armor of YHWH will make the correct choice much easier.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

To gird your waist means you are ready to work, Paul says you should gird your waist with truth, therefore, we can take away this means we need to be prepared to work with the truth, and we know YHWH’s word is the truth, His law is truth. The breastplate of righteousness covers our hearts. Righteousness comes from having faith and keeping His commands. Cover your feet with the good news of peace, meaning spread this good news to everyone. The shield of faith, you are to know the word enough to truly have faith in His word, his promises. If you do this, you will have less difficulty stopping the attacks on you made by Satan.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Put on the helmet of salvation, knowing you are saved by grace through faith is the best way to protect your mind from the enemy’s attacks. The word of YHWH is your weapon. Equip yourself with the word, you can fight back against Satan if you know and understand His word. Prayer is another weapon you can use against Satan, so long as your prayer is in accordance with the word.

21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.

Paul has sent Tychicus to the Ephesians to help teach them the affairs of Paul and the apostles.

23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul wishes them peace and love with faith.

24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

Paul closes the letter.