BIBLE CHAPTER STUDY
Ephesians 6: Family Duties and the Armor of God
Ephesians 6 grounds Christian household conduct in the Lord, then reframes the Christian life as spiritual warfare fought with God's armor and sustained by ceaseless prayer.
Scripture
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
2Honor thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise),
3that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
4And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord.
5Servants, be obedient unto them that according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
6not in the way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
7with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not unto men:
8knowing that whatsoever good thing each one doeth, the same shall he receive again from the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
9And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, and forbear threatening: knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no respect of persons with him.
10Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.
11Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world - rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.
14Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints,
19And on my behalf, that utterance may be given unto me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
20for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
21But that ye also may know my affairs, how I do, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things:
22whom I have sent unto you for this very purpose, that ye may know our state, and that he may comfort your hearts.
23Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible.
What this passage means
Verses 1-9 extend the household code (Haus-tafel) begun in Ephesians 5. Children are to obey and honor their parents, grounded not in cultural convention alone but in the phrase 'in the Lord' (ἐν Κυρίῳ), which makes the fifth commandment (with its promise of well-being and long life on the earth) the church's standard, not merely Israel's. Fathers are warned against provoking their children; slaves and masters alike are told to relate to one another before the Lord, since ultimate judgment and reward come from a Master in heaven who shows no partiality.
Verses 10-13 mark a turn: after describing how believers relate to one another in daily life, Paul reframes the real conflict as cosmic. The opponent is not a human employer, spouse, or parent but 'the principalities … the world-rulers of this darkness … the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.' Because the enemy is unseen, ordinary courage is insufficient; believers must draw on 'the Lord' and 'the strength of his might' rather than their own resolve.
Verses 14-20 describe the panoply piece by piece (loins/belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, sword of the Spirit) and climax in prayer for all the saints and for Paul's own bold speech as an 'ambassador in chains.' The closing benediction (vv. 23-24) gathers the letter's themes of peace, love, faith, and incorruptible grace.
Context
Ephesians 5:22-33 already laid out the husband-wife portion of the household code; chapter 6 completes it with children-parents and slaves-masters before pivoting to the believer's warfare. The Haustafeln in the Pauline letters (cf. Colossians 3:18-4:1) share this pattern, and interpreters differ on whether Paul endorses the social structures of his day or reframes them within Christ's lordship. The 'armor of God' section is widely regarded as one of the clearest New Testament articulations of spiritual warfare, drawing on Old Testament imagery (Isaiah 59:17; Wisdom 5:17-20) while uniquely identifying the 'sword of the Spirit' as the word of God.
Paul is writing from imprisonment (v. 20: 'an ambassador in chains'; cf. v. 1 of the parallel in Colossians 4), and Tychicus is named as the carrier of the letter in both Ephesians 6:21-22 and Colossians 4:7-9. The benediction in verses 23-24, with its triad of peace, love joined with faith, and incorruptible grace, forms a fitting close to a letter that began (1:2) with the standard Pauline greeting of grace and peace.
Key words in the original
- G5043 τέκνα ('children') in verse 1 denotes those dependent on parents, not specifically infants; the same root gives 'τεκνογονέω' (to bear children), emphasizing relationship rather than age.
- G5091 τίμα ('honor', v. 2) means to assign value or weight; cf. its use in 1 Timothy 5:3-17 where honoring widows includes material support, suggesting honor here is not merely verbal.
- G3949 παροργίζετε ('provoke to wrath', v. 4) is a compound (παρά + ὀργίζω) implying provocation alongside or in addition to natural development; Colossians 3:21 uses a stronger form παροργίζετε paired with ἐθά, warning fathers not to discourage their children.
Related verses
- Philippians 4:13 Pairs with Ephesians 6:10: the strength to stand comes 'in him,' not from self-effort, paralleling 'be strong in the Lord.'
- 2 Corinthians 10:4 Echoes Ephesians 6:11-13: the Christian's weapons are 'not of the flesh' but 'mighty before God to cast down strongholds,' matching the spiritual-not-flesh-and-blood conflict.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Reflects Ephesians 6:18's call to 'pray at all seasons' and 'with all perseverance'; both frame prayer as the sustaining practice of the Spirit-armored believer.
Common questions
Is Paul endorsing slavery in Ephesians 6:5-9?
Interpreters differ. The passage gives direct instructions to slaves and masters within the Roman institution Paul addressed, but it does so by reframing the relationship: both parties serve the same Lord in heaven, slaves receive their due reward, and masters must 'forbear threatening' because 'there is no respect of persons with him.' The text regulates rather than explicitly abolishes the structure, leaving the question of its longer-term social implications debated among scholars.
What are the pieces of the armor of God, and do all of them appear in the Old Testament?
Ephesians 6:14-17 names six items: belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes (preparation of the gospel of peace), shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit (identified as the word of God). The belt, breastplate, and helmet parallel Isaiah 59:17, and the overall imagery also resembles Wisdom 5:17-20. Ephesians uniquely adds the shield of faith against 'fiery darts' and identifies the Spirit's sword with God's word, giving the list its distinctively Christian shape.
Does 'the evil day' (Ephesians 6:13) refer to a specific future event?
The Greek ἡμέρα πονηρά can be read as 'a day' of trouble in general or as 'the evil day,' echoing Old Testament 'day of the Lord' language (e.g., Amos 5:20; Joel 2:2). Within Ephesians, no single eschatological event is named; most commentators treat it as any decisive moment of spiritual assault when the armor is needed, allowing the instruction to apply to ongoing resistance rather than only to an end-time crisis.