Context at a Glance
Author:Traditional Attribution
Topic:ephesians Chapter 6 Study
This chapter provides a foundational look at the theological themes of ephesians, analyzed across multiple historic translations for maximum scholarly depth.
Ephesians 6
New Revised Standard Version
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2"Honor your father and mother" — this is the first commandment with a promise:
3"so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth."
4And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ;
6not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.
7Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women,
8knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free.
9And, masters, do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality. Appeal for strength in spiritual battle
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.
11Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
14Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.
15As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.
16With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.
19Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak. Epilogue
21So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus will tell you everything. He is a dear brother and a faithful minister in the Lord.
22I am sending him to you for this very purpose, to let you know how we are, and to encourage your hearts.
23Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ. PHILIPPIANS
411PHILIPPIANS Introduction Philippi was a major city of Macedonia and a Roman colony on the Via Egnatia, the Roman road linking Byzantium in the East to the western coast of Macedonia, from which ships could easily reach Italy. The Christian community in Philippi was the westernmost Pauline church at the time of its founding (Acts 16.11-13). The mutual affection between Paul and the Philippians is evident in the letter and stands in contrast to the problems he had with some other churches. Paul writes from prison and is uncertain of the outcome for himself (1.12-26). The themes of opposition and the possibility of death are therefore prominent. Yet in the midst of suffering and uncertainty, the theme of joy emerges quite clearly and remarkably (1.4, 18, 25; 2.2, 1718, 28; 4.4, 10). The Philippians too are experiencing some kind of opposition (1.29), but Paul's major concern is to bring them together and thus to overcome the threat of internal disharmony. In keeping with that purpose, he uses the powerful hymnic passage that celebrates the self-emptying of Christ even to death, for which God bestowed on him the name of "Lord," the "name above all names" (2.6-11). The hymn was probably composed by a prior author and known both to Paul and the Philippians, perhaps as part of a baptismal liturgy. Here it is the prime example of why they should be willing also to empty themselves of their own opinions. The example of Paul himself follows and supports the argument (3.4-16). Paul offers both Christ and himself as examples of courage and self-surrender in the face of suffering and death. Thus he attempts to turn the Philippians from partisan interest to unity. Except that Paul was in prison and awaiting trail at the time of writing (1.2-26), it is impossible to speak confidently of the time and place of the writing of this letter. Because of references to the imperial guard PHILIPPIANS
412or praetorium (1.13) and to the emperor's household (4.22), and also because the situation reflected in the letter bears some resemblance to that described at the very end of the book of Acts, the traditional setting has been during the period of Paul's imprisonment at Rome (about 61-63 CE). The indications are by no means conclusive, however, and more recently it has been thought that the place of composition is perhaps Caesarea before Paul's arrival in Rome (Acts 24-26) or Ephesus at an earlier stage in Paul's career, especially because of the several goings and comings between Paul and Philippi implied in the letter (2.19, 25-26; 4.10, 18) put against the great distance from Philippi to Rome. The terms referring to the emperor's establishment were used also for provincial government centers and the imperial civil service outside Rome. The immediate occasion of Paul's writing was the return to Philippi of Epaphroditus (2.25-30), who had been sent by the Philippian church with gifts for Paul (4.18), and who had been seriously ill while staying with him. Paul took this opportunity to thank them for their gifts, and to set their difficulties in a wider framework by describing his and their situation in light of the reality of Christ. The letter follows the usual pattern of Paul's letters, but some seemingly abrupt changes of topic (especially between 3.1 and 2, and 4.3 and 4), in addition to the fact that an early Christian writer (Polycarp, Philippians 2.3), speaks of "letters" of Paul to the Philippians, has led some scholars to conclude that our present Philippians is composed of as many as three letters that Paul wrote to Philippi. Many others, however, find that Philippians is a coherent whole as it stands. After the greeting (1.1-2) and thanksgiving (1.3-11), Paul lays out the situation (1.12-26) and exhorts the community to unity (1.27-4.3) with many arguments, including proposing Christ (2.5-11), Timothy and Epaphroditus (2.19-30), and himself (3.4-14) as models of self-giving for the good of the whole. He thanks them for their recent gift (4.10-20) and concludes the letter (4.21-23). PHILIPPIANS 413