The document discusses the biblical commandment for children to obey their parents, emphasizing that this duty is foundational for family order and personal welfare. It highlights that obedience should be given in a manner consistent with God's will and that disobedience can lead to negative outcomes. Additionally, it points out that honoring parents is a God-enjoined duty that carries a promise of well-being and prosperity for those who adhere to it.

1. EPHESIA S 6 1-13 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this
is right.
BAR ES,"Children - τέκνα tekna This word usually signifies those who are young;
but it is used here, evidently, to denote those who were under the care and government
of their parents, or those who were not of age.
Obey your parents - This is the first great duty which God has enjoined on children.
It is, to do what their parents command them to do. The God of nature indicates that
this is duty; for he has impressed it on the minds of all in every age; and the Author of
revelation confirms it. It is particularly important:
(1) Because the good order of a family, and hence of the community, depends on it; no
community or family being prosperous where there is not due subordination in the
household.
(2) Because the welfare of the child depends on it; it being of the highest importance
that a child should be early taught obedience to “law,” as no one can be prosperous or
happy who is not thus obedient.
(3) Because the child is not competent as yet; to “reason” on what is right, or qualified
to direct himself; and, while that is the case, he must be subject to the will of some other
person.
(4) Because the parent, by his age and experience, is to be presumed to be qualified to
direct and guide a child. The love which God has implanted in the heart of a parent for a
child secures, in general, the administration of this domestic government in such a way
as not to injure the child. A father will not, unless under strong passion or the
excitement of intoxication, abuse his authority. He loves the child too much. He desires
his welfare; and the placing of the child under the authority of the parent is about the
same thing in regard to the welfare of the child, as it would be to endow the child at once
with all the wisdom and experience of the parent himself.
(5) It is important, because the family government is designed to be an imitation of
the government of God. The government of God is what a perfect family government
would be; and to accustom a child to be obedient to a parent, is designed to be one
method of leading him to be obedient to God. No child that is disobedient to a parent
will be obedient to God; and that child that is most obedient to a father and mother will
be most likely to become a Christian, and an heir of heaven. And it may be observed, in
general, that no disobedient child is virtuous, prosperous, or happy. Everyone foresees
the ruin of such a child; and most of the cases of crime that lead to the penitentiary, or

2. the gallows, commence by disobedience to parents.
In the Lord - That is, as far as their commandments agree with those of God, and no
further. No parent can have a right to require a child to steal, or lie, or cheat, or assist
him in committing murder, or in doing any other wrong thing. No parent has a right to
forbid a child to pray, to read the Bible, to worship God, or to make a profession of
religion. The duties and rights of children in such cases are similar to those of wives (see
the notes on Eph_5:22); and in all cases, God is to be obeyed rather than man. When a
parent, however, is opposed to a child; when he expresses an unwillingness that a child
should attend a particular church, or make a profession of religion, such opposition
should in all cases be a sufficient reason for the child to pause and re-examine the
subject. he should pray much, and think much, and inquire much, before, in any case, he
acts contrary to the will of a father or mother; and, when he does do it, he should state to
them, with great gentleness and kindness, that he believes he ought to love and serve
God.
For this is right - It is right:
(1) Because it is so appointed by God as a duty;
(2) Because children owe a debt of gratitude to their parents for what they have done
for them;
(3) Because it will be for the good of the children themselves, and for the welfare of
society.
CLARKE, "Children, obey your parents - This is a duty with which God will
never dispense; he commands it, and one might think that gratitude, from a sense of the
highest obligations, would most strongly enforce the command.
In the Lord - This clause is wanting in several reputable MSS., and in same versions.
In the Lord may mean, on account of the commandment of the Lord; or, as far as the
parents commands are according to the will and word of God. For surely no child is
called to obey any parent if he give unreasonable or unscriptural commands.
GILL, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord,.... The persons whose duty this
is, "children", are such of every sex, male and female, and of every age, and of every state
and condition; and though the true, legitimate, and immediate offspring of men may be
chiefly respected, yet not exclusive of spurious children, and adopted ones, and of
children-in-law; and the persons to whom obedience from them is due, are not only real
and immediate parents, both father and mother, but such who are in the room of
parents, as step-fathers, step-mothers, guardians, nurses, &c. and all who are in the
ascending line, as grandfathers, grandmothers, &c. to these, children should be subject
and obedient in all things lawful, just, and good; in everything that is not sinful and
unlawful, by the word of God; and in things indifferent, as much as in them lies, and
even in things which are difficult to perform: and this obedience should be hearty and
sincere, and not merely verbal, and in show and appearance, nor mercenary; and should
be joined with gratitude and thankfulness for past favours: and it should be "in the
Lord"; which may be considered either as a limitation of the obedience, that it should be
in things that are agreeable to the mind and will of the Lord; or as an argument to it,
because it is the command of the Lord, and is wellpleasing in his sight, and makes for his
glory, and therefore should be done for his sake:

3. for this is right; it appears to be right by the light of nature, by which the very
Heathens have taught it; and it is equitable from reason that so it should be; and it is just
by the law of God, which commands nothing but what is holy, just, and good.
HE RY, 1-3, "Here we have further directions concerning relative duties, in which the
apostle is very particular.
I. The duty of children to their parents. Come, you children, hearken to me, I will
teach you the fear of the Lord. The great duty of children is to obey their parents (Eph_
6:1), parents being the instruments of their being, God and nature having given them an
authority to command, in subserviency to God; and, if children will be obedient to their
pious parents, they will be in a fair way to be pious as they are. That obedience which
God demands from their children, in their behalf, includes an inward reverence, as well
as the outward expressions and acts. Obey in the Lord. Some take this as a limitation,
and understand it thus: “as far as is consistent with your duty to God.” We must not
disobey our heavenly Father in obedience to earthly parents; for our obligation to God is
prior and superior to all others. I take it rather as a reason: “Children, obey your parents;
for the Lord has commanded it: obey them therefore for the Lord's sake, and with an eye
to him.” Or it may be a particular specification of the general duty: “Obey your parents,
especially in those things which relate to the Lord. Your parents teach you good
manners, and therein you must obey them. They teach you what is for your health, and
in this you must obey them: but the chief things in which you are to do it are the things
pertaining to the Lord.” Religious parents charge their children to keep the ways of the
Lord, Gen_18:19. They command them to be found in the way of their duty towards
God, and to take heed of those sins most incident to their age; in these things especially
they must see that they be obedient. There is a general reason given: For this is right,
there is a natural equity in it, God has enjoined it, and it highly becomes Christians. It is
the order of nature that parents command and children obey. Though this may seem a
hard saying, yet it is duty, and it must be done by such as would please God and approve
themselves to him. For the proof of this the apostle quotes the law of the fifth
commandment, which Christ was so far from designing to abrogate and repeal that he
came to confirm it, as appears by his vindicating it, Mat_15:4, etc. Honour thy father
and mother (Eph_6:2), which honour implies reverence, obedience, and relief and
maintenance, if these be needed. The apostle adds, which is the first commandment
with promise. Some little difficulty arises from this, which we should not overlook,
because some who plead for the lawfulness of images bring this as a proof that we are
not bound by the second commandment. But there is no manner of force in the
argument. The second commandment has not a particular promise; but only a general
declaration or assertion, which relates to the whole law of God's keeping mercy for
thousands. And then by this is not meant the first commandment of the decalogue that
has a promise, for there is no other after it that has, and therefore it would be improper
to say it is the first; but the meaning may be this: “This is a prime or chief
commandment, and it has a promise; it is the first commandment in the second table,
and it has a promise.” The promise is, That it may be well with thee, etc., Eph_6:3.
Observe, Whereas the promise in the commandment has reference to the land of
Canaan, the apostle hereby shows that this and other promises which we have in the Old
Testament relating to the land of Canaan are to be understood more generally. That you
may not think that the Jews only, to whom God gave the land of Canaan, were bound by
the fifth commandment, he here gives it a further sense, That it may be well with thee,
etc. Outward prosperity and long life are blessings promised to those who keep this
commandment. This is the way to have it well with us, and obedient children are often
rewarded with outward prosperity. Not indeed that it is always so; there are instances of

4. such children who meet with much affliction in this life: but ordinarily obedience is thus
rewarded, and, where it is not, it is made up with something better. Observe, 1. The
gospel has its temporal promises, as well as spiritual ones. 2. Although the authority of
God be sufficient to engage us in our duty, yet we are allowed to have respect to the
promised reward: and, 3. Though it contains some temporal advantage, even this may be
considered as a motive and encouragement to our obedience.
JAMISO , "Eph_6:1-24. Mutual duties of parents and children: Masters and
servants: Our life a warfare: The spiritual armor needed against spiritual foes.
Conclusion.
obey — stronger than the expression as to wives, “submitting,” or “being subject”
(Eph_5:21). Obedience is more unreasoning and implicit; submission is the willing
subjection of an inferior in point of order to one who has a right to command.
in the Lord — Both parents and children being Christians “in the Lord,” expresses
the element in which the obedience is to take place, and the motive to obedience. In Col_
3:20, it is, “Children, obey your parents in all things.” This clause, “in the Lord,” would
suggest the due limitation of the obedience required (Act_5:29; compare on the other
hand, the abuse, Mar_7:11-13).
right — Even by natural law we should render obedience to them from whom we
have derived life.
CALVI , "1.Children, obey. Why does the apostle use the word obey instead of honor,
(167) which has a greater extent of meaning? It is because Obedience is the evidence of that
honor which children owe to their parents, and is therefore more earnestly enforced. It is
likewise more difficult; for the human mind recoils from the idea of subjection, and with
difficulty allows itself to be placed under the control of another. Experience shews how
rare this virtue is; for do we find one among a thousand that is obedient to his parents? By
a figure of speech, a part is here put for the whole, but it is the most important part, and is
necessarily accompanied by all the others.
In the Lord. Besides the law of nature, which is acknowledged by all nations, the obedience
of children is enforced by the authority of God. Hence it follows, that parents are to be
obeyed, so far only as is consistent with piety to God, which comes first in order. If the
command of God is the rule by which the submission of children is to be regulated, it would
be foolish to suppose that the performance of this duty could lead away from God himself.
For this is right. This is added in order to restrain the fierceness which, we have already
said, appears to be natural to almost all men. He proves it to be right, because God has
commanded it; for we are not at liberty to dispute, or call in question, the appointment of
him whose will is the unerring rule of goodness and righteousness. That honor should be
represented as including obedience is not surprising; for mere ceremony is of no value in
the sight of God. The precept, honor thy father and mother, comprehends all the duties by
which the sincere affection and respect of children to their parents can be expressed.
(167) “ Τιµᾷν properly signifies, ‘ perform one’ duty to any one;’ and here reverence must
comprehend the cognate offices of affection, care, and support. The same complexity of
sense is observable in the classical phrase τιµᾷν τὸν ἰατρόν [to reverence the physician.] —

5. Bloomfield.
BURKITT, "Our apostle, in the foregoing chapter, began to treat of relative duties, and
concluded that chapter with the duties of husbands and wives; he begins this with the duty
of children and parents to each other.
And here we have observable, that he begins this with the duty of the inferior first, of the
child to the parents, as he did before with the duty of the wife, Eph_5:22. He first puts
them in mind of their duty who are to obey; that being the most difficult duty, and the
persons concerned in it usually more defective, and the work less easy and pleasing to our
nature.
Observe, 2. The important duty which children are directed to: the duty of obedience and
honour: Children, obey: honour your father and mother. This duty of honour and
obedience implies inward reverence, and a lawful estimation of their persons, and
honouring of them in heart, speech, and behaviour; it implies also outward observance, a
pious regard to their instructions, executing all their commands which are not sinful,
depending on their counsels, and following their good examples, owning with thankfulness
their parents' care and concern for them, and covering the failings and infirmities found in
them.
Observe, 3. The object of this duty: both parents, not the father alone, or the mother only,
but both father and mother jointly. Children, obey your parents; honour thy father and thy
mother: as obedience belongeth to all children, of what age, or sex, or condition soever, so
are children obliged to obey both parents, the mother as well as the father, yea, she is
named first, Lev_19:3; her sex being weaker, she is the more subject to contempt, Pro_
23:22, saying, Hearken to thy father which begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she
is old.
Observe, 4. The noble principle from whence this obedience in children to parents ought to
flow, namely, from the fear of God. Obey them in the Lord; that is, in obedience to his
command, and in all things agreeable to his will, fearing his displeasure in case of
disobedience: let not your obedience be barely natural and prudential, but christian and
religious.
Observe, 5. The arguments used by our apostle to excite to the practice of this duty. The
first argument is drawn from the equity of it, This is right; that is, the law of God and
nature requires it. The great motive, which ought to excite us to the practice of any duty, is
not so much the advantageousness, as the righteousness and equity, of the duty, as being
commanded by God, and well pleasing in his sight: Children, obey your parents in the
Lord, for this is right. A second argument is, because this is the first commandment of the
second table, which has a particular promise annexed to it: This is the first commandment
with promise, that is, with an express promise; for every commandment hath both a
promise and a threatening implied in it, and annexed to it; but this is the first
commandment with a promise expressed, and that is a promise of long life, That thy days
may be long; and this promise is always fulfilled, either in kind or equivalency, either by
enjoying a long life on earth, or a better life in heaven.
Learn hence, That although our first and chief motive to obedience be the equity and
righteousness of what God requires, yet we may, as a secondary encouragement, have

6. respect to the promised reward, and particularly to the temporal advantage of our
obedience. Long life is here promised to children, as an encouragement to obedience, which
is in itself a very valuable mercy and blessing; and having eyed the command of God in the
first place, they may and ought to have respect to the recompense of reward in the next
place.
BI 1-4, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Parents and children
I. Duties of children to parents.
1. Children owe to their parents an inward affection and regard. Their obedience should
flow from love, gratitude, and esteem.
2. Children are to honour their parents by external tokens of respect.
3. Children are to obey the just commands of their parents.
4. Children are not only to obey the express commands of parents while under their
authority, but to receive with decent and humble regard, the instructions, counsels, and
reproofs which they may see fit to communicate afterward.
5. Children are to remember, and, if there is occasion, also to remunerate, the favours they
have received from their parents.
II. Duties of parents to children.
1. Parents are to instruct their children in the doctrines and duties of religion.
2. Parents must not content themselves with giving their children good instructions; but
endeavour, by arguments, exhortations, and reproofs, to form their lives according to their
instructions.
3. Parents must regulate the diversions of their children.
4. Parents should maintain the worship of God in their houses.
5. Let parents set their children a good example in everything. (J. Lathrop, D. D.)
Christian children

7. I. The precept.
1. Observe the persons to whom the commandment is addressed “children.”
2. Observe what is commanded as the especial duty of children in reference to parents--
“obey,” and “honour.”
3. The limitation of the precept--“in the Lord.” The parent’s stronghold is here, when he
says, “I must have you obedient, because I am responsible to God for your being so.” And
the child’s strong encouragement is in the same thought: “In obeying my parents, I am
doing that which is pleasing to God, and I do it because the Lord so bids me.”
II. The sanction.
1. To obey parents is right.
(1) Their age, experience, knowledge, entitle them to the obedience of their children.
(2) Love should prompt children to render obedience to their parents.
2. There is a promise annexed to obedience. God undertakes that His blessing shall be
given. (James Cohen, M. A.)
Our fathers and mothers
ow this short text is a message to us about our duty to them.
I. otice whom you are to obey and honour. Your “parents”--your “father and mother.”
II. What it is to honour and obey them.
1. We must respect and reverence them. We should regard them as those to whose love and
government God Himself has committed us. I have read of two sons who saved their aged
parents at the sacrifice of all they possessed and at the risk of their own lives. The city was
on fire, and they were in the middle of it; they had gold in the cellar and plate in the
cupboard; but one took his father on his back, and the other his mother, and away they ran
through the scorching streets and falling houses, till they got outside the walls! Those lads
loved their parents with perfect love. How different to the wretched heathen who leave
their old fathers and mothers to perish! Mr. Moffat, an African missionary, found a poor
woman under a tree; she was a mere skeleton, and the bloodthirsty wolves were bowling
around her! She said her children had got tired of her because she was sick; they had been

8. gone some days, and she must sit there till she died.
2. To honour and obey our parents means that we are to do whatever will make them
happy, even though they do not enjoin it upon us.
3. To honour and obey them means that we are to do whatever they tell us. Their
commands are to be laws with us. A soldier is ordered to do this and that by his officer--it
may be to carry a letter through the enemy’s country, it may be to take the place of a
comrade who has just been shot down at a gun, but he knows that he may not hesitate for a
moment; if he refused, his character as a soldier would be gone, and he would be drummed
out of the army. But what claim has an officer on a soldier, compared with the claim of a
parent on a child?
III. How far we are to honour and obey our parents (see Col_3:20). We are to obey our
parents in everything so far as their commands agree with those of God, and no further; if
they required us to steal, or lie, or cheat, or do anything wrong, we should not be called to
obey them. But, dear children, it is not probable that your beloved parents will ever require
you to do anything of this kind; and in all other cases you are bound to obey them. I press
that “all,” because many boys and girls will pick and choose amongst duties as they would
amongst apples; they will do what is easy and pleasant to them. ow, it seems to me that
difficult things are just the test of obedience. Some things are no test at all. Suppose a
father were to say to his son, “Run and buy yourself a dozen raspberry tarts”; not one boy
in a hundred but would run to the shop as fast as his legs could carry him; but for all that,
he might be a disobedient boy at heart. ow, let us try him again; “Leave off your play, and
take this note to the doctor’s for me.” Look at him now! He pretends not to hear, or he puts
it on his younger brother, or he flies into a passion, or he says right out, “Father, I can’t.”
But if, instead of this, he at once cried, “Father, I’ll be ready in a minute,” and pulled on
his jacket, and went skipping down the street with a smiling face, I should mark him in my
pocket book for a thoroughly obedient lad.
IV. Why you are to honour and obey them.
1. Because God has told us to do it. And God is so wise and good that whatever he bids us
do should be done unhesitatingly; His command and our obedience to it should follow one
another as quickly as the clap of thunder follows the flash of lightning.
2. Because we owe, under God, our existence to them.
3. Because they are our superiors. If, directly we were born, we were as strong and as wise
as they are; then it would be different--we would manage for ourselves: but just look how it
is. We come into the world the most helpless of creatures--far more helpless than a lamb,
for it can stand by itself--far more helpless than a chicken, for it can pick up its own food.
There we are, unable to do one single thing for ourselves; we know nothing at all; we have
not a particle of experience! When a boy gets into a boat for the first time, all is strange to
him. What should we think of him if he declared that he was going to start for ew
Zealand, just as he was? We should cry out, “You are mad!” But if he embarked in a large
ship under a tried and skilful captain, then there would be no danger. ow, our parents are

9. tried and skilful captains; they have sailed on the rough ocean of life in many directions;
they understand all about its winds, and tides, and currents; they have sounded here, and
anchored there; they have marked rocks in one place and shoals in other, and whirlpools in
another. They have travelled the dangerous road of life for years; they have learnt the right
turnings and the best inns; they know the spots where robbers lurk and wild beasts prowl;
they know which fruits may be eaten, and which are poisonous; they know who are safe
companions, and who will lead astray: In other words, having read so much, and heard so
much, and seen so much, and suffered so much, they are able to guide us; they can tell us
how to avoid what is harmful, and how to secure what is valuable; they can train us up “in
the way in which we should go.”
4. Because they are our nearest and dearest friends.
5. Because it will be good for us. It is the “first commandment with promise”; and the
promise is, “Thy days shall be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” o
doubt this referred more particularly to Jewish children, because, as we have seen, those of
them who were disobedient were stoned to death, and thus their days were short in the
land; whilst those of them who were obedient lived on. But many Christians think that this
promise is still fulfilled to dutiful sons and daughters. And, as a fact, they do live longer.
For disobedient children soon fall into wicked ways and among wicked associates, and rain
their health, and come to an untimely end. “The ungodly shall not live out half their days.”
So it was with the sons of Eli; so it was with Absalom; so it has been with many youths
whom I have known. On the other hand, how different it is with the obedient child; he has
his parents’ praise, which is an ever-flowing fountain of joy! He has their most fervent
prayers! “The smell of their son is to them as the smell of a field which the Lord hath
blessed.” Often as they embrace him, their bowels yearn over him, as they say, “God be
gracious unto thee, my son!” or, “God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the
earth, and plenty of corn and wine.” A blameless childhood blossoms into a graceful
manhood! (J. Bolton, B. A.)
Filial obedience
Children ought to render to their parents--
1. The obedience of love.
2. The obedience of reverence. It is “honour thy father and thy mother.” There may be
much love, much fondness, and much real obedience, yet I have sometimes seen a most
lamentable deficiency in this veneration for parents. If I look into the Word of God, there I
see the principle exhibited. I see Joseph, in the forty-sixth of Genesis, meeting with his old
father--Joseph who was next on the throne to Pharaoh, a great man in Egypt, with
thousands at his beck: yet I find, in the twenty-ninth verse, “Joseph made ready his chariot,
and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goschen, and presented himself unto him; and he
fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.” And if I turn to another passage, it is
still more striking: in the case of Bathsheba and Solomon. It is in the second chapter of the
First Book of Kings, and the nineteenth verse. “Bathsheba therefore went unto King
Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed
himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s
mother; and she sat on his right hand.”

10. 3. The obedience of gratitude.
4. The obedience of submission. (J. H. Evans, M. A.)
Fatal result of disobedience
Many years ago, a minister lived in a cottage near some very high, rocky hills, which rose
abruptly from the vale below. He had two sons, who were not as obedient as boys ought to
be. They fancied themselves wiser than their father, and often treated his commands with
contempt. ow this good minister knew that the cliffs were not very safe for the boys to
venture on. They were too perpendicular, and had too few places for the feet, to be climbed
or descended by anyone without great risk of life or limbs. He pointed out this danger to his
sons, and repeatedly said to them, “Be sure you never venture down the face of the cliffs.”
You can see that this was good advice, and the boys ought to have given due heed to it. But
I am sorry to be forced to tell you these boys were wilful, and disobeyed. They said “yes” to
their father when he gave them this command, and then went out and broke it. Many birds
built their nests in the holes among the rocks, and these bad boys would venture down in
search of their eggs. They did this so frequently without meeting with any mishap, that they
grew bold in their disobedience, and often laughed at their father for being so particular
and old-fogyish. One day, however, these boys did not go home to dinner. Their parents
wondered where they were, but made no search until tea time. Then the non-appearance of
the boys troubled them. They sent, round the village to inquire for them, but they had not
been seen since noon, when they were dismissed from school. The minister and his wife
were now very much alarmed. They sent messengers in every direction. Their good father’s
heart trembled with fear lest they had tumbled over the cliffs. He went down a gorge which
led to the vale below, and there, to his dismay, he found them cold, mangled, and dead!
Their disobedience had proved their destruction,
The root of heaven, or hell, struck in the nursery
All vice and crime may be traced to the nursery. The foundations of reverence are either
earnestly laid, or perilously sapped, in the very first years. In the first act of disobedience
the child commits himself to a downward course. The assertion of self-will in a disobedient
act, is evidence enough that the powers of darkness have prevailed to lay the foundation of
hell in the young soul. The parents who tolerate, or mildly pass over the disobedience of
their children, tolerate what constitutes the beginning of all evil, and the root of eternal
evil. The children who are permitted to make light of the authority of their father and
mother, will in all probability grow up to make light of the authority of God. In
dishonouring their parents, they have already dishonoured God. They have disgraced
themselves, impaired their own moral sense, given their consent to evil spirits as their
allies, and entered on the way which leads them to destruction. Children should be made to
obey long before they can understand why they should obey. Their hearts should beat, their
muscles grow, and their nerves vibrate and play, under the necessity of obedience. From
the beginning, their freedom should be freedom in obedience. As soon as they can
understand it, they should be taught that reverence for their parents, manifested by
unhesitating obedience, is God’s command. And children who obey their parents because
God commands it, are in the straight way wherein they shall not stumble. It shall be “well
with them,” both for time and eternity. They are in “the Way that they should go”--the

11. Way that leadeth unto life eternal, “and when they are old they will not depart from it.”
They have begun to do “right.” The foundation of God is in them, and it shall stand
forever, and they shall be built up forever. “Children, obey your parents, in the Lord, for
this is right.” It is right, not because it is commanded; but it is commanded because it is
right, and it is right because it is essentially good, safe, and prosperous. In the law and
ordinance of each child’s creation, God has made a provision for the reverence of fathers
and mothers. Parents are taken into the secrecy of His creative council, that no child may
receive his existence immediately from Himself, but from Him, through them. Irreverent
and disobedient children, therefore, do violence to the very spring and ground of their own
nature; they rupture the covenant which God has made with obedient children; they cut
themselves off from all part in His promises; they dissolve their connection with all blessed
spirits and angels, and give pledges to Satan. (J. Pulsford.)
A daughter’s obedience
A missionary was passing along the streets of London, and he saw a little girl lying asleep
on the steps in the night, the rain beating in her face, and he awakened her and said, “My
little girl, what do you here?” “Oh!” she replied, “my father drove me out, and I am
waiting until he is asleep, and then I am going in.” Then she told the story of her father’s
drunkenness. That night after her father was asleep, she went back and laid down in the
house. In the morning she was up early, preparing the meal, and her father turned over,
waking up from his scene of drunkenness and debauch, and he saw his little child
preparing breakfast, and he said to her, “Mary, why do you stay with me?” “Oh!” she said,
“father, it is because I love you.” “Well,” he said, “why do you love me when everybody
despises me? and why do you stay with me?” “Well,” she said, “father, you remember
when mother was dying, she said to me: ‘Mary, never forsake your father; the rum fiend
will some day go out, and he will be very good and kind to you, and my dying charge is,
don’t forsake your father’; and I never will, father, I never will. Mother said I must not,
and I never will.”
An excellent proof
While driving along the street one day last winter in my sleigh, a little boy, six or seven
years old, asked me the usual question, “Please, may I ride?” I answered him, “Yes, if you
are a good boy.” He climbed into the sleigh; and when I again asked, “Are you a good
boy?” he looked up pleasantly and said, “Yes, sir.” “Can you prove it?” “Yes, sir.” “By
whom?” “Why, by my mother,” said he, promptly. I thought to myself, here is a lesson for
boys and girls. When a child feels and knows that mother not only loves, but has confidence
in him or her, and can prove obedience, truthfulness, and honesty, by mother, they are
pretty safe. That boy will be a joy to his mother while she lives.
Obedience and character
A tradesman once advertised in the morning papers for a boy to work in his store, run
errands, and make himself generally useful. The next morning the store was thronged with
boys of all ages and sizes trying to get the place. The storekeeper only wanted one boy, and
as he was at a loss to know how to get the right one out of so large a crowd, he thought he
must find out some plan to lessen the number of boys and to be sure of getting a good one.
So he sent them all away till he could think over the matter a little. The next day the papers

12. contained this advertisement: “Wanted--a boy who obeys his mother.” And out of the
crowd who were there the day before, how many do you suppose came to get that place?
Only two. Whichever of these two the storekeeper chose we may be very certain would
prove a good boy. Jesus was pleasing His Father in heaven all the time that He was obeying
His mother on earth. And so it is always. The boys who learn to obey at home are the boys
who will be most wanted for places in business, and who will be most useful and successful
in them. (Dr. ewton.)
How to bring up children
The late Dr. Henry Ware, when once asked by a parent to draw up some set of rules for
government of children, replied by an anecdote: “Dr. Hitchcock,” he said, “was settled in
Sandwich; and, when he made his first exchange with the Plymouth minister, he must
needs pass through the Plymouth Woods, a nine miles’ wilderness, where travellers almost
always got lost, and frequently came out at the point they started from. Dr. Hitchcock, on
entering this much dreaded labyrinth, met an old woman, and asked her to give him some
directions for getting through the wood so as to fetch up at Plymouth, rather than
Sandwich. ‘Certainly,’ she said, ‘I will tell you all about it with the greatest pleasure. You
will just keep right on till you get some ways into the woods, and you will come to a place
where several roads branch off. Then you must Stop and consider, and take the one that
seems to you most likely to bring you out right.’ He did so, and came out right.” Dr. Ware
added, “I have always followed the worthy and sensible old lady’s advice in bringing up my
children. I do not think anybody can do better: at any rate, I cannot.” Good common sense,
doubtless, is often better than all set rules; but the thing is to have it.
Early impressions abide
Some years ago, a native Greenlander came to the United States. It was too hot for him
there; so he made up his mind to return home, and took passage on a ship that was going
that way; but he died before he got back, and, as he was dying, he turned to those who were
around him, and said, “Go on deck and see if you can see ice.” “What a strange thing!”
some would say. It was not a strange thing at all. When that man was a baby the first thing
he saw, after his mother, was ice. His house was made of ice. The window was a slab of ice.
He was cradled in ice. The water that he drank was melted ice. If he ever sat at a table, it
was a table of ice. The scenery about his home was ice. The mountains were of ice. The
fields were filled with ice. And when he became a man he had a sledge and twelve dogs that
ran him fifty miles a day over ice. And many a day he stooped over a hole in the ice twenty-
four hours to put his spear in the head of any seal that might come there. He had always
been accustomed to see ice, and he knew that if his companions on the ship could see ice it
would be evidence that he was near home. The thought of ice was the very last thought in
his mind, as it was the very first impression made there. The earliest impressions are the
deepest. Those things which are instilled into the hearts of children endure forever and
forever.
The children’s life in Christ
I sometimes meet with men and women who tell me that they cannot remember the time
when they began to love and trust and obey Christ, just as they cannot remember the time
when they began to love and trust and obey their parents. If we had a more vivid and a

13. more devout faith in the truth that every Christian family is according to God’s idea and
purpose a part of the kingdom of heaven, this happy experience would be more common.
The law of Christ is the rule of human conduct in childhood as well as in manhood; and as
in Christ’s kingdom grace precedes law, the grace of Christ is near to a child in its very
earliest years to enable it to keep the law, and the child’s earliest moral life may be a life in
Christ. Christ’s relationship to men cannot be a relationship of authority merely. His
authority is the authority of One who has assumed our nature and died for our sins. He is
our Prince that He may be our Saviour. These truths are assumed in the precept that
children are to “obey” their parents “in the Lord.” Every child, apart from its choice and
before it is capable of choice, is environed by the laws of Christ. It is equally true that every
child, apart from its choice and before it is capable of choice, is environed by. Christ’s
protection and grace in this life, and is the heir of eternal blessings in the life to come.
Christ died and rose again for the race. Children may “obey” their parents “in the Lord,”
before they are able to understand any Christian doctrine; they may discharge every
childish duty, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, before they have so much as heard
whether the Spirit of God has been given; they may live in the “light of God before they
know that the true light always comes from heaven. And as men and women, who are
consciously relying on God to enable them to do His will, appropriate God’s grace and
make it more fully their own by keeping His commandments, so the almost unconscious
virtues of devout children make the life of Christ more completely theirs. Like Christ
Himself, who in His childhood was subject to Joseph and Mary, as they advance in stature
they advance in wisdom and in favour with God and men. This is the ideal Christian life.
(R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
Conflicting duties
The difficulties of obedience are usually greatest in the troubled years between childhood
and manhood; and not unfrequently these difficulties are increased rather than diminished
when during these years the religious life begins to be active. To a boy or girl of fifteen the
discovery of God sometimes seems to dissolve all human relationships. The earthly order
vanishes in the glory of the infinite and the Divine. There is also a sudden realization of the
sacredness and dignity of the personal life, and whatever authority comes between the
individual soul and God is felt to be a usurpation. At this stage in the development of the
higher life the first commandment is also the only commandment that has any real
authority. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy mind,” seems to exhaust all human duty, and life has no place for any inferior
obligations. I have a very deep sympathy with those young people who are trying, and
trying very unsuccessfully, to adjust what seem to them the conflicting claims of the seen
and the unseen, of earth and heaven. They have to remember that we live in two worlds,
that both belong to God; and that we do not escape from the inferior order when the glory
of eternal and Divine things is revealed to us. We still have to plough, and to sow, and to
reap; to build houses; to work in iron, and brass, and silver and gold. The old world with
its day and night, its sunshine and its clouds, its rain and snow, its heat and cold, is still our
home. In things seen and temporal we have to do the will of the invisible and eternal God,
and to be disciplined for our final perfection and glory. As God determined the laws of the
physical universe, so He determined the limitations of human life, and the conditions upon
which human duty is to be discharged. The family, the State, and the Church are Divine
institutions: and the obligations which they create are rooted in the will of God. The family
and the State belong to the natural order, but they are not less Divine in their origin than

14. the Church, nor are their claims upon us less sacred. In the family the parents by Divine
appointment exercise authority, and children are under Divine obligations to obedience.
The ends for which the family exists are defeated if authority is not exercised on the one
side, if obedience is not conceded on the other; just as the ends for which the State exists
are defeated if rulers do not assert and enforce the law, if subjects habitually violate it.
Children are to obey their parents, “for this is right”; right, according to the natural
constitution and order of human affairs; right, according to the laws of natural morality;
right, according to the natural conscience and apart from supernatural revelation. But in
the discharge of this natural duty the supernatural life is to be revealed. Children are to
obey their parents “in the Lord,” in the Spirit and in the strength of Christ. Obedience to
parents is part of the service which Christ claims from us; it is a large province of the
Christian life. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
The extent of parental authority
It is not enough that children obey their parents in those things which would have
obligation apart from parental authority. To be truthful, honest, kindly, temperate,
courageous, industrious, are duties whether a parent enforces them or not. They may be
sanctioned and sustained by parental authority, but to discharge duties of this kind may be
no proof of filial obedience; a child may discharge them without any regard to the
authority of his parents. It is when the parent requires obedience in things which are
neither right nor wrong in themselves, or which appear to the child neither right nor wrong
in themselves, that the authority of the parents is unambiguously recognized. A parent may
require obedience in things of this kind for the good of the child himself, for the sake of his
health, for the sake of his intellectual vigour and growth, for the sake of his moral safety, or
for the sake of his future success in life. Before the parents’ authority is exerted the child is
free; but afterwards, whether the child sees the wisdom of the requirement or not, he is
bound to obey. Or parental authority may be exerted for the sake of the family generally.
Regulations intended to secure the order of the household, to prevent confusion, to lessen
trouble, and to lessen expense, are often felt by young people to be extremely irksome. The
regulations appear to be unreasonable, and to have no other object than to place vexatious
restraints on personal liberty. Sometimes, no doubt, they are really unwise and
unnecessary. But children are not the most competent judges; and in any case it is the
parents, not the children, that are responsible for making the rules. The parents may be
unwise in imposing them; but the children are more than unwise if they are restive under
them and wilfully break them. To submit to restraints which are seen to be expedient and
reasonable is a poor test of obedience; the real proof of filial virtue is given when there is
loyal submission to restraints which appear unnecessary. There is less difficulty when a
child is required to render personal service to a parent. The obligation is so obvious, that
unless the child is intensely selfish the claim will be met with cheerfulness as well as with
submission. Affection, gratitude, and a certain pride in being able to contribute to a
parent’s ease or comfort, will make obedience a delight. To be of use satisfies one of the
strongest cravings of a generous and noble nature, and that satisfaction is all the more
complete if the act of service involves real labour and a real sacrifice of personal
enjoyment. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
Family discipline and State security

15. The duty of obedience to parents, which is a natural duty, a duty arising out of the natural
constitution of human life, was enforced in Jewish times by a Divine commandment. And
this commandment had a place of special dignity in Jewish legislation; it was “the first
commandment with promise.” Paul was not thinking of the Ten Commandments as if they
stood apart from the rest of the laws which God gave to the Jewish people, or else he would
have said that this was the only commandment that was strengthened by the assurance of a
special reward to obedience. He meant that of all the Jewish laws this was the first that had
a promise attached to it. The promise was a national promise. It was not an assurance that
every child that obeyed his parents would escape sickness and poverty, would be
prosperous, and would live to a good old age; it was a declaration that the prosperity, the
stability, and the permanence of the nation depended upon the reverence of children for
their parents. The discipline of the family was intimately related to the order, the security,
and the greatness of the State. Bad children would make bad citizens. If there was a want
of reverence for parental authority, there would be a want of reverence for public
authority. If there was disorder in the home, there would be disorder in the nation; and
national disorder would lead to the destruction of national life. But if children honoured
their parents the elect nation would be prosperous, and would retain possession of the
country which it had received from the hands of God. The greatness of the promise
attached to this commandment, the fact that it was the first commandment that had any
promise attached to it, revealed the Divine estimate of the obligations of filial duty. And
although Jewish institutions have passed away, the revelation of God’s judgment
concerning the importance of this duty remains. And the promise with which it was
sanctioned is the revelation of a universal law. The family is the germ cell of the nation. If
children honour their parents, men and women will be trained to those habits of order and
obedience which are the true security of the public peace, and are among the most
necessary elements of commercial and military supremacy; they will be disciplined to self-
control, and will have strength to resist many of the vices which are the cause of national
corruption and ruin. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
Honour is more than obedience
The commandment which Paul quotes requires children to “honour” their parents;
“honour” includes obedience and something more. We may obey because we are afraid of
the penalties of disobedience; and in that case the obedience though exact will be reluctant,
without cheerfulness and without grace. We may obey under terror, or we may obey from
motives of self-interest. We may think that the man to whom we are compelled to submit is
in no sense our superior, that he is at best our equal, and that it is mere accident that gives
him authority over us. But children are required to remember that their parents are their
superiors, not their equals; that they have to “honour” parental dignity as well as to obey
parental commands, that honour is to blend with obedience and to make it free and
beautiful. The child that honours his parents will yield a real deference to their judgment
and wishes when there is no definite and authoritative command; will respect even their
prejudices; will chivalrously conceal their infirmities and faults; will keenly resent any
disparagement of their claims to consideration; will resent still more keenly any assault on
their character. In a family where this precept is obeyed, parents will be treated with
uniform courtesy. There is a tradition that whenever Jonathan Edwards came into a room
where his children were sitting, they rose as they would have risen at the entrance of a
visitor. Forms of respect of this kind are alien from modern manners; but the spirit of

16. which they were the expression still survives in well-bred families, I mean in families which
inherit and preserve good traditions, whatever social rank they may belong to. or is it to
parents alone that children should show this spirit of consideration and respect; brothers
and sisters should show it to each other; and both among the rich and the poor it may be
taken as a sure sign of vulgarity, inherited or acquired, if courtesy is reserved for strangers,
and has no place in the life of the family. Children are to “honour” their parents, and if
they honour their parents they are likely to be courteous to each other. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
Duty of parents to children
Paul had a sensitive sympathy with the wrongs which children sometimes suffer, and a
strong sense of their claims to consideration. Children are to “obey” and to “honour” even
unreasonable, capricious, and unjust parents; but it is the duty of parents not to be
unreasonable, capricious, or unjust. Parents are sometimes wanting in courtesy to children
as well as children to parents, speak to them roughly, violently, insultingly--and so inflict
painful wounds on their self-respect. Parents sometimes recur with cruel iteration to the
faults and follies of their children, faults and follies of which the children are already
ashamed, and which it would be not only kind but just to forget. Parents are sometimes
guilty of a brutal want of consideration; they allude in jest to personal defects to which the
children are keenly sensitive, remind them mockingly of failures by which they have been
deeply humiliated, speak cynically of pursuits in which their children have a passionate or
romantic interest, and contemptuously and scornfully of companions and friends that their
children enthusiastically admire and love. Parents are sometimes tyrannical, wilfully
thwarting their children’s plans, needlessly interfering with their pleasures, and imposing
on them unreasonable and fruitless sacrifices. Parents who desire to be loved and honoured
and cheerfully obeyed should lay to heart the apostle’s warning: “Provoke not your
children to wrath.” Then follows the positive precept, “But nurture them in the chastening
and admonition of the Lord.” This covers the whole province of Christian education.
1. The precept implies a real and serious faith on the part of the parents that their children
belong to Christ, and are under Christ’s care. The children are Christ’s subjects, and have
to be trained to loyal obedience to His authority. Their earliest impressions of God should
assure them that God loves them with an infinite and eternal love, and that He has blessed
them with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
2. The education of which the apostle is thinking is practical rather than speculative; it has
to do with life and character, rather than with knowledge. The order of a child’s life is
determined by its parents, and is to be determined under Christ’s authority, so that the
child may be trained to all Christian virtues. In the earlier years of childhood this training
will be, in a sense, mechanical. The child will not know why certain acts and habits are
required of it, or why other acts and habits are forbidden. There will be no appeal to the
child’s conscience or reason; the parents’ conscience and the parents’ reason will assume
the responsibility of guiding the child’s conduct.
3. If it is the duty of a child to obey, it is the duty of parents to rule. There can be no
obedience where there is no authority; and if a child is not disciplined to obedience it
suffers a moral loss which can hardly ever be completely remedied in later years. The
religious as well as the moral life is injured by the relaxation of parental rule. Obedience to
the personal authority of parents disciplines us to obey the personal authority of God.

17. 4. Children should be trained to the surrender of their own pleasure and comfort to the
pleasure and comfort of others. Parents who have sacrificed themselves without reserve to
their children’s gratification are sometimes bitterly disappointed that their children grow
up selfish. They wonder and feel aggrieved that their devotion receives no response, that
their children are not so eager to serve them as they have been to serve their children. On
the other hand, parents who with equal affection have made themselves, not their children,
the centre of the family life, seem to have been more fortunate. ot selfishly, harshly, or
tyrannically, but firmly and consistently, they have required their children to take a
secondary position. The comfort of the children and their pleasures were amply provided
for, but the children were not led to think that everything in the house must give way to
them, that all the sacrifices were to be made by their parents, none by themselves. They
were trained to serve, and not merely to receive service. This seems to be the truer
discipline of the Christian spirit and character.
5. In relation to the higher elements of the Christian life, to those elements which are
distinctively Christian and spiritual, more depends upon the real character of the parents
than upon anything besides. In relation to these the power of personal influence is supreme.
If the parents really obey the will of Christ as their supreme law, if they accept His
judgments about human affairs and about the ends of human life, if they live under the
control of the invisible and eternal world, the children will know it, and are likely to yield
to the influence of it. But if the parents, though animated by religious faith, are not
completely Christian, if some of their most conspicuous habits of thought and conduct are
not penetrated by the force of Christ’s spirit and teaching, the children are in great danger;
they are as likely to yield to what is base and worldly in the life of their parents as to what
is Divine. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
Parents and children
Family life has its origin with God. A more sacred position than that of father or mother it
is impossible to occupy. And this because the highest revelation of God presents Him to us
as a Parent. He is the Father of men. In every family, therefore, where love abounds and
holy authority rules, there is a reflection of God. Then, further, according to a law of our
Maker, children are a gift.
I. Try to estimate the worth of children. They are budding men and women.
II. Try to understand their individual characters. Careful study is needed for this. A family
is a little world: each member of it has a personality of his or her own.
III. Try to appreciate the power of your influence. This can hardly be exaggerated,
especially in the formative years of childhood. They are always learning from us, and being
influenced by us. We can do nothing and say nothing but what leaves some kind of

18. impression upon their young characters. We are their books, and they study US with
keenest eyes, and reproduce us with a ludicrous accuracy.
IV. Try to recognize the limits of your authority.
1. It is bounded by the will of God.
2. It is limited by time. (Wm. Braden.)
Religious education
I. The nature of this duty.
1. Parents are required to impart to their children the instruction or wisdom of the Lord
Jesus.
2. Parents must subject their children to the discipline of the Lord Jesus.
II. The importance of this duty. This may be proved from--
1. The state of prospects of the children themselves.
2. The circumstances and prospects of the Church of Christ. The hope of the Church in the
future depends always upon the rising generation.
3. The state and necessities of the world at large.
III. The consistent, Christ-like temper in which these duties must be performed. (John
Hannah, D. D.)
Christian parents
I. Caution.
1. Avoid harshness and severity of demeanour.
2. Do not overstrain the necessity of obedience.

19. 3. Avoid the habit of constantly finding fault.
II. Counsel.
1. Exalt the Word of God. That must be the basis, foundation, rule and guide of everything.
The great standard of right and wrong.
2. Exalt Christ.
3. Exalt the Spirit of God.
4. Maintain a godly jealousy of the world. (James Cohen, M. A.)
The nurture and admonition of the Lord
1. The first thing to consider is the basis of the culture--the Lord. To make a child
understand fully what that means is the Alpha and Omega of Christian education. To train
children of old in “the nurture and admonition of the Lord” was to teach them to
comprehend the meaning and bearing of the great spiritual truths which the gospel
brought into the world.
2. The next question concerns the method of the culture, which is described in the
significant term, “the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Some have supposed that in
the double term there is a reference to the dual parentage, and that it describes the
blending of the manly and womanly influence in the rule and culture of the home. But the
original hardly looks that way. Our Revised Version has it, “nurture them in the
chastening and admonition of the Lord.” So that the word nurture in the Authorised
Version in the original bears the sterner meaning; and refers to the discipline which comes
through correction; while admonition suggests counsel, advice, reproof, exhortation, and
all the intellectual and moral influences whereby a young soul may be trained for its work.
It is wonderful how the fatherly and motherly influences blend in Christ; the tenderest
nurture, the firmest correction, the sternest chastisement, in which no child can ever miss
the love. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)
Religious teaching of the young
The terms translated, “nurture and admonition,” were very familiar words to the Greeks.
They were proud of their system of education, and, viewed from a moral point, they had
reason to be so; their plans were admirably constituted for the development of the body,
the culture of intellect, and the refining of the aristocratic taste in society. But between man
and God there was the greatest deficiency: the vital deficiency was that which is supplied
here by the apostle when he used these words, and said, “In the nurture and admonition of
the Lord”; for it is Christianity alone which touches the mainspring of our nature, which
brings all its parts into harmony with themselves, and restores, as a whole, man to the

20. friendship and communion of God.
I. Look at some of the encouragement which we learn in the endeavour to bring them up to
the Lord.
1. I would find encouragement in the general belief in a “Present God.” This may be said to
be the starting point of a religious education.
2. We have in children comparative tenderness of conscience.
3. There is in children a comparatively prompt appreciation of the love of Christ. To a
child it is not so difficult to believe in that complete self-abandonment for the good of
others which was manifested in the Cross of Jesus Christ. He can more thoroughly
understand in that early part of his life even than he can at a later period, when the
shadows of the world are cast upon that Cross--can appreciate the love which prompted the
giving Himself for us, and can return it far more than at any later period of his existence.
II. The means to be used for this purpose.
1. Instruction. It is knowledge, not ignorance, that is the mother of our devotion. We must
seek, therefore, to illumine the understanding--to present to it those great objects of faith
upon which the soul reposes.
2. Example. The instruction of the family is neither better nor worse than the conduct of its
members: if the lessons are high and the conduct low, the effect will be low; if the lessons
are imperfect, but the conduct excellent, the effect will be excellent.
3. These means must be applied and sustained in power by prayer. (C. M. Birrell.)
Parents and children
A parent is bound to his child by a tie which cannot be severed. He may delegate some of
that work in which he is sure, intentionally or undesignedly, himself to bear so large a part,
to tutors and governors, but he does not by that divest himself of his responsibility. This
relationship is unalterable. It is not even affected by the conduct of the child. The bond is
indestructible, and the duty as lasting as the bond.
I. The nature and extent of parental influence. It is evident that there is no relation in
which a man exerts so much power for good or evil. There is no other from whom the child
receives so many of the ideas, impressions, and habits, which are most abiding, as from his
parents. The opinions which a man holds, the party with which he identifies himself, the
friendships he cultivates, and the particular line of conduct he observes, all impress
themselves on the mind of his child; and his views of them are affected partly by the

21. feelings he has to his father, and partly by the opinions which they have had upon his
father’s character and life. Very early is the observing power of the child awakened, and
from the time that it is roused to consciousness every day adds something to its ever-
increasing store. Words and looks, as well as actions, have their effect; and thus,
unconsciously to themselves, the parents are constantly educating their children--educating
them when they have no thought at all of the serious work which they are doing; when they
are going on the way of life in their own accustomed course without recollecting that there
are eager young eyes watching every movement, and listening young ears drinking in every
word that is spoken, and impressible young hearts which are being trained to good or to
evil by that which is thus passing before them.
II. The spirit and manner in which this responsibility should be discharged.
1. To make the unconscious influence which a man exerts a blessing, the one thing which is
necessary is high-toned Christian principle. The power which goes forth from a man will be
according to the spirit that is in him.
2. In the direct work of training, the first essential is that you should clearly set before your
own mind the object which you have in view.
(1) Of course education by a Christian man must be religious, and distinctively Christian.
And not only must this instruction be given, but wisely given--so that the religious lesson
shall not be regarded as a mere task.
3. The exercise of authority is another of the means by which a parent may fulfil his duty.
The one power on earth which is of Divine right in his. It is essential to the right
government of the family and the proper discipline of the child. It meets him at the
beginning of life with the idea, so necessary for all to realize, that in this world no human
will is meant to be absolute and supreme, and that the first lesson--which everyone is to
learn--is the difficult but necessary one of obedience.
3. o Christian parent will need to be reminded that he must pray for and with his
children. (J. G. Begets, B. A.)
Jesus Christ the pattern, means, and end of parental training
“In the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” The Lord brings up His disciples; He takes
them at their new birth, and educates them; He instructs and teaches them, but He does
more than this, He brings them up; He forms and developes a godly character; He
conforms them, by discipline and training, to the Divine image; He leads His disciples into
true manhood of soul and of life. There is a nurture and admonition which the Lord
adopts, and which may, with immense advantage, be imitated by every parent. The Lord
exhorts, warns, and restrains. There is nurture, and there is admonition, in the bringing up
of Christ’s disciples by their Lord. He is not like Eli, who was chargeable with great
neglect, because he did not restrain his sons when they made themselves vile. The Lord
Jesus Christ does restrain His disciples. When they sin He corrects them, yet He does not
always chide, neither does He keep His anger for ever. He leaves some faults to wear

22. themselves out, and other faults to die under indirect influences; but He takes care that
every fault comes under some destructive influence. The Lord teaches and trains partly by
His own example. Hence, when He is spoken of under the similitude of a Shepherd, it is
said of Him, that He goes before His disciples, leading them, by showing them the path in
which they should walk--showing them, not by His lips merely, but showing them by His
own steps. Further, the Lord unites with Himself, by trust and love, those whom He brings
up. His influence over them is not through the understanding and the reason merely--not
simply through the intellectual faculties--but by the heart. What a melancholy sight it is in
families, to see children growing up like roots in dry ground. They have hold of nothing in
the home, and nothing in the home has hold upon them; there is nothing there that is
congenial, just because there is nothing genial--for the genial to early life will always be
congenial. Brethren, speaking of “the nurture and admonition of the Lord” mentioned in
the text, we may really call it the nurture and admonition which the Lord adopts. We do
not say that Paul had this thought when he wrote; we think he had another thought, which
we shall presently try to give you: but still the thought that we now suggest is inseparably
associated with that which we shall presently suggest--and therefore the remarks we have
been making appear to us to be quite to the point. And if you would bring up your children
aright, just see how the Lord brings you up, and imitate your heavenly Educator. But,
speaking textually, “the nurture and admonition of the Lord” is that which the Lord
directs--it is that which has the Lord for its subject, and the Lord for its object. “Ye
fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord,” means--Let your instruction and your training have the Lord’s
teaching, the Lord’s warnings, the Lord’s doctrines, for their means, and the Lord Himself
for their end. Let the Lord be the end of education; and let the Lord’s resources be the
means of education. And will you also observe that both parents are charged--for the word
“fathers” is used here, not in the specific sense, but in the generic sense: so that we may
read the passage, “Ye parents, train up your children in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord.” The day was, when the mother had nothing, or very little, to do directly with
instruction and education. But so soon as the position of the wife and the mother was
improved and righted, so soon as she stood in her proper place by the side of the husband
and father, then the father began to give her an undue share of the responsibility in
bringing up the children. And what do we see now? We see the mother in many cases doing
the whole work, and the father most grievously and sinfully neglecting it. This is not right.
In the first place there is something due to the mother, and to the wife; why should she take
a greater burden than she is able to bear? In the next place there is something due to the
children. Look, further, at the common danger to parents that is here recognized--the
abuse of power. The power of a parent is very great; and there is very little to check it;
even the State does little here, unless the abuse of power be extraordinary. The power of a
parent is, as we scarcely need remind you, almost unbounded. Do you see that the text
recognizes the danger of this power being abused? “Ye fathers, provoke not your children
to wrath.” Power, more than anything else, tempts to cruelty; it is an exceedingly
dangerous thing to possess--and no man in his senses will ever covet it; he will rather ask
God to give him very little of it, than desire to possess it. Those who have right views of
power will never be ambitious for it: but they will rather, like some of the old prophets
(like Jeremiah, for instance), tremble to take it even when God puts it into their hands. We
often see power make the most tender natures cruel, and the most gentle natures fierce.
How often have women been rendered cruel by an increase of authority, and an increase of
influence! There is danger to parents of caprice, and harshness; of giving commands, and
precepts, and prohibitions, for the sake of maintaining their position, and of upholding
their authority. And that is the point of the words, “Ye fathers, provoke not your children
to wrath, but bring them up.” The child is to be nourished; it is not to be driven--it is to be

23. cherished; it is not to be forced. The incitement and the impulsion which are likely to
distress and dishearten the child, are distinctly forbidden in the text. The force of the
contrast must be manifest to you in a moment. The bringing them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord, is placed in contrast with provoking them to wrath. The child’s
faults are to be corrected; but still, correction is to be so administered as not to sink the
child into despondency, or drive him to despair--as not to wean the heart of the child either
from father or from mother. And the education required is to be marked, as you will have
seen throughout the course of these remarks, by the following features. The Lord Jesus, the
Son of God, is to be its end. Children are to brought up for the Lord; for subjects in His
kingdom; that is to be the ultimate end. Christ’s teaching is to be the means of education.
The precepts and the prohibitions that are to regulate the general conduct are to be taken
from Christ’s lips, and are to be delivered to the child in Christ’s name. Christ’s resources
are to be the support of education. The parent is not supposed to be able himself to do this
work; but there are put at his disposal the unsearchable riches of Christ; and if he cannot
nourish his children with that which he has, he may nourish them by the wealth of his
Master and Lord. The education required is to have Christ’s example for its standard--the
parent is to: “bring up” as Christ brings up His followers. And it is to have Christ’s temper
for its spirit--the educator must be meek and lowly in heart. (S. Martin, D. D.)
The father’s charge
I. The duties which parents owe to their children.
1. Children are weak and helpless, and totally incapable of caring for themselves; and
hence arises the first duty which parents owe them--that of feeding and clothing them.
2. Children are ignorant, and without understanding; hence they should not only be fed,
but taught. Children should be taught--
(1) Early.
(2) Familiarly.
(3) Affectionately.
(4) Extensively.
3. Children are unruly, and therefore must; be governed.
4. Children are prone to evil, and therefore must be restrained.
II. The obligations which parents are under to practise those duties.
1. They should do it for their own sake. For the credit of their own characters.

24. 2. They should do it for their children’s sake.
3. They should do it for society’s sake.
4. They should do it for God’s sake.
Conclusion:
1. Learn how careful the apostles were to instruct their converts, not only in the matters of
faith, but rules of conduct descending even to the most particular duties of domestic life.
2. The practicability of a religious education.
3. How awful is the responsibility of parents. (Theological Sketchbook.)
The duty of Christian parents
I. The tie that binds the parent to his child. It is one of the most affecting of all ties. But see
the deep responsibility connected with it--to say nothing of the closeness, the tenderness,
and the unchangeableness of the tie--my bone, and my flesh, and my blood.
II. But observe the exhortation that is here given. At first sight it seems a sort of strange
exhortation to parents, “not to provoke their children to wrath.” Yet there is infinite love
and infinite wisdom in it; because of the very love that parents have for their children.
Observe, they are not exhorted to love their children; that is not the exhortation given to
them. It is supposed that they love their children; and yet, though they love their children,
they may “provoke them to wrath.” Because there may be, and often is, an exhibition of
love that does “provoke them to wrath.” Oh! beloved, a system of perpetual, endless,
unrequired, austere restriction does it; a perpetual restriction, in which there is a practical
forgetfulness of the parent’s duty to make his children happy. Beware of a system of
perpetually finding fault. This results from the other; if there be a system of perpetual
restriction in all things. But now let us come to that which is the precept before us. “But,”
says he, instead of doing so, “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
“Bring them up”--the same word occurs in the twenty-ninth verse of the former chapter; it
is the same as “nourish.” It implies all tenderness, all feeling with, all feeling for, all care,
all gentleness, and all love. “Bring them up”: just as you nourish your own flesh, caring for
its life, for its welfare, and its true well-being--so “bring them up.” “Bring them up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Here are two points for our consideration. Here is,
first of all, the bringing them up, instructing them in Divine truth; and then there is
educating them in Divine things. First of all, to instruct them in Divine truth. And this, too,
not in a dictatorial way, as a schoolmaster teaches his lessons; but as a father should teach
his children. A “good minister” is one who is “nourished up in the words of faith, and of
good doctrine.” ourished up, by little and little, just as he is able to bear it. Besides this,
beloved, there is in education--and there can hardly be, I should think, a greater mistake
than to suppose that instruction in the truth, and education, mean the same things--there is

25. in education the “bringing up” of a child in those principles in which he has been instructed
out of God’s Word. (J. H. Evans, M. A.)
Early religious instruction
When a lady once told Archbishop Sharpe that she would not communicate religious
instruction to her children until they had attained the years of discretion, the shrewd
prelate replied, “Madam, if you do not teach them, the devil will!” (J. Whitecross.)
Training children
Be very vigilant over thy child in the April of his understanding, lest the frost of May nip
his blossoms, While he is a tender twig, straighten him; whilst he is a new vessel, season
him; such as thou makest him, such commonly shalt thou find him. Let his first lesson be
obedience, and his second shall be what thou wilt. Give him education in good letters, to the
utmost of thy ability and his capacity. Season his youth with the love of his Creator, and
make the fear of his God the beginning of his knowledge. If he have an active spirit, rather
rectify than curb it; but reckon idleness among his chiefest faults. As his judgment ripens,
observe his inclination, and tender him a calling that shall not cross it. Forced marriages
and callings seldom prosper. Show him both the mow and the plough; and prepare him as
well for the danger of the skirmish, as possess him with the honour of the prize. (F.
Quarles.)
Correction of children
By directing a child’s attention to a fault, and thus giving it a local habitation and a name,
you may often fix it in him more firmly; when, by drawing his thoughts and affections to
other things, and seeking to foster an opposite grace, you would be much more likely to
subdue it. In like manner a jealous disposition is often strengthened when notice is taken of
it, while the endeavour to cherish a spirit of love would do much toward casting it out.
(Hare.)
The time for religious education
Seize the opportunity while it lasts, before the child is inured to evil, and the sinful habit is
formed. Act like the skilful physician, who tells you to apply for medical aid while the
disease is in its incipient state, and not to delay until the malady has seized upon the vital
organs, and is out of the reach of medicine. ow is the time to apply the moral medicine
(for there is balm in Gilead, end there is a Physician there), and let it be so applied as that it
work freely in these young hearts, for their healing and salvation. (Dr. R. ewton.)

26. Youth is the best season for communicating knowledge
If, for instance, you wish your son to learn a business, you send him to acquire it in the
period of his youth; if languages are to be mastered, you admit the advantage of beginning
them while young; and so it is with trades and professions. ow, men know this, and act
accordingly in matters relating to this life. And shall men of this world be “wiser in their
generation than the children of li
PULPIT, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. The first duty of
children is obedience, and "in the Lord," i.e. in Christ, this duty is confirmed. The ἐν
Κυρίῳ qualifies, not "parents," but "obey," and indicates that the element or life which
even children lead in fellowship with Christ makes such obedience more easy and more
graceful. The duty itself rests on the first principles of morality—"for this is right." It is an
obligation that rests on the very nature of things, and cannot change with the spirit of the
age; it is in no degree modified by what is called the spirit of independence in children.
2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the
first commandment with a promise—
BAR ES,"Honour thy father and mother - see Exo_20:12; compare notes on
Mat_15:4.
Which is the first commandment with promise - With a promise annexed to it.
The promise was, that their days should be long in the land which the Lord their God
would give them. It is not to be supposed that the observance of the four first
commandments would not be attended with a blessing, but no particular blessing is
promised. It is true, indeed, that there is a “general declaration” annexed to the second
commandment, that God would show mercy to thousands of generations of them that
loved him and that kept his commandments. But that is rather a declaration in regard to
all the commands of God than a promise annexed to that specific commandment. It is an
assurance that obedience to the law of God would be followed with blessings to a
thousand generations, and is given in view of the first and second commandments
together, because they related particularly to the honor that was due to God. But the
promise in the fifth commandment is a “special promise.” It does not relate to obedience
to God in general, but it is a particular assurance that they who honor their parents shall
have a particular blessing as the result of that obedience.

27. CLARKE, "Honor thy father - See the notes on Exo_20:12, etc., where this subject,
together with the promises and threatenings connected with it, is particularly
considered, and the reasons of the duty laid down at large.
GILL, "Honour thy father and mother,.... This explains who parents are, and points
at some branches of obedience due unto them; for they are not only to be loved, and to
be feared, and reverenced, their corrections to be submitted to, offences against them to
be acknowledged, their tempers to be bore with, and their infirmities covered; but they
are to be honoured in thought, word, and gesture; they are to be highly thought of and
esteemed; they are to be spoken to, and of, very honourably, and with great veneration
and to be behaved to in a very respectful manner; and they are to be relieved, assisted,
and maintained in comfortable way when aged, and in necessitous circumstances; and
which may be chiefly designed. So the Jews explain ‫,כבוד‬ "the honour" due to parents,
by, &c. ‫,מאכיל‬ "giving them food, drink", and "clothing", unloosing their shoes, and
leading them out and in (x). Compare with this 1Ti_5:4; See Gill on Mat_15:4;
which is the first commandment with promise: it is the fifth commandment in
the decalogue, but the first that has a promise annexed to it: it is reckoned by the Jews
(y) the weightiest of the weightiest commands of the law; and the reward bestowed on it,
is length of days, as follows.
JAMISO , "Here the authority of revealed law is added to that of natural law.
which is ... promise — The “promise” is not made the main motive to obedience,
but an incidental one. The main motive is, because it is God’s will (Deu_5:16, “Honor thy
father and mother, as the Lord thy God hath COMMANDED thee”); and that it is so
peculiarly, is shown by His accompanying it “with a promise.”
first — in the decalogue with a special promise. The promise in the second
commandment is a general one. Their duty is more expressly prescribed to children than
to parents; for love descends rather than ascends [Bengel]. This verse proves the law in
the Old Testament is not abolished.
rwp, "Which (hētis). “Which very” = “for such is.”
The first commandment with promise (entolē prōtē en epaggeliāi). En here
means “accompanied by” (Alford). But why “with a promise”? The second has a general
promise, but the fifth alone (Exo_20:12) has a specific promise. Perhaps that is the idea.
Some take it to be first because in the order of time it was taught first to children, but the
addition of en epaggeliāi here to prōtē points to the other view.
CALVI , "2.Which is the first commandment with promise. The promises annexed to the
commandments are intended to excite our hopes, and to impart a greater cheerfulness to
our obedience; and therefore Paul uses this as a kind of seasoning to render the submission,

28. which he enjoins on children, more pleasant and agreeable. He does not merely say, that
God has offered a reward to him who obeys his father and mother, but that such an offer is
peculiar to this commandment. If each of the commandments had its own promises, there
would have been no ground for the commendation bestowed in the present instance. But
this is the first commandment, Paul tells us, which God has been pleased, as it were, to seal
by a remarkable promise. There is some difficulty here; for the second commandment
likewise contains a promise,
“ am the Lord thy God, who shew mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep
my commandments.”
(Exo_20:5.)
But this is universal, applying indiscriminately to the whole law, and cannot be said to be
annexed to that commandment. Paul’ assertion still holds true, that no other
commandment but that which enjoins the obedience due by children to their parents is
distinguished by a promise.
PULPIT, "
Eph_6:2
Honor thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise). The
exhortation, based on natural morality (Eph_6:1), is here confirmed from the Decalogue.
"Honor" is higher than obedience (Eph_6:1); it is the regard due to those who, by Divine
appointment, are above us, and to whom our most respectful consideration is due. Father
and mother, though not quite on a footing of equality in their relation to each other (Eph_
5:22), are equal as objects of honor and obedience to their children. It is assumed here that
they are Christians; where one was a Christian and not the ether, the duty would be
modified. But in these succinct verses the apostle lays down general rules, and does not
complicate his exhortations with exceptions. The latter part of the verse contains a special
reason for the precept; it is the first commandment with a promise attached. But obviously
the apostle meant more than this; for as in ver. I he had affirmed the duty to be one of
natural religion, so here he means to add that it is also part of the revealed will of God—it
is one of the commandments; but still further, it is the first commandment with a promise.
It may, perhaps, be said that this is appealing, not to the higher, but to the lower part of
our nature—to our selfishness, not our goodness; but it is not an appeal to one part of our
nature to the exclusion of the rest; it is an appeal to our whole nature, for it is a part of our
nature to expect that in the end virtue will be rewarded and vice punished. In the case of
children it is difficult to look far forward; the rewards and the punishments, to be
influential, must be within the ken of vision, as it were; therefore it is quite suitable that, in
writing to them, the apostle should lay emphasis on a promise which had its special
fulfillment in the life that now is.
3 “so that it may go well with you and that you

29. may enjoy long life on the earth.”[a]
BAR ES,"That it may be well with thee - This is found in the fifth commandment
as recorded in Deu_5:16. The whole commandment as there recorded is, “Honour thy
father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be
prolonged, and that it may go well with thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee.” The meaning here is, that they would be more happy, useful, and virtuous if they
obeyed their parents than if they disobeyed them.
And thou mayest live long on the earth - In the commandment as recorded in
Exo_20:12, the promise is, “that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy
God giveth thee.” This referred to the promised land - the land of Canaan. The meaning
doubtless, is, that there would be a special providence, securing to those who were
obedient to parents length of days. Long life was regarded as a great blessing; and this
blessing was promised. The apostle here gives to the promise a more general form, and
says that obedience to parents was connected at all times with long life. We may remark
here:
(1) That long life is a blessing. It affords a longer space to prepare for eternity; it
enables a man to be more useful; and it furnishes a longer opportunity to study the
works of God on earth. It is not improper to desire it; and we should make use of all the
means in our power to lengthen out our days, and to preserve and protect our lives.
(2) It is still true that obedience to parents is conducive to length of life, and that those
who are most obedient in early life, other things being equal, have the best prospect of
living long. This occurs because:
(a) obedient children are saved from the vices and crimes which shorten life. No
parent will command his child to be a drunkard, a gambler, a spendthrift, a pirate, or a
murderer. But these vices and crimes, resulting in most cases from disobedience to
parents, all shorten life; and they who early commit them are certain of on early grave.
No child who disobeys a parent can have any “security” that he will not fall a victim to
such vices and crimes.
(b) Obedience to parents is connected with virtuous habits that are conducive to long
life. It will make a child industrious, temperate, sober; it will lead him to restrain and
govern his wild passions; it will lead him to form habits of self-government which will in
future life save him from the snares of vice and temptation.
(c) Many a life is lost early by disobeying a parent. A child disobeys a father and goes
into a dramshop; or he goes to sea; or he becomes the companion of the wicked - and he
may be wrecked at sea, or his character on land may be wrecked forever. Of disobedient
children there is perhaps not one in a hundred that ever reaches an honored old age.
(d) We may still believe that God, in his providence, will watch over those who are
obedient to a father and mother. If he regards a falling sparrow Mat_10:29, he will not
be unmindful of an obedient child; if he numbers the hairs of the head Mat_10:30, he
will not be regardless of the little boy that honors him by obeying a father and mother.
GILL, "That it may be well with thee,.... In this world, and that which is to come;
see Deu_5:16. The Jews (z) say,

30. "there are four things, which if a man does, he eats the fruit of them in this world, and
the capital part remains for him in the world to come; and they are these, ‫ואם‬ ‫אב‬ ‫;כיבוד‬
"honouring father and mother", doing acts of beneficence, making peace between a man
and his neighbour, and learning of the law, which answers to them all.''
And thou mayest live long on the earth: length of days is in itself a blessing; and
though men's days cannot be lengthened beyond God's purpose and decree; and though
obedient children do not always live long; yet disobedience to parents often brings the
judgments of God on children, so that they die not a common death, 2Sa_18:14. On
those words in Deu_32:47, the Jews (a) have this paraphrase;
"because it is your life, ‫ואם‬ ‫אב‬ ‫כיבוד‬ ‫,זה‬ "this is honouring father and mother; and through
this thing ye shall prolong your days", this is beneficence.''
It may be observed, that the words in this promissory part are not the same as in the
decalogue, where they stand thus, "that thy days may be long upon the land which the
Lord thy God giveth thee", Exo_20:12, referring to the land of Canaan; for the law in the
form of it, in which it was delivered by Moses, only concerned the people of the Jews;
wherefore to suit this law, and the promise of it, to others, the apostle alters the language
of it.
JAMISO , "long on the earth — In Exo_20:12, “long upon the land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee,” which Paul adapts to Gospel times, by taking away the local and
limited reference peculiar to the Jews in Canaan. The godly are equally blessed in every
land, as the Jews were in the land which God gave them. This promise is always fulfilled,
either literally, or by the substitution of a higher blessing, namely, one spiritual and
eternal (Job_5:26; Pro_10:27). The substance and essence of the law are eternally in
force: its accidents alone (applying to Israel of old) are abolished (Rom_6:15).
RWP, "That it may be well with thee (hina eu soi genētai). From Exo_20:12, “that
it may happen to thee well.”
And thou mayest live long on the earth (kai esēi makrochronios epi tēs gēs). Here
esēi (second person singular future middle) takes the place of genēi in the lxx (second
person singular second aorist middle subjunctive). Makrochronios is a late and rare
compound adjective, here only in N.T. (from lxx, Ex 20:12).
CALVI , "3.That it may be well with thee. The promise is — a long life; from which we
are led to understand that the present life is not to be overlooked among the gifts of God.
On this and other kindred subjects I must refer my reader to the Institutes of the Christian
Religion; (168) satisfying myself at present with saying, in a few words, that the reward
promised to the obedience of children is highly appropriate. Those who shew kindness to
their parents from whom they derived life, are assured by God, that in this life it will be
well with them.

31. And that thou mayest live long on the earth. Moses expressly mentions the land of Canaan,
“ thy days may be long upon the land which
the Lord thy God giveth thee.” (Exo_20:12.)
Beyond this the Jews could not conceive of any life more happy or desirable. But as the
same divine blessing is extended to the whole world, Paul has properly left out the mention
of a place, the peculiar distinction of which lasted only till the coming of Christ.
PULPIT, "That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. A free
rendering (after the manner of the apostle) of the reason annexed to the fifth
commandment, "that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee." While the Decalogue was an expression of the will of God on matters of moral and
indefeasible obligation, it had a local Hebrew element here and there. In the present ease
the apostle drops what is specially Hebrew, adapting the promise in spirit to a wider area.
The special promise of long life in the land of Canaan is translated into a general promise
of prosperity and longevity. As before, we must not suppose that the apostle excludes
exceptions. The promise is not for each individual; many good and obedient children do not
live long. But the general tendency of obedience to parents is towards the results specified.
Where obedience to parents is found, there is usually found along with it temperance, self-
control, industry, regular ways of life, and other habits that tend towards prosperity and
longevity. In Christian families there is commonly affection, unity, prayer, mutual
helpfulness, reliance on God, trust in Christ, and all that makes life sweet and wholesome.
The spirit of the promise is realized in such ways, and it may be likewise in special mercies
vouchsafed to each family.
4 Fathers,[b] do not exasperate your children;
instead, bring them up in the training and
instruction of the Lord.
BAR ES,"And ye fathers - A command addressed particularly to “fathers,” because
they are at the head of the family, and its government is especially committed to them.
The object of the apostle here is, to show parents that their commands should be such
that they can be easily obeyed, or such as are entirely reasonable and proper. If children
are required to “obey,” it is but reasonable that the commands of the parent should be
such that they can be obeyed, or such that the child shall not be discouraged in his
attempt to obey. This statement is in accordance with what he had said Eph_5:22-25 of

32. the relation of husband and wife. It was the duty of the wife to obey - but it was the
corresponding duty of the husband to manifest such a character that it would be
pleasant to yield obedience - so to love her, that his known wish would be law to her. In
like manner it is the duty of children to obey a parent; but it is the duty of a parent to
exhibit such a character, and to maintain such a government, that it would be proper for
the child to obey; to command nothing that is unreasonable or improper, but to train up
his children in the ways of virtue and pure religion.
Provoke not your children to wrath - That is, by unreasonable commands; by
needless severity; by the manifestation of anger. So govern them, and so punish them - if
punishment is necessary - that they shall not lose their confidence in you, but shall love
you. The apostle here has hit on the very danger to which parents are most exposed in
the government of their children. It is that of souring their temper; of making them feel
that the parent is under the influence of anger, and that it is right for them to be so too.
This is done:
(1) When the commands of a parent are unreasonable and severe. The spirit of a child
then becomes irritated, and he is “discouraged;” Col_3:21.
(2) When a parent is evidently “excited” when he punishes a child. The child then
feels:
(a) That if his “father” is angry, it is not wrong for him to be angry; and,
(b) The very fact of anger in a parent kindles anger in his bosom - just as it does
when two men are contending.
If he submits in the case, it is only because the parent is the “strongest,” not because
he is “right,” and the child cherishes “anger,” while he yields to power. There is no
principle of parental government more important than that a father should command
his own temper when he inflicts punishment. He should punish a child not because he is
“angry,” but because it is “right;” not because it has become a matter of “personal
contest,” but because God requires that he should do it, and the welfare of the child
demands it. The moment when a child seem that a parent punishes him under the
influence of anger, that moment the child will be likely to be angry too - and his anger
will be as proper as that of the parent. And yet, how often is punishment inflicted in this
manner! And how often does the child feel that the parent punished him simply because
he was the “strongest,” not because it was “right;” and how often is the mind of a child
left with a strong conviction that wrong has been done him by the punishment which he
has received, rather than with repentance for the wrong that he has himself done.
But bring them up - Place them under such discipline and instruction that they
shall become acquainted with the Lord.
In the nurture - ᅚν παιδεία en paideia. The word used here means “training of a
child;” hence education, instruction, discipline. Here it means that they are to train up
their children in such a manner as the Lord approves; that is, they are to educate them
for virtue and religion.
And admonition - The word used here - νουθεσία nouthesia means literally, “a
putting in mind,” then warning, admonition, instruction. The sense here is, that they
were to put them in mind of the Lord - of his existence, perfections, law, and claims on
their hearts and lives. This command is positive, and is in accordance with all the
requirements of the Bible on the subject. No one can doubt that the Bible enjoins on
parents the duty of endeavoring to train up their children in the ways of religion, and of
making it the grand purpose of this life to prepare them for heaven. It has been often
objected that children should be left on religious subjects to form their own opinions

33. when they are able to judge for themselves. Infidels and irreligious people always oppose
or neglect the duty here enjoined; and the plea commonly is, that to teach religion to
children is to make them prejudiced; to destroy their independence of mind; and to
prevent their judging as impartially on so important a subject as they ought to. In reply
to this, and in defense of the requirements of the Bible on the subject, we may remark:
(1) That to suffer a child to grow up without any instruction in religion, is about the
same as to suffer a garden to lie without any culture. Such a garden would soon be
overrun with weeds, and briars, and thorns - but not sooner, or more certainly, than the
mind of a child would.
(2) People do instruct their children in a great many things, and why should they not
in religion? They teach them how to behave in company; the art of farming; the way to
make or use tools; how to make money; how to avoid the arts of the cunning seducer.
But why should it not be said that all this tends to destroy their independence, and to
make them prejudiced? Why not leave their minds open and free, and suffer them to
form their own judgments about farming and the mechanic arts when their minds are
matured?
(3) People do inculcate their own sentiments in religion. An infidel is not usually
“very” anxious to conceal his views from his children. People teach by example; by
incidental remarks; by the “neglect” of that which they regard as of no value. A man who
does not pray, is teaching his children not to pray; he who neglects the public worship of
God, is teaching his children to neglect it; he who does not read the Bible, is teaching his
children not to read it. Such is the constitution of things, that it is impossible for a
parent not to inculcate his own religious views on his children. Since this is so, all that
the Bible requires is, that his instructions should be right.
(4) To inculcate the truths of religion is not to make the mind narrow, prejudiced, and
indisposed to perceive the truth. Religion makes the mind candid, conscientious, open to
conviction, ready to follow the truth. Superstition, bigotry, infidelity, and “all” error and
falsehood, make the mind narrow and prejudiced.
(5) If a man does not teach his children truth, others will teach them “error.” The
young sceptic that the child meets in the street; the artful infidel; the hater of God; the
unprincipled stranger; “will” teach the child. But is it not better for a parent to teach his
child the “truth” than for a stranger to teach him error?
(6) Religion is the most important of all subjects, and “therefore” it is of most
importance that children on that subject should he taught truth. Of whom can God so
properly require this as of a parent? If it be asked “in what way” a parent is to bring up
his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, I answer:
1. By directly inculcating the doctrines and duties of religion - just as he does
anything else that he regards as of value.
2. By placing them in the Sunday school, where he may have a guarantee that they
will be taught the truth.
3. By “conducting” them - not merely “sending” them - to the sanctuary, that they
may be taught in the house of God.
4. By example - all teaching being valueless without that.
5. By prayer for the divine aid in his efforts, and for the salvation of their souls. These
duties are plain, simple, easy to be performed, and are such as a man “knows” he
ought to perform. If neglected, and the soul of the child be lost, a parent has a
most fearful account to render to God.

34. CLARKE, "Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath - Avoid all severity;
this will hurt your own souls, and do them no good; on the contrary, if punished with
severity or cruelty, they will be only hardened and made desperate in their sins. Cruel
parents generally have bad children. He who corrects his children according to God and
reason will feel every blow on his own heart more sensibly than his child feels it on his
body. Parents are called to correct; not to punish, their children. Those who punish them
do it from a principle of revenge; those who correct them do it from a principle of
affectionate concern.
Bring them up, etc - Εκτρεφετε αυτα εν παιδειᇮ και νουθεσια Κυριου· literally,
Nourish them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. The mind is to be nourished
with wholesome discipline and instruction, as the body is with proper food. Παιδεια,
discipline, may refer to all that knowledge which is proper for children, including
elementary principles and rules for behavior, etc. Νουθεσια, instruction, may imply
whatever is necessary to form the mind; to touch, regulate, and purify the passions; and
necessarily includes the whole of religion. Both these should be administered in the Lord
- according to his will and word, and in reference to his eternal glory. All the important
lessons and doctrines being derived from his revelation, therefore they are called the
discipline and instruction of the Lord.
GILL, "And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath,.... Neither by words;
by unjust and, unreasonable commands; by contumelious and reproachful language; by
frequent and public chidings, and by indiscreet and passionate expressions: nor by
deeds; preferring one to another; by denying them the necessaries of life; by not allowing
them proper recreation; by severe and cruel blows, and inhuman usage; by not giving
them suitable education; by an improper disposal of them in marriage; and by profusely
spending their estates, and leaving nothing to them: not but that parents may, and ought
to correct and rebuke their children; nor are they accountable to them for their conduct;
yet they should take care not to provoke them to wrath, because this alienates their
minds from them, and renders their instructions and corrections useless, and puts them
upon sinful practices; wrath lets in Satan, and leads to sin against God; and indeed it is
difficult in the best of men to be angry and not sin; see Col_3:21. Fathers are particularly
mentioned, they being the heads of families, and are apt to be too severe, as mothers too
indulgent.
But bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; instructing
them in the knowledge of divine things, setting them good examples, taking care to
prevent their falling into bad company, praying with them, and for them, bringing them
into the house of God, under the means of grace, to attend public worship; all which,
under a divine blessing, may be very useful to them; the example of Abraham is worthy
of imitation, Gen_18:19, and the advice of the wise man deserves attention, Pro_22:6.
HE RY, "II. The duty of parents: And you fathers, Eph_6:4. Or, you parents, 1. “Do
not provoke your children to wrath. Though God has given you power, you must not
abuse that power, remembering that your children are, in a particular manner, pieces of
yourselves, and therefore ought to be governed with great tenderness and love. Be not
impatient with them, use no unreasonable severities and lay no rigid injunctions upon
them. When you caution them, when you counsel them, when you reprove them, do it in

35. such a manner as not to provoke them to wrath. In all such cases deal prudently and
wisely with them, endeavouring to convince their judgments and to work upon their
reason.” 2. “Bring them up well, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, in the
discipline of proper and of compassionate correction, and in the knowledge of that duty
which God requires of them and by which they may become better acquainted with him.
Give them a good education.” It is the great duty of parents to be careful in the education
of their children: “Not only bring them up, as the brutes do, taking care to provide for
them; but bring them up in nurture and admonition, in such a manner as is suitable to
their reasonable natures. Nay, not only bring them up as men, in nurture and
admonition, but as Christians, in the admonition of the Lord. Let them have a religious
education. Instruct them to fear sinning; and inform them of, and excite them to, the
whole of their duty towards God.”
JAMISO , "fathers — including mothers; the fathers are specified as being the
fountains of domestic authority. Fathers are more prone to passion in relation to their
children than mothers, whose fault is rather over-indulgence.
provoke not — irritate not, by vexatious commands, unreasonable blame, and
uncertain temper [Alford]. Col_3:21, “lest they be discouraged.”
nurture — Greek, “discipline,” namely, training by chastening in act where needed
(Job_5:17; Heb_12:7).
admonition — training by words (Deu_6:7; “catechise,” Pro_22:6, Margin),
whether of encouragement, or remonstrance, or reproof, according as is required
[Trench]. Contrast 1Sa_3:13, Margin.
of the Lord — such as the Lord approves, and by His Spirit dictates.
RWP, "Provoke not to anger (mē parorgizete). Rare compound, both N.T.
examples (here and Rom_10:19) are quotations from the lxx. The active, as here, has a
causative sense. Parallel in sense with mē erethizete in Col_3:21. Paul here touches the
common sin of fathers.
In the chastening and admonition of the Lord (en paideiāi kai nouthesiāi tou
kuriou). En is the sphere in which it all takes place. There are only three examples in the
N.T. of paideia, old Greek for training a pais (boy or girl) and so for the general education
and culture of the child. Both papyri and inscriptions give examples of this original and
wider sense (Moulton and Milligan, Vocabulary). It is possible, as Thayer gives it, that
this is the meaning here in Eph_6:4. In 2Ti_3:16 adults are included also in the use. In
Heb_12:5, Heb_12:7, Heb_12:11 the narrower sense of “chastening” appears which some
argue for here. At any rate nouthesia (from nous, tithēmi), common from Aristophanes on,
does have the idea of correction. In N.T. only here and 1Co_10:11; Tit_3:10.
CALVI , "4.And, ye fathers. Parents, on the other hand, are exhorted not to irritate their
children by unreasonable severity. This would excite hatred, and would lead them to throw
off the yoke altogether. Accordingly, in writing to the Colossians, he adds, “ they be
discouraged.” (Col_3:21.) Kind and liberal treatment has rather a tendency to cherish

36. reverence for their parents, and to increase the cheerfulness and activity of their obedience,
while a harsh and unkind manner rouses them to obstinacy, and destroys the natural
affections. But Paul goes on to say, “ them be fondly cherished;” for the Greek word, (
ἐκτρέφετε) which is translated bring up, unquestionably conveys the idea of gentleness and
forbearance. To guard them, however, against the opposite and frequent evil of excessive
indulgence, he again draws the rein which he had slackened, and adds, in the instruction
and reproof of the Lord. It is not the will of God that parents, in the exercise of kindness,
shall spare and corrupt their children. Let their conduct towards their children be at once
mild and considerate, so as to guide them in the fear of the Lord, and correct them also
when they go astray. That age is so apt to become wanton, that it requires frequent
admonition and restraint.
BURKITT, "Here the duty of both parents to their children is laid down.
Where note, 1. The apostle's dehortation, or negative precept, Provoke not your children to
wrath, that is, Be not too severe towards them, abuse not your parental power over them,
provoke them not, nor embitter their spirits against you; by denying them what is
convenient for them, by inveighing with bitter words against them, by unjust,
unseasonable, or immoderate correction of them. To provoke or stir up any to sin,
especially young ones, and particularly our children, renders us guilty before the Lord of
all that sin which they have committed through our provocation: Fathers, provoke not your
children to wrath.
ote, 2. St. Paul's positive injunction given unto parents, Bring them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord.
Where, 1. He directs to their education, Bring them up.
2. To join nurture and admonition with their education, Bring them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord; that is, give them good instruction, withhold not early correction,
set before them good example, begin with them betimes, and suffer not the devil, the world,
and the flesh, to bespeak them for their service before you engage them for God's; and
remember, that there is a tie of nature, a tie of interest, and a tie of religion, which parents
are under thus to do: Provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the
nurture, & c.
ISBET, "
PARE TAL OBLIGATIO
‘Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord.’
Eph_6:4
In the struggles which take place over what is to be the character of the training our
children receive in the school, we are apt to overlook the character of the training they
ought to receive in the home. Remember that if the definite religious training in the home
be wanting, nothing—absolutely nothing—can really take its place. It is our duty to guard
our schools, and—please God—we will never surrender our right in our own Church

37. schools to teach our own children the Church’s own faith; but it is no less our duty to
preserve the religious influence of the home.
The Apostle lays down the root principle for Christian parents: they are to bring up their
children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. This may be carried out in different
ways. Let us name three—
I. Parental example.—First and foremost, it is the parent’s own example which tells in the
religious education of the young. The father who would bring up his children in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord must see to it that he is himself walking in the ways of the
Lord.
II. Parental teaching.—It is the father’s place to teach his children religion. othing is
clearer in the Old Testament than the strength and weight of this obligation. But how does
it stand with us to-day? Do fathers gather their children round them on Sundays, if on no
other day, and instruct them in the ways of the Lord? Do they encourage their children to
open out the thoughts of their hearts to them on religious questions? We fear that religion
does not hold the place in the home that it once did, and, too often, it is the father who is at
fault. In addition to gathering the children together for family worship, the father should
take care that he gathers them together for definite religious teaching.
III. Parental discipline.—It is the father’s duty to reprove and chasten. The case of Eli
should remind us of the terrible responsibility a man incurs who, knowing of the wrong-
doing of his children, reproves them not.
PULPIT, "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath. "Fathers" is inclusive of
mothers, to whom the practical administration of the household and training of the
children so much belong. The first counsel on the subject is negative, and probably has
respect to a common pagan habit, against which Christians needed to be put on their
guard. Irritation of children was common, through loss of temper and violence in
reproving them, through capricious and unsteady treatment and unreasonable commands;
but more especially (what is still so common) by the parents being violently angry when the
children, inconsiderately, perhaps, disturbed or annoyed them, rather than when they
deliberately did wrong. All this the apostle deprecates. But bring them up in the training
and admonition of the Lord. The words παιδεία and νουθεσία are not easily defined in this
connection; the former is thought to denote the discipline of training, with its appropriate
rewards and punishments; the latter, instruction. Both are to be "of the Lord," such as he
inspires and approves. Instilling sound principles of life, training to good habits, cautioning
and protecting against moral dangers, encouraging prayer, Bible-reading, church-going,
sabbath-keeping; taking pains to let them have good associates, and especially dealing with
them prayerfully and earnestly, in order that they may accept Christ as their Savior and
follow him,—are among the matters included in this counsel.

38. 5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect
and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you
would obey Christ.
BAR ES,"Servants - οᅻ δοሞλοι hoi douloi. The word used here denotes one who is
bound to render service to another, whether that service be free or voluntary, and may
denote, therefore, either a slave, or one who binds himself to render service to another.
It is often used in these senses in the New Testament, just as it is elsewhere. It cannot be
demonstrated that the word here necessarily means “slaves;” though, if slavery existed
among those to whom this Epistle was written - as there can be little doubt that it did - it
is a word which would apply to those in this condition; compare notes on 1Co_7:21;
Gal_3:28, note. On the general subject of slavery, and the Scripture doctrine in regard to
it; see notes on Isa_58:6. Whether the persons here referred to were slaves, or were
those who had bound themselves to render a voluntary servitude, the directions here
given were equally appropriate. It was not the design of the Christian religion to produce
a rude sundering of the ties which bind man to man, but to teach all to perform their
duties aright in the relations in which Christianity found them, and gradually to modify
the customs of society, and to produce ultimately the universal prevalence of that which
is right.
Be obedient to them - This is the uniform direction in the New Testament; see 1Pe_
2:18; 1Ti_6:1-3; notes 1Co_7:21. The idea is that they were to show in that relation the
excellence of the religion which they professed. If they could be made free, they were to
prefer that condition to a state of bondage 1Co_7:21, but while the relation remained,
they were to be kind, gentle, and obedient, as became Christians. In the parallel place in
Colossians Col_3:22, it is said that they were to obey their masters “in all things.” But
evidently this is to be understood with the limitations implied in the case of wives and
children (see the notes on Eph_5:24; Eph_6:1, note), and a master would have no right
to command that which was morally wrong.
According to the flesh - This is designed, evidently, to limit the obligation to
obedience. The meaning is, that they had control over “the body, the flesh.” They had the
power to command the service which the body could render; but they were not lords of
the spirit. The soul acknowledged God as its Lord, and to the Lord they were to be
subject in a higher sense than to their masters.
With fear and trembling - With reverence and with a dread of offending them.
They have authority and power over you, and you should be afraid to incur their
displeasure. Whatever might be true about the propriety of slavery, and whatever might
be the duty of the master about setting the slave free, it would be more to the honor of
religion for the servant to perform his task with a willing mind than to be contumacious
and rebellions. He could do more for the honor of religion by patiently submitting to
even what he felt to be wrong, than by being punished for what would be regarded as
rebellion. It may be added here, that it was presumed that servants then could read.
These directions were addressed to them, not to their masters. Of what use would be
directions like these addressed to American slaves - scarce any of whom can read?

39. In singleness of your heart - With a simple, sincere desire to do what ought to be
done.
As unto Christ - Feeling that by rendering proper service to your masters, you are in
fact serving the Lord, and that you are doing that which will be well-pleasing to him; see
the notes on 1Co_7:22. Fidelity, in whatever situation we may be in life, is acceptable
service to the Lord. A Christian may as acceptably serve the Lord Jesus in the condition
of a servant, as if he were a minister of the gospel, or a king on a throne. Besides, it will
greatly lighten the burdens of such a situation, and make the toils of an humble
condition easy, to remember that we are then “serving the Lord.”
CLARKE, "Servants, be obedient - Though δουλος frequently signifies a slave or
bondman, yet it often implies a servant in general, or any one bound to another, either
for a limited time, or for life. Even a slave, if a Christian, was bound to serve him
faithfully by whose money he was bought, howsoever illegal that traffic may be
considered. In heathen countries slavery was in some sort excusable; among Christians
it is an enormity and a crime for which perdition has scarcely an adequate state of
punishment.
According to the flesh - Your masters in secular things; for they have no authority
over your religion, nor over your souls.
With fear and trembling - Because the law gives them a power to punish you for
every act of disobedience.
In singleness of your heart - Not merely through fear of punishment, but from a
principle of uprightness, serving them as you would serve Christ.
GILL, "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters,.... The apostle
enlarges on the duty of servants, as well as frequently inculcates it in his epistles;
because, generally speaking, they were more rude and ignorant, and less pains were
taken with them to instruct them; they were apt to be impatient and weary of the yoke;
and scandal was like to arise from servants in the first ages of Christianity through some
libertines, and the licentiousness of the false teachers, who insinuated, that servitude
was inconsistent with Christian freedom: the persons exhorted are "servants", bond
servants, and hired servants; who are to be subject to, and obey their "masters", of each
sex, whether male or female, of every condition, whether poor or rich, believers or
unbelievers, good or bad humoured, gentle or froward: such as are their masters
according to the flesh; or "carnal masters", as the Vulgate Latin version renders it;
even though they are unregenerate men, and are in a state of nature, and only mind the
things of the flesh, yet they are to be obeyed in their lawful commands; or "in things
pertaining to the flesh", as the Arabic version renders it; in things temporal, which
concern the body, and this temporal life; not in things spiritual and religious, or that
belong to conscience, and which are contrary to them: or "according to your flesh", as
the Ethiopic version renders it; signifying that they are only masters over their bodies,
not their consciences; and that their power only extends to corporeal things, and can last
no longer than while they are in the flesh; see Job_3:19; and obedience is to be yielded to
them
with fear and trembling; with great humility and respect, with reverence of them,

40. and giving honour to them, with carefulness not to offend them, with submission to
their reproofs and corrections, and with fear of punishment; but more especially with
the fear of God, being by that influenced and constrained to obedience;
in singleness of heart; with readiness and cheerfulness, without hypocrisy and
dissimulation, and with all integrity and faithfulness:
as unto Christ; it being agreeable to his will, and what makes for his glory, and serves
to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
HE RY, 5-8, "III. The duty of servants. This also is summed up in one word, which is,
obedience. He is largest on this article, as knowing there was the greatest need of it.
These servants were generally slaves. Civil servitude is not inconsistent with Christian
liberty. Those may be the Lord's freemen who are slaves to men. “Your masters
according to the flesh (Eph_6:5), that is, who have the command of your bodies, but not
of your souls and consciences: God alone has dominion over these.” Now, with respect to
servants, he exhorts, 1. That they obey with fear and trembling. They are to reverence
those who are over them, fearing to displease them, and trembling lest they should justly
incur their anger and indignation. 2. That they be sincere in their obedience: In
singleness of heart; not pretending obedience when they design disobedience, but
serving them with faithfulness. 3. They should have an eye to Jesus Christ in all the
service that they perform to their masters (Eph_6:5-7), doing service as to the Lord, and
not to men; that is, not to men only or principally. When servants, in the discharge of the
duty of their places, have an eye to Christ, this puts an honour upon their obedience, and
an acceptableness into it. Service done to their earthly masters, with an eye to him,
becomes acceptable service to him also. To have an eye to Christ is to remember that he
sees them and is ever present with them, and that his authority obliges them to a faithful
and conscientious discharge of the duties of their station. 4. They must not serve their
masters with eye-service (Eph_6:6) - that is, only when their master's eye is upon them;
but they must be as conscientious in the discharge of their duty, when they are absent
and out of the way, because then their Master in heaven beholds them: and therefore
they must not act as men-pleasers - as though they had no regard to the pleasing of God,
and approving themselves to him, if they can impose upon their masters. Observe, A
steady regard to the Lord Jesus Christ will make men faithful and sincere in every
station of life. 5. What they do they must do cheerfully: Doing the will of God from the
heart, serving their masters as God wills they should, not grudgingly, nor by constraint,
but from a principle of love to them and their concerns. This is doing it with good-will
(Eph_6:7), which will make their service easy to themselves, pleasing to their masters,
and acceptable to the Lord Christ. There should be good-will to their masters, good-will
to the families they are in; and especially a readiness to do their duty to God. Observe,
Service, performed with conscience, and from a regard to God, though it be to
unrighteous masters, will be accounted by Christ as service done to himself. 6. Let
faithful servants trust God for their wages, while they do their duty in his fear: Knowing
that whatsoever good thing (Eph_6:8), how poor and mean soever it may be,
considered in itself, - the same shall he receive of the Lord, that is, by a metonymy, the
reward of the same. Though his master on earth should neglect or abuse him, instead of
rewarding him, he shall certainly be rewarded by the Lord Christ, whether he be bond or
free, whether he be a poor bond-servant or a freeman or master. Christ regards not these
differences of men at present; nor will he in the great and final judgment. You think, “A
prince, or a magistrate, or a minister, that does his duty here, will be sure to receive his
reward in heaven: but what capacity am I, a poor servant, in, of recommending myself to

41. the favour of God.” Why, God will as certainly reward thee for the meanest drudgery that
is done from a sense of duty and with an eye to himself. And what can be said more
proper either to engage or to encourage servants to their duty?
JAMISO , "Servants — literally, “slaves.”
masters according to the flesh — in contrast to your true and heavenly Master
(Eph_6:4). A consolatory him that the mastership to which they were subject, was but
for a time [Chrysostom]; and that their real liberty was still their own (1Co_7:22).
fear and trembling — not slavish terror, but (See on 1Co_2:3; 2Co_7:15) an anxious
eagerness to do your duty, and a fear of displeasing, as great as is produced in the
ordinary slave by “threatenings” (Eph_6:9).
singleness — without double-mindedness, or “eye service” (Eph_6:6), which seeks to
please outwardly, without the sincere desire to make the master’s interest at all times the
first consideration (1Ch_29:17; Mat_6:22, Mat_6:23; Luk_11:34). “Simplicity.”
CALVI , "5.Servants, be obedient. His exhortation to servants is so much the more
earnest, on account of the hardship and bitterness of their condition, which renders it more
difficult to be endured. And he does not speak merely of outward obedience, but says more
about fear willingly rendered; for it is a very rare occurrence to find one who willingly
yields himself to the control of another. The servants ( δοῦλοι) whom he immediately
addresses were not hired servants, like those of the present day, but slaves, such as were in
ancient times, whose slavery was perpetual, unless, through the favor of their masters, they
obtained freedom, — whom their masters bought with money, that they might impose upon
them the most degrading employments, and might, with the full protection of the law,
exercise over them the power of life and death. To such he says, obey your masters, lest
they should vainly imagine that carnal freedom had been procured for them by the gospel.
But as some of the worst men were compelled by the dread of punishment, he distinguishes
between Christian and ungodly servants, by the feelings which they cherished.With fear
and trembling; that is, with the careful respect which springs from an honest purpose. It
can hardly be expected, however, that so much deference will be paid to a mere man, unless
a higher authority shall enforce the obligation; and therefore he adds,as doing the will of
God. (Ver. 6.) Hence it follows, that it is not enough if their obedience satisfy the eyes of
men; for God requires truth and sincerity of heart. When they serve their masters
faithfully, they obey God. As if he had said, “ not suppose that by the judgment of men you
were thrown into slavery. It is God who has laid upon you this burden, who has placed you
in the power of your masters. He who conscientiously endeavors to render what he owes to
his master, performs his duty not to man only, but to God.”
BURKITT, "Observe here, 1. The general duty incumbent upon servants: that of obedience
to their masters, according to the flesh, that is, in temporal things only; obey your earthly
masters in things pertaining to the world, leaving the soul and conscience to God only, who
alone is the sovereign Lord of it. Christian liberty is not inconsistent with evil subjection;
such as are God's freemen may be servants to men, though not the servants of men; and, as
servants, obedience is their duty in all lawful things.
Observe, 2. The qualifications and properties of this obedience, which is due and payable
from servants to masters.

42. 1. It must be with fear and trembling, that is, with fear of displeasing them; yet they must
not act barely from fear, but out of love, both to God and their master.
2. It must be in singleness of heart, in great simplicity and sincerity of spirit, without guile,
hypocrisy, and dissimulation.
3. They must eye their great Master in heaven, in all the services they perform to their
masters here on earth, not with eye-service.
But how should servants have an eye to their great Master in heaven?
Ans. They should have an eye to the presence of their great Master, to the glory of their
great Master, to the command of their great Master, and to the assistance and acceptance
of their Master in heaven.
Learn hence, That our eyeing of God in all the services we perform, and making him the
judge and spectator of all our actions, will be a singular help to make us sincere and single-
hearted in all we do, and in all we design.
Again, 4. Their service must be performed with good-will, that is, with cheerfulness and
delight, not grudgingly, unpleasantly, or from fear of punishment only; eyeing the Lord
Christ in all that service they do for men.
Learn hence, That the meanest and basest services and employments, in the place and
station which God sets us in, being done with right ends, is service done to Christ, and as
such shall be accepted and rewarded by him: With good-will doing service, as to the Lord,
and not to men.
Observe lastly, The reward which the Holy Ghost propounds, as an encouragement to poor
servants in their obedience to their masters, and that is, the assurance of a reward from
God, whatever disappointment they meet with from men; knowing that whatever a man
doth out of obedience to the Lord, a reward of the same shall he receive, whether he be a
poor bond-servant, or a free man and master.
ote here, How the basest drudgery of servants, when performed in obedience to God, and
with an eye at his glory, is called here a good work, and shall not fail of a good reward.
Whatsoever good thing any man doeth: when a poor servant scours a ditch, or does the
meanest drudgery, God will reward him for it; for he looketh not at the beauty, splendour,
and greatness, of the work but at the integrity and honesty of the workman; the mean and
outwardly base works of poor servants, when honest and sincere, shall find acceptance with
God, and be rewarded by him, as well as the more splendid, honourable, and expensive
works of their rich masters: the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or
free.
BI, "
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and
trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ.

43. A sermon to servants
Understand your calling as the servants of Christ. You are His servants before you are any
earthly master’s, and every work you do, every duty you fulfil, every command you obey, is
really obedience to Him. He says, do this and this, by the lips of the earthly master; do it
bravely, cheerfully, thoroughly; it is done for Me, not for him. All that is menial in that
case vanishes out of your daffy tasks. Behind the human master there is a higher Master;
there is no humiliation even in bondage to Him.
I. Be faithful for the sake of Christ your Lord. I mean, be loyal to the trust reposed in you;
repay it by strict fidelity, incorruptible honesty, and steady devotion to those interests of
the household committed to your charge.
II. Be diligent. Give to your service the energy that you would give to Christ; put it on the
highest and firmest ground. Give your best, because it is the Lord’s work you are doing; it
is the Lord’s “Well done” you are winning; it is the Lord’s wage you will receive at last.
III. Be patient. Many commands may seem unreasonable; many tempers you have to do
with, irritable and arrogant. Take it up into a higher region. See how far the thought of
Christ will enable you to do and bear. Be always more ready to obey than to question, to
work than to wrangle, to submit than to rebel; and you will do well. And do not be always
thinking that you can better yourself; be patient, and “rather bear the ills you have, than
fly to others that you know not of.”
IV. Be cheerful. othing makes such sunlight on earth as cheerful, joyful fulfilment of
duty. We have never mastered the lesson of life till we can sing to our tasks, and smile as we
sing. Make it your study daily to wear a cheerful aspect as you go about your duty, and to
make your life a willing, joyful service to your heavenly King.
V. Be sure that your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. o work done for Christ ever
fails of a blessing. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)
Respective duties of masters and servants
I. Let us consider the duties of servants, as they are represented to us in Scripture.

44. 1. The first point, then, which is enforced in every passage relating to this subject, is
obedience (Col_3:22; Tit_2:9; 1Pe_2:18). Such obedience does not rest on any mere law or
custom of man, but on the plain word of Almighty God. There cannot be any disgrace in
homing the place of a servant. Can there be shame in that, to which the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself, the Lord of glory, submitted? (Php_2:6-8; Heb_5:8.) But of what kind should your
obedience be? The apostle has taught you that as to its extent it should be universal. “Obey
in all things your masters,” that is, in all things which are not contrary to the higher law of
your heavenly Master: in all else obey readily and without limitation (Php_2:14). In small
things as well as great. As servants should show obedience to their masters in all lawful
things, so should they show it with reverence and meekness, or, as it is expressed in the text,
“with fear and trembling,” lest ye should offend them.
2. Another duty of a servant is to add to his obedience a constant endeavour to please. Let
your services be seen to flow not from necessity or interest alone, but from the attachment
of a willing heart.
3. A third duty is strict faithfulness and honesty. An unfaithful servant is in itself a term of
deep reproach. He owes much to those into whose service he enters. He is sheltered beneath
their roof; he shares the comforts of their home, is placed beyond the reach of want, eats of
his master’s bread, and drinks of his master’s cup. Much is confided to him. His master’s
goods are placed beneath his care, and are justly required at his hand.
II. The duties of a master (see Col_4:1).
1. A master is bound in justice to keep to the full the terms of his agreement--to give to his
apprentice the needful instruction in his business, and to pay his servant the stipulated
wages (Deu_24:14-15; Jam_5:4).
2. The law of equity may be considered as binding a master to kindness, forbearance, and
concern for the souls of his servants. It bids him show kindness, and thus extends further
than the strict rule of justice. Reason and conscience are its umpires.
III. Mutual are the obligations under which masters and servants are placed to each other.
Highly important are their respective duties, and each may truly glorify God in the sphere
assigned them. But what are the motives, what is the principle that can produce such
blessed fruit? It is summed up in the consideration--Ye have both a Master in heaven. “Ye
are not your own”; “ye are bought with a price,” even the precious blood of Christ.
Servants l how powerfully is this motive pressed on you! “Be obedient to them that are
your masters … in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not with eye-service, as men-
pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with goodwill
doing service, as to the Lord, and not to mere” How happy are you, if you have indeed
become the servants of Christ. Then will it be your foremost desire and endeavour to adorn
the doctrine of God your Saviour in all things. And, behold, how true religion can ennoble
every station! Masters! “your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons
with Him.” Ye and your servants are fellow servants of the Lord; you are members of the
same body--His Church; you must speedily stand together before His judgment seat. (E.
Blencowe, M. A.)

45. Servants and masters
Paul takes the institutions of society as they stand, and defines the duties of those who
acknowledge the authority of Christ. He teaches that the State is a Divine institution as well
as the Church. Political government is necessary to the existence of human society; a bad
government is better than no government at all. Governors might be unjust; but Christian
people, with no political authority or power, are not responsible for the injustice, nor are
they able to remedy it. Government itself is sanctioned by God, and submission is part of
the duty which Christian people owe to Him. Domestic and industrial institutions are also
necessary for the existence of society. By the Divine constitution of human life we have to
serve each other in many ways, and if the service is to be effective it must be organized. In
apostolic times slavery existed in every part of the Roman empire. It was a form of
domestic and industrial organization created by the social condition of the ancient world. It
was the growth of the history and mutual relations of the races under the Roman authority.
To practical statesmen in those days it would have seemed impossible to organize the
domestic and industrial life of nations in any other way, as impossible as it seems to
modern statesmen to organize commerce on any other principle than that of competition.
Christian people were not responsible for its existence, and had no power to abolish it.
Their true duty was to consider how, as masters and slaves, they were to do the will of
Christ. Paul transfigures the institution. He applies to it the great principle which underlies
all Christian ethics; Christ is the true Lord of human life; whatever we do we are to do for
Him; we are all His servants. Slaves live in the eye of God. They are to do their work for
Him. All that is hard, all that is ignominious, in their earthly condition is suddenly lit up
with the glory of Divine and eternal things. “Servants, be obedient unto them that
according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling”--with that zeal which is
ever keenly apprehensive of not doing enough--“in singleness of your heart,” with no
double purpose, but with an honest and earnest desire to do your work well, “as unto
Christ.” This will redeem them from the common vice of slaves; if they accept their tasks
as from Christ, and try to be faithful to Him, they will not be diligent and careful only
when their masters are watching them, “in the way of eye-service, as men-pleasers,” but
will be always faithful “as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” They
will cherish no resentment against their earthly masters, and will not serve them merely to
avoid punishment, but, regarding their work as work for Christ, will do it cheerfully with
real kindliness for those whom they have to serve, “with goodwill doing service, as unto the
Lord and not unto men.” Their earthly masters may deny them the just rewards of their
labour, may fail to recognize their integrity and their zeal, may treat them harshly and
cruelly; but as Christ’s servants they will not miss their recompense; they are to work,
“knowing that whatsoever good thing each one doeth,” that very thing “shall he receive
again from the Lord, whether he be bond or free.” o good works will be forgotten; the
rewards which are withheld on earth will be conferred in heaven. Masters are to act
towards their servants in the same spirit, and under the government of the same Divine
laws. “Ye masters, do the same things unto them.” As slaves are warned against the special
vices of their order, and charged to do their work, not reluctantly, but “with goodwill,”
“not in the way of eye-service, as men-pleasers,” but “from the heart,” so masters are
warned against the special vice of which masters were habitually guilty; they are not to be
rough, violent, and abusive, but are to “forbear threatening.” They are reminded that their
authority is only subordinate and temporary; the true Master of their slaves is Christ, and
Christ is their Master too; He will leave no wrong unredressed. Before earthly tribunals a

46. slave might appeal in vain for justice, but “there is no respect of persons with Him.” (R. W.
Dale, LL. D.)
Relation of the gospel to slavery
These precepts may be met with the objection that slavery was a cruel tyranny, and that no
moral duties could be created by social relations which were an outrage at once on human
rights and on Divine laws; the masters had one duty, and only one--to emancipate their
slaves; the slaves were grossly oppressed, and were under no moral obligations to their
masters. But the objection is untenable. The worst injuries may be inflicted upon me by an
individual or by the State, but it does not follow that I am released from obligations either
to the man or to the community that wrongs me. I may be unjustly imprisoned, imprisoned
by an iniquitous law or by a corrupt judge; but it may be my duty to observe the
regulations of the jail; I ought not to be in prison at all, but being there it may be my duty
neither to try to escape nor to disturb the order of the place. And though a man ought not
to be a slave at all, he may be under moral obligations to those who hold him in slavery. So,
on the other hand, I may be a jailer, and may have prisoners under my care who, in my
belief, have committed no crime, and yet it may be my duty to keep them safely. To take an
extreme case: the governor of a jail may be fully convinced that a man in his charge who
has been condemned to be hung for murder is innocent of the crime, but if he were to let
the man escape he would be guilty of a grave breach of trust. We may say of slavery what
John Wesley said of the slave trade, that “it is the sum of all villanies,” and yet a servile
revolt may be a great and flagrant crime. While the institution exists and a real and
permanent improvement in the organization of society is impossible, it is the duty of the
slave to bear his wrongs patiently. Circumstances may be easily imagined in which the
position of a master, if he be a Christian, would be in some respects more difficult than that
of a slave. Some of the miserable creatures whom he owns may have lost, or never
possessed, the energy, the forethought, the self-reliance, the self-control, necessary for a life
of freedom. In the organization of society there may be no place for them among free
citizens. To emancipate them would be to deprive them of a home, to give them up to
starvation, to drive them to a life of crime. In such circumstances a Christian master might
think it his duty to retain his authority for the sake of society, and for the sake of the slaves
themselves; but would resolve to use his power with as much gentleness and kindness as the
hateful institution permitted. But it may be further objected that there are no indications in
the ew Testament that the apostles saw the hatefulness of the institution, or desired its
disappearance. They certainly did not denounce it. I suppose that if Paul had been asked
for his judgment on it he would have said that slavery was part of the order of this present
evil world. If he had been pressed more closely and asked to say whether he thought it just
or not, he would probably have answered that in a world which had forgotten God, and
was in open revolt against Him, all the relations between man and man were necessarily
thrown into disorder. It was not slavery alone that violated the true and ideal organization
of human society; the whole constitution of the world was evil; and no great and real
reform was possible apart from the moral and religious regeneration of the race. When the
golden age came, and the love and power of Christ had won a final victory over human sin,
the order of the world would be changed. Under the reign of Christ, tyranny, slavery, war,
and poverty, would be unknown. Meanwhile, and in the actual condition of mankind, the
work of the Christian Church was not to assault institutions, but to try to make individual
men loyal to Christ. It was not Christ’s plan to effect an external revolution, but to change
the moral and spiritual life of the race … We are happily free from the curse and crime of

47. slavery; but even the social order of England, which we are accustomed, very
inconsiderately, to call a Christian country, does not perfectly realize the ideal of social
justice. There are no slaves among us, but there are tens of thousands of Christian people
who feel, and have a right to feel, that their lot is a very hard one. They are inadequately
paid for their work; they are badly fed, badly clothed, badly housed. They are never free
from anxiety, they are always on the edge of misery and of ruin. They are without any hope
of improving their condition. If by self-denial and forethought they are able in good times
to save a little from their poor wages, illness, depression of trade, and loss of work soon
sweep their little store away. They have to endure harsh and unkindly treatment from men
whose control they cannot escape. But their position is not worse than the condition of
slaves in apostolic times, and they should resolve with the help of Christ to obey the
apostolic law. Let them do their laborious and ill-paid work as work for Christ. Let them
look above and beyond their earthly masters to Him; cherishing no resentment against the
men who treat them roughly and tyrannically, but “with goodwill doing service as unto the
Lord and not unto men.” Let them never yield to the base temptation to work badly
because they are paid badly; their true wages do not come to them on Friday night or
Saturday morning; they are Christ’s servants, and He will not forget their fidelity. Masters
have not yet escaped from their old vice. Their position of power encourages an arbitrary
and despotic temper, and those who employ a few men seem to be in just as much danger
as those who employ hundreds and thousands. They are to be not only just but courteous.
They are to remember that the relations between the master and his workmen, the
merchant and his clerks, the tradesman and his assistants, are accidental and temporary.
They have all one Master in heaven, and to Him the supreme question in reference to every
man’s life is not whether he is rich or poor, whether he rules or serves, but whether by
justice, industry, temperance, and kindliness he is trying to do the will of God. The great
revelation which has come to us through Christ abolished slavery; it ought to lift up our
whole social and industrial life into the very light of God, and to fill the works, the
warehouses, and the shops of this great town with the very spirit which gives beauty and
sanctity to the palaces of heaven. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
True service
“Robert,” said a man, winking slyly to a clerk of his acquaintance, “you must give me good
measure; your master is not in.” Robert looked solemnly into the man’s face, and replied,
“My Master is always in.” Robert’s Master was the all-seeing God. ( ew Handbook of
Illustration.)
The willing service of the heart
There is no moral good or moral evil in a work which is not my own--I mean no moral good
or evil to me. A work which I do not myself perform may be creditable or discreditable to
somebody else, it is neither to me. Take an illustration. In the Square of St. Mark, at
Venice, at certain hours the bell of the clock is struck by two bronze figures as large as life,
wielding hammers. ow, nobody ever thought of presenting thanks to those bronze men for
the diligence with which they have struck the hours; of course, they cannot help it, they are
wrought upon by machinery, and they strike the hours from necessity. Some years ago a
stranger was upon the top of the tower, and incautiously went too near one of these bronze

48. men; his time was come to strike the hour, he knocked the stranger from the battlement of
the tower and killed him; nobody said the bronze man ought to be hanged; nobody ever
laid it to his charge at all. There was no moral good or moral evil, because there was no will
in the concern. It was not a moral act, because no mind and heart gave consent to it. Am I
to believe that grace reduces men to this? I tell you, sirs, if you think to glorify the grace of
God by such a theory, you know not what you do. To carve blocks, and move logs, is small
glory, but this is the glory of God’s grace, that without violating the human will, He yet
achieves His own purposes, and treating men as men, He conquers their hearts with love,
and wins their affections by His grace. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The duties of servants
I. The duties they owe to themselves:
1. Religion.
2. Regard for truth.
3. Sobriety.
4. Chastity.
5. Frugality.
These duties they owe partly to masters, but by their non-performance they damage
themselves alone.
II. Those which they owe to their employers:
1. Reverence and honour for them as superiors.
2. Obedience.
3. Good temper.
4. Fidelity--with regard to their property, their time, and their reputation.
5. Diligence.
6. Gratitude for kindness.
III. Those which they owe to each other--peacefulness--temperateness--kindness. (J. A.
James.)

49. Christian servants
The Christian servants at Ephesus, who first read this letter of the apostle, were, probably,
many of them slaves. Some, no doubt, were hired servants; but perhaps the greater part
were in a state of absolute bondage to heathen masters.
I. Let us look, first, at the precepts and directions given to servants. And one is struck with
this: there is no hint thrown out, no suggestion whatever offered, as to its being right or
necessary to quit one’s occupation in order to serve Christ and promote His cause in the
world. It is not an infrequent thought, in the minds especially of young men, when brought
to the Lord, that they must give up their worldly occupation, and devote themselves wholly
and exclusively to minister in holy things. And now let us notice the particulars which the
apostle expressly mentions for a Christian servant to attend to.
1. Observe the first command is obedience: “Servants, be obedient to your masters
according to the flesh.”
2. Further, in this preceptive part of his address, notice, secondly, how he enjoins a
thorough devotedness to his master’s interests. This will appear in making manifest your
thorough trustworthiness and faithfulness. I do not speak of mere honesty; the apostle
means much more than this, when he speaks of “showing all good fidelity.” There is such a
thing as seeking just to go through the daily routine with the spirit of a hireling, who will
do no more than he must; who needs to be well looked after, or he will leave much
neglected. Quite different is the spirit of a Christian servant: he will try his very utmost to
please his employer; but he has a higher aim. What a pattern of this was Abraham’s
servant Eleazar, and Jacob in Laban’s house, and Joseph in his captivity, first, in
Potiphar’s house, and then in his dungeon: his master “left all he had in Joseph’s hand; he
knew not ought he had, save the bread he did eat.” o terms could more emphatically give
the idea of perfect freedom from all care, produced and maintained by the perfect
assurance of ability, assiduity, and incorruptible rectitude.
II. But let us proceed to notice, secondly, the motive which the apostle holds up as the
governing principle, the ruling motive of a truly Christian servant: “As the servants of
Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily: as to the
Lord, and not unto men”; “for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Again: “That ye may adorn”--ye
servants, plain, humble, unnoticed, who have little to set you off in the eyes of the world--
“that ye may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.” In a word, let there be at
the root of all--godliness: “Setting the Lord always before you.”
1. ow, first, what a comprehensive principle is this! It reminds us of those wonderful
triumphs of mechanical skill by which the same engine can be applied to lift the most
ponderous masses, or to drive with the utmost delicacy, as with the feeble blow of an infant,
the slenderest pin into its place. So with this principle of doing all as to the Lord.

50. 2. And then, secondly, how ennobling and elevating a motive it is! The highest archangel
knows no higher.
3. And then, thirdly, how consoling and comforting a motive is this to the humble
Christian! “I am poor and needy, but the Lord careth for me” may he say. “One need not
be in high station to serve the Saviour.”
III. And then, thirdly, let us not forget the promise annexed to it. “Knowing that
whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be
bond or free.” Oh! how often this is manifested even here in this life! Many are the houses
where the pious servant has been the first to introduce the gospel, and by his “patient
continuance in well-doing,” has demonstrated its reality and power. (J. Cohen, M. A.)
PULPIT, "Bond-servants, obey your masters according to the flesh. There were many
slaves in the early Church, but, however unjust their position, the apostle could not but
counsel them to obedience, this course being the best for ultimately working out their
emancipation. The words of Christ were peculiarly welcome to them "that labor and are
heavy laden;" and, as we find from Celsus and others, the early Church was much
ridiculed for the large number of uneducated persons in its pale. With fear and trembling.
Comp. 1Co_2:3; Php_2:12, from which it will be seen that this expression does not denote
slavish dread, but great moral anxiety lest one should fail in duty. It was probably a
proverbial expression. In the singleness of your heart, as to Christ. ot with a got-up
semblance of obedience, but with inward sincerity, knowing that it is your duty; and even if
it be irksome, doing it pleasantly, as though Christ required it, and you were doing it to
him.
6 Obey them not only to win their favor when
their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing
the will of God from your heart.
BAR ES,"Nor with eye-service - That is, not with service rendered only under the
eye of the master, or when his eye is fixed on you. The apostle has here adverted to one
of the evils of involuntary servitude as it exists everywhere. It is, that the slave will

51. usually obey only when the eye of the master is upon him. The freeman who agrees to
labor for stipulated wages may be trusted when the master is out of sight; but not the
slave. Hence the necessity where there are slaves of having “drivers” who shall attend
them, and who shall compel them to work. This evil it is impossible to avoid, except
where true religion prevails - and the extensive prevalence of true religion would set the
slave at liberty. Yet as long as the relation exists, the apostle would enjoin on the servant
the duty of performing his work conscientiously, as rendering service to the Lord. This
direction, moreover, is one of great importance to all who are employed in the service of
others. They are bound to perform their duty with as much fidelity as though the eye of
the employer was always upon them, remembering that though the eye of man may be
turned away, that of God never is.
As men-pleasers - As if it were the main object to please people. The object should
be rather to please and honor God.
But as the servants of Christ - see the notes on 1Co_7:22.
Doing the will of God from the heart - That is, God requires industry, fidelity,
conscientiousness, submission, and obedience in that rank of life. We render acceptable
service to God when, from regard to his will, we perform the services which are
demanded of us in the situation in life where we may be placed, however humble that
may be.
CLARKE, "Not with eye-service - Not merely in their presence, when their eye is
upon you, as unfaithful and hypocritical servants do, without consulting conscience in
any part of their work.
Doing the will of God - Seeing that you are in the state of servitude, it is the will of
God that you should act conscientiously in it.
GILL, "Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers,.... Doing nothing but when under the
master's eye, and then pretending a great deal of diligence and industry, in order to
ingratiate themselves into his affections, and neglecting his business when he is absent;
whereas they ought to attend his service in his absence, as well as in his presence, and so
seek to please him, which is commendable.
But as the servants of Christ; acting in like manner as the servants of Christ, who
are not menpleasers; or as if they themselves were serving Christ, as indeed they are,
when they are doing that which is the will of Christ:
doing the will of God from the heart; meaning not the will of God in a religious, but
in a civil sense, yielding a cheerful and hearty obedience to their own masters.
JAMISO , "(Col_3:22). Seeking to please their masters only so long as these have
their eyes on them: as Gehazi was a very different man in his master’s presence from
what he was in his absence (2Ki_5:1-18).
men-pleasers — not Christ-pleasers (compare Gal_1:10; 1Th_2:4).
doing the will of God — the unseen but ever present Master: the best guarantee for
your serving faithfully your earthly master alike when present and when absent.

52. from the heart — literally, soul (Psa_111:1; Rom_13:5).
BI, " ot with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of
God from the heart.
ot with eye-service
This exhortation is addressed to “servants,” i.e., to those who serve, whatever their position
as servants may be; whether in the position of bond slaves as in the days of Paul, or of
hired servants as in our own day, or of merchants, physicians, lawyers, ministers, or young
men, who, for remuneration of any kind, undertake to serve individuals or the public, To
all such the exhortation of our text is, that they should discharge their duties, “not with eye-
service, as men-pleasers, but with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as unto
Christ.” But the exhortation of our text is of far wider application. It is equally applicable
to “masters”--to those who are served, as truly as to those who serve. For immediately after
addressing himself to “servants,” or “slaves,” Paul said (Eph_6:9), “And ye masters, do the
same things unto them.” Paul had “the same rule for masters and for servants. And he gave
the reason of this, saying, “Ye masters, do the same things unto them, knowing that your
Master also is in heaven”--or, as in the margin, “knowing that your and their Master is in
heaven; neither is there respect of persons with Him.”
I. The manner in which we should discharge our duties to our fellow men.
1. egatively--how it should not be done. “ ot with eye-service.” This is a word which Paul
coined and struck in the royal mint of his own ardent and honest mind. I am not aware that
it was ever heard before. But it is a word so true and graphic that it tells its own meaning.
“Eye-service” is either service done only to please the eye, but which cannot bear to be
tested; or it is good and real service, but only given when the eye of a master sees it. “ ot
with eye-service” is happily associated with that other word, “not as men-pleasers.” For
“eye-servants” care only to “please men.” The rule of their duty is, not what is fair and
honourable, nor even what may reasonably be expected from them, but only as much as
will please the eye of their employers. All else is neglected and left undone, if only the
failure in service does not appear to be in them. How much there is of eye-service and men-
pleasing in all classes!
2. The positive description of our duty--how it should be done: “With fear and trembling,
in singleness of heart, as unto Christ.” “With fear and trembling.” From other parts of
Scripture where this expression is found, it is plain that it does not mean “with fear” of
punishment, as the slave fears the lash, nor “with trembling” before men, as the slave
trembles before his master, but that it means with anxious and tremulous desire to do our
duty. And as this “anxiety” to discharge our duty is the opposite of “eye-service,” so also,
“In singleness of heart as to Christ” is the opposite or contrary to, “as men-pleasers.” “ ot
as men-pleasers,” but “in singleness of heart, as to Christ.”

53. II. The motive by which Paul calls us to the discharge of our ordinary earthly duties. He
exhorts us to sanctify, to hallow, to ennoble our earthly duties, by doing them “not as to
men, but as unto the Lord.” ow, consider this motive.
1. Observe, it is addressed to the disciples of Christ--to those who knew and owned Him as
their “Lord”; to the blood bought, the redeemed, the renewed disciples of Christ; to those
who, believing in Him, have been pardoned for all past transgressions, and have been born
again of His Holy Spirit. It is not now the Law with its lash and its rewords urging men in
general, and saying, “Do this and live”--do it or die. It is Christ the Saviour who speaks to
His saved ones, and says, “Ye live, therefore do this--Ye live through Me, do this to Me.”
2. Mark how this motive sweetens, sanctifies, ennobles our earthly work. It then becomes a
part of our worship. Animated by such a thought, the school boy diligently, joyfully applies
himself to his task. The clerk needs no other master’s eye over him to keep him to his work.
The tradesman carefully executes his orders to the last stitch, when he feels that he works
not merely for men, but for Christ. The merchant no longer sells spurious or adulterated
goods, when he feels that he sells, not to men, but to the Lord Himself. The minister, the
physician, the lawyer, are no longer content with a formal or perfunctory discharge of
duty. The creditor, presenting his account, asks no more than is really due, and the debtor
faithfully pays it. And now, in conclusion, you can understand why the apostle specially
and formally addressed this exhortation to servants--nay, to “slaves.” The exhortation is
equally applicable to masters. Why, then, did Paul primarily and formally address it to
slaves? There was wisdom and tenderness in this. Paul saw and pitied the irksome lot of
slaves. He could not break their chains, but he sought to gild and lighten them. He told
them that they could make their irksome task pleasant by “doing it to the Lord.” He
sweetened their lot by showing them that the Lord did not despise them, and would
“reward them for the good” they might do. It was a tender and touching thing in Paul first
to stoop to wipe the sweat from the brow of slaves. But it was also wisely and well done.
For when thus, by enjoining obedience on slaves, he had gained the ear and propitiated the
heart of their masters, turning to them he could say with power, “And ye masters, do the
same things to them, knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven,” who demands the
same obedience from you. Paul could not emancipate the slaves; but in that appeal to
masters he sowed the seed corn, small as a grain of mustard seed, which has produced the
harvest of emancipation in every land to which the gospel has come in power. (W. Grant.)
Eye-service
I saw two boys at work addressing envelopes--or rather, one was at work, while the other,
with his pen in his hand, was looking out of the window. Their employer was seated near
by; and when he caught my eye he smiled. “Which of the two boys is the better workman,
and the most valued, do you think?” he asked me in a low voice. “The one at work, I should
suppose,” I rejoined. “ o, sir; that lad who is looking from the window now, does so,
because he thinks there is no harm in it--does it, you see, under my eyes. On the other hand,
while my eye is on them, the other boy is the most industrious; but I find that in my
absence he does nothing. So you see he adds deceit to his fault. I would not trust him out of
my sight.” “It seems to me that neither of them is worth much.” “To be sure,” came the
immediate answer, “a boy who attended to his duties at all times would be best; but a boy
who renders eye-service merely, who cannot be trusted to work without watching, is not to

54. be tolerated.” The man who said this had seen much of the world; he knew whereof he
spoke.
The reward of service
There comes over to our shores a poor stonecutter. The times are so bad at home that he is
scarcely able to earn bread enough to eat; and by a whole year’s stinting economy he
manages to get together just enough to pay for a steerage passage to this country. He
comes, homeless and acquaintanceless, and lands in ew York, and wanders over to
Brooklyn and seeks employment. He is ashamed to beg bread; and yet he is hungry. The
yards are all full; but, still, as he is an expert stonecutter, a man, out of charity, says, “Well,
I will give you a little work--enough to enable you to pay for your board.” And he shows
him a block of stone to work on. What is it? One of many parts which are to form some
ornament. Here is just a querl or fern, and there is a branch of what is probably to be a
flower. He goes to work on this stone and most patiently shapes it. He carves that bit of a
fern, putting all his skill and taste into it. And by and by the master says, “Well done,” and
takes it away, and gives him another block, and tells him to work on that. And so he works
on that, from the rising of the sun till the going down of the same, and he only knows that
he is earning his bread. And he continues to put all his skill and taste into his work. He has
no idea what use will be made of those few stems which he has been carving, until
afterwards, when, one day, walking along the street, and looking up at the front of the Art
Gallery, he sees the stones upon which he has worked. He did not know what they were for;
but the architect did. And as he stands looking at his work on that structure which is the
beauty of the whole street, the tears drop down from his eyes, and he says, “I am glad I did
it well.” And every day as he passes that way he says to himself, exultingly, “I did it well.”
He did not draw the design nor plan the building, and he knew nothing of what use was to
be made of his work; but he took pains in cutting those stems; and when he saw that they
were a part of that magnificent structure, his soul rejoiced. Dear brethren, though the
work which you are doing seems small, put your heart in it; do the best you can wherever
you are; and by and by God will show you where He has put that work. And when you see
it stand in that great structure which He is building you will rejoice in every single moment
of fidelity with which you wrought. Do not let the seeming littleness of what you are doing
now damp your fidelity. (H. W. Beecher.)
PULPIT, " ot in the spirit of eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the bond-servants of
Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. Exegetical of the last exhortation, with a
negative and a positive clause, according to the apostle's frequent practice (comp. Eph_2:8,
Eph_2:19; Eph_3:5; Eph_4:14, Eph_4:15, Eph_4:25, Eph_4:28, Eph_4:29; Eph_5:18, Eph_
5:27, Eph_5:29; Eph_6:4). Eye-service and men-pleasing have reference only to what will
pass muster in the world; Christians must go deeper, as bound to Christ's service by the
great claim of redemption (1Co_6:20), and remembering that "man looketh on the outward
appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1Sa_16:7). The will of God is our great
standard, and our daily prayer is, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." In heaven
it is done "from the heart."

55. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the
Lord, not people,
BAR ES,"As to the Lord, and not to men - That is, he should regard his lot in life
as having been ordered by Divine Providence for some wise and good purpose; and until
he may be permitted to enjoy his liberty in a quiet and peaceable manner (notes, 1Co_
7:21), he should perform his duties with fidelity, and feel that he was rendering
acceptable service to God. This would reconcile him to much of the hardships of his lot.
The feeling that “God” has ordered the circumstances of our lives, and that he has some
wise and good ends to answer by it, makes us contented there; though we may feel that
our fellowman may be doing us injustice. It was this principle that made the martyrs so
patient under the wrongs done them by people; and this may make even a slave patient
and submissive under the wrongs of a master. But let not a master think, because a pious
slave shows this spirit, that, therefore, the slave feels that the master is right in
withholding his freedom; nor let him suppose, because religion requires the slave to be
submissive and obedient, that, therefore, it approves of what the master does. It does
this no more than it sanctioned the conduct of Nero and Mary, because religion required
the martyrs to be unresisting, and to allow themselves to be led to the stake. A
conscientious slave may find happiness in submitting to God, and doing his will, just as a
conscientious martyr may. But this does not sanction the wrong, either of the slave-
owner or of the persecutor.
CLARKE, "With good will - Μετ’ ευνοιας· With cheerfulness; do not take up your
service as a cross, or bear it as a burden; but take it as coming in the order of God’s
providence, and a thing that is pleasing to him.
GILL, "With good will doing service,.... To their masters; not grudgingly, with an ill
will; no otherwise, nor longer than when they are forced to it; but of a ready mind, and
with a cheerful spirit, taking delight in their work, and reckoning it a pleasure to serve
their masters; as an Israelite that is not sold, who does his work ‫,ברצונו‬ "with his good
will", and according to his own mind (b); doing what they do
as to the Lord, and not to men; not merely because it is the will of men, and they are
commanded by them, and in order to please them, but because it is the will of the Lord,
and is wellpleasing in his sight.
(b) Maimon. Hilchot Abadim, c. 1. sect. 7.
JAMISO , "good will — expressing his feeling towards his master; as “doing the will

56. of God from the heart” expresses the source of that feeling (Col_3:23). “Good will” is
stated by Xenophon [Economics] to be the principal virtue of a slave towards his master:
a real regard to his master’s interest as if his own, a good will which not even a master’s
severity can extinguish.
CALVI , "With good will doing service. (Ver. 7.) This is contrasted with the suppressed
indignation which swells the bosom of slaves. Though they dare not openly break out or
give signs of obstinacy, their dislike of the authority exercised over them is so strong, that it
is with the greatest unwillingness and reluctance that they obey their masters.
Whoever reads the accounts of the dispositions and conduct of slaves, which are scattered
through the writings of the ancients, will be at no loss to perceive that the number of
injunctions here given does not exceed that of the diseases which prevailed among this
class, and which it was of importance to cure. But the same instruction applies to male and
female servants of our own times. It is God who appoints and regulates all the
arrangements of society. As the condition of servants is much more agreeable than that of
slaves in ancient times, they ought to consider themselves far less excusable, if they do not
endeavor, in every way, to comply with Paul’ injunctions.
Masters according to the flesh. (Ver. 5.) This expression is used to soften the harsh aspect
of slavery. He reminds them that their spiritual freedom, which was by far the most
desirable, remained untouched.
Eye-service ( ὀφθαλµοδουλεία) is mentioned; because almost all servants are addicted to
flattery, but, as soon as their master’ back is turned, indulge freely in contempt, or perhaps
in ridicule. Paul therefore enjoins godly persons to keep at the greatest distance from such
deceitful pretences.
PULPIT, "With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men. Some join the last
words of the preceding verse to this clause, "from the heart with good will," etc., on the
ground that it is not needed for Eph_6:6, for if you do the will of God at all, you must do it
from the heart. But one may do the will of God in a sense outwardly and formally,
therefore the clause is not superfluous in Eph_6:6, whereas, if one does service with good
will, one surely does it from the heart, so that the clause would be more superfluous here.
Jesus is the Overlord of every earthly lord, and his follower has but to substitute him by
faith for his earthly master to enable him to do service with good will.
BI, "With goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.
The honour of serving
Is it not possible that a man can look upon all the inequalities of human life, and upon the
varieties of condition out of which come such discontent, such hardship, such injustice, and
such torment, and say, “I am not a servant of these things; I am a servant of my God; and
wherever He puts me, I am going to stand for His sake. Whatever may be the experience of
that position, I am going to take it as becomes a child of God”? A poor woman washes for a

57. living, and has a flock of children to support; and it is for her to split the wood, to draw the
water, to wash the clothes, rubbing on the soap, and putting in the blueing, and to shove the
iron; and what does she do all these things for? What is the stimulus that enables her to
cheerfully perform all these duties? It is the thought of those dear children. There is not an
hour when she does not think, “I am working for my darlings.” It is hard for her to get up
at four o’clock in the morning, but she thinks of her children, and of the warm meals, and
pleasant fire, and cheerful light that she will be able to supply for them; and these thoughts
are her consolation. Whatever she does, she does for her children. ow, seeing it in this
humbler sphere and lower instance, can you not magnify it and carry it up, and think that
a man can come to a state in which he thinks that the world, nature, life, human society, all
the endless events into which time and the experiences of men are broken up, are God’s,
and that out of the vast and mighty mixture are being evolved final qualities, and say, “I
will do all things to the honour and glory of God, and whether I eat or drink, work or rest,
go or stay, whether I am in prosperity or adversity (and more in adversity, because, that
being harder to bear, shows more manhood), I am God’s child; and loving Him, and being
loved of Him, all these things are easy and noble to me”? (H. W. Beecher.)
The fruits of life
You have heard of the old deaf musician who used to sit in twilight and roll from his
instrument the most wonderful symphonies and harmonies that seemed to run down to the
very source and centre of all things, and that, emerging, bore upon them all sweet treasures
of melody. Though he heard not one note of it, it was poured out, and poured out upon the
darkness and upon the silence sometimes to select listening ears. We are like musicians
playing in the dark who are deaf to the sounds which they produce in human conduct, and
which run clear through to the other life. The fruits of life are not to be recognized here;
but they are sounding, and sounding forever. Whatever right thing you do, here is the
endorsement of the Lord for it: “Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the
same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.” (H. W. Beecher.)
Our motto
otice well that the Holy Spirit does not bid us leave our stations in order to serve the
Lord. Our great Captain would not have you hope to win the victory by leaving your post.
Grace does not transplant the tree, but bids it overshadow the old house at home as before,
and bring forth good fruit where it is. Grace does not make us unearthly, though it makes
us unworldly. Grace makes us the servants of God while still we are the servants of men; it
enables us to do the business of heaven while we are attending to the business of earth.
I. Our subject opens with this reflection, that if henceforth whether we live, we live unto
the Lord, or whether we die, we die unto the Lord, this consecration will greatly influence
our entire work.
1. You will have to live with a single eye to God’s glory. The Lord Jesus is a most
engrossing Master. He will have everything or nothing. As no dog can follow two hares at

58. one time, or he will lose both, certainly no man can follow two contrary objects and hope to
secure either of them.
2. To do service to the Lord we must live with holy carefulness. In the service of God we
should use great care to accomplish our very best, and we should feel a deep anxiety to
please Him in all things, There is a trade called paper staining, in which a man flings
colours upon the paper to make common wall decorations, and by rapid processes acres of
paper can be speedily finished. Suppose that the paper stainer should laugh at an eminent
artist because he had covered such a little space, having been stippling and shading a little
tiny piece of his picture by the hour together, such ridicule would itself be ridiculous. ow
the world’s way of religion is the paper stainer’s way, the daubing way; there is plenty of it,
and it is quickly done; but God’s way, the narrow way, is a careful matter: there is but
little of it, and it costs thought, effort, watchfulness, and care. Yet see how precious is the
work of art when it is done, and how long it lasts, and you will not wonder that a man
spends his time upon it; even so true godliness is acceptable with God, and it endures
forever, and therefore it well repays the earnest effort of the man of God. The miniature
painter has to be very careful of every touch and tint, for a very little may spoil his work.
Let our life be miniature painting; “with fear and trembling” let it be wrought out.
3. Further, if henceforth our desire is to live “as to the Lord, and not unto men,” then what
we do must be done with the heart. “in singleness of your heart,” says the context; and
again in the sixth verse, “As the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”
Our work for Jesus must be the outgrowth of the soil of the heart. Our service must not be
performed as a matter of routine; there must be vigour, power, freshness, reality,
eagerness, and warmth about it, or it will be good for nothing.
4. Under subjection. Doing the will of God--not our own. The freedom of a Christian lies in
what I will venture to call an absolute slavery to Christ; we never become truly free till
every thought is brought into subjection to the will of the Most High.
5. Again, we must do all this under a sense of the Divine oversight. otice in Eph_6:6 it is
said of servants, “ ot with eye-service, as men-pleasers.” What a mean and beggarly thing
it is for a man only to do his work well when he is watched. Such oversight is for boys at
school and mere hirelings. You never think of watching noble-spirited men. Here is a young
apprentice set to copy a picture: his master stands over him and looks over each line, for
the young scapegrace will grow careless and spoil his work, or take to his games if he be not
well looked after. Did anybody thus dream of supervising Raphael and Michael Angelo to
keep them to their work? o, the master artist requires no eye to urge him on.
6. One more thought, and it is this. If henceforth we are to serve the Lord, and not men,
then we must look to the Lord for our reward, and not to men. “Knowing,” saith the eighth
verse, “that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord,
whether he be bond or free.” Wage! Is that the motive of a Christian? Yes, in the highest
sense, for the greatest of the saints, such as Moses, have “had respect unto the recompense
of the reward,” and it were like despising the reward which God promises to His people if
we had no respect whatever for it.
II. Should this text become the inspiration of our life, it would greatly elevate our spirits.

59. 1. It would lift us above complaining about the hardness of our lot, or the difficulty of our
service. What wonders men can do when influenced by enthusiastic love for a leader!
Alexander’s troops marched thousands of miles on foot, and they would have been utterly
wearied had it not been for their zeal for Alexander. He led them forth conquering and to
conquer. Alexander’s presence was the life of their valour, the glory of their strength.
2. This lifts the Christian above the spirit of stinting. Christ’s servants delight to give so
much as to be thought wasteful, for they feel that when they have in the judgment of others
done extravagantly for Christ, they have but begun to show their heart’s love for His dear
name.
3. This raises us above all boasting of our work. “Is the work good enough?” said one to his
servant. The man replied, “Sir, it is good enough for the price, and it is good enough for the
man who is going to have it.” Just so, and when we “serve” men we may perhaps rightly
judge in that fashion, but when we come to serve Christ, is anything good enough for Him?
4. It elevates above that craving for recognition which is a disease with many. It is a sad
fault in many Christians that they cannot do anything unless all the world is told of it.
5. It lifts above the discouragement which sometimes comes of human censure. The
nightingale charms the ear of night. A fool passes by, and declares that he hates such
distracting noises. The nightingale sings on, for it never entered the little minstrel’s head or
heart that it was singing for critics; it sings because He who created it gave it this sweet
faculty.
6. This, too, will elevate you above the disappointments of non-success, ay, even of the
saddest kind.
7. This lifts us above disappointment in the prospect of death. We shall have to go away
from our work soon, so men tell us, and we are apt to fret about it.
8. Ay, and this lifts us above the deadening influence of age and the infirmities which come
with multiplied years.
III. I close by saying, that if we enter into the very spirit of this discourse, or even go
beyond it--if henceforth we live for Jesus only, so as never to know pleasure apart from
Him, nor to have treasure out of Him, nor honour but in His honour, nor success save in
the progress of His kingdom, we shall even then have done no more than he deserves at our
hands. For, first, we are God’s creatures. For whom should a creature live but for his
Creator? Secondly, we are His new creatures, we are the twice-born of heaven; should we
not live for Him by whom we have been begotten for glory? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
8 because you know that the Lord will reward

60. each one for whatever good they do, whether they
are slave or free.
BAR ES,"Knowing that whatsoever good thing - Whatever a man does that is
right, for that he shall be appropriately rewarded. No matter what his rank in life, if he
discharges his duty to God and man, he will be accepted. A man in a state of servitude
may so live as to honor God; and, so living, he should not be greatly solicitous about his
condition. A master may fail to render suitable recompense to a slave. But, if the servant
is faithful to God, he will recompense him in the future world. It is in this way that
religion would make the evils of life tolerable, by teaching those who are oppressed to
hear their trials in a patient spirit, and to look forward to the future world of reward.
Religion does not approve of slavery. It is the friend of human rights. If it had full
influence on earth, it would restore every man to freedom, and impart to each one his
rights. Christianity nowhere requires its friends to make or to own a slave. No one under
the proper influence of religion ever yet made a man a slave; there is no one under its
proper influence who would not desire that all should be free; and just in proportion as
true religion spreads over the world, will universal freedom be its attendant. But
Christianity would lighten the evils of slavery even while it exists, and would comfort
those who are doomed to so hard a lot, by assuring them that there they may render
acceptable service to God, and that they soon will be admitted to a world where galling
servitude will be known no more. If they may not have freedom here, they may have
contentment if they feel that wrong is done them by men, they may feel that right will be
done them by God; if their masters do not reward them for their services here, God will;
and if they may not enjoy liberty here, they will soon be received into the world of perfect
freedom - heaven.
CLARKE, "Whatsoever good thing any man doeth - Though your masters should
fail to give you the due reward of your fidelity and labor, yet, as ye have done your work
as unto the Lord, he will take care to give you the proper recompense.
Whether he be bond - A slave, bought with money;
Or free - A person who has hired himself of his own free accord.
GILL, "Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doth,.... According to the
will of God, from right principles in his heart, and with a view to God's glory:
the same shall he receive of the Lord; that is, he shall receive the fruit and
advantage of it, in a way of grace,
whether he be bond or free; a bondman or a free man, a master or a servant.
JAMISO , "any man doeth — Greek, “any man shall have done,” that is, shall be
found at the Lord’s coming to have done.

61. the same — in full payment, in heaven’s currency.
shall ... receive — (2Co_5:10; Col_3:25; but all of grace, Luk_17:10).
bond or free — (1Co_7:22; 1Co_12:13; Gal_3:28; Col_3:11). Christ does not regard
such distinctions in His present dealings of grace, or in His future judgment. The slave
that has acted faithfully for the Lord’s sake to his master, though the latter may not
repay his faithfulness, shall have the Lord for his Paymaster. So the freeman who has
done good for the Lord’s sake, though man may not pay him, has the Lord for his Debtor
(Pro_19:17).
RWP, "Whatsoever good thing each one doeth (hekastos ean ti poiēsēi agathon).
Literally, “each one if he do anything good.” Condition of third class, undetermined, but
with prospect. Note use here of agathon rather than adikon (one doing wrong) in Col_
3:25. So it is a reward (komisetai) for good, not a penalty for wrong, though both are true,
“whether he be bond or free” (eite doulos eite eleutheros).
CALVI , "8.Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth. What a powerful
consolation! However unworthy, however ungrateful or cruel, their masters may be, God
will accept their services as rendered to himself. When servants take into account the pride
and arrogance of their masters, they often become more indolent from the thought that
their labor is thrown away. But Paul informs them that their reward is laid up with God
for services which appear to be ill bestowed on unfeeling men; and that there is no reason,
therefore, why they should be led aside from the path of duty. He adds, whether bond or
free o distinction is made between a slave and a free man. The world is wont to set little
value on the labors of slaves; but God esteems them as highly as the duties of kings. In his
estimate, the outward station is thrown aside, and each is judged according to the
uprightness of his heart.
PULPIT, "Knowing that whatsover good thing each man shall have done, the same shall he
receive from the Lord, whether he be bond or free. The hope of reward is brought in to
supplement the more disinterested motive, such addition being specially useful in the case
of slaves (as of children, Eph_6:2, Eph_6:3). For the slave the hope of reward is future—it
is at the Lord's coming that he will have his reward.
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

62. there is no favoritism with him.
BAR ES,"And, ye masters - The object of this is, to secure for servants a proper
treatment. It is evident, from this, that there were in the Christian church those who
were “masters;” and the most obvious interpretation is, that they were the owners of
slaves. Some such persons would be converted, as such are now. Paul did not say that
they could not be Christians. He did not say that they should he excluded at once from
the communion. He did not hold them up to reproach, or use harsh and severe language
in regard to them. He taught them their duty toward those who were under them, and
laid down principles which, if followed, would lead ultimately to universal freedom.
Do the same things unto them - τᆭ αᆒτᆭ ta auta. The “same things,” here seem to
refer to what he had said in the previous verses. They were, to evince toward their
servants the same spirit which he had required servants to evince toward them - the
same kindness, fidelity, and respect for the will of God. He had required servants to act
conscientiously; to remember that the eye of God was upon them, and that in that
condition in life they were to regard themselves as serving God, and as mainly
answerable to him. The same things the apostle would have masters feel. They were to be
faithful, conscientious, just, true to the interests of their servants, and to remember that
they were responsible to God. They were not to take advantage of their power to oppress
them, to punish them unreasonably, or to suppose that they were freed from
responsibility in regard to the manner in which they treated them. In the corresponding
passage in Colossians (Col_4:1), this is, “Masters, give unto your servants that which is
just and equal;” see the note on that place.
Forbearing threatening - Margin, “moderating.” The Greek word means to “relax,
loosen;” and then, to “omit, cease from.” This is evidently the meaning here The sense is,
that they were to be kind, affectionate, just. It does not mean that they were to remit
punishment where it was deserved; but the object is to guard against that to which they
were so much exposed in their condition - a fretful, dissatisfied temper; a disposition to
govern by terror rather than by love. Where this unhappy state of society exists, it would
be worth the trial of those who sustain the relation of masters, to see whether it would
not be “possible” to govern their servants, as the apostle here advises, by the exercise of
love. Might not kindness, and confidence, and the fear of the Lord, be substituted for
threats and stripes?
Knowing that your Master also is in heaven - Margin, “Some read, both your
and their.” Many mss. have this reading; see Mill. The sense is not materially affected,
further than, according to the margin, the effect would be to make the master and the
servant feel that, in a most important sense, they were on an equality. According to the
common reading, the sense is, that masters should remember that they were responsible
to God, and this fact should be allowed to influence them in a proper manner. This it
would do in two ways:
(1) By the fact that injustice toward their servants would then be punished as it
deserved - since there was no respect of persons with God.

63. (2) It would lead them to act toward their servants as they would desire God to treat
them. Nothing would be better adapted to do this than the feeling that they had a
common Master, and that they were soon to stand at his bar.
Neither is there respect of persons with him - see this expression explained in
the notes on Rom_2:11. The meaning here is, that God would not be influenced in the
distribution of rewards and punishments, by a regard to the rank or condition of the
master or the slave. He would show no favor to the one because he was a master; he
would withhold none from the other because he was a slave. He would treat both
according to their character. In this world they occupied different ranks and conditions;
at his bar they would be called to answer before the same Judge. It follows from this:
(1) That a slave is not to be regarded as a “chattel,” or a “thing,” or as “property.” He is
a man; a redeemed man; an immortal man. He is one for whom Christ died. But Christ
did not die for “chattels” and “things.”
(2) The master and the servant in their great interests are on a level. Both are sinners;
both will soon die; both will moulder back in the same manner to dust; both will stand at
the tribunal of God; both will give up their account. The one will not be admitted to
heaven because he is a master; nor will the other be thrust down to hell because he is a
slave. If both are Christians, they will be admitted to a heaven where the distinctions of
rank and color are unknown. If the master is not a Christian and the servant is, he who
has regarded himself as superior to the servant in this life, will see “him” ascend to
heaven while he himself will be thrust down to hell.
(3) Considerations like these will if they have their proper influence, produce two
effects:
(a) They will lighten the yoke of slavery while it continues, and while it may be difficult
to remove it at once. If the master and the slave were both Christians, even if the relation
continued, it would be rather a relation of mutual confidence. The master would become
the protector, the teacher, the guide, the friend; the servant would become the faithful
helper - rendering service to one whom he loved, and to whom he felt himself bound by
the obligations of gratitude and affection.
(b) But this state of feeling would soon lead to emancipation. There is something
shocking to the feelings of all, and monstrous to a Christian, in the idea of holding “a
Christian brother” in bondage. So long as the slave is regarded as a “chattel” or a mere
piece of “property,” like a horse, so long people endeavor to content themselves with the
feeling that he may be held in bondage. But the moment it is felt that he is a “Christian
brother” - a redeemed fellow-traveler to eternity, a joint heir of life - that moment a
Christian should feel that there is something that violates all the principles of his religion
in holding him as A slave; in making a “chattel” of that for which Christ died, and in
buying and selling like a horse, an ox, or an ass, a child of God, and an heir of life.
Accordingly, the prevalence of Christianity soon did away the evil of slavery in the
Roman empire; and if it prevailed in its purity, it would soon banish it from the face of
the earth.
CLARKE, "Ye masters, do the same things unto them - Act in the same
affectionate, conscientious manner towards your slaves and servants, as they do towards
you.
Forbearing threatening - If they should transgress at any time, lean more to the
side of mercy than justice; and when ye are obliged to punish, let it be as light and as
moderate as possible; and let revenge have no part in the chastisement, for that is of the

64. devil, and not of God.
The words, forbearing threatening; ανιεντες την απειλην, signify to mitigate, relax, or
not exact threatening; that is, the threatened punishment. The sense is given above.
In Shemoth Rabba, sect. 21, fol. 120, there is a good saying concerning respect of
persons: “If a poor man comes to a rich man to converse with him, he will not regard
him; but if a rich man comes he will hear and rehear him. The holy and blessed God acts
not thus; for all are alike before him, women, slaves, the poor, and the rich.”
Knowing that your Master also is in heaven - You are their masters, God is
yours. As you deal with them, so God will deal with you; for do not suppose, because
their condition on earth is inferior to yours, that God considers them to be less worthy of
his regard than you are; this is not so, for there is no respect of persons with Him.
GILL, "And ye masters do the same things unto them,.... This does not refer to
service and obedience, but to singleness of heart, benevolence, humanity, and a regard to
Christ, and the will of God, and to the doing of good things, and to the performance of
their duty, as they would have their servants do theirs; whose duty, if religious masters,
is, with respect to their souls, to instruct them in, and use them to religious exercises, to
pray with them, and for them, to set them good examples, to prevent them falling into,
bad company, and to allow them proper time for religious duties; and with respect to
their bodies, and outward concerns, to provide sufficient food and proper raiment for
them, or to give them their due wages, to take care of them when sick or lame, and show
compassion and humanity to them, to encourage those that are prudent, faithful, and
laborious, and to correct the disobedient, and expel the incorrigible:
forbearing threatening; not that they may not in any sense threaten, but not always,
nor too often, nor too much, and with great things on light occasions; nor should they be
too forward to execute their threatenings, especially when their servants repent and
amend; they should then forbear them and forgive; and so the Syriac version renders it,
"forgive their offences": this is opposed to all hard rigour, and ill usage, either by words
or blows. And this is a rule given by the Jews (c), that a master should not multiply
clamour and anger, but should speak him (his servant) quietly, and in a still manner, and
he will hear his objections, or arguments and reasons:
knowing that your master also is in heaven; meaning Christ, who employs,
provides for, and uses well all his servants, and to whom masters must be accountable
for their usage of servants; for he is the common master of masters and servants; and so
the Alexandrian copy, and Vulgate Latin version, read, "their and your master": and the
place of his habitation is mentioned, to distinguish him from earthly masters; and the
more to move and excite masters to their duty, since he being in heaven overlooks and
takes notice of all their actions, as the omniscient God; and being omnipotent, has it in
his power to plead and avenge the cause of the injured:
neither is there respect of persons with him; as whether they are of this, or the
other nation, Jew or Gentile; whether in this, or that state and condition, or in such and
such circumstances of life; whether masters or servants, bond or free, or whether
Canaanitish or Hebrew servants; between which the Jews (d) made a difference, and
allowed of rigour to be used to the one, but required mercy and kindness to be showed to
the other; and so were respecters of persons.

65. HE RY, "IV. The duty of masters: “And you masters, do the same things unto them
(Eph_6:9); that is, act after the same manner. Be just to them, as you expect they should
be to you: show the like good-will and concern for them, and be careful herein to
approve yourselves to God.” Observe, Masters are under as strict obligations to
discharge their duty to their servants as servants are to be obedient and dutiful to them.
“Forbearing threatening; anientes - moderating threatening, and remitting the evils
with which you threaten them. Remember that your servants are made of the same
mould with yourselves, and therefore be not tyrannical and imperious over them,
knowing that your Master also is in heaven:” some copies read, both your and their
Master. “You have a Master to obey who makes this your duty; and you and they are but
fellow-servants in respect of Christ. You will be as punishable by him, for the neglect of
your duty, or for acting contrary to it, as any others of meaner condition in the world.
You are therefore to show favour to others, as ever you expect to find favour with him;
and you will never be a match for him, though you may be too hard for your servants.”
Neither is there respect of persons with him; a rich, a wealthy, and a dignified master, if
he be unjust, imperious, and abusive, is not a jot the nearer being accepted of God for his
riches, wealth, and honour. He will call masters and servants to an impartial account for
their conduct one to another, and will neither spare the former because they are more
advanced nor be severe towards the latter because they are inferior and mean in the
world. If both masters and servants would consider their relation and obligation to God
and the account they must shortly give to him, they would be more careful of their duty
to each other. Thus the apostle concludes his exhortation to relative duties.
JAMISO , "the same things — Mutatis mutandis. Show the same regard to God’s
will, and to your servants’ well-being, in your relation to them, as they ought to have in
their relation to you. Love regulates the duties both of servants and masters, as one and
the same light attempers various colors. Equality of nature and faith is superior to
distinctions of rank [Bengel]. Christianity makes all men brothers: compare Lev_25:42,
Lev_25:43; Deu_15:12; Jer_34:14 as to how the Hebrews were bound to treat their
brethren in service; much more ought Christians to act with love.
threatening — Greek, “the threatening” which masters commonly use. “Masters” in
the Greek, is not so strong a term as “despots”: it implies authority, but not absolute
domination.
your Master also — The oldest manuscripts read, “the Master both of them and
you”: “their Master and yours.” This more forcibly brings out the equality of slaves and
masters in the sight of God. Seneca [Thyestes, 607], says, “Whatever an inferior dreads
from you, this a superior Master threatens yourselves with: every authority here is under
a higher above.” As you treat your servants, so will He treat you.
neither ... respect of persons — He will not, in judging, acquit thee because thou
art a master, or condemn him because he is a servant (Act_10:34; Rom_2:11; Gal_2:6;
Col_3:25; 1Pe_1:17). Derived from Deu_10:17; 2Ch_19:7.
CALVI , "9.And ye masters. In the treatment of their slaves, the laws granted to masters a
vast amount of power. Whatever had thus been sanctioned by the civil code was regarded
by many as in itself lawful. To such an extent did their cruelty in some instances proceed,

66. that the Roman emperors were forced to restrain their tyranny. But though no royal edicts
had ever been issued for the protection of slaves, God allows to masters no power over
them beyond what is consistent with the law of love. When philosophers attempt to give to
the principles of equity their full effect in restraining the excess of severity to slaves, they
inculcate that masters ought to treat them in the same manner as hired servants. But they
never look beyond utility; and, in judging even of that, they inquire only what is
advantageous to the head of the family, or conducive to good order. The Apostle proceeds
on a very different principle. He lays down what is lawful according to the Divine
appointment, and how far they, too, are debtors to their servants.
Do the same things to them. “ the duty which on your part you owe to them.” What he calls
in another Epistle, ( τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὴν ἰσότητα) that which is just and equal, (169) is
precisely what, in this passage, he calls the same things, ( τὰ αὐτὰ) And what is this but the
law of analogy? Masters and servants are not indeed on the same level; but there is a
mutual law which binds them. By this law, servants are placed under the authority of their
masters; and, by the same law, due regard being had to the difference of their station,
masters lie under certain obligations to their servants. This analogy is greatly
misunderstood; because men do not try it by the law of love, which is the only true
standard. Such is the import of Paul’ phrase, the same things; for we are all ready enough
to demand what is due to ourselves; but, when our own duty comes to be performed, every
one attempts to plead exemption. It is chiefly, however, among persons of authority and
rank that injustice of this sort prevails.
Forbearing threatenings. Every expression of disdain, arising from the pride of masters, is
included in the single word, threatenings. They are charged not to assume a lordly air or a
terrific attitude, as if they were constantly threatening some evil against their servants,
when they have occasion to address them. Threatenings, and every kind of barbarity,
originate in this, that masters look upon their servants as if they had been born for their
sake alone, and treat them as if they were of no more value than cattle. Under this one
description, Paul forbids every kind of disdainful and barbarous treatment.
Their Master and yours. A very necessary warning. What is there which we will not dare to
attempt against our inferiors, if they have no ability to resist, and no means of obtaining
redress, — if no avenger, no protector appears, none who will be moved by compassion to
listen to their complaints? It happens here, in short, according to the common proverb, that
Impunity is the mother of Licentiousness. But Paul here reminds them, that, while masters
possess authority over their servants, they have themselves the same Master in heaven, to
whom they must render an account.
And there is no respect of persons with him. A regard to persons blinds our eyes, so as to
leave no room for law or justice; but Paul affirms that it is of no value in the sight of God.
By person is meant anything about a man which does not belong to the real question, and
which we take into account in forming a judgment. Relationship, beauty, rank, wealth,
friendship, and everything of this sort, gain our favor; while the opposite qualities produce
contempt and sometimes hatred. As those absurd feelings arising from the sight of a person
have the greatest possible influence on human judgments, those who are invested with
power are apt to flatter themselves, as if God would countenance such corruptions. “ is he
that God should regard him, or defend his interest against mine?” Paul, on the contrary,
informs masters that they are mistaken if they suppose that their servants will be of little or
no account before God, because they are so before men. “ is no respecter of persons,” (Act_
10:34,) and the cause of the meanest man will not be a whit less regarded by him than that

67. of the loftiest monarch.
PULPIT, "And, ye masters, do the same things to them, forbearing threatening. Act
correspondingly toward your slaves, as if the eye of Christ were on you, which indeed it is;
if you are ever tempted to grind them down, or defraud, or scold unreasonably and make
their life bitter, remember that there is a Master above you, into whose ears their cry will
come. If they are to do service to you as to the Lord, you are to require service of them as if
you were the Lord. Therefore forbear threatening; influence them by love more than by
fear. Knowing that both their and your Master is in heaven; and there is no respect of
persons with him. Both of you stand in the same relation to the great Lord, who is in
heaven and over all (comp. Eph_1:20, Eph_1:21). Your being higher in earthly station than
they will not procure for you any indulgence or consideration. You will be judged simply
and solely according to your deeds. Your responsibility to the Judge and your obligations to
the Savior alike bind you to just and merciful treatment. If such principles were applicable
to the relations of enforced labor, they are certainly not less so to the relations of labor
when free.
BURKITT, "Here the master's duty to his servant is directed to, both generally, and more
particularly; in general, he directs masters to do the same things to their servants; not the
same things for kind, but for manner of doing them; that is, in obedience to the same
command of God, with an eye to the same glory of God, with the same singleness of heart,
with the same love and goodwill.
Here note, That the greatest masters, yea, the greatest prince and potentate upon earth, lie
under obligations, in point of duty, to their servants and inferiors; and it ought to be as
much their care to discharge their duty sincerely, cheerfully, with good-will, and eyeing
their great Master in heaven, as it concerns the poorest sinner to obey them in and after the
same manner; Ye masters, do the same things unto them.
ext follow the particular directions given to masters; namely, to forbear threatenings;
that is, let them not exercise their authority over them imperiously, and with rigour, but
mildly, and with gentleness: rule them not tyrannically, but govern with moderation and
temper.
Lord, how ordinary is it for men in place and power a little above others, to insult over and
trample upon others, forgetting that there is one above them, whom they must be
accountable unto themselves! Forbear threatenings, knowing that your Master also is in
heaven with whom there is no respect of persons.
Here we have Almighty God described two ways:
1. From his magnificence and stately palace, in which his illustrious glory shineth: Your
Master is in heaven; not as if he were only there, and not elsewhere, but eminently there,
though every where else.
2. God is here described by his justice and impartiality in judging: There is no respect of
persons with him; that is, when the rich master and poor servant come to stand upon a
level before him, he will not respect either of them for their outward circumstance, but as a
just judge, reward them both, according to their works.

68. Thus our apostle concludes this exhortation to the practice and performance of relative
duties, between husband and wife, parent and child, master and servant.
He now closes his epistle with a special exhortation to all Christians, to look upon
themselves as spiritual soldiers, listed under Christ's exalted banner, engaged in a
continual warfare with the world, and the prince of the world; and accordingly he bespeaks
them in a martial phrase to the end of the chapter.
BI, "And ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening.
Treatment of servants
A party of friends setting out together upon a journey, soon find it to be the best for all
sides that while they are upon the road one of the company should wait upon the rest;
another ride forward to seek out lodging and entertainment; a third carry the
portmanteau: a fourth take charge of the horses; a fifth bear the purse, conduct and direct
the route; not forgetting, however, that, as they were equal and independent when they set
out, so they are all to return to a level again at their journey’s end. The same regard and
respect; the same forbearance, lenity, and reserve, in using their service; the same mildness
in delivering commands; the same study to make their journey comfortable and pleasant,
which he whose lot it was to direct the rest would in common decency think himself bound
to observe towards them, ought we to show to those who, in the casting of the parts of
human society, happen to be placed within our power, or to depend upon us. (Archdeacon
Paley.)
Masters
I. Their station--one of relative superiority--limited and temporary.
II. Their duty--they must be just--kind--forbearing threatenings.
III. Their responsibility--to Christ their Master in heaven, who judges without partiality.
(Dr. J. Lyth.)
Kindness to servants
The celebrated Earl of Chesterfield left, by his will, legacies to all his menial servants, equal

69. to two years’ wages each, considering them “as his unfortunate friends, equal by birth, and
only inferior by fortune.” John Claude, when on his dying bed, thus addressed his son,
who, with an old servant, was kneeling before him--“Be mindful of this domestic; as you
value my blessing, take care that she wants nothing as long as she lives.” (Baxendale’s
Anecdotes.)
Forbearing threatening
Once, when a very young girl, I was impressed by the manner and words of a good woman.
She sat swaying back and forth with a puzzled look on her sweet face. She was thinking
how to get rid of a petty annoyance. Arising, she rang the bell. A servant entered in a noisy
way. “Sarah, you may sit down.” The girl threw herself sullenly on a chair, averting her
face. “I am sorry to have to find fault in you, Sarah.” “O, yet needn’t be, for I’m quite used
to hearin’ yer scold.” “I don’t think I have ever scolded you. I try to watch myself against
that sin. Have I ever scolded you?” “Well, ma’am, not to say ravin’ scoldin’ as some do, but
yer tells me things and makes me ashamed of meself.” “I want to be kind to you, poor girl,
for you are a stranger in a strange land. I was going to ask you to try and be more pleasant
to the children. It is now a whole week since a smile has been seen on your face. ow, must
I lose my good girl or keep her?” Sarah looked down, and said: “I think, ma’am, if I do me
work well, I might look grave-like if it suits me.” “Don’t you see my little girl will catch
your sullen ways. o, Sarah, you must be a cheerful, pleasant girl if you are to stay; and
now I want you to decide it for me.” “I’ll stay, ma’am.” And as the tears filled her eyes, she
added: “Ye’s are the best mistress in the wide world.” Years passed, and Sarah remained a
cheerful servant till a wise boy took her for a wife, and many tears fell for the loss of the
faithful servant. Who shall count the value of words fitly spoken? (Christian Globe.)
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty
power.
BAR ES,"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord - Paul had now stated to
the Ephesians the duties which they were to perform. He had considered the various
relations of life which they sustained, and the obligations resulting from them. He was
not unaware that in the discharge of their duties they would need strength from above.
He knew that they had great and mighty foes, and that to meet them, they needed to be
clothed in the panoply of the Christian soldier. He closes, therefore, by exhorting them

70. to put on all the strength which they could to meet the enemies with which they had to
contend; and in the commencement of his exhortation he reminds them that it was only
by the strength of the Lord that they could hope for victory. To be “strong in the Lord,”
is:
(1) To be strong or courageous in his cause;
(2) To feel that he is our strength, and to rely on him and his promises.
CLARKE, "Finally - Having laid before you, your great and high calling, and all the
doctrines and precepts of the Gospel, it is necessary that I should show you the enemies
that will oppose you, and the strength which is requisite to enable you to repel them.
Be strong in the Lord - You must have strength, and strength of a spiritual kind,
and such strength too as the Lord himself can furnish; and you must have this strength
through an indwelling God, the power of his might working in you.
GILL, "Finally, my brethren,.... This is the conclusion of the apostle's exhortations,
in which he addresses the saints as his brethren; which appellation he uses, not merely
as a familiar way of speaking among the Jews, but in regard to them as regenerate
persons, and of the same family and household of God with himself; and he calls them
so, to show his humility, and as a proof of his affection to them, and with a design to
encourage them to their duty, as follows:
be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might; which is directed to, partly
on account of the things before exhorted to, which could not be performed in their own
strength; and partly with respect to their many and potent enemies hereafter mentioned,
against whom they had no might nor power of their own; and therefore the apostle
points out the Lord Jesus Christ unto them, in whom are strength, power, and might,
even everlasting strength, to enable them to perform their duty, and to fight against
every enemy, sin, Satan, and the world; for though they are weak, and strength in
themselves, and can do nothing of themselves, and without Christ; yet since there is
strength in him, which is communicable to them, they may expect it from him, and
depend upon it; and they may come at, or strengthen themselves in it, and by it, by
meditation on it, by prayer for it, by waiting on Christ in his own ways, by exercising
faith upon him, and through the Spirit, who strengthens them from him with might in
the inward man.
HE RY, "Here is a general exhortation to constancy in our Christian course, and to
encourage in our Christian warfare. Is not our life a warfare? It is so; for we struggle with
the common calamities of human life. Is not our religion much more a warfare? It is so;
for we struggle with the opposition of the powers of darkness, and with many enemies
who would keep us from God and heaven. We have enemies to fight against, a captain to
fight for, a banner to fight under, and certain rules of war by which we are to govern
ourselves. “Finally, my brethren (Eph_6:10), it yet remains that you apply yourselves to
your work and duty as Christian soldiers.” Now it is requisite that a soldier be both
stout-hearted and well armed. If Christians be soldiers of Jesus Christ,
I. They must see that they be stout-hearted. This is prescribed here: Be strong in the
Lord, etc. Those who have so many battles to fight, and who, in their way to heaven,
must dispute every pass, with dint of sword, have need of a great deal of courage. Be

71. strong therefore, strong for service, strong for suffering, strong for fighting. Let a soldier
be ever so well armed without, if he have not within a good heart, his armour will stand
him in little stead. Note, spiritual strength and courage are very necessary for our
spiritual warfare. Be strong in the Lord, either in his cause and for his sake or rather in
his strength. We have no sufficient strength of our own. Our natural courage is as perfect
cowardice, and our natural strength as perfect weakness; but all our sufficiency is of
God. In his strength we must go forth and go on. By the actings of faith, we must fetch in
grace and help from heaven to enable us to do that which of ourselves we cannot do, in
our Christian work and warfare. We should stir up ourselves to resist temptations in a
reliance upon God's all-sufficiency and the omnipotence of his might.
JAMISO , "my brethren — Some of the oldest manuscripts omit these words. Some
with Vulgate retain them. The phrase occurs nowhere else in the Epistle (see, however,
Eph_6:23); if genuine, it is appropriate here in the close of the Epistle, where he is
urging his fellow soldiers to the good fight in the Christian armor. Most of the oldest
manuscripts for “finally,” read, “henceforward,” or “from henceforth” (Gal_6:17).
be strong — Greek, “be strengthened.”
in the power of his might — Christ’s might: as in Eph_1:19, it is the Father’s
might.
RWP, "Finally (tou loipou). Genitive case, “in respect of the rest,” like Gal_6:17. D G
K L P have the accusative to loipon (as for the rest) like 2Th_3:1; Phi_3:1; Phi_4:8.
Be strong in the Lord (endunamousthe en kuriōi). A late word in lxx and N.T. (Act_
9:22; Rom_4:20; Phi_4:13), present passive imperative of endunamoō, from en and
dunamis, to empower. See Phi_1:10 for “in the strength of his might.” Not a hendiadys.
CALVI , "10.Finally. Resuming his general exhortations, he again enjoins them to be
strong, — to summon up courage and vigor; for there is always much to enfeeble us, and
we are ill fitted to resist. But when our weakness is considered, an exhortation like this
would have no effect, unless the Lord were present, and stretched out his hand to render
assistance, or rather, unless he supplied us with all the power. Paul therefore adds, in the
Lord. As if he had said, “‘ have no right to reply, that you have not the ability; for all that I
require of you is, be strong in the Lord. ” To explain his meaning more fully, he adds, in the
power of his might, which tends greatly to increase our confidence, particularly as it shews
the remarkable assistance which God usually bestows upon believers. If the Lord aids us by
his mighty power, we have no reason to shrink from the combat. But it will be asked, What
purpose did it serve to enjoin the Ephesians to be strong in the Lord’ mighty power, which
they could not of themselves accomplish? I answer, there are two clauses here which must
be considered. He exhorts them to be courageous, but at the same time reminds them to ask
from God a supply of their own deficiencies, and promises that, in answer to their prayers,
the power of God will be displayed.
Warren Wiersbe, "Often Christians fall into the trap of thinking that they don't

72. need a certain piece of the armor. However, if we leave any piece out, we are
excercising pride. We are saying, "Well, God, I don't need that part of the armour.
I got that area of my life under control." Have you ever noticed that when the great
men and women of the Bible sinned, they always fell in the areas of their greatest
strength? Abraham's greatest strength was his faith. That is where he failed. He
lied about his wife in Gen. 12:10-20. What was Moses' greatest strength? He was
the meekest man on the earth. Yet he lost his tempter, smote the rock instead of
speaking to it and took the credit for producing the water. As a result, he lost the
privilege of entering the promised land- um. 20:7-12. Likewise, Peter failed in his
greatest area of strength-his courage. His faith and courage faltered when he was
walking on the water-Matt. 14:25-31, but probably his greatest failure was his
denial of the Lord Jesus Christ three times in Matt. 26:69-75. What was David's
greatest strength? His integrity. He was a man after God's own heart. That's
where he failed. He moved into duplicity-lying and leading a double life-see II Sam.
11. When you begin to believe you have conquered a certain area of your life and
do not need God's protection for it, that's the very area where Satan will attack you.
You have heard it said that I never had an enemy in the world, but the fact is
everybody has an enemy, and we are all marked as targets on Satan's battle plan.
All the weapons of modern warfare have no more effect than did the spear or arrow.
One of the greatest deceptions is that there is really no battle and you can be at ease.
God harden me against myself,
This coward with pathetic voice;
That craves for ease and rest and joy-
My hollowest friend, my deadliest foe,
My clog whatever road I go.
The Greek word is methodia from words which mean to follow up or investigate by
method or a settled plan, to follow craftily and frame devices and deceive. Satan
tells half truths-Gen. 3:4,5,22 and he quotes the Bible-Matt. 4:6. He uses disguises-
II Cor. 11:14. See also Matt. 24:15, Luke 4:6-7, Acts 20:22 and II Thess. 2:4. Satan
attacks our weak points and so we need to be aware of them and protect ourselves
from attack at those points. If your body chemistry is turned on by drugs or alcohol
then you need to be fully aware of the risks.
PULPIT, "Finally. The apostle has now reached his last passage, and by this word quickens
the attention of his readers and prepares them for a counsel eminently weighty in itself,
and gathering up the pith and marrow, as it were, of what goes before. "My brethren,"
A.V., is rejected by R.V, and most modern commentators, for lack of external evidence. We
note, however, that, whereas in the preceding verses he had distributed the Ephesians into
groups, giving an appropriate counsel to each, he now brings them again together, and has
a concluding counsel for them all. Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Compare with Eph_3:16, where the heavenly provision for obtaining strength is specified,

73. and with Eph_4:30, where we are cautioned against a course that will fritter away that
provision. The ever-recurring formula, "in the Lord," indicates the relation to Christ in
which alone the strength can be experienced. The might is Christ's, but by faith it becomes
our strength. As the steam-engine genders the dynamic force, which belts and wheels
communicate to the inert machinery of the factory, so Christ is the source of that spiritual
strength which through faith is communicated to all his people. To be strong is our duty; to
be weak is our sin. Strong trust, strong courage, strong endurance, strong hope. strong
love, may all be had from him, if only our fellowship with him be maintained in
uninterrupted vigor.
BURKITT, "Our apostle, calling us here forth to the Christian warfare, gives forth the
first word of encouragement to battle: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
A Christian, above all men, needs resolution, and a daring courage: if he be possessed with
fear, he is unfit to go into the field; if dispirited with strong impressions of danger, how
unready for the encounter! Cowards win neither earth nor heaven. But where lies the
Christian's strength? Verily, on the Lord, and not in himself; the strength of the whole host
of saints lies in the Lord of hosts, and accordingly it ought to be the Christian's great care,
in all difficulties and dangers, to strengthen his faith in the almighty power of God.
Observe, 2. A direction given how a saint may come to be strong in the Lord; namely, by
putting on the whole armour of God; that is, by being clothed with the following graces,
which are hereafter mentioned in this chapter; as, the shield of faith, the breastplate of
righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, & c.
ow these are called armour of God, because they are of his appointment and institution;
and of his make and constitution; and this armour must be put on, that is, our grace kept in
continual exercise. It is one thing to have armour in the house, and another to have it
buckled on in the field; it is not sufficient to have grace in the habit and principle, but it is
grace in act and exercise that must conquer spiritual enemies.
Observe, 3. A reason assigned why the Christian is to be thus completely armed: That he
may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; intimating that the devil is one chief
enemy we have to combat with in the Christian warfare, and that this enemy is a wily,
subtle enemy, discovering his dangerous policy, first by tempting and alluring into sin, and
them by vexing and tormenting for sin. But Satan, with all his wits and wiles, shall never
finally vanquish (though he may, in a particular battle, overcome) a soul clad with spiritual
armour; nay, he that hath this armour of God on, shall certainly vanquish and overcome
him: Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against, & c.
SIMEO , "THE CHRISTIA ’S STRE GTH
Eph_6:10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
THE Christian’s life is frequently represented in the Scriptures under the metaphor of a
warfare. Christ is called “the Captain of his salvation [ ote: Heb_2:10.];” and they who
have enlisted under his banners, and “quit themselves like men,” “fighting the good fight of
faith [ ote: 1Co_16:13. 1Ti_6:12.],” and enduring cheerfully all the hardships of the
campaign, are called “good soldiers of Jesus Christ [ ote: 2Ti_2:3.].” “Like warriors, they

74. do not entangle themselves with the affairs of this life, that they may please him who has
chosen them to be soldiers [ ote: 2Ti_2:4.];” but they set themselves to “war a good
warfare [ ote: 1Ti_1:18.],” and they look for the rewards of victory, when they shall have
subdued all their enemies [ ote: 2Ti_3:7-8. Rev_3:21.].
In the chapter before us, this subject is not slightly touched, as in the detached passages
above referred to, but is treated at large; and that which in other places is only a metaphor,
is here a professed simile. St. Paul, standing, as it were, in the midst of the camp, harangues
the soldiers, telling them what enemies they have to combat, and how they may guard
effectually against all their stratagems, and secure to themselves the victory. He begins
with an animating exhortation, wherein he reminds them of the wonderful talents of their
General, and urges them to place the most unlimited confidence in his skill and power.
The exhortation being contracted into a very small space, and conveying far more than
appears at first sight, we shall consider, first, What is implied in it; and afterwards, What
is expressed.
I. What is implied in the exhortation—
The first thing that would naturally occur to any one to whom this exhortation was
addressed, is, that the Christian has need of strength; for on any other supposition than
this, the words would be altogether absurd.
But the Christian will indeed appear to require strength, whether we consider the work he
has to perform, or the difficulties he has to cope with. It is no easy matter to stem the tide
of corrupt nature, to controul the impetuous passions, to root out inveterate habits, to turn
the current of our affections from the things of time and sense to things invisible and
eternal. To renew and sanctify our hearts, and to transform them into the Divine image, is
a work far beyond the power of feeble man; yet is it indispensably necessary to his
salvation.
But as though this were not of itself sufficient to call forth the Christian’s exertions, he has
hosts of enemies to contend with, as soon as ever he addresses himself in earnest to the
work assigned him. ot to mention all the propensities of his nature, which will instantly
rise up in rebellion against him, and exert all their power for the mastery, the world will
immediately begin to cry out against him; they will direct all their artillery against him,
their scoffs, their ridicule, their threats: his very friends will turn against him; and “those
of his own household will become his greatest foes.” They would let him go on in the broad
road year after year, and not one amongst them would ever exhort him to love and serve
his God: but the very moment that he enters on the narrow path that leadeth unto life, they
will all, with one heart and one soul, unite their endeavours to obstruct his course; and
when they cannot prevail, they will turn their back upon him, and give him up as an
irreclaimable enthusiast.
In conjunction with these will Satan (as we shall hereafter have occasion to shew) combine
his forces: yea, he will put himself at their head, and direct their motions, and stimulate
their exertions, and concur with them to the uttermost to captivate and destroy the heaven-
born soul.
And can such work be performed, such difficulties be surmounted, without the greatest
efforts? Surely they who are called to such things, had need “be strong.”

75. A second thing implied in the exhortation is, that the Christian has no strength in himself;
for, if he had, why should he be exhorted to be strong in another?
Little do men imagine how extremely impotent they are, in themselves, to that which is
good. It must be easy, one would suppose, to read and understand the word of God, or, at
least, to profit by a clear and faithful ministration of it. But these are far beyond the power
of the natural man. The word is “a sealed book” to him [ ote: Isa_29:11-12.], which, for
want of a spiritual discernment, appears a mass of foolishness [ ote: 1Co_2:14.], a
“cunningly devised fable [ ote: 2Pe_1:16 and Eze_20:49.].” When it was even explained by
our Lord, the Apostles, for the space of more than three years, were not able to
comprehend its import, till he opened their understandings to understand it [ ote: Luk_
24:44-45.]; and Lydia, like thousands of others, would have been unmoved by the preaching
of Paul, if “the Lord had not opened her heart” to apprehend and embrace his word [ ote:
Act_16:14.]. It should seem, however, that if these things be beyond the power of man, he
can at least pray to God to instruct him. But neither can he do this, unless the Spirit of God
“help his infirmities,” teaching him what to pray for [ ote: Rom_8:26.], and assisting him
in offering the petitions [ ote: Jude. ver. 20. Zec_12:10.].” If he be insufficient for this
work, it may be hoped he is able to do something. But our Lord tells us, that, without the
special aid of his grace, he “can do nothing [ ote: Joh_15:5.].” Can he not then speak what
is good? o; “How can ye, being evil, speak good things [ ote: Mat_12:34.]?” says our
Lord: and St. Paul says, “ o man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost
[ ote: 1Co_12:3.].” Still may he not will, or at least think, what is good? We must answer
this also in the negative: “It is God alone who worketh in us both to will and to do, of his
good pleasure [ ote: Php_2:13.].” or had St. Paul himself, no, not even after his
conversion, an ability, of himself, to “think any thing good; his sufficiency was of God, and
of God alone [ ote: 2Co_3:5.].” Our impotence cannot be more fitly expressed by any
words whatever, than by that expression of the Apostle, “Ye are dead in trespasses and sins
[ ote: Eph_2:1.]:” for, till God quicken us from the dead, we are as incapable of all the
exercises of the spiritual life, as a breathless corpse is of all the functions of the animal life.
There is yet a third thing implied in this exhortation, namely, that there is a sufficiency for
us in Christ; for otherwise the Apostle would not have urged us in this manner to be strong
in him.
Well does the Apostle speak of Christ’s “mighty power;” for indeed he is almighty, “he has
all power committed to him both in heaven and in earth [ ote: Mat_28:18.].” We may
judge of his all-sufficiency by what he wrought when he was on earth: the most inveterate
diseases vanished at his touch, at his word, at a mere act of volition, when he was at a
distance from the patient. The fishes of the sea were constrained to minister unto him: yea,
the devils themselves yielded to his authority, and were instantly forced to liberate their
captives at his command: they could not even enter into the swine without his permission.
The very elements also were obedient to his word; the winds were still; the waves forbore
to roll; the storm that threatened to overwhelm him, became a perfect calm. What then can
he not do for those who trust in him? “Is his hand now shortened, that he cannot save? or is
his ear heavy, that he cannot hear?” Can he not heal the diseases of our souls, and calm our
troubled spirits, and supply our every want? Cannot he who “triumphed over principalities
and powers upon the cross, and spoiled them, and led them captive in his ascension [ ote:
Col_2:15. Eph_4:8.],” fulfil his promise, that “sin shall not have dominion over us [ ote:
Rom_6:14.],” and that “Satan shall be bruised under our feet shortly [ ote: Rom_16:20.]?”
Doubtless he is “the Lord Jehovah, with whom is everlasting strength [ ote: Isa_26:4.],”

76. and who is therefore “able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him [ ote:
Heb_7:25.].”
These things being understood as implied in the exhortation, we may more fully
comprehend in the II. place, what is expressed in it.
It is evident that there are two points to which the Apostle designs to lead us: the one is, to
rely on Christ for strength, the other is, to “be strong in him”, with an assured confidence
of success.
In relation to the first of these we observe, that a general must confide in his army full as
much as his army confides in him; for as they cannot move to advantage without an
experienced head to guide them, so neither can he succeed in his plans, unless he have a
brave and well-appointed army to carry them into execution. It is not thus in the Christian
army; there all the confidence is in the General alone. He must not only train his soldiers,
and direct them in the day of battle, but he must be with them in the battle, shielding their
heads, and strengthening their arms, and animating their courage, and reviving them when
faint, and raising them when fallen, and healing them when wounded, and finally, beating
down their enemies that they may trample them under their feet.
The fulness that is in Christ is treasured up in him for us [ ote: Col_1:19. Eph_1:22-23.],
that we may receive out of it according to our necessities. As he came down from heaven to
purchase for us all the gifts of the Spirit, so he has ascended up to heaven that he might
bestow them upon us [ ote: Eph_4:10.], and fill us, each according to his measure, with all
the fulness of God [ ote: Eph_3:19; Eph_4:7.]. Hence previous to his death he said, “Ye
believe in God; believe also in me [ ote: Joh_14:1.]:” let that same faith which you repose
in God the Father as your Creator, he reposed in me as your Redeemer: let it be full, and
implicit: let it extend to every want: let it be firm and unshaken, under all circumstances
however difficult, however adverse.
Such was our Lord’s direction: and agreeable to it was the experience of the great Apostle,
who says, “The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me [ ote: Gal_2:20.].”
It is characteristic of every Christian soldier to receive thus out of Christ’s fulness [ ote:
Joh_1:16.]; and to say, “In the Lord have I righteousness and strength [ ote: Isa_45:24.].”
But the principal point which the Apostle aims at in the text, is, to inspire us with a holy
confidence in Christ, so that we may be as much assured of victory as if we saw all our
enemies fleeing before us, or already prostrate at our feet. We cannot have a more striking
illustration of our duty in this respect than the history of David’s combat with Goliath. He
would not go against his adversary with armour suited to the occasion: he went forth in the
name of the God of Israel; and therefore he did not doubt one moment the issue of the
contest: he well knew that God could direct his aim; and that he was as sure of victory
without any other arms than a sling and a stone from his shepherd’s bag, as he could be
with the completest armour that Saul himself could give him [ ote: 1Sa_17:45-47.]. What
David thus illustrated, we may see exemplified in the conduct of St. Paul: “If God be for
us,” says he, “who can be against us?” Who is he that shall condemn me? (shall the law
curse me? or Satan overcome me?) I fear none of them; since Christ has died, yea rather, is
risen again, and maketh intercession for me. Who shall separate me from the love of
Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or

77. sword? ay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us: for
I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be
able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord [ ote: Rom_
8:31-39.].” Thus it is that we must, go forth against all the enemies of our salvation: we
must “have no confidence in the flesh [ ote: Php_3:3.];” neither must we have any doubt
respecting the all-sufficiency of our God: the weakest among us should boldly say, “The
Lord is my helper; I will not fear what men or devils can do against me [ ote: Heb_13:6.]:”
“I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me [ ote: Php_4:13.].”
In applying this subject to the different classes of professing Christians, we should first
address ourselves to the self-confident.
It is the solemn declaration of God, that “by strength shall no man prevail [ ote: 1Sa_2:9.
See also Rom_9:16 and Zec_4:6 and Joh_1:13.].” We might hope that men would be
convinced of this truth by their own experience. Who amongst us has not made vows and
resolutions without number, and broken them again almost as soon as they were made?
Who ever resolved to devote himself unfeignedly to God, and did not find, that he was
unable steadfastly to pursue his purpose? What folly is it then to be renewing these vain
attempts, when we have the evidence both of Scripture and experience that we cannot
succeed! How much better would it be to trust in that “mighty One, on whom help is laid
[ ote: Psa_89:19.]!” Learn, brethren, before it be too late, that “without Christ you can do
nothing:” that “all your fresh springs are in him [ ote: Psa_87:7.]:” and “of him must your
fruit be found [ ote: Hos_14:8.]:” “in him alone shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and
shall glory [ ote: Isa_45:25.].” If you will not “be strong in him,” you will continue
“without strength:” but if once you truly “know him, you shall be strong, and do exploits
[ ote: Dan_11:32.].”
We would next claim the attention of the timid. It is but too common for the Lord’s people
to be indulging needless fears, like David, when he said, “I shall one day perish by the
hands of Saul [ ote: 1Sa_27:1.].” But surely such deserve the rebuke which our Lord gave
to Peter, “O thou of little faith, wherefore dost thou doubt [ ote: Mat_14:31.]?” If thou
doubtest the Lord’s willingness to save thee, say, wherefore did he die for thee, even for the
chief of sinners? If thou callest in question his power, what is there in thy case that can
baffle Omnipotence? If thou art discouraged on account of thy own weakness, know that
the weaker thou art in thyself, the stronger thou shalt be in him [ ote: 2Co_12:10.]; and
that “he will perfect his own strength in thy weakness [ ote: 2Co_12:9.].” If thou fearest
on account of the strength and number of thine enemies, he meets thy fears with this
salutary admonition; “Say ye not, A confederacy, a confederacy; but sanctify the Lord of
Hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread [ ote: Isa_8:12-13.].”
Only trust in him; and though weak, he will strengthen thee [ ote: Isa_26:6.]; though faint,
he will revive thee [ ote: Isa_40:29-31.]; though wounded, he will heal thee [ ote: Exo_
15:26. Isa_33:23.]; though captive, he will liberate thee [ ote: Isa_14:2; Isa_49:24-25.];
though slain, he will raise thee up again, and give thee the victory over all thine enemies
[ ote: Isa_10:4. This is a threatening; but it may be applied to God’s friends à fortiori.].
“Be strong then and very courageous [ ote: Jos_1:6-7; Jos_1:9.]:” abhor the thought of
indulging a cowardly spirit, as long as “God’s throne is in heaven [ ote: Psa_11:1-4.];” and
assure yourselves, with David, that though your “enemies encompass you as bees, in the
name of the Lord you shall destroy them [ ote: Psa_118:6-12.].”
Lastly, let the victorious Christian listen to a word of counsel. We are apt to be elated in the

78. time of victory, and to arrogate to ourselves some portion of the glory. But God solemnly
cautions us against this [ ote: Deu_6:10-12; Deu_8:10-11; Deu_8:17-18.]: and if, with
ebuchadnezzar or Sennacherib, we take the glory to ourselves, the time is nigh at hand
when God will fearfully abase us [ ote: Isa_37:24-29. Dan_4:30-32; Dan_4:37.]. We cannot
do better than take the Psalmist for our pattern: he was enabled to perform the most
astonishing feats, and was honoured with the most signal victories: yet so careful is he to
give the glory to God, that he repeats again and again, the same grateful acknowledgments,
confessing God to be the sole author of his success, and ascribing to him the honour due
unto his name [ ote: Psa_18:29-42.]. Let it be remembered, that “our enemies still live and
are mighty:” and therefore we must not boast as if the time were come for us to put off our
armour [ ote: 1Ki_20:11.]. We need the same power to keep down our enemies, as to bring
them down at first: we should soon fall a prey to the tempter, if left one moment to
ourselves. Let our eyes therefore still be to Jesus, “the Author and the Finisher of our
faith;” depending on his mighty power for “strength according to our day [ ote: Deu_
33:25.],” and for the accomplishment of the promise which he hath given us, that “no
weapon formed against us shall ever prosper [ ote: Isa_54:17.].”
BI, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.
Why strength is needed
There is good reason for our being so often advised in the Scriptures to “be strong.”
Christian character has two sides. We cease to do evil. We also learn to do well. But doing
well is impossible if we are not strong. The forces of evil are many and mighty. Life is
short. The love of ease is deep rooted. Unless we are strong we effect nothing. Our lives
shall be mere bundles of resolves never effected, collections of impotent wishes that never
come to anything. (Dr. John Hall.)
Moral strength
It often requires a braver man to say “ o,” than to take the Cashmere Gate at Delhi.
Perfect courage consists in doing without a witness all that we could do if the whole world
were looking on. A poor mill girl in the north of England had been led by her clergyman’s
teaching to become a regular communicant, and because of this she had to bear every kind
of persecution, chiefly from members of her own family. They not only tried every kind of
insult to vex her, but even blasphemed the Blessed Sacrament itself. At last the poor girl
went to her clergyman, saying, “What shall I do? I cannot bear it much longer.” And he
reminded her of her Saviour’s sorrow, and how that when he was reviled “He opened not
His mouth.” At last, one day, this true heroine of humble life fell down dead from heart
disease, and when they removed her dress, they found a piece of paper stitched inside it, on
which were these words--“He opened not His mouth.” She had won her victory, and now
she rests “where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest.” Anyone can
resent an injury, it takes a brave man to bear it patiently. (H. J. Wilmot-Baxton, M. A.)

79. The apostle’s humility
“Brother” is a word of equality; in calling them “brethren,” he makes himself equal unto
them, though he himself were one of the principal members of Christ’s body, one of the
eyes thereof, a minister of the Word, an extraordinary minister, an apostle, a spiritual
father of many souls, a planter of many famous Churches, yea, the planter of this Church
at Ephesus; and though many of them to whom he wrote were poor, mean men,
handicraftsmen, such as laboured with their hands for their living; and many also servants,
and bondmen; yet without exception of any, he terms and counts them all his brethren, and
so makes himself equal to them of the lower sort. Behold his humility. For if to affect titles
of superiority, as Rabbi, Doctor, Father, be a note of arrogancy (as it is, and therefore
Christ in that respect taxed the Scribes and Pharisees), then to take and give titles of
humility is a note of humility. The like notes of humility may be oft noted both in other
Epistles of this apostle, and in the Epistles of other apostles, yea, and in all the prophets
also. Well they knew that, notwithstanding there were divers officers, places, and outward
degrees, among Christians; yet they all had one Father, and were fellow members of one
and the same Body, and in regard of their spiritual estate all one in Christ Jesus. (William
Gouge.)
Of Christian courage end resolution, wherefore necessary, and how obtained
The Christian, of all men, needs courage and resolution. Indeed, there is nothing he doth as
Christian, nor can do, but is an act of valour. A cowardly spirit is beneath the lowest duty
of a Christian (Jos_1:7), “Be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest”--what?
stand in battle against those warlike nations? o, but “that thou mayest observe to do
according to all the law, which Moses My servant commanded thee.” It requires more
prowess and greatness of spirit to obey God faithfully, than to command an army of men;
to be a Christian, than to be a captain. What seems less than for a Christian to pray? yet
this cannot be performed aright without a princely spirit; as Jacob is said to behave himself
like a prince, when he did but pray; for which he came out of the field God’s banneret.
Indeed if you call that prayer which a carnal person performs, nothing more poor and
dastard-like. Such a one is as great a stranger to this enterprize, as the cowardly soldier is
to the exploits of a valiant chieftain. The Christian in prayer comes up close to God, with a
humble boldness of faith, and takes hold of Him, wrestles with Him; yea, will not let Him
go without a blessing, and all this in the face of his own sins, and Divine justice, which let
fly upon him from the fiery mouth of the law; while the other’s boldness in prayer is but
the child, either of ignorance in his mind, or hardness in his heart; whereby not feeling his
sins, and not knowing his danger, he rushes upon duty with a blind confidence, which soon
fails when conscience awakes, and gives him the alarm that his sins are upon him, as the
Philistines on Samson: alas! then in a fright the poor-spirited wretch throws down his
weapon, flies the presence of God with guilty Adam, and dares not look Him in the face.
Indeed, there is no duty in a Christian’s whole course of walking with God, or acting for
God, but is lined with many difficulties, which shoot like enemies through the hedges at the
Christian, whilst he is marching towards heaven: so that he is put to dispute every inch of
ground as he goes. They are only a few noble-spirited souls, who dare take heaven by force,
that are fit for this calling. For the further proof of this point, see some few pieces of
service that every Christian engageth in.
1. The Christian is to proclaim and prosecute an irreconcilable war against his bosom sins;

80. those sins which have lain nearest his heart must now be trampled under his feet.
2. The Christian is to walk singularly, not after the world’s guise (Rom_12:2).
3. The Christian must keep on his way to heaven in the midst of all the scandals that are
cast upon the ways of God, by the apostasy and foul falls of false professors.
4. The Christian must trust in a withdrawing God (Isa_50:10). This requires a holy
boldness of faith.
5. The believer is to persevere in his Christian course to the end of his life; his work and his
life must go off the stage together. This adds weight to every other difficulty of the
Christian’s calling. We have known many who have gone into the field, and liked the work
of a soldier for a battle or two, but soon have had enough, and come running home again;
but few can bear it as a constant trade. Many are soon engaged in holy duties, easily
persuaded to take up a profession of religion, and as easily persuaded to lay it down; like
the new moon, which shines a little in the first part of the night, but is down before half the
night be gone; lightsome professors in their youth, whose old age is wrapt up in thick
darkness of sin and wickedness. O this persevering is a hard word! this taking up of the
cross daily, this praying always, this watching night and day, and never laying aside our
clothes and armour; I mean indulging ourselves to remit and unbend in our holy waiting on
God, and walking with God; this sends many sorrowful away from Christ; yet this is the
saint’s duty to make religion his everyday work, without any vacation from one end of the
year to the other. These few instances are enough to show what need the Christian hath of
resolution.
The application follows.
1. This gives us then a reason why there are so many professors and so few Christians
indeed; so many go into the field against Satan, and so few come out conquerors; because
all have a desire to be happy, but few have courage and resolution to grapple with the
difficulties that meet them in their way to happiness.
2. Let us, then, exhort you Christians to labour for this holy resolution and prowess, which
is so needful for your Christian profession, that without it you cannot be what you profess.
The fearful are in the forlorn of those that march for hell (Rev_21:1-27). The violent and
valiant are they which take heaven by force; cowards never won heaven. Say not, thou hast
royal blood running in thy veins, and art begotten of God, except thou canst prove thy
pedigree by this heroic spirit, to dare to be holy in spite of men and devils. The eagle tries
her young ones by the sun; Christ tries His children by their courage, that dare look on the
face of death and danger for His sake (Mar_8:34-35). ow, Christian, if thou meanest thus
courageously to bear up against all opposition, in thy march to heaven as thou shouldst do
well to raise thy spirit with such generous and soul-ennobling thoughts, so in an especial
manner look thy principles be well fitted, or else thy heart will be unstable; and an unstable
heart is weak as water, it cannot excel in courage.
Two things are required to fix our principles.
1. An established judgment in the truth of God. He that knows not well what or whom he
fights for, may soon be persuaded to change his side, or at least stand neuter. Such may be
found that go for professors, that can hardly give an account what they hope for, or whom

81. they hope in; yet Christians they must be thought, though they run before they know their
errand; or if they have some principles they go upon, they are so unsettled that every wind
blows them down, like loose tiles from the housetop. Blind zeal is soon put to a shameful
retreat, while holy resolution, built on fast principles, lifts up its head like a rock in the
midst of the waves. “Those that know their God shall be strong and do exploits” (Dan_
11:32).
2. A sincere aim at the right end in our profession. Let a man be never so knowing in the
things of Christ, if his aim be not right in his profession, that man’s principles will hang
very loose; he will not venture much, or far for Christ, no more, no further than he can
save his own stake. A hypocrite may show some metal at hand, some courage for a moment
in conquering some difficulties, but he will show himself a jade at length. He that hath a
false end in his profession, will soon come to an end of his profession, when he is pinched on
that toe where his corn is; I mean, called to deny that his naughty heart aimed at all this
while; now his heart fails him, he can go no further. O take heed of this wistful eye to our
profit, pleasure, honour, or anything beneath Christ and heaven; for they will take away
your heart, as the prophet saith of wine and women; that is, our love; and if our love be
taken away, there will be nothing left for Christ. (W. Gurnall, M. A.)
Strength in the Lord
The meaning of the text is--Be strong as those may be who are bound to God in Christ.
1. Our enlistment. We have been taken into Christ’s army, to fight under His banner. ot
solitary knight errants; but an embattled host set in array under the banner of a Captain.
This prevents our thinking too much of ourselves. The more we forget ourselves the better.
The soldier in an army does not fight for himself. He fights as one of many, for a common
cause. He is willing to die, for his part--to have his place filled up, and be forgotten,
provided the victory be won by his commander. This is what touches us all in a soldier’s
life; and it touches us first because it is an image of the true Divine law for each. To lose
one’s self in the cause, and to be zealous, enduring, brave, in the service of the King and the
Realm, is as much the glory of a soldier of Jesus Christ, as of the professional soldier.
2. This feeling, of the community of our service, may be strengthened much by thinking of
our common enemies. There are wickedness and darkness in the world, spiritual in their
nature, and to be fought against as spiritual foes. Victory is to be won over evil; over
ignorance and stupidity; over malignant errors and false opinions; over vice and misery.
These are the devil’s servants, ever active and encroaching, whom we are commissioned to
repel. Our fighting against these enemies must be done in common. The evils are social, or
rather anti-social. Every man is hindered or helped by all his neighbours. We cannot, if we
would, fight alone. o man liveth or dieth to himself. We know not whom we may help by a
truth, or whom we may hinder by a lie. Let us remember that our own enemies are our
brother’s enemies, and that his enemies are ours, and that all victories over evil are a
common gain. (J. Ll. Davies, M. A.)
Strong Christians

82. A weak and cowardly soldier is a pitiful object, but a weak-kneed, cowardly Christian is
still more so. I do not mean that we must be noisy and violent, and quarrelsome in our
religion. one of these things are a proof of strength. A giant of power is ever the gentlest,
having the hand of steel in the glove of silk. So the stronger a Christian is the more humbly
he bears himself. A writer of the day says very truly, “If the world wants iron dukes, and
iron men, God wants iron saints.”
I. Be strong in faith. Be quite sure that you do believe; be quite clear what you believe, and
then show your faith strongly. Oar faith is not built on sand, but on a rook. It is not
founded on such words as--perhaps, I suppose, I hope. o, the Creed of the Church says, “I
believe.” Be ready to give a reason for the faith that is in you.
II. Be strong in your language. When Lord elson was going into his last battle, they
wished him to cover, or lay aside, the glittering orders of victory which adorned his breast.
But the hero refused, and perhaps his refusal cost him his life. Well, let us never hide the
marks of our profession as Christian soldiers; even if we have to suffer, let men know that
we bear about in our bodies the marks of the Lord Jesus.
III. Be strong in self-sacrifice for Jesus. We must not forget our cross. Let me tell you the
stories of two simple servant maids who, under very different circumstances, gave up their
life for the life of little children. The scene of the first story was in America, nearly five and
twenty years ago; that of the second story was in London, quite recently. A young English
girl had taken service in a family going to America, and her special duty was the charge of
the three motherless children of her widowed master. One cold day in December they all
embarked in a great Mississippi steamboat bound for the far orthwest. Day after day they
steamed through the swollen river, where pieces of ice were already showing, past dark and
gloomy shores, lined with lonely forest. One night, near the end of their voyage, the girl had
seen her charges, two girls and a boy, safely asleep, and now, when all the other passengers
had retired, she was reading in the saloon. Suddenly the silence was broken by a terrible
cry, which told the frightened passengers that the steamboat was on fire. The captain
instantly ran the vessel for the shore, and ordered the people to escape as best they could,
without waiting to dress. The faithful servant had called her master, and then carried the
children from their beds to the crowded deck. Quickly the blazing vessel touched the
muddy bank, and the father placed the shivering children and the servant on one of the
huge branches which overhung the river. A few other passengers, fifteen in all, reached
other branches, the rest went down with the burning steamer. But what hope could there
be for the children, just snatched from their warm beds, and now exposed unclad to the
bitter December night? Their father had no clothing to cover them, and, as he spoke of
another steamer which would pass by in the morning, he had little hope of his children
holding out. Then the servant maid declared that if possible she would keep the little ones
alive. Clinging in the darkness to the icy branches, she stripped off her own clothing, all but
the thin garment next her body, and wrapped up the shivering children. Thus they passed
the long, dark hours of that terrible night. I know not what prayers were spoken, but I
know that Jesus, who suffered cold and hunger for our sakes, made that servant girl strong
to sacrifice herself. During the night one of the children died, but in the morning, when the

83. first light came, the little girls were still alive. Then, when her work was done, the freezing
limbs of the brave girl relaxed their hold, a deadly sleep fell on her, and she dropped
silently into the rushing river below. Presently a steamer came in sight, and the two
children for whom she had died were safe. Only quite lately there was a great fire in
London. In the burning house were a husband and wife, their children, and a servant maid.
The parents perished in the flames, but the servant appeared to the sight of the crowd
below, framed, as it were, in fire, at a blazing window. Loudly shouted the excited crowd,
bidding the girl to save herself. But she was thinking of others. Throwing a bed from the
window, she signalled to those below to stretch it out. Then, darting into the burning room,
she brought one of the children of her employers, and dropped it safely on to the bed.
Fiercer grew the flames, but again this humble heroine faced the fire, and saved the other
children. Then the spectators, loudly cheering, begged her to save herself. But her strength
was exhausted, she faltered in her jump, and was so injured that death soon came to her.
My brothers, no one will raise a grand monument to Emma Willoughby, and Alice Ayres,
who passed, the one through water, the other through fire, for Christ’s dear sake. But
surely in God’s great Home of many mansions their names are written in letters of gold.
IV. Be strong in fighting the battle. You know that life is a great battlefield. Put on, then,
the whole armour of God. Stand, as Christ’s soldiers, side by side, shoulder to shoulder,
with your faces to the foe. When apoleon retreated from Moscow, and the main body had
passed by, the mounted Cossacks hovered around the stragglers, who, overcome by cold
and fatigue, could only force their way slowly through the snow. Many a weary Frenchman
thus fell beneath the Cossack lances. Presently a band of these fierce horsemen saw a dark
object on the snowy plain, and dashed towards it. They were face to face with a small body
of French who had formed into a square to resist them, their bayonets at the charge. The
Cossacks rode round and round, seeking for a weak place for attack, and finding none. At
length they charged the square, and found it formed of frozen corpses. The Frenchmen had
died whilst waiting for the foe. Brothers, may death find us fighting the good fight. “Be
strong in the Lord.” (H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, M. A.)
Christian strength
Christian strength is a subject which needs emphasizing. Christians have not always been
strong. The mediaeval saints, with their fastings and scourgings, their pale faces and
emaciated forms, in spite of much that was beautiful in their lives, were not strong. It was a
false conception of the Christian life which drove them to the fancied safety of the cloister,
while the voice of the great Captain was calling His soldiers, then as now, to fight the
eternal battle against sin and selfishness in the glare of day and amid the temptations of the
world. And in our own day how many religious biographies are but a tedious record of
lives that were in no sense strong. It is scarcely surprising that the average young man’s
opinion of the religious life should be that it is not a very attractive thing; at any rate, as
wanting in broad, strong, cheerful humanity. And yet strength and common sense--sturdy
strength and masculine common sense--have always been the characteristics of true
Christianity. They are the characteristics of Christ Himself. How strong and fearless the
spirit with which He went ever to the heart and core of religion! Woe unto you, ye
formalists! Or look again at the life of the great apostle. Was not His religion strong and
masculine, healthy and practical. Study the way in which He dealt with the vexed questions

84. of His time, such as slavery, or mixed marriage, or meats offered to idols, or circumcision,
or the larger question of the relation of Jew to Gentile; and you will find He never fails to
divide the kernel from the husk, the essential from the accidental, the eternal from the
temporal. You will find that freedom, and love of truth, and a great-hearted catholic
sympathy from the very fibre and tissue of his teaching. And so it should be now. So it is
now, with all true saints of God. Human nature is not a poor thing, but a grand thing-
grand in its origin, for in His own image God created us: grand in its achievements, for
men have lived and are living heroic lives by the power of Christ; grand in its destiny, for
we shall one day be like Christ and see Him as He is. (W. M. Furneaux, M. A.)
Strong in prayer
“Be strong in the Lord” means Be strong in prayer: and never was the warning more
needful than in our day. We live in an age of steam and electricity, of activity and bustle, of
jostle and close contact: an age which is nothing if it is not practical: an age which scarcely
disguises its contempt for a life of contemplation. We are all tempted to fancy that the
hours which we give to prayer and meditation are wasted hours: we are all the more
tempted to think so, because on every side of us are earnest men, working zealously in the
cause of humanity, who do not even pretend to be in any sense men of prayer. And yet it is
my profound conviction that every life, however faithfully it be spent in the services of
others, falls immeasurably below what it might be, if it is not inspired by prayer. I stood a
few weeks ago before the grandest creation of human art, the San Sisto Madonna of
Raphael. On an easel at my side was a finished copy. It was the work of a good artist. Every
line of feature, every fold of drapery, every shade and tint of colour, seemed a faithful
reproduction of the great masterpiece. Yet something was lacking. The nameless something
which constitutes the divine genius of the original had evaporated and perished in the copy.
My brothers, it is even so with the life of a man who prays, and the life of a man who prays
not. We all know men whose faces, as we look upon them, are transparent with a radiant
purity: we feel that the light upon their features is a reflection from the light which falls
upon the countenance of their Angel who always beholds the face of their Father in heaven:
we feel that in their presence we breathe a purer atmosphere, which sends us away
stronger in courage and in purpose: we feel that they have a strength which others have
not, because they are men of prayer. They go forth every morning to the day’s work,
refreshed and invigorated by prayer: they have learnt to turn, now and again, throughout
the day, to their Master’s face. In proportion as we train ourselves, in every moment of
doubt and difficulty, of trial and temptation--nay, in every little act of daily life--to look
upon that Face so helpful in its calm strength, so sweet in its radiant purity, we shall lead
noble lives, which shall be indeed “‘strong in the Lord.” (W. M. Furneaux, M. A.)
The need of Christian courage
Christian valour and spiritual courage is a needful grace.
1. Because of our own indisposition, timorousness, dulness, and backwardness to all holy
and good duties. What Christian findeth not this by woeful experience in himself? When he
would pray, etc., there is I know not what fearfulness in him; his flesh hangeth back, as a
bear when he is drawn to the stake.

85. 2. Because of those many oppositions which we are sure to meet.
(1) The world.
(2) The devil. (William Gouge.)
All strength from God
The strength and valour whereby we are enabled to fight the Lord’s battle, is hid in the
Lord, and to be had from Him. The Lord has thus reserved all strength in Himself, and
would have us strong in Him, for two reasons:
1. For His own glory, that in time of need we might fly unto Him, and in all straits cast
ourselves on Him; and, being preserved and delivered, acknowledge Him our Saviour, and
accordingly give Him the whole praise.
2. For our comfort, that in all distresses we might be the more confident. Much more bold
may we be in the Lord, than in ourselves. God’s power being infinite, it is impossible that it
should be mated by any adverse power, which at the greatest is finite. Were our strength in
ourselves, though for a time it might seem sufficient, yet would there be fear of decay; but
being in God, we rest upon an Omnipotency, and so have a far surer prop to our faith.
(William Gouge.)
God’s power is most mighty
The power of God, whereunto we are to trust, is a most mighty and strong power, a power
able to protect us against the might of all other powers whatsoever. According to God’s
greatness is His power--infinite, incomprehensible, unutterable, inconceivable. As a mighty
wind which driveth all before it; as a swift and strong stream, against which none can
swim; as a burning flaming fire which consumeth and devoureth all--so is God’s power.
Whatsoever standeth before it, and is opposed against it, is but as chaff before a strong
wind, or bulrushes before a swift current, or stubble before a flaming fire; for all other
power, though to our weakness it seem never so mighty, can be but finite, being the power
of creatures, and so a limited power, yea, a dependent power subordinate to this power of
might, of His might who is Almighty, and so no proportion betwixt them.
1. A strong prop is this to our faith, and a good motive to make us trust entirely to the
power of God, without wavering or doubting, notwithstanding our own weakness, or our
adversaries’ power.
2. It is no matter of presumption, to be sure of victory, being strong in this mighty power,
because it is the power of Almighty God. (William Gouge.)
The benefit of confidence in God

86. 1. It will remove causeless fear ( eh_6:11; Pro_22:13).
2. It will make bold in apparent danger (Psa_3:6; Pro_28:1).
3. It will recover a man’s spirit, though he should by occasion be wounded, stricken down,
and foiled; so as though at first he prevail not, yet it will make him rise up again and renew
the battle (Jos_8:3; Jdg_20:30). (William Gouge.)
A Christian’s warfare
A few general observations on the warfare of a Christian.
I. It is in its nature honourable.
1. As to what he opposes. Sin. Satan. Sinners, He.
2. As to what he aims at. God’s glory. The salvation of souls.
3. As to the parties that are with him. God. Angels. Saints.
II. It is very mysterious. As--
1. The principal agents in it are invisible.
2. one see or understand it but by experience.
3. His enemies eventually promote his victory. Job. Paul. “But I would ye should
understand, brethren,” etc. (Php_1:12).
4. Its weapons can be used by thousands at once.
5. He dies to conquer and be crowned.
III. It is the most important.
1. Whether Christ or Satan be superior.
2. Whether he shall be saved or lost.
IV. His armour is complete.

87. V. His enemies are condemned, and virtually conquered.
1. Sin.
2. Satan.
3. Death. (H. J. Foster.)
The apostolic exhortation
1. Brethren”--
(1) As begotten of the same spiritual Father.
(2) As entitled to the same privileges.
(3) As bearing the same spiritual features.
2. “Be strong.”
I. The nature of the exhortation. Seen by describing a Christian soldier strong in the Lord,
etc. As he has to do--
1. With the guilt of accumulated sin (Psa_51:1, etc.).
2. With a body of indwelling sin (Rom_7:1, etc.).
3. With Satan’s temptations (2Co_12:7-9).
4. With great outward trials (Job_1:1, etc.; Act_20:23-24).
5. With death.
II. The way in which the Lord brings His people to be as He exhorts.
1. By showing them the importance of their situation. As made for eternity. As accountable
to God. “ either is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight,” etc. (Heb_4:13). As
called to glorify God.
2. By giving them to feel that they can do nothing.
3. By showing that in the Mediator is all they want.

88. 4. By teaching them to pray for strength.
5. By giving them to know that He dwells in them.
6. By showing them what He has done before for them and for others. (H. J. Foster.)
Strength in the Lord
What makes the strongest things in the material world--the trees, the rocks, the
mountains? A law which we call the law of their gravitation. That is, they are under a law
which draws first the parts one to another, and then altogether into one centre. It is the
same law which does both--that attracts them to each other, and then to a common point.
Hence their firmness; hence their fixedness; hence their strength. And as it is in the
natural, so it is in the spiritual world. There must be, and there must be felt, a great
pervading, constraining principle. This principle must fasten us altogether, and it must
fasten to one deep, hidden centre. And that principle is the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God meant that to be to the moral world what the law of gravitation is to the material
world. Perhaps the chief end of the material law was to be an illustration of the spiritual.
We must all follow the attractiveness of Christ. So we must each tend to Christ, and all
draw to the Christ which we see in one another. And if we all drew to one common Christ,
and to the Christ we see in each other, we should have true strength--we should be “strong
in the Lord.” There is another truth which nature teaches. If I wish to give intensity of
strength to anything,--say to the light--I gather it to a focus. And so God has constituted the
human mind, it is “strong” only when it is concentrated. And to meet this necessity of our
being, God has provided one great, all-absorbing object, to which the whole man is to
converge. eed I say what that object is? It is His own glory. For this we were created--for
this we were redeemed--for this we were sanctified. And according as we live indeed for
that, we are efficient and we are happy. Divide your end--live for many ends, and
immediately talents are frittered, energies wasted, the man is enervated. But be a man of
one thing--bent on one purpose--and you will be astonished to find how “strong” you will
become. But, besides this, there is a deep, mysterious rock of strength, which I must not
leave out of the calculation. And it is essential, very essential, for no man can be “strong”
who has it not. The vine and the branches shadow it out--the Lord’s Supper embodies it--
every spiritual office promotes it--I mean the actual union which there is between the soul
and Christ. I should be afraid to say such a thing if God had not declared it in the plainest
terms--the actual oneness of a believer’s spirit with the spirit of the Lord Jesus--He in us,
and we in Him--for this is the strength. Strength, then, is always flowing--just as the oil
flowed from the two olive trees, which are the priestly and the kingly character of Jesus--
the grace sufficient for the human mind--the strength for every day’s need--the bidden
life--the innate power of God in a man. You must be always realizing and cherishing the
union with the Spirit by certain acts--acts of pious thought--holy fondness--frequent
participation in the Lord’s Supper--secret communion, and habitual prayer. (J. Vaughan,
M. A.)
Strength against temptation

89. On the eve of one of the most eventful of England’s naval conflicts, elson hung aloft from
the masthead that inspiring admonition, which was read with a thrill of heroic feeling by
his fleet: “England expects every man to do his duty.” ot less startling and inspiring, as
addressed to the young men of our land, should be the stirring admonition that comes to us
from a greater leader, and at a crisis more momentous, “Be strong in the Lord.”
I. The strength required.
1. It is not primarily physical strength. The time was when this was a prime element in the
estimate of a man, nor can we doubt that it is undervalued now.
2. either does the direction of the text apply specifically to intellectual strength. This is not
without its importance, although without moral aims it is a blind giant, and with perverted
aims it is a wilful giant.
3. But far more important than this is moral strength. Here, too, something depends upon
original endowment. There are some whose moral natures seem made of wax. Most
unfortunately there is nothing in them like flint to strike fire from. The devil shapes them
at will, as a woman kneads her dough. A strong temptation bears them away, as a
whirlwind does the down of a thistle. Yet sometimes where we witness this, it is not all due
to nature. It would be a libel upon her to say so. There is a moral greatness, not necessarily
religious, which we admire, for it is strong. It may be heathen greatness, it may be a Pagan
strength, but it rests upon the basis of strong character, and the moral element of it forces
our applause. There was strength, when Socrates scorned to escape from prison, and chose
rather to drink the fatal hemlock. There was strength, when Joseph Reed, of Revolutionary
memory, approached by bribes of British gold, nobly replied: “I am poor, very poor, but
poor as I am, the King of Great Britain is not rich enough to buy me.” But how much more
noble and enviable than this is the strength of religious principle, strength in God. It is not
strong necessarily in muscle, in intellect, in strategy; but it is strong in resistance to moral
assault, to temptations that, in winning guise and in more than carnal strength, would draw
the soul to perdition. The real battle of life is with Satan and his arts and followers, and the
real hero is he who wins in this conflict.
II. But whence is this strength to come? “Be strong in the Lord,” is the reply. (E. H.
Gillett.)
Strength in suffering
A. B--was a young woman residing at Acton at the time I was a student for the ministry.
She was heavily afflicted, paralyzed, crippled, deaf, and half blind. Her life was passed in
one chamber, for the most part on one couch, but the circle of her influence had a wide
radius. In the face of overwhelming infirmities she maintained a spirit of serene and
cheerful contentment which no new adversity could break. When her bodily strength
rallied a little she filled her room, not with wailing or complaint, but with songs of
thankfulness; when the wave of physical vitality ebbed again, the unspoken praise lay in

90. quiet sunshine on the pale but smiling face. When the benumbed fingers recovered for a
few days some portion of their former nimbleness, she was happy in resuming the dainty
needlework by which her bread was earned. When she could do nothing but suffer, her
brave soul shone in undiminished patience. Even among women I have never known
another so strong in grace--in “love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance.” And what, think you, was her own explanation of this noble and
beautiful strength? She gave it to me one evening after I had watched her through a
paroxysm of neuralgic torture: “He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no
might He increaseth strength.” (W. Woods.)
The secret of strength
Many small wax lights, which of themselves burn faintly, when put into one torch or taper
send forth a bright and shining flame; many tittle bells, which tinkle together to the
pleasing of children, when melted and cast into one great bell do affect the ear in a more
solemn and awful sound; and many single threads, which snap asunder with the least
touch, when twisted together make a strong cable, which can withstand the fury and
violence of a storm. So it is with the mind; the more it is scattered and divided through
multiplicity of objects, the more weak it is; and the more it is fixed on one single object, the
more masculine and strong are the operations of it, either for good or evil. (W. Spurstowe.)
The power of God’s might
What the power of God’s might is, we very well know. Mountains tremble, and rocks melt
before it; the sea feels it, and flies; Jordan is driven back. Armies are discomfited, and cut
off by a blast in the night. The world itself was produced by this power, in one instant, and
may be destroyed in another. All created power, if opposed to that of the Creator, withers
and falls, like a leaf in autumn, when shaken by the stormy wind and tempest. It is “in the
power of this might,” that the apostle exhorts as to “be strong.” But how is this--“Hast thou
an arm like God; or canst thou thunder with a voice like Him?” Yet St. Paul would never
enjoin us to seek after that which could not be obtained, Our Redeemer is Almighty; He is
with us by His Spirit, and His strength is ours. Look at His apostles in their natural state;
ignorant, and fearful of everything: view them “endued with power from on high”;
acquainted with the whole counsel of God, and bold to proclaim it through all the nations
of the earth. During the persecutions of the Church in her infant state, numbers of the
weaker sex, receiving strength and courage from above, in the hour of trial, patiently
endured all the torments which the malice of men and devils could invent. They triumphed
gloriously--“ ow are they crowned, and receive palms from the Son of God whom they
confessed in the world.” The promise of assistance in time of need is to us all: to us, and to
our children, and to as many as the Lord our God shall call. From Thee, blessed Jesus, we
learn our duty: to Thee must we look, and to thy all-powerful grace, for strength to
perform it. ot in ourselves, but in Thee, and in the power of Thy might, we are strong.
Without Thee, we can do nothing: with Thee we can do all things. It is this consideration
which alone can support us, when we take a view of the enemies whom we must encounter.
(Bishop Home.)

91. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can
take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
BAR ES,"Put on the whole armor of God - The whole description here is derived
from the weapons of an ancient soldier. The various parts of those weapons -
constituting the “whole panoply” - are specified in Eph_6:14-17. The word rendered
“whole armor” πανοπλίαν panoplian, “panoply”), means “complete armor,” offensive and
defensive; see Luk_11:22; Rom_13:12 note; 2Co_6:7 note. “The armor of God” is not
that which God wears, but that which he has provided for the Christian soldier. The
meaning here is:
(1) That we are not to provide in our warfare such weapons as people employ in their
contests, but such as God provides; that we are to renounce the weapons which are
carnal, and put on such as God has directed for the achievement of the victory.
(2) We are to put on the “whole armor.” We are not to go armed partly with what God
has appointed, and partly with such weapons as people use; nor are we to put on “a part”
of the armor only, but the “whole” of it. A man needs “all” that armor if he is about to
fight the battles of the Lord; and if he lacks “one” of the weapons which God has
appointed, defeat may be the consequence.
That ye may be able to stand - The foes are so numerous and mighty, that unless
clothed with the divine armor, victory will be impossible.
Against the wiles of the devil - The word rendered “wiles” (µεθοδεία methodeia),
means properly that which is traced out with “method;” that which is “methodized;” and
then that which is well laid - art, skill, cunning. It occurs in the New Testament only in
Eph_4:14, and in this place. It is appropriately rendered here as “wiles,” meaning
cunning devices, arts, attempts to delude and destroy us. The wiles “of the devil” are the
various arts and stratagems which he employs to drag souls down to perdition. We can
more easily encounter open force than we can cunning; and we need the weapons of
Christian armor to meet the attempts to draw us into a snare, as much as to meet open
force. The idea here is, that Satan does not carry on an open warfare. He does not meet
the Christian soldier face to face. He advances covertly; makes his approaches in
darkness; employs cunning rather than power, and seeks rather to delude and betray
than to vanquish by mere force. Hence, the necessity of being constantly armed to meet
him whenever the attack is made. A man who has to contend with a visible enemy, may
feel safe if he only prepares to meet him in the open field. But far different is the case if
the enemy is invisible; if he steals upon us slyly and stealthily; if he practices war only by

92. ambushes and by surprises. Such is the foe that we have to contend with - and almost all
the Christian struggle is a warfare against stratagems and wiles. Satan does not openly
appear. He approaches us not in repulsive forms, but comes to recommend some
plausible doctrine, to lay before us some temptation that shall not immediately repel us.
He presents the world in an alluring aspect; invites us to pleasures that seem to be
harmless, and leads us in indulgence until we have gone so far that we cannot retreat.
CLARKE, "Put on the whole armor of God - Ενδυσασθε την πανοπλιαν του Θεου.
The apostle considers every Christian as having a warfare to maintain against numerous,
powerful, and subtle foes; and that therefore they would need much strength, much
courage, complete armor, and skill to use it. The panoply which is mentioned here refers
to the armor of the heavy troops among the Greeks; those who were to sustain the rudest
attacks, who were to sap the foundations of walls, storm cities, etc. Their ordinary armor
was the shield, the helmet, the sword, and the greaves or brazen boots. To all these the
apostle refers below. See on Eph_6:13 (note).
The wiles of the devil - Τας µεθοδειας του διαβολου· The methods of the devil; the
different means, plans, schemes, and machinations which he uses to deceive, entrap,
enslave, and ruin the souls of men. A man’s method of sinning is Satan’s method of
ruining his soul. See on Eph_4:14 (note).
GILL, "Put on the whole armour of God,.... Not that which God himself is
sometimes clothed with, and uses against his enemies; but what he has provided for his
people, and furnishes them with; the particulars of which are after mentioned: and it is
called "the armour of God", because it is prepared by him for his people, and is bestowed
on them by him; and because it is in its own nature divine and spiritual, and not carnal;
and because it is provided for fighting the Lord's battles, and is used in them; and
because the efficacy of it is from him, and the execution it does is owing to him: and it is
whole, complete, and perfect; and all of it is useful, and no part to be neglected, but all to
be taken and "put on"; which is not to make and provide this armour, but to take it, as in
Eph_6:13; as being ready made and provided, and to expect and prepare for battle, and
make use of it; and this supposes saints to be in a warfare state, and that they are in the
character of soldiers, and have enemies to fight with, and therefore should be accoutred
with proper and suitable armour, to meet them:
that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; who is the grand
enemy of Christ and his people, and a very powerful and cunning one he is; so that the
whole armour of God should be put on, which is proof against all his might and craft, in
order to stand against him, oppose him, and fight, and get the victory over him, which in
the issue is always obtained by believers; for they not only stand their ground in the
strength of Christ, and by the use of their armour confound his schemes, and baffle all
his arts and stratagems, but are more than conquerors through him that has loved them.
HE RY, "II. They must be well armed: “Put on the whole armour of God (Eph_6:11),
make use of all the proper defensitives and weapons for repelling the temptations and
stratagems of Satan - get and exercise all the Christian graces, the whole armour, that no
part be naked and exposed to the enemy.” Observe, Those who would approve
themselves to have true grace must aim at all grace, the whole armour. It is called the

93. armour of God, because he both prepares and bestows it. We have no armour of our own
that will be armour of proof in a trying time. Nothing will stand us in stead but the
armour of God. This armour is prepared for us, but we must put it on; that is, we must
pray for grace, we must use the grace given us, and draw it out into act and exercise as
there is occasion. The reason assigned why the Christian should be completely armed is
that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil - that he may be able to hold
out, and to overcome, notwithstanding all the devil's assaults, both of force and fraud, all
the deceits he puts upon us, all the snares he lays for us, and all his machinations against
us. This the apostle enlarges upon here, and shows,
JAMISO , "the whole armour — the armor of light (Rom_13:12); on the right
hand and left (2Co_6:7). The panoply offensive and defensive. An image readily
suggested by the Roman armory, Paul being now in Rome. Repeated emphatically, Eph_
6:13. In Rom_13:14 it is, “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ”; in putting on Him, and the
new man in Him, we put on “the whole armor of God.” No opening at the head, the feet,
the heart, the belly, the eye, the ear, or the tongue, is to be given to Satan. Believers have
once for all overcome him; but on the ground of this fundamental victory gained over
him, they are ever again to fight against and overcome him, even as they who once die
with Christ have continually to mortify their members upon earth (Rom_6:2-14; Col_
3:3, Col_3:5).
of God — furnished by God; not our own, else it would not stand (Psa_35:1-3).
Spiritual, therefore, and mighty through God, not carnal (2Co_10:4).
wiles — literally, “schemes sought out” for deceiving (compare 2Co_11:14).
the devil — the ruling chief of the foes (Eph_6:12) organized into a kingdom of
darkness (Mat_12:26), opposed to the kingdom of light.
RWP, "Put on (endusasthe). Like Eph_3:12. See also Eph_4:24.
The whole armour (tēn panoplian). Old word from panoplos (wholly armed, from
pan, hoplon). In N.T. only Luk_11:22; Eph_6:11, Eph_6:13. Complete armour in this
period included “shield, sword, lance, helmet, greaves, and breastplate” (Thayer). Our
“panoply.” Polybius gives this list of Thayer. Paul omits the lance (spear). Our museums
preserve specimens of this armour as well as the medieval coat-of-mail. Paul adds girdle
and shoes to the list of Polybius, not armour but necessary for the soldier. Certainly Paul
could claim knowledge of the Roman soldier’s armour, being chained to one for some
three years.
That ye may be able to stand (pros to dunasthai humās stēnai). Purpose clause with
pros to and the infinitive (dunasthai) with the accusative of general reference (humās) and
the second aorist active infinitive stēnai (from histēmi) dependent on dunasthai. Against
(pros). Facing. Another instance of pros meaning “against” (Col_2:23).
The wiles of the devil (tas methodias tou diabolou). See already Eph_4:14 for this
word. He is a crafty foe and knows the weak spots in the Christian’s armour.
CALVI , "11.Put on the whole armor. God has furnished us with various defensive

94. weapons, provided we do not indolently refuse what is offered. But we are almost all
chargeable with carelessness and hesitation in using the offered grace; just as if a soldier,
about to meet the enemy, should take his helmet, and neglect his shield. To correct this
security, or, we should rather say, this indolence, Paul borrows a comparison from the
military art, and bids us put on the whole armor of God. We ought to be prepared on all
sides, so as to want nothing. The Lord offers to us arms for repelling every kind of attack.
It remains for us to apply them to use, and not leave them hanging on the wall. To quicken
our vigilance, he reminds us that we must not only engage in open warfare, but that we
have a crafty and insidious foe to encounter, who frequently lies in ambush; for such is the
import of the apostle’ phrase, THE WILES (170) ( τὰς µεθοδείας) of the devil
(170) “ tells us, (Symp. l. 2., page 638,) that wrestling was the most artful and subtle of all
the ancient games, and that the name of it ( πάλη) was derived from a word, which signifies
to throw a man down by deceit and craft. And it is certain that persons who understand
this exercise have many fetches, and turns, and changes of posture, which they make use of
to supplant and trip up their adversaries. And it is with great justice, that a state of
persecution is compared with it; since many are the arts, arising from the terrors of
worldly evil on the one hand, and the natural love which men have to life, liberty, plenty,
and the pleasures of life, on the other, that the devil makes use of to circumvent and foil
them.” — Chandler.
PULPIT, "Put on the entire amour of God. Chained to a soldier, the apostle's mind would
go forth naturally to the subject of amour and warfare. Put on amour, for life is a battle-
field; not a scene of soft enjoyment and ease, but of hard conflict, with foes within and
without; put on the amour of God, provided by him for your protection and for aggression
too, for it is good, well-adapted for your use,—God has thought of you, and has sent his
amour for you; put on the whole amour of God, for each part of you needs to be protected,
and you need suitable weapons for assailing all your foes. That ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil. Our chief enemy does not engage us in open warfare, but
deals in wiles and stratagems, which need to be watched against and prepared for with
peculiar care.
1. The first thing we see about this armor is that it is a defensive weapon that
enables the believer to stand and face the foe rather than run because he had no
protection. This armor protects from the flaming darts tossed by the evil one that
penetrates into our minds and lures us to sin and folly. Satan uses our fallen human
nature to motivate us to disobey God and forsake his commandments. When we
consider his weapons we realize just how desperately we need the full armor of God
for protection.
2. We are at war, like it or not, for we have no choice. The enemy is attacking us and
we have to either surrender or fight back to protect ourselves. We are not the
aggressors who have started the war, but we have to fight off the attacking forces of
the evil one who is angry at God and man, and is determined that many will be lost
and not saved by the salvation plan of God. We are to be people of peace, and strive
to live at peace with all men, but we have no chance of making peace with the devil,

95. and so we are peacemakers who are forced to also be warriors in battle at the same
time. It is one of the paradoxes of the Christian life that we must be peacemakers
and fighters in warfare at the same time, and all the time. We are never out of the
war zone, but always on the front line, for the battle of good against evil, and of God
against Satan never ends, and that is why we need the peace of Christ in our lives so
that we can have balance. We are always at war, but we can still have the peace of
Christ that passes understanding when we abide in him and find in him the hiding
place where we are free to rest and be restored. There is a time to dance and rejoice
in all the goodness of life, but we need to always be aware that life is not a waltz, but
a warfare, not a playground, but a battleground, and that is why Peter wrote, "Be
self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8) If you don’t want to wind up as cat
food for this big cat, or this yellow people eater, you need the armor of God.
3. The enemy goes by a number of different names, but his strategy is the same, and
that is to get you to make a mistake by letting one of his arrows penetrate your
defenses so that you fall for his lies. The Bible calls him Satan, which means the
adversary. He is called the God of this age, the Prince of this world, the Evil One.
Isaiah calls him Lucifer. In the book of the Revelation he is called the Dragon. He is
called the Tempter. He is called the Destroyer. He is referred to as the Serpent. He is
called Beelzebub. He is called the Prince of the power of the air. He is referred to as
the Wicked One. In Hebrew, his very name means "adversary." He is also known as
"The Diabolical One. Whatever name you call him, he is armed and dangerous, and
some of his key weapons are-
1111 lies,
2 deception,
3 idolatry,
4 murder,
5 hatred,
6 jealousy,
7 illness,
8 fear,
9 war,
10 temptation,
11 rebellion,
12 doubt and the like.

96. God provides it, but we must put it on. David tried to put on the armor of Saul, and
it was too big and awkward. He had to get it off to fight with his own weapon. The
armor of God, however, is a one size fits all. This is a very masculine picture of a
Christian, but women are to be soldiers in this spiritual war as well, and so all this
applies to both sexes. It is an equal opportunity war.
Soldiers of Christ arise,
And gird your armor on,
Strong in the strength which God supplies
Through His eternal Son.
Strong in the Lord of Hosts,
And in His mighty power,
Who in the strengh of Jesus trusts
Is more than conqueror.
Stand then, in His great might,
With all His strength endued;
And take, to arm you for the fight,
The panoply of God.
STA D
We are told to stand here and in 6:13 and 14
T. S. Rendall, "The verb is the word of command such as that issued by a
commander-in-chief to his soldiers before the beginning of battle. It is a word that
calls for conviction and courage, for backbone and boldness, for strenth and
steadfastness in facing the foe." He goes on to say we must stand enlightened about
these areas of our foe-sphere, strength, strategy and season. See 4:14.
The focus is on defense so that we can stand and not fall. The Christian who does
not prepare is encouraging a spiritual Pearl Harbor. A careless defense strategy can
lead to a fall, and that is why Christian leaders do fall. They do not face up to the
reality of their own weak points. The Christian who is honest about his or her weak
points takes precautions. They have a defense plan. If you wait untl the shooting
starts to get ready it will probably be to late, and then all you need is a casket.
We note that there is no piece of armour for the back and so we must die rather
than fly and continue to be faithful to the end. We are not to flea in fear and faint
or falter before the foe, but to face him fearlessly and stand our ground. God does
not give us escape from the battle, but the weapons we need to win the battle. He
provides the armour but we must put it on and learn to use it.

97. Once, in a saintly passion
I cried with desperate grief,
O Lord, my heart is black with guilt,
Of sinners I am chief.
Then stooped my guardian angel,
And whispered from behind
Vanity, my little man!
Your nothing of the kind.
In other places we are told to flee-I Cor. 16:18 and 10:14.
Paradox is that we must stand, and yet not think proudly that we can stand. We
must always be dependant on the power and grace of God, for as soon as we think
we stand in our own power we will have a tendency to fall.
SIMEO , "THE MEA S OF WITHSTA DI G SATA ’S WILES
Eph_6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles
of the devil.
TO be possessed of courage is not the only requisite for a good soldier; he must be skilled in
the use of arms; he must be acquainted with those stratagems which his adversaries will
use for his destruction; he must know how to repel an assault, and how in his turn to
assault his enemy: in short, he must be trained to war. or will his knowledge avail him
any thing, unless he stand armed for the combat. Hence the Apostle, having encouraged the
Christian soldier, and inspired him with confidence in “the Captain of his salvation,” now
calls him to put on his armour, and by a skilful use of it, to prepare for the day of battle.
To open fully the direction before us, we must shew you, first, the wiles of the devil; and
next, the means of defeating them.
I. We shall endeavour to lay before you “the wiles of the devil”—
Satan is the great adversary of God and man; and labours to the uttermost to destroy the
interests of both. In prosecuting his purpose, he has two grand objects in view, namely, to
lead men into sin, and to keep them from God. We must consider these distinctly; and point
out the stratagems he uses for the attainment of his ends.
1. To lead men into sin—
To effect this, he presents to them such temptations as are best suited to their natural
dispositions. As a skilful general will not attempt to storm a fort on the side that it is
impregnable, but will rather direct his efforts against the weaker parts, where he has a
better prospect of success; so Satan considers the weak part of every man, and directs his
artillery where he may most easily make a breach. He well knew the covetous dispositions
of Judas, and of Ananias and Sapphira: when therefore he wanted the one to betray his

98. Master, and the others to bring discredit on the Christian name, he wrought upon their
natural propensities, and instigated them with ease to the execution of his will [ ote: Joh_
13:2; Joh_13:27. Act_5:3.]. Thus he stimulates the proud or passionate, the lewd or
covetous, the timid or melancholy, to such acts as are most congenial with their feelings, to
the intent that his agency may be least discovered, and his purposes most effectually
secured.
Much craft is also discoverable in the seasons which he chooses for making his assaults. If a
general knew that his adversaries were harassed with fatigue, or revelling and intoxicated
amidst the spoils of victory, or separated from the main body of their army, so that they
could have no succour, he would not fail to take advantage of such circumstances, rather
than attack them when they were in full force, and in a state of readiness for the combat.
Such a general is Satan. If he finds us in a stale of great trouble and perplexity, when the
spirits are exhausted, the mind clouded, the strength enervated, then he will seek to draw
us to murmuring or despair. Thus he acted towards Christ himself when he had been
fasting forty days and forty nights; and again, on the eve of his crucifixion. The former of
these occasions afforded him a favourable opportunity for tempting our blessed Lord to
despondency [ ote: Mat_4:2-3.], to presumption [ ote: Mat_4:6.], to a total alienation of
his heart from God [ ote: Mat_4:8-9.]: the latter inspired him with a hope of drawing our
Lord to some act unworthy of his high character, and subversive of the ends for which he
came into the world [ ote: Joh_14:30. Luk_22:44; Luk_22:53.]. Again, if we have been
elevated with peculiar joy, he well knows how apt we are to relax our vigilance, and to
indulge a carnal security. Hence, immediately on Paul’s descent from the third heavens, the
paradise of God, Satan strove to puff him up with pride [ ote: 2Co_12:7.], that so he might
bring him into the condemnation of the devil [ ote: 1Ti_3:6-7.]. And with more success did
he assault Peter immediately after the most exalted honour had been conferred upon him;
whereby he brought upon the unguarded saint that just rebuke, “Get thee behind me,
Satan; for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men [ ote:
Mat_16:16-19; Mat_16:22-23.].” Above all, Satan is sure to embrace an opportunity when
we are alone, withdrawn from those whose eye would intimidate, or whose counsel would
restrain, us. He could not prevail on Lot, when in the midst of Sodom, to violate the rights
of hospitality; but when he was in a retired cave, he too successfully tempted him to
repeated acts of drunkenness and incest. And who amongst us has not found that seasons of
privacy, or, at least, of seclusion from those who knew us, have been seasons of more than
ordinary temptation?
The means which Satan uses in order to accomplish his purpose, will afford us a yet further
insight into his wiles. Whom will a general so soon employ to betray the enemy into his
hands, as one who by his power can command them, or by his professions can deceive
them! And is it not thus with Satan? If he want to draw down the judgments of God upon
the whole nation of the Jews, he will stir up David, in spite of all the expostulations of his
courtiers, to number the people [ ote: um_21:1-4.]. If he would destroy Ahab, he
becomes a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab’s prophets, to persuade him, and by him to
lead Jehoshaphat also and the combined armies into the most imminent peril [ ote: 1Ki_
22:21-22. See the instance also of Elymas the sorcerer, who on account of his efforts is
called “a child of the devil.” Act_13:10.]. Would he have Job to curse his God? no fitter
person to employ on this service than Job’s own wife, whom he taught to give this counsel,
“Curse God, and die [ ote: Job_2:9.].” Would he prevail on Jesus to lay aside the thoughts
of suffering for the sins of men? his friend Peter must offer him this advice, “Master, spare
thyself [ ote: Mat_16:16-19; Mat_16:22-23.].” Thus in leading us to the commission of sin,
he will use sometimes the authority of magistrates, of masters, or of parents, and

99. sometimes the influence of our dearest friends or relatives. o instruments so fit for him, as
those of a man’s own household [ ote: Mat_10:36.].
There is also something further observable in the manner in which Satan tempts the soul.
An able general will study to conceal the main object of his attack, and by feints to deceive
his enemy [ ote: Jos_8:5-6; Jos_8:15; Jos_8:21]. Thus does Satan form his attack with all
imaginable cunning. His mode of beguiling Eve will serve as a specimen of his artifices in
every age. He first only inquired whether any prohibition had been given her and her
husband respecting the eating of the fruit of a particular tree; insinuating at the same time,
that it was very improbable that God should impose upon them such an unnecessary
restraint. Then, on being informed that the tasting of that fruit was forbidden and that the
penalty of death was to be inflicted on them in the event of their disobedience, he intimated,
that such a consequence could never follow: that, on the contrary, the benefits which
should arise to them from eating of that fruit, were incalculable. In this manner he led her
on, from parleying with him, to give him credit; and, from believing him, to comply with
his solicitations [ ote: Gen_3:1-6.]. And thus it is that he acts towards us: he for a time
conceals his full purpose: he pleads at first for nothing more than the gratification of the
eye, the ear, the imagination; but is no sooner master of one fort, or station, than he plants
his artillery there, and renews his assaults, till the whole soul has surrendered to his
dominion.
2. The other grand device of Satan is, to keep men from God. If, after having yielded to
his suggestions, the soul were to return to God with penitence and contrition, all Satan’s
wiles, how successful soever they had before been, would be frustrated at once. The next
labour therefore of our great adversary is, to secure his captive, that he may not escape out
of his hands. The wiles he makes use of to accomplish this, come next under our
consideration.
He will begin with misrepresenting to his captives their own character. One while he will
insinuate that, though they may have transgressed in some smaller matters, yet they have
never committed any great sin, and therefore have no need to disquiet themselves with
apprehensions of God’s wrath. If he cannot compose their minds in that way, he will
suggest, that their iniquities have been so numerous, and so heinous, as to preclude all hope
of forgiveness. He will endeavour to make them believe that they have been guilty of the
unpardonable sin, or that their day of grace is passed; so that they may as well take their
fill of present delights, since all attempts to secure eternal happiness will be fruitless. To
such artifices as these our Lord refers, when he tells us, that the strong man armed keepeth
his palace and his goods in peace [ ote: Luk_11:21; Luk_11:26.].
ext he will misrepresent to his captives the character of God. He will impress them with
the idea that God is too merciful to punish any one eternally for such trifling faults as
theirs. Or, if that fail to lull them asleep, he will intimate, that the insulted Majesty of
heaven demands vengeance: that the justice and holiness of the Deity would be
dishonoured, if pardon were vouchsafed to such offenders as they. Probably too, he will
suggest that God has not elected them; and that therefore they must perish, since they
cannot alter his decrees, or save themselves without his aid. He will, as in his assaults upon
our blessed Lord [ ote: Mat_4:6.], bring the Scriptures themselves to countenance his lies;
and, by a misapplication of difficult and detached passages, endeavour to hide from us the
perfections of our God, as harmonizing and glorified in our redemption [ ote: 2Co_4:4.]. It
was in this manner that he strove to discourage Joshua [ ote: Zec_4:1-2.], and to detain
David in his bonds [ ote: Psa_77:7-9.]: such advantage too he sought to take of the

100. incestuous Corinthian [ ote: 2Co_2:7; 2Co_2:11.]: and, if this stratagem be not defeated,
he will prevail over us to our eternal ruin.
But there is another stratagem which, for the subtilty of its texture, the frequency of its use,
and its successfulness in destroying souls, deserves more especial notice. When effectual
resistance has been made to the foregoing temptations, and in spite of all these
misrepresentations, the sinner has attained a just view both of his own character, and of
God’s, then Satan has recourse to another wile, that promises indeed to the believer a
speedy growth in the divine life, but is intended really to divert him from all proper
thoughts both of himself and of God. He will “transform himself into an angel of light,”
and make use of some popular minister, or some talkative professor, as his agent in this
business. He will by means of his emissaries draw the young convert to matters of doubtful
disputation: he will perplex his mind with some intricate questions respecting matters of
doctrine, or of discipline in the Church. He will either controvert, and explode
acknowledged truths, or carry them to an extreme, turning spirituality to mysticism, or
liberty to licentiousness. Having entangled him in this snare, he will puff him up with a
conceit of his own superior attainments, and speedily turn him from the simplicity that is in
Christ. Little do his agents, who appear to be “ministers of righteousness,” imagine that
they are really “ministers of the devil;” and little do they who are inveigled by them,
consider “in what a snare they are taken;” but God himself, who sees all these secret
transactions, and discerns their fatal tendency, has given us this very account, and thereby
guarded us against this dangerous device [ ote: 2Co_11:3; 2Co_11:13-15.].
Thus have we seen the temptations by which Satan leads men into sin, together with the
seasons, the means, and the manner, of his assaults. We have seen also how he keeps them
from God, even by misrepresenting to them their own character, and God’s, or by
diverting them from a due attention either to themselves or God.
II. Let us now proceed in the second place to point out the means by which these wiles
may be defeated—
This part of our subject will come again into discussion, both generally, in the next
discourse, and particularly, when we treat of the various pieces of armour provided for us.
evertheless we must distinctly, though briefly, shew in this place, What we are to
understand by the whole armour of God; and, How we are to put it on; and, In what way it
will enable us to withstand the devil’s wiles.
Armour is of two kinds, defensive and offensive: the one to protect ourselves, the other to
assail our enemy. ow God has provided for us every thing that is necessary for a
successful maintenance of the Christian warfare. Is our head exposed to the assaults of
Satan? there is “a helmet” to guard it. Is our heart liable to be pierced? there is a
“breastplate” to defend it. Are our feet subject to such wounds as may cause us to fall?
there are “shoes,” or greaves, for their protection. Is our armour likely to be loosened?
there is a “girdle” to keep it fast. Are there apertures, by which a well-aimed dart may find
admission? there is a “shield,” which may be moved for the defence of every part, as
occasion may require. Lastly, the Christian soldier is furnished with a sword also, by the
skilful use of which he may inflict deadly wounds on his adversary.
But here it will be asked, How shall we get this armour? and, how shall we put it on? To
obtain it, we must go to the armoury of heaven, and receive it from the hands of the
Captain of our salvation. o creature in the universe can give it us. He, and he only, who

101. formed it, can impart it to us. As, when God had decreed the destruction of Babylon, we
are told, that “the Lord opened his armoury, and brought forth the weapons of his
indignation [ ote: Jer_50:25.];” so, when he has commissioned us to go forth against sin
and Satan, he must supply us with the arms, whereby alone we can execute his will: and we
must be daily going to him in prayer, that he would furnish us from head to foot, or rather,
that he himself would be “our shield and buckler,” our almighty protector and deliverer
[ ote: Psa_84:11; Psa_18:2.].
When we have received our armour, then we are to “put it on.” It is not given us to look at,
but to use: not to wear for amusement, but to gird on for actual service. We must examine
it, to see that it is indeed of celestial temper, and that none is wanting. We must adjust it
carefully in all its parts, that it may not be cumbersome and useless in the hour of need:
and when we have clothed ourselves with it, then we must put forth our strength, and use it
for the purposes for which it is designed.
Our more particular directions must be reserved, till we consider the use of each distinct
part of this armour. We shall only add at present, that, if we thus go forth to the combat,
we shall surely vanquish our subtle enemy. We say not, that he shall never wound us; for
the most watchful of us are sometimes off our guard; and the most experienced of us
sometimes deceived. But we can assure the whole army of Christians, that Satan shall
never finally prevail against them [ ote: Mat_16:18.]. Their head shall be preserved from
error [ ote: Isa_35:8]; their heart, from iniquity [ ote: Rom_6:14.]; their feet, from falling
[ ote: 1Sa_2:9. 2Pe_1:10.].
What remains then but that we call on all of you to put on this armour? Let not any
imagine that they can stand without it: for, if Adam was vanquished even in Paradise, how
much more shall we be overpowered? If the perfect armour with which he was clad by
nature, proved insufficient for the combat, how shall we stand, who are altogether stripped
of every defence! If Satan, while yet a novice in the art of tempting, “beguiled our first
parents by his subtilty,” how much more will he beguile and ruin us, after so many
thousand years of additional experience! Arise then, all of you, and gird yourselves for the
combat. Ye careless ones, know that ye are already “led captive by the devil at his will
[ ote: 2Ti_2:26.];” and the more you think yourselves secure, the more you shew that you
are the dupes of Satan’s wiles. Ye weak and timid, “be strong, fear not; hath not God
commanded you? Be strong, and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed; for
the Lord your God is with you, whithersoever ye go [ ote: Jos_1:6; Jos_1:9.].” Only go
forth in dependence upon God, and “no weapon that is formed against you shall ever
prosper [ ote: Isa_54:17.].” But take care that you have on the whole armour of God. In
vain will be the use of any, if the whole be not used. One part left unprotected will prove as
fatal, as if you were exposed in every part. But if you follow this counsel, you may defy all
the hosts of hell: for “the weakest of you shall be as David, and the house of David shall be
as God [ ote: Zec_12:8.].”
BI, "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil.
God’s armoury

102. There stands on the banks of the Thames a grim old fortress, well known to all as the
Tower of London. In that fortress, with its memories of Roman and orman, of
Plantagenet, Tudor, and Stuart, there is a wonderful collection of weapons and armour. As
you look on those relies of bygone ages, you seem to be reading chapters from the History
of England. One suit of mail recalls the rush of the ormans up the hill at Hastings, and the
bloody fight at Senlac. Yonder mighty two-handed sword brings back the meeting of stern
barons at Runnymead, and the signing of the great Charter. There are arms which tell of
Crecy, and Poitiers, where men fled before the sable armour of the Black Prince. There,
two, are weapons which remind us of the fatal wars of the Roses, the awful slaughter at
Flodden, and the fight at Bosworth, where a crown was lost and won. There are gorgeous
trappings which take us back to the field of the Cloth of Gold; and sturdy breastplates
which bore the stroke of Cavalier sword, and Puritan pike, at aseby and Marston Moor.
But I would take you into a different armoury today, where the weapons and armour tell of
yet fiercer battles, and yet more brilliant victories; where we may not only look on the
armour of others, but may choose some for ourselves. This armoury is God’s, and it recalls
the history of His Church militant here on earth, the battles and the triumphs of the
soldiers of the Cross. O grand and glorious armoury of God! Let us enter there and choose
our weapons. But, first, be sure that you have a battle to fight. There are too many of us
who like the name of Christian without its responsibility. These desire to be soldiers of
Christ, but not on active service. The battle may be fiercer sometimes than at others, but to
the end we must be fighting. ever forget that the true service of Jesus in the world means
hardness, means watchfulness, means self-denial, means, above all things, fighting.. Come
then, today, into the armoury, and choose your weapons; ask Jesus to give you the whole
armour of God. Cast away any untried, worthless armour, in which you have been trusting.
Say with David, “I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them.” Are you trusting to
your respectability? The keen arrows of temptation will pierce right through it, and wound
your soul! then the good name in which you trusted will be dishonoured and disgraced.
What breastplate are you wearing? Self-righteousness? You have never committed
grievous sin, you say, you are not like some of your neighbours. There is the grievous sin at
once, the belief that you are better than other people. The devil will strike through that
breastplate as easily as through one of paper. “Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed
lest he fall.” O man of the world, walking among the worldly wise, whose wisdom is not of
God, gird on your armour. See that you have the breastplate of righteousness, of right
dealing. Let the weapons of the false, and the knavish, and the unjust, strike there and be
blunted. See that the girdle of truth is not loosened, and feel that you dare not tell a lie. O
brothers and sisters, who are sorely tempted in one way or another, be among those who
fight. When David was once going to battle he had no sword, and they showed him that
with which he had smitten off the head of the giant. Then said David, “There is none like
that, give it me.” You have such a sword, and you can trust to it. Do you remember that
prayer with which you conquered that giant temptation, that impure thought, that angry
passion, that wrong deed? Try it again. Say, “There is none like that, give it me.” And,
finally, have on your right hand, as a gauntlet, a firm determination, a fixed resolution to
hold fast to that which is right, and by God’s help to go on to the end. (H. J. Wilmot-
Buxton, M. A.)
The Christian armour

103. I. Explain the nature of the Christian armour.
1. It is armour for every part, except the back, which is provided with no defence, to show
that the Christian is never to quit the field, but to face his enemies.
2. The armour is of every sort, offensive and defensive, both to protect the Christian, and to
annoy his enemies.
3. It is armour that has been proved.
4. This armour is spiritual, and is intended only for spiritual purposes. It is called “the
armour of light,” in allusion perhaps to the bright and glittering army of the Romans, and
to show that it is for ornament as well as for defence. It is also “armour of righteousness,”
designed only for righteous persons and righteous purposes; it cannot therefore be
rendered subservient to acts of violence and oppression. It is provided by a righteous God,
and His righteous word is the rule for using it (Rom_13:12; 2Co_6:7).
5. It is called “the armour of God,” to denote its transcendent excellency and usefulness,
and that it is provided by His special grace.
II. Consider the necessity of putting on the whole armour of God.
1. We are in a state of warfare, exposed to innumerable enemies: and if not called to fight,
we should not need to be armed.
2. We are naturally unprepared for this contest, having no means of defence, and therefore
need to put on the armour of God. We must be equipped from God’s armoury, for no
weapon of our own will be able to defend us.
3. Putting on this armour implies that we see our need of it, and that we use it for the
purposes intended. Though we are not saved for our endeavours, yet neither can we be
saved without them. We cannot exert ourselves too much in this warfare, nor depend upon
our exertions too little.
4. The spiritual armour is not designed for show, like weapons that are hung up in some
houses, but for use, and therefore it must be put on.
5. We must be careful to take to ourselves the “whole” armour of God, for a part of it will
not avail. Such is the variety of Satan’s temptations and the world’s allurements that the
whole of it is but sufficient for our defence; and should any part be left unguarded, a
mortal wound might be inflicted. He is also mightier than we are, and we are no match for
him, unless we put on the whole armour of God, and place our trust in His holy name. (B.
Beddome, M. A.)
The Christian warfare

104. I. The danger to which we are exposed. As in other cases, so in this: our greatest danger lies
in not feeling our danger, and so not being prepared to meet it.
1. View the enemy we have to contend with. He bears an inveterate hatred against us, and
seeks nothing less than our destruction and eternal overthrow.
2. He is mightier than we are; and, unless we have help from above, we are no match for
him.
3. An artful enemy.
4. Invisible.
5. ear us.
6. What is worse, he has a strong party within us.
7. On the issue of this warfare depend all our hopes.
II. The armour provided for us.
1. In general, this armour is the grace of the gospel.
2. A whole or perfect armour, sufficient to defend us in every part.
3. The use to be made of it is that we may be able to withstand and face the enemy.
III. The necessity of putting on this armour, or taking it to ourselves. Armour is of no avail,
unless it be used.
IV. The inducement to do this. That we may “withstand in the evil day,” etc. (Theological
Sketchbook.)
The means of standing sure
1.Christians are soldiers. Our life is a warfare. The Church here is militant. God has thus
disposed our state on earth for weighty reasons.
(1) The more to manifest His pity, power, providence, and truth in keeping promise. The
straits whereunto in this world we are brought, the promises which God has made to
deliver us, and the many deliverances which we have, show that God pities us in our
distresses, that He is provident and careful for our good, and wise in disposing evil to good;

105. that He is able to deliver us, and faithful in doing it.
(2) To make proof of the gifts He bestows on His children. A soldier’s valour is not known
but in war.
(3) To wean them the better from this world.
2. The graces of God’s Spirit are for safeguard and defence.
(1) Those who want them must seek them.
(2) Those who have them must use them.
3. The Christian’s armour is the armour of God.
(1) It is made of God, even in heaven.
(2) It is prescribed of God, even in His Word.
(3) It is given of God, even by His Spirit.
(4) It is agreeable to God, even to His will.
4. It is spiritual armour; therefore suitable for defence against spiritual foes.
5. It is a complete armour, every way sufficient.
(1) Sufficient to defend us in every part.
(2) Sufficient to keep off and thrust back every assault and every dart of our spiritual
enemies.
6. Christians ought to be well furnished always, and well prepared with the graces of God’s
Spirit. They must ever have them in readiness at hand to use them, and make proof of
them. As armour rusting by the wall side, as fire smothered with ashes, as money cankering
in chests, so are the graces of God’s Spirit if they be not employed. Though in themselves
they be never so excellent, yet to us and others they are fruitless and unprofitable, without
a right use of them.
7. The power of every sanctifying grace must be manifest in the life of a Christian.
8. God’s assistance and man’s endeavour are joined together. Without God’s mighty power
man can do nothing; unless man put on the whole armour of God, God will do nothing.
(William Gouge.)
The end and benefit of Christian armour
1.There is no hope, no possibility of remaining safe, without spiritual armour.

106. 2. They who put on the armour of God, and use it as they ought, are safe and sure, and so
may be secure.
3. Those who are without armour can have no hope to stand.
(1) Without this armour we are naked, and lie open to every dart and shot of our spiritual
enemies; and are no more able to free ourselves from the power of the devil than a poor
silly lamb or kid from a roaring lion or ravenous bear.
(2) By neglecting to use this armour provided of God, we provoke God to east us into the
power of our enemies, and to give them power over us.
4. Those who use their armour are sure to stand. (William Gouge.)
The spiritual warfare
That such a war subsists, and is carrying on, is told us in the text, wherein the armour of
God and the wiles of the devil are set in opposition the one to the other. Christ invades
Satan’s kingdom, arming His servants; and Satan leaves no art untried to maintain his
dominion, and restrain the progress of the conqueror.
I. Of the occasion of the war. This was partly the success of Satan upon our first parents;
and partly God’s jealousy for His honour, and His pity for fallen man.
II. The designs of the one and the other. Satan has lost nothing of the pride, rage, and
malice of an apostate spirit, therefore he cannot cease sinning. His revenge and rebellion
against God are implacable; however much he trembles before the Son of God, yet he will
not submit to Him; his proud malice is nothing abated; he roars against the government of
God, seeking whom he may devour. Ceaselessly he labours to defeat the kingdom of the
Redeemer, and to set up his own against it.
III. Where is the seat of action? In our hearts. There the devil has a natural right, and
thence Christ would dispossess him. Satan, by the Fall, both ruined the original purity of
man’s nature, and also introduced a sad defilement into both the parts of us, soul and
body; rendering the one proud, and the other carnal. To destroy this work of the devil,
restoring to us the image of God, taking away our pride, and spiritualizing our affections, is
Christ’s business.
IV. Let us consider the manner of the fight. The weapons of Satan are carnal; those of
Christ, spiritual. Those of Satan are worldly things, whereby he endeavours to gratify
pride, or to nurse indulgence. Jesus, on the other hand, comes with the word of truth, and

107. the power of the Spirit.
V. The issue of this war, on the one part and the other. This will be the triumph of the
Redeemer, and the confusion of the adversary. (S. Walker, B. A.)
Christ versus Satan
I. We are to consider the method of Christ’s assault upon the kingdom: of satan in the
heart of a sinner, in order to gain him out of the enemy’s hand; and also the wiles which
the devil uses to disappoint the Redeemer’s attempt and to keep the sinner in his service.
While I am opening this point, it will be evidently seen how the devil wars at all
disadvantage; that he must set up falsehood against truth, and temporal against eternal
motives; that he cannot foretell the issue of one step he takes, while all his steps are plainly
seen and foreseen, in all their consequences, by the Redeemer; that while Satan hath not
the least power or strength to oppose one motion of His, He can easily turn all the counsels
of Satan back upon himself; in a word, that in respect of Jesus, Satan is a poor, blind,
weak, insignificant enemy. What, then, gives him so much success? It is neither his power,
vigilance, nor cunning; what are these in respect of the might care, and wisdom of the
Redeemer? o, sinners, it is your wilfulness; it is this alone gives him advantage. ow, that
I may plainly set before you the method of Christ’s attack upon Satan in the heart of a
sinner, and Satan’s devices to disappoint the success of it, you must be shown the state
wherein Christ finds the sinner; His methods with him; and Satan’s counterplot to defeat
them.
1. The state wherein Christ finds the sinner. In sin--committing sin, an enemy to God,
godliness, and godly men.
2. The methods Christ uses with the heart of the sinner, in order to dispossess Satan of his
dominion over it. The Spirit working by the Word, and impressing the various motives
which the Word contains effectually upon the heart.
3. Satan’s wiles to disappoint the convictions which the Redeemer, by the Word and Spirit,
has made upon the heart of a sinner.
(1) He may try to catch away the word of conviction by exciting presumption. If the
constitution be warm, and a man is naturally bold and hardy (not as many others are, apt
to fear in any great undertaking), when the Spirit hath begun to awaken the soul, by the
terrors of the Lord, to a strong desire of fleeing from the wrath to come, the work of
religion will, of course, seem not so difficult a thing as it is spoken of. Satan, then, will
correspond with these views. The sinner shall seem to himself as if he had already
overcome.
(2) Another sort of awakened sinners may be as continually fearful, as these we have been
speaking of are bold and hardy. When such are awakened, the enemy, most likely, will be
working with them to make them discouraged, and to harass them with fears, till they

108. yield. With these he magnifies everything, and swells up mole hills to mountains in their
apprehension.
(3) If the enemy cannot prevail by means of presumption or fear, he will endeavour, by the
pleasures or cares of the world, to catch away the impression which Christ has made upon
the sinner’s heart by the Word and Spirit. These are his subtle devices against the soul of a
sinner. When there are some stirrings of infelt concern about the judgment and wrath to
come, the devil knows how to make advantage of worldly pleasure and care, upon those
whom he hath held in subjection by the love of the one or the other. He can plead that
pleasure is harmless, and care is needful, till, by the entertainment of the one, and
solicitude of the other, the gracious conviction is done away.
(4) The last wile of the devil to keep the awakened sinner for his service, is an attempt to
detain him from the throne of grace.
II. I am now, in the second place, more directly with the design of the text, to describe to
you the wiles of the devil against Christ in the persons of believers, whereby he endeavours
to shake their constancy, and to render them disserviceable to the cause wherein they are
engaged; and likewise the armour Christ hath prepared for their defence, as well as for
making them fit to serve successfully under Him against the kingdom of darkness. Satan
hath many wiles for those who believe, and are gone over to Jesus; if He cannot draw them
back he will harass them, lay bars in their way, try to render them less fruitful, and less
serviceable to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. In order to resist them we must put on--
1. Truth, or sincerity.
2. Righteousness; that is, the practice of all holiness.
3. The preparation of the gospel, or firmness, readiness, and constancy in all cases.
4. Faith, namely, in the promises of God in Christ. This must be put on above, or over all,
because faith preserves all other graces.
5. The hope of salvation.
6. The Word of God.
7. Prayer.
8. Watchfulness.
9. Supplication for all saints.
Then the Christian is prepared for all the wiles of the devil. All these he must put on, not
one excepted, because one and another of these things can only preserve us from this and
that wile wherewith the devil will beset us. (S. Walker, B. A.)

109. The Christian armour
1. A call to arms. Religious life is sometimes called “peace in believing.” But let us not
forget that there is nowhere in this world any peace which has not been wrought out in
stubborn conflict, which is not now the achievement of valiant service for the truth. The
soldiers of the cross do not enlist to go at once into the hospital, or sit around the door of a
sutler’s tent. It is to be feared that too much stress is laid upon the emotional and
experimental part of piety in this easy day of ours. Too many young princes go off into
dangerous Zulu-land for curious inquiry or mere love of adventure. There was (so we are
told) once an English poet, who took position in a lofty tower that he might see a real battle.
He seems to have had great prosperity, for the world has not yet done praising his versified
description of the rushing onset, the tumult, and the carnage, “by Iser rolling rapidly.”
ow, nobody need hope to become acquainted with the solemn realities of life by merely
gazing out upon it from a protected belfry, as Campbell did on Hohenlinden field. We
cannot make a poem out of it. There are awful certainties of exposure, and necessities of
attack, which disdain figures and rhythms of mere music. And, moreover, we are
combatants, not spectators; we are in the onset, and the shock is at hand. “There is no
discharge in that war.”
2. It is best to avoid all confusion at once, and ascertain who are our adversaries; specially,
who leads on the host. Here the apostle speaks clearly, if only people would listen: “Put on
the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” “Two
kingdoms,” said Ignatius Loyola, “divide the world; the kingdom of Emmanuel, and the
kingdom of Satan.” This the whole Bible admits; but nowhere can there be found even so
much as one text which intimates that Christ and the devil are on equal terms. Satan is a
created being; he had a maker, and he now has a ruler. He wages at present only a
permitted warfare for a limited season. His onsets are well called “wiles,” for he shuns
open fields, and deals best in ambuscades and secret plots. There is awful force in the
expression, “the devil and his angels”; for it shows us Satan is not alone in his work. He is
the prince fiend of a fiendish clan. I have somewhere seen a picture on which was
represented a human soul in its hour of conflict. It was as if the invisible world had for a
moment been made visible by the rare skill of the artist. There, around the tried and
anxious man, these emissaries of Satan were gathered. Dim, ethereal forms luridly shone
out on every side. One might see the tempting offer of a crown over his head; but he would
have to examine, quite closely before he could discover how each braided bar of gold in the
diadem was twined in so as to conceal a lurking fiend in the folds. Then there was just
visible a serpent with demoniac eyes coiled in the bottom of the goblet from which he was
invited to drink. Foul whispers were plying either ear. There were baleful fires of lust in
the glances of those who sought his companionship. A beautiful angel drew nigh; but a
skeleton of death could be traced beneath the white robes he had stolen. I cannot say it was
a welcome picture; but certainly there was a lesson in it. Among the noisy critics who gaily
pronounced on its characteristics, I noticed there was one thoughtful man who turned aside
and wept. Perhaps he knew what it meant.
3. Is there no defence against all this? Surely, every Christian remembers the armour
which Paul catalogues in detail: “Wherefore, take unto you,” etc. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
An exhortation and an argument

110. The words contain an exhortation enforced by an argument.
I. The argument--“That ye may,” etc. In handling the argument we will consider--The devil
is one who strikes through another by slander, or false accusation. Concerning this being,
observe--
1. He is very miserable.
2. He was once happy.
3. Sin has made him miserable.
4. He is very powerful, malicious, and vigilant.
5. In his person and agency, generally, invisible.
6. He has many associates.
Wiles--the arts used by a commander to take advantage of his enemy. These consist--
1. In assuming false characters.
2. In suiting himself to the age, temper, connections, and circumstances of the tempted.
3. In choosing the proper instruments to effect his purposes.
4. In giving false names to good and evil. Zeal to persecution.
5. In causing divisions in the Church.
6. In hiding that from us what only can do us good. Ability to stand against them.
This implies--
1. Knowledge of them (2Co_2:11).
2. Power to oppose them.
II. The exhortation--“Put on,” etc.
Reflections:
I. A Christian soldier is a wonderful object. In relation to his enemies--and his defence.

111. II. How pleasing is our prevailing infidelity to Satan.
III. The experience of believers proves the truth of the text. (H. J. Foster.)
The Christian warfare
St. Paul was a born warrior. Most of us are what we are by ordination of circumstance.
Here and there one is what he is by ordination of nature. It was Paul’s genius to be
belligerent, and his life would have been an epic, lived anywhere. Even in Eden he would
have done what his great ancestor neglected to do, stood against the wiles of the devil. “His
life,” Martineau says, “was a battle, from which in intervals of the good fight his words
arose as songs of victory.” It was the supreme feat of the gospel to convert such a man. He
is the superlative trophy of the Christian Church. Paul is the miracle of Christianity, one of
those incontestible evidences of Christianity that leaves the mind satisfied. It was more to
make Saul over into Paul than it was to make water over into wine. Power that could do the
former would be at no less to do the latter. The martial quality of this old apoleon of the
cross betrays itself in what he does and in the way he does it, and in every bend and turn of
life. The record of his moving hitherward and thitherward reads like the chronicles of an
Alexander. He dared difficulties like Hannibal, and grasped details with the omniscience
and omnipresence of the first emperor. His visits were invasions, his letters war dispatches,
and his whole life campaign. It is noticeable how easily and habitually his thought drops
into forms of the camp. “He is the only man I know of,” said Cassaubon, “who wrote not
with fingers, pen, and ink, but with his very heart, passion, and bare nerves.” That is Paul,
the apoleon of the cross, the mailed and helmeted belligerent of the gospel of peace. And
this martial impulse, I say, is everywhere in his letters incessantly declaring itself. It is in
our text, “Put on the whole armour of God.” And the whole ensuing passage is in the same
vein. Truth is to be the girdle, righteousness the breastplate, the preparation of the gospel
of peace the sandals, faith the shield, salvation the helmet, and the Word of God the sword.
There is no beauty in Paul’s eye, but war is in his eye and everything he sees becomes the
reflection of his eye, takes the colour of his thought. And now it is precisely this war spirit
of Paul that helps to explain his eminence in the apostolic Church. When God chose Paul
(“He is a chosen vessel unto Me,” said God)--when God chose Paul, He chose him with
regard to the work to be done, and with regard to Paul’s fitness to do it. He chose the
Hebrews to be His people instead of the Chinese or East Indians, because there was
something in the Hebrews that was apt to His purpose. His choice of Paul was an apt
choice, because Paul was an apt man, and he went on in a way to adapt Paul, because Paul
was already natively adaptable. And one element of his aptness was his combativeness. A
fighting Church, a Church militant, belligerent, could be humanly championed by nothing
less than a fighting apostle, an apostle militant, belligerent. St. John had visions of the
Church triumphant, and was, in his temper and spirit, a kind of representation and
prophecy of the Church triumphant. St. Paul stands for the Church of the present, the
Church upon the field, the Church in armour, and the apostle of the armed spirit is fitly
the historic champion of the Church in armour. And we shall gain in many ways by
contemplating Christian service under Paul’s aspect and imagery. Christianity is in its very
nature and intent a crusade. Ours is a gospel of peace, but it is anything but a peaceful
gospel, and the more scripturally it is put the more it betrays its animosity toward

112. everything that in spirit contradicts the gospel; as the brighter the light, the more it differs
from darkness, and the greater and swifter the inroad that it makes into darkness.
Christianity is in its nature belligerent, and the peace of the gospel comes only as the
fruitage of battle, and as the aftermath of victory. “What communion hath light with
darkness?” asked Paul. Between sanctity and sin there is deadly enmity, which will
disappear only with the extermination of one or the other of the belligerents. The moral
tranquillization of the world is obtainable by no policy of compromise. Diplomacy has no
role to play here. “Put on the whole armour of God.” The call is for soldiers, not diplomats,
for regiments, not embassies. The victory is to be fought out, not negotiated. Of course
there is courtesy in war as well as elsewhere. There is a consideration due to men as such,
be they wicked or otherwise, but there is no consideration due to wickedness. Wickedness
has to be handled without gloves, and designated without euphemisms. The act and the
actor have to be discriminated. The two lie a little apart from each other in God’s thought.
Said the Psalmist to Jehovah, “Thou wast a God that forgavest them, though Thou tookest
vengeance of their inventions.” Courtesy toward a wicked man is Christian; courtesy
toward wickedness is poltroonery and perhaps diabolism. All such irresoluteness postpones
victory, not wins it. Sooner or later the whole matter has got to be determined by the
arbitrament of the sword. There are instances in which there is no evading Waterloo. The
competition, of good and evil is such an instance. We may domesticate sin, and array it in
terms of elegant Latinity, but sooner or later that same sin will have to be proscribed
without mercy and hunted down as an outlaw. We will treat with all the beautiful
tenderness of the gospel men and women that are knavish, yes, that are adulterous, but we
must remember that honesty and dishonesty, purity and uncleanness, are in implacable
feud, and that either righteousness or sin has got to go under before there can be peace on
the earth. We want, then, the courage of our convictions to enable us to name things
according to their true character, to state things as they are, to deal with things as they are,
and heroically to refuse all quarter to everything that declines to be led captive into
subjection to Christ. As soldiers of the Lord we want large bestowment of sanctified
stubbornness. My friend, there are only two sides to this controversy, the side of Christ and
the side of antichrist. You cannot be on both sides. “ o man can serve two masters,” said
Christ. On which one of the two sides are you? If you are not promoting godliness, you are
hindering it. If you are not building up Christianity, you are breaking it down. “He that is
not with Me is against Me.” (C. H. Parkhurst, D. D.)
Scope and function of a Christian life
This is a general view of the scope and function of a Christian life. You will observe that, as
here represented, a Christian is not the inheritance of a quiet possession. We enter upon a
campaign. You will take notice, also, that this is a conflict which is to be waged, not by
physical arms. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood”--the meaning of which is, that it is
not a physical quality--“but against principalities, and spiritual wickedness in high
places”--the very highest places in human governments. We war not, therefore, by sword,
or by spear, but we put on the armour of God--reason, conscience, purity, courage, and
faith. And these qualities, not as they are developed under the inspiration of ordinary
human life, but as they are derived from the Spirit of God itself--these are the weapons
with which we enter into the war. And it is, as I understand it, the comprehensive teaching
here--or the recognition, if not the special teaching--that when we become Christians, we
enter upon that great, worldwide, time-long battle, in which the moral sentiments of the
race are arrayed against the passions. And the question is, who shall control the vast

113. machinery of this world? Shall it be controlled by appetites, by avarice, by selfishness in its
varied forms? Or shall the vast machineries of the world be inspired and controlled by
men’s higher reason and their moral sentiments? That is the real battle in the most
comprehensive statement of it. And we have entered into that conflict just as soon as we
have entered into the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. This whole world is to be
reorganized. It is the aim of Christianity to reorganize the globe, and to deduce laws,
maxims, policies, and principles from the moral Sentiments. In other words, it will yet be
shown that every element of human life, individual, social, and civil, can be better pursued
by the inspiration of religious feeling than by the inspiration of sordid, secular feeling.
Truth will be proved to be better than deceit, always, and in all circumstances. Honour will
be proved to be better than infidelity to obligations, and always. The day is coming when
God, the supernal good, who organized the world that it might serve Him in virtue and true
piety, will make it appear to all the earth and to all the universe that He is on the side of
rectitude, on the side of purity, and that providence and natural law, and, just as much
national law, and social and commercial law, and industrial law, are on the side of the
moral sentiments, and not on the side of the passions and the appetites. There is now a
supreme incredulity in this. Though, practically, men do not, perhaps, reason upon it, there
is an almost universal impression that, while men are in this world, and performing their
duties, they must be as brick makers are--that they must work in dirt; and that, when they
have got, through working in dirt, then they must clean up and go to church. Men think,
“As long as I am in the world and doing business, I must perform my business according to
the way of the world; and then, when I have got through with the necessary sacrifice to the
world, I must wash up and go to church, and be a Christian.” The first step in the working
plan of this great campaign into which we are called--namely, of regenerating, reforming,
recasting the world--is the reformation of individual character, until the supreme forces of
it shall be moral forces. Do you not see that half the evils in society come from physical
conditions? Do you not see that if society were more honourable, more just in its
organizations, a great deal of that which you call sin would disappear of itself, that it is but
the friction caused by the working of the machinery? But the question comes back, “How
are you going to reorganize society?” It is assumed, in the Word of God, that the
indispensable condition of any reformation in the organization of society is to proceed upon
the primary conversion of the individual heart. Therefore it is that the gospel, when it
declares that “the field is the world,” and when it undertakes the conversion of the world,
so that human society shall act upon the highest conceivable reason and moral sentiment in
its operations, says, “Preach the gospel to every creature.” And it is for this simple reason
that the force by which we are to organize society is to be the force of the regenerated
individual. Our battle is not accomplished in our own salvation. We are God’s soldiers to
transform this world. The mere technical spread of the gospel is itself a great gain, but it is
only the beginning of the work. The gospel is spread, so far as its technical spread is
concerned, into continents, but the gospel is to spread in another way. It is to go down into
society, as well as to lie upon the surface of it. As a creed, it is to lie in the disposition, and
transform the processes of it. And the very first step that a man takes when he becomes a
Christian, after the regeneration of his heart, is to carry those regenerating forces straight
along with him. Wherever he goes, that light is to shine; and it is to shine on business, to
shine on love, on pleasure, on wealth, on honours, on everything. Wherever he goes, he is to
carry the transforming power of the Spirit of God, so that he shall do his part as one of the
soldiers of the Lord’s host.
1. Men are called by religion to a personal reformation, and then to the reformation of the
whole world in which they live. You are to carry Christ’s spirit into every relation of life,
and to become a witness, and a martyr, if need be, in it. A little child, beginning to love

114. Christ, and desiring to witness for Christ, comes home to its unconverted parents, and to
brothers and sisters that are wilful and wayward, and seeks there to carry out the law of
love. Its temper, quite infirm, is often lost. Alas, that of all the things that we lose, nothing
is found so certainly again as our temper! The little child comes home, and its temper is
often disturbed, often stirred up; and still, it means to be a witness for Christ. And it says
in its little heart, “I do love Christ; and I mean that everything I do shall please Him.” It
has read, “In honour preferring one another”; and it attempts, in the household, to prefer
the happiness of its brothers and sisters. It refuses to join in the little deceits that belong to
them. It refuses to conceal, when questioned, their little peculations. It comes to spiteful
grief in consequence. And the little child is not old enough to know anything about the
great laws of society and the great laws of nature. Just converted, it is undertaking to live
so that the best part of itself shall govern itself; and then it is undertaking so that, in its
little companionships, the best part of it shall all the time rule in its conduct. ow, no child
can undertake that without having the epitome of the experience of every Christian in the
whole world.
2. Religion must not be selfish--not even if it be the selfishness of the highest quality. We
have no right to be Christians simply on the ground that we shall save our souls. We shall
save our souls; but to come into religion as a mere soul insurance is selfishness. We have no
right to go into religion merely because we should thus gain joy. The man that enters into
religion must follow God. And what thought He, when He took the crown, every beam of
which was brighter than the shining of a thousand suns, and laid it by? What thought He
when, disrobing Himself of power, taste, and faculty, He bowed His head, and, trailing
through the sky, became a man, and as a man humbled Himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross? The most odious and reputation-blasting death that
man’s ingenuity had developed--all this had combined at the centre point of the cross, as
the sign and symbol of degradation; and that was the death that He chose, that He might
identify Himself with men, and not be ashamed to call them brethren. “I am going to follow
the meek and lowly Jesus by cutting my acquaintance with the vulgar cares of the dirty
world. I am going to be a select Christian, and seclude myself from these things.” Can you,
and be a follower of Christ? Religion means work. Religion means work in a dirty world.
Religion means peril--blows given, but blows taken as well. Religion means transformation.
The world is to be cleaned by somebody; and you are not called of God if you are ashamed
to scour and scrub. I believe that the day is yet to come when all the machineries of society
will be controlled by truth, by purity, by sublime duty. I call you to be soldiers in that great
warfare that is to bring to pass this victory. (H. W. Beecher.)
Satan and his warfare
I. The character of the great adversary. St. Paul here calls him the devil. He is also spoken
of in other parts of the Bible as Abaddon, Beelzebub, Belial, the Dragon, the Evil One, the
Angel of the Bottomless Pit, the Prince of this World, the Prince of the Power of the Air,
Satan, Apollyon, and the God of this World. Although fallen beings, they, like the Angels of
Light, “still excel in strength” (Psa_103:20), and are far “greater in power and might”
(2Pe_2:11) than any of the sons of men.

115. II. The nature of his devices. Having once been pure and holy, the lost Archangel realizes
the greatness of his fall; and grief, anger, and revenge, all combine to render him the bitter
enemy of everything good. Hence, all his arts are directed to one end, viz., to draw us away
from God, and to accomplish our ruin. And very wonderful and successful is the mode of
his warfare. Acting upon the rule of expediency, he never begins his assaults by a direct
contradiction of the truth, but by a qualified admission of its claims, he seems to agree with
his victim, while he is only making ready to come down upon him in an unguarded quarter.
It might reasonably be supposed that one who ventured to make war in heaven is a skilful
and experienced leader, whose craft and boldness would render him a dangerous enemy
upon earth. “The wiles of the Devil” are marked by all those characteristics which prove
him to be a most treacherous and deadly foe. His forces are scattered over the world, busy
in executing his commands, and all our weaknesses are spied out, and the corresponding
enticements presented. aturalists report that when the chameleon stretches itself on the
grass to catch flies and grasshoppers, it assumes a green colour to prevent detection; and
that the polypus changes himself into the sombre hue of the rock, under which he lurks,
that the fish may come within his reach without suspicion of danger. And thus the devil, in
spreading his net for unwary Christians, turns himself into the shape which they least
suspect, and allures them with temptations most agreeable to their natures.
III. The means by which his dangerous wiles may be withstood. Our strength is perfect
weakness; but the good and gracious Lord is ready to “open His armoury” (Jer_1:25) and
equip those who acknowledge their helplessness and seek for His sustaining grace. This
armour is given for use, and if we expect any benefit from it we must not delay to “put it
on.” (J. . orton, D. D.)
The Christian’s “impedimenta”
The Romans were accustomed to call the baggage with which their army was encumbered
“impedimenta,” hindrances, because the transportation of this baggage retarded their
progress; so although the Evil One cannot destroy the soldier of the army of salvation, he
can annoy, him, and cast about him so many discouragements as greatly to cripple his
energies and impede his upward progress. These toils of the devil are the “impedimenta” of
the spiritual hosts, by which the believer is led to halt, to turn aside from his onward
course, to slumber at his post, and give way to discouragements, until he is far from
accomplishing the high attainments which were within his reach, and at last is called away
from the scene of his warfare with many of his glorious aspirations unfulfilled, with sad
regrets over so much of the work of life to be left undone. Alas! the wiles of the devil! (J.
Leyburn, D. D.)
That sin is more crafty than violent
But think ye for awhile what the ungodly man’s life is! I can only compare it to that famous
diabolical invention of the Inquisition of ancient times. ‘They had as a fatal punishment for
heretics, what they called the “Virgin’s Kiss.” There stood in a long corridor the image of

116. the Virgin. She outstretched her arms to receive her heretic child; she looked fair, and her
dress was adorned with gold and tinsel, but as soon as the poor victim came into her arms
the machinery within began to work, and the arms closed and pressed the wretch closer
and closer to her bosom, which was set with knives, and daggers, and lancets, and razors,
and everything that could cut and tear him, till he was ground to pieces in the horrible
embrace; and such is the ungodly man’s life. It standeth like a fair virgin, and with
witching smile it seems to say, “Come to my bosom, no place so warm and blissful as this”;
and then anon it begins to fold its arms of habit about the sinner, and he sins again and
again, brings misery into his body, perhaps, if he fall into some form of sin, stings his soul,
makes his thoughts a case of knives to torture him, and grinds him to powder beneath the
force of his own iniquities. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Successful wrestling
Imitate yon ancient wrestler, who, laying aside his robes and ornaments, and all the
bravery of his attire, steps naked into the arena--limbs and body shining with slippery oil;
closing with an antagonist, whose hands, slipping on the unctuous limbs, catch no firm
hold, he heaves him up to hurl in the dust, and bear off the palm--honour won, less by his
power than by his wise precaution. If prevention is better than cure, precaution is better
than power; therefore ought a good man ever to watch and pray that he enter not in
temptation; his prayer, that which our Lord has taught us, “Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
Resistance ensures victory
You know how John Bunyan represents poor Feeble-mind in the cave of Giant Slaygood.
The giant had picked him up on the road, and taken him home to devour him at his leisure;
but poor Feeble-mind said he had one comfort, for he had heard that the giant could never
pick the bones of any man who was brought there against his will. Ah! and so it is. If there
be a man who has fallen into sin, but still his heart crieth out against the sin; if he be
saying, “Lord, I am in captivity to it; I am under bondage to it; O that I could be free from
it!” then sin has not dominion over him, nor shall it destroy him, but he shall be set free ere
long. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
“The wiles of the devil”
Colonel Stewart, with Gordon, was for months besieged in Khartoum--then taking ten
vessels from that place he bombarded Berber and dispersed all the rebels. ine of the
vessels had returned in safety; Stewart, having remained behind to inspect, was returning
in the tenth, with some forty men on board, when the vessel ran on a rock. Some of the
enemy, under the guise of friendship, then offered to conduct them safely across the desert.
Stewart was deceived, and trusted himself to them; but as soon as they landed the whole
party was massacred to a man.

117. 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.
BAR ES,"For we wrestle - Greek, “The wrestling to us;” or, “There is not to us a
wrestling with flesh and blood.” There is undoubtedly here an allusion to the ancient
games of Greece, a part of the exercises in which consisted in wrestling; see the notes on
1Co_9:25-27. The Greek word used here - πάλη palē - denotes a “wrestling;” and then a
struggle, fight, combat. Here it refers to the struggle or combat which the Christian has
to mainrain - the Christian warfare.
Not against flesh and blood - Not with people; see the notes on Gal_1:16. The
apostle does not mean to say that Christians had no enemies among men that opposed
them, for they were exposed often to fiery persecution; nor that they had nothing to
contend with in the carnal and corrupt propensities of their nature, which was true of
them then as it is now; but that their main controversy was with the invisible spirits of
wickedness that sought to destroy them. They were the source and origin of all their
spiritual conflicts, and with them the warfare was to be maintained.
But against principalities - There can be no doubt whatever that the apostle
alludes here to evil spirits. Like good angels, they were regarded as divided into ranks
and orders, and were supposed to be under the control of one mighty leader; see the
notes on Eph_1:21. It is probable that the allusion here is to the ranks and orders which
they sustained before their fall, something like which they may still retain. The word
“principalities” refers to principal rulers, or chieftains.
Powers - Those who had power, or to whom the name of “powers” was given. Milton
represents Satan as addressing the fallen angels in similar language:
“Thrones, dominations, princedoms, virtues, powers.”
Against the rulers of the darkness of this world - The rulers that preside over
the regions of ignorance and sin with which the earth abounds, compare notes on Eph_
2:2. “Darkness” is an emblem of ignorance, misery, and sin; and no description could be
more accurate than that of representing these malignant spirits as ruling over a dark
world. The earth - dark, and wretched and ignorant, and sinful - is just such a dominion
as they would choose, or as they would cause; and the degradation and woe of the pagan

118. world are just such as foul and malignant spirits would delight in. It is a wide and a
powerful empire. It has been consolidated by ages. It is sustained by all the authority of
law; by all the omnipotence of the perverted religious principle; by all the reverence for
antiquity; by all the power of selfish, corrupt, and base passions. No empire has been so
extended, or has continued so long, as that empire of darkness; and nothing on earth is
so difficult to destroy.
Yet the apostle says that it was on that kingdom they were to make war. Against that,
the kingdom of the Redeemer was to be set up; and that was to be overcome by the
spiritual weapons which he specifies. When he speaks of the Christian warfare here, he
refers to the contest with the powers of this dark kingdom. He regards each and every
Christian as a soldier to wage war on it in whatever way he could, and wherever he could
attack it. The contest therefore was not primarily with people, or with the internal
corrupt propensities of the soul; it was with this vast and dark kingdom that had been
set up over mankind. I do not regard this passage, therefore, as having a primary
reference to the struggle which a Christian maintains with his own corrupt propensities.
It is a warfare on a large scale with the entire kingdom of darkness over the world. Yet in
maintaining the warfare, the struggle will be with such portions of that kingdom as we
come in contact with and will actually relate:
(1) To our own sinful propensities - which are a part of the kingdom of darkness;
(2) With the evil passions of others - their pride, ambition, and spirit of revenge -
which are also a part of that kingdom;
(3) With the evil customs, laws, opinions, employments, pleasures of the world -
which are also a part of that dark kingdom;
(4) With error, superstition, false doctrine - which are also a part of that kingdom;
and,
(5) With the wickedness of the pagan world - the sins of benighted nations - also a
part of that kingdom. Wherever we come in contact with evil - whether in our own
hearts or elsewhere - there we are to make war.
Against spiritual wickedness - Margin, “or wicked spirits.” Literally, “The
spiritual things of wickedness;” but the allusion is undoubtedly to evil spirits, and to
their influences on earth.
In high places - ᅚν τοሏς ᅚπουράνιοις - “in celestial or heavenly places.” The same
phrase occurs in Eph_1:3; Eph_2:6, where it is translated, “in heavenly places.” The
word (ᅚπουράνιος epouranios) is used of those that dwell in heaven, Mat_18:35; Phi_
2:10; of those who come from heaven, 1Co_15:48; Phi_3:21; of the heavenly bodies, the
sun, moon, and stars, 1Co_15:40. Then the neuter plural of the word is used to denote
the heavens; and then the “lower” heavens, the sky, the air, represented as the seat of
evil spirits; see the notes on Eph_2:2. This is the allusion here. The evil spirits are
supposed to occupy the lofty regions of the air, and thence to exert a baleful influence on
the affairs of man. What was the origin of this opinion it is not needful here to inquire.
No one can “prove,” however, that it is incorrect. It is against such spirits, and all their
malignant influences, that Christians are called to contend. In whatever way their power
is put forth - whether in the prevalence of vice and error; of superstition and magic arts;
of infidelity, atheism, or antinomianism; of evil customs and laws; of pernicious fashions
and opinions, or in the corruptions of our own hearts, we are to make war on all these
forms of evil, and never to yield in the conflict.

119. CLARKE, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood - Ουκ εστιν ᅧµιν ᅧ παλη
προς αᅷµα και σαρκα· Our wrestling or contention is not with men like ourselves: flesh
and blood is a Hebraism for men, or human beings. See the note on Gal_1:16.
The word παλη implies the athletic exercises in the Olympic and other national games;
and παλαιστρα was the place in which the contenders exercised. Here it signifies warfare
in general.
Against principalities - Αρχας· Chief rulers; beings of the first rank and order in
their own kingdom.
Powers - Εξουσιας, Authorities, derived from, and constituted by the above.
The rulers of the darkness of this world - Τους κοσµοκρατορας του σκοτους του
αιωνος τουτου· The rulers of the world; the emperors of the darkness of this state of
things.
Spiritual wickedness - Τα πνευµατικα της πονηριας· The spiritual things of
wickedness; or, the spiritualities of wickedness; highly refined and sublimed evil;
disguised falsehood in the garb of truth; Antinomianism in the guise of religion.
In high places - Εν τοις επουρανιοις· In the most sublime stations. But who are these
of whom the apostle speaks? Schoettgen contends that the rabbins and Jewish rulers are
intended. This he thinks proved by the words του αιωνος τουτου, of this world, which are
often used to designate the Old Testament, and the Jewish system; and the words εν τοις
επουρανιοις, in heavenly places, which are not unfrequently used to signify the time of
the New Testament, and the Gospel system.
By the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, he thinks false teachers, who
endeavored to corrupt Christianity, are meant; such as those mentioned by St. John,
1Jo_2:19 : They went out from us, but they were not of us, etc. And he thinks the
meaning may be extended to all corrupters of Christianity in all succeeding ages. He
shows also that the Jews called their own city ‫עולם‬ ‫של‬ ‫שר‬ sar shel olam, κοσµοκρατωρ, the
ruler of the world; and proves that David’s words, Psa_2:2, The kings of the earth set
themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, are applied by the apostles, Act_4:26,
to the Jewish rulers, αρχοντες, who persecuted Peter and John for preaching Christ
crucified. But commentators in general are not of this mind, but think that by
principalities, etc., we are to understand different orders of evil spirits, who are all
employed under the devil, their great head, to prevent the spread of the Gospel in the
world, and to destroy the souls of mankind.
The spiritual wickedness are supposed to be the angels which kept not their first
estate; who fell from the heavenly places but are ever longing after and striving to regain
them; and which have their station in the regions of the air. “Perhaps,” says Mr. Wesley,
“the principalities and powers remain mostly in the citadel of their kingdom of darkness;
but there are other spirits which range abroad, to whom the provinces of the world are
committed; the darkness is chiefly spiritual darkness which prevails during the present
state of things, and the wicked spirits are those which continually oppose faith, love, and
holiness, either by force or fraud; and labor to infuse unbelief, pride, idolatry, malice,

120. envy, anger, and hatred.” Some translate the words εν τοις επουρανιοις, about heavenly
things; that is: We contend with these fallen spirits for the heavenly things which are
promised to us; and we strive against them, that we may not be deprived of those we
have.
GILL, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,.... The Syriac, Arabic, and
Ethiopic versions, and some copies, read "you", instead of "we". This is a reason why
saints should be strong in the Lord, and why they should put on the whole armour of
God, and prepare for battle, since their enemies are such as here described: not "flesh
and blood"; frail mortal men, such as were wrestled against in the Olympic games, to
which the apostle alludes. For this wrestling, as Philo the Jew says (e), concerning
Jacob's wrestling, is not of the body, but of the soul; see Mat_16:17; and the meaning is,
not with men only, for otherwise the saints have a conflict with men; with profane men,
and wrestle against them, by bearing a testimony against their enormities, and by
patiently enduring their reproaches, and conquer them by a constant adherence to
Christ, and an exercise of faith upon him, which gets the victory over the world; and with
heretical men, and maintain a conflict with them, by watching and observing the first
appearance of their errors and heresies, and declaring against them, and by using
Scripture arguments to confute them, and by rejecting the stubborn and incorrigible
from church communion: yet they wrestle not against these only,
but against principalities, against powers; by whom are meant not civil
magistrates, or the Roman governors, though these are sometimes so called, Tit_3:1,
and may be said to be the rulers of the darkness of this world, or of the dark Heathen
world, and were in high places, and were of wicked and malicious spirits, against the
people of Christ; yet these cannot be opposed to flesh and blood, or to men, since they
were such themselves; and though they were in high, yet not in heavenly places; and the
connection with the preceding verse shows the contrary, the enemy being the devil, and
the armour spiritual; wherefore the devils are here designed, who are described from
their power, rule, and government; see Gill on Eph_1:21, both in this clause, and in the
next:
and against the rulers of the darkness of this world; that is, over wicked men in
it, who are in a state of darkness itself; and so Satan is called the prince, and god of the
world, Joh_12:31. The Jews use this very word, the apostle does here, of the angel of
death; who is called darkness (f); and the devil is called by them, ‫חושך‬ ‫של‬ ‫,שר‬ "the prince
of darkness" (g); and mention is made by them of ‫עלמא‬ ‫,חשוכי‬ "the darkness of the world"
(h); from whom the apostle seems to have taken these phrases, as being in common use
among the Jews; who also use it of civil governors (i), and render it, as here, "the rulers
of the world", and say it signifies monarchs, such as rule from one end of the world to
the other (k): some copies, and the Ethiopic version, leave out the phrase, of this world.
It follows,
against spiritual wickedness in high places; or wicked spirits, as the devils are,
unclean, proud, lying, deceitful, and malicious; who may be said to be in "high" or
"heavenly places"; not in places super celestial, or in the highest heavens, in the third
heaven, where God, angels, and saints are; but in the aerial heavens, where the power or
posse of devils reside, and where they are above us, over our heads, overlooking us, and

121. watching every advantage against us; and therefore we should have on our armour, and
be in a readiness to engage them; and so the Syriac and Ethiopic versions render it,
"under", or "beneath heaven"; and the Arabic version, "in the air".
HE RY, "1. What our danger is, and what need we have to put on this whole armour,
considering what sort of enemies we have to deal with - the devil and all the powers of
darkness: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, etc., Eph_6:12. The combat for
which we are to be prepared is not against ordinary human enemies, not barely against
men compounded of flesh and blood, nor against our own corrupt natures singly
considered, but against the several ranks of devils, who have a government which they
exercise in this world. (1.) We have to do with a subtle enemy, an enemy who uses wiles
and stratagems, as Eph_6:11. He has a thousand ways of beguiling unstable souls: hence
he is called a serpent for subtlety, an old serpent, experienced in the art and trade of
tempting. (2.) He is a powerful enemy: Principalities, and powers, and rulers. They are
numerous, they are vigorous; and rule in those heathen nations which are yet in
darkness. The dark parts of the world are the seat of Satan's empire. Yea, they are
usurping princes over all men who are yet in a state of sin and ignorance. Satan's is a
kingdom of darkness; whereas Christ's is a kingdom of light. (3.) They are spiritual
enemies: Spiritual wickedness in high places, or wicked spirits, as some translate it. The
devil is a spirit, a wicked spirit; and our danger is the greater from our enemies because
they are unseen, and assault us ere we are aware of them. The devils are wicked spirits,
and they chiefly annoy the saints with, and provoke them to, spiritual wickednesses,
pride, envy, malice, etc. These enemies are said to be in high places, or in heavenly
places, so the word is, taking heaven (as one says) for the whole expansum, or spreading
out of the air between the earth and the stars, the air being the place from which the
devils assault us. Or the meaning may be, “We wrestle about heavenly places or heavenly
things;” so some of the ancients interpret it. Our enemies strive to prevent our ascent to
heaven, to deprive us of heavenly blessings and to obstruct our communion with heaven.
They assault us in the things that belong to our souls, and labour to deface the heavenly
image in our hearts; and therefore we have need to be upon our guard against them. We
have need of faith in our Christian warfare, because we have spiritual enemies to grapple
with, as well as of faith in our Christian work, because we have spiritual strength to fetch
in. Thus you see your danger.
JAMISO , "Greek, “For our wrestling (‘the wrestling’ in which we are engaged) is not
against flesh,” etc. Flesh and blood foes are Satan’s mere tools, the real foe lurking
behind them is Satan himself, with whom our conflict is. “Wrestling” implies that it is a
hand-to-hand and foot-to-foot struggle for the mastery: to wrestle successfully with
Satan, we must wrestle with God in irresistible prayer like Jacob (Gen_32:24-29; Hos_
12:4). Translate, “The principalities ... the powers” (Eph_1:21; Col_1:16; see on Eph_
3:10). The same grades of powers are specified in the case of the demons here, as in that
of angels there (compare Rom_8:38; 1Co_15:24; Col_2:15). The Ephesians had
practiced sorcery (Act_19:19), so that he appropriately treats of evil spirits in addressing
them. The more clearly any book of Scripture, as this, treats of the economy of the
kingdom of light, the more clearly does it set forth the kingdom of darkness. Hence,
nowhere does the satanic kingdom come more clearly into view than in the Gospels
which treat of Christ, the true Light.
rulers of the darkness of this world — Greek, “age” or “course of the world.” But
the oldest manuscripts omit “of world.” Translate, “Against the world rulers of this

122. (present) darkness” (Eph_2:2; Eph_5:8; Luk_22:53; Col_1:13). On Satan and his
demons being “world rulers,” compare Joh_12:31; Joh_14:30; Joh_16:11; Luk_4:6;
2Co_4:4; 1Jo_5:19, Greek, “lieth in the wicked one.” Though they be “world rulers,” they
are not the ruler of the universe; and their usurped rule of the world is soon to cease,
when He shall “come whose right it is” (Eze_21:27). Two cases prove Satan not to be a
mere subjective fancy: (1) Christ’s temptation; (2) the entrance of demons into the swine
(for these are incapable of such fancies). Satan tries to parody, or imitate in a perverted
way, God’s working (2Co_11:13, 2Co_11:14). So when God became incarnate, Satan, by
his demons, took forcible possession of human bodies. Thus the demoniacally possessed
were not peculiarly wicked, but miserable, and so fit subjects for Jesus’ pity. Paul makes
no mention of demoniacal possession, so that in the time he wrote, it seems to have
ceased; it probably was restricted to the period of the Lord’s incarnation, and of the
foundation of His Church.
spiritual wickedness — rather as Greek, “The spiritual hosts of wickedness.” As
three of the clauses describe the power, so this fourth, the wickedness of our spiritual
foes (Mat_12:45).
in high places — Greek, “heavenly places”: in Eph_2:2, “the air,” see on Eph_2:2.
The alteration of expression to “in heavenly places,” is in order to mark the higher range
of their powers than ours, they having been, up to the ascension (Rev_12:5, Rev_12:9,
Rev_12:10), dwellers “in the heavenly places” (Job_1:7), and being now in the regions of
the air which are called the heavens. Moreover, pride and presumption are the sins in
heavenly places to which they tempt especially, being those by which they themselves
fell from heavenly places (Isa_14:12-15). But believers have naught to fear, being
“blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places” (Eph_1:3).
RWP, "Our wrestling is not (ouk estin hēmin hē palē). “To us the wrestling is not.”
Palē is an old word from pallō, to throw, to swing (from Homer to the papyri, though
here only in N.T.), a contest between two till one hurls the other down and holds him
down (katechō). Note pros again (five times) in sense of “against,” face to face conflict to
the finish.
The world-rulers of this darkness (tous kosmokratoras tou skotous toutou). This
phrase occurs here alone. In Joh_14:30 Satan is called “the ruler of this world” (ho
archōn tou kosmou toutou). In 2Co_4:4 he is termed “the god of this age” (ho theos tou
aiōnos toutou). The word kosmokratōr is found in the Orphic Hymns of Satan, in Gnostic
writings of the devil, in rabbinical writings (transliterated) of the angel of death, in
inscriptions of the Emperor Caracalla. These “world-rulers” are limited to “this
darkness” here on earth.
The spiritual hosts of wickedness (ta pneumatika tēs ponērias). No word for
“hosts” in the Greek. Probably simply, “the spiritual things (or elements) of wickedness.”
Ponēria (from ponēros) is depravity (Mat_22:18; 1Co_5:8).
In the heavenly places (en tois epouraniois). Clearly so here. Our “wrestling” is
with foes of evil natural and supernatural. We sorely need “the panoply of God”
(furnished by God).

123. CALVI , "12.For we wrestle (171) not. To impress them still more deeply with their
danger, he points out the nature of the enemy, which he illustrates by a comparative
statement, ot against flesh and blood. The meaning is, that our difficulties are far greater
than if we had to fight with men. There we resist human strength, sword is opposed to
sword, man contends with man, force is met by force, and skill by skill; but here the case is
widely different. All amounts to this, that our enemies are such as no human power can
withstand. By flesh and blood the apostle denotes men, who are so denominated in order to
contrast them with spiritual assailants. This is no bodily struggle.
Let us remember this when the injurious treatment of others provokes us to revenge. Our
natural disposition would lead us to direct all our exertions against the men themselves; but
this foolish desire will be restrained by the consideration that the men who annoy us are
nothing more than darts thrown by the hand of Satan. While we are employed in
destroying those darts, we lay ourselves open to be wounded on all sides. To wrestle with
flesh and blood will not only be useless, but highly pernicious. We must go straight to the
enemy, who attacks and wounds us from his concealment, — who slays before he appears.
But to return to Paul. He describes our enemy as formidable, not to overwhelm us with
fear, but to quicken our diligence and earnestness; for there is a middle course to be
observed. When the enemy is neglected, he does his utmost to oppress us with sloth, and
afterwards disarms us by terror; so that, ere the engagement has commenced, we are
vanquished. By speaking of the power of the enemy, Paul labors to keep us more on the
alert. He had already called him the devil, but now employs a variety of epithets, to make
the reader understand that this is not an enemy who may be safely despised.
Against principalities, against powers. Still, his object in producing alarm is not to fill us
with dismay, but to excite us to caution. He calls them κοσµοκράτορας that is, princes of
the world; but he explains himself more fully by adding — of the darkness of the world.
The devil reigns in the world, because the world is nothing else than darkness. Hence it
follows, that the corruption of the world gives way to the kingdom of the devil; for he could
not reside in a pure and upright creature of God, but all arises from the sinfulness of men.
By darkness, it is almost unnecessary to say, are meant unbelief and ignorance of God, with
the consequences to which they lead. As the whole world is covered with darkness, the devil
is called “ prince of this world.” (Joh_14:30.)
By calling it wickedness, he denotes the malignity and cruelty of the devil, and, at the same
time, reminds us that the utmost caution is necessary to prevent him from gaining an
advantage. For the same reason, the epithet spiritual is applied; for, when the enemy is
invisible, our danger is greater. There is emphasis, too, in the phrase, in heavenly places;
for the elevated station from which the attack is made gives us greater trouble and
difficulty.
An argument drawn from this passage by the Manicheans, to support their wild notion of
two principles, is easily refuted. They supposed the devil to be ( ἀντίθεον) an antagonist
deity, whom the righteous God would not subdue without great exertion. For Paul does not
ascribe to devils a principality, which they seize without the consent, and maintain in spite
of the opposition, of the Divine Being, — but a principality which, as Scripture everywhere
asserts, God, in righteous judgment, yields to them over the wicked. The inquiry is, not
what power they have in opposition to God, but how far they ought to excite our alarm, and
keep us on our guard. or is any countenance here given to the belief, that the devil has

124. formed, and keeps for himself, the middle region of the air. Paul does not assign to them a
fixed territory, which they can call their own, but merely intimates that they are engaged in
hostility, and occupy an elevated station.
(171) “ Πάλη is properly a gymnastic term; but the Apostle often unites military with
agonistic metaphors; and here the agonistic is not less suitable than the military. So in a
similar passage of Max. Tyr. Diss. Version 9, volume 1 page 79, ed. Reisk, we have mention
of Socrates wrestling with Melitus, with bonds and poison; next, the philosopher Plato
wrestling with a tyrant’ anger, a rough sea, and the greatest dangers; then, Xenophon
struggling with the prejudices of Tissaphernes, the snares of Ariaeus, the treachery of
Meno, and royal machinations; and, lastly, Diogenes struggling with adversaries even more
formidable, namely, poverty, infamy, hunger, and cold.” — Bloomfield.
Paul says our struggle is not with flesh and blood. In otherwords, the real issue and
the bottom line is not husbands and wives, children and parents, slaves and masters.
All of these flesh and blood relationships are areas of conflict, but the real source of
the conflict is the realm of the spirit and the unseen. Bertrand Russell said, "The
life of man is a long march through the night, surrounded by invisible foes." In
Acts 5:1-3 it is Satan we are fighting. He uses flesh and blood, but they are not ther
real source of evil.
Jesus invaded the world and set up His kingdom of light behind enemy lines. His
army of believers not only have to survive they have to take over more and more
enemy territory until the enemy is pushed out and the kingdoms of the world
become the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are fighting for control of the
world. The arena is the world. The adversary is the devil. The armor is the list
here. The enemy is real but so is the equipment to conquer. These are the sources
of our strength and the secret to our success in battle.
Paul makes the Christians warfare not just a world war, but a war of worlds, or
universal war. We are fighting against powers in the heavenlies. Star wars has
been around a long time. It is not true that all is fair in love and war. There has to
be rules for any fight to be fair. Even is the enemy does not abide by them the
Christian must, or be as evil as the enemy. Matthew Henry said, "We have enemies
to fight against, a captain to fight for, a banner to fight under, and certain rules of
war by which we are to govern ourselves.
Here are beings of another order. We are engaged in inter-dimensional warfare. It
is the most universal of all conflicts. I get a kick out of Miss Universe contests, for
we are the only planet that is involved, but here is truely universal conflict. These
may be fallen angels or demons-II Peter 2:4, Jude 6. "The more that the battle with
the unseen for the unseen takes possession of a man, the more the battle with the
seen for the seen must let him go." Phillips Brooks.
Interpreter's Bible, "The Enlightenment thought it had out grown devils and

125. demons. Our age is rediscovering this age-old power. Fear of the dark is once more
disturbing our pagan calm. Depth psychology is opening up long-forgotten caverns
of demon-haunted evil."
Here is hand to hand combat and so there is a personal conflict no matter how many
fight along side. Sports victories are exciting, but spirit victories are essential. It is
not a once for all fight, but it is perpetual. Jesus said to take up the cross daily.
They are spiritual foes and so we need spiritual weapons to combat them. Lincoln
said, "You can't shout sense or religion into a man anymore than you can beat
daylight into the cellar with a club."
Wrestling is one aspect of all real religion. Paul is not referring to a friendly past
time but to the gladiators who wrestled for their very lives. All of us are on God's
wrestling team, but physical strength is no key value. Physical warfare is often the
result of failure to win spiritual battles. It is the judgment men endure for failure
on the higher level. Worldly warfare is against flesh and blood, but that is not
where the real enemy is. Satan works from the inside.
Christian! Dost thou see them
On the holy ground,
How the powers of darkness
Compass thee around?
1. Talk about a mismatched battle. It is me against, not only the devil himself, but all
his army of rulers and dark powers of this world, and spiritual forces in the
heavenly realm. David had it made in comparison, for he had a big giant, but he was
flesh and blood just like him. We have to fight forces that are unseen and powerful,
and so no sling and smooth rocks will do, and even atomic and hydrogen powers will
be of no avail. We need weapons that match the foe, and so they have to be unseen
and spiritual.
2. ote that the forces against us come from earthly powers of this dark world, and
this includes the evil dictators of the world who are flesh and blood, but who are
controlled by evil unseen powers. Second we face the spiritual forces of evil from the
heavenly realms, and so we are under attack from two sources. As people we are in
the middle of the spectrum of all life. We have the animal life that includes all from
the ameba to the elephant, and we are the top of the line in the animal kingdom
because we are a combination of the physical and spiritual. Above us, however, is
the whole realm of spiritual being who have no body like all animal creatures, but
are pure spirit and are thus unseen. Man is right in the middle as a combination of
the upper and the lower realm. He has enemies in both realms, but though it is true
that animals do kill many people, the real danger facing man is from the upper
realm of all his unseen enemies under the command of Satan.
PULPIT, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood. Our conflict is not with men, here

126. denoted by "flesh and blood," which is usually a symbol of weakness, therefore denoting
that our opponents are not weak mortals, but powers of a far more formidable order. But
against the principalities, against the powers. The same words as in Eph_1:21; therefore
the definite article is prefixed, as denoting what we are already familiar with: for though
all of these, evil as well as good, have been put under Christ the Head, they have not been
put under the members, but the evil among them are warring against these members with
all the greater ferocity that they cannot assail the Head. Against the world-rulers of this
[state of] darkness (comp. Eph_2:2). "World-rulers" denotes the extent of the dominion of
these invisible foes—the term is applied only to the rulers of the most widely extended
tracts; there is no part of the globe to which their influence does not extend, and where
their dark rule does not show itself (comp. Luk_4:6). "This darkness" expressively denotes
the element and the results of their rule. Observe contrast with Christ's servants, who are
children of light, equivalent to order, knowledge, purity, joy, peace, etc.; while the element
of the devil and his servants is darkness, equivalent to confusion, ignorance, crime, terror,
strife, and all misery. Against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. The
natural meaning, though questioned by some, is, either that these hosts of wickedness have
their residence in heavenly places, or, that these places are the scene of our conflict with
them. The latter seems more agreeable to the context, for "in heavenly places" does not
denote a geographical locality here any more than in Eph_1:3 and Eph_2:6. When it is said
that "we have been seated with Christ in heavenly places," the allusion is to the spiritual
experience of his people; in spirit they are at the gate of heaven, where their hearts are full
of heavenly thoughts and feelings; the statement now before us is that, even in such places,
amid their most fervent experiences or their most sublime services, they are subject to the
attacks of the spirits of wickedness.
BURKITT, "The apostle mentioned our enemy in the former verse; here he describes the
combat in this verse, We wrestle. A Christian's life is a perpetual warfare, a continual
wrestling; but with what, and with whom?
Ans. egatively, ot with flesh and blood; that is, not only or chiefly with flesh and blood,
with human enemies; but we must grapple and contend with angelical powers, with devils,
who are principalities and powers, & c.
Here note, How the devil and his angels are described:
1. By their prince-like authority and government which they exercise in the world, called
therefore principalities and powers, to denote that Satan is a great and mighty prince: a
prince that has the heart and knee of all his subjects.
2. By the seat of his empire: he rules in this world, not in the other; the highest the devil
can go, is the air; heaven fears him not. And he is a ruler of the darkness of this world: that
is, in such sinners as labour under the darkness of sin and ignorance.
3. Satan and his angels are here described by their spiritual nature, called spiritual
wickedness, that is, wicked spirits: intimating to us, that the devils are spirits; that they are
spirits extremely wicked; and that these wicked spirits do chiefly annoy Christians with,
and provoke them to, spiritual wickedness.
4. They are described by their residence or place of abode: in high places; that is, in the air,
of which he is called the prince.

127. From the whole note, How plainly Christ our captain deals with all his soldiers, and the
difference between Christ's dealing with his followers, and Satan with his: Satan durst not
let sinners know who that God is whom they fight against, but Christ is not afraid to show
his saints their enemy in all his power and strength; well he might, because the weakness of
God is stronger than the powers of hell.
SIMEO , "TO WITHSTA D THE POWER OF SATA
Eph_6:12-13. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in
high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye way be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
I persuading men to undertake any arduous office, and more especially to enlist into the
army, it is customary to keep out of view, as much as possible, the difficulties and dangers
they will be exposed to, and to allure them by prospects of pleasure, honour. or emolument.
It was far otherwise with Christ and his Apostles. When our Lord invited men to enlist
under his banners, he told them that they would have to enter on a course of pain and self-
denial; “If any man will be my disciple, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,
and follow me.” Thus St. Paul, at the very time that he is endeavouring to recruit the
Christian army, tells us plainly, that the enemies we shall have to combat, are the most
subtle and powerful of any in the universe. Deceit and violence, the two great engines of
cruelty and oppression, are their daily practice and delight.
In conformity with the Apostle’s plan, we have opened to you, in some measure, the wiles of
that adversary, whom we are exhorting you to oppose: and we shall now proceed to set
before you somewhat of his power; still however encouraging you not to be dismayed, but
to go forth against him with an assurance of victory.
We shall shew you,
I. What a powerful adversary we have to contend with—
As soon as any man enlists under the banners of Christ, the world will turn against him,
even as the kings of Canaan did against the Gibeonites, the very instant they had made a
league with Joshua [ ote: Jos_10:4. with Joh_15:18-19.]. “Those of his own household will
most probably be his greatest foes.” To oppose these manfully is no easy task: but yet these
are of no consideration in comparison of our other enemies; “We wrestle not against flesh
and blood [ ote: The terms “flesh and blood” are sometimes used to signify any human
being, (Mat_16:17.) and sometimes, our corrupt nature, whether intellectual (Gal_1:16.) or
corporeal, (1Co_15:50.) Here they denote the world at large.],” says the Apostle, but
“against all the principalities and powers” of hell [ ote: Commentators labour exceedingly,
but in vain, to make any tolerable sense of ἐ í ô ï ῖ ò ἐ ð ï õ ñ á í ß ï é ò as translated in our
version. But if they were construed with ἡ ð Ü ë ç , thus, “Our conflict about heavenly
things,” and ô ὰ ð í å õ ì á ô é ê ὰ ô ῆ ò ð ï í ç ñ ß á ò be considered as equivalent to ð ï í ç ñ ὰ
ð í å ý ì á ô á , the whole sense would he clear and unembarrassed. For that sense of ἐ í , see
Rom_11:2 and Gal_1:24; and, for a much greater separation of words that are to be
construed together, see Rom_2:12; Rom_2:16. Indeed, the distance between ἡ ð Ü ë ç and ἐ
í ô ï ῖ ò ἐ ð ï õ ñ á í ß ï é ò is not worthy of notice, if it be considered, that four of the

128. intermediate members of the sentence are a mere accumulation of synonymous expressions,
a periphrasis for ð ï í ç ñ ὰ ð í å ý ì á ô á .]. It is not merely in a rhetorical way that the
Apostle accumulates so many expressions, to designate our enemies: the different terms he
uses are well calculated to exhibit their power; which will appear to us great indeed, if we
consider what he intimates respecting their nature, their number, and their office.
With respect to their nature, they are “wicked spirits.” Once they were bright angels
around the throne of God: but “they kept not their first estate;” and therefore they were
“cast down to hell [ ote: Jude, ver. 6 and 2Pe_2:4.].” But though they have lost the
holiness, they still retain, the power, of angels. As “angels, they excel in strength [ ote:
Psa_103:20.],” and are far “greater in power and might [ ote: 2Pe_2:11.]” than any
human being. They have, moreover, an immense advantage over us, in that they are spirits.
Were they flesh and blood like ourselves, we might see them approaching, and either flee
from them, or fortify ourselves against them: at least, there would be some time when,
through weariness, they must intermit their efforts: but being spirits their approaches to us
are invisible, irresistible, incessant.
Their number is also intimated, in that they are represented as “principalities and powers,”
consisting of multitudes who hold, like men on earth and angels in heaven [ ote: Col_
1:16.], various degrees of honour and authority under one head. To form a conjecture
respecting their numbers, would be absurd; since we are totally in the dark on that subject.
This however we know, that they are exceeding many; because our Lord cast no less than
seven out of one woman [ ote: Mar_16:9.]; and one man was possessed by a whole troop or
“legion” at once [ ote: Mar_5:9.]. We have reason there fore to think that their number
far exceeds that of the human species; because there is no human being beyond the reach of
their assaults, no, not for a single hour. or are they formidable merely on account of their
number, but principally on account of their union, and subordination under one leader. We
read of “the devil and his angels [ ote: Mat_25:41.],” as of a king and his subjects: and
though we know not what precise ranks and orders there may be among them, we know
the name of their chief, even “Beelzebub, the prince of the devils [ ote: Mat_12:24.].” It is
because of their acting thus in concert with each other, that they are so often spoken of as
one [ ote: Luk_4:2-3; Luk_4:5-6; Luk_4:8; Luk_4:13.]: and well they may be; for, the
whole multitude of them are so perfectly one in operation and design, that, if one spy out an
advantage, he may in an instant have a legion more to second his endeavours: and as this
constitutes the strength of armies on earth, so does it give tenfold power to our spiritual
enemies.
The office which they execute as “the rulers of this dark world,” may serve yet further to
give us an idea of their strength. It is true, this office was not delegated to them, but
usurped by them: still however, they retain it by God’s permission, and exercise it to our
cost. Satan is expressly called, “the prince of this world [ ote: Joh_12:31; Joh_14:30; Joh_
16:11.],” “the god of this world [ ote: 2Co_4:4.],” “the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in all the children of disobedience [ ote: Eph_2:2.].” He “blinds
them” that they may not see [ ote: 2Co_4:4.], and then, as the prophet led the Syrians, he
leads them whithersoever he will [ ote: 2Ki_6:18-20.]; he takes them captive altogether
[ ote: 2Ti_2:26.]. A few indeed who are brought out of darkness into the marvellous light
of the Gospel, have cast off his yoke: but except them, the whole world, enveloped in worse
than Egyptian darkness, lieth under him as its universal monarch [ ote: 1Jn_5:19. Ἐ í ô ῷ
ð ï í ç ñ ῷ , in the wicked one.]. The very elements are under his controul, and concur with
men and devils to fulfil his will. Would he deprive Job of his substance? hosts of Sabeans
and Chaldeans come at his call, to plunder him [ ote: Job_1:12; Job_1:15; Job_1:17.].

129. Would he destroy all his family? the wind rises at his command to smite their house, and
overwhelm them in its ruins [ ote: Job_1:19.].
Such are the enemies with whom we have to contend. If we desire to prosecute earthly
things, we can go on with ease; we can follow them without interruption from day to day,
and from year to year: with respect to these things, the devils would rather help us
forward, than obstruct our way. But the very instant we begin to seek “heavenly things,”
all hell is in alarm, just as all the Canaanites were, when they understood that Joshua’s
spies had been seen in their land [ ote: Jos_2:9; Jos_2:11.]. If we begin to listen to the
word of God, he will send some emissary, some child of his, whom he has endued with
peculiar subtilty, to turn us from the faith [ ote: Act_13:7-10.]. If the word, like good seed,
be sown upon our hearts, he will send a host of devils, like birds of the air, to pick up the
seed [ ote: Mat_13:4; Mat_13:19.]. If any, in spite of his efforts, take root in our hearts, he
will instantly sow tares to grow up with the wheat [ ote: Mat_13:25.], and thorns to choke
it [ ote: Mat_13:7; Mat_13:22.]. We cannot go into the presence of God to pray, but
“Satan will be at our right hand to resist us [ ote: Zec_3:1.].” The conflict we have to
maintain with him, is not like that which is common to our armies, where a part bear the
brunt of the battle, and the rest are reserved for exigencies: in this view it is more properly
compared to “a wrestling,” where every man meets his antagonist, and must continue the
contest, till the fall of one party decides the victory. Such the Scripture describes our
contest to be; and such it is proved to be by every man’s experience: there is no man who, if
he will only observe the ease with which he enters upon his worldly calling, and keeps up
his attention to it, and the comparative difficulty he finds, as soon as ever he addresses
himself to the concerns of his soul, shall not see, that there is in him an impotence and
reluctance, for which he cannot account, unless he acknowledge, what the Scripture so fully
warns him of, a satanic agency.
But shall we be intimidated by this account, and induced to surrender ourselves to Satan
without a conflict? o. Formidable as he is, there is One above him, who circumscribes his
powers, and limits his operations. He did, by God’s permission, “cast some of the Ephesian
church into prison, that they might be tried, for ten days [ ote: Rev_2:10.]:” but, if he
could have accomplished all that was in his heart, he would have cast them all into hell that
they might perish for ever. So far from being irresistible, he may be resisted, yea, and
vanquished too, by the weakest of God’s saints.
To encourage you therefore to fight against him, we will shew,
II. How we may effectually withstand him—
The Apostle renews, though with some variation, the directions he gave before; “not
thinking it grievous to himself to repeat any thing that may conduce to our safety [ ote:
Php_3:1.].” St. Peter also was “careful to put Christians frequently in remembrance of
many things, notwithstanding they knew them, and were established in the present truth
[ ote: 2Pe_1:12.].” Well therefore may we call your attention once more to the exhortation
in the text. Indeed, if the putting on the whole armour of God was necessary to guard
against the wiles of the devil, it can be no less necessary as a preservative against his power:
and the exhortation enforced by this new consideration, cannot reasonably be thought an
uninteresting repetition.
But we shall have no need to repeat any former observations, seeing that what is new in the
exhortation, will afford abundant matter for profitable, and seasonable, remark.

130. The time mentioned in the text as “the evil day,” refers to those particular periods when
Satan makes his most desperate attacks. Sometimes he retires from us for a season, as he
did from our Lord [ ote: Luk_4:13.]; or, at least, gives us somewhat of a respite from any
violent assaults. But he watches his opportunity to renew his efforts, when by bringing a
host of devils to his aid [ ote: Mat_12:44-45.], or finding us off our guard [ ote: 1Pe_5:8.],
he may exert his power to more effect. Such a season was that wherein David complained,
that “his enemies, compassing him like bees, thrust sore at him that he might fall [ ote:
Psa_118:12-13.]:” and especially that wherein the Lord Jesus Christ himself was so
weakened by him, as to need an angel from heaven to administer strength and consolation
[ ote: Luk_22:43; Luk_22:53.]. All who know any thing of “Satan’s devices,” must have
noticed this in their own experience: there have been times when the enemy appeared
unmindful of his work, and other times when “he has come in like a flood; so that if the
Spirit of the Lord had not lifted up a standard against him [ ote: Isa_59:19.],” he must
have utterly overwhelmed them. The hour of death is a season when he usually puts forth
all his power, “having great wrath because his time is short [ ote: Rev_12:12.].”
ow what shall we do in such seasons, if not clad in the whole armour of God? What hope
can we have of withstanding such an enemy? If he should find us unarmed, would he not
sift us as wheat [ ote: Luk_22:31.], and reduce us to mere chaff? Would he not scatter us
as smoke out of the chimney, or chaff driven by a whirlwind [ ote: Hos_13:3.]? Would he
not precipitate thousands of us, as he did the swine, into instantaneous destruction [ ote:
Mat_8:31-32.], and into the bottomless abyss of hell?
But if we be armed with the divine panoply, we need not fear; he can have no power
against us any further than it is given him from above [ ote: Joh_19:11.]: and, “howbeit he
meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so [ ote: Isa_10:5; Isa_10:7.],” his efforts
against us shall ultimately conduce to our good, to make us more humble, more vigilant,
more expert.
This is particularly intimated in the text; and in this the encouragement given us exceeds
what was contained in the former exhortation. There we were taught to expect that we
should not be vanquished by our subtle enemy: here we are encouraged with an assurance,
that we shall not only effectually withstand his efforts, even when they are most desperate,
but shall “stand” as victors on the field of battle, after having put our enemies to flight. To
this also agree the words of St. James; “resist the devil, and he shall flee from you [ ote:
Jam_4:7.];” he shall not only not overcome you, but shall be so intimidated by your
prowess as to flee from you with the greatest precipitation. Blessed truth! This mighty
fiend, who dared to enter the lists with an archangel [ ote: Jude, ver. 9.], and to contend
even with the Son of God himself, shall be so terrified at the sight of a Christian champion,
as not only to “forbear touching him [ ote: 1Jn_5:18.],” but even to flee from his presence
as for his very life.
It is true, he will never finally give over the contest, till we are got entirely beyond his
reach: nor is he at any time so vanquished or intimidated but that he will number another
host, like unto that which has been defeated, and renew his attack upon us [ ote: 1Ki_
20:22-26.]: but his malice shall terminate in his own confusion [ ote: 1Ki_20:27-29.]: he
may succeed to bruise our heel, but we shall ultimately bruise his head [ ote: Gen_3:15.].
“Our weapons, through God, shall be mighty, though wielded by the feeblest arm [ ote:
2Co_10:4.].” We shall “go on conquering and to conquer [ ote: Rev_6:2.]” till we set our
feet upon his neck [ ote: Jos_10:24. This was altogether typical of the Christian’s

131. victories.], and return with triumphant exultation from the combat, saying, “Lord, even the
devils are subject unto us through thy name [ ote: Luk_10:17.].”
or is this your greatest encouragement: for as soon as you have “done all” that God has
designed for you in this state of warfare, you shall “stand” before God, united to that noble
army that are now enjoying their triumphs in his presence. Having “fought the good fight
and finished your course, there shall be given to you a crown of righteousness” and glory
[ ote: 2Ti_4:7-8.]; and you shall bear the palm of victory in the courts of heaven [ ote:
Rev_7:9-10.]. Then shall be fulfilled to you what was spoken by our Lord, “To him that
overcometh will I give to sit down with me upon my throne, even as I also overcame, and
am set down with my Father upon his throne [ ote: Rev_3:21.].” Only “be faithful unto
death; and God will give thee a crown of life [ ote: Rev_2:10. latter part.].”
Before we dismiss this subject, we would address a few words,
1. To those who have never yet wrestled with this great adversary—
We hope you are now convinced, that it is not a needless labour to engage in this contest.
But you may still be induced to decline it, from the idea that it is a hopeless work. But know
this, that you have undertaken a task which is infinitely more difficult than this; for, while
you refuse to wrestle with Satan, you are actually wrestling with God himself. He who
infallibly discerns, and rightly estimates, your conduct, says, that ye “resist the Holy Ghost
[ ote: Act_7:51.]” and “contend with your Maker [ ote: Job_40:2.]:” and your own
consciences will inform you, that you have often “fought against God,” by resisting the
influence of his word and Spirit [ ote: Act_5:39; Act_23:9.]. Suppose then ye gain the
victory (which is but too probable), suppose God give up the contest, and say, “My Spirit
shall strive with him no longer [ ote: Gen_6:3.];” what will ye have to boast of? what cause
will ye have for joy? Awful will be that day wherein God shall say, “Let him alone [ ote:
Hos_4:17.]:” from that hour your condemnation will be sure, and Satan will have perfectly
gained his point. Judge then whether it be not better to contend with Satan, than with God?
with him whom you are sure to conquer, to your eternal happiness, than with him, by
whose avenging arm you must be crushed for ever [ ote: Isa_27:4.]? Consider well which
of the two ye choose for your enemy, God or Satan: and may God incline you to enlist
under the Redeemer’s banner, and in his strength to combat all the enemies of your
salvation!
2. Let us speak to those who have begun the arduous contest.
Be not afraid of your great adversary. Do not be like the unbelieving Israelites, who,
because the Anakims were of such extraordinary stature, and dwelt in cities that were
walled up to heaven, dreaded to go up against them [ ote: um_13:28; um_13:31; um_
13:33.]; but rather say, with Caleb, “They shall be bread for us [ ote: um_13:9; um_
13:30.]:” instead of destroying, they shall be an occasion of good to, our souls: their spoils
shall enrich us; and the opposition that they make shall only be the means of displaying
more abundantly the love and faithfulness of our God. “Take unto you” again and again
“the whole armour of God;” and “fight, not as one that beateth the air [ ote: 1Co_9:26.],”
but as one that is determined to conquer or die: and if at any time you be tempted to give
up the contest, think of “those who now through faith and patience inherit the promises
[ ote: Heb_6:12.].” Once they were conflicting like you; but now they rest from their
labours, and are anxious spectators of your conflicts [ ote: Heb_12:1.]. It is but a little
time, and you also shall be numbered with them. “Greater is he that is in you, than he that

132. is in the world [ ote: 1Jn_4:4.].” Only go forth therefore in the name of Christ; and his
triumphs shall be the pattern, the pledge, the earnest of your own.
BI, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities.
The invisible enemies of man
Does it not appear, philosophically speaking, a somewhat violent assumption to decide that
man is really the highest being in the created universe, or, at least, that between man and
his Maker there are no gradations with different moral colourings of intermediate life?
Would it not be, rather, reasonable to suppose that the graduated series of living beings,
graduated as it is so delicately, which we trace from the lowest of the zoophytes up to man,
does not stop abruptly with man, that it continues beyond, although we may be unable to
follow the invisible steps of the continuing ascent? Surely, I submit, the reasonable
probability would incline this way, and revelation does but confirm and reveal these
anticipations when it discovers to faith, on the one hand, the hierarchies of the blessed
angels, and on the other, as in this passage of Scripture, the corresponding gradations of
evil spirits, principalities, and powers, who have abused their freedom, and who are
ceaselessly labouring to impair and to destroy the moral order of the universe. Two great
departments of moral life among men are watched over, each one of them, beyond the
sphere of human life, by beings of greater power, greater intelligence, greater intensity of
purpose, than man in the world of spirits. These spiritual beings, good and evil, act upon
humanity as clearly, as certainly, and as constantly as man himself acts upon the lower
creatures around, and thus it is that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places.” Does not our experience, my brethren, bear this out,
at least sometimes in our darker hours? Have we never known what it is, as we phrase it, to
be carried away by a sudden impulse--to be driven, we know not why, hither and thither in
conscious humiliation and shame before some strong, overmastering gust of passion? Have
we, too, never seen another law in our members, warring against the law of our minds, and
bringing us into captivity to the law of sin that is in our members? And what is this at
bottom but to feel ourselves in the strong embrace and gripe of another power, who, for the
moment, has overmastered us, and holds us down? We may be unable to discern his form;
we may be unable to define the precise limits and nature of his power; we may despair to
decide what it is that we supply to the dread result out of our own fund of perverted
passion, and what it is that he adds from the hot breath of an intenser furnace. But then the
most ordinary processes of our vital functions themselves defy analysis, however we may be
certain of their reality. o, depend upon it, it is not any mere disposition, inseparable from
the conditions of human thought, to personify, to externalize passion which has peopled the
imagination of Christendom with demons. As well, just as well, might you say that the
fearful epidemic which has ravaged London this autumn was itself a creation of human
fancy, that it had in itself no real existence, that it was the real cause of no real disease in
the individuals who succumbed to it. Our imagination may, no doubt, do much; but there
are limits to its activity, and the higher facts are just as much beyond it as are the facts of
nature. The contests of which St. Paul is speaking were not only to be waged on the great
scenes of history. St. Paul is speaking of contests humbler, less public, but certainly not less

133. tragical, the contests which are waged, sooner or later, with more or less intensity, and with
the most divergent results, around and within each human soul. It is within ourselves, my
brethren, that we meet now, as the first Christians met, the onset of the principalities and
the powers. It is in resisting them--aye, at any cost--in driving them from us at the name of
Christ, in driving from us the spirits of untruthfulness, of sloth, of anger, and of impure
desire--that we really contribute our little share to the issue of the great battle which rages
still, as it raged then, and which will rage on between good and evil until the end comes,
and the combatants meet with their rewards. (Canon Liddon.)
The holy war
I. The foes. Spiritual enemies. Our danger arises from--
1. The advantage they find in this world. It is in many respects their own.
2. Our natural inclinations.
3. Their number--Legion.
4. Their mightiness.
5. Their invisibility.
6. Their artfulness.
7. Their malignity.
II. The armour.
1. The articles in which it consists. one provided for the back. He who flees is wholly
defenceless, and sure to perish.
2. Its nature--Divine.
(1) Appointed by God.
(2) Provided by God.
3. The appropriation of it. You must apply it to the various purposes for which it has been
provided. There are some who are ignorant of it; these cannot “take it to themselves,” and
they are “perishing for lack of knowledge.” There are others who know it, but despise it;
they never make use of it; their religion is all speculation; they “know these things,” but
“they do them not”; they believe--and “the devils believe and tremble.”
4. The entireness of the application--“The whole armour.” Every part is necessary. A

134. Christian may be considered with regard to his principles, with regard to his practice, with
regard to his experience, with regard to his comfort, and with regard to his profession; and
oh! how important is it in each of these that neither of them is to be left in him exposed and
undefended. He is to “stand complete in all the will” of his heavenly Father; he is to be
“perfect and entire, lacking nothing.” othing less: than this must be our aim.
III. The success. Three inquiries are here to be answered. The first regards the posture;
what does the apostle mean by “standing”? It is a military term; and “standing” is opposed
to falling. A man is said to “fall” when he is slain in battle; and he does so literally. It is
opposed to fleeing. We often read of fleeing before the enemy in the Scriptures: this cannot
be “standing.” It is opposed to yielding or keeping back; and so the apostle says, “ either
give place to the devil.” Every inch you yield he gains, and every inch he gains you lose;
every inch he gains favours his gaining another inch, and every inch you lose favours your
losing another inch. The second regards the period; what does the apostle mean when he
says, “Stand in the evil day”? All the time of the Christian’s warfare may be so called in a
sense, and a very true sense; but the apostle refers also to some days which are peculiarly
evil days.” Days of suffering are such. The days in which the poor martyrs lived were “evil
days”; they could not confess and follow Christ without exposing their substance and their
liberty and their lives; but they “stood in the evil day,” and “rejoiced that they were
counted worthy to suffer shame for His Dame.” There are “evil days” morally considered--
perilous periods, in which “iniquity abounds and the love of many waxes cold,” in which
many may “turn aside from the faith and give themselves to vain janglings.” The third
regards the preeminence of the advantage gained; “stand in the evil day, and, having done
all, stand.” Some of God’s servants have been foiled after various successes, and have
become affecting examples to show us that we are never out of the reach of danger as long
as we are in the body and in the world. The battle of Eylau, between the French and the
Russians, was a dreadful conflict; more than fifty thousand perished. Both parties claimed
the victory. What, then, is the historian to do? To do? Why, he will inquire, Who kept the
field? And these were the French, while the Russians all withdrew. Oh, my brethren! it is
the keeping of the field to the last--to see all the adversaries withdrawn--that is to make us
“more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” It is this that gives decision to the
battle. Some have overcome, and then, alas! they have been overcome. What is it to gain
success and yield it at last? The Romans often were checked: they often met with a defeat;
but then they succeeded upon the whole, “and having done all, they stood.” Of Gad it is
said, “A troop shall overcome him, but he shall overcome at the last.” And this will be the
case with every real Christian. What comes from God will be sure to lead back to God. (W.
Jay.)
The Christian soldier’s warfare
I. The enemies with whom, as Christian soldiers, we are called to contend.
1. Spirits.
2. Wicked spirits.

135. 3. Formidable spirits.
(1) On account of their strength.
(2) On account of their weapons.
(3) On account of their extensive influence.
(4) On account of their wiles.
II. In what manner we are instructed to contend with them.
1. In the armour of God.
(1) This must be all put on.
(2) We must retain it till our warfare be past.
(3) We must take and use it whenever assaulted.
2. In the spirit of prayer and watchfulness.
3. In the exercise of firm resistance. Let your resistance be--
(1) Early. At the first approach of the enemy.
(2) Courageous.
(3) Unwearied. Till you conquer.
III. The reasons by which we should be induced thus to contend.
1. Because the most important objects depend on this contention.
(1) Your steadfastness;
(2) your liberty;
(3) your glory;
(4) your eternal life.
2. Because victory is certain to the faithful soldiers of Christ.
(1) Victory over the world;

136. (2) victory over sin;
(3) victory over Satan;
(4) victory over tribulation;
(5) victory over death.
3. Because victory will be attended with certain glory.
(1) A glorious rest from all painful toil and contention;
(2) glorious exemption from all penal evil;
(3) glorious honours;
(4) a glorious throne, crown, kingdom. (Theological Sketchbook.)
The existence of evil spirits
Against the existence of evil spirits, against the possibility of their exerting a malignant
influence on the moral and spiritual life of mankind, nothing has ever been alleged, as far
as I am aware, that has any force in it. Some people appear to suppose that they have said
enough to justify their disbelief when they have recited the grotesque and incredible
legends, the monstrous and childish superstitions about the devil which laid so firm a hold
on the imagination and the fears of Europe in the Middle Ages; or when they have
illustrated the history and growth of analogous legends and superstitions among savage or
half-civilized races. But they could justify atheism by a precisely similar line of reasoning.
The mythologies of Greece and of Scandinavia are incredible; their original and central
elements are obviously nothing more than the product of the imagination under the
excitement of the glories and the terrors, the majesty and the beauty, of the visible
universe. But because these mythologies are incredible shall I refuse to believe in the living
God, the Creator of the heavens and of the earth, the God that loveth righteousness and
hateth iniquity? The attributes and deeds attributed to Kali, the black and blood-stained
goddess, with her necklace of human skulls, fills me with horror and fierce disgust; but is
this horror, this disgust, any reason for withholding my faith from the revelation of God’s
infinite love in the Lord Jesus Christ? Many false, childish, dreadful things have been
imagined and believed about invisible and Divine powers; but this does not prove that there
is no God. Many monstrous and absurd things have been imagined and believed about
invisible and evil spirits; but this does not prove that there is no devil. Three hundred years
ago men received popular stories about grotesque and malicious appearances of evil spirits
without evidence and without inquiry. It was the habit of the age to believe in such things;
men believed, in the absence of all solid reasons for believing. And now we disbelieve,
without evidence and without inquiry, what Christ Himself and His apostles have told us
about the devil and his temptations. It is the habit of the age to disbelieve in such things; we
disbelieve, in the absence of solid reasons for disbelieving. We do not care to investigate the
question. We go with the crowd. We think that everybody cannot be wrong. We regard
with great complacency the contrast between our own clear intelligence and the
superstition of our ancestors. But when we are challenged to state our reasons for refusing

137. to accept what Christ has revealed on this subject, we have nothing to answer except that
other people refuse to accept it; and our ancestors had just as good an apology for
accepting the superstitions of their times--everybody accepted them. It is not quite clear
that there is any good ground for our self-complacency; the belief of our ancestors was as
rational as our own disbelief.
1. The subject is confessedly difficult, obscure, and mysterious; but there is nothing
incredible in the existence of unseen and evil powers, from whose hostility we are in serious
danger. Give the faculty of vision to the blind, and they see the sun and the clouds and the
moon and the stars, of whose existence they had known nothing except by hearsay; give a
new faculty to the human race, and we might discover that we are surrounded by
“principalities” and “powers,” some of them loyal to God and bright with a Divine glory;
some of them in revolt against Him, and scarred with the lightnings of the Divine anger.
The moral objections to the existence of evil spirits can hardly be sustained in the presence
of the crimes of which our own race has been guilty. There may be other worlds in which
the inhabitants are as wicked as the most wicked of ourselves; we cannot tell. We may be
surrounded--we cannot tell--by creatures of God, who hate righteousness and hate God
with a fiercer hatred than ever burned in the hearts of the most profligate and
blasphemous of our race. And they may be endeavouring to accomplish our moral ruin, in
this life and the life to come.
2. Our Lord plainly taught the existence of evil spirits (Mat_13:19; Mat_13:39; Luk_10:18;
Luk_22:31; Joh_12:31; Mat_25:41). o use to say that as He spoke the language, He
thought the thoughts, of His country and His time; for it was impossible that He should
mistake shadows for realities in that invisible and spiritual world which was His true home,
and which He had come to reveal to man. or can we believe that Christ Himself knew that
evil spirits had no existence, and yet consciously and deliberately fell in with the common
way of speaking about them. The subject was one of active controversy between rival
Jewish sects, and in using the popular language Christ took sides with one sect against
another. That He should have supported controverted opinions which He knew to be false
is inconceivable. Again: He came to preach glad tidings; can we suppose that, if the popular
dread of evil spirits had no foundation, He would have deliberately fostered such a
falsehood?
3. The teaching of Christ on this point is sustained by all the apostles (Jam_3:7; 2Co_4:4;
2Co_11:14; Eph_4:26; 1Pe_5:8; 1Jn_2:13-14; 1Jn_3:8; 1Jn_3:10; 1Jn_3:12; 1Jn_5:18-19,
etc.).
4. The teaching of Christ and His apostles is confirmed by our religious experience. Evil
thoughts come to us which are alien from all our convictions and from all our sympathies.
There is nothing to account for them in our external circumstances or in the laws of our
intellectual life. We abhor them and repel them, but they are pressed upon us with cruel
persistency. They come to us at times when their presence is most hateful; they cross and
trouble the current of devotion; they gather like thick clouds between our souls and God,
and suddenly darken the glory of the Divine righteousness and love. We are sometimes
pursued and harassed by doubts which we have deliberately confronted, examined, and
concluded to be absolutely destitute of force, doubts about the very existence of God, or
about the authority of Christ, or about the reality of our own redemption. Sometimes the
assaults take another form. Evil fires which we thought we had quenched are suddenly
rekindled by unseen hands; we have to renew the fight with forms of moral and spiritual
evil which we thought we had completely destroyed. There is a Power not ourselves that

138. makes for righteousness; light falls upon us which we know is light from heaven; in times
of weariness strength comes to us from inspiration which we know must be Divine; we are
protected in times of danger by an invisible presence and grace; there are times when we
are conscious that streams of life are flowing into us which must have their fountains in the
life of God. And there are dark and evil days when we discover that there is also a power
not ourselves that makes for sin. We are at war, the kingdom of God on earth is at war,
with the kingdom of darkness. We have to fight “against the principalities,” etc. And
therefore we need the strength of God and “the armour of God.” The attacks of these
formidable foes are not incessant; but as we can never tell when “the evil day” may come,
we should be always prepared for it. After weeks and months of happy peace, they fall
upon us without warning, and without any apparent cause. If we are to “withstand” them,
and if after one great battle in which we have left nothing unattempted or unaccomplished
for our own defence and the destruction of the enemy we are still “to stand,” to stand with
our force unexhausted and our resources undiminished, ready for another and perhaps
fiercer engagement, we must “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might,” and
we must “take up the whole armour of God.” (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
The nature of the contest
Wrestle. It denotes--
1. That our enemies aim at us personally.
2. The nearness of the parties to each other.
3. The severity of the struggle, ðáëç .
4. The continuance of it. The present tense. (H. J. Foster.)
The evil angels
I. Here are presented beings whose attributes are very appalling.
1. Actual beings, possessing an angelic order of existence.
2. Beings deeply and fearfully characterized by evil.
3. Beings who possess wide power and authority over the world.
II. The beings here presented are engaged in active and malignant conflict against the
interests of redeemed men.
1. otice the manner in which that conflict is conducted. These principalities, etc., fight

139. against the children of God through the medium of their own thoughts; as those thoughts
may be influenced independent of external objects, or as those thoughts may be influenced
by the thoughts and passions of other men; and by the various events and occurrences
which are transpiring in this sublunary and terrestrial world. It is intended by this power
and instrumentality to lead to principles, to actions, and to habits which are inconsistent
with the maintenance of the Christian character.
2. Mark the spirit in which that warfare is conducted. It is precisely such as we might
expect from the character and attributes of the principalities, the powers, and the rulers
against whom we wrestle. It is, for instance, conducted with subtlety and cunning. We find
that Satan is said to transform himself into an angel of light. Hence, again, we read of “the
devices of Satan” and “the rulers of Satan” as being “the old serpent.” It is, further,
conducted in cruelty, Hence, we read of Satan as being “the adversary”; we read of his
fiery darts; and we are told that he “goeth about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may
devour.” It is, again, conducted in perseverance. All the statements which are urged with
regard to subtlety on the one hand, and cruelty on the other, show that there is one
incessant labour, which is perfectly unvaried and unremitting on their part, to accomplish
the great designs they have in view with respect to the character and the final destiny of the
soul.
3. Observe for what purpose the conflict is designed. That there may be a failure on the
part of the redeemed, in their character, their consistency, and their hopes; and this, under
the impulse of one dark and fearful result, as bearing both upon God and upon man. As
regards God, it is intended that the purpose of the Father should be foresworn; that the
atonement of the Son should be inefficacious; and that the influence of the Spirit should be
thwarted. And, as bearing on man, it is intended that his life should become bereft of
honour, comfort, and peace; that his death should be a scene of agitation, pain, and
darkness; that his judgment should he an event of threatening and bitter condemnation;
that his eternity should be the habitation of torment and woe; and that over spirits, who
once had the prospects of redemption, there shall be pronounced that fearful sentence,
“Depart ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
III. The knowledge, on the part of redeemed men, of such a conflict, ought, at once, to bind
on thee those practical impressions which are essential to their perseverance and victory.
1. The nature of the means of preservation.
(1) A constant and diligent attempt, in the strength of the living God, to live in practical
conformity with the doctrines and precepts of the gospel.
(2) Watchfulness.
(3) Prayer.
2. The effect which these means, when used aright, will secure. That the Christian warrior,
fighting against these mighty and invisible foes, shall, although faint, yet pursue, and
although feeble, shall yet conquer. (J. Parsons.)

140. The craft of our invisible foes
The great art of these invisible world rulers consists in never seeming to be against us. They
conceal themselves in our affections, and plead for our wishes. And, as though from quite a
motherly consideration for our weakness, and a warm concern for our enjoyment, they
make it appear that the claims of God are unreasonable, and that the way to heaven is cold
and forbidding. Seated in the warmth of our hearts, they reason warmly for our pleasure,
and then flatter us that we reason well. We are taken by the “wiles,” we suck in the
flattering honey, and know not that we are being poisoned unto the second death. These
spirits are too much for us. Their strongholds are in our hearts. Before we can successfully
oppose those who clothed themselves with the armour of our own life, we must put on “the
armour of God.” Jesus is the only man who ever prevailed in this war. He came to the
encounter, not in nature’s heats, nor with nature’s reasonings; but clothed with truth and
purity, guilelessness and perfect love. We must “put on Christ.” (J. Pulsford.)
Our spiritual foes
The apostle brings out into bold relief the terrible foes which Christians are summoned to
encounter.
1. Their position. They are no subalterns, but foes of mighty rank, the nobility and
chieftains of the spirit world.
2. Their office. Their domain is this darkness in which they exercise imperial sway.
3. Their essence. ot encumbered with an animal frame, but “spirits.”
4. Their character--“evil.” Their appetite for evil only exceeds their capacity for producing
it. (J. Eadie, D. D.)
Every part must be protected against the adversary
It is reported by the poets of Achilles, the Grecian captain, that his mother, being warned
by the oracle, dipped him--being a child--in the river Lethe, to prevent any danger that
might ensue by reason of the Trojan war; but Paris, his inveterate enemy, understanding
also by the oracle that he was impenetrable all over his body, except the heel or small part
of his leg, which his mother held him by when she dipped him, took his advantage, shot him
in the heel, and killed him. Thus every man is, or ought to be, armed cap-a-pie with that
panoply--the whole armour of God. For the devil will be sure to hit the least part that he
finds unarmed; if it be the eye, he will dart in at that casement by the presentation of one
lewd object or other; if it be the ear, he will force that door open by bad counsel; if the
tongue, that shall be made a world of mischief; if the feet, they shall be swift to shed blood,
etc.
Spiritual wrestling is personal

141. At the battle of Crecy, in 1316, the Prince of Wales, finding himself heavily pressed by the
enemy, sent word to his father for help. The father, watching the battle from a windmill,
and seeing his son was not wounded and could gain the day if he would, sent word: “ o, I
will not come. Let the boy win his spurs, for, if God will, I desire that this day be his with
all its honours.” Young man, fight your own battle, all through, and you shall have the
victory. Oh, it is a battle worth fighting! Two monarchs of old fought a duel, Charles V and
Francis, and the stakes were kingdoms, Milan and Burgundy. You fight with sin, and the
stake is heaven or hell. (Dr. Talmage.)
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.
BAR ES,"In the evil day - The day of temptation; the day when you are violently
assaulted.
And having done all, to stand - Margin, “or overcome.” The Greek word means, to
work out, effect, or produce; and then to work up, to make an end of, to vanquish.
Robinson, Lexicon. The idea seems to be, that they were to overcome or vanquish all
their foes, and thus to stand firm. The whole language here is taken from war; and the
idea is, that every foe was to be subdued - no matter how numerous or formidable they
might be. Safety and triumph could be looked for only when every enemy was slain.
CLARKE, "Wherefore - Because ye have such enemies to contend with, take unto
you - assume, as provided and prepared for you, the whole armor of God; which armor if
you put on and use, you shall be both invulnerable and immortal. The ancient heroes are
fabled to have had armor sent to them by the gods; and even the great armor-maker,
Vulcan, was reputed to be a god himself. This was fable: What Paul speaks of is reality.
See before on Eph_6:11 (note).
That ye may be able to withstand - That ye may not only stand fast in the liberty
wherewith Christ hath made you free, but also discomfit all your spiritual foes; and
continuing in your ranks, maintain your ground against them, never putting off your

142. armor, but standing always ready prepared to repel any new attack.
And having done all, to stand - Και ᅋπαντα κατεργασαµενοι στηναι· rather, And
having conquered all, stand: this is a military phrase, and is repeatedly used in this sense
by the best Greek writers. So Dionys. Hal. Ant., lib. vi., page 400: Και παντα πολεµια εν
ολιγሩ κατεργασαµενοι χρονሩ· “Having in a short time discomfited all our enemies, we
returned with numerous captives and much spoil.” See many examples in Kypke. By evil
day we may understand any time of trouble, affliction, and sore temptation.
As there is here allusion to some of the most important parts of the Grecian armor, I
shall give a short account of the whole. It consisted properly of two sorts:
1. Defensive armor, or that which protected themselves.
2. Offensive armor, or that by which they injured their enemies. The apostle refers to
both.
I. Defensive Armor
Περικεφαλαια, the Helmet; this was the armor for the head, and was of various forms,
and embossed with a great variety of figures. Connected with the helmet was the
crest or ridge on the top of the helmet, adorned with several emblematic figures;
some for ornament, some to strike terror. For crests on ancient helmets we often
see the winged lion, the griffin, chimera, etc. St. Paul seems to refer to one which
had an emblematical representation of hope.
Ζωµα, the Girdle; this went about the loins, and served to brace the armor tight to the
body, and to support daggers, short swords, and such like weapons, which were
frequently stuck in it. This kind of girdle is in general use among the Asiatic
nations to the present day.
Θωραξ, the Breast-Plate; this consisted of two parts, called πτερυγες or wings: one
covered the whole region of the thorax or breast, in which the principal viscera of
life are contained; and the other covered the back, as far down as the front part
extended.
Κνηµιδες, Greaves or brazen boots, which covered the shin or front of the leg; a kind of
solea was often used, which covered the sole, and laced about the instep, and
prevented the foot from being wounded by rugged ways, thorns, stones, etc.
Χειριδες, Gauntlets; a kind of gloves that served to defend the hands, and the arm up
to the elbow.
Ασπις, the clypeus or Shield; it was perfectly round, and sometimes made of wood,
covered with bullocks’ hides; but often made of metal. The aspis or shield of
Achilles, made by Vulcan, was composed of five plates, two of brass, two of tin, and
one of gold; so Homer, Il. U. v. 270: -
- επει πεντε πτυχας ηλασε Κυλλοποδιων,
Τας δυο χαλκειας, δυο δ’ ενδοθι κασσιτεροιο,
Την δε µιαν χρυσην.
Five plates of various metal, various mold,

143. Composed the shield; of brass each outward fold,
Of tin each inward, and the middle gold.
Of shields there were several sorts:
Γερምων or γερρα, the gerron; a small square shield, used first by the Persians.
Λαισηιʷον, Laiseion; a sort of oblong shield, covered with rough hides, or skins with the
hair on.
Πελτη, the Pelta; a small light shield, nearly in the form of a demicrescent, with a small
ornament, similar to the recurved leaves of a flower de luce, on the center of a
diagonal edge or straight line; this was the Amazonian shield.
Θυρεος, the scutum or Oblong Shield; this was always made of wood, and covered with
hides. It was exactly in the shape of the laiseion, but differed in size, being much
larger, and being covered with hides from which the hair had been taken off. It was
called θυρεος from θυρα, a door, which it resembled in its oblong shape; but it was
made curved, so as to embrace the whole forepart of the body. The aspis and the
thureos were the shields principally in use; the former for light, the latter for heavy
armed troops.
II. Offensive Armor, or Weapons;
the Following Were Chief:
Εγχος, enchos, the Spear; which was generally a head of brass or iron, with a long shaft
of ash.
∆ορυ, the Lance; differing perhaps little from the former, but in its size and lightness;
being a missile used, both by infantry and cavalry, for the purpose of annoying the
enemy at a distance.
Ξιφος, the Sword; these were of various sizes, and in the beginning all of brass. The
swords of Homer’s heroes are all of this metal.
Μαχαιρα, called also a sword, sometimes a knife; it was a short sword, used more
frequently by gladiators, or in single combat. What other difference it had from the
xiphos I cannot tell.
Αξινη, from which our word Axe; the common battle-axe.
Πελεκυς, the Bipen; a sort of battle-axe, with double face, one opposite to the other.
Κορυνη, an iron club or mace, much used both among the ancient Greeks and
Persians.
Τοξον, the Bow; with its pharetra or quiver, and its stock or sheaf of arrows.
Σφενδονη, the Sling; an instrument in the use of which most ancient nations were very
expert, particularly the Hebrews and ancient Greeks.
The arms and armor mentioned above were not always in use; they were found out
and improved by degrees. The account given by Lucretius of the arms of the first

144. inhabitants of the earth is doubtless as correct as it is natural.
Arma antiqua manus, ungues, dentesque fuere,
Et lapides, et item silvarum fragmina rami,
Et flammae, atque ignes postquam sunt cognita primum:
Posterius ferri vis est, aerisque reperta:
Sed prius aeris erat quam ferri cognitus usus:
Quo facilis magis est natura, et copia major.
De Rerum Nat., lib. v. ver. 1282.
Whilst cruelty was not improved by art,
And rage not furnished yet with sword or dart;
With fists, or boughs, or stones, the warriors fought;
These were the only weapons Nature taught:
But when flames burnt the trees and scorched the ground,
Then brass appeared, and iron fit to wound.
Brass first was used, because the softer ore,
And earth’s cold veins contained a greater store.
Creech.
I have only to observe farther on this head,
1. That the ancient Greeks and Romans went constantly armed;
2. That before they engaged they always ate together; and
3. That they commenced every attack with prayer to the gods for success.
GILL, "Ephesians 6:13
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God,.... This is a repetition of the
exhortation in Eph_6:11; which repetition seems necessary by reason of the many
powerful enemies mentioned in the preceding verse, and serves to explain what is meant
by putting it on: and leads on the apostle to give an account of the several parts of this
armour: the end of taking it is much the same as before,
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day; that is, that ye may be able to
stand against the wiles and stratagems of Satan, against his power and might, to oppose
his schemes, and resist his temptations: and so the Syriac version renders it, "that ye
may be able to meet the evil one"; to face him, and give him battle, being accoutred with
the whole armour of God; though the Greek copies, and other versions, read, "in the evil
day"; in which sin and iniquity abound, error and heresy prevail, Satan is very busy,
trials and afflictions come on, persecution arises because of the word, and God's
judgments are in the earth:
and having done all to stand; or having overcome, having routed the enemy, stand
as conquerors; or rather, having took and put on the whole armour
HE RY, "2. What our duty is: to take and put on the whole armour of God, and then
to stand our ground, and withstand our enemies.
(1.) We must withstand, Eph_6:13. We must not yield to the devil's allurements and

145. assaults, but oppose them. Satan is said to stand up against us, 1Ch_21:1. If he stand up
against us, we must stand against him; set up, and keep up, an interest in opposition to
the devil. Satan is the wicked one, and his kingdom is the kingdom of sin: to stand
against Satan is to strive against sin. That you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
in the day of temptation, or of any sore affliction.
(2.) We must stand our ground: And, having done all, to stand. We must resolve, by
God's grace, not to yield to Satan. Resist him, and he will flee. If we distrust our cause, or
our leader, or our armour, we give him advantage. Our present business is to withstand
the assaults of the devil, and to stand it out; and then, having done all that is incumbent
on the good soldiers of Jesus Christ, our warfare will be accomplished, and we shall be
finally victorious.
JAMISO , "take ... of God — not “make,” God has done that: you have only to “take
up” and put it on. The Ephesians were familiar with the idea of the gods giving armor to
mythical heroes: thus Paul’s allusion would be appropriate.
the evil day — the day of Satan’s special assaults (Eph_6:12, Eph_6:16) in life and at
the dying hour (compare Rev_3:10). We must have our armor always on, to be ready
against the evil day which may come at any moment, the war being perpetual (Psa_41:1,
Margin).
done all — rather, “accomplished all things,” namely, necessary to the fight, and
becoming a good soldier.
RWP,"Take up (analabete). Second aorist active imperative of analambanō, old word
and used (analabōn) of “picking up” Mark in 2Ti_4:11.
That ye may be able to withstand (hina dunēthēte antistēnai). Final clause with
hina and first aorist passive subjunctive of dunamai with antistēnai (second aorist active
infinitive of anthistēmi, to stand face to face, against).
And having done all to stand (kai hapanta katergasa menoi stēnai). After the fight
(wrestle) is over to stand (stēnai) as victor in the contest. Effective aorist here.
CALVI , "13.Wherefore take unto you. Though our enemy is so powerful, Paul does not
infer that we must throw away our spears, but that we must prepare our minds for the
battle. A promise of victory is, indeed, involved in the exhortation, that ye may be able. If
we only put on the whole armor of God, and fight valiantly to the end, we shall certainly
stand. On any other supposition, we would be discouraged by the number and variety of
the contests; and therefore he adds, in the evil day. By this expression he rouses them from
security, bids them prepare themselves for hard, painful, and dangerous conflicts, and, at
the same time, animates them with the hope of victory; for amidst the greatest dangers they
will be safe. And having done all. They are thus directed to cherish confidence through the
whole course of life. There will be no danger which may not be successfully met by the
power of God; nor will any who, with this assistance, fight against Satan, fail in the day of
battle.

146. Rip Van Winkle slept for 20 years and when he woke the world had changed. We
can take a 20 minute nap and wake to a changed world now. So in our day of
guided missiles and smart bombs, does this text have any revelance? Yes, it does,
because on the level of spiritual warfare nothing has changed. Satan uses the same
weapons and our defense weapons are the same, for they are the most up to date
weapons.
o soldier for ages has carried a shield into battle. It was a great defense against the
sword, arrows and spears, but it would not be very helpful against handgranades,
mines and bombs. The sword is the only offensive weapon in this armour, and a
man with a sword in battle today just as well surrender for his name is mud. This
helps us see the importance of historical content in Bible interpretation. The Bible
is linked to historical reality, and we need to know what it is saying in its historical
context before we can apply it to ours. We have to know the purpose of each part of
this armour in that day to know how to apply it in our day.
There are five defensive pieces and just one offensive. If you pick and choose you
will be weak at some point, and that is the point where you will be defeated.
Andrew Blackwood Jr. said, "This metaphor was designed to appeal to your
imagination. Do not attempt to squeeze every possible drop of meaning from such a
metaphor. If it conveys one central truth, it has served its purpose."
Soldiers of Christ arise, and put your armour on;
Strong in the struggle which God supplies,
Through His eternal Son.
The implication is that one can fall as a Christian and many do. They are not lost,
but they are soldiers put out of the conflict and no longer add to the forces for good.
Evil forces may leave you for a season as they did Jesus in Luke 4:13, but you can
count on it they will be back.
e'er think the victory won
or lay thine armour down;
Thine arduous task will not be done
Till thou obtain thy crown.
Here we are to be holding on under attack and not retreating. Weymouth put it,
"Stand your ground in the day of battle, and having fought to the end remain
victors on the field." You must have your weapons prepared or face potential
defeat. Preparation is a key factor in being able to stand. Peter retreated into a lie
and failed to stand fast. How much can we take and still stand solid in our loyalty to
Christ?
BURKITT, "Observe here, 1. How our apostle having described the enemy in the foregoing
verse, and set him forth in all his formidable strength and power, comes forth in the head

147. of his Ephesian camp, gives a fresh alarm, and bids them arm! arm! Take unto you the
whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand in the evil day; intimating that an evil
day is before us; that it will be of mighty advantage to us to be able to stand in the evil day;
and that without the help of divine armour we cannot stand in that day. The sanctifying
graces of God's Spirit are this armour: he that has not these, let his common gifts be never
so gay and glorious, he will never hold out to fight the last battle, but fall into the enemy's
hand, and be taken captive by him at his will.
Observe next, How our apostle comes to describe the armour of God piece by piece, which
the Christian is to put on before he takes the field against the enemy. Here is the soldier's
girdle, his breastplate, his shoes, his shield, his helmet, and his sword, all described; his
offensive and defensive weapons, wherewith soldiers of old used to arm their bodies from
head to foot.
ow the apostle assigneth to particular graces a use and excellency answerable to these
pieces of armour, and shows that there is some resemblance between every grace and that
piece of the bodily armour to which it is here compared; but observable it is, that although
there be pieces of armour for all other parts of the body, here is none assigned for the back,
nor back-parts, because there must be no running away, no hope of escaping by flight in
this spiritual warfare: if we turn our back upon our enemy, we lie open to his darts, and
are in danger of destruction; if we fight on, we have our second in the field, and are sure of
victory, provided we enter the field in order and stand to our arms, maintain our watch,
keep our ground, and appear armed cap-a-pie, from head to foot, with the several pieces of
armour here recommended: the first of which is the girdle of truth, Having your loins girt
about with truth Eph_6:14 that is, sincerity of heart. Doth a girdle or belt adorn the
soldier? so doth sincerity adorn the Christian. Doth the girdle strengthen the soldier's
loins? so doth sincerity strengthen the soul, and every grace in the soul: it is sincere faith
that is strong faith; it is sincere love that is mighty love.
Secondly, The breastplate of righteousness; by which is to be understood the love and
practice of universal holiness.
But why is this compared to a breastplate?
Ans. Because as the breastplate defends the most principal parts of the body, where the
heart and vitals are closely couched together; thus holiness preserves the soul and
conscience, the principal parts of a Christian, from the wounds and harms of sin, which is
the weapon that Satan uses to give conscience its deadly stab with.
The third piece of Christian armour is the spiritual shoe, fitted to the soldier's foot, and
worn by him so long as he keeps the field against sin and Satan: the soldier's way is
sometimes full of sharp stones, and sometimes strewed with sharp iron spikes stuck into the
ground; the soldier will soon be wounded, or foundered, if not well shod. Therefore the
direction here is, Let your feet be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; that is,
maintaining an holy readiness of spirit, and a resolute frame of heart, to undergo any
suffering, and endure any hardship in your Christian warfare; which frame of spirit being
wrought in us by the doctrine of the gospel, is therefore called the preparation of the gospel
of peace.
The fourth piece of armour recommended above all to be put on, is the shield of faith; this
is that grace by which we believe the truth of God's word in general, and depend upon

148. Christ in particular, as crucified, for pardon and life, and this upon the warrant of the
promise.
But why is faith compared to a shield?
Ans. Because, as the shield defends the whole body, so faith defends the whole man; the
understanding from error, the conscience from searedness, the will from rebellion against
the will and command of God. And as the shield defends the whole armour, as well as the
soldier's whole body, it defends the breastplate, as well as the breast; so faith is our armour
upon armour, a grace that preserves all other graces whatsoever.
The fifth piece of armour is mentioned, The helmet of salvation; Eph_6:17 by which the
grace of hope is understood, which has for its object salvation, called therefore the hope of
salvation. Salvation is the ultimate and comprehensive object of the Christian's
expectation; and it is compared to an helmet, because as the helmet defends the head, so
doth the hope of salvation defend the soul; it keeps the head above water, and makes the
Christian bold and brave. Hope is a grace of singular use and excellent service to a
Christian, in the whole course of his Christian warfare; it puts him upon noble services, it
keeps him patient under the greatest sufferings, and it will enable the soul to wait long for
the performance of divine promises.
The sixth piece of spiritual armour is the sword. Eph_6:17. The former were defensive, but
this is both an offensive and defensive weapon; such is the word of God. But why compared
to a sword?
Ans. In regard both of its necessity and excellency: the sword was ever esteemed a most
necessary and useful part of the soldier's furniture; of such usefulness, necessity, and
excellency is the word of God, by which the Christian doth defend himself, and offend his
enemies.
But why is it called the sword of the Spirit?
Ans. Because the Spirit was the author of it; the Spirit of God is the interpreter of it: and it
is the Spirit that gives the word its efficacy and power in the soul: the word of God,
contained in the scriptures, is the sword by which the Spirit of God enables his saints to
overcome and vanquish all their enemies.
The seventh and last piece of spiritual armour is mentioned, and that is prayer: Praying
always, with all prayer, & c. Eph_6:18
Here note, The time for prayer, praying always; the sorts and kinds of prayer, praying
always, with all prayer; the inward principle of prayer, from which it must flow, in the
Spirit; the guard to set about the duty of prayer, watching thereunto; the constancy to be
exercised in the duty, with all perservance, the comprehensiveness of the duty,for all saints.
Learn, That prayer is a necessary duty for all Christians, and to be used, with all other
pieces of spiritual armour, by the Christian soldier.
ISBET, "READY FOR SERVICE

149. ‘Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand.’
Eph_6:13
Let me give you two watchwords
I. Put your armour on—all of it! It is not enough to know that God provides the armour—
we must use it. We dare not go forth one single hour without it. There is a story of a
Spartan soldier who went into battle without his armour and who was fined by the senate
though he had been victorious. There are people who hope to go out and fight Satan and his
angels who have not ‘proved’ their armour. Take, for example, the Sword—God’s Word.
They cannot wield it; they use it clumsily; of course they do, they are not accustomed to
handle it. They have Bibles, but they seldom or never look into them. Yet it is madness to
dream of fighting without a sword. Imagine a soldier going into action who had not learned
how to draw his sword from the scabbard.
II. Pray that you may have grace to stand firm!—‘Having done all, to stand!’ Standing
firm is the beginning and end of every successful contest. It is the beginning. In the old
Greek training-grounds, the first words of the trainer used to be ‘Stand firm!’ It is the
attitude of readiness, of watchfulness, of resolution. A sloucher cannot fight. And it is the
end. It is comparatively easy to drive back an enemy in the first rush; but the crucial test
comes when soldiers are required to stand firm, and to hold their ground against an ever-
returning, ever-increasing foe.
Rev. J. B. C. Murphy.
BI, "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand
in the evil day, and having done all to stand.
Military metaphors
St. Paul lay in prison at Rome, as he himself says, bound with a chain, “for the hope of
Israel,” to the Roman trooper who watched him day and night. He employed his prison
hours by writing--first to the Asiatic Churches of Ephesus and Colosse, to the Christian
slaveholder, Philemon, and, at a somewhat later date, to the Macedonian Church at
Philippi. It was very natural that his language, like his thoughts, should be coloured, here
and there, by the objects around him; and we find that whilst writing this circular epistle
to the Ephesians, his eye had actually been resting on the soldier to whom he was chained.
In the outfit of the Roman legionary, he saw the symbol of the supernatural dress which
befits the Christian. The ornamented girdle or balteus bound around the loins to which the
sword was commonly attached, seemed to the apostle to recall the inward practical
acknowledgment of truth which is the first necessity in the Christian character. The metal
breastplate suggested the moral rectitude or righteousness which enables a man to confront
the world. The strong military sandals spoke of that readiness to march in the cause of that
gospel whose sum and substance was not war but spiritual, even more than social peace.
And then the large, oblong, oval wooden shield, clothed with hides, covered well nigh the
whole body of the bearer, reminding him of Christian faith, upon which the temptations of

150. the Evil One, like the ancient arrows, tipped, as they often were, with inflammable
substances, would light harmlessly and lose their deadly point; and then the soldier’s
helmet, pointing upward to the skies, was a natural figure of Christian hope directed
towards a higher and a better world; and then the sword at his side, by which he won
safety and victory in the day of battle, and which, you will observe, is the one aggressive
weapon mentioned in this whole catalogue--what was it but the emblem of that Word of
God which wins such victories on the battlefields of conscience, because it pierces, even to
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart, and is the power of God unto salvation to everyone
that believeth. Thus girded, thus clad, thus shod, thus guarded, thus covered, thus armed,
the Christian might well meet his foes. He was, indeed, more than a match for them, and
might calmly await their onset. (Canon Liddon.)
The chivalry of the Christian life
At that age military effort was the most successful form of human activity. Rome had made
herself, not quite a century before, the mistress of the civilized world, and this not by her
commerce, not by her diplomacy, but by her arms. In such an age, therefore, such a
metaphor would quickly win its way to the popular ear; but it also would have attractions
for the characteristic thought and temper of the apostle who employed it. The constant
exposure to danger, the constant necessity for exertion, the generous indifference to
personal suffering, the large-hearted sympathy with the experiences of every comrade, and
the sense of being only a unit, only one in the vast organization of a serried host moving
steadily forward towards its object--the instinct of discipline, in complete harmony with the
instinct of personal sincerity and courage--all these features of a soldier’s life made it
welcome to the apostle’s conception of the Christian career and character--“Thou,
therefore, endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”; “Quit ye like men; be
strong”; “ o man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life.” The higher
precepts of the army constantly occur in the apostolic Epistles. St. Paul does not discuss the
theory of war, its antagonism to the real mind of a holy God, to the true interests, the true
ideal of human life. He only takes it as a matter of fact in the world, as it was nineteen
centuries ago, as it is at this moment, alas! and he consecrates it thus; he consecrates its
higher and its loftier side by making it a shadow, not of Christian chivalry, but of the
chivalry of the Christian life. The soldier differs from the merchant or the farmer, in that
he has to deal with an antagonist. He differs from the racer at the games, in that his
antagonist is not merely a competitor, but an enemy in good earnest. It was this which
made the metaphor in the apostle’s conception so exactly correspond to the actual facts, to
the real case of the Christian life. The Christian is not merely making the best of his
materials, he is not merely engaged in a struggle for spiritual successes, he is, before
everything else, engaged in a stern and terrible contest with implacable enemies; the forces
arrayed against him are such as to oblige him to spare no exertion, and to neglect no
precaution whatever if he is to escape defeat. (Canon Liddon.)
The Christian armour
The military code of the Christian soldier. A spiritual contest, hence spiritual weapons;
whole armour to resist wiles of devil.

151. I. Active arming. Take--
1. Truth: not mere information.
(1) Truth is inward--to one’s self. o self-deception, nor vanity, nor conceit.
(2) Outward--to others. Candour, frankness, truth of word and life, Most sublime sights
are these:
(a) Simple truthfulness of character at home.
(b) A powerful mind vindicating truth in the presence of foes.
(c) The martyr calmly sealing truth with his blood.
2. Righteousness. This means truth towards God, justness, fairness, honesty, faithfulness
(Mic_6:8). It is a breastplate, in forefront, to be borne bright and high, and seen by all.
3. Readiness--like that of Israel leaving Egypt, or a soldier in camp.
4. Faith--a shield, therefore a protection. Like God, our refuge, strength, help. It quenches
all the fiery darts, etc. ot easy to have such faith; try, however.
II. Passive arming. The following are outward, external, not in the soul.
1. Salvation is the helmet.
2. Word of God is the sword. (W. M. Johnston, M. A.)
Soldiers of Christ must stand
In the armies of our great nations, while desertion is punished with heavy penalties,
retirement is allowed under certain conditions. There is an army, however, in which
retirement is never sanctioned--not even in the case of the oldest veteran; and, addressing
the soldiers of that army, the apostle writes, “Having done all, to stand. Stand therefore.”
I. The prohibition involved in the precept. The conflict may neither be forsaken nor
suspended. The following are forbidden:
1. Indolent or even weary sleep.
2. Cowardly or even politic flight.

152. 3. A treacherous, or even a desponding surrender. Treachery is apostasy; despondency is
sinful distrust.
4. The declaration of a truce, or even an application for it. There is a termination to the
war, but no truce. o favour will ever be shown to the foe by our Commander-in-Chief,
and the soldier of Christ does not really need the cessation of the conflict.
5. The giving up of a military position until the war is fairly over. The orders to the
individual soldier run thus--“Unto death”; and until death the warfare is not accomplished.
Death is in fact the last enemy.
II. What do these words demand?
1. They require a distinct and solemn recognition of the fact that the time of our life on
earth is a time of war--“an evil day.” There are periods during which the sharpness of the
conflict is greatly increased, and such seasons are peculiarly “the evil day”--but every day
is a day of battle.
2. They require us to be always possessed by the conviction that we are personally called to
this good fight. The true vocation of every believer is conflict; and to this rule there is not a
single exception.
3. They demand the honest and manly facing of our foes. Some professed Christians turn
their backs upon their spiritual enemies in contempt. They have speculated and theorized
upon Satanic agency, until they have expunged God’s doctrines concerning devils from
their creed. They have flirted and compromised with the world, until they and the evil that
is in the world are placed on the same side. They have modified and shaped their language
concerning human depravity, until there dwells in their flesh, according to their opinion, no
evil thing. And thus denying the existence of foes, they have turned their backs upon them.
Other professing Christians look at our spiritual enemies more as spectators than as
warriors. They are seen as objects of spiritual interest, and as subjects for religious inquiry,
rather than as foes with which they personally have to do. To stand, in the sense of the text,
requires that we face our foes--not to contemplate them; far less to despise them; but to
fight them.
4. The text requires that having taken the field we keep it. We may not retire to the ranks
of those who refuse to fight: we must stand. The militant position must be maintained
throughout life. We may be weak; but must stand. We may be weary; but must stand. We
may be fearful; but must stand. We may be defeated in some single fight; but must stand.
We may See others fall about us; but must stand. Many may desert our cause; but we must
stand. Consternation may spread through the army of the Lord of Hosts; but we must
stand. It may seem as though all things were against us; but we must stand. The day of
final triumph may seem long delayed, and with weak, and weary, and aching hearts, we
may cry, “How long, Lord? how long?”--but we must stand. The measure of conflict and of
service allotted to us may seem excessive, but having done all, we must stand. “Stand
therefore.” This requires,
5. that we be ready for attack or defence. To stand unarmed, is not to stand. To stand

153. unclothed with armour, is not to stand. To stand in any sense unready, is not to stand.
Having done all, your foes stand. Satan has done much; yet he stands. The world--the
temporal, the sensual, and the social--has done much; yet it stands. The flesh has done
much; yet it stands. Antichrist and error, and sin in every shape, have done much; yet they
stand. o foe is as yet really slain. ew foes are continually led to the field, and old foes
show themselves in new forms. I read; “Gethsemane!” “Calvary!” Calvary? Who fought
there? Your Captain--alone; for all His soldiers forsook Him and fled. With “Calvary” and
“Gethsemane” on your banner, to be consistent, you must stand. Stand therefore! ow
your orders are, Stand. Yet a little, and the command shall be, Retire. Come, ye faithful
soldiers, inherit the kingdom prepared for you; and receive the crown of glory which
fadeth not away. (S. Martin, D. D.)
The handbook of a Christian knight
1. What kind of heart and courage such an one must have, to appear in the place of review.
2. Who is his chief Captain, to whom he must have regard.
3. What kind of equipment he must have, and what is the best armoury, the best arsenal.
4. Who are his worst enemies.
5. How he ought and must accustom himself to his armour.
6. What a severe regimen he must carry out.
7. Finally, what he has to expect, if he conduct himself in a knightly manner. (Herberger.)
How the equipment with the whole armour of God is--
1. So indispensable.
2. So accessible.
3. So glorious. (Rautenberg.)
The reason why we must be well armed
1.The more danger we are in, the more watchful we must be.
2. Our spiritual war is a sore, fierce, and dangerous war.
3. All must fight this spiritual combat.
4. Our enemies are more than flesh and blood.

154. (1) Spiritual enemies are terrible.
(2) o outward prowess can daunt them.
5. The devil is our principal enemy, in all our conflicts, whether with flesh and blood, or
with spiritual foes.
6. They who are quailed with what flesh and blood can do, will never be able to stand
against principalities.
7. Our spiritual enemies have a dominion.
(1) God permits this.
(2) Yet is it usurpation on the part of Satan.
8. As our spiritual enemies have a dominion, so they have power to exercise the same. The
Lord suffers this for the following reasons.
(1) That His own Divine power might be the more manifested.
(2) That there might be a greater trial of the courage of His saints and children.
(3) That He might execute the sorer vengeance upon the wicked.
9. Satan’s rule is only in this world.
10. Ignorant and evil men are Satan’s vassals.
(1) They resist him not, but yield to him.
(2) They are not subject to Christ.
11. The enemies of our souls are of a spiritual substance.
(1) Invisible.
(2) Privy to what we do or speak.
12. The devils are extremely evil.
13. The devils are many in number.
14. The main things for which the devils fight against us, are heavenly matters. (William
Gouge.)
The whole armour

155. I. The day referred to--“The evil day.” “Day” a fit emblem, mixture of light and darkness,
sunshine and storm, joy and sadness. Certain evils in this day to which we are all liable.
1. Evil day of affliction. Our bodies have the seeds of innumerable diseases in them.
2. Evil day of temptation.
3. Evil day of persecution.
4. Evil day of death.
II. The advice given.
1. We have recommended to us Divine armour. The Lord’s warfare must be carried on by
the Lord’s weapons.
2. We must have the whole armour of God. Every part is vulnerable, and every part,
therefore, must be defended.
3. The whole armour must be taken unto us.
III. The motives urged. “That ye may be able,” etc.
1. That we may not be destroyed by the evils of this life. “Withstand.”
2. That we appear victorious in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Having done all,
stand.” Great comprehensiveness in the words, “Done all.”
Application:
1. Let believers rightly remember their present state. This is your evil day, expect and
prepare for trouble.
2. Examine your armour; is it Divine armour? whole, and entire?
3. Let grace sustain you, depend entirely on it.
4. Let glory animate you. Think of the day when, having done all, you will stand. (J. Burns,
D. D.)
The whole armour of God
1.It is very characteristic of Paul that he should give the first place to “truth.” He is

156. thinking of the truth concerning God and the will of God which comes to us from God
Himself through His revelation in Christ and through the teaching of the Spirit; for all the
elements of Christian strength are represented in this passage as Divine gifts. Truth
appropriated and made our own gives energy, firmness, and decision to Christian life and
action, relieves us from the entanglement and distraction which come from uncertainty and
doubt, gives us a complete command of all our vigour. It is like the strong belt of the
ancient soldier which braced him up, made him conscious of his force, kept his armour in
its place, and prevented it from interfering with the freedom of his action.
2. He gives the second place to “righteousness.” In the conflicts of the Christian life we are
safe, only while we practise every personal and private virtue, and discharge with fidelity
every duty both to man and to God. “Righteousness” is the defence and guarantee of
righteousness. The honest man is not touched by temptations to dishonesty; the truthful
man is not touched by temptations to falsehood; habits of industry are a firm defence
against temptations to indolence; a pure heart resents with disgust and scorn the first
approaches of temptation to impurity.
3. Paul gives the third place to what he describes as “the preparation of the gospel of
peace.” When we have received with hearty faith the great assurance by the remission of
sins through Christ, we are released from the gravest anxieties and fears. We have escaped
from care about the past, and are free to give our whole strength to the duties of the
present and of the future. The discovery that God is at peace with us gives us confidence
and inspires us with alertness and elasticity of spirit. We are not merely ready, we are
eager for every good work.
4. The fourth place is given to “faith.” There are a thousand perils against which faith in
the righteousness and love and power of God is our only protection. When the misery of the
world oppresses us, or we are crushed by the misery of our personal life, terrible thoughts
about God pierce through every defence and fasten themselves in our very flesh, torturing
us, and filling our veins with burning fever. We writhe in our agony. If by any chance we
hear about “the unsearchable riches” of God’s grace, we listen, not only uncomforted, but
sometimes with a passion of unbelief. “Grace!” we exclaim, “where is the proof of it? Is
there any pity in Him, any justice, any truth?” In these hours of anguish we are like
soldiers wounded by the “darts” with burning tow fastened to them, or with their iron
points made red hot, which were used in ancient warfare. We should have been safe if,
when “the evil day” came it had found us with a strong and invincible faith in God; this
would have been a perfect defence; and apart from this we can have no secure protection.
5. The fifth place is given to “salvation.” We are insecure unless we make completely our
own the great redemption which God has achieved for us in Christ. If we have mean and
narrow conceptions of the Divine redemption, or if we think that it lies mainly with
ourselves whether we shall secure “glory, honour, and immortality,” we shall be like a
soldier without a “helmet,” unprotected against blows which may be mortal. But if we have
a vivid apprehension of the greatness of the Christian redemption, and if our hope of
achieving a glorious future is rooted in our consciousness of the infinite power and grace of
God, we shall be safe.
6. But all these are arms of defence. Have we no weapons for attacking and destroying the
enemy? Are the same temptations and the same doubts to return incessantly and to return
with their force undiminished? The helmet, the shield, the breastplate, the belt, may be a
protection for ourselves; but we belong to an army, and are fighting for the victory of the

157. Divine kingdom and for the complete destruction of the authority and power of the
“spiritual hosts of wickedness” over other men; it is not enough that our personal safety is
provided for. We are to fight the enemy with “the Word of God.” Divine promises are not
only to repel doubts, but to destroy them. Divine precepts are not only to be a protection
against temptations, but to inflict on them a mortal wound, and so to prevent them from
troubling us again. The revelation of God’s infinite pity for human sorrow, and of His
infinite mercy for human sin, of the infinite blessings conferred upon men by Christ in this
world, and of the endless righteousness and glory which He confers in the world to come--
the Divine “Word” to the human race--is the solitary power by which we can hope to win
any real and enduring victory over the sins and miseries of mankind. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
Standing safely
The coat of arms of the Isle of Man is the figure of three legs armed and spurred, with the
motto, “Quocunque jeceris, stabit.” Daring several centuries the island, standing alone in
the mid-ocean, was a battlefield for contending nations. English and Irish, Saxon and Dane,
here strove for the mastery. The coat of arms seems to refer to one result of this in the
brave character of the islanders. Swift and strong, they were ready to attack, courageous in
the fight, and prepared to follow quickly the retreating foe. The motto gives the same idea:
“Throw him where you will, he will stand.” (From “Strong and Free. ”)
A coat of mail
The Rev. J. Thain Davidson said to an audience of young men: “There is no courage so
noble as that which resists the devil, and is valiant for Christ. ‘Put ye on the panoply of
God.’ Cromwell wore under his garment a coat of mail; wore it whether he was in camp, or
in court, or in chambers. He never could know when the dagger would be thrust at him, so
he was always ready. Be you similarly provided. The fiery darts of the wicked may fly at
you where you least suspect danger; therefore, be ever on your guard. And may the Lord
deliver you from evil, and preserve you safe unto His heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory
now and forever. Amen.”
o saint free from danger
Do you know, I have noticed that young people who are often exposed to severe temptations
are very generally preserved from falling into sin; but I have noticed that others, both old
and young, whose temptations were not remarkably severe, have been generally those who
have been the first to fall. In fact, it is a lamentable thing to have to say, but lamentably
true it is, that at the period of life when you would reckon, from the failure of the passions,
the temptation would be less vigorous, that very period is marked more than any other by
the most solemn transgressions amongst God’s people. I think I have heard that many
horses fall at the bottom of a hill because the driver thinks the danger past and the need to
hold the reins with firm grip less pressing as they are just about to renew their progress
and begin to ascend again. So it is often with us when we are not tempted through
imminent danger we are the more tempted through slothful ease. I think it was Ralph
Erskine who said, “There is no devil so bad as no devil.” The worst temptation that ever
overtakes us, is, in some respects, preferable to our being left alone altogether without any

158. sense of caution or stimulus to watch and pray. Be always on your watchtower, and you
shall be always secure. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
We must fight to the end
A man may be wrecked within a ship’s length of the lighthouse. Lot’s wife was not far from
Zoar, yet she miserably perished. ear the summit of Mount Washington is a rude cairn of
stones that marks the spot where a young lady, who was overtaken by the darkness
(without a guide), died of exposure and nervous fright! The poor girl was within pistol shot
of the cabin of the “tiptop”; its cheering light was just behind the rocks; yet that short
distance cost her her life! So, my dear friend, you may be at last picked up dead, just
outside the gateway of your Father’s house. While its hospitable door of love stands open,
hasten in! You are losing the very best part of this life, and the whole of the life to come,
while you so recklessly linger away from Jesus. (Theodore L. Cuyler, D. D.)
The soldier’s duty
Our warfare is against powers and dominions. This line of thought is that of the text, and it
is of this that I shall speak. Everyone who grows to man’s estate is called to incessant
warfare with himself. We are made up, not of irreconcilable materials, but of materials
that are not reconcilable except as the result of great training and discipline. We are born
first to the flesh; and our predominant strength lies in the direction of our animal appetites
and passions. But we come, after a little, to a higher realm--that of the affections; and every
child needs to be taught how to make conflict against selfishness, against avaricious
snatching, against combativeness, and against injurious usage from those around him. And
while there is an apparent conflict outside of the child in society, the real conflict of the
child is that which is within him--namely, that which is to determine the question whether
reason or passion shall predominate in him; the question whether generosity or selfishness
shall inspire his conduct; the question whether greediness or benevolence towards others
shall rule in him. Each one of us is conscious that at every step of our way within ourselves
and within our own sphere the necessity is laid upon us of perpetual watchfulness. We are
overcome by our inferior nature, by reason of carelessness, or indolence, or indulgence, or
undue enthusiasm, or over-eager desire; and we find ourselves perpetually recalling, with
shame and contrition, the victory of the flesh over the spirit, of the animal man over the
spiritual man, and of selfishness over generosity. ot only is there this individual conflict in
every man, but at every step of ambition, in every line of aspiration, there comes to us
precisely the same element of conflict. o man grows easily into manhood. o man stands
in approved and vindicated virtue, in any direction, which he has not been obliged to hew
out with personal endeavour. Every man who is built up of skill, and experience, and
integrity, and accomplishing power, has built himself up by repeated blow upon blow,
training upon training, endeavour upon endeavour, with many surprises, and overthrows,
and intermediate defeats, and all the time with a varied experience of warfare within. As
soon as in some degree we have trained ourselves within ourselves, we enter upon a
corresponding struggle with all the conditions of life around us. And in a larger sphere we
are called to a conflict as citizens and members of the great body politic. ow, in waging
this multiform conflict, all the methods known to actual gladiation and to real external
military proceedings are reproduced in the invisible conflict which goes on in men. othing

159. is more frequent in war than the attempt of one side to deceive the other, and so overcome,
as it were by sleight of hand, or by the craftiness of a better understanding, those that are
opposed to them--saving force, or economising it; and surely nothing is more certain than
that the great enemy that wages war against us spiritually overthrows us by deceit, as it
were breathing it upon us, blowing it through us, half blinding our eyes, and taking us at
unawares. othing is more common in warfare than surprises; for in many instances a fort
is taken by an onward and unexpected rush which could not be taken by a prolonged,
gradual approach. So in spiritual warfare; how many of us are unaware of danger until it
has sprung upon us! How many times has that burning adversary of ours, an uncontrolled
temper, broken out upon us, and carried us away before we were aware of its presence!
How often have we been lured by insidious pleasures till we waked up in the midst of
captivities! How often have our best feelings been overthrown by the assaults of our evil
inclinations! So, too, it is a part of military warfare to draw the enemy into ambush, giving
him the hope of victory while he is being overtaken by defeat. And how often are we led
into ambush by our spiritual adversaries! How often are we enticed from the path of virtue
by some seeming good! We flatter ourselves that we occupy an advantageous position, and
that we are going on to success, until, in the midst of the intoxication of our vaunted
triumph, we find the toils closing about us, and we are captives instead of victors. (H. W.
Beecher.)
Steadfastness in trouble
If you divide men into two classes, there is one that wants to be stimulated. The danger of
these is from lassitude, or, to use a more Saxon phrase, laziness. The other class, being
aroused and nervously developed, are intense, energetic, and active. ow, to undertake to
apply to both of these classes the same passages of Scripture would be a fatal mistake. To
say to one large portion of men, “Stand,” would be just the thing that they would like.
Standing suits them exactly. On the other hand, to stir up and stimulate some men is like
putting fuel on a fire that is already too hot. In the case of men who are wrought up into a
state of intense activity, whose errors lie in a lack of peace and of rest, stimulation or
excitement is just what is not needed. Paul puts them both together here, and gives only one
kind of men leave to stand--those who have done all. The figure is a military one. It refers
to men who have made preparation for a campaign, who have gone as far as circumstances
will permit, who have provided themselves with armament, and who have armed
themselves at every point. There comes a crisis where they can do no more; and the apostle
says, “When you have your armour on from head to foot, and are energetic, and ready for
the conflict, then stand and wait”; for waiting is as productive even as working--especially
where working is not productive at all. ow, it is not to those who are indolent, it is not to
the self-indulgent, that I speak this morning, but to the large class of willing workers who
are caught in the exigencies of life, and whose very trouble is that they cannot work; that
they cannot go forward; that they cannot succeed in executing useful and honourable
purposes. I speak this morning to those who are forced to stand. Ye that are living in
earnest, with immense scope, with fruitfulness, and with rightly directed energy! I desire to
call your attention to the fact that, morally considered, there is a vast harvest to be reaped
by non-energy; that energetic men, doing nothing, may be more useful to themselves and to
society them they otherwise could be; and that the greatest misfortune which can befall a
man is not necessarily his being brought into conditions where he cannot stir: for when a
man is willing, yea, anxious, burning to go forward, but cannot, then he is in a position
where he may attain to certain virtues and certain fruits of goodness which he scarcely

160. could be expected to attain to at any other time. There are rare treasures for men who, in
the providence of God, whether with or without their thought, are brought to a pass in
which the only thing that is left for them is to stand, girt about in full armour, ready and
willing to do, but unable. The withholding of a man’s force may be even as noble, in the
sight of God, as the most illustrious exhibitions of energy. When you have had success, and
prosperity, and social consideration, if your success is turned into defeat, and your
prosperity departs, and your social relationships are broken off, learn how to stand
sufficient in yourself without these things. Learn first how to be a man by sympathy; and
then learn how to be a man without sympathy. Learn first how to be a man by bold,
executive, and effective troubles; and then learn how to be a man without the ability to
strike, or without the ability, if you strike, to accomplish anything. Learn, with Moses, to
smite the rock, and see the water flow out; then learn to smite the rock and see no water
flow out; and then learn one thing further--to have the rock smite you, and to have no tears
flow from your eyes. Let there be this double-edgedness in your power of using yourselves.
Learn how to go, and how to stop; how to achieve, and how to fail; how to enterprise, and
how to remain inactive. Learn how to have, and be a man, and how to be equally manful
when you have not. Learn, like the apostle, how to abound and how to suffer lack. He said
he could do all things, Christ strengthening him. He rounded up his manhood so that he
was at home in the palace, or in the prison; so that he was at home in the city as much as
among barbarians in the wilderness; so that he was at home when he spoke his own
language in Judaea, as well as when he preached on Mars’ Hill and in the palaces of the
Caesars in Rome. In this large spirit of Christ Jesus he felt that he could do all things,
whether they were pleasant or unpleasant--going and withholding; accomplishing and
defeating--neither feeling himself lowered, nor in any sense discouraged, nor made
unhappy, but taking all things in that largest disposition of true manhood. This is the ew
Testament conception, and is it not a doctrine that we need to have preached? A man
should live on earth so as to hear the waves beat on the other shore. A man should live here,
so that, although he cannot understand the words, he shall hear the murmur of the voices
of the just made perfect. A man should so live in this world, that, although he cannot now
enter the kingdom, yet when it is open he sees through, and has a sense of the power of the
unseen and eternal which makes him the monarch and master of the visible and present. In
the first place, then, as to the uses of this, let me say, briefly, that there is nothing which
ripens a man’s nature so much as long continued self-restraint; and that there is nothing
that deteriorates a man more and sooner than self-indulgence. ow, a man who can stand
up in poverty with great sweetness and content; who does not think it needful to say to
everybody, “I was once in better circumstances”; who assumes that he is what he is by
reason of what there is in himself; who offers no apology for poverty, and who stands, after
the loss of all things, poised, large, free, with radiant faith, saying, “Lord, I stand today and
tomorrow, and to the end, by the faith that is in me”--that man is a living gospel in the
community, though he may think to himself, “I am plucked, and hedged in on every side;
and no man cares any more for me.” I have passed by walled gardens; I have passed by
gardens surrounded by hedges that were so thick that I could not see through them; but I
knew what was growing on the other side by the fragrance that was in the air, though I
could not see it. A man may be cramped, confined, and obscure; and yet he may fill the air
with the sweetest and divinest fragrance of a noble manhood. Men that are in trouble,
women that are in exquisite sorrow, ye of a divided affection, ye of a crucified heart, ye
whom time and the world have spoiled, ye on whom Christ has put His mark, and who feel
your crowned heads pierced with thorns--having done all, stand. Can you not watch with
Him one hour? Since the Sufferer is your lover, will you not be His by suffering as well as
by joy? Stand, therefore, and to the end. (H. W. Beecher.)

161. Waking and waiting
There is a world of Christian life in simple patient waiting--in simple Christian endurance;
and if I were to call your attention, with various enumeration, to those within the range of
your own observation and knowledge; and if you were to go about and take an inventory of
them, family by family, I think you would be surprised, and that the surprise would grow
upon you, to see how large a number there are in every community who need, not the
gospel of activity, but the gospel of patient waiting--who need to look upon their religious
sphere, not as a sphere of enterprise and accomplishment, but simply as a sphere of
endurance and conquering by standing. First, there are a great many who are called, in the
providence of God, to bear things which are irremediable for physical reasons. There are
troubles that never get into the newspapers (and therefore they are peculiar!); as when one
is born with a mark upon the face, being otherwise comely. That mark is to be carried all
through life. o surgeon’s knife, nothing, can remove it. Wherever he goes, man, woman,
and child, looking upon him, look to pity. You that are comely, you that are plain, you that
can pass, attracting only admiration, or attracting no notice (which is still better)--you
know nothing of what it is to be obliged to say to yourself, at the beginning: “Well, I am to
stand apart from all my fellows. I am a marked man. o person shall come near me, and
not stop and look, and say, ‘Who is that? What is that?’ All my life long it is to be so.”
Byron was born clubfooted, or was early made so; and it wrought through his whole life
upon his disposition. It made his pride bitter; it made him envious; it made him angry; but
his bitterness, his envy, his anger, did no good; he had to carry that querled ankle all his
life long. It worked on him. I know not how I should take it, now that I am old--they say;
but I know that if, in the beginning, I had had that to deal with, it would have been no
small matter. To be sure, if a man comes home from the war with only a shoulder, there is
honour in that--such as it is. Everybody respects you, and permits you to go to poverty; and
yet there may be a sense of honour that will be some sort of equivalent even for this
misfortune. But, to have it congenital; to have it a mere accident, without any patriotism;
to be lopped of one leg or arm; to be marked in any way that sets you aside from your
fellows, and makes you a hermit in the world--an individual without cohesion in those
respects which unite you to others--this is a matter for which there is no remedy. What can
you do? othing. Bear it--bear it. And you shall find how easy it is to bear it, because
everybody will say to you, “My dear friend, you must be patient, and bear it.” evertheless,
here is a gospel for such--Stand! Stand! Why? Because it is the will of God. And every man
who looks upon you, seeing that you have this great affliction which no striving against can
remove, shall say, “Behold how he stands, Christ-like!” Look at another very large class of
men--larger than that of which I have been speaking--who come into life, with a laudable
ambition, willing and meaning to spend and be spent for the good of their country, of their
kind, of their age, and, it may be, of their God. It is for them through scholarship to acquit
themselves, and with great attainments and constantly augmenting progress they are
already noted, and their unfolding powers show them to be no insignificant heirs of the
future; but some feebleness or gradual disease of the eye not only closes to them all books,
but shuts out nature, and they grow blind. And now in the hour when the word is spoken,
“You must content yourself, my young friend; no surgeon can help you; you are blind; you
must be blind”--in that hour, what an instantaneous revolution there is of life! What a
change there is in every expectation! What a waste! And yet it is irremediable. And shall
this man now go kicking against the pricks and repining? Shall he yield to despondency?
This is a case where the gospel of standing comes in; and in all the plenitude of Divine
authority Christ says to every such one, “My son, I that wore the crown, and yielded life

162. itself for thee, have need of someone in the very flush of youth and expectancy, to show the
world how Christian character evolves under such circumstances. Having done all, having
acquired the power to use your sight with great efficiency, now that it is gone from you,
stand and be contented.” Sickness comes in afterlife. Men enter upon their professions. The
plough is put into the furrow, and the strong will, like well-broken oxen, draws their
purpose bravely on; and, just as they have come to that opening where honour and
universally acknowledged success is about to crown their legitimate endeavour, they break
down in health. They become invalids. Learn how, having done all, to stand still, and be
patient and wait to the end. It is a noble thing for a man, with a chastened ambition,
restrained within due bounds by a wise reason, to aspire to achievements; and, when the
potency to achieve is demonstrated, it is still more heroic for such a man, if it be the will of
God, to fold his wings and stand still, and let those achievements go by. When you think
how many, by commercial revulsions and infelicities of business, have been stopped in mid-
career, and forbidden to go forward, not only, but thrown back to the bottom, is it a matter
of no sorrow? And yet, I think that, under such circumstances as these, some of the noblest
manifestations of Christianity have been exhibited and beheld. Men have contentedly taken
poverty and obscurity, that they might inherit themselves; and if they were to speak their
innermost thoughts, what a revelation it would be! And there are many men who, lying low
in human notice--failures, as the world looks upon them--are nevertheless the highest in the
wisdom of God, having learned the gospel, first of activity, and then of passivity. Having
done all, they have learned how to stand. As in the outward, so in the multitudes of the
inward, relations of life. It is often the case that children are obliged to patiently wait for
their parents. I do not mean that the father is a drunkard, and that the child waits long and
patiently for him--though that is noble; but the boys are all gone, and the old Vermont
farm is hard of soil and full of rocks; and the youngest son at home is evidently a child of
genius, more than any of them. One has grown rich in Illinois; another rules in a county in
Missouri; another has gone to India, and is reaping a fortune there; and the last son,
although in him are the movements of genius, says, “I cannot leave the old people. My
father and mother have no one else to lean on.” And so, without words, without inscription,
in the silence of his own heroic soul, he says, “I will stand here. Whatever is in me that I
can use here, I will use for my father’s sake, and for my mother’s sake.” Yet how many
silent waiters there are! How many there are that have cried in the closet, night and day,
“How long? O Lord, how long?” And yet there came no cheer, and no command, except,
“Having done all, stand,” and they stand till God calls them. What,. then, are those
considerations or motives that help us to do these things which are so hard in the service of
the Lord Jesus Christ? We are His servants, not by a profession, but because we do, and
bear, and suffer, as He did that bore and suffered. Listen then--“Be obedient.” To whom
was this said? To slaves, the most accursed class of men on earth; subordinated, made the
mere pleasure of their masters, denied at every single outlet the full expression of growing
manhood. Whatsoever you do, do it heartily. Be glorious men, if you are slaves. But what is
the motive? Says the servant, “My master will not understand it. It will not put me forward
in the world. Whatever I gain, he will reap.” But the apostle says that you are servants of
God. “With goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men; knowing that
whatsoever good thing any man doeth, he shall receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or
free.” Take the fulness of that thought of God with you, that you are consecrated to the
Lord Jesus Christ, following in His providence, following in His personal knowledge of and
love for yourself, believing that from your childhood you have been an object of the
paternal thought and care of Christ, in comparison with which ordinary parental care is
poor and pale. (H. W. Beecher.)

163. The Christian’s conflict
I. Men fight with that which opposes their real or fancied interests. We can ill brook
anything which interferes with what we believe to be our advantage or our good. There is
ever a disposition to contend with such a thing, and subdue it or remove it. This is seen in
daily life. How varied are the supposed interests of men; some of them noble, and some of
them ignoble; some of them meritorious, and some of them worthless. One seems to believe
that his chief good consists in the acquisition of worldly riches; and what efforts he makes--
what conflicts he goes through with external difficulties, trials, and disappointments in
order to secure them. He fights with circumstances, struggles with hindrances, until,
perhaps, he conquers and gains his end. Another has his soul bent on pleasure, the mere
sensual or sensuous enjoyment of his being, and thinks the interest of his manhood lies
there. What shifts he will make, what measures he will adopt, what sacrifices he will
endure to reach his desires, and to steep his soul in his delights. He contends with the
barriers of time and place, until he overcomes. Another is fired with the nobler enthusiasm
for knowledge, and how often have we heard of its pursuit under difficulty, so that he who
finds his enjoyment or interest lie in that direction, will contend with outward hindrances
and obstacles, and even fight with the laws which should rule his own physical system, that
he may climb the steeps of literature, or repose in the bowers of science. Another still bends
his mind to business, and prostrates his manhood at the shrine of commerce. And if health
is lost, what efforts and means are used to regain this highest temporal blessing. There will
be a fight with climate, locality, and all the circumstances of abode, in order to subdue
disease, and reach convalescence. It is, then, natural for men thus to fight with whatever
appears to interfere with their advantage, or to stand in the way of their interests; and in
proportion to the estimated value and importance of the interest or advantage involved,
will be the keenness of the conflict, the eagerness of resistance or aggression, and the
strength of the desire to overcome the difficulty of the position. It is not in human nature
for a man to be stoical and passive when his prospect is darkened, his interest assailed, or
his happiness at stake. This general truth will aid us in advancing to consider the highest
conflict in which we can engage.
II. Man’s highest interests are assailed and endangered and therefore he ought to fight.
These highest interests do not lie in the acquisition of worldly wealth, nor in the attainment
of human wisdom. They consist in his relation to God, to moral law, and to a future state.
And these interests are constantly assailed. Our relation to the Divine Being is assailed by
the devil. Such is his hostility to God, that his highest aim is to secure our disobedience,
disloyalty, and rebellion, in order that Jehovah may be dishonoured and defied, and that
we may be spiritually destroyed. Our relation to moral law is assailed by the flesh--exciting
us to transgression, moral disorder, and slavish obedience--thus deadening our spiritual
sensibility, debasing our spiritual affections, and degrading our moral nature. Our relation
to the future state is assailed by the world--blinding us by its fashions and its follies, its
pomps and its pageantry, to the glories of the heavenly and the grand realities of the life to
come. Its tendency is to lead us to forget the future in the present, to forget the eternal in
the temporal and the transient, to forget the spiritual in the carnal and the material. Thus,
I say, we are beset, thus our true interests are endangered, and our safety demands a
conflict. It is true that Satan is our chief foe, and that he’ uses the world and the flesh in his

164. assaults upon our manhood; but it is well to look at them separately that we may see our
danger, and gird ourselves to fight. Yet, alas! how many are on the devil’s side--on the side
of the world and of the flesh--carried away by the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and
the pride of life. They do not see where their true interests lie, and they do not fight.
Anxious, it may he, to overcome hindrances to material success and temporal prosperity,
yet they mistake the true “battle of life.”
III. The Christian alone realizes the true interests of manhood and hence he only fights.
This, in fact, my brethren, is the great distinction between him and the unbeliever, or the
mere man of the world. He cannot be a Christian who does not fight. He cannot be safe
who does not fight. He cannot yet have realized or apprehended the highest interests of his
being who does not see his danger and fight. He cannot be on the Lord’s side who does not
resist the devil and fight against sin.
IV. This conflict is spiritual and must be fought in the soul. It is manifestly spiritual, for it
arises from the nature and necessities of our spiritual and moral being. It is not a struggle
with mere outward difficulties and physical circumstances, but with that which has
introduced all suffering and wretchedness into the world, which makes man’s life a
pilgrimage of sorrow to the grave. The conflict is with sin, whether it comes in the shape of
satanic temptation, worldly influence, or fleshly lust. Hence the soul is the arena, and the
battle must be fought within.
V. The issue of this conflict is certain and will be glorious. Of its issue there is no doubt;
victory is sure to all who persevere.
1. There is a glorious Commander and Captain. Christ is not only wise and skilful, able to
cope with the cunning, and to meet the might of our fees; but He has Himself conquered,
and in conquering them has destroyed their power. “The prince of this world is cast out.”
“Be of good cheer,” says the Saviour, “I have overcome the world.”
2. There are sufficient spiritual weapons; armour which God has provided, adapted to the
various aspects of the conflict, and the various stratagems of our foes.
3. And there is promised victory--“The God of peace shall bruise Satan under our feet”
(Rom_16:20). The flesh may be “crucified,” and the world may be “overcome.” Christ has
conquered for all the soldiers of the Cross serving under Him, and thus through Him that
loved us we shall be more than conquerors. (James Spence, M. A.)
Standing in the evil day
There are, however, seasons of special trial occurring all along the march of the pilgrim
soldier which he may peculiarly regard as to him the “evil day.”

165. 1. Amongst these you will doubtless recognize times of spiritual despondency. All believers
are subject to more or less of fluctuation in their religious experience. Constitutional
differences give tone to religious character.
2. A time of spiritual declension and worldliness in the Church may also be regarded as an
“evil day.” The spirit of piety in the Church is always far below the proper standard, but
there are times when it sinks even much lower than the ordinary level. How often did the
God of Israel chide and chasten His ancient people for their rebellion, disobedience,
idolatry, and ingratitude; and the Church now, unhappily, too much resembles that of the
former and the darker dispensation. There is a winter season in Zion as well as in the
natural world, and these winters are sometimes long and dreary. Few flowers and fruits
are seen, few days of sunshine; a universal torpor prevails, and under the chilling blasts
even the soldiers of the Cross are found sleeping at their posts; the army of salvation seems
almost frozen in its onward march.
3. More evil still than this, however, is the day when the believer actually backslides, and
falls into open sin,
4. A time of absence from your home, or of changing your place of abode, may also prove
an “evil day.” We are much more the creatures of circumstances, even in our religion, than
most of us are wont to believe.
5. Turn next to the survey of the “evil day” when false doctrine prevails.
6. We must not omit to turn our attention also to the evil day of rebuke and persecution.
7. Last of all, may we not regard the day of death as in some aspects an evil day? (J.
Leyburn, D. D.)
Standing still
It is a noble thing for a man, with a chastened ambition, restrained within due bounds by a
wise reason, to aspire to achievements, and, when the potency to achieve is demonstrated, it
is still more heroic for such a man, if it be the will of God, to fold his wings and stand still,
and let those achievements go by. I wonder that some of the old music has been suffered to
die out. I have always wondered why that song, “The Captive Knight,” should have gone
into disuse. A returning crusader, in crossing a hostile territory, was seized by some
nobleman, and thrown into a castle prison. After a time, on some bright morning, he hears
the sound of distant music, which comes nearer and nearer; and soon the flash of the
spears is seen; and by and by the banners appear; and at last he sees men approaching
whom he recognizes as his old companions, with whom he has breasted the war in a
thousand battles. As they draw still nearer and nearer, he can distinguish their
countenances; and he calls out from his tower to them, again and again; but the music
covers the sound of his voice, and they pass on and on, and finally the last one disappears,
the banners gleam no more, and the music dies in his ear, and he is left alone to perish in
his prison! There are thousands of captive knights in this world who see their companions
passing by with the glories and honours of life, while they are in prison and cannot stir;
and to them comes the message of our text, “Having done all, stand.” Stand still, and be
patient, and be as manly and as noble, in standing still, as you fain would have been in

166. attainment and achievement. (J. Leyburn, D. D.)
The damager of reaction
For as long as we find it true that danger and defeat may be nearest just in the hour when
victory seems completest, as long as we see it the ease that men who have conquered in the
greatest temptations may live to fall a prey to the meanest--so long there is room for the
message, “Having done all, brethren, take heed that ye stand.”
I. First, then, let us take the class of cases which the admonition suits.
1. I think, then, in the first p]ace, you may look at the text in connection with religious
profession, that is, the public acknowledgment which a soul makes of Christ, its openly-
expressed resolution to wear His name, to carry His Cross, and to support His cause. But
everything is not won, though this be won, and “having done all,” in this matter, see that ye
“stand.”
2. So again, we might apply the text to the case of religious attainment. It would be pleasant
to believe that the Christian life is always a life of progress, ever unfolding, as the years go
on, from good to what is better, and from what is better to what is best, till the Master says
to each at the close of it, “Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful unto
death.” But there is no such necessary or infallible development as this. The mystery lies
here, that even where sanctification has actually taken place, there are instances permitted
in which the power and achievements of grace seem rather to diminish than increase with
time. The life seems to taper off and deteriorate as it nears the close. Laden with the
traditions of a good fight that has been foughten well, and won right valiantly, rich in the
memories of service that has been bravely rendered and signally owned, such a life has
after all been permitted to end in insignificance, selfishness, peevishness, or worse.
3. Or, again, take the case of religious privileges. And there is no better illustration at this
point than the illustration afforded by Communion seasons; for the right use and
enjoyment of these imply that temptations have been withstood, surrenders accomplished,
and victories won. Thus, in preparing for the service contemplated, you settled down to
examine yourselves and your life; and in so doing you won a victory over self. In taking
part in the service itself, you found your perplexities removed, your faith confirmed, and
your love elicited, till you felt you could clasp the truth, and lean on a truth-keeping Christ,
and in so doing you won a victory over doubt. Life’s business was hushed, life’s cares were
shut out, life’s temptation were withdrawn, as you cast your care on Him who careth for
you; and, in the very experience, you won the victory over the world. I take such a season
as this at its purest and highest, and suppose that the heart has fetched from it the very best
its enjoyments and lessons can yield, in elevation of feeling, in sanctification of life. And
here we may say, as before, the soul in a sense has “done all.” “Be it so,” is the message of
the text to you, “now take heed to yourself, that having done all, you may stand.’’
II. And now let us pass from the cases which the admonition suits, to the reasons on which

167. the admonition is based. And let us ask for a little why it is specially necessary that those
who have thus done all, in the way of religious profession, religious attainment, and
religious privilege, should be warned, “Take heed that ye stand.” Brethren, the hour of
triumph has its dangers by the operation of a very natural law. There is the peril of
reaction in grace, as there is the peril of reaction in most other spheres.
1. For one thing, it is so easy to presume on the extent of our victory, and hence the
tendency to security.
2. It is also easy to presume on the permanency of what has been done, and hence the
tendency to sloth.
III. And now, let us mark some of the practical counsels with which the admonition may be
accompanied.
1. Watch; that is one safeguard--“Happy is he who feareth always!” Fear, lest in the thrill
of success the head begins to reel and the feet begin to slip, and it prove true of a spiritual
victory, as it continually holds true of temporal successes, that the prosperity of the unwary
shall slay them. And fear, not only in the day when a past conflict has elated you, but in the
day when, as is sometimes the case, a past conflict has depressed you.
2. And work, as well as watch. Because you have engaged in one kind of Christian activity,
and completed it with success, earning the thanks of your fellows in the Church, the
approval of your conscience, the “well done” of your God--do not consider yourself
absolved, but straightway set your face to another--whatsoever is nearest you in
Providence; and if nothing is near, then go in diligent search for it.
3. And, lastly, pray. Let no task be done, let no temptation be vanquished, let no grace be
attained, without their result in an increase of prayer. (W. A. Gray.)
The Christian warrior
I. First, we are to consider the Christian resisting--“That ye may be able to withstand in the
evil day.” “In the evil day.” This expression may be understood of the whole course of our
life militant here upon earth; as if the entire term of our continuance here might be
described as one long and cloudy day. Such an estimate of life we find the patriarch Jacob
formed, when he says--“Few and evil have the days of my life been.” In the present passage,
however, it is better, perhaps, to take the apostle’s meaning in a more restricted sense. He
lived in troublous times. This very letter was dated from a prison; and in the fifth chapter
we find him exhorting his Ephesian converts to walk circumspectly, assigning as a reason,
that they must redeem the time, “because the days are evil.”
1. But let us note more particularly some of those passages of our life which, unless we be
well fortified with our Christian armour, will prove an evil day to us. Thus there is the day
of sickness. In one sense this is always an evil day. It may not be so ultimately, but it must

168. be so in our first experience of it.
2. Again, the day of adversity is an evil day. This, too, is a day which will try the temper of
every part of our spiritual armour.
3. So also the day of temptation is an evil day. Temptation is a sore evil in itself; but it is
more so from the evil which it developes and brings to light. There are evils in the hearts of
all of us which we know not of until temptation discovers them to us.
4. Once more: among the evil days against which we should provide this spiritual armour,
we may well suppose the apostle to mean the day of our death.
II. But we come to the second part of our text, which sets before us the Christian
conquering--“Having done all, to stand.” This shows us, first, that religion is not a thing of
speculation, not a mere matter of creeds and doctrines, but a system of principles to be
acted upon, a set work to be done. “To stand.” This expression may be interpreted in two
or three ways. First, it may be taken, that by this armour we shall be enabled to stand fast
in our Christian profession to the end of our days; that as soldiers of the Cross we shall
stand by our colours to the last, resisting Christians, conquering Christians, even on the
last field of temptation, and on the bed of death itself. In this attitude we find Paul
representing himself to Timothy, when seeing the hour of his departure was at hand.
Again, by the expression, “stand,” the apostle no doubt means that the conquering
Christian shall be accounted worthy to stand before the Son of Man. In this sense he writes
to the Colossians: “That ye stand perfect and complete in the will of God.” ow, without
having endured the hardness, and done the work, and put on the armour of the Christian
soldier, it is certain that in the great judgment we never can stand. Once more: the
apostle’s expression may be interpreted of our standing as glorified spirits in the presence
of God. He who stands fast in the conflict, and stands acquitted in the judgment, shall have,
as the recompense of his toils, and as the reward of victory, to stand eternally in glory. “Go
thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.”
(D. Moore, M. A.)
MACLARE , "
THE PA OPLY OF GOD
Eph_6:13
The military metaphor of which this verse is the beginning was obviously deeply imprinted
on Paul’s mind. It is found in a comparatively incomplete form in his earliest epistle, the
first to the Thessalonians, in which the children of the day are exhorted to put on the
breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. It reappears, in a
slightly varied form, in the Epistle to the Romans, where those whose salvation is nearer
than when they believed, are exhorted, because the day is at hand, to cast off, as it were,

169. their night-gear, and to put on the ‘armour of light’; and here, in this Epistle of the
Captivity, it is most fully developed. The Roman legionary, to whom Paul was chained,
here sits all unconsciously for his portrait, every detail of which is pressed by Paul into the
service of his vivid imagination; the virtues and graces of the Christian character, which
are ‘the armour of light,’ are suggested to the Apostle by the weapon which the soldier by
his side wore. The vulgarest and most murderous implements assume a new character
when looked upon with the eyes of a poet and a Christian. Our present text constitutes the
general introduction to the great picture which follows, of ‘the panoply of God.’
I. We must be ready for times of special assaults from evil.
Most of us feel but little the stern reality underlying the metaphor, that the whole Christian
life is warfare, but that in that warfare there are crises, seasons of special danger. The
interpretation which makes the ‘evil day’ co-extensive with the time of life destroys the
whole emphasis of the passage: whilst all days are days of warfare, there will be, as in some
prolonged siege, periods of comparative quiet; and again, days when all the cannon belch at
once, and scaling ladders are reared on every side of the fortress. In a long winter there are
days sunny and calm followed, as they were preceded, by days when all the winds are let
loose at once. For us, such times of special danger to Christian character may arise from
temporal vicissitudes. Joy and prosperity are as sure to occasion them as are sorrows, for
to Paul the ‘evil day’ is that which especially threatens moral and spiritual character, and
these may be as much damaged by the bright sunshine of prosperity as by the midwinter of
adversity, just as fierce sunshine may be as fatal as killing frost. They may also arise,
without any such change in circumstances, from some temptation coming with more than
ordinary force, and directed with terrible accuracy to our weakest point.
These evil days are ever wont to come on us suddenly; they are heralded by no storm
signals and no falling barometer. We may be like soldiers sitting securely round their camp
fire, till all at once bullets begin to fall among them. The tiger’s roar is the first signal of its
leap from the jungle. Our position in the world, our ignorance of the future, the heaped-up
magazines of combustibles within, needing only a spark, all lay us open to unexpected
assaults, and the temptation comes stealthily, ‘as a thief in the night.’ othing is so certain
as the unexpected. For these reasons, then, because the ‘evil day’ will certainly come,
because it may come at any time, and because it is most likely to come ‘when we look not
for it,’ it is the dictate of plain common sense to be prepared. If the good man of the house
had known at what hour the thief would have come, he would have watched; but he would
have been a wiser man if he had watched all the more, because he did not know at what
hour the thief would come.
II. To withstand these we must be armed against them before they come.

170. The main point of the exhortation is this previous preparation. It is clear enough that it is
no time to fly to our weapons when the enemy is upon us. Aldershot, not the battlefield, is
the place for learning strategy. Belshazzar was sitting at his drunken feast while the
Persians were marching on Babylon, and in the night he was slain. When great crises arise
in a nation’s history, some man whose whole life has been preparing him for the hour starts
to the front and does the needed work. If a sailor put off learning navigation till the wind
was howling and a reef lay ahead, his corpse would be cast on the cruel rocks. It is well not
to be ‘over-exquisite,’ to cast the fashion of ‘uncertain evils,’ but certain ones cannot be too
carefully anticipated, nor too sedulously prepared for.
The manner in which this preparation is to be carried out is distinctly marked here. The
armour is to be put on before the conflict begins. ow, without anticipating what will more
properly come in considering subsequent details, we may notice that such a previous
assumption implies mainly two things-a previous familiarity with God’s truth, and a
previous exercise of Christian virtues. As to the former, the subsequent context speaks of
taking the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and of having the loins girt with
truth, which may be objective truth. As to the latter, we need not elaborate the Apostle’s
main thought that resistance to sudden temptations is most vigorous when a man is
accustomed to goodness. One of the prophets treats it as being all but impossible that they
who have been accustomed to evil shall learn to do well, and it is at least not less impossible
that they who have been accustomed to do well shall learn to do evil. Souls which habitually
walk in the clear spaces of the bracing air on the mountains of God will less easily be
tempted down to the shut-in valleys where malaria reigns. The positive exercise of
Christian graces tends to weaken the force of temptation. A mind occupied with these has
no room for it. Higher tastes are developed which makes the poison sweetness of evil
unsavoury, and just as the Israelites hungered for the strong, coarse-smelling leeks and
garlic of Egypt, and therefore loathed ‘this light bread,’ so they whose palates have been
accustomed to manna will have little taste for leeks and garlic. The mental and spiritual
activity involved in the habitual exercise of Christian virtues will go far to make the soul
unassailable by evil. A man, busily occupied, as the Apostle would have us to be, may be
tempted by the devil, though less frequently the more he is thus occupied; but one who has
no such occupations and interests tempts the devil. If our lives are inwardly and secretly
honeycombed with evil, only a breath will be needed to throw down the structure. It is
possible to become so accustomed to the calm delights of goodness, that it would need a
moral miracle to make a man fall into sin.
III. To be armed with this armour, we must get it from God.
Though it consists mainly of habitudes and dispositions of our own minds, none the less
have we to receive these from above. It is ‘the panoply of God,’ therefore we are to be
endued with it, not by exercises in our own strength, but by dependence on Him. In old
days, before a squire was knighted, he had to keep a vigil in the chapel of the castle, and
through the hours of darkness to watch his armour and lift his soul to God, and we shall
never put on the armour of light unless in silence we draw near to Him who teaches our
hands to war and our fingers to fight. Communion with Christ, and only communion with

171. Christ, receives from Him the life which enables us to repel the diseases of our spirits.
What He imparts to those who thus wait upon Him, and to them only, is the Spirit which
helps their infirmities and clothes their undefended nakedness with a coat of mail. If we go
forth to war with evil, clothed and armed only with what we can provide, we shall surely be
worsted in the fray. If we go forth into the world of struggle from the secret place of the
Most High, ‘no weapon that is formed against us shall prosper,’ and we shall be more than
conquerors through Him that loved us.
But waiting on God to receive our weapons from Him is but part of what is needful for our
equipment. It is we who have to gird our loins and put on the breastplate, and shoe our
feet, and take the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.
The cumbrous armour of old days could only be put on by the help of another pulling
straps, and fixing buckles, and lifting and bracing heavy shields on arms, and fastening
helmets upon heads; but we have, by our own effort, to clothe ourselves with God’s great
gift, which is of no use to us, and is in no real sense ours, unless we do. It takes no small
effort to keep ourselves in the attitude of dependence and receptivity, without which none
of the great gifts of God come to us, and, least of all, the habitual practice of Christian
virtues. The soldier who rushed into the fight, leaving armour and arms huddled together
on the ground, would soon fall, and God’s giving avails nothing for our defence unless
there is also our taking. It is the woful want of taking the things that are freely given to us
of God, and of making our own what by His gift is our own, that is mainly responsible for
the defeats of which we are all conscious. Looking back on our own evil days, we must all
be aware that our defeats have mainly come from one or other of the two errors which lie
so near us all, and which are intimately connected with each other-the one being that of
fighting in our own strength, and the other being that of leaving unused our God-given
power.
IV. The issue of successful resistance is increased firmness of footing.
If we are able to ‘withstand in the evil day,’ we shall ‘stand’ more securely when the evil
day has stormed itself away. If we keep erect in the shock of battle, we shall stand more
secure when the wild charge has been beaten back. The sea hurls tons of water against the
slender lighthouse on the rock, and if it stands, the smashing of the waves consolidates it.
The reward of firm resistance is increased firmness. As the Red Indians used to believe that
the strength of the slain enemies whom they had scalped passed into their arms, so we may
have power developed by conflict, and we shall more fully understand, and more
passionately believe in, the principles and truths which have served us in past fights. David
would not wear Saul’s armour because, as he said, ‘I have not proved it,’ and the Christian
who has come victoriously through one struggle should be ready to say, ‘I have proved it’;
we have the word of the Lord, which is tried, to trust to, and not we only, but generations,
have tested it, and it has stood the tests. Therefore, it is not for us to hesitate as to the worth
of our weapons, or to doubt that they are more than sufficient for every conflict which we
may be called upon to wage.

172. The text plainly implies that all our life long we shall be in danger of sudden assaults. It
does contemplate victory in the evil day, but it also contemplates that after we have
withstood, we have still to stand and be ready for another attack to-morrow. Our life here
is, and must still be, a continual warfare. Peace is not bought by any victories; ‘There is no
discharge in that war.’ Like the ten thousand Greeks who fought their way home through
clouds of enemies from the heart of Asia, we are never safe till we come to the mountain-
top, where we can cry, ‘The Sea!’ But though all our paths lead us through enemies, we
have Jesus, who has conquered them all, with us, and our hearts should not fail so long as
we can hear His brave voice encouraging us: ‘In the world ye have tribulation, but be of
good cheer, I have overcome the world.’
PULPIT, "Wherefore take up the entire amour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in
the evil day. Some have tried to affix a specific time to the "evil day" of the apostle, as if it
were one or other of the days specified in the Apocalypse; but more probably it is a general
phrase, like "the day of adversity," or "the day of battle," indicating a day that comes
often. In fact, any day when the evil one comes upon us in force is the evil day, and our
ignorance of the time when such assault may be made is what makes it so necessary for us
to be watchful. And having done all, to stand. "Having done fully," or "completed," is the
literal import of κατεργασάµενοι , having reference, not only to the preparation for the
battle, but to the fighting too. The command to be "strong in the Lord" is fitly associated
with our "having done all," because leaning on almighty strength implies the effort to put
forth strength by our own instrumentality; when God's strength comes to us it constrains
us "to do all" that can be done by us or through us (comp. Psa_144:1; Php_2:12, Php_
2:13). We are not called to do merely as well as our neighbors; nor even to do well on the
whole, but to do all—to leave nothing undone that can contribute to the success of the
battle; then we shall be able to stand, or stand firm.