
Haunted
October 31, 2021
Ephesians 6:10-20
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Read Ephesians 6:10
- Think all the way back to what you learned in school about topic sentences. What is the purpose of a topic sentence? How does verse 10 serve as a topic sentence for the rest of this passage?
Read Ephesians 6:11-12
- Here (as well as in verse 13) Paul refers to the ‘full armor of God.’ What is significant about Paul’s decision to use the word ‘full’ in these verses?
- How would you describe the devil’s schemes for you? (Hint: it may be helpful to refer to John 10:10) In practical, everyday terms, what does it look like to ‘take your stand against those schemes? Where are you succeeding? Where are you struggling?
- How might verse 12 shape our understanding of the current polarization in our country around all kinds of social and political issues?
Read Ephesians 6:13-17
- What word(s) are repeated multiple times in this passage? What inferences can be drawn?
- Item by item, discuss the various pieces of armor Paul refers to. Why might Paul have paired the various pieces of armor (helmet, shield, etc.) with their corresponding spiritual reality (salvation, faith, etc).
- In practical terms, how can we ‘put on’ the full armor of God?
Read Ephesians 6:18-20
- What word is repeated frequently in verse 18? How does this repetition affect your understanding of this verse?
- “Pray in the Spirit” might mean a lot of different things. What do you understand it to mean?
- Paul writes this while under arrest by Roman soldiers with the possibility of being taken to Rome to be executed. How would you want people to be praying for you in those circumstances? How does Paul ask the Ephesians to pray for him?