Ephesians 6:10-24

Key Points:
1. Depend on God to face spiritual warfare.
2. Stand and persevere with fellow believers to advance the gospel

Key themes:
o Paul exhorts the Ephesians to depend on the Lord(10)
o Paul instructs the Ephesians to arm themselves with God's might to stand against the Enemy(11,13)
o Paul reminds Christians that we are in a spiritual war and our true enemies are not people, so be prepared(12-13)
o The weapons of a believer are truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, our salvation, and the Word of God. (14-17)
o Paul reminds believers to stay in constant communication with the Lord(18)
o Paul ask believers to pray for all believers to stand against the enemy and have boldness to present the gospel(18-20)
o Paul sends Tychicus to encourage the Ephesians(21-22)
o Paul reminds the Ephesians to continue trusting God and to let His peace remain in the body as they love one another. (23-24)

Reflective Discussion Questions:
1. Who does Paul tell the Ephesians to be strengthened by in vs 10?
a. Why does Paul remind the Ephesians of God's great strength?
b. How does knowing that God is immensely strong affect how you face difficulty?
c. What keeps you from being strengthened by the Lord?
2. Why does Paul tell us to put on the armor of God?(11,13)
a. How would the understanding that you are in a spiritual war change the way you live? Priorities? How you handle issues?
b. How does Paul's assertion in vs 12 affect how you view relationships with people? How you view politics local/global?
c. What are some practices a person can cultivate to be ready to fight in spiritual battles?
3. Why does Paul associate the tools God gives us to fight spiritual warfare with specific parts of Roman Armor? (14-17)
a. How does the image of a belt help us understand the role of truth in our lives?
b. Breastplate and righteousness?
c. Shoes and the gospel of peace?
d. Shield and Faith?
e. Helmet and Salvation?
f. Sword and the Spirit?
4. What do we understand about offensive spiritual warfare from vs 17 and the sword of the Spirit?
a. Who does the actual attacking in spiritual warfare?
b. What is the responsibility of the believer in spiritual warfare according to vs 14-17?
5. Why does Paul emphasize the need to be in constant communication with God?(18)
a. How does our constant communication with God affect the way we view our role in spiritual warfare?
b. What is the relationship between individual believers in spiritual warfare according to vs 18-19?
c. How can this knowledge change the way you relate to other believers and face difficulty?
6. Why does Paul send Tychicus to the Ephesians?
a. How does Paul's intent in sending Tychicus relate to everything else in Ephesians?
b. How does vs 23 serve as a synopsis for the book of Ephesians?


Individual Challenge:
Would you commit to contacting two Christian friends and asking how you can pray for them this week? Would you commit to praying for them everyday? How would your priorities and attitude to life change if you interceded for someone else everyday? How would your relationships with Christian people change? What would the impact be on your relationships with the lost?

Community Challenge:
How would our community change if everyone in our group regularly contacted each other and prayed for each other? How would this affect the way visitors feel coming into our group? What would the testimony of our group be to the lost in our community?

Ephesians 6:1-9

Key Points
1. Honor the authority God places in your life
2. We honor God by honoring the people He places in authority over us
3. The way we live as Christians bears testimony to God's sovereignty and grace

Key Themes
o Children submit to your parents as because you respect and fear the Lord(1)
o God promises that children that revere their parents will have prosperous and long life (2)
o Parents don't provoke your children to anger, guide them to follow the Lord(4)
o Workers/Employees submit to your masters to show honor for Christ(5)
o Work wholeheartedly with integrity as for the Lord(5-8)
o Work for the reward of the Lord by working heartily in everything you do(6)
o Masters treat the people that work for you with respect and grace(9)
o Masters remember that Christ is a generous and good master, imitate him(9)

Reflective Discussion Questions
1. Why does Paul tell children to obey their parents?(1)
a. What is the promise God gives to children that honor their parents?
b. Why would an obedient child receive the promise God talks about?
c. How does this theme of submission in familial relationships relate to what Paul talked about in the previous chapter?
2. What does Paul tell Father's not to do in vs 4?
a. Is this a command that only applies to fathers or does it extend to other people?
b. What are the ways a parent stirs up anger in their child?
c. How is the command not to incite children to anger related to the command to bring up children in the instruction of the Lord?
e. What is the successful family dynamic contingent that Paul talks about in the previous chapter? (5:21)
3. How does Paul instruct servants to serve their Masters?(5-8)
a. How does Paul instruct Masters to treat their servants?(9)
b. What prevents Christian Bosses from treating the people they supervise the way Paul instructs?
c. What prevents employees from treating their master's with respect?
d. Should a Christian treat or work for their employer differently if they don't follow the guidelines listed in Ephesians 6?
4. How does the way people treat each other in these relationships glorify/honor God?

Individual Challenge
How would your attitude change towards people in positions of authority if you knew that honoring them meant you honored God? How would this perspective affect the way you treat people in authority over you? How would this affect your relationships with co-workers and family?

Community Challenge
How would our church change if people honored the leaders God has placed in positions of authority in the church? How would this affect our testimony in the community? How would our changed attitude and behavior impact our secular community?