Ephesians 6:17 Komentář

In this chapter, I. The apostle proceeds in the exhortation to relative duties which he began in the former, particularly he insists on the duties of children and parents, and of servants and masters (Eph 6:1-9). II. He exhorts and directs Christians how to behave themselves in the spiritual warfare with the enemies of their souls; and to the exercise of several Christian graces, which he proposes to them as so many pieces of spiritual armour, to preserve and defend them in the conflict (Eph 6:10-18). III. We have here the conclusion of the epistle, in which he takes his leave of them, recommending himself to the prayers of the believing Ephesians, and praying for them (Eph 6:19-24).

INTRODUCTION TO EPHESIANS 6 In this chapter the apostle goes on with his exhortations to relative and domestic duties, and considers those of children and parents, and of servants and masters; and next he exhorts the saints in general to constancy and perseverance in the exercise of grace, and the performance of duty in the strength of Christ, and with the use of the armour of God described by him; entreats them to pray for him; gives the reasons of sending Tychicus, who brought them this epistle, and closes it with his apostolical salutation. He begins with the duties of children to their parents, which are submission and obedience to them, honour, fear, and reverence of them; the arguments engaging thereunto are taken from the light of nature and reason, from the command of God, and the promise annexed to it, Eph 6:1. Then follow the duties of fathers to their children, who are exhorted not to use them with too much rigour, and so provoke them to wrath, but to bring them up in a religious manner, that they may serve the Lord, Eph 6:4. Next he observes the duties of servants to their masters, which are subjection and obedience, which should be done with reverence of them, with simplicity of heart, as unto Christ, not with eyeservice, as menpleasers, but with the heart, and with good will, as doing the will of God, and as if it was to the Lord, and not men; to which they are encouraged by a promise of reward which is given without respect to bond or free, Eph 6:5. And masters, they are exhorted to do what is right and just to their servants, and not terrify them with menaces; to which they are moved by the consideration of their having a master in heaven, who is no respecter of persons, Eph 6:9. From hence the apostle passes to a general exhortation to the saints to behave with firmness and constancy of mind, though they had many enemies, and these mighty and powerful, and more than a match for them; relying on the power and strength of Christ, and making use of the whole armour of God, which he advises them to take, that they might stand and withstand in the worst of times, Eph 6:10, the several parts of which he enumerates, as the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, whereby the fiery darts of Satan are quenched, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit the word of God, and spiritual prayer of every sort for all saints, attended with watching and perseverance, Eph 6:14, which last part of the spiritual armour being mentioned, leads on the apostle to entreat the Ephesians to pray for him, that he might freely and boldly preach the Gospel; which he commends from the mysterious nature and subject of it, from his character as an ambassador for it, or for Christ, the sum and substance of it, and from his being in bonds for it; which showed how great an esteem he had of it, and how heartily concerned he was to preach it without fear, Eph 6:19. And then adds, that the reasons of his sending Tychicus, whom he describes by his relation to him as a brother, and his affection for him, and by his office as a minister, and his faithfulness in it, were, that they might be acquainted with his circumstances, in what state and condition he was, both with respect to things temporal and spiritual, and that their hearts might be comforted by him, Eph 6:21. And the epistle is concluded with the apostle's salutation; and the persons saluted are the brethren of this church, and all that love Christ Jesus sincerely; and the blessings wished for are peace, love, with faith and grace; the persons from whom they are desired are God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Eph 6:23.

And take the helmet of salvation,.... Meaning either Christ himself, the Saviour; and so the Arabic version renders it, "the helmet of the Saviour": or the salvation itself, which he is the author of, and a well grounded hope of it; see Th1 5:8; the allusion is to Isa 59:17; and such an hope of salvation by Christ is a defence of the head against false doctrines; for the helmet is a piece of armour for the head; and it is an erecter of the head in times of difficulty, affliction, and distress; and it covers the head in the day of battle, when engaged with Satan, the enemy of souls: and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; the word of God is compared to a "sword", for its two edges, the law and Gospel; the one convicts of sin, and cuts to the heart for it, and the other cuts down all the goodliness of man; and the Scriptures in general are a sharp sword, in convincing of sin, reproving for it, and threatening with wrath and ruin, in refuting error and heresy, and repelling Satan's temptations, and will be used in the destruction of antichrist: and this word may be called "the sword of the Spirit", because it is not carnal, but of a spiritual nature; and is used by the spiritual man; and because the Holy Spirit, as the Ethiopic version here expresses it, is the author of it; and which he furnishes the saints with, and teaches them how to make use of, and makes it powerful and effectual. So the Jews say (t), the words of the law are like to a sword, and speak of "the sword of the law" (u). (t) Targum in Cant. 3. 8. (u) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 21. fol. 19. 1.

Who will ply the sword without practising the contraries to lenity and justice; that is, guile, and asperity, and injustice, proper (of course) to the business of battles? See we, then, whether that which has another action be not another sword,-that is, the Divine word of God, doubly sharpened with the two Testaments of the ancient law and the new law; sharpened by the equity of its own wisdom; rendering to each one according to his own action.

Do not, therefore, lose courage on account of the schemes and slanders of the beast, but bravely prepare for the battle, armed with the helmet of salvation,

"And take the helmet," he continues, "of salvation," that is, of your salvation. For he is casing them in armor. And therefore he adds further, "and take the helmet of salvation"; that is to say, finally by this shall ye be able to be in security. To receive the helmet of salvation is to escape the peril. For as the helmet covers the head perfectly in every part, and suffers it not to sustain any injury, but preserves it, so also does faith supply alike the place of a shield, and of a helmet to preserve us. For if we quench his darts, quickly shall we receive also those saving thoughts that suffer not our governing principle to sustain any harm; for if these, the thoughts that are adverse to our salvation, are quenched, those which are not so, but which contribute to our salvation, and inspire us with good hopes, will be generated within us, and will rest upon our governing principle, as a helmet does upon the head. "And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." He either means the Spirit, or else, "the spiritual sword": for by this all things are severed, by this all things are cleft asunder, by this we cut off even the serpent's head. And not only this, but we shall take also "the sword of the Spirit," and thus not only ward off his missiles, but smite the devil himself. For a soul that does not despair of herself, and is proof against those fiery darts, will stand with all intrepidity to face the enemy, and will cleave open his breastplate with this very sword with which Paul also burst through it, and "brought into captivity his devices" (2 Cor. x. 5); he will cut off and behead the serpent. "Which is the word of God." By the "word of God" in this place, he means on the one hand the ordinance of God, or the word of command; or on the other that it is in the Name of Christ. For if we keep his commandments, by these we shall kill and slay the dragon himself, "the crooked serpent." (Isa. xxvii. 1.) And as he said, "Ye shall be able to quench the fiery darts of the evil one"; that he might not puff them up, he shows them, that above all things they stand in need of God; for what does he say?

Because of this helmet of salvation all the senses in our head remain intact. It especially protects the eyes. Solomon in Ecclesiastes notes that “the eyes of the wise are in the head.” Paul understood the importance of headship. He knew why the eyes are located in the head. If Christ is the head of a person of faith and “the eyes of the wise are in the head,” it follows that all our senses, mind, thought, speech and counsel (if, that is, we are wise) are in Christ.

It is Christ indeed who is the author of salvation. He is our head. He descended to us and redeemed us by his own mystery. It is he indeed who guards the heads of the faithful. Therefore he is the “helmet of salvation.” He is the Word by which the adverse powers are overcome and taken captive.… Christ, who is the Word of God, was sent to overcome all corruption and wickedness and even death itself. It is in this sense that Paul refers to “the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.”

By “the sword of the Spirit” he means the activity of the Spirit. This is the Word of God. This means that just as God fashioned all by the Word, so the most Holy Spirit effects all that has to do with our salvation. With this sword the spiritual person rebukes the devil, and the devil flees.

This is the sword that for our health spills the noxious blood that animates the matter of our sins, cutting out and excising whatever it finds in our soul that is carnal or earthly and, once it has made us dead to vices, causing us to live to God and flourish in spiritual virtues.

That is, saving and protecting. For if we have faith (saving and guarding us), then we will soon receive also salvific thoughts, guarding our head or governing mind. In the above, Paul armed us so that enemies would not harm us, but now he gives a weapon by which we ourselves can inflict great harm upon our enemies. So, by the sword of the Spirit he figuratively means either the Spirit Himself, or the spiritual life, by which the head of the dragon is crushed. And this spiritual sword is the word of God, that is, the commandment. For if we fulfill His commandments, we will slay the cunning serpent, as Isaiah says (Isa. 27:1). Or the word of God is the expression: "in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6), and similar ones. Or by the sword of the Spirit he simply means spiritual wisdom. "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any sword" (Heb. 4:12), and he who possesses the gift of this spiritual sword and speaks divine things is invincible, as was Paul himself.

Hope, on the other hand, is referred to as a helmet because, as a helmet is on the head, so the head of the moral virtues is the end, and hope is concerned with this end. Hence he states And take unto you the helmet of salvation. Finally, the third function of weapons is for attack. It is not enough to simply defend one's self, it is also necessary to assault the enemy. Physically, this is done with a material sword; it is done spiritually through the word of God which is the sword of the Holy Spirit. On this account he affirms and take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. "For the word of God is living and effectual and more piercing than any two-edged sword and reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit" (Heb. 4:12). Preaching is called the sword of the Spirit because it will not penetrate to the spirit unless it is disposed by the Holy Spirit. "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks in you" (Mt. 10:20). Therefore, we possess weapons to defend ourselves against carnal adversaries, namely, gluttony and sensuality, through temperance: Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth. By the arms of justice, which make us refrain from what is unlawful, we can conquer also earthly greed: and having on the breastplate of justice. This is aided by purity of heart or poverty which withdraw us even from things which are lawful: and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Moreover, we have weapons by which we are guarded from error, the armour of faith: in all things taking the shield of faith; and also protected from the enemies of the human race: wherewith, meaning the shield of faith, you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. We likewise possess armour by which we are strengthened in spiritual blessings, the armour of hope: and take unto you the helmet of salvation. A helmet rests on the head, and so does hope in its end. Now the head of the moral virtues is the very end with which hope is concerned. Thus, to take up the helmet of salvation is nothing less than to have hope in the ultimate end. Finally, we have weapons to assault the demons themselves: the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This happens frequently during sermons when the word of God, penetrating into the hearts of sinners, thrusts out the chaos of sins and demons.

Children should obey their parents, that they may live long and be happy, Eph 6:1-3. Parents should be tender towards their children, Eph 6:4. Servants should show all obedience and fidelity to their masters, Eph 6:5-8. And masters should treat their servants with humanity, Eph 6:9. All should be strong in the Lord, and be armed with his armor, because of their wily, powerful, and numerous foes, Eph 6:10-13. The different parts of the Christian armor enumerated, Eph 6:14-17. The necessity of all kinds of prayer and watchfulness, Eph 6:18-20. Tychicus is commissioned to inform the Ephesians of the apostle's affairs, Eph 6:21, Eph 6:22. The apostolic benediction and farewell, Eph 6:23, Eph 6:24.

Take the helmet of salvation - Or, as it is expressed, Th1 5:8, And for a helmet, the hope of salvation. It has already been observed, in the description of the Grecian armor, that on the crest and other parts of the helmet were a great variety of emblematical figures, and that it is very likely the apostle refers to helmets which had on them an emblematical representation of hope; viz. that the person should be safe who wore it, that he should be prosperous in all his engagements, and ever escape safe from battle. So the hope of conquering every adversary and surmounting every difficulty, through the blood of the Lamb, is as a helmet that protects the head; an impenetrable one, that the blow of the battle-axe cannot cleave. The hope of continual safety and protection, built on the promises of God, to which the upright follower of Christ feels he has a Divine right, protects the understanding from being darkened, and the judgment from being confused by any temptations of Satan, or subtle arguments of the sophistical ungodly. He who carries Christ in his heart cannot be cheated out of the hope of his heaven, The sword of the Spirit - See what is said before on ξιφος and μαχαιρα, in the account of the Greek armor (Eph 6:13 (note)). The sword of which St. Paul speaks is, as he explains it, the word of God; that is, the revelation which God has given of himself, or what we call the Holy Scriptures. This is called the sword of the Spirit, because it comes from the Holy Spirit, and receives its fulfillment in the soul through the operation of the Holy Spirit. An ability to quote this on proper occasions, and especially in times of temptation and trial, has a wonderful tendency to cut in pieces the snares of the adversary. In God's word a genuine Christian may have unlimited confidence, and to every purpose to which it is applicable it may be brought with the greatest effect. The shield, faith, and the sword - the word of God, or faith in God's unchangeable word, are the principal armor of the soul. He in whom the word of God dwells richly, and who has that faith by which he knows that he has redemption, even the forgiveness of sins, need not fear the power of any adversary. He stands fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made him free. Some suppose that του Πνευματος, of the Spirit, should be understood of our own spirit or soul; the word of God being the proper sword of the soul, or that offensive weapon the only one which the soul uses. But though it is true that every Christian soul has this for its sword, yet the first meaning is the most likely.

MUTUAL DUTIES OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN: MASTERS AND SERVANTS: OUR LIFE A WARFARE: THE SPIRITUAL ARMOUR NEEDED AGAINST SPIRITUAL FOES. CONCLUSION. (Eph. 6:1-24) 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.

take--a different Greek word from that in Eph 6:13, Eph 6:16; translate, therefore, "receive," "accept," namely, the helmet offered by the Lord, namely, "salvation" appropriated, as Th1 5:8, "Helmet, the hope of salvation"; not an uncertain hope, but one that brings with it no shame of disappointment (Rom 5:5). It is subjoined to the shield of faith, as being its inseparable accompaniment (compare Rom 5:1, Rom 5:5). The head of the soldier was among the principal parts to be defended, as on it the deadliest strokes might fall, and it is the head that commands the whole body. The head is the seat of the mind, which, when it has laid hold of the sure Gospel "hope" of eternal life, will not receive false doctrine, or give way to Satan's temptations to despair. God, by this hope, "lifts up the head" (Psa 3:3; Luk 21:28). sword of the Spirit--that is, furnished by the Spirit, who inspired the writers of the word of God (Pe2 1:21). Again the Trinity is implied: the Spirit here; and Christ in "salvation" and God the Father, Eph 6:13 (compare Heb 4:12; Rev 1:16; Rev 2:12). The two-edged sword, cutting both ways (Psa 45:3, Psa 45:5), striking some with conviction and conversion, and others with condemnation (Isa 11:4; Rev 19:15), is in the mouth of Christ (Isa 49:2), in the hand of His saints (Psa 149:6). Christ's use of this sword in the temptation is our pattern as to how we are to wield it against Satan (Mat 4:4, Mat 4:7, Mat 4:10). There is no armor specified for the back, but only for the front of the body; implying that we must never turn our back to the foe (Luk 9:62); our only safety is in resisting ceaselessly (Mat 4:11; Jam 4:7).