Useful Bible Studies > Ephesians Commentary > chapter 6
Paul has urged Christians that they should allow God’s Holy Spirit to fill them (5:18). With the Spirit’s help, they will deal with other people and with difficult situations as God wants them to do (5:1). They will no longer act selfishly, but they will show God’s love in this world.
So, Paul gives three practical examples to show the change in a person’s attitudes when the Holy Spirit fills that person. He discusses the relationships between men and wives (5:22-33), parents and children (6:1-4) and masters and slaves (6:5-9). Clearly, there is much more that Paul could write about these things. We all must deal with many different people; and we all have some extremely difficult problems and troubles in life. If we try to deal with these things in our own strength, we will find ourselves much too weak. We are not able to stand for God in the troubles of daily life by our own power, skill or intelligence. Therefore, we must depend completely on God, and on the strength that he gives us. Our power to live as Christians does not come from ourselves, but from God’s Spirit who lives in us (Romans 8:9-11).
That was Paul’s own experience. Frequently as he worked for God, Paul suffered from some extremely difficult troubles (2 Corinthians 11:23-33). Often, it seemed impossible to him that he could even remain alive. So, Paul became very aware of his own weakness. In such situations, Paul had to depend on Christ - and Christ did not disappoint him (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). In every trouble, Christ gave Paul the power to stand for God. So, in the end, Paul saw that his own weakness did not matter. He needed only for God to work, by the power of his Holy Spirit, in and through Paul’s life.
Next part: Paul's word-picture of a brave soldier (Ephesians 6:11)
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© 2019, Keith Simons.