Ephesians chapter 6

vs 1

Extending the idea of a family and how to treat each other within that family, we have children obeying their parents. What is interesting is that Paul doesn't go outside a 'nuclear' family.

vs 2-3

Paul now backs it up with some OT quoting. It is an interesting point, about this being a commandment with a promise for a good life. I wonder why God sees the need for that promise to be there.

vs 4

I find this really cutting edge for the time period. I mean, children's rights are right here. That they are even mentioned in such a caring manner is pretty incredible to me.

vs 5

The slave/master relationship is a fairly complex one for us to understand, when we don't have it in our culture. The simple existence of this in the letter shows that slaves made up at least part of the early church in Ephesus.

vs 6

What this, and all the other commands in this section, really emphasise is the need for Christians to model Christ in their relationships, and to have Christ in the centre of your mind when doing everything.

vs 7-8

I just think it's worth noting that Paul extends this principle to all people, not just slaves. So a good work ethic is actually part of everyone's responsibility to Christ, not just workers.

vs 9

We all serve the same master, and as such are all slaves to him. You remember what happened in Jesus' story where one minion fights with another minion over owed money? Not good. Unfortunately, I think the religious right wing of Christianity has been so infected by the need for employer's rights that they have forgotten about the fact that employees are actually not as well off. Of course, in a perfect world, the workers would work hard, and the employers would give them what they deserve and treat them fairly - pretty obvious we don't live there, isn't it?

vs 10

How many different ways can you say strong?

vs 11

It has been a little bit of an undercurrent throughout the book, but Paul makes clear here that the Christian will combat forces of spiritual evil. And for that, you need spiritual defense and offense.

vs 12

The heavenly realms, remember, is not heaven - it is a description of the spiritual plane, where evil also exists. This is the plane on which humans are powerless. I mean, we can't even see it! Which is why we need to rely on God and his power to help us in our battles there. That in itself shows us how important the spiritual realm is - that it forces us into needing God utterly.