1. Child's role: to obey and honor parents. While obeying refers to a time frame of when the child lived under the parent's care, honor is to be a life time goal. A special promise is attached for long life and prosperity in the Lord.
2. Slaves: obeying their masters and serving their masters unto the Lord and not as unto men. So what does this mean? The slave is to do his best job in a way that will honor God. An idea given from Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary: " Some ancient writers spoke of 'wholehearted service' or 'enthusiasm (eunoia) as a virtue for slaves." In other words, not just obeying, but doing his/her absolute best for the master.
It is important to note that both the slave and child are to submit to Christ first in their actions, attitudes, etc. which therefore brings about the right submission to their parents/masters. But, let's look at how the parents are to submit to their children, and the masters are to submit to the slaves! (Keep in mind that submission means "putting the interests of others before your own" while reading this)
3. Parents (specifically fathers as they are to be the head of the household): not to provoke children to wrath meaning to "exercise sensitivity and moderation in authority and discipline." (Zondervan)
4. Masters: They are to submit in that they do not rule their slaves with severity and, that they are to remember that there are no favorites with God regardless of social status.
Doesn't submission make so much more sense now???? :)
Armor of God: We've heard a lot about it before- let's apply it. It's important to note that Paul says to be strong in the Lord. The people of this day were attempting to be strong through idols, formulas, incantations, etc. God wants us to be strong as a result of his relationship. Also the verb "wrestle" is important (v.12) which gives us an idea of the direct struggle between satan and his forces vs. the Christian. And, before going into the different pieces, let's point out that Paul himself asked for prayer for himself that he would be bold and use his difficult imprisonment situation as God would see fit. He saw God instead of the circumstance. (Previous Taken from Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary) Now for the pieces and application- taken straight from Life Application Study Bible.
Belt of Truth: satan fights with lies, and sometimes his lies sound like truth; but only believers have God's truth, which can defeat satan's lies.
Breastplate of Righteousness: Satan often attacks our heart- the seat of our emotions, self-worth, and trust. God's righteousness is the breastplate that protects our heart and ensures his approval. He approves of us because He loves us and sent His Son to die for us.
Shoes of readiness to spread the Good News: Satan wants us to think that telling others the good News is a worthless and hopeless task-the size of the task is too big and the negative rsponses are too much to handle. But the shoes God gives us are the motivation to continue to proclaim the true peace that is available in God-news everyone needs to hear.
The shield of faith: What we see are Satan's attacks in the form of insults, setbacks, and temptations. But the shileld of faith protects us from Satan's fiery arrows. With God's perspective, we can see beyond our circumstances and know that ultimate victory is ours.
Helmet of Salvation: satan wants to make us doubt God, Jesus, and our salvation. The helmet protects our mind from doubting God's saving work for us.
Sword of the Spirit (Word of God): The sword is the only weapon of OFFENSE in this list of armor. There are times when we need to take the offensive against satan. When we are tempted, we need to trust in the truth of God's Word.
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