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peace, bearing in mind that in the Greek "peace" occurs twice in 2: 17. We venture to
set out these passages in a structure:
Peace in Ephesians.
A | 1: 2. Grace and peace.
B | 2: 14. He is our peace.
C | 2: 15. Of twain, one new man, so making peace.
D | 2: 17. Peace--those far off.
D | 2: 17. Peace--them that were nigh.
C | 4: 3. Endeavour to keep unity--bond of peace.
B | 6: 15. Preparation of gospel of peace.
A | 6: 23. Peace and love with faith.
The practical aspect of peace is shown in this structure. The need to keep the unity of
the Spirit is so important, and yet how difficult this can be. We should be ready to
declare the good news of peace, and witness to our faith at all times.
The Sword of our Spirit, which is the Word of God, ir our only offensive weapon. All
the others are defensive. As we read of the temptation endured by our Lord, we see how
He used the Scriptures to great effect. In order that we should be ready to use the sword,
we need to read and study the Scripture continually. Let us remember Col. 3: 16:
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to
the Lord."
No.3.
"and having done all, to stand" (6: 13).
pp. 149 - 153
We have considered chapter 6: 10 (Be strong), and verses 14-17 which describe the
spiritual armour. Now we study the conflict described in verses 11-13. The fact that
there are only three verses does not mean that this is not important: how profound are the
statements contained therein, and we must add, how real is the foe! Because we cannot
see the enemy we may tend to forget him and ignore his existence. Satan does not always
go about like a roaring lion. He can, and frequently does, work so quietly that we fail to
appreciate what is happening. Possibly, when we wake up to the situation, it is too late to
take effective action.
There are numerous references to Satan in the Scriptures and he is given various titles.
Let us search and see what the Scriptures say about him.
The first time we read of Satan's activity is in Genesis, where we read about the fall of
man. He is not called Satan but the serpent. The A.V. reads "Now the serpent was more