Koine Foundations

¹⁰ Finally, be made strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Wear the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the Devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this dark domain, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you can hold your ground in the evil day, and stand firm because you have made everything ready.

¹⁴ This being the case, take your stand having fastened truth around your waist, wearing the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the readiness that comes from the Good News whose message is peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all these*, having taken up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. ¹⁷ Also receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

¹⁸ Take your stand praying in every situation in the Spirit by means of every kind of prayer and petition, and to this end, staying alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

*Or perhaps, “In all circumstances…” instead of “In addition to all these…“

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Word Focus
I pray
προσεύχομαι / proseuchomai
<Hear It>

I stay alert
ἀγρυπνέω / agrupneō
<Hear It>

In this post I complete my comments on Ephesians 6:10 to 18 – the Armor of God. Paul uses the picture of a Roman soldier preparing for battle to teach about the spiritual conflict in which the Christian is engaged. There are evil forces at work attempting to defeat and destroy the believer and Paul explains the resources that will assure victory over these forces.

As explained in previous posts, in verses 10 to 13 Paul warned believers about the conflict and explained the spiritual opponents engaged in the battle. Then in verses 14 to 17 he described six pieces of spiritual armor that God provides for the Christian warrior. Now in verse 18, he completes this pericope with an exhortation to pray and stay alert:

Take your stand praying in every situation in the Spirit by means of every kind of prayer and petition, and to this end, staying alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.

There is no break in the Greek text between verse 17 and 18. In fact the two verbs in verse 18 depend on the command at the beginning of verse 14*: “take your stand“. The verbs “praying” and “staying alert” in verse 18 further explain how the Christian warrior is able to stand in the battle** because simply putting on the armor is no guarantee of victory. Taking a stand and holding one’s ground also requires praying and staying alert.

Praying. Though putting on the armor is an expression of the believer’s dependence on God, the believer must also depend on God through earnest and continuous prayer to fully appropriate the divine armor. God is the source of strength and endurance. Prayer is to be carried out:

• “in every situation” – It is to be habitual and constant, before and during the battle. Every situation in life must be dealt with in prayer. This is an exhortation that is found throughout the New Testament (for example, see Luke 18:1; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17).
• “in the Spirit” – This does not refer to the human spirit, but to the Holy Spirit (see a similar expression in Jude 1:20) who was given to believers as a prayer Helper and Intercessor (Romans 8:26). Praying in the Spirit means praying with His assistance and under His influence. He makes prayer effective.
• “by means of every kind of prayer and petition” – “Prayer” refers to prayer in general. “Petition” refers to a more specific kind of prayer – a request to God for meeting a need, often made on behalf of another person. This implies that the Christian warrior must pray for other believers to have strength and endurance to stand firm in the spiritual battle.

Staying Alert. The Christian warrior is to stay alert for the purpose of the habitual and constant prayer mentioned in the previous clause (i.e., “to this end“). He or she must stay alert:

• “with all perseverance” – The Devil and his forces are tactically shrewd and attack when believers are not prepared or not on the alert. Therefore, the Christian warrior needs to watch with all perseverance for the unexpected. The Bible warns that the Devil “prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8), and his forces are described as “savage wolves” looking for an opportunity to destroy a flock of sheep (Acts 20:29-31). The warrior must always be on guard for these dangers. Success depends not only on armor, but also on self-discipline to remain alert.
• “with…petition for all the saints” – The need for petition mentioned in the first part of the verse is now made more specific – it is prayer for all other believers. The Christian warrior should not focus only on his own spiritual struggle, but must watch out for other believers in the battle and support them through prayer.

The warrior’s prayer must be habitual, constant, assisted by the Holy Spirit, persevering, and selfless. This kind of prayer provides continuous strength and protection, and assures that the believer will stand firm and hold his ground in the battle.

*Verse 18 continues a string of six Greek verb forms called participles that depend on the command at the beginning of verse 14: “take your stand“. The first four participles were related to the armor: “having fastened” truth, “wearing” the breastplate of righteousness, “having shod” the feet with Good News readiness, and “having taken up” the shield of faith. Verse 18 has the next two participles: “praying” and “staying alert“. A Greek participle is a verbal adjective that can sometimes function like an adjective: “The praying man heard God’s voice“. In this example sentence, “praying” functions like an adjective that describes the man. A Greek participle can sometimes function like a verb: “While praying, the man heard God’s voice“. In this example sentence, “praying” functions like a verb that expresses the action. In verses 14 to 18 the participles function as verbs and provide a structural connection for the verses. Participles can often be translated into English with a verb ending in “-ing”.

**Note that the words “take your stand” at the beginning of verse 18 in my translation are not in the Greek text. They have been added in my translation to show the continuing grammatical connection of verse 18 to the command in verse 14.

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Here are links to all the posts for the Armor of God:

The Full Armor of God
Spiritual Opponents
Belt of Truth
Breastplate of Righteousness
Good News Boots
Shield of Faith
Helmet of Salvation
Sword of the Spirit
Pray and Stay Alert

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Word Focus Lexicon

Lexical Form: προσεύχομαι <Hear It>
Gloss: I pray
Part of Speech: Middle-Only Verb
New Testament Frequency: 85
Strong’s Number: G4336 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)

Lexical Form: ἀγρυπνέω <Hear It>
Gloss: I am awake, I am alert
Part of Speech: Omega Contract Verb
New Testament Frequency: 4
Strong’s Number: G69 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)

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Bibliography

Barkley, William. The Daily Study Bible, Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians. The Westminster Press. 1954, 1956, 1958.
Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (Editor). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1985.
Bruce, F.F. The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (The New International Commentary on the New Testament). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1984.
Danker, Frederick William (Editor). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, Third Edition (BDAG). The University of Chicago Press. 2000.
Foulkes, Francis. The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries). Inter-Varsity Press. 1956.
Gilbrant, Thoralf (Editor). The New Testament Greek-English Dictionary. The Complete Biblical Library. 1990.
Kent Jr., Homer A. Ephesians, The Glory of the Church. Moody Press. 1971.
Lincoln, Andrew T. Word Biblical Commentary, Ephesians. Word Incorporated. 1990.
Salmond, S.D.F. The Expositors Greek Testament, Volume III. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1990.
Stott, John R.W. The Message of Ephesians (The Bible Speaks Today). Inter-Varsity Press. 1979.
Wood, A. Skevington. Ephesians, (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 11). The Zondervan Corporation. 1978.

Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.