I have long recognized that the family is the foundation for society. Healthy God-fearing families are the starting point for healthy thriving churches. In the New Testament, the Magna Carta for how to order and structure a family is found in the second half of Ephesians 5 and the beginning of Ephesians 6. Paul, in the Spirit, outlines how to build a marriage and then raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. I have read through and studied these verses many many times.
In the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 6:7 fills the same role. “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Moses, in the same Spirit, exhorts parents to teach their children diligently and live out their faith walk in their home. For over thirty years, these two sections of Scripture molded my understanding of what a Christian family looked like.
While in Alaska
I had finished my workshop on Deuteronomy 6:7 and was interacting with a few parents. One mom asked me a life changing question, “Why did you leave out the two previous verses?” I had no answer but said I would read them as soon as I had the opportunity. When I read verses 5 and 6 I was amazed at the content and impressed by the Spirit of God. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.”
A light build went off as I saw clearly that before I could teach my children to love God and His Word, I had to love God with everything in me, and have His Word uppermost in my heart. For thirty years I had been focusing on my family and how to teach them to love God and follow Him fully, and now God was patiently showing me that I had to focus on my relationship with Him first.
I recognized that Deuteronomy 6:5 was the same passage Jesus quoted when asked what was the first and great commandment in Matthew 22. I was convicted by these verses and set myself to pray and seek God to help me love Him with all my heart, all my mind, mind, and all my might. I knew He would answer this request for it is according to His will. “This is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.” (1 John 5:14-15)
Am I an Ephesian?
As I prayed, another thought crept into my mind. Am I like the Ephesians in Revelation 2:3-4? “I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” They had done many things for God, and done them well, they had lost their first love.
I also wondered whether these believers were the same group of of Christ followers who Paul ministered to and wrote his incredible epistle? I then reread Ephesians and sensed Paul laboring and exhorting them to love God. This letter has wonderful expressions of grace and God’s love for us. I particularly liked Paul’s prayer for them in the third chapter verses 14-20. Here are a few excerpts that I prayed for myself. “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.”
Answer to Prayer
God wonderfully answered my prayers and He has helped me to be “rooted and grounded in love” as never before. His Spirit has enabled me to “know the love of Christ.” The more I have assimilated His love and affection, the more I am loving Him. For we love, because He first loved us! (1 John 4:19
Be Filled
A few years ago, a friend who is familiar with the Greek, showed me that all of the verses in Ephesians 5:21 through 6:4 follow five words that are essential to being a godly spouse and parent, “Be filled with the Spirit.” I have added this prayer to my daily devotions, “fill me afresh with your Spirit.” For without the filling and help of the Spirit I can not hope to love and serve my family well.
The same Spirit of God has also been teaching me more about prayer and the spiritual war in which we are engaged. Building a family of faith will encounter spiritual opposition. When we are adopted into the family of God, we are not only born from above and become new creatures, we are now on God’s team. We are no longer following the god of their world, but the God of heaven and earth. We have a Savior, and an enemy. “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” (Colossians 3:16)
In 2022, I was seeking God when the Spirit said to me, “You need to be binding the strong man.” This was not a new thought to me, for in our church fellowship we had frequently done this in prayer services focused on spiritual warfare. However, since that day, I have been binding the strong man regularly in my prayer times. Jesus taught His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18)
He also taught us, “How can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.” (Matthew 12:28-29). Binding is the first step in raising the next generation to be followers of Jesus. Until the devil is bound, our attempts to do the good work of rebuilding our families and churches will be ineffectual. If this resonates with your spirit, podcasts 416 and 417 amplify this topic.
Back to Ephesians
We have seen that Chapter 6:1-4 is directed to parents. Later in the same chapter, verses 10-17 describe our role and preparation as we engage the ultimate enemy. I am sure you are familiar with the specifics of the armor of God and I will not add to those inspired words, but the first three verses exemplify our current situation: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10-12)
As we have noted, God’s Word has much wisdom to instruct us on how to love each other and build a family. This is a great work in which we are engaged. I applaud your efforts to deepen your marriage relationships and train your children up in the nurture and admonition of the Word. Keep at it. “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
May I also encourage you to pray for your family. Bind the strong man as you build God’s kingdom in your home. Resist the devil and He will flee (James 4:7). Continually ask God to deliver your family from evil as Jesus taught His disciples (Matthew 6:13).
Prayers of Faith
If you are interested in how I bind the devil, my prayers are similar to this: “In the name of Jesus, under the authority of God’s Word, in the power of the Spirit, I bind the evil one in chords soaked in the blood of Jesus.”
“I resist the devil in Jesus’ name and believe that he flees.”(James 4:7).
“Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil!” (Mathew 6:13)
Remember the words of William Cowper, “satan trembles when he sees, the weakest saint upon his knees.”
As we bind and build, we are like Nehemiah with a sword in one hand and a shovel in the other.“Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built.” (Nehemiah 4:17-18) In this way, God’s kingdom will come on earth, in your home, church, and community, as it is in heaven.
May we continue to diligently build our families on the eternal principles revealed in God’s Word while arming ourselves and resisting our enemy in the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.
May God bless and keep you and may we each “be wise to what is good and innocent to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (Romans 16:19-20)
Steve
Upcoming Events
October 5, Lancaster, PA, for Homeschool Dads, email me for details.
October 26, Rochester, NY, Iron Sharpens Iron men’s event.
Podcasts
411 What Does a Homeschool Dad Look Like?
412 Serve the Lord with Gladness
413 The Spirit and the Bride
414 Sons of God
415 Sons of God, #2
416 Bind the Strong Man
417 Binding and Loosing
418 Look to the Father
419 The Love of the Father
420 Knowing Whose We Are
May God’s love be poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us. (Adapted from Romans 5:5) Amen!
Pressing Onward and Upward,
Steve