Have you ever thought seriously about Jesus's command to love one another? Jesus said that the identifying mark by which you would be noted as his disciple was not a bumper sticker, jewelry with a cross, going to church, carrying a Bible, passing out tracts, or calligraphied verses on your walls. You need to love your Christian brothers and sisters.

Speakers and writers have different ways of emphasizing that which they want their hearers to act upon. After giving a list of six components which all believers must have in their lives, Paul tells us with a four-fold "all" that prayer must be as regular as breathing in the life of a Christian. "Full of prayer, your life must be."

This world is not a pretty place. Sure, there is beauty in creation. There is pleasure in love and family. But there is also evil. In Revelation 5 we are introduced to two aspects of how God will deal with evil, both in the world, and in man. He will bring judgment on evil, but he also offers deliverance through the blood of his Son.

Paul was concerned about the believers in Ephesus because they were facing overwhelming adversaries, and Paul knew what they needed to survive. The adversaries they faced are also stalking you today, Christian. This is not child's play. This is not shadow boxing. You need these six components to survive, so that you will still be standing when the smoke has cleared, and the battle is over.

Tonight is the Super Bowl. When the game is over, one team will have won. Similarly, in a war metaphor Paul pictures believers on the field, after the last battle, and still standing. They have won. In Ephesians 6:10-17 Paul tells what you need to still be standing after facing an enemy far above your ability.

In Ephesians 5 and 6 Paul puts an emphasis on being filled with the Spirit and being "in Christ." He then applies what this means in three scenarios, husband-wife, parent-child, and worker-boss. What Paul tells the slaves of his day has application for today.