Lessons #289 and 290

 

 

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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are       +

+ comments given in the actual exposition not in the note.                                                 +

+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version,         +

+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version,                                  +

+ GWT = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version,                         +

+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible,                               +

+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation,                                           +

+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible,                                        +

+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version.                                           +

+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors.                                                      +

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Intercessory prayers in spiritual warfare (Eph 6:18b-20)

 

…. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

 

It is our assertion that intercessory prayer that is a means of remaining spiritually vigilant involves two recipients: all believers and those involved in preaching and teaching ministries. We have expounded on its practice with respect to all believers because of the last phrase of Ephesians 6:18 for all the saints. So we proceed to consider its practice with respect to those involved in the preaching and teaching ministries. In effect, we will consider the subject of intercessory prayers as it concerns the second recipients we have mentioned.

      How is this passage involved with intercessory prayer for those in preaching and teaching ministry you may ask since the passage does not explicitly contain the words “preaching” and “teaching”? This is a legitimate question to raise and so we need to support our assertion based on the passage we are considering. The authority for indicating that intercessory prayer is to be carried out for those in preaching and teaching ministry is the first expression of Ephesians 6:19 of the NIV Pray also for me. The Greek literally reads and for me, indicating that the word “pray” of the NIV is not found in the Greek of verse 19. However, the insertion of the word “pray” by the translators of the NIV is justified because beginning with the second sentence of Ephesians 6:18, the apostle’s concern is prayer, specifically intercessory prayer. Furthermore, the literal word “and” that we used in the literal translation is from a Greek conjunction (kai) that in verse 19 is used as a marker of addition to what was stated in verse 18 although with emphasis. In other words, the Greek conjunction is used to add additional recipient of intercessory prayer mentioned in verse 18 that is emphasized. Hence, it should be clear that the apostle adds himself to the list of those who should be in the receiving end of intercessory prayer of other believers. He recognized the importance of intercessory prayer so that he wanted the Ephesians specifically to include him in their prayer list with emphasis on himself as recipient of their prayer. The apostle’s emphasis on himself is not that he was an egomaniac but that he needed to remind the Ephesians of the need to remember him because of his special ministry of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is because of this emphasis that we derive the fact that there is a class of believers, those that preach and teach the word, that should be emphasized or singled out when believers engage in intercessory prayer as part of being spiritually alert or vigilant.

      At any rate, it is because of the phrase for me that we derived the concept of intercessory prayer for those in preaching and teaching ministry. The apostle is among God’s people so that his instruction for believers to practice intercessory prayer for all saints or God’s people should have been enough. Why should he single out himself? Is he being arrogant? Does he see himself more important than all the others who are God’s people? The answer to all these questions is “no.” He singled out himself because he was thinking of a class of believers that should be clear recipients of intercessory prayer. We are saying that there would have been no need for the apostle to single himself out in this occasion for intercessory prayer unless he was concerned with the class of saints that he represented, that is, the class of those who preach and teach the word of God.  Our assertion is supported by the fact that it is often the practice of the apostle at the close of his epistle to request prayer for himself and his apostolic team. Thus, he requested the Colossians to pray for him and his team in Colossians 4:3:

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

 

As he concluded his second epistle to the Thessalonians, he requested them to pray for him and his missionary team in 2 Thessalonians 3:1:

Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.

 

Thus, we are correct in stating that the apostle was not merely thinking of himself but all those involved in preaching and teaching ministry. It is not only the phrase for me that enables us to recognize that the apostle is concerned with the class of believers involved in teaching and preaching but also the content of the intercessory prayer that we will get to at the appropriate time, points to the fact the apostle was concerned with the class of those who preach and teach although the emphasis here is on the apostle himself and his ministry.  This class of those who teach and preach while involved in the same spiritual warfare that all believers are involved, are particularly the focus of satanic forces.

      Why are those in the class whose function is preaching and teaching the target of satanic forces? It is primarily because they are threats to the domain of darkness. All believers are involved in witnessing for Christ so that we can declare that all believers are involved in offensive battle against the domain of darkness or satanic forces. However, those who are involved in preaching and teaching ministries are those who are at the forefront of the assault to the kingdom of darkness in that they provide leadership to others. They are like the commanding generals who direct military campaigns. Thus, Satan is very much interested in attacking those who are leaders in the spiritual warfare because of their role of giving guidance to believers with respect to the spiritual warfare.

      It is our claim that satanic forces are more interested in those who preach and teach the word of God because they consider such individuals as being at the forefront of the spiritual warfare because they provide believers the necessary teaching to succeed in the spiritual warfare. Furthermore, they are those whose functions lead to great assault on the kingdom of darkness. For these reasons, those who preach and teach the word of God are specially targeted by satanic forces. The proof of this point is Satan’s attempt to destroy the leadership of the early church through persecution and eventual death. Stephen, the first recorded martyr of the church was targeted because he had impact in the preaching of the word of God, as we can gather from the plot to get rid of him recorded in Acts 6:8–10:

8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

 

Although Stephen was not the leader of the early church in the sense of the apostles, being a member of the so called seven deacons of the early church, but he certainly was among the class that preached the word of God hence his persecution and death. Following his death, Satan went after the church leadership through Herod who started to kill the leaders of the church. He killed James and attempted to kill Peter but the Lord intervened, as we can gather from Acts 12:1–4:

1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

 

The Jews were pleased with the death of James since he was one of the leaders of the early church. The point is that the desire to destroy the leadership of the church is satanic since Satan recognized the importance of the spiritual leaders who were involved in teaching and preaching. It is because of the importance of this class of believers that Apostle Paul who was a member of this class asked for prayer not just for himself but for the class that he represented. The Holy Spirit through the apostle reminds believers of the importance of this class of believers so that through the apostle He instructed they were to be given special respect, as stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13:

12 Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.

 

Similar concept of respect for the class who teach and preach is found in 1 Timothy 5:17:

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

 

      Another reason satanic forces target the class of those who preach and teach the word is that their failure has greater impact on the church than that of any other member of the body of Christ. For example, their failure could lead to false teaching or to no sustained teaching of God’s word. Furthermore, their failure could result in unbelievers charging the Christian faith as not being true since their teachers would be charged of hypocrisy. It is probably because the devil targets spiritual leaders, particularly, pastors, that the Holy Spirit specified that those who serve as overseers of a local church be individuals unbelievers respect, as stated in 1 Timothy 3:7:

He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

 

The devil sets traps for believers but it seems that he is particularly concerned with those who preach and teach because he feels their failure would impact the church with respect to how unbelievers react to the Christian preaching and teaching more than that of the failure of other believers who do not have this function. If a pastor who teaches the word of God fails so that unbelievers speak ill against him then it is very likely that his impact or effectiveness is reduced among them. Believers may be forgiving but that will not be the case for unbelievers. Thus, we can understand why Satan would want to attack the class of believers whose function is primarily teaching and preaching of God’s word.

      In any case, the apostle recognized the importance of the class of those who preach and teach the word that he represented in that he singled them out for intercessory prayer. We can see the importance he attached to this class in that unlike the request of intercessory prayer for all believers where he was not specific as to the contents of such prayer in our passage, he was specific in the contents of the prayer for the class he represented although the focus is on himself. The apostle stated two contents of intercessory prayer for this class of believers he represented that are petitions for them to be given the right content of the message they are to preach and teach and for them to be granted the boldness to do so.

      The apostle implies that as a believer, you have the responsibility, as part of being spiritually vigilant, to petition God to grant those who preach and teach His word the right content of the message that they deliver to others effectively. This content of the intercessory prayer for those who preach and teach the word of God is given in Ephesians 6:19 of the NIV in the clause that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me.

      Have you ever had the experience where you formulated a thought in your mind of what to say to another person but when you spoke, you said something that was not quite what you had in mind? The explanation for this occurrence is that God is the one who directs the words that come out of our mouths when we speak, as stated in Proverbs 16:1:

To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue.

 

This passage in Proverbs may be understood to mean that man makes plans but God determines the outcome or that man plans what he wants to say but God determines for him the right words to express what he wants to say. The Holy Spirit probably brought in the mind of the apostle the second interpretation regarding God giving right words to express one’s thought or plans. Furthermore, the apostle recognized that what is important, whether to an unbeliever or a believer, is what is heard at the time of the delivery of a given message. Therefore, he was focused on the instant of delivery of God’s message as in the clause whenever I open my mouth of the NIV which is a good way the translators of the NIV interpreted a literal Greek phrase that translates into the English as in the opening of my mouth as reflected in the English versions that are often more literal in their translation, such as the ESV and the NASB. The Greek preposition (en) that literal translates “in” has several other usages. In our context, it seemed that the apostle used it as a marker of time in the sense of “point of time when something occurs” so that the meaning “when” or “whenever” is appropriate. This being the case, the apostle is concerned with the time of delivery of a message. He certainly was aware of the promise of the Lord to put words in the mouth of His disciples in time of crisis, as we can gather from Matthew 10:19–20:

19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

 

It is probably because the Holy Spirit brought into the apostle’s mind this promise that has to do with the disciples being before hostile audience that spurred him to write concerning the content of the intercessory prayer for himself and consequently for those who preach and teach the word of God. We are saying that because of the existence of this promise the apostle was certain that a petition to God with respect to what is said at the time of delivery of God’s message would be certainly granted when offered by the believer engaged in the spiritual warfare. The fact remains the apostle knew the importance of the content of the message at the time of its delivery since what is heard by the audience is more important than what one thinks to say but did not. You could beat up yourself concerning what you think you should have said as you witnessed to someone but that is of no use. The thing that is important is what was said to the unbeliever or even to a believer that you witnessed concerning the word of God.  Thus, in the literal phrase in the opening of my mouth the apostle was concerned with what he says when he begins to preach God’s word but not just at the inception of his preaching but also throughout the time he preached.  

      Be that as it may, the content of the first petition is that God should give those who preach and teach the word of God the appropriate content of the message they deliver. This petition is given in Ephesians 6:19 in the clause words may be given me of the NIV although literally the Greek reads a word may be given to me. Based on the literal translation we can understand that the use of the plural “words” of the NIV and some of our English versions is interpretative. To understand why we said this, we need to consider the word “word” used in the literal translation. The word “word” is translated from a Greek word (logos) that basically means “word” but it is a word that has a range of meanings. The Greek word may mean “the gospel”, as it is used in Acts 8:4:

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

 

The verbal phase preached the word is literally proclaiming the good news – the word.  The word may mean “brief statement” or “saying.” It is in the sense of “statement” that Apostle Paul used it to summarize God’s command given in an OT Scripture in Romans 13:9:

The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

 

The phrase in this one rule is more literally in this word which is better understood as in this statement. He used the meaning “saying” of our Greek word to commend the desire to be an overseer of a local church in 1 Timothy 3:1:

Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.

 

The Greek word may mean “talk”, as the apostle used it in 1 Corinthians 4:19:

But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.

 

The sentence I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking is more literally I will know not the talk of the ones who have become arrogant, indicating our Greek word means “talk.” The Greek word may mean “speech” as sustained act of communication by word of mouth to an audience, especially with the view to persuade the hearer to do something. It is in this sense of “speech” the apostle used our Greek word in asserting that he was probably not an orator in 2 Corinthians 11:6:

I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.

 

The sentence I may not be a trained speaker is more literally But even if I am unskilled in speech. The Greek word may mean “message.” Message may be understood as the theme or content of communication, as the apostle used it to refer to the theme or content of what is preached regarding the cross of Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 1:18:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

 

Message may also mean oral or written communication. It is probably in this sense that the apostle used the Greek word to describe the task assigned believers in 2 Corinthians 5:19:

that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

 

The phase the message of reconciliation is concerned with verbal aspect of bringing people to God.  The Greek word may also mean “reason” or “accounting”, as Apostle Peter used it in the instruction given to believers regarding defending what they believe in 1 Peter 3:15:

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

 

The Greek word in this passage may also be translated “accounting” instead of “reason.”  There are other meanings of the Greek word such as “matter” in the sense of subject under discussion or Logos as an independent personified expression of God, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ. The question is how the apostle used it in Ephesians 6:18. It is in the sense of “message as content of a communication.”

      The apostle requests the Ephesians to petition God so that God will give him and so all who communicate the word of God the proper content of his communication in preaching or teaching the word of God because he recognized that the effectiveness of preaching or teaching does not depend on oratory or good human delivery of speech but on God’s provision and the power of the Holy Spirit. We are certain the apostle recognized that human approach to delivering God’s message or human eloquence is not effective as that of using the exact content that God the Holy Spirit gives through a human agent of communication because of what the apostle stated in 1 Corinthians 1:17:

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

 

The phrase words of human wisdom is more literally wisdom of word that may mean clever speech or eloquent wisdom that probably has philosophical character. The apostle, in effect, recognized that effectiveness in delivery of the gospel message is not a matter of oratory as it is the content of the message as the Holy Spirit delivers it through a chosen communicator of God’s word.

      By the way, the one to whom the intercessory prayer is addressed is God although that was not explicitly stated. But that is implied because of the clause words may be given me of the NIV of Ephesians 6:19. The verbal phrase may be given is in the passive voice implying that the subject is not identified. The unidentified subject is God since He is the recipient of prayer and the One who answers prayers.

      In any case, it is our assertion that the content of the first petition of the intercessory prayer for those who communicate God’s word is that God should give them the appropriate content of the message they deliver. When the apostle made the request, his focus was at the time of the delivery of the message so that the very words he uses would be exactly what God intended for him to use to communicate clearly and effectively His word. This petition should be tailored to fit those who teach God’s word instead of preaching the gospel of salvation. We say this because there is a difference between preaching the gospel and teaching of God’s word to believers. The preparation for preaching the gospel is not quite the same as the preparation for the teaching of the word of God in our time. Those who teach the word of God for believers’ spiritual maturity or for their engagement in the spiritual warfare normally go into greater detail of the study of God’s word than those who preach the gospel to unbelievers. This being the case, it is important that believers should tailor their intercessory prayer to fit this situation. Many of the teachers of God’s word at the present time depend on some form of notes they prepared during their study. Some use the outlines of their notes to teach, and to such individuals, it is appropriate to request God to give them wordings they need at the time they teach from their notes to the congregation of believers. Others write out completely what they will teach in the words they would use when they deliver their teaching. For this group of teachers of God’s word, our prayer should be that God would give them the proper words to use as they write out the contents of their teaching from God’s word. In effect, we are saying that you should pray for this class of teachers that as they study a specific passage they plan to expound to the congregation that God the Holy Spirit will give them the right contents of their communication as they write down what they will say to their congregation. This is important since at the time of delivery, this class of teachers would normally stick to their prepared text so it will be important that during preparation that God the Holy Spirit will give them the words to write down their teaching so that they will clearly and effectively communicate God’s word. Of course, we should pray that God the Holy Spirit will still direct them as they deliver their message so that what they deliver is what is proper in communicating God’s word. When we pray for this group of teachers, we should pray that the Holy Spirit will also help them so that they may be able to elaborate even on the words they have written down in such a way that they will effectively communicate to their congregations God’s word. I know by experience that the Holy Spirit puts words in my mouth beyond what is in my notes when I teach the word.  In any event, it is our assertion that the content of the first petition is that God should give those who preach and teach His word the appropriate content of the message they deliver. This was Paul’s desire for himself probably because he was about to speak before the Roman tribunal if, as the context indicates, the apostle was in prison waiting trial when he wrote this epistle.

      The second content of the intercessory pray for those who communicate God’s word concerns boldness or fearlessness. This content is hinted in the last clause of Ephesians 6:19 in the NIV so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.  Literally, the Greek translates with boldness to make known the mystery of the gospel. This is because the word “fearlessly” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (parrēsia) that in the Greek world has primarily a political meaning of a citizen being free to expression one’s thought which then implies candor or frankness. In the NT, it is used with a range of meanings. In connection with speech, it may mean “plainness”, as it is used in John 16:25:

“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.

 

When Jesus said will tell you plainly about my Father He meant He would speak to the disciples in such a way that they will clearly understand what he says about the Father. The Greek word may mean “openly”, as it is used in John 18:20:

“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.

 

The Greek word may refer to a state of boldness and confidence so that it means “courage, confidence, boldness, fearlessness,” especially in the presence of persons of high rank.  So, it is used to describe the boldness of the early church in preaching the gospel because of the special filling of the Spirit they received in response to the prayer of the church, as stated in Acts 4:31:

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

 

It is this meaning of “boldness, fearlessness” that Apostle Paul used the word in his plea to Philemon concerning Onesimus in Philemon 8:

Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do,

 

It is the meaning “boldness, fearlessness” that best fits the usage of the word in our passage of Ephesians 6:19. The apostle desired to be bold or fearless as he preached the word of God. Of course, boldness implies freedom to speak truthfully. Therefore, we are certain that the second content of intercessory prayer for those who preach the gospel or teach the word of God is for God to grant them boldness or fearlessness as they deliver His word. Hence, you should pray for God to grant boldness or fearlessness to those you know who communicate His word.

      The boldness or fearlessness that is the second content of intercessory prayer Apostle Paul requested and so applicable to all communicators of the word of God is for the specific purpose of declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ as in the verbal phrase of Ephesians 6:19 to make known the mystery of the gospel.  The word “mystery” is translated from a Greek word (mystērion) that in the Greco-Roman world refers to secret teaching of those who belonged to the so-called mystery religions since each had a secret truth that was only closed to those who were initiated in a particular religion. In the NT, it refers to divine secret that is now openly revealed so that the word means “secret, revealed secret.” Thus, the apostle could speak of many divine truths that have now been revealed. For example, the word “mystery” is used to convey truth that was not previously known regarding the final fate of Israel in the sense that it will be saved after Gentiles have been brought in as part of God’s people, as recorded in Romans 11:25:

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

 

The word “mystery” is also used for the divine secret that has now been revealed regarding the fact that not all believers will die when Christ returns but that all believers will be transformed, as in 1 Corinthians 15:51:

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed

 

The word “mystery” here refers to a special truth that was hidden but revealed to the apostle so he communicated it. The apostle has used the word “mystery” in this epistle to the Ephesians to mean, for example, that God created a new people of God that consist of Jews and Gentiles in one body of Christ. This work of God is a divine secret that was not disclosed prior to the time of the NT when Apostle Paul wrote about it. Hence, the word in Ephesians 6:19 refers to divine secret that is now a revealed truth.

      The mystery or divine secret in our context refers to the gospel of Jesus Christ. In effect, the phrase the mystery of the gospel may be read the mystery which is the gospel so that gospel explains what is meant by “mystery” in our passage since we have noted that the Greek word translated “mystery” is used to refer to truth that was once hidden but now revealed in the Scripture. There are several of these divine secrets, as we have noted previously, so that when the Greek word that is translated “mystery” is used, it was necessary to explain it in a specific context. Thus, when the apostle used the Greek word that means “mystery”, he defined what that revealed truth is, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The word “gospel” is translated from a Greek word (euangelion) that means “good news, gospel” that should be declared. Of course, the word may also refer to the details relating to the life and ministry of Jesus, as it is used in Mark 1:1:

The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

 

The word “gospel” in Mark 1:1 may alternatively be rendered “good news.” Nonetheless, in Ephesians 6:19, it is the meaning of good news to be proclaimed that the word is used. The divine secret that has been revealed is the good news that salvation is available through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The message of salvation through the person of Jesus Christ is not one that is easy to declare in the midst of competing views about God. It did not make sense to many people of the time of the Apostle Paul, as it is today. This is evident in the mockery of the message of the gospel by the Athenian philosophers, as we can gather from Acts 17:18:

A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

 

The mockery of the apostle’s message in Athens is also mentioned in Acts 17:32:

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”

 

We should admit that it takes courage to declare a message that is unpopular and strange, especially if the message implies that every other message is wrong. This happens to be the case with the gospel message. It is a message that indicates that there is only one way of salvation which is by way of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This was certainly unpopular in the time of the apostle, as it is today. Therefore, it makes sense that the apostle wanted the Ephesians to pray for him to be bold in preaching this unpopular message, especially probably before a Roman tribunal. As we have indicated, it is necessary to pray that God will give those who teach the word of God the courage to do so. We live in a time that many Christians are rebellious towards the word of God and so do not want any teaching of the word of God that will interfere with their lifestyle that often is sinful and self-centered. Hence, it is important that those who teach the word of God should have the courage to confront believers by teaching the truth to them in such a way as to cause them to face themselves as they are so they will repent and obey God’s word. 

      It is true that the intercessory prayer is to be made for those who preach and teach God’s word, the focus of the apostle is on the preaching of the gospel of Christ as a message of how to obtain eternal salvation. To ensure we recognize that his focus was on the gospel message, the apostle described his state with respect to the gospel message as in the first clause of Ephesians 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. The pronoun “which” refers to the “gospel” or “good news” mentioned in verse 19 that we said explained the word “mystery.” The apostle states that he is one who preaches the gospel or one who represents it since the word “ambassador” is translated from a Greek word (presbeuō) that means to function as a representative of a ruling authority, “to be a representative of, to be an ambassador of.”

      The apostle was aware he was not the only ambassador of Christ. In fact, he taught that all believers are ambassadors for Christ, as he conveyed to the Corinthians in his epistle to them in 2 Corinthians 5:20:

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

 

Notwithstanding, the fact that all believers are ambassadors for Christ, the apostle distinguished himself from all ambassadors of Christ in that he described himself as that ambassador who is in prison in the phrase in chains. The word “chains” is translated from a Greek word (halysis) that literally means “chain”, especially handcuffs, as it was used to restraint a person with evil spirit in him in Luke 8:29:

For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

 

It is in the sense of handcuffs that the word is used by Apostle Paul when he spoke to the Jewish leaders in Rome who came to see him, as stated in Acts 28:20:

For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”

 

Our Greek word may refer to “imprisonment” as it is used in 2 Timothy 1:16:

May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.

 

When the apostle spoke of his chains, he meant his imprisonment. In our passage of Ephesians 6:20, the phrase in chains is a way the apostle describes himself as a prisoner because of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

      Be that as it may, the Apostle Paul recognized the importance of intercessory prayer for those who communicate God’s word that he in a sense repeated his reason for the requesting intercessory prayer that when answered by God will result in him preaching the gospel fearlessly, as we read in Ephesian 6:20 Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should of the NIV. The word “pray” does not appear in verse 20 but was introduced by the translators of the NIV for easy comprehension by the English reader. Really, the literal translation reads in order that in it I may be bold as I ought to speak. This is because we have a Greek conjunction (hina) that here may be used as a marker of purpose with the meaning “in order that” or it could be used as marker of result and so means “so that” or “marker of content of a discourse” hence means “that.” It is often difficult to difference purpose from result. Nonetheless, it is probably in the sense of restating the content of the intercessory prayer the apostle request and the result due to the stated desire for boldness in preaching the gospel that the apostle used our Greek conjunction. In effect, the apostle indicates that the content of the intercessory prayer he requested will result in possession of boldness in the preaching of the word without fear. Anyway, the literal translation has the phrase in it.  The pronoun “it” in the literal translation refers to the gospel mentioned in verse 19.

      The expected result of having boldness is declaring the word without fear or with confidence as in the sentence I may declare it fearlessly. The expression “to declare ... fearlessly” is translated from a Greek word (parrēsiazomai) that means “to speak freely, openly, fearlessly.”  It is used in the sense of “to speak boldly” with respect to the ministry of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14:3:

So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.

 

The Greek word may mean “to have courage” as it is used in 1 Thessalonians 2:2:

We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.

 

The phrase with the help of our God is more literally we had the courage in our God. In our passage of Ephesians 6:20, the sense is that of speaking freely or fearlessly. Thus, the result of receiving courage from God will be to preach the gospel without fear.

      Summing up what we have considered regarding intercessory prayer that the apostle requested for himself, we should recognize that his request implies that we should pray for those who preach and teach the word of God. We should pray that God will give them the proper content of the message they deliver. We should pray for God to grant them the boldness to preach His word. So fellow believers, as part your spiritual vigilance or alertness in the spiritual warfare, you should carry out this task that involves intercessory prayer for all believers with special focus on those who preach and teach God’s word. 

 

12/23/16