Eph. 6:13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Eph. 6:14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
Eph. 6:15 and having shod Your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph. 6:16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Eph. 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
- Paul says take up the “armor of God”
- Armor refers to the spiritual protection afforded by God through certain spiritual disciplines
- By relying on these spiritual disciplines in the midst of battle, we gain a measure of defense and protection from the enemy
- The power is God’s power made available by His Spirit working in and through us
- Since we’re talking about God’s power, then we must also acknowledge that God’s will determines how the battle goes
- The enemy’s attack, his degree of success and the extent of the damage is all in God’s hands
- The only thing in question is our response and whether we gain the benefits God intended
- Armor refers to the spiritual protection afforded by God through certain spiritual disciplines
- It’s helpful to remember the story of Job in the Bible
- He was an upright man, righteous and God-fearing
- And it was for that reason that the Lord suggested Satan direct his attacks in Job’s direction
- As a result of Satan’s attacks, Job’s family died, he lost all his wealth and he was personally afflicted with illness and distress
- Clearly, Job’s righteousness didn’t prevent Satan attacks…in fact they led to the attacks
- God allowed Satan these victories so that Job would be tested
- So that Job could show himself faithful through his response to these circumstances
- How did Job respond to this test? He expresses his attitude in a single verse
- He was an upright man, righteous and God-fearing
Job 13:15 “Though He slay me,
I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.
- Even if God should allow Satan the victory of taking Job’s earthly life, still Job said he would hope in Him
- He would argue his ways before Him, which means Job was confident he would be vindicated before God in the end
- Remember, no matter how much ground the enemy gains in this world, he can’t take your eternal hope
- The Bible says that the enemy has no potential to take that from you
- 1 John says the Spirit in you is more powerful than the spirit in the world, speaking of Satan
- And Jesus declared that nothing can pluck you out of His hand
- So we head into battle knowing that Christ has already won the ultimate victory for us
- That’s the spiritually mature perspective we must bring to life’s trials
- The Lord allows the enemy a degree of freedom to prosecute his attack and any ground he gains is ground God gave him
- But the Lord does so to test our hearts giving us opportunity to show ourselves faithful
- The Bible says that the enemy has no potential to take that from you
- Notice at the end of v.13 Paul says we are to resist the devil in the evil day
- The evil day refers to all the days we live on earth
- These will be days of testing, each and every one of them
- So we can’t make our goal avoiding the battle…our goal needs to be spiritual victory in the battle
- During these days, Paul says, we want to have done everything to stand firm
- This English translation obscures Paul’s point somewhat
- Paul mentions standing in the sense of standing for judgment
- He’s saying we resist the enemy during our days on earth so that at our judgment we can testify to having done everything we could to win the battle
- Like a soldier returning from the front, we want to report that we executed our battle plan as ordered
- So Point #3 is we are fighting for a good report at our judgment
- Going AWOL in this battle has consequences for now
- And it may bring consequences in the kingdom
- The evil day refers to all the days we live on earth
- But in order to have a good testimony, we need to be properly equipped for that battle
- Paul used a convenient cultural reference of his day to illustrate that equipping
- As Paul wrote this letter, he was imprisoned in Rome, guarded by Roman soldiers
- And everyone in the empire was familiar with the uniform of a Roman soldier
- So Paul borrows details from the soldier’s uniform to explain the armor of God available to every Christian soldier
- Paul mentions six articles of clothing: the first five are for defense, while the last one was for offense
- Paul’s list proceeds in the order in which a soldier would have dressed himself, starting with girding loins with truth
- Paul’s referring to the sturdy belt that went around the waist over a linen tunic
- The belt carried the weight of the breastplate and the sheathe that held the soldier’s heavy sword
- Paul used a convenient cultural reference of his day to illustrate that equipping
- Paul compares this belt to the truth, which is a reference to the word of God
- So likewise, our Christian armor starts with the word of God
- Our fight in this spiritual battle depends on spiritual understanding from God’s word
- It’s the ultimate defense against the enemy, who is the father of lies
- Every other spiritual protection depends on this first element of armor
- If we lack an understanding of God’s word, and we’re defenseless against the enemy’s schemes
- We’re like that young man in the field with just shorts and a t-shirt
- And remember this is God’s armor, not your own
- You’re seeking to put His truth in your heart so you can respond properly to each trial
- We’ll need His counsel to give us patience, love, peace and forgiveness when the enemy strikes, so that we will pass the test
- So if you’re feel like you’re losing battles lately, get back into God’s word so you can prepare for the next attack
- So likewise, our Christian armor starts with the word of God
- Next, the soldier put on a breastplate
- This breastplate protected vital organs, ensuring a solider could survive a frontal assault
- Paul uses the breastplate to picture righteousness, which is our life’s testimony of obedience to the word
- All Christians possess Christ’s righteousness through our faith in Him, and that righteousness saves us
- But having been saved by our faith, now we’re called to display righteousness through obedience to the word of God
- Our personal righteousness is our next greatest defense in battle
- If we harbor personal sin, then we are concealing a weakness
- If we let sin maintain a place in our walk, you can bet the enemy will discover and exploit that weakness sooner or later
- He’ll mount a frontal assault at that point, whether to tempt us into a fall or to expose our weakness so he can ruin our testimony
- So often Christians suffer needlessly at the hands of Satan because they leave their breastplate on the ground, they set aside their obedience
- Their sin leaves them vulnerable to spiritual attacks
- And when they come, the Christian may raise their fist to God and declare life is unfair
- But in reality, that person gave the victory to the enemy the moment he or she decided to make room for sin in their life
- Yield to the Spirit, and as you do you’re taking up a breastplate of defense against the enemy’s accusations
- This was Job’s chief defense, that he was an upright man which meant Satan’s schemes could not discredit the man of God
- This breastplate protected vital organs, ensuring a solider could survive a frontal assault
- Thirdly, the soldier put shoes on his feet
- The sandals worn by Roman soldiers were extra tough
- They were studded with sharp nails to increase traction
- They made it possible for armies to march long distances to bring victory to any corner of the empire
- For the Christian, Paul says these shoes represent the preparation of the Gospel
- The word for preparation could be translated equipment or readiness
- He’s talking about being ready to bring the Gospel message anywhere we go
- Like a soldier’s marching shoes, the Gospel equips us to reach anyone, anywhere
- Remember we said earlier that the enemy isn’t flesh and blood but he uses flesh and blood to accomplish his attacks
- So then a Christian armed with the Gospel message can be prepared to potentially neutralize an enemy combatant
- When we share the Gospel with those who seek to persecute us, perhaps the Lord will win over their hearts and turn them to our side
- Perhaps the boss who makes it difficult for you to pursue your faith might one day become a believer who worships with you
- Think about Paul himself…the Gospel took him from chief persecutor to chief evangelist of the church
- The sandals worn by Roman soldiers were extra tough
- Our fourth defense is our shield of faith
- Soldiers carried a wooden shield covered with leather to resist flames
- It was strong enough to absorb the impact of an arrow
- It was large enough to protect a soldier’s entire body from arrows or other projectiles
- Paul says our faith serves a similar spiritual purpose
- Faith in this context is not saving faith but abiding faith
- Abiding faith means living with confidence in the promises of God and our eternal hope for glory with Christ
- Our confidence, our faith, is a shield against the enemy’s flaming arrows
- What are these arrows? We’re talking about any satanic assault intended to rob us of our confidence or hope in Christ
- For example, a false teaching that causes the believer to fear the future, to worry about their eternal security or coming tribulation is a flaming arrow
- Or world calamities or personal losses that disturb our confidence in God are arrows
- Think again of Job…his entire family died in a disaster…that’s a serious flaming arrow
- Such things have the potential to wound a believer’s faith in the promises of God, leaving them questioning His promises
- But abiding faith – confidence in the promises of God – extinguishes those arrows
- The arrows still come our way and we still feel their impact
- But they do not harm us in the end because our faith reminds us that our eternal future is secure
- Job despaired in his grief, yet his faith in God’s promises brought him hope and confidence in the face of his great losses
- Soldiers carried a wooden shield covered with leather to resist flames
- Finally in v.17, a soldier donned his helmet as he entered battle
- The helmet protected his head, obviously
- But Paul makes this comparison in a different capacity
- He says our helmet is our salvation
- Paul’s speaking about cover, something over us that provides spiritual protection
- Our salvation is our spiritual cover
- Christ’s sacrifice for our sake assures us of eternal life
- No matter what comes at us, we have an assurance of resurrection, of a new sinless body and of an eternity serving the Lord in His Kingdom
- With these things assured, we can have great confidence to face the enemy without shrinking back
- So when you face the risk of losing your job or your friends or even your life because you dare to share Christ with another person, remember you already have everything in eternity
- You can’t lose anything, because everything you have here will be left behind anyway…so what good is it?
- You have nothing at risk and everything to gain as you enter the battle
- That’s a true defense
- They always say the toughest opponents to beat in war are those who have nothing more to lose
- They throw caution to the wind and fight with all their strength
- So it must be in our warfare with the enemy
- You are covered by a helmet of salvation that means you can’t lose
- We need not fear anything…not fear of failing, nor fear of embarrassment, not even fear of dying
- Those things are nothing in comparison to what we have assured by faith
- As Paul said:
- The helmet protected his head, obviously
Rom. 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
- Finally, a soldier picked up his only weapon of offense, his sword
- The sword pierced and cut at the enemy to incapacitate him
- Likewise, we have a sword Paul says: the word of God
- Do you notice that the word of God began this list, and now it ends it too?
- The word of God prepares us to defend ourselves against the enemy’s attacks
- And it becomes a tool in the hands of the Spirit to neutralize our enemy
- Remember Jesus’ example in the wilderness as He fasted 40 days?
- He endured the attack of the enemy by living according to the word of God
- That’s the belt of truth upholding us in the battle
- But then at a certain point Jesus went on the offense against Satan
- He responded with the word of God to defeat the enemy
- Eventually the enemy fled having been rebuked by God’s word
- That’s what we can do too
- The enemy is far more powerful than we are, but he is nothing compared to the word of God
- So when the enemy lies to you, quote the Bible
- When the enemy tempts you to seek for wealth instead of serving Christ, let the word of God remind you that you can’t serve two masters
- When he causes you to doubt God’s love, remember that scripture says love is laying your life down for another
- Resist the devil and he will flee
- The sword pierced and cut at the enemy to incapacitate him
- At this point, you may have noticed that one essential element was missing from Paul’s list…
Eph. 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
Eph. 6:19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
Eph. 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Eph. 6:21 But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you.
Eph. 6:22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts.
- Paul’s instructions in v.18 are actually part of the prior verse
- In fact, vs.14-20 are one long sentence in Greek
- So we should read the need for prayer as part of the description of the helmet and sword of v.17
- Therefore, prayer could be considered the seventh and final part of our armor
- Probably like every soldier facing battle, we need to pray a lot
- We pray and place requests (petitions) before the Lord at all times
- We are soldiers on a battlefield, but Christ is the general and He knows where all the pieces are
- So we need to put our concerns before Him, asking Him to rebuke the devil and seeking His strength
- I admit, this is my biggest challenge
- My first instinct is to fight battles in my own power
- But I think the Lord is working to teach me to let Him fight the fight
- Which may explain why I see the fight coming back time and again…it just offers more opportunity to pray
- In fact, vs.14-20 are one long sentence in Greek
- So if it’s His armor and His power to fight the battle, what’s our role?
- Paul says in v.18 the Lord asks of each of us to persevere and be alert
- He says it’s especially important to remain alert so that we can intercede on behalf of other believers
- You can’t pray for other’s battles if you don’t notice what’s happening around you, if you’re ignorant that a spiritual warfare is a real thing
- There is a battle raging around us so we need to be like a soldier on watch, ready to pray at all times for one another
- Pray for victory, protection and peace
- Paul says in v.18 the Lord asks of each of us to persevere and be alert
- Finally, Paul asks the church in Ephesus to pray for him, since he was in chains
- He wants to make known the mystery of the Gospel to his oppressors despite the danger it would bring to him
- He wants boldness to speak and so he needs prayer to bring him that boldness
- Even as a prisoner, Paul said he was still an ambassador
- Chains weren’t preventing him from serving Christ
- Imprisonment in Rome was just a new way to witness to Christ
- In fact, Paul did eventually speak the Gospel to Nero himself
- That’s missional living, turning imprisonment into a mission field
- He wants to make known the mystery of the Gospel to his oppressors despite the danger it would bring to him
- Finally, Paul closes his letter with a few personal thoughts
- He sent a man, Tychicus, back to Ephesus to report on his condition
- Paul wanted the church to understand his suffering in chains
- But also his godly response to his situation
- As much as he was a witness in his life, Paul dearly wanted to be a witness in his death
- Sometimes, missional living as a Christian includes missional dying
- Making the most of every moment because the days are evil
- May Paul’s last words to the church become our daily prayer
- He sent a man, Tychicus, back to Ephesus to report on his condition