Ephesians 6:10-24

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. 19 And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. 20 I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

The shield of faith is related to the next item:

• The helmet of salvation

The helmet was designed to protect the most vulnerable part of a person their head. Just as the soldier’s helmet gives him a sense of confidence on the battlefield, it’s our awareness of the salvation that Christ has given us, that no-one can take away, that gives us confidence as we face our enemy, the devil. Some of our biggest battles will take place on the smallest real-estate, our minds. This is where many battles are either won or lost, and Satan loves to call God’s Word into question and cause you to doubt. That’s exactly what he did with Even in the garden of Eden. Genesis 3:1-6 describes his interaction with her, starting first by sowing seeds of doubt about God’s spoken Word and then by deceiving her into believing a lie. “One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” 6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it.” The helmet brings security by reminding us to stand not in our strength but in the finished work of the cross. Are you standing on your salvation that was purchased by the blood of the Lamb or in your own strength? When Satan starts to come at you, you can stand your ground only if you are standing on the salvation that Jesus paid for in full. Don’t give ground, remind Satan that you are sealed and sanctified by the blood of God’s Son. The last and the only weapon in our armory that can be used for both defense and attack is:

• The sword of the Spirit

This is the Word of God. Now there are two things to be said about the Roman sword. First, it was a short sword, meaning that it was designed for hand to hand combat. But secondly it was also designed for use in a battle column, shoulder to shoulder with other soldiers. Paul doesn’t make a lot of this, apart from using the illustration itself, but think about it for a moment. The word of God is a powerful weapon for both defense and attack, but it’s also something that needs to be studied with others. Just as faith is strengthened when we stand side by side with other Christians so our understanding of God’s Word grows when we study it with others. Paul clearly talked about this in Ephesians chapter 4, where we see God giving gifts to the church so that we can all grow to maturity. If you pay attention you will notice that each of those gifts has to do with the Word of God. God wants us to learn from his word together so we grow into a unified body under Christ. There are other passages that talk about us learning and growing together. In fact, it should be noted that almost the entire New Testament is addressed to churches rather than individuals. Even those parts written to individuals are written in a way that shows they were meant to be read by the whole church. I think one of the powerful keys that we are missing today is the power of community and coming together in the midst of conflict instead of trying to fight the battles on our own. Satan is known in scripture as a lion that prowls around looking for those to devour. Lions hunt by separating their prey from the herd. So let me ask you are you wielding the sword of the Spirit in conjunction with others, or are you trying to be a lone ranger and fight alone? So what does this sword do? Well, Hebrews 4:12 tells us that “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” God’s word has the power to cut through people’s defenses, by pricking their consciences, shining light into dark places, and bringing truth to the situation. Success on the battlefield is not dependent on self but on the sword of the Spirit. If you want to stand in this world you need to be in the Word. It has always amazed me how much of our lives we spend studying different subjects and yet how little we send studying God’s Word. We see the benefit of going to school and studying so we can get a job, but do we see not just the benefit but the blessing of being in God’s Word? When it comes to winning the war we need to have our mind both girded and guarded. So let me ask you what helmet are you wearing, is it the helmet of salvation or suggestion, is it based on Christs finished work on the cross or your constant striving? Lastly what weapon are you welding in the war, are you relying on God’s unchanging Word or current culture that is constantly shifting, like the sands of the desert?

Ephesians 6:10-24
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. 19 And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. 20 I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.
Part of living in God’s power means accepting God’s provision. It’s here that we discover how gracious God is to us? He doesn’t ask us to stand defenseless before superior forces. No he gives us His armor so that we will be thoroughly equipped for the battle. This idea of the Roman soldier’s armor is probably foreign to most of us today. But think of our modern day equivalent: the American football uniform or for the rest of the world the cricketer’s outfit. Both involve pads, a helmet and boots with cleats to help you get a grip. All of these pieces are designed for a specific purpose, to protect those on the field of play from being hurt by their opponents. The difference between those protective pads and what Paul is telling us to put on, is that this is God’s armor. Just as Olympic athletes are given their country’s uniform to wear, so we’re given God’s armor to wear in the battle. We don’t stand in our own strength, nor do we wear our own uniforms. Rather we wear the uniform, the armor, that God provides, that both carries the power of God, as well as identifies us as part of God’s team. So what is this armor that God supplies? First I want you to notice that it is the full armor, meaning that it covers all of us. The word is panoply and was used of the full battle kit of the Roman soldier. Here is what it consists of.

• The belt of truth.
Today we use a belt to keep our pants from falling down, but back then the belt was used to tuck your tunic in so you could move freely without tripping over. So when Paul talks of the belt of truth he is reminding us of the ways in which we can be so easily tripped up by the devil’s tricks if we’re not firmly anchored in truth. Satan is known as the father of lies, John 8:44 and what is the best defense against a lie? It’s the truth. Of course today this is not as simple a matter as it once was because we have complicated and clouded truth. There was a time when everyone acknowledged the truth of a matter. But these days truth has become relative, where what is true for me won’t necessarily be true for you. Today we have replaced facts with feelings, so truth now depends on how it makes you feel. This is why it is critical that we come back to the foundation of God’s Word, so that we don’t flip flop back and forth on the shifting sands of secular thinking. Next we come to the:
• Breastplate of righteousness.
That is, the righteousness that Christ has given us by grace alone. The breastplate is the piece of the armor that protects the vital organs, the heart and lungs, etc. But for the Christian what does this Piece of armor protect us from? Primarily, I think, it’s protecting us against the false accusations of the devil. How many times have you felt that fear that maybe you’re not good enough for God, that maybe you’ve finally gone too far in your sinfulness and there’s no forgiveness for you? When you feel like that the best thing you can do is to claim the righteousness we have by faith in Christ’s death and resurrection, a righteousness that’s by grace and that grace is unending. Next we come to:
• The shoes of peace
It’s here that Paul tells us to put on peace that comes from the Good news so that we will be fully prepared. Roman footwear was designed to provide strength with flexibility, so the soldier could stand on rocky ground without stumbling no matter what came at him. So we need to be prepared with a clear understanding of the gospel, to share it whenever the situation demands, or the opportunity arises; and in the context of a quest for unity in the church, notice that he’s talking here of the gospel of peace. When disputes arise, be ready to apply the gospel of peace to the situation. So often we shod our feet not with peace but with our personal feelings. Instead of responding like Christ and bringing healing we respond to the hurts. And hurt people tend to hurt others. Next we are called to take up the:
• The shield of faith
The purpose of this shield is to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. The Roman shield was made of two layers of timber overlaid with linen, then leather and bound with iron. It was specially designed to stop flaming arrows and put them out. And it was designed so that soldiers standing side by side would form an impenetrable wall of shields that nothing could get through. Just like those Roman shields locked together, Faith is something that becomes stronger when we stand together. Satan struggles to weaken our faith if we’re serving God together as a team. And what are the flaming darts of the evil one that our faith is meant to stop? Well, no doubt they’re the accusations that the devil fires at us, that inflame our consciences with false guilt. But also, they’re the temptations to doubt and disobedience, to rebellion, to lust and envy and malice and fear. So how does faith help us against that? In at least two ways. First it lays hold of the promises of God in moments of doubt or depression. It reminds us that Christ has died to bring us forgiveness; that Satan’s accusations won’t stand up. And secondly, it looks to the power of God in moments of temptation. It says, God has promised to provide everything I need, so I’m going to believe that and rely on his help to provide me with what I need. If you want to stand firm in God’s power you need to lay hold of his provision. As you look at the armor mentioned so far are there any pieces you have been neglecting to pick up and put on?