I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Ephesians 6:10-18
Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty
power.
11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take
your stand against the devil's schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this
dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that
when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you
have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled
around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that
comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of
faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all
kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on
praying for all the saints.
-- In July
of 2011, Jonathan Luna, a police officer from Sylvester, was assisting another
officer in serving a routine arrest warrant when the suspect took off running
-- Luna went after him and, in just a few seconds, caught up with the suspect, tackling
him and throwing him to the ground
-- once
they were on the ground, the two men grappled with one another, when suddenly, the
suspect grabbed Luna's service revolver and fired a shot directly into Luna's
chest -- he jumped up and took off running again, sure that he had killed the
police officer, but he was shocked when he looked back and saw Luna coming
after him again
-- You
see, Luna was wearing a special type of body armor designed specifically for
law enforcement officers -- And, although he was struck at point blank range by
a bullet from a large caliber handgun, Luna survived with only a few bruises.
-- In a
news story on WALB TV, Luna said that bulletproof vests are hot and sweaty down
here in south Georgia -- especially during our summers -- but that is a small
price to pay for life-saving security -- since 1972, body armor and bullet
proof vests have become standard gear for law enforcement officers and the
military throughout the United States -- and since that time, over 3000
officers have been saved because they were wearing their armor -- in fact, in
many precincts, it has become policy that officers are not to go on patrol
until they are fully suited up and protected by armor1
-- sadly, though, it is common practice for most Christians
to go through life completely unprotected from those who seek to harm us -- as
we’ve talked about over the past couple of weeks, we are in the midst of a
battle -- a spiritual battle -- with unseen enemies who want nothing more than
to destroy us and kill us and annihilate us to prevent God's message from going
out and saving lives for eternity
-- Satan knows that if he can take down one Christian, then
he can keep that Christian from being an effective witness for Christ and from
growing in grace in their own life
-- but God did not leave us unprotected -- in John 17,
Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that we would not be taken out of this
world, but that the Father would protect us from the evil one and sanctify us
-- make us holy -- by His word
-- the protection that Jesus talked about is explained here
in this passage from Ephesians Chapter 6 -- Paul tells us that we have at our
disposal the armor of God -- this is our spiritual Kevlar -- this is our spiritual
body armor -- this is how we can stand unharmed against everything that the
devil and his minions would throw against us and against the flesh and the
worldly temptations that seek to overcome us
-- so, let’s finish up our thoughts on spiritual warfare
from the past couple of weeks by going through this passage together
II. The Full
Armor of God
-- if you would look back at verses 10-11
Ephesians 6:10-11 (NIV)
10 Finally, be strong in
the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on the full armor
of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
-- Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians as sort of a
short-course in Christianity -- although he had spent quite some time with the
church in Ephesus over the years, it appears that the church is growing and
spreading out and new people are coming to Christ -- and, so, here in this
letter, Paul lays out the principles of salvation by grace through faith -- he
talks about how Jesus’ death and resurrection created a new body, comprised of
both Jews and Gentiles, and how they were one in each other and one in the Lord
-- he talks about the need for unity in the church -- about
using the spiritual gifts to edify and build up the believers as they seek to
fulfill God’s calling on their lives -- and he talked about living with one
another in this new body -- how love and respect and mutual submission to each
other were the keys to growing in grace
-- but remember that Paul is writing this letter from a
Roman prison -- better than most, he understands that the body of Christ is
under attack -- that they are in a spiritual battle that is driven by the
schemes of the devil -- and Paul doesn’t want the Ephesian Christians to be
caught off-guard nor unprepared for the struggle ahead -- the battle is coming
-- and they need to get ready
-- so, at the end of this letter, Paul leaves the Ephesian
church with the instruction that if they are going to do what God has called
them to do -- if they are going to fulfill God’s calling and be God’s people
and God’s church in Asia -- then they are going to have to rely on God’s
strength and mighty power -- that is the key to the rest of the passage
-- the armor Paul tells us to put on is spiritual armor --
it only exists through the power of the Lord -- it is only through Him and His
grace that we are given this spiritual protection
-- we can think of this armor as another type of spiritual
gift -- as you know, the Bible says that when we come to Christ, we are given
spiritual gifts to build up His church and to do His will
-- but, contrary to what a lot of people think, these
spiritual gifts are not some new talent or skill that is suddenly given to us
and that is always with us
-- instead, the Scriptures say that spiritual gifts are the
manifestation of the Spirit within us -- meaning that when we exercise a
spiritual gift, such as faith or speaking in tongues, it is not us doing the
act -- it is the Holy Spirit working in us and through us -- it is not us, but
Him, who is doing it
-- and it's important to understand this, because if we
walk outside of the grace of God -- if we live with unconfessed sin -- if we
backslide -- then the Holy Spirit is quenched in our lives and the spiritual
gifts cannot be made manifest through us -- in other words, we are not able to
function spiritually and exercise these gifts as we used to be able to
-- it's the exact same way with this spiritual armor that
Paul tells us to put on in this passage -- this armor isn't something that is
just given to us and that we can just carry around with us from now on because
we are Christians -- spiritual armor is dependent on our relationship with
Christ -- and, if we walk outside of that relationship -- if we walk outside of
His grace -- then we lose the power that protects us
-- verse 12 [read Ephesians 6:12-13]
12 For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against
the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the
full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand
your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
-- we talked last week about the unseen spiritual world
that surrounds us and that affects what we do -- and that’s why Paul reminds us
here that our struggles are not against flesh and blood, but against an unseen
enemy who is actively scheming against us, as individual Christians, and as God's
body, His church
-- so Paul tells us here to suit up -- to put on the full
armor of God -- to stand firm in God's mighty power -- so that we can resist
the devil's schemes and stand our ground against his attacks
-- one thing I want you to see here is Paul's command to put
on the full armor of God -- we have to put it all on, or it’s no good -- you
can't go into battle unless you are fully protected -- you can't go into battle
with chinks in the armor -- gaps in the armor where the enemies weapons can get
through our defenses and wound us
-- do you remember the story from Greek mythology about Achilles?
-- according to the story, when Achilles was born, his mother tried to make him
invincible -- she dipped him into the river Styx, knowing that the power of the
river would make him invulnerable
-- however, there was one part of him that didn't receive
the protecting power -- Achilles' heel -- the place where his mother was
holding him when she dipped him in the river -- later, during a battle in the
Trojan wars, an arrow pierced that very spot -- Achilles' heel -- Achilles bled
to death because he had a chink in his armor -- he was not fully protected
-- we need to make sure we are fully suited up -- that we have
put on the full armor of God -- every piece -- that we are standing in the
power of God because the day of evil is coming for all of us -- Eph. 5:15-16
says we should be careful how we live because the days are evil -- even though
the sun is shining -- even though all looks peaceful outside -- know that we live
in evil times and we need to be wearing the full armor of God because we do not
know when the attack will come
-- let’s look at our armor now
-- look at verse 14a
14 Stand firm then, with
the belt of truth buckled around your waist
-- knowing that Paul was chained in a Roman prison when he
wrote this -- surrounded by Roman guards -- he probably was looking at them and
used their armor as the metaphor for the spiritual protection that we need to
put on to keep us safe
-- the first piece of armor that he mentions here is the
belt of truth -- the belt was the foundation of a Roman soldier's armor -- the belt
secured the other armor and held it in place -- it was used to cinch down the
armor -- it was where the sword was carried -- without the belt you could not
fight -- it is foundational -- so the first piece of armor that we are told to
take up is the belt of truth
-- remember who our enemy is -- remember how he is
described in scripture -- in John 8:44, Jesus said that Satan is a liar and the
father of lies
-- there is nothing more insidious than someone who lies --
someone who uses just enough truth to hide their deception and who want people
to believe something that is not true so they will do what they want them to do
-- how do you fight a lie? -- how do you come against false
teaching and false beliefs? -- you combat lies with the truth -- you bring
everything out in the open -- you bring everything out into the light of day
-- in John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the
truth and the life" -- the truth is a Person -- the truth is Jesus -- and
when Paul tells us here to put on the belt of truth, he is telling us to put on
Jesus -- that the truth of Jesus is the protection against the lies of the
enemy
-- let's read vs. 14 again
14 Stand firm then, with
the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of
righteousness in place,
--
the next piece of armor that we are told to take up is the breastplate of
righteousness -- the breastplate for a Roman soldier was analogous to the
Kevlar vest worn by police officers -- the breastplate covered the heart and
the vital organs
--
this is symbolically putting on the righteousness of Christ to protect our
spiritual hearts -- one thing that we always need to keep in mind is that apart
from Christ, we have no righteousness -- when He died on the cross, the very
righteousness of Christ -- the right relationship He had with the Father -- the
right lifestyle and holiness that He possessed -- His right way of living -- was
transferred to us
--
so, once again, we see that by taking up the breastplate of righteousness, we
are taking up Christ -- we are putting Him on -- we are standing firm in a
righteousness and a holiness that is not our own -- but that was given to us to
protect us from evil
--
verse 15
15 and with your feet
fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
--
here we're told to fit our feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel
of peace -- what Paul was envisioning here was the footwear that the Roman
soldiers wore when they headed into battle -- more like boots than sandals,
with cleats to help the soldiers maintain their position on slippery ground and
they laced all the way up the shins to protect the lower legs of the soldiers
from the enemy’s weapons
--
there's one thing about shoes -- they're not "one size fits all" --
you can only wear shoes that fit you
-- there's
a saying among hikers on the Appalachian Trail -- "Hike your own
hike" -- that's what Paul is saying here -- we all need to put on shoes --
we all need to protect our feet -- our Christian walk -- our Christian witness
-- but we need to wear shoes that fit us and us alone
--
each of us were given different spiritual gifts and talents -- we all have
different personalities -- different likes and dislikes -- there are certain
things that we do well -- and certain things that others do better than us
-- when
we walk forward ready to enter the battle and to carry the gospel of peace into
this world, we can only do it our way -- we can't copy anyone else and expect
success -- we must run our own race and live out our faith and our own lives as
Christ demands -- our footwear must be designed to protect our own individual
feet and our own individual walk, or it will not be effective
--
vs. 16
16 In addition to all
this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the
flaming arrows of the evil one.
-- "in
addition to all this" -- King James says "above all" -- take up
the shield of faith
-- it
all comes down to faith -- that’s the great principle that Paul gives us in
this letter -- Ephesians 2:8-9: For it
is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- faith leads to salvation --
faith leads to walking with Christ -- faith leads to believing the truth --
faith informs our Christian lives
--
Paul likens our faith to the shield that the Roman soldiers used to protect
them during battle -- the Roman shields were large -- a soldier could hide
behind them and keep all parts of his body protected -- the Romans would also
link shield together -- forming what they called a phalanx -- an impenetrable
wall of protection -- that would keep the entire army from being overrun
--
one other thing that is interesting about their shields is that they were often
wrapped in leather -- they would soak the skins in water before a battle so if
flaming arrows were shot at them, the arrows would hit the water-soaked shield
and be extinguished -- nothing could get past a Roman soldier's shield
--
in the same way, by standing firm behind our faith, there is nothing that this
world or that Satan can throw at us that will ever harm us
-- a
few years ago, there was a song on the radio by Laura Story called, "What
a Savior" -- I heard an interview with her where she explained the story
behind the song -- she said that she had a college professor that was just
hammering her beliefs -- every day he would come in and try to destroy the
Christian faith -- there was nothing she could say that would defeat his worldly
wisdom and all his scientific arguments
--
finally, Laura said that all she could fall back on was her faith -- on her
belief in Christ and Him alone -- the chorus of this song speaks to that faith
-- "Jesus, You are stronger -- more than any other -- Jesus you are higher
-- my soul's deepest desire"
--
Laura stood behind her faith -- as the fiery darts streaked towards her from
the evil one, Laura stood unscathed because she took up the shield of faith
--
vs. 17a
17 Take the helmet of
salvation
-- what
do helmets protect? -- they protect your head -- a Roman soldier would no more
go into battle without a helmet than he would without a sword because the
surest way to be killed on the field of battle was to be struck in the head
--
it's the same way with us -- where do spiritual attacks originate? -- where do
temptations begin? -- they begin in your mind -- they begin in your thoughts
--
our enemy knows that if he can control our mind -- if he can sway our thoughts
and get us to believe lies about God or entertain thoughts of disobedience,
then he can get us to fall
--
the helmet of salvation protects our minds from the attacks of the enemy and enables
us to get back up when we fall -- the helmet of salvation makes us sure of our
salvation and the forgiveness of our sins
-- 1
John 5:13 says, " I write these things to you who believe in the name of
the Son of God so that you may know
that you have eternal life."
-- and 1 John 2:1 says "if anybody does sin, we have
one who speaks to the Father in our defense -- Jesus Christ, the Righteous
One."
--
if we fall -- if we choose to sin and disobey God -- then we can rise again
from our failure and move forward in victory because of the salvation that
Christ gave us on the cross
-- the helmet of salvation reminds us that it was not by
works that we were saved -- but by the atoning sacrifice of Christ -- we stand,
not in our own strength, but in the mighty power of the Lord and His grace and
mercy which was poured out on us at the cross of Calvary
-- above all else, we have to protect the mind -- and we do
that by remembering who we are and that the battle has already been won
-- look back at verse 17
17 Take the helmet of
salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
--
so far, all of the pieces of armor that we have looked at have been defensive
-- they have been given to us to protect us from the enemy's attack
--
this next piece of armor -- the sword of the Spirit -- is both defensive and
offensive -- it not only protects us from the devil's schemes, but it can be
wielded with great power to regain the ground that the enemy has taken
-- the sword of the Spirit is the word of God -- there is
no doubt about this -- you need to know this Bible -- you need to learn the
word of God and make it a part of you in order to protect yourself and to do
what God has called you to do
-- The Greek word that we translate as "word"
here is "Rhema" -- a Rhema refers to a specific word or
"saying" -- In this case, it means a specific portion of God's
written revelation -- John 3:16 is an example of a rhema
-- when Paul says we are to take up the rhema of God, he is
saying that we should use Scripture to defend ourselves and to resist the devil
in our spiritual battles
-- think about Jesus when He was being tempted in the
wilderness after His baptism -- every time the devil came against Him, what did
Jesus do? -- He used scripture -- He quoted God's word to the devil saying,
"It is written"
-- what this means to us is that we have to memorize
scripture in order to engage the enemy
-- think for a moment about a real sword -- if I laid a
sword out here on the altar and told you to come up and take it and use it in
battle today, could you? -- would you know how to use it? -- no -- in order to
effectively use a sword, we would have to be trained -- we would have to spend
time with it -- be instructed in how to use it -- and then practice and
practice and practice
-- it's the same way with the sword of the Spirit -- Satan
is not afraid of your Bible -- he's especially not afraid of a Bible that just
sits around and gathers dust -- that's no different from having a rusty sword
laying around your house
-- in order to wield the sword of the Spirit, we have to be
in the word -- we have to read our Bible -- know our Bible -- and memorize
verses -- rhemas -- that we can use in battle
-- Psalm
119:11 says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin
against you"
--
when the devil attacks, we have to have immediate access to the sword of the
Spirit, and the only way to do that is to make it a part of us -- to hide God's
word in our heart so we can use it when we need it -- this is the way we wield
the sword of the Spirit
--
vs. 18
18 And pray in the Spirit
on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be
alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
-- we
talked about the need for prayer and it’s use in our lives the other day when
we started this series of messages, so we won’t go into detail in that again --
if you want to go back and look at that message again, I’ve got it posted on my
blogsite -- the link is there in the bulletin
-- but
let me leave you with this truth -- Satan doesn't want you to pray -- try to
pray and see how many distractions come up -- the Bible tells us that the
prayers of a righteous man availeth much -- prayer is powerful -- it can bring
hope to the hopeless and light to a dark and dying world
-- even
though we know that God hears the prayers of our hearts and knows our thoughts
before we ever speak them, we should get into the practice of praying out loud
-- our spiritual enemies can't hear our thoughts, but when we speak out in the
name of Jesus -- when we pray out loud in the Spirit -- evil flees
-- Paul
writes in this verse, "with this in mind" -- with what in mind?
-- Paul
is saying keep in mind who you are and who you are standing with -- you are not
alone -- you are standing in the full armor of God and in His mighty power
--
Paul tells us to be alert and to always keep on praying for all the saints --
be alert because our enemy is sneaky -- sometimes he comes as a roaring lion --
other times he comes in the back door through divisiveness and jealousy -- anger
and unforgiveness -- be alert because we know he is coming -- be alert and be
ready to take action
III. Closing
-- let
me close with one last thought -- think for a moment about the armor that Paul
says we should put on -- notice that we have our feet covered -- we have our
chest covered -- we have our head covered -- and we are holding a shield to
protect us from anything that comes against us
--
but notice what is missing -- there is nothing to protect our back -- that
means two things for us
--
first, God has our back -- we don't have to worry about what might come behind,
because God has already fought that battle -- our past is in the past -- our
sins have been forgiven -- and we don't have to worry about them any longer
--
secondly, God didn't give us any armor for our back because He didn't intend
for us to turn around -- a Christian is never to retreat -- never to surrender
-- never to give up -- we are to get up and move forward
--
Jesus said that the gates of Hell would not prevail against His church --
against us -- now let me ask you this -- where do you find gates? -- do you
find gates coming against you on a field of battle? -- no -- the gates surround
that which you are attacking
--
in other words, when Jesus said that the gates of Hell would not prevail
against us, He was saying that He expected us to move forward and launch an all-out
attack on the kingdom of Hell -- we were not saved to hide in our church -- no,
we are called to carry the battle forward into Satan's turf -- suited up in the
full armor of God and standing in His mighty power -- in order to reclaim this
earth and set free the captives that Satan is still holding
--
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power -- put on the full armor
of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes -- stand
firm -- be valiant -- make disciples -- and advance the kingdom of God today
--
let us pray
--------------------------------------------------
1Illustration
derived from WALB news story:
http://www.walb.com/story/15724572/sylvester-police-officer-honored
2Sinclair Ferguson, By Grace Alone (Reformation Trust,
2010), p. 68; submitted by Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky
No comments:
Post a Comment