Scripture: Ephesians 6: 10-18
Listen Link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab.
Somehow, whenever I read this passage, I feel a little bit like David, who tried on King Saul’s armor just before he went out to fight Goliath. In that story, David said, “I can’t wear all this stuff. I’m not used to it.” So, he went to battle dressed in his own clothes, as a shepherd boy, with just his slingshot. I suppose I feel this way for the same reason you would. None of us is used to armor. We think of that metal stuff from the Middle Ages. It’s so last century, 5 centuries ago!
We’re not even soldiers, just civilians. Oh, some of us are veterans. You guys have a little better understanding about body armor and its value in war. But we’re not even at war. At least, the lives we live don’t look like we’re at war. And yet, as a Christian, having heard this kind of thing before, you would probably agree that there really is a war on. It is a spiritual battle. But it is very real. The difficulty for us is that the enemy forces are invisible. And their chief weapon is deception and disguise. They work hard to let you think you’re really just living a normal life, while all the while they exert covert influence through arguments and lies to keep you from being aware of what’s really at stake.
Often, we don’t feel qualified to fight the Lord’s battle anyway. When you feel defeated or depressed, when life’s hard and you feel like a loser. When you are having communication or relationship problems with your brothers and sisters in the Lord, so you’re stressed out at church, instead of enjoying worship. Or when you’re caught up in sin and really don’t feel like repenting from it, or feel trapped in it. Or maybe even have arguments trying to prove that what you’re doing really isn’t a sin anyway. In the spiritual battle for our souls, these are all ways that we let the devil and his henchmen get the upper hand. Their best trick is to get you to think that every thought they plant in your mind is really all your own wisdom and brilliance and truth, and every feeling that wells up in your heart is genuine and needs to be acted on because you are true to yourself and follow your heart.
You, know, when David went to fight Goliath, in his civilian shepherd boy clothes, he knew better than to trust in his own wisdom, or strength, or courage. Actually, though he wasn’t wearing Saul’s armor, he knew he was wearing the armor of God. He knew he wasn’t facing Goliath in his own strength. He said, “You come to me with a sword and a spear. But I come to you in the name of the Lord, strong and mighty, so that you and all the world will know that there is a God in Israel.” We need to learn, or review, how to do that. What the armor of God does is tell us the truth, and secure us in the truth, about who we really are in Christ. Then, knowing that nine-tenths of the battle happens in our head and hearts first, we can face the devil, and win the battle, and stand firm in the faith.
Last week I mentioned that there is spiritual equipment that exists for us so that we can take our stand and fight for spiritual freedom for those who are yet held captive. That’s the armor of God listed for us in our text here in Eph. 6:10-18. Now I’m not going to talk about all of it today. I’m doing a series to talk about each piece of it in its turn, over the next six weeks. So, you’re going to be seeing this same bulletin cover for a while. Today is the intro, so I’m really going to focus on Paul’s introduction of his discussion about the armor.
Note where Paul starts this section, “be strong in the Lord.” That means that once you are in the Lord, then you can be strong. Only those who are set free through faith in Jesus for forgiveness and new life can access and wear this armor. You don’t wear it to get free. You wear it to stay free and set others free.
I want to go back a minute to the 2010 rescue operation in Chile because it was so dramatic, but really, this can be true of any rescue operation. While trapped, you need to be rescued. All any miner down below could do was hang in there to survive, encourage other survivors, and let the rescuers do their work. But then, once you were lifted out of the mine, if you were in reasonably good shape the next thing you want to do is help pull someone else out! The rescued want to join the team of rescuers. That is what it means to be a Christian. That is what it means to take up a cross and follow Jesus. You get the awesome privilege of helping other people come to that same faith that saved you!
All the equipment for the rescue operation was above ground, not in the mine. Once you were rescued, you could get access to the rescue equipment, and work to save somebody else, but not before. And as a person rescued from the grip of death and sin, God expects you to want to join in the work of rescuing others. But really, he shouldn’t even have to ask. He knows, there is no greater joy in life than in seeing souls saved and lives changed.
Now, when you join in to help rescue others, you have to have faith in the fact that God’s mighty power is at your disposal, to use in the rescue operation. Again, there was no equipment in the mine that was useful for saving the trapped miners. But up top, the rescuers employed very powerful hydraulic machines to drill through solid rock and provide air, food, water and communication to the miners. They used powerful and sophisticated electronic equipment to know where to drill and to communicate with the trapped miners. The rescue workers could be much stronger with the equipment than they could ever be digging with their own hands and shovels. In fact, they could not have done it at all, without that powerful equipment. The armor of God is our powerful equipment for our rescue operation. To be strong in the Lord “and in his mighty power” means to know what resources are at your disposal to rescue people from sin.
Then Paul asks us to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” With the armor, you can stand against the devil. This may seem to indicate that the devil is powerful. But his only power is in deception. He’s a liar trying to get you to believe what he says about you and God. Yes, there are many demons, other fallen angels the devil commands and they can hang around and try to invade your thoughts. But they are not to be feared any more than you fear germs. And they are not to be ignored as if they aren’t really there. Because just like germs, they’re really there, even though you can’t see them.
You know germs are real, and you take proper precautions against them by such common-sense measures as staying clean, and healthy eating habits, with safe food prep. Most people live a normal healthy life, even though there are germs all around you, and all over your body too. But you don’t have to be afraid of germs. As long as you know how to handle that reality, you’ll be fine, unless you’re a hypochondriac!
It is the same with devils and demons, as long as you know the truth and apply it to your life, you’re safe! In the armor of God, you are as safe against the demons as a surgeon is against the germs when he’s all scrubbed up and in his surgical gear.
A primary element in our protection from Satan and evil is the armor that God has provided for us and instructed us to put on in Ephesians 6:13-17. When we put on the armor of God, we are really putting on Christ, as it says in Romans 13:12-14. Listen, “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So, let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
And when we put on Christ, we take ourselves out of the realm of the flesh, where we are vulnerable to attack, and we place ourselves within the dominion of Christ, where the evil one cannot touch us. Satan has nothing on Christ. Jesus said in John 14:30, “He has no hold over me.” And to the extent that we put on Christ, the evil one cannot touch us. We are assured of this in 1 John 5:18, where it says, “the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.” The satan can only touch that which is on his own level. That's why we are commanded, "Make no provision for the flesh" in Romans 13:14. It means "Don't live on Satan's level."
Now, some of this happens the moment you really and conscientiously trust in Jesus for forgiveness and salvation. Thus, it would appear from the verb tenses in Ephesians 6:14,15, that three of the pieces of armor--belt, breastplate and shoes--are already on you: "having girded . . ."; "having put on . . ."; having shod. . . ." These pieces of armor represent the elements of your protection made possible when you receive Jesus Christ and in which you are commanded to stand firm.
Now again, I’m going to talk in more detail about these pieces in the coming weeks. The point right here is, the Greek tense of "having" signifies that the action it refers to was completed before we were commanded to stand firm. That's the logical way a soldier would prepare for action: He would put on his belt, breastplate and shoes before attempting to stand firm. Likewise, we are to put on the rest of the full armor of God after having already put on Christ.
When you read through Ephesians 6:10-20, you should notice the emphasis on the active part we must play on behalf of our own spiritual defense: "be strong" (verse 10); "put on" and "stand firm" (verse 11); "take up," "be able," "resist," and "stand firm" (verse 13); "stand firm" (verse 14); "taking up" (verse 16); "take" (verse 17)' "pray at all times" and "be on the alert" (verse 18). That’s a lot of responsibility on our part, to bear the armor like good soldiers.
By now I’m sure you’re all very eager to consider the details and significance of each of the six pieces of armor from Ephesians 6:13-17. But for today, the emphasis is on your position in Christ as saved, or rescued, sealed, healed and delivered, so that you eagerly desire to save others, and gladly accept your mission, to wage the war against satan’s lies by preaching the Good News of victory in Christ, making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey Christ’s teachings.
As I have said before, this building in which we meet is like headquarters. It’s Jesus’ command post. Here, we receive training, and here we build camaraderie and morale by praising and worshipping our King. As we remember all that he has done for us, we grow in our eagerness to be used by him to rescue others. Oh, what joy there is in seeing souls saved and lives changed, especially when we take an active part in it.
So, as we prepare to dine with Jesus at the Communion Table, allow me to highlight something Jesus said to one of his best soldiers. In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus informs Peter that satan has asked to sift him like wheat. Listen, “Simon, Simon, satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Hear the strength of Jesus saying not if you turn back, but when you turn back.
But Simon Peter replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and death.” Jesus, however, knew that Peter was speaking in his own strength, not dressed in the armor of God and so he would fail, for a time. “I tell you Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
Just as with Job, God did not deny satan’s request. What Andrew Brunson says about this is that we are tested because our love for God must be tried to be found true. God’s love for us need never in doubt. But we get tested so that we learn to be sure that we love God, no matter what. So, Jesus also informed Peter that He has prayed for Peter’s faith, that it will remain, and he will recover from the deep wounds that satan would inflict. Jesus is always interceding for us, as Hebrews 4:14-16 teaches us. We are in the spiritual battle, but Jesus is in it with us, praying for us as we are to pray for one another. When a fellow soldier falls, we need to pray, not criticize. That is the example Jesus has set for us around His table.
Therefore, the call to put on the full armor of God, is first of all a call to prayer. That’s how you get saved in the first place by praying to God in faith and asking his forgiveness. And as we continue in prayer we are trained for battle and polishing our armor, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Beloved. The Lord is with you! He calls you a Mighty Warrior. You may not feel like a mighty warrior. Gideon didn’t either. But look what God did through his obedience to the call. And now God has raised you up to fight the good fight. True warriors are humble and have learned through many trials that God is faithful.
The Lord of Hosts has chosen you and consecrated you to do mighty works in His name. This table is a meal of consecration. In it we actively remind ourselves that we have put on Christ. We have committed ourselves to be his disciples, as faithful and true as we can be, with his help. That is why he feeds us. Let us pray with thanksgiving.
Listen Link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab.
Somehow, whenever I read this passage, I feel a little bit like David, who tried on King Saul’s armor just before he went out to fight Goliath. In that story, David said, “I can’t wear all this stuff. I’m not used to it.” So, he went to battle dressed in his own clothes, as a shepherd boy, with just his slingshot. I suppose I feel this way for the same reason you would. None of us is used to armor. We think of that metal stuff from the Middle Ages. It’s so last century, 5 centuries ago!
We’re not even soldiers, just civilians. Oh, some of us are veterans. You guys have a little better understanding about body armor and its value in war. But we’re not even at war. At least, the lives we live don’t look like we’re at war. And yet, as a Christian, having heard this kind of thing before, you would probably agree that there really is a war on. It is a spiritual battle. But it is very real. The difficulty for us is that the enemy forces are invisible. And their chief weapon is deception and disguise. They work hard to let you think you’re really just living a normal life, while all the while they exert covert influence through arguments and lies to keep you from being aware of what’s really at stake.
Often, we don’t feel qualified to fight the Lord’s battle anyway. When you feel defeated or depressed, when life’s hard and you feel like a loser. When you are having communication or relationship problems with your brothers and sisters in the Lord, so you’re stressed out at church, instead of enjoying worship. Or when you’re caught up in sin and really don’t feel like repenting from it, or feel trapped in it. Or maybe even have arguments trying to prove that what you’re doing really isn’t a sin anyway. In the spiritual battle for our souls, these are all ways that we let the devil and his henchmen get the upper hand. Their best trick is to get you to think that every thought they plant in your mind is really all your own wisdom and brilliance and truth, and every feeling that wells up in your heart is genuine and needs to be acted on because you are true to yourself and follow your heart.
You, know, when David went to fight Goliath, in his civilian shepherd boy clothes, he knew better than to trust in his own wisdom, or strength, or courage. Actually, though he wasn’t wearing Saul’s armor, he knew he was wearing the armor of God. He knew he wasn’t facing Goliath in his own strength. He said, “You come to me with a sword and a spear. But I come to you in the name of the Lord, strong and mighty, so that you and all the world will know that there is a God in Israel.” We need to learn, or review, how to do that. What the armor of God does is tell us the truth, and secure us in the truth, about who we really are in Christ. Then, knowing that nine-tenths of the battle happens in our head and hearts first, we can face the devil, and win the battle, and stand firm in the faith.
Last week I mentioned that there is spiritual equipment that exists for us so that we can take our stand and fight for spiritual freedom for those who are yet held captive. That’s the armor of God listed for us in our text here in Eph. 6:10-18. Now I’m not going to talk about all of it today. I’m doing a series to talk about each piece of it in its turn, over the next six weeks. So, you’re going to be seeing this same bulletin cover for a while. Today is the intro, so I’m really going to focus on Paul’s introduction of his discussion about the armor.
Note where Paul starts this section, “be strong in the Lord.” That means that once you are in the Lord, then you can be strong. Only those who are set free through faith in Jesus for forgiveness and new life can access and wear this armor. You don’t wear it to get free. You wear it to stay free and set others free.
I want to go back a minute to the 2010 rescue operation in Chile because it was so dramatic, but really, this can be true of any rescue operation. While trapped, you need to be rescued. All any miner down below could do was hang in there to survive, encourage other survivors, and let the rescuers do their work. But then, once you were lifted out of the mine, if you were in reasonably good shape the next thing you want to do is help pull someone else out! The rescued want to join the team of rescuers. That is what it means to be a Christian. That is what it means to take up a cross and follow Jesus. You get the awesome privilege of helping other people come to that same faith that saved you!
All the equipment for the rescue operation was above ground, not in the mine. Once you were rescued, you could get access to the rescue equipment, and work to save somebody else, but not before. And as a person rescued from the grip of death and sin, God expects you to want to join in the work of rescuing others. But really, he shouldn’t even have to ask. He knows, there is no greater joy in life than in seeing souls saved and lives changed.
Now, when you join in to help rescue others, you have to have faith in the fact that God’s mighty power is at your disposal, to use in the rescue operation. Again, there was no equipment in the mine that was useful for saving the trapped miners. But up top, the rescuers employed very powerful hydraulic machines to drill through solid rock and provide air, food, water and communication to the miners. They used powerful and sophisticated electronic equipment to know where to drill and to communicate with the trapped miners. The rescue workers could be much stronger with the equipment than they could ever be digging with their own hands and shovels. In fact, they could not have done it at all, without that powerful equipment. The armor of God is our powerful equipment for our rescue operation. To be strong in the Lord “and in his mighty power” means to know what resources are at your disposal to rescue people from sin.
Then Paul asks us to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” With the armor, you can stand against the devil. This may seem to indicate that the devil is powerful. But his only power is in deception. He’s a liar trying to get you to believe what he says about you and God. Yes, there are many demons, other fallen angels the devil commands and they can hang around and try to invade your thoughts. But they are not to be feared any more than you fear germs. And they are not to be ignored as if they aren’t really there. Because just like germs, they’re really there, even though you can’t see them.
You know germs are real, and you take proper precautions against them by such common-sense measures as staying clean, and healthy eating habits, with safe food prep. Most people live a normal healthy life, even though there are germs all around you, and all over your body too. But you don’t have to be afraid of germs. As long as you know how to handle that reality, you’ll be fine, unless you’re a hypochondriac!
It is the same with devils and demons, as long as you know the truth and apply it to your life, you’re safe! In the armor of God, you are as safe against the demons as a surgeon is against the germs when he’s all scrubbed up and in his surgical gear.
A primary element in our protection from Satan and evil is the armor that God has provided for us and instructed us to put on in Ephesians 6:13-17. When we put on the armor of God, we are really putting on Christ, as it says in Romans 13:12-14. Listen, “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So, let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
And when we put on Christ, we take ourselves out of the realm of the flesh, where we are vulnerable to attack, and we place ourselves within the dominion of Christ, where the evil one cannot touch us. Satan has nothing on Christ. Jesus said in John 14:30, “He has no hold over me.” And to the extent that we put on Christ, the evil one cannot touch us. We are assured of this in 1 John 5:18, where it says, “the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.” The satan can only touch that which is on his own level. That's why we are commanded, "Make no provision for the flesh" in Romans 13:14. It means "Don't live on Satan's level."
Now, some of this happens the moment you really and conscientiously trust in Jesus for forgiveness and salvation. Thus, it would appear from the verb tenses in Ephesians 6:14,15, that three of the pieces of armor--belt, breastplate and shoes--are already on you: "having girded . . ."; "having put on . . ."; having shod. . . ." These pieces of armor represent the elements of your protection made possible when you receive Jesus Christ and in which you are commanded to stand firm.
Now again, I’m going to talk in more detail about these pieces in the coming weeks. The point right here is, the Greek tense of "having" signifies that the action it refers to was completed before we were commanded to stand firm. That's the logical way a soldier would prepare for action: He would put on his belt, breastplate and shoes before attempting to stand firm. Likewise, we are to put on the rest of the full armor of God after having already put on Christ.
When you read through Ephesians 6:10-20, you should notice the emphasis on the active part we must play on behalf of our own spiritual defense: "be strong" (verse 10); "put on" and "stand firm" (verse 11); "take up," "be able," "resist," and "stand firm" (verse 13); "stand firm" (verse 14); "taking up" (verse 16); "take" (verse 17)' "pray at all times" and "be on the alert" (verse 18). That’s a lot of responsibility on our part, to bear the armor like good soldiers.
By now I’m sure you’re all very eager to consider the details and significance of each of the six pieces of armor from Ephesians 6:13-17. But for today, the emphasis is on your position in Christ as saved, or rescued, sealed, healed and delivered, so that you eagerly desire to save others, and gladly accept your mission, to wage the war against satan’s lies by preaching the Good News of victory in Christ, making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey Christ’s teachings.
As I have said before, this building in which we meet is like headquarters. It’s Jesus’ command post. Here, we receive training, and here we build camaraderie and morale by praising and worshipping our King. As we remember all that he has done for us, we grow in our eagerness to be used by him to rescue others. Oh, what joy there is in seeing souls saved and lives changed, especially when we take an active part in it.
So, as we prepare to dine with Jesus at the Communion Table, allow me to highlight something Jesus said to one of his best soldiers. In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus informs Peter that satan has asked to sift him like wheat. Listen, “Simon, Simon, satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Hear the strength of Jesus saying not if you turn back, but when you turn back.
But Simon Peter replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and death.” Jesus, however, knew that Peter was speaking in his own strength, not dressed in the armor of God and so he would fail, for a time. “I tell you Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
Just as with Job, God did not deny satan’s request. What Andrew Brunson says about this is that we are tested because our love for God must be tried to be found true. God’s love for us need never in doubt. But we get tested so that we learn to be sure that we love God, no matter what. So, Jesus also informed Peter that He has prayed for Peter’s faith, that it will remain, and he will recover from the deep wounds that satan would inflict. Jesus is always interceding for us, as Hebrews 4:14-16 teaches us. We are in the spiritual battle, but Jesus is in it with us, praying for us as we are to pray for one another. When a fellow soldier falls, we need to pray, not criticize. That is the example Jesus has set for us around His table.
Therefore, the call to put on the full armor of God, is first of all a call to prayer. That’s how you get saved in the first place by praying to God in faith and asking his forgiveness. And as we continue in prayer we are trained for battle and polishing our armor, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Beloved. The Lord is with you! He calls you a Mighty Warrior. You may not feel like a mighty warrior. Gideon didn’t either. But look what God did through his obedience to the call. And now God has raised you up to fight the good fight. True warriors are humble and have learned through many trials that God is faithful.
The Lord of Hosts has chosen you and consecrated you to do mighty works in His name. This table is a meal of consecration. In it we actively remind ourselves that we have put on Christ. We have committed ourselves to be his disciples, as faithful and true as we can be, with his help. That is why he feeds us. Let us pray with thanksgiving.
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