14. God's Complete Armor / Fare (thee) well

Ephesians 6:10–18 (ESV)

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. ...

Introduction

Good Morning Church, it is good to be back with you after a couple of weeks off where my family and I got to visit family out of state and enjoy time in God’s great outdoors together.

And I want to thank both Todd and Brian for stepping up to speak in my absence, as always I consider myself blessed to serve at a Church where the leaders of the Church desire to both know and teach the truths of God’s Word. Scripture teaches us it is not an easy calling and that we should honor those who answer the call to do so.

1 Timothy 5:17 (ESV)

17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

So thank you Todd and Brian and if you missed this opportunity to hear their messages on both Truth and Remembering then you can watch them online, but there will be several more times for this coming up this summer during my 6 week sabbatical. We will be talking more about that in the coming weeks.

Tension

But today is a big day Church. Along with being the end of the Sunday School and Table Talk groups for the year we are putting a big capstone on our series from the book of Ephesians called, “God’s Plan. Our Place In It”.

The book of Ephesians as you now know is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church in an around Ephesus (map).

And remember that he wrote this letter because he was unable to travel there as he done previously because he was imprisoned in Rome, chained to a Roman guard. In the final instructions of our text for today, and really the end of this letter, Paul says...

Ephesians 6:21–22 (ESV)

21 So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.

So Tychicus will hand deliver this letter to the Churches and then he will be available to answer any of their questions about how their friend Paul is faring in Rome. This frees Paul up to write a letter that is deeply theological instead of just informational. This makes the letter to the Church in Ephesus important to the Church in Ephesus, but also very applicable for us today.

And as we have discovered, Paul wrote this letter neatly divided around these two major themes. In Chapters 1-3 we unpacked the perfection of God’s Plan to adopt us, rescue us and bless us for all eternity.

Chapters 4-6 then are all about how Our Place In God’s Plan is to display what this right relationship with God looks like. How the light, life and human flourishing found in a right relationship with God obliterates the darkness, death and destruction of our previous lives that were dedicated to rebellion against God.

And now today, the final section of Paul’s teaching begins appropriately with the word “Finally...” So Paul is finishing his letter here with a glorious description of how He has given us everything we need to be able to take our place in God’s Plan.

So if you haven’t already, open up your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 6, page 979 in the Bibles in the Chairs, I’ll pray and we will get after this glorious conclusion together.

Truth

So the first thing we see is that...

Our battle is to stand firm in Christ. (Eph 6:10-13)

Ephesians 6:10–12 (ESV)

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Like it or not, a big part of God’s Plan is a “battle plan”. The Bible uses a lot of battle language for a reason. One of the biggest lies that our enemy loves to deceive people with is that the Christian life is just one big party on a cruise ship…but the truth is we are on a battle ship it is all hands on deck at all times.

But it is really important that we understand what part we are to be play because many times throughout history Christians have misunderstood their role and taken the “battle” idea in a direction that dishonors Christ. We don’t want to do that again. Things like the Spanish inquisition and Crusades are horrible blights on the history of the Church.

To keep us from that misunderstanding we need to remember that our part in the battle is not to overcome our enemy - we are not equipped for that. Our part is to stand firm in the truth that the enemy has already been overcome and the victory has already been won.

This is not unlike how many major wars and conflicts are experienced here on earth.

For example, even though General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate troops of the south to the Union’s Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865…effectively ending the Civil War... it would take more than 16 months before President Andrew Johnson would declare a formal end to the conflict in August of 1866.

Because some people refused the believe that the war had been won, so they kept fighting as if it was still something for them to gain in continuing the conflict.

I got the chance to watch the Tom Hanks Movie “News of the World” over our vacation and the storyline was set 5 years after the civil war where there was still little pockets of rebellions popping up across Texas that continued to declare allegiance to a cause that was already definitively defeated.

Somehow even though the information about how their rebellion was defeated got to them, the message was never accepted. In their minds the battle continued. They still were fighting as if they had something to gain in continuing the conflict.

This is a similar mentality that we see in “the spiritual forces of evil” in our world today. The war has been won. The devil and all his forces were defeated at the cross.

Colossians 2:15 (ESV)

15 He [God] disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him [Christ].

So our enemy has been disarmed…past tense. They are no longer the threat they once were because Jesus has conquered them by the cross.

So we are not doing battle in the sense of still trying to conquer the enemy. Our orders are a part of the aftermath of the war Our place in God’s plan is to declare the good news that the battle has been won by Jesus Christ. That Good News is what we call the Gospel Message.

And we might say, well if the devil has already been defeated then can’t we just ignore him? That whole spiritual warfare thing is a little scary and maybe we could just focus on the love, forgiveness and mercy of Jesus rather than deal with the devil and evil force and stuff.

I understand that desire, but no we can’t ignore him.

Even though his ultimate plan has been destroyed, he has been “disarmed” and he knows his time is short...he is angry and doing whatever he can to lie, cheat and deceive people into believing lies about God, His good world - His Kingdom - and His good Word. Our orders are to suit up to battle against those lies with the “Whole Armor of God”.

That is what Paul means in verse 12 when he says...

Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

The Devil and his “forces of evil” have been defeated, but as they wait for Jesus to return for their final sentencing they are like angry dogs on short leashes…his bark is worse than his bite…but that doesn’t mean that his bark can’t do a lot of damage.

For example, If you have been to my house then you have probably met our dog moose. (Moose is the one on the left). Moose has a look about him that makes people who have never met him a little nervous and he has a bark to match.

If someone was trying to get into our house and they heard Moose’s bark they would rightly think twice about opening the front door. The truth is that Moose is probably locked up in his kennel, but if they don’t know that then they are going react as if he could be coming around the corner at any moment.

The devil works in a similar way. He has been defeated and disarmed, locked up from doing the damage he used to do... but that doesn’t mean his bark can’t work to ruin a whole lot of lives.

1 Peter 5:8 (ESV) says

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

So we don’t need to fear the Devil, but we don’t dare ignore him either. We need to be watchful of his evil ways and suit up to guard against them.

And did you see where these spiritual forces of evil are attacking us from? We have seen this phrase many times in Ephesians and we have learned that the “heavenly places” is not the throne room of God. There is no battle happening there, but this is the spiritual realm where both good and evil exist and are in this cosmic battle whose end has already been determined but it still moves on.

And what Paul says throughout the letter to Ephesus is that we are actively involved in and influenced by this Spiritual Realm.

The letter opens up with...

Ephesians 1:3 (ESV)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

And later in same chapter Paul speaks of...

Ephesians 1:19b–23 (ESV)

19 ...the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

This great power and might of God was what raised Jesus from the dead so that He is not seated with the Father ruling and reigning from “the heavenly places” that are …verse 21...

21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

This is why God doesn’t need to ask us to defeat these rulers and authorities...Jesus has already defeated them. They are already subject to Him and now what is left for us, His Church, is to finish his plan.

How are we to do this? He told us in Chapter 2, Paul says that God has

Ephesians 2:6b–7 (ESV)

... raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

We can play the finishing role because we have been seated with Christ in the Spiritual Realm, the heavenly places. Chapter 3 verse 10 says...

Ephesians 3:10 (ESV)

10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

This is the same “heavenly places” and these are the same “rulers and authorities” that Paul says that we wrestle against here in chapter 6.

God is using the Church as something like a trophy case where the great wisdom of God is brilliantly displayed when we live according to His rule and reign. That is why it is so important that we have all we need to “stand firm” in our faith because God is getting something important done through us.

So Paul says again in verse 13...

Ephesians 6:13 (ESV)

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

So...

Our battle is to stand firm in Christ. (Eph 6:10-13)

Secondly,

Our armor strengthens us for the battle (Eph 6:14-17)

So if you spent time in Sunday School as a kid like I did then this is the point in the passage that you started paying attention, Right? They started talking about the suit of armor and you have all kind of warrior images coming together in your mind.

One of the fun things that we got to do while on vacation was to visit “Castlerock Museum” down in Alma, WI. If you haven’t been there I would highly recommend it, especially if you are interested in exploring military armor and weapons throughout history.

We were fortunate to be there on a day when they were doing a demonstration of the different kinds of armor and how a Knight put his armor on and after the demonstration we even got to try on some chain mail, helmets and hold the sword.

(This is what you do when you come back from vacation isn’t it? Bore everyone with pictures of places they didn’t get to go…)

Anyway, while most of the demonstration was dedicated to the armor of around the 1400’s in medieval England, one of the first displays I encountered was a display of artifacts that would have been easily recognized by Apostle Paul and the people in Ephesus.

These helmets and swords were from the Roman Empire era and the picture is of a Roman Soldier who was ready for battle with belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet and sword. Some theologians wonder if Paul didn’t chose this illustration because he was there in Rome and even chained up to a Roman Soldier much of the time.

But as fun as it is to think of historical battles and armor, we shouldn’t let it distract us from the one command that we have here in the text.

The repeated imperative or command here is to “Stand”. As much as the little boy in me wants to yell… “Charge!!!” and then run out on the battlefield...that is not the command our commander has given us. That part of the battle has already been won. We are to suit up so that we can “withstand”, “stand firm” and again here to “Stand therefore,...”

And this armor that we are to put on will help us to do this, and we know that it work because it is the same armor that Jesus wore when he was being attacked and tempted by Satan. In fact, the Old Testament has many Messianic verses that show us how the Messiah, Jesus, would be equiped in this same way. I will present them here together so we can see this more clearly...

1. Belt of Truth

Ephesians 6:14a(ESV)

14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth,

As Todd taught us a couple of weeks ago, truth keeps us from giving in to the lies that the world has been deceived into believing is true. Right now in our Postmodern age it is primarily the lie that we are the arbiters of our own truth, but in every age Satan is trying to tear us down with all kinds of lies, but we can be held up in the truth.

Of the coming Messiah, Isaiah said...

Isaiah 11:5 (ESV)

5 Righteousness (Hebrew word “sedek” and it means right in the sense of accurate, correct or honest…truth) shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

2. Breastplate of Righteousness

Ephesians 6:14b(ESV)

14Stand therefore ... and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

As Isaiah said in Isaiah 59:17...

Isaiah 59:17 (ESV)

17 He [Christ Jesus] put on righteousness as a breastplate, ...

Different Hebrew word here, the word “stu-kuh” and it means blameless behavior or just deeds for a just cause.

3. Shoes of readiness/Gospel

Ephesians 6:15(ESV)

Stand therefore....and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

Shoes are not typically seen as one of the more glamorous pieces of a suit of armor, but history has shown that many conflicts have been decided on the basis of which army had the better footwear. It is said that the success of both Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar were due largely to the fact that their armies where shod with better shoes. These better shoes kept their foot soldiers on the march for days over rough terrain.

Think about how the power of the message of the Gospel can keep us going even when things get rough in life. And Isaiah said in 52:7

Isaiah 52:7 (ESV)

7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, ...”

4. Shield of Faith

Ephesians 6:16 (ESV)

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

This is the only part of the kit where Paul includes a description of how it is used. The Devil is constantly firing his accusations and lies at us and if we are not careful those lies will spread like fire. So our faith in Jesus not only stops the lies initially, but it keeps it from flaring up later. We hold fast to our faith because God is the one who has given it to us.

Proverbs 30:5 (ESV) says...

5 Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

5. Helmet of Salvation

Ephesians 6:17a(ESV)

17 and take the helmet of salvation, ...”

So these last two things are in a class a bit by themselves. While everything else could be “put on” or “taken up” by the soldier himself, these last two things had to be given him by an attendant of some sort. We can see this even in the fact that the word translated “take” here is a different Greek word than the one used in verse 16.

This is very fitting because our salvation is not something that we can effect or put in motion on our own. It is something that God does in us. It is something that we have to receive from Jesus and then we can put it on.

But even in this example we read from Isaiah that...

Isaiah 59:17 (ESV) …again...

17 He put on ... a helmet of salvation on his head;

Lastly, but not in any way the least we are told...

6. Sword of the Spirit

Ephesians 6:17 (ESV)

17 and take ...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

From the beginning back in Genesis through Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness the battle has always been will we believe what God has said in His Word or will be believe the word of our enemy the Serphent, Devil or Satan. Our first parents Adam and Eve ignored God’s Word, and we inherited that rebellious nature…but Jesus answered every temptation with the Word of God, He said, “It is written...”

That is still our battle today. Will we pick up the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, like Jesus did or will we listen to the lies of the enemy like our first parents. One leads to light and life, the other to darkness and death.

Isaiah 49:2 (ESV) says of the coming Messiah...

2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword; ...

When you came in this morning you should have been given a little bracelet that you can “take up” and “put on” in reflection of how we are to Put on the Armor of God. Each of the pieces of the Armor of God are written on the band and hopefully they will serve as a reminder of the very real battle that we are in and what we need to stand strong in it.

Because...

Our battle is to stand firm in Christ. (Eph 6:10-13)

Our armor strengthens us for the battle (Eph 6:14-17)

Our armor is strengthened through prayer. (Eph 6:18-20)

Paul finishes this illustration of the Armor of God with this statement...

Ephesians 6:18a (ESV)

18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. But he takes it a step further than that as he says..To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Prayer is key here guys. Did you see how many times Paul uses the absolute word “all”?

“praying at ALL times in the Spirit, with ALL prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with ALL perseverance, making supplication for ALL the saints,”

The battle is real, the consequences are grave and the urgency is immediate. We have to hit our knees and ask our God to...

increase our understanding of the TRUTH,

to empower us to live in his RIGHTEOUSNESS

to help us be quick to share the good news of PEACE

to protect us in our growing FAITH

to remind us of His gift of SALVATION

to draw us deeper into the WORD OF GOD

and when Paul said “all” he truly meant that this was an all hands on deck kind of battle. I need you to be praying for me. You need me to be praying for you.

Paul even closes his letter desperately asking the Churches in and around Ephesus to be praying for him. He says...

19 and also [pray] for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Application

This was Paul’s place in God’s plan. He was sitting in Rome awaiting his execution at the end of the Roman sword. Even here he asked for prayer to continue to be bold with the same message that got him in this trouble in the first place.

Like all of us, Paul certainly better and worse when it came to the strength of his faith, but even as we desperately pray for it, we have to remember that our hope is not in the strength of our faith. Our hope is in the strength found in the object of our faith. The strength of the one we have placed our faith in. JESUS CHRIST.

Landing

So let me end with the encouragement of the first verse of our text today followed by the very last verse of the letter of Ephesians.

Ephesians 6:10–11 (ESV)

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

and ...

Ephesians 6:23 (ESV)

23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lets pray.