Trinity 21

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So in our text we begin with the words “Finally. This will be the wrap up of the whole book of Ephesians.

The Book of Ephesians, has these two major sections, the first one is an explanation of What Jesus has done and how his death has brought meant that all people are now welcome to live as covenant people These explanations are peppered with these prayers. The second half of the book explores what the outcome of what it means to be a multinational covenantal community.

All this argumentation is going to wrap up in this final imperative. Paul is going to explain to us that we are in the midst of some pretty substantial Spiritual Warfare and how to be prepared for it.

First Verse 10, be strong in the strength of God’s strength. This is not an encouragement to pull yourselves up by your bootstraps, but to be strong in what God has to offer. It is going to be important that in a moment that our strength is something that comes from outside ourselves.

Verse 11-12. We are encouraged to pur on the full armor of God, that we would withstand the schemes of the devil. The devil intends to work with cleverness and guile. He is powerful and intelligent. We will need what God has to offer to withstand that.

And now we are going to find out why we need God’s strength and more that what we can acquire on our own. Our struggle is not flesh and blood. We are not fighting humanity…if it was just humanity we would have a chance but we are up against something larger.

Rulers, Authorities, Cosmic Powers, Darkness, and Spiritual Evil, residing in the heavenly spaces. This solutions to our issues are not at our fingertips if we could educate better, organize better, expose the root of injustice and sustain other human endeavors. We are fighting against Spiritual forces, in heavenly spaces. We are out matched and the problem is larger than we know.

So in light of the problems size and scope and the need for God’s assistance St. Paul is gonna use a word picture of armor to guide us through three specific comments, to take up, to stand, and to take!

No you just a quick little grammer thing. Stand, take up, and take. Take up and take are the same verb in English and might feel a little redundant in something as poetic as a final call to action by saint Paul.

If we read them in Greek in stead of just Stand, Take up and Take, you might render somthing a little more like “istemi” stand, “analambano” take up, and “dechomai” recieve

So we are standing with truth fastened, righteousness over us like abreast plate and shoes of Gospel readiness, we are taking up faith like a shield, and then receiving from God salvation like a helmet and the word of God.

Now this is beautiful poetry and what a reminder that we need to enter into these sanctifying events with warrior like seriousness. BUt beyond the poetry how do we go about connecting ourselves to these things.

Verse 18, Praying at all times in the Spirit. That means more than just our logical prayers we are soft to the guiding work of the Holy Spirit. Notice in the BCP that our prayers are called collects, because they are the collected prayers of Spirit filled groanings of his people.

Want to wear the armor of God? wand to be ready for the evil day! Pray…pray for clarity of the truth, pray for the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, pray for Gospel readiness, pray-fully take up faith, and be granted God’s saving fork and and understanding of the word.

And let me encourage you to this. There is in the BCP Short form morning and evening prayers if you want to start and end your days with prayer. There is the full morning and evening offices if you are ready for more. For Anglicans this is the Gymnasium of spiritual warefare. So that when you sin and the devil attacks you with lies you have the words of confession at your fingertips. The assurance of absolution at your fingertips. When you are sad and need help celebrating God you can say Psalm 95 O come let sing unto the Lord, let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation… When you need to remember the truth of the Gospel message and be ready to lean on it you can remember…I believe in God the father almighty maker of Heaven and of Earth and in Jesus Christ his only son. And in that morning prayer office read three readings from the Bible and 3 in the evening. and there for be ready with the full armor of God.

I do want to pause for a moment and talk about the very idea that we believe in the “evil day.” On one hand There are those who forget that as believers in Christ we are opposed. Meaning that the devil stirs evil within us and around us, his minions are committed to our ruin.

I read the memoir of Eugene Peterson a few years ago and he had a friend who was a nun…We cannot forget that there is evil around us. The Lord’s prayer implores deliver us from evil.

On the other hand there is the ignoring of Evil that comes from a purely materialistic view. That all there is is what we see. That “evil” is a neurological setting that can be reprogrammed. It is not caused by depravity but by trauma or lack of education...

Well any reading of the News paper would show that view to be naive. There is something larger a foot than just lack of education. The atrocities of the 20th and 21st century are not at their root political or the lack of knowledge. After all 1930’s Germany was one of the most sophisticated societies the world had ever seen. Rawanda took place in a country that had the benefits of rising education and standards of living. The deaths taking place in Ukraine and Israel come 70 years after digesting the horrors of the second world war and with a world committed to keeping it from happening. But our struggle is not against flesh and blood...

We need something larger than ourselves to step in and deal with evil. Something did step in…or more specifically someone. God did not stand Iddly by and watch he stepped in as the person of Jesus Christ. He defeated evil not by matching it with bigger violence he did it by using the tools of the Armor of God. He perfectly modled these things. And when the moment of truth came…he prayed. He prayed a Gesemane and he prayed on the cross. And there he defeated evil and made for us a way to have eternal life.

And here he prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. he anoints our heads with oil and our cup it overflows. Amen?