Suit Up for Battle

Text: Ephesians 6:10–24

1. Know Your Foe

Ephesians 6:10–12 “Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle (hand-to-hand combat) is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.”

Too much time is spent sparring with other Christians. We haggle over worship styles, theology, translations and many more things we don’t agree on. If the Devil can get us to focus on what we disagree on he can operate behind the scenes in relative anonymity. We must realize that the REAL enemy is actually a co-hort of evil spiritual forces (rulers and authorities; angelic beings created by God through Christ.( Colossians 1:16 “For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him.” ) who have rebelled against God and now exercise temporary power in our universe and are led by the arch-enemy, Satan. He does a good job of hiding behind people so that our focus is on them instead of him. The reality though is that Satan and his co-hort are already defeated. The One who defeated them is Jesus. V 10 admonishes believers to “be strengthened by the Lord and in His vast strength.” You should never try to do battle with the devil and his crew in your own strength. There are those who go around “rebuking” the devil and his demons. However, Jude 9 clearly tells us we should not do this. “Yet when Michael the archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses’s body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”” We are told to resist the devil, (1 Peter 5:9 “Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.”) but not to rebuke him. Paul tells us to “stand” against the devil’s evil schemes using the armor provided by God.

2. Understand the armor

Ephesians 6:14–16 “Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

There are five components to our defensive armor.

the Belt of Truth: The Bible mentions 2 entities as Truth. Jesus, who said “I am the way, the TRUTH and the life…” and the Word of God “Your Word is truth.” In reality these are one and the same. In John 1:1–2 “In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”

For the Roman Soldier, the belt was the part of the armor that held all the rest together. On the belt was the scabbard for his sword. There was also a hook where he could hang his shield, and the belt was where he tucked his tunic when he was in battle so that it did not hinder him. (gird up your loins.)

ii. The Breast plate of righteousness: This is not YOUR righteousness, but rather the righteousness of Christ. Only the one surrendered to Christr has access to this breastplate. The fact that you “put it on” indicates that it is not from within, but rather from with out. We are only righteous when we have confessed and repented of all sin. Notice that this is the BREAST plate which only covers the front of the soldier. Roman soliders were not expected to turn and run from an enemy.

iii. Feet sandaled (shod) with the readiness for the gospel of peace. This is your salvation story. It is not a memorized series of verses, it is your own personal experience with God. Leonard Ravenhill said, “A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument.” Always be ready to tell your story.

The Roman battle sandal was equipped with hob-nails (cleats) so that the solider would have traction on uneven terrain. It not only enabled him to stand firmly, it also gave him traction when moving forward. Your story enables you to stand strong and have traction against the enemy.

iv. The shield of faith: The first three parts of defensive armor are to be worn all the time because you are always on the battle field. The next two are to be “taken up” which means they must be close at hand and ready to use. The Roman shield was usually a round piece of hardwood covered with leather. Before a battle the shield was soaked in water which helped to quence the flaming arrows (fiery darts) were shot at them. Also it was used to parry the sword thrusts of the enemy. A soldier had to trust that his shield would hold up during the battle, hence, the “shield of faith”.

v. The helmet of salvation: Absolute confidence that you are saved by grace through faith. If your mind is not at peace regarding your salvation you can’t focus on the enemy. Moments of doubt cause you to lower your shield an sword and become vulnerable.

There are two components of the offensive equipment of the soldier.

i. The Sword of the Spriit (God’s Word) This doesn’t mean that you always have a Bible tucked under your arm or in your back pocket. It means that you have the Word hidden in your heart. Every time the U.S. Navy Seals or the Army Green Berets go into battle they must have memorized the “rules of engagement”. They have to hold to those rules or face judgment from their own military leaders. Know the Word; become adept at using the Word.

ii. All Prayer. “Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.”

Pray all the time, with all kinds of prayers, for all the saints. The saints are the ones who, in military terms, “have your six”. You want to make sure they are alert and ready so that you can trust them even when you don’t see them.

To use a boxing metaphor as our Pastor has done recently, with the Sword of the Lord, we jab, jab, jab, the enemy and when is is staggered, we finish him off with the right cross of prayer.