Ephesians 6:14-18

Ephesians 6:14–18 “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. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”

We are in the final section of Ephesians, and as we said last week, the letter ends quite differently than it began. At the beginning of the epistle you had a vast section of God’s work in salvation, and now at the end we have that thought still in sight as the emphasis is for you to be strong but in light of that power he describes at the beginning.

Ephesians 6:10 “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”

And the particulars of what being strong in the Lord’s might look like is the armor of God—which Paul waits a few verses to get to it, instead his focus and our focus last time was detailing the need to put on that armor in light of the who and what of the enemy:

He is an enemy that is spiritual yet works in all flesh

Has authority with power

And has a pervasive kingdom

And what he does is attacks anyone who follows God in Christ with schemes or systematic lies.

A child leaves the christian home and abandons Christ because they have fallen prey to the schemes of Satan

A Father or Mother failing to nurture there children in Christ has fallen prey to the devil’s schemes

A marriage that is on the brink of destruction instead of a cultivated plant full of fruit has followed the schemes of the evil one.

A single person who does not use his or her time serving the church but instead embittered by their estate has drank the devil’s wine of deceitful deception.

Despite the who and what of the evil one being so overwhelming, the Christian is not to fear.

Jesus did not fear, in fact he prayed that we would stay in this world:

John 17:15–19 “15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

Jesus is confident in his ability to make you stand against the schemes of the evil one.

And this happens by taking hold of the armor he has provided by his death, resurrection, and giving of the Spirit.

Yes despite the attacks that are constant in this life, you can walk righteously before your God as your grab hold and put on this armor. You can stand, wrestle, withstand, stand against the devil and his schemes.

Thus your whole life as a Christian needs to be defined as joyfully wearing the armor of Christ to meet the enemy

Ask yourself as we are going through these six items:

Am I engaging in my bible reading, prayers, Lord’s day worship, and all fellowship with the saints with this on my mind and asking God to grow me in fitting in this armor?

The child David had to reject the armor given to him by Saul to meet the battle against Goliath because of his small stature and the large armor

But we as Christians, spend our whole lives fitting into and being snug with the armor that Christ hands to us at the battle line. And he has given us a whole a lot of means of grace to ensure the armor fits well.

Ephesians 6:14 “14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”

Because the enemy attacks with constant contrary schemes to God’s truth

Because he is powerful beyond we can imagine

Because Jesus has given us armor to protect us against him that enables us to stand against him

Ephesians 6:14 “14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”

Whereas the world lies in the power of the schemes of the devil

The people of Christ have grabbed the belt of truth from Jesus’ hand to meet the enemy.

We are no longer satisfied with lies even though they provide a temporary fleshly gain—we are only interested in what is true—both in our thinking and in our practice.

Ephesians 6:14 “14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”

Ephesians 6:15 “15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.”

Ephesians 6:16 “16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;”

Ephesians 6:17 “17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,”

Ephesians 6:17 “17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,”

Hebrews 4:12 “12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Ephesians 6:18 “18 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,”

General prayers: cries for help, confession of isn, profession of faith, adoration, thanksgiving, intercession.