Sermon on Ephesians 6:10-20

Ephesians 6:10-20                                                                                                                Levi Brink

The Armor of God

English Standard Version Chapter 6

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. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also 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.

Final Greetings

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.

23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

This is the last part of the book of Ephesians and Paul is reminding them of what they will face. It is a battle. He wants them to be prepared.

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.

In verse 10, it begins with finally, which is not a good translations,(At least the niv app commentary says). It says, it is the short form of the word “tou loipou chronou” which means “from now on.” Paul uses this short form in Galatians 6:17 “From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” and “from now on” which makes sense there. So, when Paul is saying “from now on”, he is saying leave the past behind such as their past attitude of discouragement in 3:13 or their old selves when they followed this world in 2:1. So “from now on”, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. To be strong in this sense it to be strengthened. The mood in imperative and the voice is passive. In this sense, it is does not mean personal, inner strength but to be strengthened or to grow strong in the Lord and His mighty power. it is reliance on the strength of God through trust and faith. God had just shown his power by Christ raising from the dead and from the miracles he did. This verse shows that a believer is not strong on his own power but by the power of God. The present tense shows that this is not just a quick fix but it is to be continually strong meaning continually relying on the power of God and continuing to be strengthened. How should a believer be strong?

Verse 11 states, by putting on the full armor of God. To “put on” has the idea of putting on clothes. It is a military term to put on the protection of an armor. The Armor protected against enemy attacks. It made the person prepared for warfare. In this sense, Paul is saying, you must put on the Armor of God so that you can stand against the devil's scheme or strategy. The devil is cunning. He knows when to strike like it says in 1 Peter5:8 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Be prepared for war. Now putting on the armor of God is putting on God or at least the characteristics of God. We think it is because of the English version of this passage that this is an individual command like you as one person, put on the Armor of God. It is important for us to grow individually and rely on God personally, but the imperatives throughout this section are plural. To be strengthened is as a body. To “put on” is plural also. So put on collectively as a body of believers the armor of God. I read a book in grade school Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat. He is a biologist who lives in Canada. he is tasked with looking into the decline of caribou and the wolves. Ultimately people were the cause but how the wolves hunted, they would run at the Hurd and whichever caribou was lame or had a disease and they could catch, that is the one they would kill and eat. They wouldn’t catch the healthy ones because they were too fast. The scheme of satan is to look for the weak and the hurt and struggling believers and turn them away from God. So to encourage each other to put on the armor of God is what the church is. To be strengthened and grow in this armor is equipping the believers against spiritual warfare.

 Verse 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. . People are not the problems. What we see is not the problem. We are battling against the unseen. The word for struggle in Greek is the word for wrestling. Paul is using these words to show that it is an intense struggle and it is important to protect ourselves with the armor of God, especially when facing the unseen. Flesh and blood are emphasizes the weak mortal nature of humanity. Paul shows them that we are battling powerful beings like rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world. There is a battle going on and by ourselves, we are powerless to do anything. But with God, he has already won. We must remember that he is the one who give us the strength to battle this opponent. The world we live in is run by darkness and evil. In our country there are things that are contrary to the Bible. Even in the workforce we have things that challenge our faith. In Healthcare it is abortion and gender confusion. In the world it is hurting others, deception, stealing, killing and the self live. God made this world perfect and because of the fall, self has taken first place. When we do that, we are doing what the enemy wants. The lies of the enemy is to be content with accepting everything as okay. you live you die and nothing we do matters. But that was not God’s intended purpose for us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We have a purpose. What we do matters. Being the love of Christ to others changes lives.

Verse 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.. Again, Paul says Put on the Full Armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm. The idea of to “stand”, is to be prepared. Be prepared with the Armor of God to stand your ground because you will be attacked. Without preparation and putting on God, the believer would not be able to stand against the devil when he attacks the believer. “Evil times” were upon them, they were living in an age where Christianity was not tolerated. They were seen as radicals who did not want to conform to the Romans standard of living. They didn't worship their gods, they didn't worship the emperor which was seen as disobedience. To keep it short, they were in a difficult time for believers. It was important to put on the armor of God so that they would be able to resist temptation, and live lives that were in reliance to God. We are living in evil times. We see that Jesus and Christianity is not tolerated. It is attacked in world. People are still being killed for their faith in Jesus. When people know your a believer it can be looked down upon. Why is this happening? We can celebrate different religions but not Jesus. The enemy is not worried about different religions because there is no truth in them. If there is any proof in the real truth, us being attacked should be truth. What we believe is real. What we do for God scares the enemy.

Verse 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, . The belt of truth. This goes back to Isaiah 11:1-5. It talks about the coming Messiah. It says “righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” Belts were useful to the Roman soldier. It held up their garment so that they can maneuver better. It held their weapons. To go back to Isaiah, it is Jesus saving works and his truth that we are to put on. Then the breast plate of righteousness. Breastplates protected the vital organs in the body. God provides the armor for his people. In righteousness, we are just, fair, equitable, upright in dealings with others. The truth of God produces righteousness in his believers and by being righteous, we are above reproach from the enemy. The enemy can’t us our past to hold us down. He cant use our sins if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us all from unrighteousness. Satan uses our struggles to hurt us and keep us down. God redeems us and when satan attacks, we can say we are made right before God because of Jesus.

Verse 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.. Your feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Soldiers needed proper footware that kept them from injuring their feet and also gave them grip so they wouldn't slip during battle. The gospel brings peace. In the commentary, it says, a properly shod soldier does not run to proclaim the gospel, but stands to fight against the evil powers. It is used to battle against the enemy. The death of Christ on the cross and the peace it brings allows us to stand firm in our faith when the enemy attacks and tries to weaken us in our faith. We are at peace with God and he is with us. It is also scripture that allowed the believer to have peace in all situations.

Verse 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; . The shield of faith. In this, Paul assigns the shield to defend against the enemies flaming arrows. When Paul talks about the shield of faith, he uses the word “en pasin” which means, in addition to everything else, in this context. He seems to emphasize the importance of the shield. The shield were made to defend the whole body from attacks, specifically ranged attacks. They were about 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide and was important in defending not just the individual soldier but the troops. They would be lined together to protect the soldiers in the back. Adding these together, truth, righteousness and faith are tools to help Christians stand firm from the enemies attacks.

Verse 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,. The helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. The helmet protected the head and the neck of the soldier. They are to put on the hope of salvation. Faith in Christ brings salvation. It is important for the believer to stand firm in their knowledge that they are saved. The sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon. The sword is scripture. Just as Jesus quotes scripture to resist temptation from satan, we are to use scripture in our daily walk with God. It is a weapon. (all these armors and weapons can be traced back to Isaiah)

Verse 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, 19 and also 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. . Finally, Paul ends by saying pray in the Spirit with all kinds of prayers and request. Be alert, and always keep praying for the Lord's people. Paul asks for prayer also for himself. He ends this speech about the armor of God with encouraging the people to pray. To pray for one another and to pray for him as well.