Riches: Of God's Battle Gear
Sufficiency of Christ: Book of Ephesians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 36:14
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Your Training!
Your Training!
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When you start a job you normally receive some training. When you join the military, you receive lot’s of training. Well, after training comes application. Putting to use the training you have received. Today we are going to look at some of the equipment issued to you during your training for your application. We are looking at God’s armor issued to the Christian.
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(Boot camp issued gear picture; already saved on computer) - boot camp illustration
Well, Paul, more than likely chained to soldier uses the soldier’s armament to show you God’s armament that is issued to every enlisted person (Christian).
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In our training manual (Bible) specifically in the Letter to the Ephesians we have seen some of our training materials.
What we have in Christ (Eph1:7-8)
How we came to have what we have (Eph2:5-6)
Some of the power we have being in Christ (Eph3:16)
The reason we have the power (Eph3:17-19)
Unit cohesiveness, unit unity (Eph4:4-6)
About the training officers, why we need them (Eph4:11-13)
Instructions to apply from our training (Eph5:1-2)
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May we remember that in Ephesians Chapters 1-3 = who we are, personally, in Christ, chapters 4-6 about who we are to be in Christ as the church. So some reminders before we start.
In our training manual (Bible) specifically in the Letter to the Ephesians we have seen some of our training materials.
What we have in Christ (Eph1:7-8)
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight
In our training manual (Bible) specifically in the Letter to the Ephesians we have seen some of our training materials.
What we have in Christ (Eph1:7-8)
How we came to have what we have (Eph2:5-6)
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
By grace through faith, we came to have the redemption we have in Christ through His blood.
What we have in Christ (Eph1:7-8)
How we came to have what we have (Eph2:5-6)
Some of the power we have being in Christ (Eph3:16)
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
Strengthened in power, according to the riches of His glory, strengthened through His Holy Spirit!
What we have in Christ (Eph1:7-8)
How we came to have what we have (Eph2:5-6)
Some of the power we have being in Christ (Eph3:16)
The reason we have the power (Eph3:17-19)
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Reason, we have these things, is for application, so Christ may dwell in our hearts, we may be rooted and grounded in love and to comprehend the love of Christ!
But that is not it, there is more we covered in the training manual in the section to the Ephesians
In our training manual (Bible) specifically in the Letter to the Ephesians we have seen some of our training materials.
Unit cohesiveness, unit unity (Eph4:4-6)
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
For us to accomplish what the Lord wants us to accomplish we need to be as “One” and have unity. He gave us ways to have unity and gifts to help with the unity.
Unit cohesiveness, unit unity (Eph4:4-6)
About the training officers, why we need them (Eph4:11-13)
The gifts, the training officers we have seen
11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
and the reason we needed those training officers
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
all until we attain the unity of the faith, the unit cohesiveness
Unit cohesiveness, unit unity (Eph4:4-6)
About the training officers, why we need them (Eph4:11-13)
Instructions to apply from our training (Eph5:1-2)
Now we did take a family day in the midst of our training and look at family relationships (Eph6:1-9) as well as work family, but I need to press on.
In our training we received equipment to use. We did not make the equipment, we did not purchase the equipment, we just received the equipment. After receiving it we were instructed to put on the equipment, then to use it to fight the spiritual battles that are before us. (Eph6:10-13)
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
I know that is a long introduction. But training is extensive for we need to fully understand what we have, so then we can understand what we are to do with it. That leads us to our next section, our section today, the issued battle gear.
God’s Armor
God’s Armor
David was given Saul’s armor (1Sam17) and it did not fit and was no use to Him. We are issued God’s armor and it is of perfect us to us. In our training manual we can learn about the armor given.
14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
So you are out of basic training; you have passed advanced infantry training, now it is time to face the battles ahead. you are prepared, you are equipped. Let’s check our battle gear so that we know we may be able to stand firm.
To stand firm is to stand through the battle to the victory. Our victory has already been one, but still we need to know about our victory. Our victory is in Christ Jesus. Our Christian lives should be a daily display of the victory we have and the proof of it. The proof is shown in the equipment given. The Spiritual armor God has given us. Armor that we have put on. Just look at the aorist imperatives (in other words the perfect, completed commands) that Paul uses.
Having girded (v.14) - belt of truth
Having put on (v.14) - breast plate of righteousness
Having shod (v.15) - preparation of the gospel of peace
Having taken up (v.16) some versions say taking up - shield of faith
These are all actions that we, as Christians, must have taken if we are to stand firm (Eph6:14).
In case you think I forgot something, or am missing something in the armament, that we need to take daily, pick up daily, be reminded of daily
And take up (v.17) - helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit (the Word of God)
We need all of God’s equipment because the days are evil (Eph5:16; Eph6:13)
16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
(expand here about the evil in this world; including spiritual evil that is trying to detour, distract, disarm, discourage and derail the Christian).
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Girded with belt of Truth (Eph6:14; Isa11:4-5; other scriptures 2Cor5:21: Eph4:24; Eph1:13; Eph4:25)
If you are trained, if you are equipped then you are surrounded by the Truth. Jesus is the truth (Jn14:6); The Word is true (Psm119:160); and the Truth is needed to be set free (Jn8:31-32).
Breastplate of Righteousness in place (Eph6:14; Isa59:17; Eph6:10; Eph4:29; 1The5:11)
His righteousness to gives us His strength to accomplish His purpose. God’s righteousness should equate to our moral and ethical righteousness.
Feed shod with the preparation of the Gospel (Eph6:15; Rom5:1; Isa52:7; Jam4:7)
Proper footwear is vital to be able to stand in the midst of the spiritual battles.
Taking up the shield of Faith (Eph5:16; Psm5:2; Psm18:2; Eph1:19; Eph2:8; Eph4:13)
More than saving faith, this is active, practical faith that couples with others faith to make it unified faith.
And take the helmet of salvation (Eph6:17; 2Cor11:1-3; 1Cor2:16; Php4:8-9; Eph4:21)
We do not want our mind to be deceived and risk our salvation. we need to control what we allow into our mind and protect our salvation.
The sword of the Spirit (Eph6:17; Heb4:12; Act2:37)
Paul explains what the sword is; others scriptures describe what the sword does.
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Girded by the belt of Truth
If you are trained, if you are equipped then you are surrounded by the Truth. Jesus is the truth (Jn14:6); The Word is true (Psm119:160); and the Truth is needed to be set free (Jn8:31-32).
4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. 5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
This battle gear the Lord wears has been made available and issued to us. His righteousness saved us, so that we are able to become His righteousness.
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
When we have the Truth, when we have God’s righteousness we can become the righteousness of God and able to walk in righteousness. We need to be sure to put on or put in God’s righteousness daily!
Since we are to be girded, surrounded by this belt of righteousness, the righteousness of God, let me expand a bit more.
This is the truth of God
24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
This is the truth that we heard, we believed, we responded to when the gospel was shared with us.
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
And this truth is apparent, evident, in the Christian and we lay aside other things.
25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
Commentator Peter O’Brian said it like this
“As believers buckle on this piece of the Messiah’s armour, they will be strengthened by God’s truth revealed through the gospel. And will then display the characteristics of the Anointed One in attitudes, in language, and behavior. This giving the devil no opportunity to gain an advantage over them.”
Breastplate of Righteousness in place
Paul again eludes to Isaiah and the Lord’s righteousness
17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
We are to be equipped, putting on the Lord’s righteousness, the Lord’s truth, remember it is he Lord who strengthens us.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
His Strength to do His will to accomplish His purpose and for His glory.
So, this breastplate we have been issued, the Lord’s righteousness, well it should be then our moral and ethical righteousness too.
29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
We are not to let the things of this world come out of our mouth, but words that build up, encourage and edify the body.
11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
When the spiritual battle is raging, and Satan is accusing the believer, it is God’s righteousness through Christ that assures us where we stand!
May we remember
God’s righteousness, moral and ethical righteousness equates to practical righteousness!
Feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel
Believe it or not, we finally made it through just one verse! Now let’s talk about footwear. If we are to stand (Eph6:13-14); if we are to withstand, we need the shoes of the gospel of peace. Starting with peace from the peacemaker.
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Peace with God through Jesus Christ. When we have peace with God we can then learn to walk in peace with each other. This is contrary to what Satan wants, he wants to divide and to conquer. But to the Christian who have their feet shod, they are prepared, and are ready, in fact they have beautiful feet.
7 How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Satan will have no power, for God can move mountain and has given us the Good News, the Gospel! When we submit to the Gospel, submit to God, then we are able to resist Satan.
7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
He will flee from you! You don’t have to run from him, he will run from you. But you need more armament.
Taking up the shield of faith
This shield of faith is not your saving faith that brought you into .the army of God. But this faith is living faith, practical faith that we practice together.
(insert roman shield picture; already saved on computer) - A Roman’s shield would interlock with others shields to form a wall of protection. As a Christian we are to be soldiers fighting in the army not a gladiator fighting alone. We need each other.
Shields are mentioned several times in the O.T. let me quickly reference some.
Psm18:2 - The Lord is my shield and the horn of my salvation
Psm5:2 - He surrounds me with a shield.
He is the shield, and the horn of our salvation! He is our stronghold and our deliverer. Oh could go on, but still more to cover.
This shield of faith; this faith that Paul has used time and time again in Ephesians is where we get our divine strength.
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
It is faith that brings about the free gift of God’s grace
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
This faith that brings unity to the body
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
So, it is easy to see the importance of the shield of faith that words with others to help in the spiritual battles we face because the days are evil.
God gave us a mind and expects us to use it and gave us protection for that too.
And take up the helmet of salvation.
It was the mind in which Eve was deceived (2Cor11:1-3)
What do we allow to control our mind? What do we allow to come into our mind? Do we have the mind of Christ?
16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
It was the mind in which Eve was deceived (2cor11:1-3)
We are to fill our minds with the things above that are praiseworthy (Php4:8-9)
The Christian who has the helmet of salvation and continues to grow in Christ is not easily swayed by false doctrine or the ways of the world. Remember we are surrounded by truth (Eph4:21; Eph6:14)
Our mind is to be used, the Bible is a vital tool, it is a lifeline and life source to the Christian it is the sword!
The sword of the Spirit
We have not had the passage up in awhile, so let me give you the verse first.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Paul tells us the sword is the Word of God.
The Hebrew writer likens the Word to a sword
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
It is the Word that pierced hearts on Pentecost (Act2:37 ref only) It is the Word that convicts us of our sins, much more powerful than a material sword.
Material sword pierces the body; Word of God pierces the heart
Material sword gets dull with use; Word of God sharpens our lives for God
Material sword requires soldiers hand; Word of God has its own power, the Holy Spirit.
We need all the battle gear that has been issued and given to us by God. WE have it, we have been trained to use it, and we have been given a training manual to sharpen the use of the armament that God has provided.
The whole armor of God is a picture of god the Son, Jesus Christ.
For He is the Truth (Jn14:6)
He is our righteousness (2COr5:21)
He is our peace (Eph2:14)
By His faithfulness we are able to come to faith (Gal2:20)
He is our salvation (Lk2:30)
And he is the Word of God (Jn1:1, Jn1:14)
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