Gear Up!

No Place for Fobbits

We began the series Spiritual Warfare last week by focusing on the reality of the battle and that there is a real enemy – the devil. We also acknowledged that through Christ we are ‘more than conquerors’ and have everything that we need to defeat the enemy. Our next sermons in this series will focus on the elements of our spiritual armor that God has provided: - The belt of truth - Breastplate of righteousness - Shoes of peace - Shield of faith - Helmet of salvation - Sword of the Spirit - ‘Lance’ of prayer

Today I want to discuss the panoplia of the armor of God and expectation that God has that we participate in the fight. We are not called to be fobbits. The term fobbit comes from the military abbreviation for Forward Operating Bases and The Lord of the Ringshobbit characters. A fobbit is someone who is reluctant to leave the comforts of the base and go outside the wire to confront the enemy.

To be a Christian is to accept that there will be battles.

The believer simply cannot ignore this one fact: the devil will attack, wherever and whenever he can. No one is exempt. Preparation for battle is the only sensible option.

At the battle of Gettysburg, a general reported to Longstreet, the commanding officer, that he could not bring his men up again. Longstreet answered sarcastically, “Very well; never mind, then; just let them stay where they are; the enemy’s going to advance, and that will spare you the trouble.”

Be ready. Spiritual battles will come. As Jesus said,

“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).[1]

The Whole Armor of God

In some of the research that I have done, the weight of the armor for some of the Roman soldiers would be 130 lbs. That seemed to me like a lot of weight which made me think about the American soldier’s load. According to the Modern War Institute at West Point, during the Civil War, the load was approximately 40 lbs. By WWI it had increased to 60 lbs. WWII and Vietnam increased up to 80-100 lbs. Infantryman in Afghanistan were carrying between 110-130 pounds. The Taliban often referred to US troops as donkeys because of the way that they walked beneath the loads they were carrying.

So, as Paul describes the armor of God in terms of the Roman armor at the time, it is certainly very believable and accurate. The Roman armor made the Roman army almost invincible when worn and used as it was intended.

In the day of battle, Roman soldiers were to stand their ground, not retreat. As long as they stood together on a flat, open field and did not break ranks, their legions were considered virtually invincible.[2]

In the same way, the armor of God makes believers invincible when worn and used as it is intended.

We are going to take our time to develop each of the pieces of the armor but today I want to focus on Paul’s thoughts as he sets it up:

Ephesians 6:10–11 NIV

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

There are some key concepts in these 2 verses that are worth considering:

1. Our strength and power have already been provided

2. Our Commander expects us to put the armor on

3. We can STAND against the enemy

Who’s ready to ‘Gear Up’?

Gear Up!

Paul demands that the Ephesians ‘be strong’ and shows us that there is a need for defense. However, he also provides the way that we can be victorious over the enemy.

The armor that Paul describes is to be used as a ‘whole armor’, in the Greek it is the panoplia. It refers to the soldier who is dressed from head to toe in what the Roman commanders have provided. This armor is both offensive and defensive. For example, the shoes had spikes attached to them. That is not defensive, but offensive. The soldier had to be ready with the entire armor.

The Armor of God Has Been Already Given to You

The best news is that we don’t have to create our own armor. God has already provided it for us.

Ephesians 6:11 NIV

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

In the 11th verse the verb “can” or, maybe “might be able” in your translation comes from the word dunamis in the Greek. According to Rick Renner, “It describes explosive ability and dynamic strength or power. This Greek phrase could be more accurately translated, “...that you may have incredible, explosive, dynamic power....” By using this word dunamis, Paul declares that when we are equipped with the whole armor of God, we have explosive and dynamic power at our command!”[3]

Check this out. The same word is used earlier in Ephesians:

Ephesians 1:18–20 NIV

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,

Let me share with you what Renner says about the power that we have been given…

This dunamis power is so strong that it equips us, for the first time in our lives, to confront and pursue the enemy rather than to be pursued by him. Because of this dunamis power that is at our command when we walk in the whole armor of God, we become the aggressors! This is why Paul goes on to say, “...that ye may be able to stand against....[4]

The whole armor of God has been provided to us through the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. The power of God is stronger than any principality or power. They were defeated at the Cross!

Put It On!

Like many of the things that we struggle with in life, we simply must do it. We must put on the armor of God.

“Put on the whole armor of God…” – vs 11

Paul makes a similar statement in chapter 4…

Ephesians 4:22–24 NIV

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Again to the church of Colossae

Colossians 3:9–10 NIV

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Paul has challenged the church to do 2 things. (1) Be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might; and (2) put on the whole armor of God. This is balance. Some Christians are so self-confident that they think they can manage by themselves. They can’t. Our dependence is on the strength of the Lord. Other Christians have no confidence that they can do anything to contribute to their victory in spiritual warfare. They can. They can put on the belt of truth, for example. Today we are building the belt of truth by learning about the power of the armor of God.

In 2 Timothy 2:1 Paul encourages Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:1–3 NIV

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Listen to it from Timothy’s perspective. “Be strong in the grace…” – identifies the gifts from Jesus Christ. But it also implies that Timothy must “put on” through action and attitude (or faith) what has been provided to do the work of the Kingdom.

…the armour is God’s, and without it we shall be fatally unprotected and exposed, but still we need to take it up and put it on.[5]– John Stott

We lose some of the meaning of the command put onbecause we don’t know the Greek. But those who do say that the statement (put on) carries the strength of a general as he commands his troops.

The General knows the benefits of the armor, both defensively and offensively. I can’t tell you how many times my platoon sergeants, 1st sergeants, and commanders fussed me and others to wear the armor correctly. Eventually it was me fussing my soldiers, not to make them miserable but to keep them alive.

You Are Able

If you have a Life Application Bible, you’ll see some comments about Eph 6:10-11. It asks a couple of questions. Why would Christians not want to use the full armor? What keeps them from using God’s power?

1. They don’t sense danger or recognize the power of the enemy.

We talked about this last week. Our enemy, is real and is only interested in stealing, killing, and destroying. You’ve heard the story about the scorpion and the frog?

A frog was hopping along the shore of a river looking for a place to cross. He came upon a scorpion sitting on the shore. “Hello, friend frog,” said the scorpion. “It appears you are looking to cross the river. I too want to cross. Would you mind carrying me?”

The frog was taken aback. “Why, if I let you on my back to cross the river, you’d sting me and I would die. I don’t think I’ll do that.”

The scorpion immediately replied, “There is no logic to your concern. If I sting you and you die, I will surely die as well, since I can’t swim. I wouldn’t need a ride if I could swim.”

The frog thought a moment and then said, “Your logic makes sense. Why would you kill me if it would result in your death? Come along and climb on my back and we’ll cross this river.”

The scorpion climbed on the frog’s back and off they went to cross the river. About halfway across the river, the scorpion raised its tail and stung the frog. The frog was both astounded and disconsolate. “Why did you sting me? Now I will die and you will surely drown and die also.”

The scorpion replied, “I can’t help it. It’s who I am. It’s in my nature.”

We cannot fool ourselves into believing that the world is, at best, neutral. The devil is the god of this world and his desire is to destroy people.

2. Another reason Christians are weak is that they don’t have all the weapons.

There is no reason for us not to. They are all available, but it may be that they have never been taught the significance and importance of those weapons.

3. They are untrained in the use of those weapons.

Without practice, no soldier can be ready for battle. One of the weapons is the sword of the Spirit. We just recently studied what it means to ‘live in the Spirit’. We are commanded to be people that are of both the Spirit and truth. At salvation we are justified by faith and made righteous, but we also are expected to live righteously as the process of sanctification continues to take place in our lives.

4. They may be in a comfort zone.

Perhaps they are nowhere near the battle, or they are somehow compromising with the enemy.

There were some soldiers in the unit that never went outside of the wire. They hadn’t even taken the time to be sure that their weapons were ready. Because my team

If you are a church leader, make sure your church prepares people. All believers must take hold of the power that God has made available to them. They cannot fight the battle without it.[6]

Those are 4 reasons that we fail to live powerful lives as conquerors, but there is no excuse. God has made us more than conquerors.

Romans 8:37–39 NIV

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gear Up!

If we are going to embrace what the Bible says about the armor of God we need to accept that God has given us amazing equipment and we need to realize that we have a responsibility to put it on.

I’ve borrowed this concluding prayer from a Dr. Larry Petton. After he finished his series on spiritual warfare he prayed this:

· "Good morning, Lord. It’s going to be a great day because I am preparing to win spiritual battles for Your glory and honor! Your Word tells me to “Put on the armor of God that I may be able to stand against the schemes of the Devil” (Ephesians 6:12). So, I am here today dressing myself for battle.

· I will buckle the truth of Your Word like a belt around me. I will speak the truth, live the truth and compare everything I hear today by the standards of Your Word, which is absolute truth.

· I will strap on the breastplate of righteousness and ask You to let nothing into my heart today that You do not approve.

· I will lace up the boots of readiness for sharing the Gospel of peace with those who do not know You. I am ready to tell others how to find You when I get the opportunity.

· I will firmly hold on to the shield of faith and defeat every fiery dart of the Devil. I break every evil assignment against me in Jesus’ Name!

· I will confidently wear the helmet of salvation and ask You to keep my mind focused on things that are good, positive, pure and Christ-like.

· I will take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and stand on Your promises today when the enemy comes in like a flood, knowing that greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.

· I will pray without ceasing today in Your Spirit and look for opportunities to pray for those around me who are hurting and need You.

· I am covered in the Blood of Jesus.

· I am filled and anointed with the Holy Spirit.

· I am protected by an army of angels.

· I am loved by my Father in Heaven.

· Look out, Satan…….it’s going to be a bad day for you!

· In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[1]Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Practical Illustrations: 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude(Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2003), 80. [2]Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Eph 6:10–11. [3] Excerpt From: Rick Renner. “Dressed to Kill.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/dressed-to-kill/id595411385 [4]Renner, Ibid. [5] John R. W. Stott, God’s New Society: The Message of Ephesians, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979), 266–267. [6]Bruce B. Barton and Philip Wesley Comfort, Ephesians, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996), 129.