EPHESIANS 6:14B-20
INTRODUCTION
I. THE EQUIPMENT OF THE BELIEVER
FOR SPIRITUAL BATTLE VV. 14B-17
Last week I shared briefly about the breastplate of righteousness. The theological term for this spiritual transaction is imputation. When you were saved Christ’s righteousness was put on your account. Therefore, as a Christian you are not simply a forgiven sinner. You stand as righteous in the sight of God as Jesus Himself, because Jesus’ righteousness is wrapped around you like a robe. When Satan accuses you, you can point to your righteous standing before God. So you don’t wake up in the morning and determined to try to be righteous. That is human effort. Instead, you get up in the morning and say, “Because of Christ, I am righteous today.” The breastplate of righteousness is part of the armor you wear all the time, because everyday you are dressed in Christ’s righteousness. The breastplate of righteousness speaks of our exalted position in Christ. As we put it on each day, we have protection against Satan and his demons, because they can’t hang out in an environment of righteousness. Admittedly, we fail at times and actions are unrighteous. But that is when you and I confess our sin (1 John 1:9) and keep on going. You don’t lose your breastplate of righteousness just because you blow it. Righteousness is not just something you practice it is also your identity. You are righteous in Jesus Christ. And because you are righteous, God is going to help you pursue things that enable you to act like who you are and help you avoid things that do not enhance your righteousness. This means that He has to discipline you occasionally when your action and attitude are inconsistent with your true identity in Christ.
The third pieces of spiritual armor we need to wear are the shoes of the gospel of peace (v. 15). If you are going to stand firm you definitely need reliable footwear. The gospel or the good news of Jesus Christ brings us not only truth and righteousness it also brings us peace of the heart. The Roman soldier wore leather sandals that left the toes free with heavy studded soles that were tied to the ankles and shins. These sandals ensured steadiness in battle. The sandals were made in such a way that they did not impede the mobility of the Roman soldiers and they also prevented them from sliding. In a battle a soldier had to be able to stand and fight without slipping and sliding around, because lost footing could be fatal. Do you ever feel like your life is slipping and sliding all over the place? Are you doing Michael Jackson’s moonwalk or James Brown thing, just slipping and sliding? Readiness for believers pertains to all of life. Knowledge of the gospel of Christ should make you alert and ready for life. As Christians we have been taught in the school of Christ. Therefore, we are to be careful about our speech and actions. Two of the areas Satan gets many Christians are in their speech and actions. You are not to live in the dark but to live wisely, redeeming the time and understanding the will of the Lord.
When you and I are equipped with the readiness of the gospel of peace we are not only going to share the good news, but also we are going to be agents of peace and love, ready to do the will of God. Paul says we need to be prepared with peace because the world we are going to face is not always peaceful. You can bear me out that our world today is dying for peace, but peace comes only from Jesus Christ. Therefore, you and I are to point people to the “Prince of Peace.” We are to be agents of peace. Another truth pertaining to the nature of the spiritual warfare we face is that when we are wearing peace with God like shoes on our feet, we can handle whatever Satan would throw at us—problems on the job, trouble with the family, financial problems, even death without stumbling. We will not stumble and fall because we are standing firm on a solid rock. In His earthly ministry Jesus and His disciples encountered a storm at sea while Jesus was asleep. I believe that when Jesus stilled the storm it had a practical lesson and application for the storms of life the disciples would face when Jesus ascended back to the Father. The storms in your life may be bad, but the peace of God can silence the storms. It can handle every storm you face in life. The peace of God can keep you calm when spiritual battle is raging all around you.
Is the devil attacking you right now? The peace of God can help you stand firm while Jesus deals with the enemy through you. When you get dressed each day, check to see whether you are wearing the peace of God.
The fourth equipment of the armor of God you and I need to have at our disposal is the shield of faith. The shield of faith enables us to extinguish the flaming missiles of the devil (16b). The shield that a Roman soldier carried into the battle was about four-and-a half feet square. It was a huge shield that would cover part of the body of the soldier fighting beside the shield holder. The shield of a Roman soldier was made of leather stretched over wood, reinforced with metal at the top and bottom. In those days the enemy soldiers carried arrows that were dipped in pitch, which were then lit and fired. Anything that such an arrow touched caught fire and burned. So the shield was soaked in water to be able to stop burning arrows that the enemy soldiers fired. Therefore, the shield was another indispensable piece of armor that can ensure the army’s victory. Before I talk more on the shield let me deal with the darts or flaming missiles of the devil. The devil has all kinds of flaming missiles that he shoots at us. They include his accusations which inflame our conscience with false guilt; thoughts of doubts and disobedience, rebellion, lust, envy, jealousy, malice, fear, temptations, and false teachings. Even right now he may be shooting some of his darts at some of you who are listening to the word of God. What protects you from the flaming missiles of the evil one is not your power to believe. What protects you from the firing darts of Satan is your relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, if you are not saved, if you have not given your life to Jesus Christ you have no protection. God Himself is a shield to those who seek refuge in Him (Proverbs 30:5).
What is this shield of faith that is able to protect you from anything Satan could fire at you? It is acting on the truth that you say you believe. You take up the shield of faith when you live out on Monday “the amens” you said on Sunday. Use Joshua and the battle of Jericho as an illustration.
When Joshua told the children of Israel to follow the instruction of God, it might have seemed a foolish thing to do. It didn’t make sense in a military war. It wasn’t an acceptable strategy for warfare. But God commanded Joshua to do it, and He promised to fight Israel’s battle. Therefore, no matter how it looked to anyone else, Joshua took up the shield of faith and obeyed God. And God delivered Jericho into Joshua’s lap. Obeying God can sometimes seem foolish, difficult, or downright embarrassing. But God wants us to trust Him when from a human point of view it doesn’t make sense to trust Him. At such times you need to pick up the shield of faith and obey the Lord. The assignment God may give us at times would seem hard but our response of faith can extinguish the enemy’s flaming arrows. Satan wants to hit you with many flaming arrows as he can. That way, when you are fighting one fire he can hit you with another. Have you ever had days when it seemed like Satan was hitting you with all kinds of arrows? Have you faced a day when everything went wrong? What did you do? When you don’t get all the fires out Satan will burn down your protection. The question is how can you put out Satan’s fires? You can’t, but the shield of faith can. If you will act on God’s Word and believe Him, God will send His angelic host to snuff out Satan’s fiery arrows as they arrive.
The helmet of salvation is the fifth piece of armor that can give you authority over the devil. The helmet protects the head, the control center of the body. The helmet of a Roman soldier was made of a tough-metal like bronze or iron. Therefore, the helmet of salvation covers a very key part of the believer in spiritual warfare. The purpose of a soldier’s helmet was to absorb blows without causing damage to the head much like a football player’s helmet absorbs the shock of blows to his head.
The question is that are you saved? Have you sincerely and honestly opened your heart to Jesus Christ? I am not talking about going to church or being a member of a local church. If your answer is a resounding yes, then I want to submit to you that Christ has given you a helmet of salvation.
If you have not been saved but want to do battle with Satan you are like someone who is going to play American football in the NFL without his helmet on. Could you imagine a player without his helmet going to face the defensive tackle of Tampa Bay or New York Jets? That is an invitation for disaster. That is a death warrant waiting to happen. It is just like the sons of Sceva in Acts 19. That is why assurance of salvation is absolutely important. You cannot live the Christian life victoriously without your helmet of salvation. The reason is that most of the spiritual warfare takes place in the mind. The battle for your soul takes place in your head. That is why Paul in Romans 12:2 appeals to us to go on renewing our minds on daily basis. When there is a crack in the helmet of a soldier the battle is over. The devil wants to deal a deathblow to your head that is why you need a well-built helmet of salvation. You won’t get very far in spiritual warfare without your helmet.
The final piece of armor for victorious spiritual warfare is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. In ancient warfare the soldiers went to war with two swords. One of the swords was long, but the other was short like a dagger. It was about ten inches long. This sword had a needle-like point and it was sharp on both sides. It was used for close combat and it could do some serious damage. It could cut an opponent coming and going. The Book of Hebrews 4:12 say, "The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword." What is interesting is that the term Paul uses for word here does not refer to the Bible as a written book of truth, the way we normally think of the Word of God. This is not the Bible sitting on your coffee table, bookshelf, or under your pillow when you are asleep. The word is rhema, which means the utterance of God, the spoken word. Paul therefore is talking about the use of the word of God not just its existence. I like what Dr. Tony Evans says about this: “Many of us go to church every Sunday with our Bible under our arm, but we don’t always know how to wield it like a sword to slice the devil in half in spiritual battle.” That is so true of many Christians today. Today many Christians have all kinds of fancy Bibles, but when Satan attacks they don’t know where to turn to counteract his assault. The best example of wielding the sword of the Spirit is the temptation of Jesus by Satan. Satan attacked Jesus but each time Jesus said, “It is written” and He defeated Satan with the Word of God. Jesus studied the Scriptures and allowed them to become part and parcel of His life so He knew where to turn to for every attack of the devil. Jesus did not argue or dialogue with Satan. The last time Eve tried to argue and dialogue with Satan in the Garden she lost tragically. Jesus simply hit Satan with the Word and the battle was over. Satan knows that you don’t have an inherent authority so anytime you decide to argue or dialogue with him you will be defeated. But when you tell him based on Christ’s delegated authority, I say it is written and you quote the appropriate Scripture, he would flee.
II. THE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE BELIEVER'S
ATTACK VV. 18-20
Now having put on the whole armor of God there is an environment in which the battle is fought and won, and that is "praying at all times in the Spirit." When he says pray in the Spirit he is not saying that you are to speak in tongues. What he is saying is that the Holy Spirit is to direct your prayer in spiritual warfare. Prayer is to pervade any spiritual warfare you fight. This is the truth: equipping ourselves with God’s armor is not a mechanical operation; it is in itself an expression of our dependence on God, hence the indispensability of prayer and watchfulness. In other words, you don’t wage spiritual warfare in your own strength, because if you do Satan will whip you black and blue. So when you have the six pieces of God’s armor on and you depend on Him on daily basis with the Holy Spirit directed prayer, you become alert to any fiery dart the devil will throw at you. I wish I could tell you that this year you are not going to face any challenges and difficulties in life, but I can’t because I would be lying if I do. But I can assure you that if you take your stand with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shod your feet with the readiness of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, saturate yourself in the Spirit-led prayer, and be on the alert, you are going to defeat Satan anytime he rears his ugly head. In closing you and I are to pray for all Christians not only those in our church, but Christians everywhere because we are in this spiritual battle together. Finally, pray for me the spiritual leader as the Apostle Paul requested the brethren in the region of Ephesus to do. Pray that God will give me utterance to declare and transcribe the claims of Christ with boldness and without any compromise.
The Apostle Paul was in jail when he wrote this Epistle. He was not in jail for committing any crime. He was in jail because he was loyal soldier of Christ who was proclaiming the gospel of Christ. The Roman Emperor could chain Paul but he could not chain the Word of God. The Roman Guards were hearing the word of God from the lips of Paul. There, he penned these immortal words that you and I are reading today. Therefore, do not let your circumstances stop you from standing for Christ.[1]
[1]Complete treatment on Spiritual Warfare can be found in my book, Seeking Freedom for Those in Bondage: Evangelism & Spiritual Warfare in Today's World at www.volumesDirect.com. Copies are there for sale.
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