Ephesians 6:10-18
Last time I was talking about the ways that the world tries to defeat the forces of evil. The first of which is by law or legislation. We make laws that have consequences if you disobey, and that will combat the forces of evil… While this may keep honest people honest, it does nothing to reform the sinful nature of man. Laws may help to control the out-ward man, but does nothing to change the inward man.
The second was education. Education or knowledge can change a man in certain ways…it provides us with the ability to change…but, it still does nothing to change the inward man.
Then there was an improved environment. You can change a man’s environment, but if you do nothing to change the man, the new environment will soon be just like the old one.
While all three of these have certain value, they do not come to grips with the basic problem of man. Because Satan’s strategy is to distort, deceive, and lie and deny, our greatest weapon against the forces of evil in our world is TRUTH. “Put on the belt of truth” our scripture tells us. When Jesus was confronted with the lies of Satan in the wilderness, his defense against defeat was the truth of God’s Word! We are bombarded every day with illusion and error, and it’s easy to fall back into the wrong thinking of the world. That’s why we need a daily refreshment of God’s truth from His Word. We need to be reminded that we must be alert for deception and the whispers of Satan.
In verse 11 and 13 Paul tells us to “put on the full armor of God, so we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes”. But, at the end of verse 13 he says “when the day of evil comes”…which may be a reference to the tribulation but I don’t believe we will be here for the tribulation. I think he is implying that not all days are evil. Some days are worst than others. There are seasons in our lives when pressures are more intense; problems are greater, temptations are frequent. It may be a day, it may be a week or even months, but not every day is like that. We are not always under that kind of pressure, or a full frontal attack by Satan. We are fighting a battle, but the times we are the most vulnerable is when Satan whispers…
Paul tells us that this is not a conflict or a battle between “flesh and blood”… meaning it is not a human struggle of man against man… it may be a struggle within man, but it is a spiritual battle with the forces of evil. That’s not an isolated passage of scripture, that is the teaching of the Bible from beginning to end…and especially in Genesis and Revelation.
O.K., so Paul gives us this list of weapons that are available to us as part of the armor of God; the belt of truth; the breastplate of righteousness; feet ready with the shoes of the gospel; the shield of faith; the helmet of salvation; the sword of the Spirit; and the power of prayer.
While the armor is all symbolic, I think the order in which these are given is important… and, I also believe that all of the armor is important. It does us no good to go into battle with only a few pieces of armor, because Satan will attack those areas that are not protected. It must always start with truth…the truth of God’s Word. We must absolutely, without a doubt, believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of Almighty God from the first word in Genesis to the last word in Revelation! If we don’t believe that “in the beginning God”…and “in the end God”, then Satan already has us! I have quoted this one before – “If you don’t get the first button in the right button hole, everything else is crooked!”
It is the belt of truth that carries the sword of the Spirit. It is the belt of truth that ties all the other pieces together.
I can’t use this message to give an exhaustive explanation of what all the pieces of armor symbolize, for each one – each piece – is a message in itself. But, allow me to just comment on each one this morning;
Once we are deeply rooted in the truth of God’s Word, we have the “breastplate of righteousness”. The breast-plate covers all the vital organs, and especially the heart. This is not our righteousness or anything that we can do or have done to earn righteousness from God…this is the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is attributed to us. It is His righteousness that we put on to protect a heart that is right with God and gives life to the body.
We are to have “feet that are fitted with the readiness of the gospel”. The gospel is our banner! We ought always be ready to share the gospel with those in need. As a Christian, the gospel message goes wherever we go. The Bible calls it the “gospel of peace” because to those who accept it, it brings peace with God; peace within ourselves – or the peace of God; and, it brings peace with one another.
Then there is the shield of faith…with which we can pro-tect ourselves from the flaming arrows or “fiery darts” of the evil one” as it says in some translations. It is by faith we live says Gal. 2:20 – The Word also says we are saved by faith; we are sanctified by faith; we are justified by faith; we stand by faith; we walk by faith; Christ dwells in us by faith; and without faith, we cannot please God! Everything about the Christian life is appropriated by faith. The shield of faith speaks of the ability to meet the attack regardless of which direction it comes…the shield is mobile…we can position our faith wherever it is needed.
The figure of the helmet of salvation suggests that this would be something that protects our mind and the ability to think and make decisions. Unless we are saved – born again – washed and covered by the blood of Jesus – or however you want to describe salvation – unless we have the helmet of salvation, we walk in confusion and darkness.
Then we come to the “sword of the Spirit” which is the Word of God”. It’s like we have come full circle. We started with the truth of God’s Word, and now we have the sword of God’s Word. It’s kind of the “same thing only different”!
There are two words used for the “Word” of God; one is “logos” which we are most familiar with, which means the “complete revelation of God”. So, the Bible is the complete revelation of God, or “Logos”. In the Book of John where John calls Jesus the “Word” or “Logos”…he means that Jesus was the complete revelation of God. However, here in this scripture, the “sword of the Spirit which is the word of God” the word “rhema” is used. Rhema means – not the whole word or Bible, but – a “specific passage, word, or verse” that has a special application to the immediate situation… This would be – as an example – Jesus using a particular scripture to counter what Satan was tempting him with.
The sword is used both offensively and defensively. It not only protects and defends us, but it also pierces and convicts the hearts of others…and it destroys the whispers of Satan. Obviously, the greater the exposure to scripture, the more the Spirit can use this mighty sword in our life.
I have so much to say about the last piece of armor – the power of prayer – that I am going to do that one by itself.
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