Ephesians 6:10-24
We have arrived at the end of Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus. Throughout the letter he has emphasized several things which I have put into three categories. One, Gentiles are adopted into the family as co-heirs and should walk as holy children of God. Two, the unity of the body of believers. And three, we should submit to one another in the fear of Christ which will lead to our ultimate submission to the One God who is Father of all. With these three key points in mind, we come to Paul’s final instructions. Darkness surrounded the church at Ephesus and Paul felt the need to once again warn them about the battle they would encounter.
Vs 10-13 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.
Be ready! The battle is here. We can see it all around us and we are being pulled from every side. Society, the church, politics, right, left and in-between. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, WhatsApp, etc. These social media platforms have become a way of communicating and there are influencer’s that try to set the pace for what we think, shop for, and feel. Issues divide us and the sides seem to be moving further and further apart. Wear a mask, don’t wear a mask, climate change is real, no it’s not, social justice, black lives matter, back the blue, kneel, don’t kneel and on and on and on. So, how can the body of Christ respond during this covid-19, social justice, politically divided, right/left world? I believe we need to see things from a new perspective. This is why Paul says, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. This is not to say the body of Christ should not be involved in what is going on around us. It means we need to see and respond to these events in a different way. We are not to be distracted by the things of the world, even the seemingly good things. We are to have the mind of Christ and that means we can’t see the world like everyone else.
Several years ago, I taught speech at a Christian high school. One of the speeches I had the class give was a Biblical world view speech. They had to look at events going on around them through God’s lens rather than societies. For many, it changed the way they viewed life around them. It took away the social and even the churches stances on the issues. Instead, they began to see what was happening in the world around them from a Biblical viewpoint. It allowed them to realign their actions and reactions to what God would have them be. The first thing they discovered was that God has a plan and it will not be thwarted. Paul says to take up the armor of God – not of man, and not even of the church, but of God. Then he says we have to stand. I find that interesting actually. It doesn’t say get ready to take the hill, it says we need to stand. Waiting on God can possibly be the most difficult thing we can do. But standing means we are ready when the call comes. Second, I believe in this current climate of hate, distrust and unrest we need to be agents of love, faith and peace. How? By putting on the full armor of God. As the body of Christ we are not called to get political, yet that seems to be our first response. If so and so could just get elected then… I am certainly not saying we shouldn’t be involved, but I wonder if we put too much power in our political system. When I look at the life of Jesus, I do not find him focusing on what Rome was doing or even what the political factions in Judea were up to. I can say with certainty, God’s kingdom does not align with a political party no matter how much we think it does. Jesus’ focus is on the kingdom of God and He led us to pray, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. When we realize the battle is not with flesh and blood, then we can fix our eyes on the author and finisher of our faith – that is Jesus. And then we stand.
Vs 14-18 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.
To fight any battle, one has to be prepared with the right battle gear. There are six pieces of armor that Paul talks about. You have the belt which was used to hike up the long tunics they wore. The chest plate protected the soldier from being pierced. The sandals protected their feet, the shield protected them from arrows and the helmet protected their head. The only offensive weapon is the sword. With your armor in place, you can stand firm and see the kingdom of God flourish. Let’s look at each piece of the armor.
The first piece of armor is truth like a belt. I believe Paul put this particular piece first for a reason. If you don’t have truth, then everything else falls apart. We live in a world that denies absolute truth. It seems everyone wants to stand in the middle. God has a word for those who stand in the lukewarm waters: I will spit you out of My mouth. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” We can’t get around that one – Jesus really is the only way. Psalm 25:5 says, “Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I wait for You all day long.” When we have the truth we are stand on a strong foundation. Without the strong foundation of truth, we will be unable to stand firmly.
The second piece of armor is righteousness like armor on your chest. Earlier in this letter Paul said to be imitators of God (5:1). We are to be holy as God is holy and stand in righteousness. When we are righteous, we walk in the light. When we walk in the light, we are able to see where we are going and uncover the things that lie in the dark. Satan will always try to cause us to stumble, but, if we have righteousness, no matter what he throws at us, it will not penetrate.
So we stand firm in truth and live as holy and righteous people. With that in mind, the third piece of armor is the gospel of peace like sandals on your feet. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus says, Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God. As we walk in faith, we are to walk in peace. That is not to say that we compromise truth and righteousness. No, they are the foundation and the steel structure of our building. We cannot truly walk in peace without them. As I stated in the Bible study on the sermon on the mount, peace is not the avoidance of conflict, but the response to conflict, because conflict will happen (and is happening all around us). Shalom is a complete peace that encourages us to give back. Fransis of Assisi understood this when he said, “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love, Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” If we walk in peace, we can effect change in the world around us. We can sow love, shed light and bring joy.
The forth piece of armor is faith like a shield. With it you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Make no mistake, flaming arrows are coming our way. There will be opposition to truth and righteousness. There will be those who will sow the seeds of discord and ugliness. They will attack our morality and try to extinguish the light. But we walk in faith. Furthermore, we have faith in the One who is, who was and is to come. He is Lord of all and has said, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” We can stand firm in the fact that Jesus will never leave us nor will He ever forsake us. No matter what comes at us, we can stand firm.
The fifth piece of armor is salvation like a helmet. Salvation has come to us through Christ. He has come to save us from the evil one. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, prophesied that God has raised up the horn of salvation, or a strong Savior, and that this Savior would save us from our enemies. Those enemies are not of flesh and blood but the spiritual forces of darkness. One thing the helmet does is protect the head, our mind. Romans 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
The sixth piece of armor God’s word which is the sword of the Spirit. Notice this is our only weapon. We only need one – God’s word. Not our words or wisdom or quick thinking or wonderful personalities, but God’s word. After Jesus had fasted 40 days in the desert, he was confronted by Satan. What was his weapon? God’s word. Three times Satan tempted Him and three times Jesus used God’s word to defeat him. You see, God’s word is truth, it is righteous and holy, it is faith and salvation all in one. Then Paul says pray for one another and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession. Don’t let down your guard. Keep you mind on Christ who said, “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)
Vs 19-24 Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should. Tychicus, our dearly loved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me so that you may be informed. I am sending him to you for this very reason, to let you know how we are and to encourage your hearts. Peace to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who have undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul ends his letter with a prayer request for himself and news. He wants to be bold in preaching the gospel even though he is in chains. He is sending a faithful servant to the church to inform them about how Paul is doing and what is going on while he is in prison. His desire is to encourage them as I hope we are encouraged by this letter.
To recap: We are all a part of the body of Christ. We need to be One body working together in unity, submitting to one another, loving one another and standing together. We need to put on the armor of God – truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and God’s word to take into the world. Do not be distracted by things of flesh and blood, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so you will be able to discern what is good, pleasing and perfect will of God. And having prepared everything – Stand.
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