SSL 13 - Eph. 6:10-20
LAST WEEK: In Eph. 5:22-33, we heard Paul's instructions on what a Christian marriage relationship should look like. Today's lesson is long, and I don't have time to cover all of last week's application points, but boiled down to one simple sentence, Paul commanded husbands and wives to give themselves to each other. At the end of the lesson, Paul summarized what a godly marriage looks like: a loving husband who loves and cherishes his wife so much that he puts her interests and desires above his own and a loving wife who voluntarily submits to her husband's leadership and supports and builds him up as the head of their family. This is a beautiful picture of godly "oneness," the inseparable union between a man and a woman that God designed it to be.
THIS WEEK-BACKGROUND: We finish this quarter with Eph. 6:10-20, where Paul tells us how to put on "The Whole Armor of God." To understand this passage, we need to be mindful of what Paul has been teaching us in Chapters 4-6 about "walking worthy of the calling with which you were called" (4:1). Here's a very brief overview of the major topics we have covered in that section:
(1) To be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self in the likeness of God (4:18-24);
(2) To put away all anger, bitterness, wrath, and malice and "be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also forgave you." (4:18-32);
(3) To be imitators of God who walk in love as children of the light (5:1-14);
(4) To walk careful and wise, making the most of your time (5:15-16);
(5) To not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is and be filled with the Spirit (5:17-20);
(6) To be subject to one another in the fear of Christ (5:21); and
(7) For wives to be subject to their husbands and for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church under God's design that they become "one flesh" (5:22-33).
Paul knew that obeying the commands he gave in chapters 4-6 would not be easy, so he adds this "whole armor of God" passage to give the Ephesian believers (and us) the spiritual resources to do what's needed. We need it to address real-life issues because of the fact that we live in a world where the "rulers of darkness and the spiritual forces of wickedness" (6:12) really and truly dominate many people's lives-and our culture, right here in the USA, reflects that influence. For us, living as godly people in an ungodly world poses a whole host of problems. In this passage, Paul will give us very practical advice on how to protect ourselves as we swim through spiritually polluted waters.
Read Eph. 5:10-12 - BE STRONG IN THE LORD
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.
v. 10: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might" - The word "Finally" connects the verses that follow to Chapters 4-6, as we just summarized above. A better translation of the Greek word for "strong" (endynamousthe) is "be strengthened." Not in ourselves, but "in the Lord." The emphasis is not on what we can do-a purely human effort doomed to failure-but what we can accomplish when we invite God to strengthen us. This points right to our heart of faith. Paul says God can strengthen us "in the strength of His might." Consider His might: He spoke the world into existence, didn't He? When Paul tell us to be strengthened in His might, he's calling for us to let God use some small part of His might to empower us to do what He has called us to do. When we're overcome with feelings of powerlessness, it's often the result of not using what God can provide.
v. 11a: "Put on the full armor of God" - The inference of this statement is that partial armor leaves us dangerously vulnerable. If a Roman soldier of Paul's day left behind any piece of his armor, his adversaries would immediately target the place where he had failed to protect himself. The same is true of godly armor (which Paul will itemize in detail for us in vv. 14-17).
v. 11b: "so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil" - This answers why we need all of God's armor: we can expect and need to be prepared for repeated-I said repeated- attacks from the devil, who will attack your most vulnerable side when you least expect it. We need to protect ourselves by donning every piece of the Armor of God and be ready-but even more importantly-STAY READY, with feet planted, knees bent, eyes alert and scanning, ready to deflect any blow that comes our way. What then, are the "schemes of the devil"? In C. S. Lewis' novel, The Screwtape Letters, the devil Screwtape is advising a young follower who has been instructed to prevent a young man from becoming a Christian. Screwtape says: "Murder is no better than cards when cards can do the trick. Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gentle one-the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." Often it's just a soft whisper in the ear. Billy Graham said, "We cannot be dedicated to Christ without giving Him our bodies. The devil gets at the soul through the body." So what does armor protect? The body.
v. 12a: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood" - Paul is cautioning us about lashing out against human opponents as though they were the real enemy, and more importantly, against the idea that the battle can be fought with human resources. Mere human effort is powerless.
v. 12b: "but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" - Here, Paul outlines the real enemies-powerful beings and forces in the unseen world, the spiritual battleground. Paul describes them as: (1) "rulers" (Gk. archas) lit. they who are foremost in power and authority. (2) "powers" (Gk. exousias) mean authority and power in the sense of moral influence. (3) "world forces of this darkness" (Gk. kosmokratoras) lit. the ruler or the prince of this world. This might include earthly rulers like Herod, Pilate, or Hitler, who are really just human agents, but also comprises the far more dangerous spiritual powers such as the "god of this world" (Satan and his demonic forces) who have the ability to prey on the minds of believers. (4) "spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (GK. pneumatika) lit. the unseen forces in the spiritual realm. These are spiritual forces far more dangerous than their human agents. They dwell in the "heavenly places," from which Satan directs the activities of his followers in the earthly realm below-where you and I live.
TRUTH 1: The church, and we Christians who belong to it, are in engaged in a spiritual war. The real enemies (as opposed to their human agents) are unseen spiritual forces controlled by Satan whose power vastly exceeds our own. Mere human effort against these forces is useless.
TRUTH 2: To fight this spiritual war, God has provided Christians with a divine weapon with which to arm themselves. We become strengthened in the "might" of the Lord when we put on the full armor of God. If we (1) put on all of God's armor and (2) stay ready, we will be protected against the schemes of the devil when he attacks, and you can be sure it will come when you least expect it.
Eph. 6:13-17 - TAKE UP THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD
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. 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.
v.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" - With "Therefore," Paul repeats that we're dealing with spiritual enemies that cannot be defeated by human effort. And as to "full armor," we already learned in v. 11, that failure to wear any piece of God's armor will leave us dangerously exposed to the spiritual enemies listed in v. 12. With all of God's armor in place we have the power-God's power-to "resist in the evil day," whenever it may come (usually at the least expected time, yes?), but when it hits us, like a good soldier, we'll be strong enough spiritually to "stand firm" for God.
v.14: "Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS" - By "therefore," Paul implies you're under attack but your still on your feet because you're fully clothed in God's armor. Now Paul proceeds to explain the individual pieces of armor and how they're used: (1) "GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH" - In the literal sense, this pictures an ancient soldier wrapping a wide belt around his middle to secure the clothing and accoutrements worn with the armor, and as a figure of speech, it means preparing yourself to face a difficult trial. The "truth" (Gk. aletheia) lit. absolute truth without falsehood, refers to the truth of Jesus Christ ("I am the truth..."Jn. 14:6) and the word of God ("If you remain in My word,...you will know the truth" Jn. 8:21-32). For us, this means the Bible, and in particular, Jesus' teachings in the NT. (2) "PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS" - The ancient soldier's breastplate protected the vital organs of his torso. For us, our spiritual breastplate consists of righteousness, which is actually two-fold: (a) the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ received by a believer at the point of salvation that promises eternal life no matter what befalls us and (b) obeying God and walking righteously in His ways in this life., and if we walk righteously, we can resist the devil-"stand firm" (v. 13)--in the here and now.
v. 15: "and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE" - Strong footwear is very important to a soldier facing battle for both protection and good traction. And metaphorically, good footwear allows us to step freely, without fear of stumbling. The Greek word for "preparation" (Gk. hetoimasia) means being prepared right now, not tomorrow. The gospel of peace is of course the good news of Jesus Christ, which is a plan of peace for the entire world ("we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" Rom. 5:1). Where does good footwear come in? In Paul's day, to spread the gospel from point A to point B, you had to walk many, many miles. The truth and the good news are a form of protection that gives us good footing against darkness, deceit, and despair.
v. 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 - In ancient warfare, the shields were are large as doors and would be arranged side by side to form a shield wall. So, there was a communal aspect to the shield, gaining maximum protection when joined to the shields of fellow soldiers. Here, Paul uses the shield as a metaphor for faith, specifically, faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Just as the ancient soldier gained maximum protection from his shield when he joined it with those of his fellow soldiers, for a Christian, faith gains its maximum strength and power when joined with the faith of other Christians, and our faith reaches its peak strength when we worship and pray together as a community of faith. I mean, don't you feel just a little bit stronger when you walk through the doors of this church? But the shield of faith also gives protection to the individual believer, defensive protection against sudden attacks. And notice where the attack is coming from, "the flaming arrows of the evil one"-Satan. These flaming arrows come our way in the form of all kinds of temptations, and because they are aflame, they can spread to consume whole families (we've seen it happen, yes?). Keeping your shield of faith in place helps you stand against the intense battles in your mind that take place at home, at work, and elsewhere ("for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Josh 1:9).
v. 17: "And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" - Paul explains the remaining two essential parts of the armor of God: (1) "THE HELMET OF SALVATION" as we know, a helmets protect the head, and a blow to the head is more likely to kill or disable a soldier than a blow to the body. The protection to a believer's head is the "helmet of salvation" because our assurance of salvation is our impenetrable defense against anything the enemy throws at us. Jesus said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Mt. 10:28). The point of this verse is that, as we prepare for Satan's attacks, we must grab that helmet and buckle it on tightly. There are several things we can do to keep this helmet in place: (a) because our minds are the battlefields, we must renew our minds with the truth of God's word daily; (b) reject doubts that arise from mere circumstances; (c) keep an eternal perspective; (d) remember that the victory is already accomplished; and (5) pray every day for strength, guidance, and wisdom. (2) "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" - The sword was the principal weapon of the ordinary Roman soldier. Unlike the rest of the armor, the sword could be used offensively to strike a blow at the enemy. The Christian's sword is the Word of God. Therefore, to make effective use of this sword, regular Bible study, individually and corporately, is a necessary part of our training and conditioning. When Jesus was tempted by Satan for 40 days in the wilderness (Mt. 4:1-11), He quoted Scripture to refute each temptation. Likewise, we can use the Word of God the same way to defeat every temptation. You need to take your spiritual health as seriously as your physical health by seriously engaging in regular Bible study.
TRUTH 3: The full armor of God consists of six different parts which are all essential to our ability to stand firm. They are: (1) the belt of truth (mid-section), which enables you to discern truth from falsehood; (2) the breastplate of righteousness (torso), which includes (a) the imputed righteousness of Christ that gives you eternal security and (b) the present ability to stand firm and resist the devil when you obey God and walk in His ways; (3) the gospel of peace (feet), is the good news of Jesus Christ that gives you firm footing against darkness, deceit, and despair; (4) the shield of faith (front), which protects you and those around you from Satan's flaming arrows that can consume not only you but your entire family; (5) the helmet of salvation (head), this protects your head because your salvation is your impenetrable defense against anything the enemy throws at you; and (6) the sword of the Spirit (defensive and offensive), which is a metaphor for the Word of God, tells you that serious Bible study is a fundamental part of your training and conditioning.
Read Eph. 6:18-20 - PRAYING AT ALL TIMES IN THE SPIRIT
18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
v. 18: "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints" - Too often the vital importance of prayer in spiritual warfare is overlooked, when in fact it's the most powerful weapon in our arsenal. Here, Paul is asserting that it isn't enough to put on the armor of God; we must also pray. His introductory phrase, "With all prayer and petition," tells us that we should be prepared to pray for all kinds of different things for ourselves and others. The Lord's Prayer in Mt. 6:9-13 forms a good starting place. Paul's main point is that we need all kinds of prayer for spiritual warfare. The next phrase, "pray at all times" requires some explanation. We obviously can't spend every minute of the day in prayer. What Paul means is that we should pray at every opportune time, e.g., about the needs of others that we're aware of, about what's on our minds and troubling us, for the many things we see and hear in the course of a day that require God's help, for the small blessings that God continually sends our way. In my day to day life, I call it "staying tuned to God's channel." I know He's listening 24/7. When Paul says, "pray in the Spirit," he means prayer that's inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit. This is prayer that seeks the Spirit's guidance and the Spirit's will in our lives. It involves praying as best as we can in full submission to the Spirit. It acknowledges that when we sometimes don't know how to pray, the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with our "groaning" when we have trouble expressing ourselves (Rom. 8:26). Finally, Paul tells us to "be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints." The Greek word for "alert" (grégoreó) literally means to stay awake and has the sense of being a military sentry on guard duty and "perseverance" (hupomoné) means steadfast endurance with the caution that God's timing usually isn't the same as ours. The "saints" are our fellow Christian brothers and sisters on the spiritual battlefield. We need to pray especially for those who are on the front lines of the battlefield-pastors, their families, church leaders and teachers-the list is long. If you don't have your own list, you can simply pick your way through the church directory and pray for each person.
v. 19: "and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel" - Paul has gone on to eternity and doesn't need our prayers but there are many other Christians today who are going out to face the "Caesars" of this world-evangelists and missionaries and other Christian leaders who need prayer for opportunities to go out and proclaim the gospel with boldness and the liberty to be heard. When C.H. Spurgeon was once asked about the secret of his success, he simply replied, "My people pray for me." When Paul talks about the "mystery" of the gospel, he isn't using the common meaning that refers to something unknown or not understood, but the spiritual understanding that God has revealed to those-Christian believers-who can now see through eyes of faith.
v. 20: "for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak' - An "ambassador" (Gk. presbeuó) is someone vested with authority to speak on behalf of the ruler of a nation. Thus, Paul was authorized to speak of behalf of Jesus Christ to proclaim His message of eternal salvation by grace. It's ironic that Paul was commissioned by Christ to go out and proclaim peace to a lost world but now found himself "in chains," i.e., under "house arrest" in Rome being watched day and night. Yet, he asks for prayer to "speak boldly" in the face of human power. As saved Christians, we are all ambassadors of Jesus Christ with the same obligation to share the good news with a lost world. Paul sets the supreme example for every one of us with the courage of his convictions-to be bold in the proclamation of the gospel, to not be intimidated in the face of opposition, and not to flinch even in the face of certain death.
TRUTH 4: It isn't enough to put on the armor of God; we must also pray. The vital importance of prayer is often overlooked in spiritual warfare when, in fact, it can be the most powerful weapon in our arsenal. Paul very specifically instructs us to pray for four "alls" : (1) for all kinds of different things, requiring us to think and plan in advance; (2) at all times, which, in practical terms, means at every opportune time; (3) all in the Spirit, meaning prayer that's inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit; and (4) for all the saints, our Christian brothers and sisters on the spiritual battlefield, especially those out there on the front lines like pastors, missionaries, and Christian leaders.
