Ephesians
6:14-17 Stand
therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the
breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet,
having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In
all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish
all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet
of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
Paul is writing to the
congregation that he served, so far as we know, longer than any other. By his
own testimony Paul served in Ephesus for three years. In most cases Paul was
only there for a matter of days and then he pushed on. The great Apostle
planted churches all across the Roman Empire. Having such a strong investment
in the church at Ephesus Paul wanted them to be sure they were able to defend
themselves against the enemy.
I praise God that Paul had
this concern because it led him to write this excellent book we call
“Ephesians”! We desperately need today to have the kind of spiritual strength
Paul and his readers seem to have had. This section of the letter is a
transition from practical direction for the family and for a Christian
relationship in the community.
The section begins with, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the
strength of his might.” (Ephesians 6:10). The strength we received from the
Lord includes the whole armor of God. Which will allow us to stand against the
schemes of the devil. So we look at the individual pieces that the apostle saw
beginning with…
The
belt of truth. Let’s look at Colossians 1:3-5. We always
thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since
we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the
saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of
this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel.
The belt holds everything
together. Anytime a person goes into combat he, or she, will need a good sturdy
belt. According to Paul’s letter to the Colossians the truth is identified as
“the gospel”.
When the Roman governor,
Pilate, was given the responsibility of serving as the judge in Jesus’ kangaroo
court trial. In questioning Jesus, Pilate asked,
“So you are a King?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this
purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear
witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
This statement by Jesus caused Pilate to ask, “What is truth?” (John 18:34).
Truth is absolutely necessary
for any of the armor to work. In the Gospel of John Jesus tells us that the
Holy Spirit Is the Spirit of Truth. He promised that after he left the earth
the Spirit of truth would come and guide them into all truth (John 15:26).
In Jesus’ high priestly prayer
he asked the Father to sanctify his disciples in the truth. Then he says, “your word is truth” (John 17:17).
Therefore we can expect that the gospel, based on the word of God, is grounded
in truth and in fact is the truth that we put on as our belt in preparation for
spiritual warfare. Above the belt is…
The
breastplate of righteousness. Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 5:21. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him
we might become the righteousness of God.
I am so grateful that we do
not have to “work up” righteousness. The best we could do along that path would
be like showing up at a fancy party in ragged and dirty clothes. Isaiah
described our righteousness in the following words “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous
deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6a). The breastplate is very
important because it covers most of our vital organs. The heart and lungs are
covered by the breastplate. In order to have a breastplate of righteousness we
turn to Jesus. God made him to be sin so that he could pay sin’s wage on the
cross, paying our debt, and setting us free. The righteousness that we have is
not something that we have earned or would ever be able to earn. In order for
us to have spiritual righteousness we have to come to Christ and believe into
him. And when that happens Christ becomes for us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, (1
Corinthians 1:30). Since we have put on the belt of truth and the breastplate
of righteousness it is essential that we have…
Shoes
to carry the Gospel. Let’s look at Isaiah 52:7. How
beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who
publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
The Roman soldiers had a very
special kind of shoe, or sandal, that was fitted perfectly to the foot and
securely strapped up onto the calf. The sandal had many iron spikes protruding
through the sole giving the soldier the ability to stand and fight.
Spiritually speaking, we need
the kind of shoe that will allow us to carry the gospel wherever we go.
I’m reminded of Jesus’ great
commission! Let me paraphrase it. Jesus said that all authority in the
spiritual world and on earth was given to him. As a result of that those who
believe in him should go in that authority and disciple the nations. The word
that we translate “go” could, and perhaps should, be translated “as you go”. Wherever we go the world
around us should be changed. Too often it is the Christian that is changed as
they are going! We should not be overwhelmed by the world rather we should be
transformed by the renewal of our mind. When we are we will be able to see more
clearly God’s will for the world we live in.
With truth wrapped around our
waist and righteousness from God covering our chest and sturdy shoes making us
able to stand against all that the enemy throws against us we can take up…
The
shield of faith. Let’s look at Hebrews 11:6. And without
faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must
believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
The typical Roman personal
shield was made of thick oak and covered with leather. As a result of its
construction it could stop arrows and even flaming darts. Our shield is not
constructed of wood and leather it is constructed of faith!
The writer of Hebrews tells us
what faith is. Faith is believing that God exists and that he rewards those who
reach out to him. I have to offer a word of caution given to us by James, the
Lord’s half-brother. He said, “You
believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe — and shudder”
(James 2:19). That knowledge does not mean that the demons are saved. Knowledge
alone is not enough.
Knowing the facts and agreeing
with them is just not enough. Nicodemus knew that Jesus had come from God. This
did not mean that Nicodemus had saving faith. He still had to put his trust in
Christ for salvation! He had to believe in him! Knowing about God and agreeing
with that knowledge does not constitute faith. King Agrippa was confronted with
the gospel when he was examining the apostle Paul. Paul asked him if he
believed the prophets and then added, “I
know that you believe” (Acts 26:27) the king’s reply to Paul shows us that
he did not have faith.
Knowing the facts and agreeing
with them are steps in the right direction. Someone has quoted saving faith as
“trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for
eternal life with God.” Wayne Grudem, Systematic
Theology, P 710.
Saving faith is not just a
belief in facts but a personal trust in Jesus to save me. An unbeliever becomes
aware that sin has separated him or her from the fellowship with God that we
were made to have. That awareness of separation is designed to cause the
unbeliever to come to Christ so that he or she can enter into a genuine
relationship with God that will last forever.
Faith is not simply believing
in the existence of Jesus or even that he died on the cross for our sins. At
the same time faith is certainly not a leap in the dark! It is not believing
something that is clearly not true. Biblical faith is a personal trust that God
will do what he said he would.
In the beginning of his
Gospel, John said that all who received him who believed in his name receive
the power to become children of God (John 1:12). So, when we think of…
The
helmet of salvation. We should turn to John 3:16-17. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that
the world might be saved through him.
At one time John 3:16 was the
most commonly known and most often quoted verse in Scripture. Today, people
seldom quote Scripture out of a probable fear of rejection by society in
general. Hopefully we are now coming into a period of time when the word of God
will be more acceptable in public. The helmet of salvation that we receive from
God protects the most vital organ — the brain! I suspect that our souls live in
our brain. I don’t know how to prove it but it seems certainly logical to me.
Our faith in Christ is based
on more than his having been sent into the world. Our personal faith in Christ
is based on his having taken our sin to the cross, and burying it in a grave
and leaving it there. He took our sins into his own body and nailed it to the
cross. Therefore, we are able to believe into him and receive eternal life. The
prophet Micah wrote, “He will again have
compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You (referring to
God) will cast all our sins into the
depth of the sea” and Miss Corrie ten Boom said that God posted a “NO
FISHING” sign over them.
The word of God is essential
to our faith. Therefore it is very important that we understand that it is
trustworthy as well. Throughout Scripture we are told that the Bible’s words
are completely true and without error. The Bible is God’s word and it tells us that
God cannot lie! The words of God are like pure silver refined in a furnace. The
original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact. Having
protected our vital organs and having put on the belt of truth we see that the
Bible is…
The
sword of the Spirit. Let’s turn to Hebrews 4:12. For the
word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to
the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the
thoughts and intentions of the heart.
After nearly 2000 years of
examination the Bible stands out as the truth. There are constantly attempts
being made to proclaim the Bible as a book of myth. After all that time there is
no strong candidate for a book or letter to be added to the Bible and there is
no strong objection to any book presently in the Bible.
There are a good number of
books or letters written in the early centuries of the church none of which
have the quality of the included books. I am so grateful to God that he has
given us a book that is alive and active enabling us to know the mind of God.
Everything we need to know is found in this book — the word of God! You can
trust its veracity!
The prophet Jeremiah
characterized the word of God as being like fire which consumes its enemies and
like a hammer that breaks up opposition. (Jeremiah 23:29) It’s very important
that we know what the Bible has to say. If we know what the Bible says, even if
we do not understand it at the moment, when we need it we will understand it
and be able to apply it to our personal situations. The word of God calls upon
us to believe into the Lord Jesus Christ. And such belief produces salvation.
Don’t put off trusting in Jesus. Let today be your day of salvation. And having
assurance of salvation take your stand and see the salvation of God.
All
scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version.
2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society
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