Put on your armour

– Do you hear the call to battle? here will be battle and Paul wants to make sure that they were prepared and that we are prepared
– When Paul says, ‘put on the armor of God so you can stand against the devil’s schemes’, his first hearers would think of the persecutors of Xianity in their city
– They knew of physical suffering for their faith; it is what Paul had intimately experienced on several occasions
– As he wrote this letter, he was in prison due to persecution for his faith
– but Paul knew the suffering which Xians should focus on was not that inflicted by flesh & blood, but suffering caused by the spiritual forces of evil
– The suffering the devil could inflict upon the Xian’s soul – Xian community
– Today, we are cautious to speak about the presence of evil spirits, the Xians Paul wrote to were very aware of the spiritual world
– Many Ephesians dabbled in witchcraft before they came to faith in Xian and had seen people who’d been demon-possessed
– So despite the ‘flesh and blood’ persecution they knew, they would believe that it was motivated/directed by a spiritual force
– (v.12): Heavenly realms: ‘what are evil spiritual forces doing in heaven?’
– The unseen world, (not our picture of heaven)…the spiritual realm
– Our struggle is against things unseen
– If we are fully equipped by God, put on the armor He provides, so that we can stand in the evil day; or v.11, against the devil’s schemes
– Paul is saying that Xians, on their own, can’t protect themselves against the attacks of the evil one
– The armor does not come from within ourselves; rather it comes from the storehouses of God’s mighty power (v.10)
– The armor is God’s armor, he knows what we need for protection
– Ill) God is wise, unlike King Saul fitting David with his own armor
– God equips us properly for the battle at hand so that when the day of evil comes…
– [‘day of evil’ means, ‘occasions’ of evil, when evil may arise… ]
– We can stand our ground and after we have done everything…have victory over evil on that day, to what?
– To stand…we are still standing, after the battle is over
– We have not fled, we are not lying in defeat, we are standing
– Notice the beginning of the next verse? Stand firm (4X)
– Some of us find it easy to stand firm, others need support…but what does it take to stand firm in the spiritual realm?
– We need to put on the ‘armor of God?’
– #1: truth) –, RSV …having girded your loins with truth…
– First step in warriors preparation for battle – enabled them to move freely, it would hold their garments together
– truth, or integrity, holds you together, but truthfulness, honesty, integrity holds a community together so that we are not caught off guard by the devil’s attack
– Beastplate of #2: righteousness
– This protects our vital organs as a believer, as a church
– …not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith… (Phil 3:9)
– We need the breastplate of righteousness that God has offered us to withstand the attacks of the evil forces
– How are your feet fitted? What sort of shoes? (v.15)
– Readiness to fight; that we might stand…stability, Roman warriors had ‘hobnails/spikes’ in sandals to not lose their footing
– Are you well equipped? Does the peace preached in the gospel abide in your heart? Peace with God help will help us withstand the evil foe
– (v.16) our faith is absolutely essential if we are to line up for the battle
– The Greek word ‘thyreos’ refers to the large, full body shield
– Wood, with leather covering, often soaked with water before battle; fashioned so that the flaming arrows would sink in and be extinguished
– We don’t want the little model of faith…ask God for the full version
– With the shield, with faith, we can put out ‘flaming arrows of the evil one’
– Many forms of fiery darts devil shoots at Xians; common attack, is through doubt
– There will be times, or have been times, when you wonder if this whole spiritual realm is even real
– Doubt is normal, but needs to be seen as a direct attack of the devil
– Nothing would please the devil more if you doubted the existence or the power of God, for this can lead towards a Xian walk of apathy
– Lack of conviction in what we believe is a destroyer of the Xian
– Perhaps our faith in God is strong, but Satan can launch fiery darts of doubt lulling Xians into believing that he, or his demons do not exist
– Ill) Screwtape Letters; if we don’t believe in his existence we leave ourselves wide open for attack; evil that comes, we blame on others, or ourselves
– v.17: helmet of #5: salvation; be assured in your mind of your salvation, the souls deliverance is not a matter of uncertainty to the end (no doubt) and of course, get yourself a sword, the #6: word of God
– Jesus used this sword against the attacks of the devil in the desert
– Devil tempted Jesus 3X, and he fought the temptations off with the sword, that is the word of G, the scriptures
– Our own philosophies or theories are not enough to defend against the devil’s temptations, rather use the word of God
– (v.18a) Prayer accompanies the whole process of arming yourself and preparing for battle
– Paul ends with a real sense of urgency…PRAY
– (v.18b)
– Soldiers going into battle do not pray for themselves alone, for if the men around them fall, so will they; we pray for one another for we are one body
– pray for one another that through God’s provision, his armor, we might have victory over evil and be standing at the end… in triumph
– Not lying on the field in defeat, or fleeing from evil – we stand firm; ready for another fight, another evil day
– Devil prowls about like an angry lion, looking for someone to devour
– It is against our spiritual foe that Paul prepares the believers, us, to withstand
– although we may not like to speak of spiritual warfare, it is wise to recognize the reality of evil spiritual forces & prepare ourselves for battle
– Paul knew his physical life would soon end, he knew Xians would continue to be killed for the faith they professed, and although this was and is a great evil, There is a greater evil than the death of the body, and that is the death of the soul
– Put on your armor and be prepared to fight