Eph

Eph. 6:14-20

3/18/2007

“For All the Saints and Also for Me”

“Put on the whole armor of God…!” What a loaded command!

When do people put on the armor? Is it when they go on a picnic and play games? No, it is when there is a battle to fight. And think about the urgency and the immediacy of the situation. People don’t put on the armor at a rumor of a distant war brewing, do they? They put it on when the battle is at hand, when the certainty of engagement is inevitable. And the armor is to be kept on as long as the battle continues. Paul through this command is reminding us that we are at war.

Notice also that this command is in plural. Paul is directing this command to all the recipients of his letter. Who were the recipients of the letter? Just the pastors and elders and deacons? No, Paul just finished addressing wives and husbands, children and parents, slaves and masters in the previous section (5:22-6:9). All members of the church are included in this command--not just the officers of the church but also the lay people, not just men but also women and children--all the saints who confess Christ as their Lord and Savior. Even children? Yes, even children because the evil schemes of the devil are indiscriminate; the evil enemy will not spare anyone, not even the covenant children. You see, we cannot be Christian and not be directly and inescapably involved in spiritual warfare: spiritual warfare is inevitable in Christian life. Therefore, we cannot be Christian and not put on the full armor of God.

The war Paul speaks of, of course, is a spiritual war--“against the schemes of the devil” (v. 11); “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (v. 12). He spoke of this war all throughout the letter. In 1:10 Paul mentioned God’s “plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth”. This implies, of course, some prior division, cosmic in scale. And we hear of Christ’s victory and exaltation over these spiritual forces in 1:21 and 4:8. This battle, of course, started when Satan rebelled against God. Satan brought this battle into the visible universe when he broke into the Garden of Eden and tempted Adam and Eve. After the Fall, this battle was officially declared by God’s decree (Gen. 3:15) and the human race became the battlefield. This battle would end only when the promised Seed of the woman would come and destroy Satan.

This is why we must put on the full armor of God! No armor of bronze or steel can help us in our spiritual battle. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood” (v. 12). Take a look at all the elements of the divine armor: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the readiness given by the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Our weapons and our armor have to be spiritual in nature--spiritual, however, not just in the sense of spirit-body dichotomy. The elements of the armor of God must be of God, not of some abstract, moral principles. No! What moral principle of this world can help us withstand in the evil day (v. 13), against the schemes of the devil (v. 11)? The best of us may be able to abide by certain moral codes most of the time. But who of us does not have a blind spot in our moral vision? And what happens when we fail? We are condemned by the very moral principles we hold dear: the very truth we aspire to attain and preserve will condemn us for all our lies and deceptions; our ideal of righteousness will condemn us for all our dishonest and cowardly ways and immoral deeds; our ideal of peace will condemn us for all our selfishness and divisive and jealous spirit. And Satan will surely be there to testify against us.

What, then, is the true nature of the whole armor of God? Here is where we see the centrality of Christ in all this. All throughout the epistle Paul stressed how our salvation is “in Christ”. God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (1:3). God chose us before the foundation of the world in Christ (1:4). He predestined us for adoption through Christ (1:5). We have our redemption in Christ through His blood (1:7). The mystery of His will and His purpose are set forth in Christ (1:9). His plan of uniting all things is in Christ (1:10). It is also in Christ that we have obtained an inheritance (1:11). Do you get the idea? Not only that, God made us alive together with Christ (2:5). He raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ (2:7). We are created anew in Christ for good works (2:10).

All that we are now and all that we have are “in Christ”. Is it such a leap to say, then, that the full armor of God is none other than Jesus Christ Himself? To be in Christ is to put on the full armor of God. In other words, He who is our robe of righteousness is also the full armor of God. For nothing we manufacture can provide protection against Satan’s attack in the evil day. We need to be equipped with the full armor of God. In fact, the full armor of God must be drenched and washed in the blood of Jesus Christ; they must be coated with the merit of Christ. For His blood and righteousness alone can protect us from the evil schemes and vicious attacks of Satan. So we notice this about each element of the armor of God: it highlights an aspect of the various benefits of Christ’s redeeming work. In fact, each element is an expression of what Christ is to us. Surely, it is not difficult to find biblical expressions that portray Christ as these elements of the armor of God, is it?

· What is “the belt of truth” but Christ who is the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6), who is holy and true (Rev. 3:7)?

· What is the “breastplate of righteousness” but Christ who is “the Lord our Righteousness” (Jer. 23:6), the righteousness of God revealed (Rom. 1:17)?

· What are “the shoes of the readiness given by the gospel of peace” but Christ who is our peace (Eph. 2:14), whose name is “Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6)?

· What is “the shield of faith” but Christ who is the object of our faith, who is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2)?

· What is “the helmet of salvation” but Christ who is our God of salvation (1 Chron. 16:35), the Lamb to whom belongs our salvation (Rev. 7:10)?

· What is “the sword of the Spirit” but Christ, the last Adam who became a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45)? What is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” but Christ who is the incarnate Word of God (John 1:14)?

Do you see? Jesus Christ is the full armor of God. That means, whoever has received Jesus Christ possesses the full armor of God. In the army of Christ it is not just the high-ranking officers who are equipped with this awesome and marvelous armor; every one of its warriors, down to the foot soldiers, is fitted with the full armor of God! Yes, even you and I! Notice: Paul doesn’t tell us to ask God for the armor of God: he simply commands us to put it on! That means it has already been given to us. As no one can be a Christian and not be a soldier of Christ, no one can possess Christ and not have the full armor of God! We realize that God who enlisted us for the spiritual battle did not send us without the full armor of God!

And what an armor it is! What a glorious privilege it is for us to possess such a wonderful armor! Think about how we were before!

· We used to be bound by the cords of falsehood and lies--the falsehood and lies of Satan and of our own deceitful heart. Now we have fastened the belt of truth, Christ. Having put away falsehood, we speak the truth with our neighbor (4:25). No deception of Satan can undo us any longer (Rev. 20:3).

· We used to have a plate of scarlet letters hanging over our breast, which said, “Condemned!” We walked around with that sign for all the sins we had committed in deeds, words and thoughts. Now we have put on the breastplate of Christ’s righteousness, which declares, “Justified!” No accusation of Satan can pierce us.

· We used to walk around barefooted, our feet covered with the dirt of malicious gossips, libels, jealousy and a contentious, divisive spirit. Many a relationship we had taken so long to build, we destroyed in a moment because of our selfishness and arrogance. But now we have our feet cleansed; we have as shoes the readiness given by the gospel of peace, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Prince of peace. In Christ we have been reconciled to God and to one another. Satan cannot destroy this peace. Even when he manages to disrupt it, the soldiers of Christ, having been shod, are ever ready to reconcile with God and with one another--even if we have to deny ourselves and take up the cross, for the sake of Christ who established this peace through His blood.

· In our unbelief we stood exposed and defenseless against the missiles of doubt and cynicism from Satan. But now we have the shield of faith in Christ, which is able to extinguish all the flaming darts of the devil.

· We used to have a crown of thorns pressed deep into our head. But now we have the helmet of salvation, Christ our salvation, covering our head to protect us from the mortal blows from the enemy.

· Before we used to carry around the machete of blasphemy against God and curses against others. But now we have the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word. This double-edged sword is not only able to destroy the enemy but also bring life to those who hear the word of God even through our lips!

Let us not think that this armor comes to us without cost. How have we come to possess the armor of God when we had nothing valuable to offer to God? Christ has purchased it for us through His precious blood, through His perfect righteousness. He took upon Himself all our shameful shame, all our miserable misery, all our sinful sin, all our crimson guilt, all the condemnation we incurred and all the punishment we deserved. Behold Him on the cross dying in our place, with the crown of thorns pressed deep into his head, stripped down in humiliation, exposed to all the mockery and jeering of the crowd, without defense against the nails and spears of mortal hatred, betrayed and abandoned by His disciples and friends and condemned by His eternal Father! The divine Warrior subjected Himself to such humiliation and misery--why? Why, except that His death and resurrection was the only way for Him to redeem us from our sin and guilt, the only way to render Satan powerless by cleansing our conscience through His blood--nay, by giving us a new birth from above through His death and resurrection! He took upon Himself our shame and our death in order that He might give us His glory and His life.

As Paul concludes this section on the full armor of God, and in fact the main body of his entire letter, he urges, “[Pray] at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak” (vv. 18-20). What an appropriate conclusion this is!

Prayer has been a prominent theme throughout this epistle. This epistle is divided into two major sections: the indicative section, or the doctrinal section (1-3), in which Paul talks about God’s glorious work of salvation in Christ; the imperative section, or the application section (4-6), in which Paul shows how the saints ought to live as the redeemed people of God. We notice that the indicative section (1-3) begins with a prayer (1:3-23) and ends with a prayer (3:20-21). These are both prayers of praise. What a wonderful example we find in Paul! He could not just talk about theology or doctrines without breaking into praise and adoration of our great Redeemer. Christian theology cannot be just a cold, impersonal exercise of the intellect.

The imperative section (ch. 4-6) does not begin with a prayer. But remember that, when Paul wrote his letter, there were no chapter divisions. That means, the last prayer of ch. 3 can very well be the transitional prayer between the two sections, functioning not only as the end of the indicative section but also as the beginning of the imperative section. We say that the imperative flows out of the indicative--that is, what we ought to do flows out of what God has made us. But we can also say that the imperative flows out of our praise and adoration of God for His glorious work of redemption. As we recognize His great work, we cannot help but kneel down before Him and offer our praise and thanksgiving for His glorious grace. And our worship of God ought to be the motivation for all that we do as Christians.

And this imperative section ends with an urgent plea to all the saints to pray always. How appropriate! We are to pray because our enemy is great. They say that one must know not only oneself but also the enemy to win the battle. We are not to underestimate the devil, our enemy. We are no match for him. Because we are no match for the devil on our own, we are to pray. What is our brute strength compared to his? Can we ever hope to outsmart him in the battle of wit? And we don’t even have a clear perception of what is at stake in our spiritual battle against Satan. Many of us go on living our lives as if we had no battles to fight, as if we had no mortal enemy prowling around to destroy us. We know what the Bible says about Satan and the spiritual war we are supposed to fight. But we are too busy trying to make a living, trying to lead a “normal” life, trying to enjoy our life as much as possible. We wander around here and there, constantly looking for fun, as if life were but an amusement park. We wander around here and there as if life were just a shopping mall, salivating at the things displayed behind the store windows.

But what about Satan our enemy? He is all business. For He knows that the spiritual battle is not just an abstract idea or a shocking metaphor but an undeniable, inescapable, gruesome and brutal reality. He is not distracted by the physical vision as we are. In this sense, we are at such a disadvantage. He is able to see the spiritual reality with clarity while we are blinded by the thin, deceptive layer of economic prosperity, physical wellbeing, political rest and social peace. He doesn’t forget, not even for a moment, that he is in the middle of a fiercest battle for the souls of men, for their eternal destiny. There is nothing he would like better than dragging down with him as many people as possible, down all the way into the infernal lake of fire. Oh, how his heart burns with an unquenchable hatred against God and anyone in alliance with Him! So great is this hatred that he will not rest or stop his sedition and attack until he is thrown into the lake of fire for all eternity on that great last day. Though he knows how hopeless his attempts are, he will continue to deceive himself to the very end and not give up no matter how hopeless his efforts, trying to do as much damage as possible to the kingdom of God.

And Satan knows all about our Achilles’ heel--who of us doesn’t have one? And he is no gentleman that he should hold back his attack on our weakest points. He is just not the type, when we lose the sword, to pick it up and hand it back to us so he could fight fair! In fact, he will not hesitate to aim his poisoned arrow at them; he will shoot at them again and again from all angles until we are mortally wounded to die. He lies in wait to attack us at a most opportune time, his eyes glaring with murderous hatred. And what do we often do? We are casually taking a stroll unawares and in denial! Can we be any match for him? Who can defeat Satan but God? So we are to pray to God for His strength, for His help.

And we are to pray always because Satan is ready to attack us at any time. There could be no truce with Satan. Even if there were, he would never honor it.

But we can pray--what a comfort! We are no match for Satan. But He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world! Were we on our own, we would surely be destroyed. But praise be to God! Christ has won the victory and He has become for us the full armor of God. Because we fight not with our own strength but in the strength of Christ, we are to pray to God and pray always with all prayer and supplication--doesn’t this only make sense? So let us pray in view of the great enemy that opposes us but even more so in view of our great Redeemer who is our ever-present help in times of trouble--in fact, at all times! We are to pray as a sign of our total dependence upon Christ.

And we are to pray as soldiers, not as spoiled children. We are to pray with alertness (v. 18) since we are at war. But we pray with confidence, knowing that we are fitted with the full armor of God. What an awesome armor we have! Supposedly Achilles was impervious to wounds, except his heel, because his body was dipped in the river Styx except that spot. This is of course all fiction. But what a marvelous, ingenious idea! Now think about your armor: it is drenched in the blood of Jesus Christ--the blood that is able to wash away your sins, the precious blood that is able to give you life! And it is coated with the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ! What accusation, what judgment, what condemnation can penetrate the righteousness of Christ? That is the kind of armor you possess in Christ. You are enlisted in the triumphant army of God, destined for inevitable victory.

Paul goes on to tell us that we are to pray especially for the gospel ministry--the gospel ministry of all the saints but especially of Paul as he proclaims the mystery of the gospel (vv. 18, 19). Yes, we are called to pray for all the saints, for all the soldiers of Christ. We are to support one another with our prayers, especially for those who are entrusted with the official proclamation of the gospel. Do you see? According to the structure of this passage, Paul’s enumeration of the full armor of God is undergirded by this appeal to pray. This shows how crucial our prayer is in our spiritual war.

As we conclude, let us remind ourselves again that our battle is spiritual in nature. This cosmic battle between the kingdom of God and the rebels of Satan has always been spiritual in essence. However, during the theocracy of Israel, the spiritual battle was often identified with the military battles of Israel. But now a new era has arrived. How do we, as those who are fully equipped with the armor of God, fight? We fight this battle as soldiers of Christ by becoming servants of all, by becoming all things unto all people so that we might win some to Christ (1 Cor. 9:22). For it was through His humiliation, death and resurrection that our Captain defeated Satan and won the victory and won our souls.

This battle is about the souls of men. This battle is not won by military victories or worldly successes; this battle is won by winning souls to Christ from the depth of all. We all participate in this battle in different ways. Some of us are more gifted than others in personal evangelism. Some of us are given the official role to proclaim the gospel and most of don’t. But no matter who and where we are in the army of God, there is one thing that we all must do: we are to pray always with alertness and perseverance. We are to pray for one another’s witness. We are to pray for the ministers of the gospel that they may boldly preach Christ crucified. We are to pray that our ministry may be fruitful and successful in bringing sinners to Christ. And we are given the assurance that the God to whom we pray is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (3:20). He assures us that His power is at work within us (3:20), that He desires to be glorified in His church (3:21) by answering our prayers! Let us take up the full armor of God. Let us cast away all doubts and let us pray with boldness and confidence!

There will come a day when all the elect people of God will be brought into the kingdom of heaven. This will happen and it will not fail. The church militant will become the church triumphant. You have been privileged to take part in the triumphant campaign of the army of Christ, to be engaged in a work that cannot fail. Let us give ourselves wholly to our call and share in the glory of our Captain and King Jesus Christ!