W. Reid Hankins
Ephesians 6:10-20
"Be Strong in the
Lord"
It
doesn't take much work to be reminded that our nation is at war. Just turn on the TV or radio, or go to your
favorite online news source, and you are sure to find something about the War
on Terror. Sometimes the War on Terror
seems very far off, and sometimes, like on September 11th, or when
you see vivid pictures on TV, it can seem very close to home. When we are confronted with the gruesomeness
of war we cannot help but feel connected.
When we hear of the growing body counts in
Yet,
regardless of how much you may or may not feel involved in this War on Terror,
today in our passage Paul reminds us that we are indeed involved in a war. No, not a war of flesh and blood, but a
spiritual war between God's people and Satan with his demonic army. And if earthly wars are gruesome, if their
casualties cause us great anguish, how much greater are the stakes in this
spiritual war, and how much more powerful is Satan and his attacks. For the stakes in this spiritual war are not
ultimately about physical life or death, but rather are concerned with eternal
consequences.
And
so, today, Paul calls us into the spiritual realm. He calls us to look beyond our earthly
physical existence, with its trials and tribulations, and to see our place in
the spiritual realm. He calls us to look
outside of ourselves and to see the spiritual battle in which we are engaged. And in seeing this spiritual battle, we begin
to realize that our many physical troubles, our many trials and tribulations in
this world, are rooted in this spiritual conflict that lies beyond this
world.
And
yet Paul gives us a firm hope. In
summing up the entire letter of Ephesians, he reminds us that victory belongs
to the Lord. He reminds us that we have
at our disposal all the weapons needed to fight and prevail in this
battle. He reminds us that this battle
is ultimately won by the power of God, even that power of God which has been
manifested in Christ. And through our
union with Christ, by the Holy Spirit, we have the very power of God working in
us. And so in light of all this, Paul
calls us to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might! In doing so, we find ourselves fully equipped
to defend ourselves in this spiritual battle, withstanding all the attacks of
the enemy while also going on the offense, to bring forth the good news of the
gospel to the entire world.
And
so as we look at this passage, we see that Paul begins in verse 10 with an exhortation. Paul says “be strong in the Lord and in the
strength of his might.” This verse sets out Paul’s main point or
theme of this passage: “Be strong in the Lord.”
The rest of this passage then describes this call to be strong in the
Lord. So we’ll look at this call to be
strong in the Lord by addressing two questions.
First we will ask “why”? Why are
we called to be strong in the Lord -- Because we are in a spiritual war. Then we will ask
“how”? “How are we to be strong in the
Lord -- By putting on the full armor of God.
Looking
first then at the “why”: Why are we
called to be strong in the Lord? Because we are in a
spiritual war. Ephesians
Our
enemy in this battle is described in verse 12 as “rulers,” “authorities,” “cosmic
powers over this present darkness,” “spiritual forces of evil” – these are all
terms to describe Satan's armies. These
are terms to describe a vast demonic army headed by Satan. And this description should not take you
lightly. Think for a moment of the many
battle scenes you’ve seen in movies or may have read in books. Just before the battle, when the opposing
forces are lined up, facing off from each other there is often a sense of
anxiety. There is something intimidating
about standing before a vast enemy force.
And
this verse reminds us that we should not underestimate Satan’s power. Verse 12 describes this warfare as a
“wrestling,” literally a close hand to hand combat against these demonic
forces. Even Michael the archangel did
not underestimate Satan’s power, but in Jude 1:9 we read that when he was disputing
with the devil he said “The Lord rebuke you”! Of course this is precisely the point of this
passage - seek God's power which is far mightier than Satan power. A healthy respect of Satan's power and these demonic
forces will keep you from trusting in your own power and draw you to trust in
God's power.
And
so where are these spiritual forces of evil to be found? Where is the battle front of this war? Well, ultimately verse 12 says that it is in
the “heavenly places”. And of course,
this is a recurring theme in this letter to the Ephesians. This phrase "in the heavenly
places" occurs 5 times in the letter.
Paul has told us in this letter that the heavenly places are the place
of every spiritual blessing, the place where Christ has been raised, and where
we too have been seated with Christ. Yet
twice Paul also says that these heavenly places are where these “rulers and
authorities,” these spiritual forces of evil, are at as well! So how should we understand these heavenly
places, if they are a place of blessing and Christ's exaltation, but also a
place of spiritual warfare?
Well,
Ephesians 1:20-21 says that when God raised Christ from the dead that he "seated
him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority
and power and dominion, and above every name that is named." Christ has been exalted above these forces of
evil, in the heavenly places! And so, we
must understand these heavenly places not as a reference to the exact same
place where Christ is, exalted at the right hand of God, but a more general reference
to the whole spiritual realm. We are engaged
in a spiritual battle. This is why verse 12 says that our battle is "not
against flesh and blood." This is
why Paul himself can still engage in this battle, proclaiming the gospel, even while
in chains (verse 20), for this is a spiritual war.
Yet
the battle front is also here on earth, isn't it? No, not in a physical way, but
in a spiritual way. For, we see
this earthly front to this spiritual war by how it manifests itself in our
lives. Verse 11 mentions the "schemes
of the devil." These schemes refer
to the methods of the devil. His methods
are wily; they are tricky and crafty. In
military terms, we might describe his attacks as covert operations. Again our War on Terror may help us to
understand this a little better. We've seen how difficult it has been to fight
non-traditional enemies such as terrorists.
Likewise the devil's crafty methods manifest themselves in different
ways.
For
example, we see the devil perverting God's word. He did this in beginning in the Garden of
Eden when he tempted Eve. He did it
again in the wilderness when he tempted Jesus.
And in our own lives, we see him tempting us to interpret Scripture in
way that justifies our own sinful desires and actions. We also see the devil masquerading as an
angel of light (2 Cor
We
need to be aware of the devil's crafty methods and we need to see the underlying
spiritual nature of this conflict. The
physical attacks and trials we encounter from the devil and his armies are
aimed at having spiritual effects. If
our hearts break or our anger surges when we think of the casualties inflicted
by our enemies in the War on Terror, think for a moment how far worse, how far
gruesome, are the casualties inflicted from Satan in this spiritual war. Satan
is merciless. He will stop at
nothing. Satan is trying to shipwreck your
faith, to get you to curse God and die, and to hinder your spreading of the
gospel. He will stop at nothing short of
bringing your entire destruction and your eternal damnation. Do not underestimate Satan and his evil, yet
crafty, ways.
And
this is a lifelong battle. The reality
of this spiritual warfare means that our pilgrim life is a life of standing
firm in faith and faithfulness amidst the lifelong
attacks of the enemy. Verse 13 says,
"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that
you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand
firm." Here, Paul mentions an
"evil day." Now, earlier, in
Eph
And
so, we are being called to stand firm, to resist, to withstand. And as we fight in this spiritual war, Paul
describes here our two-fold goal. We are
to be both defensive and offensive minded.
Defensively, we are stand firm to the end. Offensively, we are to bring forth the gospel
to the world around us, sharing the work of the church!
If
then, this passage has in view our entire pilgrim life of standing firm, and
ultimately overcoming the enemy, how then do we accomplish this? This leads us then to our second question:
How are we to be strong in the Lord -- By putting on the full armor of God. Praise be to God
that it is not by our own power or might, but by the power of God. We are called to be strong in the Lord and in
the strength of his might. And Paul
calls us to do this by calling us to put on the full armor of God in verses 11
and 13. Verses 14 - 17 then describe
this full armor of God, commanding us to put on or take up each piece.
Looking
first at the general nature of this armor, we see that it is fitting to the
task. This armor is not physical in
nature, but rather the description of each piece of armor has in view the
spiritual nature of this war. And it is
both fitting and comforting that the imagery of putting on the armor of God
reminds us that we are appropriating something external to ourselves. For
this armor is a description of the power and might of God, in Christ. We are taking something external to us, and
equipping ourselves with it. This is why
the commands in this passage all have to do with putting something on
ourselves, using verbs such as to wrap something around the waist, to dress
ourselves, to shod our feet with shoes, to pick up, to
take. We are being told to equip
ourselves for this battle with the very power and might of God.
Paul
makes clear here that this power of God is something external to us, with a reference
back to the beginning of his letter, to Eph
Paul
further reinforces that this power is external of us, belonging chiefly to God
and his Christ, by his descriptions of each of the pieces of this full armor of
God. He describes these pieces of armor
with either direct quotes or allusions to the Old Testament, specifically to
various passages in Isaiah. Scholars
have tried to look to the various types of armor used by different Roman
soldiers and guards at that time, and have had difficulty finding a specific
match. This is because they fail to
appreciate that Paul's description of this armor is more dependant on these Old
Testament passages than on making a technically correct description of any
particular type of Roman armament.
Paul's theological concerns shape his analogy of armor.
And
so when we examine the Old Testament context, we see several similar themes in
each passage quoted from Isaiah. In
these passages, we see either God or the Messiah as bearing this armor, for the
purpose of judging God's enemies and bringing restoration to his people. And the use of this armor takes place in the
Promised Land. There's a sense here that
Paul is recognizing the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies by quoting them
here. But what's remarkable, is that
this armor, which is used by either God or the Messiah in these Old Testament
passages, is what Paul is calling us
to put on! And here the battle is not in
the Promised Land, but in the heavenly places.
We've moved beyond the types and shadows of the Old Testament and now we
have a greater understanding and clarity of the spiritual warfare that we're
involved in.
As so
as we consider this armor, since it's the very power of God, we must remember
that each element finds it source in God.
Furthermore, we must look for how each piece of armor was exhibited in
the life of Christ, in whom this power of God was chiefly manifested here on
earth! Look for Christ and his work in
each piece of this armor.
And
so in verse 14 Paul calls us to wrap on a belt of truth. The likely Old Testament reference from Isaiah
11:5 equates this truth with faithfulness (LXX translation of faithfulness was
truth). And so likely
this has in view the virtue of truth, trustworthiness, and sincerity. One who embodies
truth, is one who can be trusted to keep their word and to do what they
promise. And of course Christ, lived a
life of truth, one where he was faithful to the promises he made to the Father
to redeem the elect by his life and death.
And he spoke the truth, being the very prophet of prophets, one who
spoke with the very authority of God, the one whose very words are identified
as the truth. And so we
are called then to put on this truth as well, living in covenant faithfulness. This is in contrast to Satan, whom Scripture
defines as the father of lies (John
Verse
14 goes on to call us to wear the breastplate of righteousness. This is clearly a defensive piece of the
armor. No one, of course, defines
righteousness more than God and no human has fulfilled all righteousness but the God-incarnate
Jesus Christ. This is in contrast with Satan
who is at odds with righteousness, as one who constantly tempts humans to sin
and is identified with lawlessness. And
so as we consider putting on righteousness, we think about two aspects. First, we think about cultivating Godly
living in our lives. Secondly, however, we
can't help but consider the imputation of Christ's righteousness to us; that
gospel truth that Christ was righteous for our sake; that he kept all the
standards righteous for us! So we must
seek to cultivate godliness in our lives, in response to God's grace, and in
doing so, we again stand in opposition to the devil who is identified with
lawlessness. Yet, when the enemy
attacks, accusing us of our lack of personal righteousness, we must defend
ourselves with a confident appeal to the righteousness of Christ that is our
breastplate of defense against Satan's accusations!
Next,
in verse 15, Paul calls us to put on ready shoes of the gospel of peace. Now, you will find various translations of
this verse, but the allusion of this verse to Isaiah 52:7 seems to demand that
we see the good news, the gospel, as being identified with feet, and in the
context of Ephesians 6, with a soldier's shoes.
Isaiah 52:7 says, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of
him who brings good news, who publishes peace." And yet these are not any shoes, but verse 15
says that they are "ready" shoes.
The shoes of Roman soldiers were generally studded with nails, serving
like spikes on a pair of cleats. This
served of course to enable greater traction and mobility on a variety of
surfaces that the soldier would encounter, making them "ready" --
ready to move across anything; ready to move forward in battle! And so here the gospel, ironically the gospel
of peace, is identified with the ready
shoes of a soldier. Such shoes would serve
both defensively and offensively, but here I think the bigger emphasis is on
the offense, on the spreading of the gospel.
This is what Paul even asks for prayer on in verses 19 and 20, the
proclamation of the gospel. The idea is
that, just as Christ came proclaiming the good news as the primary teaching of
his earthly ministry, we too are to see our readiness as soldiers tied up with
the gospel. We are to hold firm the
gospel and to share it with the world around us. In the midst of the attacks of Satan, we are to
respond with the message of peace.
In verse 16, Paul calls us to pick up the shield of
faith. This also is clearly a defensive
piece of the armor. This term for shield
is for a larger shield, probably about 4 feet by 2.5 feet, and would have been
used to protect the whole body. And as
the imagery in verse 16 suggests, this kind of shield was used to defend
against enemy arrows dipped in pitch and set on fire. Now when thinking about faith, it may seem
strange to consider how Christ lived a life of faith, for as the eternal son of
God he knows all things. Yet, if we
understand faith to be knowledge, assent, and trust, we can acknowledge that he
lived a perfect life of faith here on earth, fully convinced of God and his
plan to redeem his people. This was made
clear whenever Satan attacked Christ during his ministry! It was in those times that Christ especially
responded with whole hearted trust in God and his plan, leveling defeat after
defeat upon Satan. We now are called to
live a life of such faith, fully trusting in God and his will for our lives.
Next,
in verse 17, Paul calls us take the helmet of salvation. A good case can be made that this helmet is
more than just a defensive piece of equipment.
Some helmets were vividly decorated and ornate, and used to declare
victory over an enemy, or worn during official
ceremonies or gatherings. And this seems
to be the sort of helmet in view here.
For this helmet of salvation is clearly a quote from Isaiah 59:17, and it was a common Jewish interpretation of this
passage in Isaiah to see this helmet as an ornate helmet of victory, which the
Messiah would wear to announce salvation to
Lastly,
Paul, continuing in verse 17 calls us to take up the sword of the Spirit. Of all the elements of this full armor of
God, this is clearly the most offensive.
And we are told that this sword is the Word of God. Jesus came preaching the word of God with so
much authority that the gospel of John even refers to him as the Word. It was the very Word of God which Jesus
responded back to the devil when he was tempted in the wilderness. Yet here this Word is identified chiefly with
the Spirit, calling the word of God as the "Sword of the Spirit." This should not cause us any difficulty,
however, for Jesus himself in John 16:14 said that the Spirit would be given to
speak the very words of Jesus to us! Rather,
this reminds us that our use of the Word of God, is chiefly
made effective by the Spirit, because it is a spiritual warfare. It is the Spirit who illumines our minds to
understand the word, and it is the Spirit who makes the word efficacious to
those whom we share it with.
Furthermore, when we encounter internal temptations, and think of the
Word to battle those temptations, it is the Spirit there again working inside
even us to make the Word effective in our lives.
So
how do we go about putting on all of this armor of God? Well, Ephesians 6:18 says
by "praying at all times in the Spirit." Paul's mention of prayer here is not a 7th
piece of the armor, as some have suggested, but the means for acquiring all the
pieces mentioned. And since this armor
is the very power of God which has been manifested in Christ, we are
essentially praying to put on Christ, or in the words of Eph 4:24, to "put
on the new self." This has is view
our spiritual union with Christ! And so
as we pray for these things, we receive them by the Spirit. The power of God in Christ is applied to us via
the Holy Spirit.
Isn't
this humbling, yet encouraging! We are
part of a war in which we cannot win by our own efforts! We can't fashion or make the sort of armor
described here. Could we really take
hold of the righteousness and truthfulness described here, on our own? Could we really have any hope of victory on
our own? Would we possess the good news
of peace apart from Christ? No! This is why Paul has called us to become
strong in the Lord and in the strength
of his might! If we are to become
strong in this way, it will ultimately be a gift of God. That is why this passage ends with a call to
pray!
And
so be encouraged. Paul would not call us
to seek this armor in prayer if God were not eager to give it! And what great armor this is! It represents the very resurrection and
ascension power of Christ! With such
power, we do not need to fear the enemy!
Rather with confidence may you engage in this spiritual battle, standing
firm to the end, and bringing forth the gospel to the world.
And
so saints of God, be reminded -- you are in a
battle! Do you live with this
perspective? Do you live with a war-time
mentality, or do you carry on with your everyday affairs and forget about the
battle which you are engaged in? Think
about our
And
Paul has told us today how to equip ourselves, how to prepare for this war
which we are in. We have at our disposal
the very armor of God. Do not think you
can survive in this war with your own strength!
Do not neglect such effective armor that has been given to you! But rather be strong in the Lord! This passage brings together all the earlier
chapters in Ephesians which talk about us being "in Christ". Here we are being called to live out our
union with Christ. It is a call is to
put on Christ, especially in light of this spiritual warfare. And so, pray for this armor! Pray that you would live out of your union
with Christ. Pray that you would live
Christ, Pray for this strength, so that you can stand firm in this spiritual
war.
And
Pastor especially wanted me to point out how this command to be strong in the
Lord, is, in the Greek, in the plural.
In English, we might say, "You all"; "You all be strong
in the Lord". In this spiritual
warfare, we are in this battle together.
We stand in opposition to Satan together as one church, as one holy
army. This means that we all are in this
together! If one of us suffers and
struggles, we all are affected. The
saying "we are only as strong as the weakest link" applies here. But that is why I am asking you to not rely on your own strength. Rather, let's each rely on the strength that
comes from God, and together stand firm against the enemy, and together do
God's work, spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth.
And
so, Saints, heed this call today to pray for this strength. Stand firm, in Christ. And look forward to that final victory, when
Christ will return, destroying all his and our enemies for all eternity. Amen.
© Copyright 2006 by W. Reid Hankins
All Rights Reserved.
Ephesians 6:10-20
"Be Strong in the
Lord"
I.
Introduction
II.
We are called to be strong in the Lord
A. Why? Because we are in a spiritual conflict
1. Nature
of this conflict
2. How
this manifests itself in our lives
B. How? By putting on the full armor of God
1. Nature of this armor
2. Each
element considered
- Belt
of truth
- Breastplate
of righteousness
-
Ready shoes of the gospel of peace
- Shield
of faith
- Helmet of salvation
- Sword of the Spirit
III.
Exhortation