Lesson 18 – Ephesians Chapter 6:13-17
As we continue in the book of Ephesians, Paul is instructing us in how we fight the spiritual battles of life. Before we talk about how we are to dress for battle, I just want to recap a little about the enemy forces we are facing.
We know that just living in this world, we face oppositions within our very own culture, the morals and values of yesterday have slowly drifted away. As believers, we find ourselves in a land that is no longer our home. Truth be known, it never has been our home, our real home is in heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The battle-lines in our personal war involve our own fleshly desires, the outside influence of the world around us, and against… principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places… as was described to us in verse 12.
In Pastor Mark Driscoll’s book Win Your War, he writes, “The limitations we have are natural. As created beings with limited energy, we all reach the point where we have depleted ourselves and say things like, “I’m out,” “I need a break,” “I can’t do any more,” “I just need to sit down,” and “I’ve got nothing left to give.”
Sound familiar?
Now consider the different reality in which angels live. Angels do not share in the limits of our humanity. Instead they sing and serve “day and night” Rev 4:8; 7:15. What is true of angels is also true of demons. Satan’s nonstop attack on believers is “day and night” (Rev. 12:10). Demons do not need a nap, a day off, food, water, or sleep because they do not get tired or sick.
Do you see the problem for you? If you have human limits, and demonic spirits who attack you do not share those limits, how can you possibly win a war against that foe since “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12)?
To win your war, you cannot fight by your own natural power. A natural person cannot win a spiritual battle against a supernatural demon. No one ever defeated the demonic by his or her own strength. No matter how self-disciplined you are, how hard you try, or how tough you may be, eventually the supernatural always defeats the natural.
Sometimes evil people live by the power of demonic forces and have a superhuman energy level. They harass and hound you until you are overwhelmed, exhausted, and overtaken. Jesus delivered two “demon possessed men” who were “so fierce that no one could pass that way” (Matt. 8:28-34).
People took the long way around the region where these men lived. Two men controlled an entire region… until Jesus cast their demons out.
In Mark 5:1-20 Jesus encounters “a man with an unclean spirit.” With demonic strength, “no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and broke the shackles in pieces, no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones” (vv. 3-5).
You know you are dealing with a demonized person when they do evil, never grow weary, and force everyone else to work around them, avoid them, and live in fear of them. The only way that you can win your war against demonic power is by the supernatural power of God the Holy Spirit: “…be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might” (Eph. 6:10). Our strength comes from the Lord’s strength and not our own. The Christian life is supernaturally lived “in the Spirit” by God’s power at work for you, in you, and through you. The counterfeit of being Spirit-filled is being demon possessed. When someone is filled with the unholy spirit, your only defense is to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Chapter 5 defined what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and it’s important that we never let that truth drift away from us. The “bond-servant” of Christ continually pursues the Spirit-filled life.
We have Spirit filled commands from the Lord to remind us, encourage us, guide us, and protect us!
Josh. 1:9
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
I Cor. 16:13
“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”
Dan. 10:19
“He said, “O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
Satan and his demons would have us believe that we are weak and out on an island stranded by ourselves, without any hope or power, but, when we read God’s Word we know the very opposite is true.
Isaiah 40:29-31
“He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”
To help us gain new strength and mount up with wings like eagles, we have God’s armor to protect us.
Eph. 6:13
“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.”
Regardless of where we might live, what kind of social status we belong to, or even whether or not we’re a leader within the body of Christ, every one of us has the ability to stand firm. Paul says for us to take up the full armor of God. Paul must have looked very carefully at the guard he was chained to, seeing his armor, and then saying to himself, “Christians need armor, they need God’s armor.”
As we have been talking about, we’re in a war, and we will continue to be at war until Jesus comes back to deliver justice and take charge of the earth. Like we also discussed, there’s no way we can battle evil in our own strength, except through God’s mighty provision for us.
How does this happen? Number one, we are God’s children, our Holy Father will provide for His children. We also have the promise of His Word, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Just like we’re to live Spirit-filled lives every day, we’re also to put on God’s armor every day.
So that you will be able to resist in the evil day…
Some say that since the fall in the garden, every day is an evil day for mankind, and that it will continue until satan and his forces are thrown into the Lake of Fire. In the meanwhile, God provides so that we are able to resist in the evil day by taking advantage of all His provisions… by putting on the armor He supplies.
Earlier I spoke of standing firm, we stand firm as we stand in our faith. When Martin Luther was condemned for declaring that man is saved by faith alone in Christ alone, Martin Luther said, “My conscience is captive to the Word of God… here I stand, I cannot do otherwise.” Martin Luther took a stand for Christ, as should we.
From Christianity.com:
“Do you confess Jesus Christ? Not just at church but everywhere you go? Is there a growing pattern of loyalty to Him? Does your love and loyalty to Him resonate in your heart? Whatever else we get done in this world, God helps us stand for Him. We will not lower the flag. We will not back up or shut up or hide the reality of our allegiance to Jesus Christ. We will not do that. We cannot do that. We choose to stand.”
The opposite of standing firm would be things like backing down, doubting, faltering, hesitating, indecision, skepticism, suspicion, unbelief, uncertainty, vacillating, and wavering.
The evangelist Billy Sunday used to tell of a professing Christian who got a job in a lumber camp that had the reputation of being very ungodly. A friend, hearing that the man had been hired, said to him, “If those lumberjacks ever find out you’re a Christian, you’re going to be in for a hard time!” The man responded, “I know, but I need the job!” The next morning he left for camp.
A year later, he came home for a visit. While in town, he met his friend who asked, “Well, how did it go? Did they give you a hard time because you’re a Christian?” “Oh no, not at all,” the man replied. “They didn’t give me a bit of trouble – they never even found out!”
What was it that made that lumberjack back-down and falter in his faith? It sounds like demons of fear were in his ear.
II Tim. 1:7
“For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. (sound mind)”
Standing firm is what believers do… we are never to back-down in fear. Jesus said that we are to take up our cross daily, which means we should be willing to face the daily battles, regardless of any persecutions that may come.
II John 1:8
“Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.”
John is warning us, hold on to what we’ve accomplished, and when everything is said and done, when all the dust has settled… did you stand firm… true to Christ? The godly armor available to us will help us in our quest to stand firm.
Eph. 6:14
“Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”
Having girded your loins with truth… At this point Paul is making the assumption that we are indeed standing firm. Now the question becomes, are you ready to run the race?
Back in biblical times, both men and women wore flowing tunics. Around the tunic, they’d wear a belt or girdle. While tunics were comfortable and breezy, the hem of the tunic would often get in the way when a man was fighting or performing hard labor. When ancient Hebrew men had to battle the Philistines, they would lift the hem of their tunic up and tuck it into their belt or tie it in a knot to keep it off the ground. The effect basically created a pair of shorts that provided more freedom of movement. Thus to tell someone to “gird up your loins” was to tell him to get ready for hard work or battle. It was the ancient way of saying “man up!”
I like to say, “man up, bun down,” but that’s a whole different subject. Now, as they say in the fighting ring, “Are you ready to rumble?”
Heb. 12:1
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”
We need to be ready to run with God’s truth. The truth referred to here has to do with personal integrity, living a life of practical truthfulness and honesty. The content of God’s truth is absolutely essential for every believer in their battle against the many schemes of satan. To do this, we need to be schooled in the Holy Scriptures so that we are prepared.
Eph. 4:14
“That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ.”
If the believer doesn’t have God’s truth tucked away in their heart, they have no dependable truth on which they can stand.
and having put on the breastplate of righteousness…
The function of the armor breastplate was to protect the vital organs, especially the heart. The Roman breastplate went around the whole body, so that it would protect the back of the warrior as well, and it was usually made of hard leather or metal. Today’s equivalent would be a Kevlar vest. The righteousness that the breastplate represents is not the righteousness of Christ, but the practical righteous character and good works of the believer, which is heavy artillery against satan and his demons.
Col. 3:10
“And have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.”
Through the Holy Spirit we are constantly being renewed every day, transforming more and more into Christlikeness, which in turn adds to our righteous character. Paul was consistently striving toward perfection in Christlikeness.
Phil. 3:12
“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.” (NLT)
Bible commentary says, “Many, if not most, of the emotional and relational problems Christians experience are caused by a lack of personal holiness. Many of our disappointments and discouragements do not come from circumstances or from other people, but from our own unconfessed and uncleansed sin. When circumstances and other people do manage to rob us of happiness, it is because we are unprotected by the armor of a holy life.”
Moving on from the protection of our core being, we go to our feet.
Eph. 6:15
“And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”
What does it mean to shod your feet? The Geek definition means to bind under one’s self, or to bind on, referring to the feet.
Napoleon Bonaparte said an army marches on its stomach. While this is true, it is also true that an army marches on its feet. If a soldier doesn’t take care of his feet, bad things can happen. Trench foot killed 20,000 soldiers during World War I, and thousands more had their feet amputated to stop the spread of the disease.
But of course, Paul is talking about spiritual matters, and here he addresses the feet.
Isaiah 52:7
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!”
The Roman soldier’s feet were shod with hard, studded shoes. Paul is using this image to represent in our verse… the preparation of the gospel of peace. This may mean either that the gospel is the firm foundation on which Christians are to stand or that the Christian soldier should be ready to go out to defend and spread the gospel… both are true statements.
Preparation carries the basic meaning of being in a state of readiness. This would be a picture of the Christian who isn’t satisfied just living an idle existence, meaning that they have a solid devotion to studying and applying God’s Word to their life.
A strong army is a diligent army in its training, and practicing tactical war maneuvers. Thus, when they face the enemy head-on they are prepared for battle. Jesus demands the same state of readiness from His soldiers as well.
Listen, the believer who stands firm in the Lord’s power doesn’t need to fear any enemy, especially not satan himself.
The gospel of peace… is just what you think it is, it’s the saving power of Jesus Christ, rescuing us from God’s eternal judgment.
The person who belongs to God has a sense of peace and hope firmly planted in his heart, because through Christ we are one with Him. We are no longer enemies of God, but now He is our defender.
Eph. 6:16
“Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”
Most other translations say; “In addition to all” instead of “Above all” which introduces the last three pieces of godly armor. The first three had to do with the items that were always on the battle-field, the belt, the breastplate, and shoes. The last three, the shield, helmet, and sword were always in close proximity to the soldier, and ready for him at a moment’s notice.
Taking the shield of faith…
The shield (thoo-reh-os’) is a large oblong, four cornered shield. It was about two and a half feet wide and four and half feet high. The purpose of this hefty shield was to protect the entire body of the soldier, which back then, men were considerably smaller. The shield was also made of wood and would be covered with metal or hardened leather. These shields proved to be very effective in battle.
The Christian needs a protective shield, a shield of faith. And the “faith” that we see here is all about us trusting in God. It’s a faith that leads to maturity.
Proverbs 30:5
“Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.”
This faith is the whole package, we trust everything that God has done to save us and protect us. We believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and that He is sitting at the right hand of the Father as our High Priest. We have faith in the Scriptures, that there is no other truth than God’s truth… we’re talking about a solid Christian faith!
You will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one…
When the Roman soldiers were in a battle, many times they had a barrage of “fiery” arrows coming down on them. To combat this, the soldiers would close ranks bringing their shields together side-by-side, while other soldiers would raise their shields above their heads, forming a protective shield from all sides. I see this as a nice picture of the body of Christ working together, sharing the same faith, helping, and supporting each other in times of need.
The evil one… this of course refers to satan. Our task is to stand firm against his evil schemes. Again, Paul is emphasizing our battle is against personal forces of evil. We only see the physical side of reality, so don’t lose focus, our main battle is spiritual forces of evil. Satan would love for you to only look at the physical plane.
Eph. 6:17
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”
Helmets… in every vicious sport we watch, players usually wear a helmet… football, lacrosse, hocky, and even baseball… all to protect the player’s head. When it comes to wars and battles of every kind, a helmet is essential for the survival of soldiers.
Within the Roman army, the helmet was not only for protection of the head, but it also might be an act of psychological warfare. The intricately designed helmet also made the soldier look taller and more impressive.
The helmet of salvation is mentioned in…
I Thess. 5:8
“But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” (NIV)
The fact that the helmet is related to salvation tells us that satan is always on the attack, calling the believer’s security and assurance in the finished work of Jesus into question. Remember, salvation is not a feeling.
One of satan’s biggest spiritual weapons against God’s children comes in the form of discouraging them, and putting fear and doubt in their minds. It’s very subtle, and debilitating, and it’s very effective.
The protection we get from the helmet of salvation comes in the blessed hope that every true believer holds on to.
Titus 2:12-13
“And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.” (NLT)
The helmet of salvation is having the faith that God keeps His Word, that the day is coming when He will come for us, whether it’s through the Rapture, or we expire here on earth. One day we will be glorified with Christ and be with Him for all eternity, this is our hope.
And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…
The sword of the Spirit here defines itself… it is the written Word of God. This is where we get the truth, God’s truth. Everything else is simply man’s unreliable opinion.
John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
The sword Paul is talking about is a small sword, as set apart from a large curved sword… for a cutting stroke, or a straight sword, for thrusting. Most Roman soldiers carried this kind of sword for hand-to-hand combat. It was called a Gladius. This was the kind of sword Peter used when he cut off the ear of one of the high priest’s slaves, when the temple guard came to arrest Jesus.
The sword of the Spirit… it can also be translated, “by the Spirit.” The way this is being used by Paul is to show us that the Holy Spirit is the origin of the sword, that the sword of the Spirit is Scripture… the Word of God.
II Peter 1:21
“For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
John 14:17
“That is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”
One commentary says, “People today look everywhere for answers to life, to try to find out what is worth believing and what is not. The source of all truth about God and man, life and death, time and eternity, men and women, right and wrong, heaven and hell, damnation and salvation, is God’s own Word.”
The sword of the Spirit… is given to the believer to be a very effective weapon against satan and his demons.
When Jesus was attacked by satan in the wilderness, what did Jesus do to fend him off? Jesus used the Word of God!
As Pastor E.V. Hill used to say, “Hit’em, Hit’em,” referring to when Jesus was hitting satan with God’s Word. We can do the same thing. We can use God’s Word as an offensive weapon as well as a defensive weapon. And when we use the Word of God, we can count on the Holy Spirit to help us and guide us through all of life’s obstacles.
Knowing that the sword of the Spirit is indeed a spiritual weapon and tool meant for the believer’s use, it’s imperative for each believer to be very familiar with the Bible.
A guy on Christian radio used to say, “Are you willing to do for the truth, what others are willing do for a lie?” Two easy examples would be the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses, they both take God’s Word and add or subtract from it, then study the corrupt word and use it to pervert the world with their lies. They are of their father satan.
The more we know and understand God’s Word, the more the Holy Spirit will be able to use us for His kingdom. We will also be able to destroy any of satan’s strongholds. Remember always, “Greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world.” (I Jn. 4:4)
I’ll close with this…
We hear the phrase, put on the full armor of God.
For some this might be a little allusive to grasp hold of. To incapsulate this in a simpler form is to say, the person who puts on the full armor of God is the child of God who lives the Spirit-filled life.