Ephesians portrays
Christ as Our All in All!
Ephesians
6:10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord,
and in the power of his might.
11Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be
able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
15And your feet shod with the preparation of
the gospel of peace;
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18Praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto
with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
Prior to the Apostle Paul writing this passage, he spent
time in this epistle exhorting believers to live a holy and godly life---
discharging their Christians duties. He begins in Ephesians 1:4 saying,
“According as He (God) hath chosen us in Him (Christ Jesus) before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in
love.”
He continues in Ephesians 2:10 saying, “For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them.”
When a believer is filled with God’s grace and faith,
accompanied by holy and godly living through the Holy Spirit, the devil will
want to attack. He will attack you when you are down also, as he did when Jesus
was 40 days without eating and hungry. When you are physically weak the devil
and his wicked companions will seek to bring you to ruin. But, as Luke records,
Jesus was tempted during the 40 days, meaning that the attacks against
Jesus began right after the great events of his Baptism and Commissioning by
God.
Luke recorded that
when Jesus was led of the Spirit into the wilderness, that he was full of the
Holy Spirit— he was receiving power, benefits, blessings, and gifts from the
Holy Spirit.
The devil will also
hit you when you are filled with the Holy Spirit and flowing with grace, just
as he did our Lord.
A thief does not
bother with the poor man but rather goes after those with the greatest
treasures. When God is pouring out His graces upon you, you are rich indeed—
with the greatest treasures. And that makes you a target and sorted out by the
enemy. The deceiver is going to come and wants to steal that from you. He is
going to try to drive a sinful wedge between the believer and God.
That is why Paul
writes in Ephesians 6:10: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and
in the power of his might.
Paul is now moving
from edifying believers to preparing them for attacks against true and pure
Christian living. Affectionately, with great care and concern, he appeals to
his brethren— to us— to “… be strong in the Lord, and the power of his
might.” Be strong in holy and godly living and be strong against the
attacks of the devil.
Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:1: Be strong in the
grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Our strength comes
from the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and in Him alone. He is our everlasting
strength, the Rock of Ages. It is through the power and strength of God that we
can live godly and fight off the temptations and attacks of the devil. That
power and strength is what established God’s grace through the eternal covenant
and secured it through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That
powerful grace is what will sustain us and make us more than conquerors—
conquerors over sin, temptations, afflictions, worldliness, persecutions, and
the attacks of the evil one and his followers.
The battle is not
ours, it is the Lord’s, and He will equip us and strengthen us. He will
accomplish all His purposes in us, and He will receive all the glory.
Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may
be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
Put on- clothe
yourself in it, make it part of your entire being. We are instructed to take
this armor and make it part of our daily Christian life— it is to become part
of our character as disciples of Jesus Christ.
And we just don’t put
on one piece of it, we are to put on the whole armor, which is provided
by God. In His grace and mercy, He has provided this armor to His people for
fighting spiritual battles. He has equipped us with the proper tools to engage
in warfare that is thrust upon us by the enemy. Church, these tools are in
themselves whole and complete— the necessary defenses and offenses weapons for
battle.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Being prepared for
battle requires you to know and check your gear before you get face to face
with the enemy. You wouldn’t want to go off to battle or to war without weapons,
training, or not knowing how to use your gear. A soldier wouldn't want to be in
the middle of a fight and realize he forgot his body armor. In the same way, a
Christian must be prepared for spiritual battles by knowing their armor, every
piece of it.
Paul now begins to
prepare the Christian by going through each piece of the armor.
First piece of Armor:
1.
The
Belt of Truth: having your loins girt about with truth.
The Roman soldier wore
a belt around the waist. It was used to gird his tunic and to hold his sword. A
soldier going into battle would not want his tunic flapping loose and hindering
his mobility. So, the first thing he did to prepare for battle was to “gird
his loins,” which meant to gather up his tunic and tuck it into his belt. This
is a symbol of readiness or preparedness. What does this mean to a son of Jesus
Christ.
First, we must know
the truth.
2nd Timothy
2:15 Study
to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
John 17:17 Sanctify
them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Just as the Roman
armor was held together with the girdle (belt), the Christian armor is held
together with truth—The Word of God. That is why it’s so important we know and
memorize God’s Word. Satan always come to us with lies (John 8;44), and the
only thing that can expose a lie is the truth.
Truth is Jesus the
Christ Himself (I Am the Truth). So, when we get a hold of Truth by studying.
We will be able to make a straight cut and dissect the Word of God correctly!
2.
Breastplate
of Righteousness
The Breastplate was
made of metal plates that covered the body from the neck to the waist on the
front and back. It gave protection to the vital organs, such as the heart and
lungs.
When a believer is
clothed in righteousness, he is impregnable (strong enough to resist or
withstand attack; not to be taken by force, unconquerable). Words are no
defense against accusations, but a righteous life is.
1st
Corinthians 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not.
Colossians 3:8
But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy
communication out of your mouth.
1st
Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
Satan is looking for
just a little crack in the breastplate, for that’s all he needs to exploit us
and break through. We know the devil is “an accuser or a slanderer.” Therefore,
one of his tactics is to accuse or slander the believer. The kind of life we
live will determine whether he can be successful with this kind of attack. The
only life that fortifies us against Satan’s attacks of accusation is one of
righteousness.
Righteousness is a
state of harmony established in consciousness through the right use of
God-given attributes and eternal life. Having that Belt of Truth along with
righteous working in consciousness brings forth perfect salvation of the whole
man, spirit, soul and body.
3.
Feet
Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace
The Roman soldiers
wore sandals with nails on the sole to give him better traction in battle. He
could then hold his ground and make quick moves without slipping or falling.
The Christian will be able to hold his ground with the preparation of the
gospel of peace. The word preparation means “readiness or preparedness of
mind.” (same as Belt of Truth).
This indicates we must
always be ready before the battle begins. The phrase gospel of peace
implies we are to also have the assurance we are at peace with God, knowing He
is on our side. This gives us confidence in the battle.
1st Peter
3:15:
But
sanctify the Lord God in your hearts:
and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a
reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.
Shoes denote feet and
feet denote understanding, also our walk and conduct.
Shod means to bind
under one’s feet. We are well able to take possession of all substances that we
comprehend and understand, in the I AM! Just know if we run with something let
us run with the Gospel (the good news, glad tidings). Hallelujah!!!!
4.
Shield
of Faith
“Above all taking The Shield of Faith,” wherewith ye shall be
able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
The Bible says we should have it “above all.”
If you notice as Paul names the different parts of armor. When he comes to The
Shield of Faith, he emphasizes its importance by saying “above all”
meaning in all; over all; higher than; through all, taking “The Shield of Faith.”
The Shield of
Faith has a very specific function, which the Bible makes abundantly clear:
that is to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Not some of them
but ALL of them.
The Shield of
Faith not only defends our whole body,
but also our armor as well. It keeps the darts of the enemy away from the head,
chest, waist, arms and legs.
The Shield moves with the attack. A skilled soldier
can use the shield to hold back the darts of the enemy, no matter the direction
they come from. The shield would be held at arm’s length in the left hand and
across the body to ward off blows of the enemy for defense, while the right
hand was free to use the sword or spear for offense. When The Shield is down
the other weapons are exposed. So, as long as the Shield is lifted NOTHING can
hurt you!
The Shield of
Faith simply means we believe and trust
God. We are firm and unwavering, loyal to whom one is united by promise, trust
and honesty.
Remember,
Hebrew 11:1: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen. Vs 6:
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that come to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Faith is from the root word (pis’tis),
meaning persuasion; moral conviction (of truth); reliance upon Christ;
inward certainty; constancy; assurance; fidelity. Believe is from
the root word (pisteu’o), meaning to have faith (in a person or
thing); credit; to entrust (one’s spiritual well-being to Christ); commit unto;
put trust in.
Though faith and
believing are used interchangeably, they have distinct meanings and
implications.
Faith is a form of trust in something that cannot
be seen or yet fully proven because it involves trusting in a “higher power”
(God Himself), despite the circumstances. Believing is accepting
something as true or real, often based on evidence, reason, experience, or
persuasion, about facts, ideas, or statements. Believing doesn’t always
require proof because it can be based on trust in a person, thing, or personal
experience. Therefore, believing is
accepting something as true, often with some supporting evidence, while faith
is a deeper conviction or trust, in the absence of evidence or proof. That’s
why without “faith” it is impossible to please (euareste’o), meaning
to gratify entirely, or well please God, because one is stepping out
into nothing believing that something is there because the Higher Power
(God) said it!
Therefore,
faith is not just a piece of armor that we must wear, but its also a gift
of the Spirit (1st Corinthians 12:9).
Assistant Pastor
Jackie Burton