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| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) *Song of Adoration: Hymnal #95A: 1-3 “O Come before the Lord, Our King” *Song of Preparation: Hymnal #540 “Soldiers of Christ, Arise” Scripture: Revelation 12; Ephesians 6:10-17 Text: Ephesians 6:10-17 Message: Our Spiritual Battle *Song of Preparation: Hymnal #542 “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus *Song of Response: Hymnal #42B: 1, 5, 8 “As Pants the Deer for Flowing Streams” *Doxology: Hymnal #565: 1-2 “Praise Ye the Lord, Ye Hosts Above” |
Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
In presenting a child for baptism, parents make a promise to teach their child the things of the Lord and his word. In order to do that, they must teach their children about the world around them. The parents view of the world around them will rub off on their children in subtle ways. For instance, if a father has disrespect for authority and makes that clear by the way he speaks and acts, then his son will likely grow up emulating that. Take this worldview onto the spiritual level.
In the prayer in the baptism form, I prayed, “Comfort her in your grace, so that when she leaves this life and its constant struggle against the power of sin…” It is really a constant struggle? According to our text this morning, the answer is yes. And the struggle is not just again our own sin, but against the whole spiritual force of evil and Satan and his whole host. The way that a Christian understands these closing verses of Ephesians, will say much about how they view God, sin, Satan, and the future. We look at these verses under the theme We are conscripted to fight in a spiritual battle.
- Our Enemies
- Our Orders
- Our Weapons
I. Our Enemies
Read verse 10. The apostle concludes and reminds the believer where they are. They are “in the Lord.” This is where it all began. Chapter 1 was filled with “in Christ’s” and “in him.” Now is a reminder of where you are. You are in Christ. That means that you have gone from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, by faith. If you are hearing this and have not committed your life to Christ, we need to move back spiritually to chapter 1 and 2 and tell you again, God is rich in mercy and salvation is fully accomplished in Jesus Christ. If you confess your sins and believe that he died for your sins, you will be granted eternal life. When you do that, you are then conscripted into the Lord’s army. This means you are drafted. You might think, I never asked to be drafted into the army. True, but this is the nature of Christianity and life in general. Afte the fall, you will fight. You will either fight for good or evil, on the side of Christ or against him. But, you will be enlisted in the battle that is taking place in this world around us.
So, assuming you are in the Lord, who are you to fight. Whether it is in war or in sports, it is important to know and understand the opponent. In basketball, if you are playing a team and half of the opponents points are scored by one of their player, you would be foolish not to come up with a plan to stop him and make the others score. You will either put your best defender on him or double team him. In baseball there is scouting report on each hitter and the fielders shade to the left or right as to where the batter usually hits. If they are a bunter, the third and first baseman are likely to take a couple steps forward. But, our text isn’t talking about sports. It is talking about something far more consequential. It is talking about battle, a battle for our souls.
The aggressor is the evil one and is whole host. It is important to be able to identify the enemy and know something about them. There are two extreme dangers regarding our enemy. The first is to underestimate them. In this context, the best scheme the devil uses is to convince people that he is not real. If Satan and his host are not real, then there is no need to worry about them. If you make him out to be a man in a red costume with a forked tail and a pitchfork, then it seems like Satan is a thing of fairy tales. Something only the ignorant or naïve would be afraid of. On the other hand is to over estimate the opponent. As if Satan was omnipresent and he is the exact opposite of God, but evil. We have no defense again him so we just go along and if we fall into sin, we can respond by saying, “the Devil made me do it.” Avoid both extremes. So what is our enemy like.
He is powerful. The terms rulers and authorities of this present darkness are likely a reference to different ranks of evil spirits. We know that those titles are not flesh and blood, they are not references to people. Their focus is on the power and authority they possess. We also know that they are powerful because the terms used for this warfare is “wrestle.”
A second characteristic is that they are wicked. Power could be used for good or bad, but our enemy will also use it for bad. Look at the terms used in our text, “schemes of the Devil” that means tricks, deception, or wiles. Darkness and evil are two other terms used in verse 12. Remember the theme of darkness and light throughout the scriptures. Evil and wickedness thrive in the shadows, in the darkness. Think about the devastation of some horrible sin. It thrives in the darkness. During WWII many German citizens did not believe what was happening. When many of them came to grips with it, it was too late, they had nothing they could do. Our enemy is wicked, more wicked that we realize. Satan is the father of lies and that is how we see him operate in the scriptures, this is how we see him operate in the church, in marriages, etc.
This is connected to the third characteristic, the enemy is deceitful. Our text mentions schemes of the Devil. The Devil rarely attacks in the open. The thief comes in and steals at night. So too with the deception of the enemy, Satan and his host and the worldview they disseminate. In explaining to the Corinthian Christians the importance of forgiveness in II Cor. 2:11 says, “…so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.”
The scriptures furnish us something of the playbook of the enemy. Be on guard therefore, the attack is fierce and the battle is on-going.
II. Our Orders
The orders we are given in this battle is to take up the armor of God and stand firm, in verse 13. In verse 10 we were told to be strong. In verse 11 put on the armor so you may stand.
First, let us reflect upon the call to stand firm. John Stott said, “wobbly Christians are easy prey for the Devil.” He explains that they are wobbly because they do not have their foothold in Christ. Don’t misunderstand our role. Our strength comes from the Lord, but we are still called to stand firm. We are enlisted in the Lord’s army. This starts in our earliest years. This is why it is so important to faithfully discipline your children. You are teaching them how to stand firm. If a small child runs into the street for a second time and the parents scold the child, it isn’t because they hate the child. They are trying to save the child’s life. Do not neglect the important call to lovingly discipline.
There is nothing passive about standing firm. In Jude 3 we are told to contend earnestly. In I Tim. 6:12 the command is to “fight the good fight.”
The second order or command we are given is to put on or take up the whole armor of God. If we think we can fight without God’s armor, we are foolish. Maybe you boys and girls are thinking back to the story of David….he beat Goliath without putting on Saul’s armor, right? He did. But, that doesn’t mean he didn’t put on the armor of God: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and God’s word. Those are the six pieces of armor we will see in a moment. David wore them.
But, when he fell into sin with Bathsheba, he gave up the armor of righteousness, when he sinned regarding the census, he gave up the armor of faith, when Uzzah reached out to grab the ark lest it fall from the cart, he gave up the armor of God’s word.
Notice one last characteristic of our call. In verse 13 it mentions withstanding the evil day. This is the evil day. It will be the evil day until the time when the ultimate victor, the Lord Jesus Christ returns again. Our call is to be strong and stand firm spiritually. Wobbly Christians are easy prey.
III. Our Weapons
There are six weapons in our text that God gives to us in this battle. The first five weapons mentions are defensive in nature and the final one is our offensive weapon. The picture in our text is that of a Roman soldier, which the apostle Paul is chained to at the writing of this letter.
The first weapon is the belt of truth. This leather belt was important because it was used to tie up the tunic of the soldier so they could fight or run and it was also used to hold the sword. We defend ourselves with the truth. The enemy is the father of lies. Look at what he told Eve, “did God really say….”? He uses the world around us to twist the truth. Look at the lie of the present gender ideology movement.
Second, we are given the breastplate of righteousness. This would have covered the front and back of the Roman soldier. Usually attacks came from the front, but a flanked attack or a sneak attack was possibly even more dangerous. Living in righteousness, godliness, integrity, is a safeguard to your heart. It protects your family and marriage, it guides your speech and thoughts, it informs how you work at school, at home, or workplace. Seek righteousness and you will be equipped.
Third, we are given shoes for your feet which supplies us with readiness for the gospel of peace. These Roman shoes would have been low boots which would have had open toes, but steel studded soles. They had a two fold purpose. It was to enable the soldier to run and also to not slip in the midst of battle. Think of modern sports cleats/spikes. The readiness or firmness of the gospel of peace could mean the firmness to keep from slipping or the readiness to share the gospel with others. Commentators different on the exact meaning. Either way, both are true. Having received grace, we are readied to tell others about it.
Fourth, the shield of faith to defend against either the arrows or darts of the evil one or to be a reference to the small shield in hand combat. Once again, both have the same function of thwarting the attack of the enemy. Nobody is going to stand in that day of battle without faith in the Lord. If you were not convinced that the battle and victory is the Lord’s we would certainly lose hope. The shield of faith protects the soul from doubt and provides assurance. The shield of faith carries one through tragedy, loss, imprisonment, poverty, deceit, and betrayal. The enemy would use all of those things to make us surrender, but faith with make us strong. Faith testifies to the fact that “greater is he that in me, than he that is in the world.”
Fifth, we are given the helmet of salvation. This not only is connected to faith, it is the assurance of what the end of the story is going to be. Jesus is already risen for our justification. Satan fights as an enemy who has been given a mortal wound. His time is nearing an end.
Finally, we are given the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This is our only offensive weapon. In the book the Lord of the Rings, the four hobbits are given elvish sword which glowed when the enemy was near. But, they were worthless in sword play. They had to be taught how to wield a sword. This is part of the function of preaching, Bible study, catechism, Sunday School. It is to train you how to use your sword.
Congregation, this is a joyful day, we see the covenant sign passed to the next generation. Baptism is the sacrament of initiation into the church. We die with Christ in our baptism and we are raised with him to fight the fight of faith. We don’t usually associate a cute little baby with spiritual warfare, but this is God’s call.
Let me conclude by giving you a glimpse into the end of the battle. Look at Revelation 12:5 (read). The great red dragon will continue to attack the spiritual offspring of the Son of God, but that Son is on the throne. Though we are called to stand firm and put on the armor of God, the ultimate victory over our enemies is secured in Jesus Christ. Amen.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Steven Swets, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2024, Rev. Steven Swets
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