Tuesday, February 14, 2017

EPHESIANS 6:10-14 - BATTLE GEAR - CLOTHED IN CHRIST

Ephesians 6:10-17
BATTLE GEAR –
CLOTHED IN CHRIST


Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

After giving all the instructions for godly living in the previous chapters, Paul sums up by describing spiritual warfare and clothing for battle. He reminds the believers at Ephesus from exactly where they draw their strength. We draw our strength from our Captain, our elder Brother, who sacrificed His life for us. By the power of His Holy Spirit indwelling us, we are infused with the strength of Jesus.

Philippians 4:13 (AMP) I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]

He says to be strong. We have this strength; but we need to stand in it, employ it each moment of each day. Remember, without Jesus, we cannot do battle.

John 15:5 (NASB) I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

No soldier in his right mind would head out to the battlefield without armor – okay, there was David, but his armor WAS God, and he was using the weapon he was accustomed to and proficient with. Why do we as Christians need armor? The enemy of our heavenly Father, our brother Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is also our enemy. His name is Satan, aka the devil. He would like nothing better than to get at the God-head through hurting His children. Satan is cunning and deceitful and enjoys working to discredit and destroy our testimony in order to slow the advancement of the Gospel, Christ, and His kingdom. We need holy armor to stand up to his scheming ways and defeat his influence in our lives.

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.

This warfare is not against people, but is in the spiritual realm. These are four layers of power, a hierarchy, a chain of command in Satan’s forces of demons. They operate in the spiritual realm and are invisible to our eyes, but they have great influence over the world which is the domain of Satan.

Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Because the battle is against the evil beings of the spiritual world, our armor must be spiritual as well. God furnishes us His armor to wear into the fray each day. This armor is only available to those who are members of the Messianic Community, those who have trusted in Jesus Christ. Each day since the fall of man is an evil day, and all we need to confirm that is the evening news. We are to stand firm in the Lord, dressed in His armor. We are not to retreat. The armor is not designed for retreat. It is only designed for advancement and defeating the enemy which can be done by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Men in Paul’s day wore tunics (dresses) that had to be bunched up and held in place by a type of belt in order to free them to work or run. A modern soldier wears a utility belt upon which he/she hangs their canteen, their side-arm, and other tools. The belt in our armor is truth. Jesus is The Truth, and His children are virtually wrapped, encompassed about, by Him.

John 8:31-32 (NASB) So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

You will know Jesus, and Jesus will make you free. Relationship with the Lord Jesus is the key to being ready to engage in battle, and we strengthen that relationship with Him by the study of the truth of His word.

The breastplate was a leather piece with metal or bone sewn closely together on it to protect the soldier from being stabbed in the vital organs. Today’s troops wear Kevlar vests that are able to stop or deflect many types of bullets. The breastplate we wear is righteousness, more specifically, the righteousness of Christ.

Philippians 3:9 (NASB) and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

Christ’s impartation of His righteousness to the believer enables us as His children to engage in righteous living. Righteousness is being in right relationship with God and others. Keeping our relationships (friends, coworkers, family, and acquaintances) in right standing does guard our hearts.

Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

The Roman soldier wore shoes that usually had spikes on the sole to be able to stand firmly and be more sure-footed. Men and women preparing to do their military jobs have different types of boots – some with cleats to grab terrain, some with steel toes to protect from heavy equipment, and all with ankle support to help them stand firm.

Ephesians 6:15 (AMP) and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news].

The Jewish concept of peace was “nothing missing, nothing broken.” The idea is that everything is made whole. Jesus took the pieces of our broken lives and put them together for a far better “whole” than we could ever be on our own. The Gospel message is God came to earth in the form of the God-man, Jesus, to become the perfect sacrifice needed to repair the rift between God and mankind. When we walk about in this peace, we are not easily disturbed. We can stand firm. For those who do not have feet (like me), we can still stand firm by living in agreement with God and resting in His peace. We are commanded to take this Gospel message, this good news, to others using our feet, scooters, wheelchairs or whatever conveyance we have. We are currently doing it via the avenue of the internet.

Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

The shield was large enough to hold in front of a person and protect the majority of the body. It was often made of oil treated leather in order to quench flaming arrows. Today’s shield is the vehicle in which the troops ride which is armor plated to redirect the blast of an IED (improvised explosive device). Our faith in the Faithful One who never doubts, Jesus Christ, quenches the fiery darts of temptation and deflects the blasts from Satan’s hidden bombs. Our part of holding up the shield of faith is spending time in the word, in prayer, in being members of a Bible believing church. In times of temptation, we can fall back on the simplicity of trusting Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to help us hold up our shields.

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

The helmet obviously protects the head, the vulnerable part of the body containing the brain that makes the entire person function. Modern helmets are made of Kevlar to deflect bullets as well as serving to protect the head from other dangers. When we trust Jesus, He begins the process of transforming our minds.

Romans 12:2 (NASB) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

This process of transformation is only accomplished as we spend time in God’s word and in prayer, drawing near to Him. The helmet of salvation protects our minds from being inundated with the thoughts of this world and fleshly appetites. We are also given the ability to have the mindset of Christ.

Philippians 2:5 (NIV) In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus

The protection of being at peace with God comes from our trust in Him. When we surrender our lives to Jesus’ complete control, our minds are guided by His Holy Spirit and are protected.

Isaiah 26:3 (NIV) You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

Our helmet is made strong enough to withstand the attacks of the Enemy as we fix our eyes on Jesus. When we focus our minds as Paul describes in Philippians 4:8, we are hardening the helmet which became ours when we first came to Christ. Salvation is ours the moment we trust Jesus, but the continued assurance of that salvation when Satan would try to make us doubt comes from keeping our focus steady on the Lord.

Philippians 4:8 (NIV) Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Jesus’ finished work on the cross and resurrection from the dead secured our salvation. Filling our minds with the thoughts described above are like a protective lining in the helmet. This protects us from the unending onslaught of evil happenings in the world.

The sword of the Roman soldier was a short six to eighteen-inch weapon for hand to hand combat (MacArthur Study Bible). Most battles today do not involve swords, but this might be compared to the side-arm used for close range. We have this one offensive weapon, the Word of God. We must make sure our side-arm is fully loaded with memorized scripture! When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He answered every proposition of Satan with Scripture (Matthew chapter 4). Since it is impractical to have a Bible in our hands at all times, it is important to be well-versed in the Word of God. We should study it, memorize it, and meditate on its meaning. The Lord will bring it to mind when we need it, but He will only do that if you have locked it in your heart.

Psalm 119:11 (AMP) Your word I have treasured and stored in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

Notice the word is used to fight Satan and his demons rather than people. We are not to beat people over the head with our Bibles. The battle is NOT against flesh and blood. Sometimes people are doing the work of the devil, but it is still Satan we battle. It is hard to remember that the battle is the Lord’s but sometimes He uses us to fight it. As long as we remember that He ultimately wins the war, we can handle the day to day skirmishes in His power.

Note: the armor is for the front of the body. We are to stand firm rather than retreat. What about our backs? God protects them.

Psalm 34:7 (NIV) The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe] and each of them He delivers.

Ponder This: With each piece of God’s armor we are putting on Jesus.
·     Belt of Truth – Jesus is THE TRUTH and our ability to discern and speak truth comes from Him
·     Breastplate of Righteousness – We must be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus since our own righteousness is like filthy rags
·     Feet Shod with Gospel of Peace – When we receive Jesus, when we put Him on, we are made whole – nothing broken, nothing missing – and have peace which we then spread to others by sharing the Gospel message
·     Shield of Faith – Jesus gives us the faith to believe. His faithfulness enables us to be faithful
·     Helmet of Salvation – The first item of armor we receive from the Lord is our salvation which again is totally provided by Jesus through no merit of our own
·     Sword of the Spirit – the key to “putting on Jesus,” donning spiritual armor, is being in His word and being armed with His word when Satan hurls temptations our way. The sword, God’s word, is our only weapon, but it is the ultimate weapon!

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