EPHESIANS 6:15-17 - SPIRITUAL WARFARE - Defending Ourselves #2

 

Here we are again this morning to hear the Word of God. The Bible speaks truth to audiences that have settled into safe and unexamined opinions. And one of those unexamined truths is this greater war. Yes, whilst we are anxiously watching the Russian- Ukrainian conflict, the Bible teaches us that there is an ever greater war on. All the wars of the world are essentially a subset of this Great War, which is fought in the realm of the unseen, but the effects of its evil schemes are felt keenly (6:12). Its great mastermind is the devil (6:11).  We are called to engage in this war, but not with conventional armour and weapons.  The key to engaging in this war is to be “strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”  (6:10). With this in mind   Paul identifies 6 pieces of the Roman soldier’s armour, and applies it to the Christian soldier. 

So far we have considered 2 pieces of armour: (i) Belt of truth: The belt is a foundational garment. It holds everything together. The belt of truth is the foundational armour of the Christian. Satan, who is in his nature a liar and the father of lies (Jn. 8:44) has no effective substitute against truth. Truth is greater than lie. Truth therefore kills Satan. (ii) Breastplate of righteousness: The Roman soldier’s breastplate protected his vital organs. Applying this to the Christian soldier’s armour we noted that the heart, will and the emotions (located in Hebrew understanding in the chest or ’guts’) are aspects of our personality which are vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. The Christian’s breastplate is called “righteousness”. We saw that the Christian withstands Satan, by standing   on the righteousness of Christ, and by living righteously. The righteousness of Christ effectively defeats the strategies and power of Satan.

We will now consider the 3^rd, 4th and 5^th parts of the Christian soldier’s armour. Next (D.V) we shall deal with the only offensive armour piece: the Word of God:

1.        THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER’S FOOTWEAR 

Ephesians 6:15: “Stand firm then … with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”  The best way to understand the meaning of this somewhat strange phrase is to understand the importance of the Roman soldiers shoe in warfare.  The Roman soldier wore a sandal. It consisted of a sole with straps that held firmly on to the foot. This sandal had hobnails or studs on its soles. This enabled the soldier to have a firm grip of the ground over which he moved, enabling great mobility.  Military strategists will tell you that in warfare nothing is more important than speed and mobility. The Romans were very interested in this kind of warfare,  modelling themselves on Alexander the Great, the great Greek general of the 4th Century (B.C.) - one of the greatest military commanders of ancient history. His great success lay in the fact that he was able to move his forces quickly, and so to strike his enemies unexpectedly. One of the keys to his success was the fact that he provided his soldiers with the right kind of footwear. With that in mind we consider,

(i)                 The importance of standing firm:  The book of Proverbs repeatedly warns us against walking on wrong paths or standing on unstable ground. In Proverbs 1:15, 16 we find a father warning his son: 15 my son, do not go along with them (sinners), do not set foot on their paths; 16 for their feet rush into sin…”  Positively he encourages his son in Prov. 3:23 to “walk on your way securely and your foot will not stumble; Prov. 4:26 “Ponder the paths of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.”

(ii)              …With readiness / preparedness:  “Stand firm… with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace”.   The key word is ‘readiness’.  In this spiritual warfare we need to be ready and prepared to meet our enemy.  That means that we need to know the ground on which we stand.   In May 2003 I stood on that famous battleground at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, USA. This was known as the American civil war, where brother fought against brother. Over a period of 3 days in June 1863, fifty one thousand men had lost their lives. Why did so many men lose their lives? There may be many answers to that, among them … pride, foolishness, which is always a bad ground to stand on! From a tactical point of view, I observed that it mostly happened in an open field, where they literally massacred each other! I kept on thinking to myself … what a poor ground to have stood on …your chances of survival were very slim. There was nothing to hide behind!   With that in mind we must ask: What ground must we stand on in this spiritual war?

(iii)            Standing upon the gospel of peace: How does this help us to effectively stand and withstand against Satan?  In two ways: through knowing the gospel on which you stand, and through sharing the gospel on which you stand. 

a. Know the gospel on which you stand: The gospel is the good news that God has purchased peace for sinners through the death of His Son. This peace comes to us in an experiential way when we receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord by faith through grace (Eph. 2:8).  It is strange that Paul should mention a ‘gospel of peace’ right in the middle of a passage dealing with spiritual warfare. But there is nothing strange about that. In this world so infested with Satan and his demons, who constantly   promote war, we need to preach the gospel that brings peace with God and between men. The gospel robs Satan of one of his most effective tools to destabilize this world, which is war.

b. Share the message of the gospel on which you stand. Nothing causes more defeat to Satan and his kingdom than the proclamation of the gospel. The gospel brings   freedom and peace to men. Share the gospel and rob Satan of his subjects.  See how Paul develops our understanding of the ‘gospel of peace’ for us in Eph. 2:13 – 18: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 14 for he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Christ by His death overcame two kinds of barriers:  (i) the barrier between God and sinners. (ii)  the enmity between people torn apart through racism, ethnicity and culture. Christ has become our peace. That is the gospel of peace. Satan divides people, Jesus unites people. The gospel brings peace. The gospel destroys Satan’s work! The gospel prevents war.

2. THE SHIELD OF FAITH   

6:16  “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which  you can extinguish  all the flaming darts of the evil one.”

The Roman shield was about 1.2 meters in length and about 90 cm’s wide. It consisted of two layers of wood glued together, and covered in iron. So, if the front line of the soldiers advanced with these shields which went all the way to the ground, the whole platoon would be armour-plated. If the enemy fired their arrows they would bounce off the shields. Enemy archers would sometimes put cotton material on the tip of their arrows, soak it in pitch (which burned slowly and was very hot), and shoot it. The pitch would splatter and start little fires on the clothing. Groups of soldiers would then put their shields together, above, in front and at the side. That manoeuvre made the group of soldiers look like a giant tortoise – protected all round, and whatever the enemy fired at them had no effect. The fiery darts just bounced off, and remained ineffective.  This provides the illustration for our Christian shield. The Christian shield which protects from the flaming arrows of the devil is called ‘faith’. But what are we to understand by these “flaming arrows”? And how does our faith cause them to bounce off us?(i)                What are the flaming arrows?  They are best described as a sudden, unexpected attack on the mind, thoughts and emotions of the believer. Are you not sometimes appalled at the wickedness of your own thoughts, when they come to you – uninvited? Where do they come from? Are you not amazed that even in prayer, you struggle with all sorts of thoughts ?How is it that when you are reading the Bible, that you battle to concentrate, but that when you are reading the newspaper or watching T.V., that  you do not have such a problem? How it is that suddenly the memory of past sins unsettles you?  How is it that at one moment you feel the secure in God’s love and the next moment you become unsure of your status before God, even doubting your salvation?  It is important that we should understand the origin of all this.

(ii)               How faith reflects these darts:  We need to remember that the object of our faith, Jesus Christ is greater than Satan. (1 John 4:4). Therefore we can resist Satan effectively by looking to Jesus:  James 4:7: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you…” ; 1 Peter 5:8, 9: 8 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith,” 1 John 5:4 “… for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith…” Rev 12: 10, 11 “the faith by which they overcame the accuser (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony” . An illustration from Pilgrim’s Progress:  Christian is on the road to the heavenly city when he meets Apollyon, who threatens:  “I will destroy your soul right here!”  Then we read: “And at that he hurled a flaming arrow at Christian’s heart, but Christian had a shield in his hand with which he blocked the arrow…” 

(iii)             The shield of faith  has three wonderful attributes:   a.it covers every part of our  person –  nothing is left exposed. b. It links up with the faith of other believers (just as the Roman soldier links up with his fellow soldiers), mutually strengthening and encouraging so that together you stand stronger  c. Faith  extinguishes  the flaming darts which Satan hurls at you.  Faith is the ability to apply quickly what we believe,  and so  repel everything that  the devil attempts to do to us.  

3. THE HELMET OF SALVATION

The Roman helmet: A leather cap strengthened and ornamented with plates of metal. The purpose was to add to the protective covering of the head.

Application to the Christian soldier:  the head, the mind, the brain, the understanding, the thinking processes of the Christian.  How does Satan   attack the mind? By causing you to doubt :  “What are you trying to achieve? You have been battling for your truth! You have sought to live a righteous life in the power which you say that your Christ gives! You have tried to avoid all wrong paths (you should have had a little bit of worldly fun – as I have always been trying to tell you). See where that has got you! You’re tired, and worn out. You are too fanatical about this Christ and His Word. Look at you – you haven’t gained anything. Your friends and other people are going ahead and having fun – and you are always looking troubled.  Your prayers aren’t been answered. Give up man, give up! This God of yours is nowhere! He is a figment of your imagination. He doesn’t exist!” 

The danger of battle weariness is that we become discouraged. 

A case study in Psalm 73:  Here is a godly man who really struggles. He looks at the ungodly and he sees them prosper (see Psalm 73:4-11), whilst he is not experiencing the blessing of God. Therefore He comes to this conclusion, “Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. 14 All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. “   

Discouragement and doubt are a very old problem. God’s people have experienced this in every generation.  It is the oldest trick that the devil has up his sleeve.  Cause a man/woman to doubt the God and the Bible, cause them to feel that they are unforgiven, to   doubt the ground that they stand on, and they turn inward, and they become introspective. They lose perspective.  They forget the greater picture, namely that the victory is ours in Christ – that the church will  survive until the end of times. (Matt.16:18). The Psalmist understood this in Ps 73 when he entered into the sanctuary of God (Ps. 73:17ff).

We need to remember that we do not have peace in this world. This world is constantly at war,  and the Christian especially is always at war.  This can be challenging  and produce fatigue.That may have been the trouble with Timothy. He always had the feeling that everything was too much for him. Paul, reminded him,  “God did not give us a spirit of timidity , but a spirit of power , of love and of self-discipline.”  (2 Tim 1:7). Therefore he encouraged Timothy,  “You then , my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus… endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus…” . (2 Tim 2:1ff)

The Prescription: “take the helmet of salvation….”  How do we deal with this attack on the mind? The apostle tells us that there is only one way –clothe your mind with the doctrine of salvation!  The “doctrine of salvation”  refers to  the saving work of Christ. Remind yourself that you have  been  plucked out of   Satan’s grip. You have been saved to belong to God. You are God’s  dearly beloved and chosen children.  Remind yourself and remind Satan what Christ has done for you and stand your ground . Tell him that you  have been to the cross. Tell him that  Romans 8:1  and 31 – 35  is true of you. When Satan comes to you and says,  “You’re no good – you’re a sinner “, you  tell him,  “I know that I am not perfect – there is still work going on in my soul . The Holy Spirit is sanctifying me”, but more than that -  Jesus has died for me. He has made me righteous.

 SUMMARY

(i)           Belt of truth - a foundational part of the Roman soldier’s clothing, reminding us of the fact that truth is a foundational matter. Truth defeats the devil’s methods. 

(ii)         Breastplate of righteousness: The breastplate protected the Roman soldier’s vital organs; the breastplate of righteousness protects the Christian soldier’s ‘inner vitals’ (the heart/ mind / emotions). This breastplate helps us to stand on Christ’s imputed righteousness.

(iii)        Shoes of the gospel of peace: The ground on which the Christian soldier stands is gospel ground. We must to know the gospel and share the gospel. Nothing defeats Satan’s regime of lie and deceit like the gospel truth. The gospel saves people from Satan’s clutches.

(iv)             Shield of faith  - The  Christian shield  called ‘faith‘ protects  from the arrows of the devil aimed  at our  inner person  and emotions, hurting us, weakening  us, creating shame, spiritual paralysis. Faith causes these  arrows  to bounce off us. 

(v)               Helmet of Salvation – protection of the mind against untrue and subversive  thoughts by reminding ourselves  of the  nature of the salvation  that we have received  by grace through faith in Christ.