Eph. 6:14-24,
“The Armor Of God Described / Admonishment To Pray At All Times In The
Spirit / Salutations”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at verses 10-13 of chapter 6.
1.1.1. In that
study we saw that Paul was now giving his final admonishments in the book to
the Ephesians, and these had to do with how to fight spiritual battles.
1.1.2. We also
began to look at the spiritual warfare that each of us as Christians is
involved in, and we noted that it is important to study our adversary and
spiritual warfare because, “to be forewarned is to be forearmed.”
1.1.3. We saw that
Paul admonished us to be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might and
to put on the full armor of God so that we might be able to stand firm against
the schemes of the Devil.
1.1.4. We saw that
we Christians on this earth are in the middle of a spiritual battle that is
being waged between the Lord and His angels and the Devil and his angels. Whenever we try to obey the Lord or be used
by God we encounter spiritual opposition, and that opposition comes in a
variety of forms. The battle ground is
earth and the battle is for the souls of men.
We Christians have a big part to play in how things turn out in this
warfare for we have responsibilities and callings by the Lord to fulfill.
1.1.5. We saw also
that we do not battle against flesh and blood but against wicked spirits in
high places. That is, there is an
animating principle behind everything that happens to us as Christians in this
life, whether good or bad.
1.1.6. Spiritual
warfare is very serious for the Christian for we have a real adversary in the
Devil and he is intent upon trying to deceive and tempt us and cause us to
stumble and be ineffective for Christ.
Thus, Peter warns us to be sober and alert because of this adversary we
have, 1 Peter 5:8, “8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.
Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone
to devour.”
1.1.7. Paul
admonished us to put on the full armor of God so that we might be able to
resist the Devil and having done everything to stand firm. We looked at the futility of only utilizing
part of the armor you are given as a soldier in battle.
1.2.
In this study, we are going to finish up the book of
Ephesians by looking at verses 14-24 of chapter 6.
1.2.1. In this
study, Paul will describe each of the essential pieces of spiritual armor that
the Lord has given to us for fighting the spiritual battles that we often find
ourselves fighting.
1.2.2. Paul will
admonish us to pray at all times in the Spirit, and we will look at the
importance of praying in this way as well as what Paul meant by this statement.
1.2.3. We will look
briefly at Paul’s final salutation to the Ephesians.
1.2.4. Note as we
go through this study how that the Christian is told to do one thing after
another to keep his full armor on. The
Lord does not do these things for the Christian, it requires attention and work
on the Christian’s part to keep the pieces of armor on.
2. VS. 6:14 -
“14 Stand firm therefore, having
girded your loins with truth, and having
put on the breastplate of righteousness,” -
Paul admonishes the Ephesians to have their loins girded with truth and
to put on the breastplate of righteousness
2.1.
In our previous study, it was mentioned that whenever
we are in the midst of spiritual warfare that it is very important that we ‘stand
firm.’ In those times the Devil has
been given the opportunity to create trials or temptations for us however God
is going to use those things for good in our lives and He will even use the
Devil for His own purposes. Satan’s
desire is for the trials and temptations to crush us and thus it is important
for us not to cut and run but to ‘stand firm.’
2.2.
It is important also to remember the promise of 1 Cor.
10:13 where we are promised that in regard to spiritual warfare that the Lord
will never give us more than we will be able to handle, “1 Corinthians 10:13, “13
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God
is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but
with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be
able to endure it.””
2.3.
The first three pieces of spiritual armor which Paul
introduces here are ones which when in place protect us and all we have to do
is stand still in order for us to experience their protection. In that sense they are static pieces of armor
whereas the last three pieces of armor are dynamic pieces which protect us in
the process of moving around and fighting.
2.4.
The order of the pieces of armor which Paul gives is
not arbitrary. These pieces of armor are
listed in their order of importance or expediency in regards to the spiritual
battles that we fight.
2.5.
The first piece of spiritual armor that Paul
admonishes us to use he introduces, saying:
‘having girded your loins with truth.’ We Christians are to gird our loins with
truth.
2.5.1. Early
commentators thought that this referred to internal truthfulness or being
truthful with yourself. However, this
does not make sense for a few reasons, including.
2.5.1.1. This would
make the truth referred to subjective.
It would hardly be appropriate to place something so subjective first in
the list of essential armor.
2.5.1.2. The
scriptures tell us that the heart is deceptive and who can know it (Jer. 17:9),
therefore too much introspection as a Christian is not healthy.
2.5.2. This piece
of armor most likely refers to objective truth as found in the Word of
God.
2.5.2.1. The last
piece of armor mentioned by Paul is the Sword of the Spirit which is the word
of God, and believing that the ‘truth’ mentioned here is the objective
type, this then would state that God’s word is supposed to be both a defensive
as well as an offensive piece of spiritual armor.
2.5.2.2. This is an
admonishment to study God’s word and also to apply it to our lives in such a
way that it encompasses our life or girds us about and protects us.
2.5.2.3. In Paul’s
day men wore long hanging robes which had a hole for their head and arms. When a person would want to do some work or
when a soldier would go into battle he would gird a belt about his waist so
that his robe would be confined and not hinder his movements or cause him to
trip and stumble. In the same way, when
we are diligent to place God’s word in our hearts and minds and apply ourselves
to keeping it faithfully we are now ready for real service and work for the
Lord, for God’s word bound around us protects us, enables us, and keeps us
safe.
2.5.2.4. The belt
worn by the soldiers also had containers for holding the soldier’s sword as
well as the shield. In that sense the
belt was the foundation for a soldier’s armor just as the word of God is the
foundation for the Christian.
2.5.2.5. Studying and
applying God’s word in our lives will result in our being people who are
truthful with ourselves.
2.6.
The second piece of armor that Paul admonishes us to
put on is ‘the breastplate of righteousness.’
2.6.1. Roman
soldiers in Paul’s day wore body armor under their vests which was beaten and
shaped to their bodies. This metal armor
protected their organs from arrows which might hit them and from sword and
knife piercings.
2.6.2. This past
week I just happened to be channel surfing during the commercials of a football
game I was watching and I saw part of a program on modern day body armor. The show talked about how policemen most
often wear soft vests which will protect them against handgun and shotgun
fire. However, if they want to be
protected against rifle fire they have to place metal or composite body armor
in their vests. Even so there are still
some bullets and guns that are designed to be armor piercing, such as a 50mm
rifle which can pierce an inch of steel from 9 miles away. This show talked about how when an M-16
bullet hits a body that because of its velocity that it creates an initial hole
that is up to 30 times the diameter of the bullet, and with a hit like this
organs can explode like water balloons, bringing instant death. In addition both handguns and rifles can use
hollow point shells that are designed to cause lethal damage with just one hit
in the torso as fragments are sent in every direction. This show reminded me how serious a matter it
is that we as Christians use every piece of the armor God gives us because
Satan will attack us when we get serious about our relationship with God and he
is not fooling around when we experience demonic spiritual warfare. We must have God’s protection in our lives if
we are to survive the onslaught of the Devil.
2.6.3. The ‘righteousness’
referred to here is not imputed ‘righteousness’ which is added to our
account because of what Jesus Christ did for us upon Calvary’s cross. We do not put on imputed ‘righteousness’
because the moment that we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that
transaction of imputed righteousness is completed on our account. Jesus Christ is our righteousness.
2.6.4. The armor to
which we are referring has to do with sanctification and is the ‘righteousness’
that is “personal.” All of us as
Christians must be doers of God’s word and apply what we are taught and learn
from God in His word. A righteous life
will keep us from stumbling and keep others from being stumbled by us, with the
result being that we will be used greatly by the Lord.
2.6.5. Just as
metal body armor keeps an arrow from being able to pierce our torso and organs,
so being obedient to the Lord in our life keeps Satan from being able to get
any sort of leverage against us that he can use to discredit or disqualify us,
much as a wrestler looks for some body part to grab and get leverage against
the man he is wrestling against. We Christians
shouldn’t want Satan to be able to get any grip on our life because of allowing
in our lives any bad personal habits or conduct.
3. VS 6:15 - “15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of
peace;” - Paul
admonishes the Ephesians to have their feet shod with the preparation of the
gospel of peace
3.1.
I have heard this piece of spiritual armor referred to
as both our personal belief and understanding of the gospel message and truths
as well as our personal commitment to use our feet to go and to share the
gospel with others. I lean towards this
piece of armor referring to our going out and sharing the gospel
3.2.
In Romans 10:14-15 Paul wrote about how that the Lord
looks at the feet of those who go and preach good news as being beautiful, “14
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How
will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear
without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent?
Just as it is written, “How beautiful are
the feet of those who bring good
news of good things!”
3.2.1. If God loved
this world enough to send His only begotten Son to die on Calvary’s cross to
pay the penalty for their sins then we ought to be willing to simply be a
witness for the Lord and tell others how that the Lord has brought eternal
salvation to our lives.
3.3.
The
3.4.
The Parable of the Fishless Fishermen-Ray Comfort
“They were
surrounded by streams and lakes full of hungry fish. They met regularly
to discuss the call to fish, the abundance of fish, and the thrill of catching
fish. They got excited about fishing!
Someone
suggested that they needed a philosophy of fishing, so they carefully defined
and redefined fishing, and the purpose of fishing. They developed fishing
strategies and tactics. Then they realized that they had been going at it
backwards. They had approached fishing from the point of view of the
fisherman and not from the point of view of the fish. How do fish view
the world? How does the fisherman appear to the fish? What do fish
eat, and when? These are all good things to know. So they began
research studies, and attended conferences on fishing. Some traveled to
faraway places to study different kinds of fish with different habits.
Some got doctorates in fishology. But no one yet had gone fishing.
So a
committee was formed to send out fishermen. As prospective fishing places
out-numbered fishermen, the committee needed to determine priorities. A
priority list of fishing places was posted on bulletin boards in all of the
fellowship halls. But still, no one was fishing. A survey was
launched to find out why. Most did not answer the survey, but from those
who did, it was discovered that some felt called to study fish, a few to
furnish fishing equipment, and several to go around encouraging the
fishermen. What with meetings, conferences, and seminars, they just
simply didn't have time to fish.
Now, Jake
was a newcomer to the Fishermen's Fellowship. After one stirring meeting
of the Fellowship, he went fishing and caught a large fish. At the next
meeting, he told his story and was honored for his catch. He was told
that he had a special "gift of fishing." He was then scheduled
to speak at all the Fellowship chapters and tell how he did it.
With all the
speaking invitations and his election to the board of directors of the
Fisherman's Fellowship, Jake no longer had time to go fishing. But soon
he began to feel restless and empty. He longed to feel the tug on the
line once again. So he cut the speaking, he resigned from the board, and
he said to a friend, "Let's go fishing." They did, just the two
of them, and they caught fish. The members of the Fisherman's Fellowship
were many, the fish were plentiful, but the fishers were few.”
A recent
study revealed that 95% of those who consider themselves evangelicals had never
shared their Christian faith with anyone.
4. VS 6:16 - “16 in addition to
all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” -
Paul admonishes the Ephesians to take up the shield of faith with which
they will be able to extinguish all of the flaming arrows of the evil one
4.1.
A Roman shield in Paul’s day was about 4 feet high and
designed so it could be safely stood behind (people were shorter in those
days). It was made of wood and metal and
sometimes had cloth put around the outside of it which would be doused in
water. The water on the shields was used
because archers would soak their arrows in pitch and then set them on fire
before shooting them. The water would put
out the flames of the arrow dipped in pitch.
The metal on a shield was designed to protect the soldier from being
pierced from the arrow. When arrows
would hit burning pitch would fly in every direction and set on fire the hair,
skin, and clothing of soldiers. Thus, it
was important to douse your shield in water before going into battle.
4.2.
The Devil sometimes attacks God’s people by shooting
flaming arrows of temptation at them.
Every temptation that a person has in this life is a temptation to
distrust God. We see this with the very
first temptation in the Garden of Eden. The serpent told Eve that God had lied to her
when He told her that she would die if she ate of the forbidden fruit, plus the
serpent lied saying that God was hiding something that was good for her by
telling her not to eat of the forbidden fruit.
It makes sense then that the ‘shield of faith’ is to be used by
the Christian to ‘extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.’ We are to win the spiritual warfare that we
fight in by continually trusting God and his promises for us.
4.3.
VS 6:17 - “17
And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” - Paul admonishes the Ephesians to take the
helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit
4.4.
The fifth piece of armor that a Christian is to use is
the ‘helmet of salvation.’ This
refers to the assurance of salvation that a Christian can and must have if he
is to win the spiritual battles he finds himself in. If a person is unsure of his own salvation
then it is difficult for him to stand firm against the enemy in combat for he
does not realize whether or not he will be assured of victory and whether or
not God will be for him in this battle.
4.4.1. Many verses
assure the Christian that he has eternal life, including 1 John 5:11-13, “11
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and
this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has the life; he who
does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things
I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you
may know that you have eternal life.”
4.5.
The sixth and final piece of the Christian’s spiritual
armor is the ‘sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.’
4.5.1. Swords in
Paul’s day were 6 – 18 inches long and were used for hand to hand combat. The sword would both defensively deflect the
weapons of the enemy as well as offensively be used to stab and maim him.
4.5.2. Jesus, in
how he rebuffed the Devil during every one of His temptations, showed us that
the word of God is to be used as a defensive weapon when temptations strike
us. With each temptation Jesus quoted
scripture to the Devil.
4.5.3. The word of
God is also the weapon that is to be used by the Christian when he goes on the
offensive:
4.5.3.1. The word of
God is unlike all other books or religious documents for it is inspired by God
and therefore infallible and innerant.
4.5.3.1.1.
2 Peter 1:20-21, “20 But know this first
of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own
interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human
will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
4.5.3.2. The word of
God is quick and power and pierces to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
and the joints and marrow.
4.5.3.2.1.
Hebrews 4:12, “12 For the word of God is
living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as
the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge
the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
4.5.3.3. The word of
God never fails.
4.5.3.3.1.
Isaiah 55:11, “11 So will My word be
which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without
accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for
which I sent it.”
4.5.3.4. Trends and
gimmicks come and go but God’s word will stand forever.
4.5.3.4.1.
1 Peter 1:24-25, “24 For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers, And the
4.5.3.5. The word of
God is sufficient for the Christian.
4.5.3.5.1.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, “16 All Scripture is
inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for
training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be
adequate, equipped for every good work.”
4.5.3.5.2.
2 Peter 1:3-4, “3 seeing that His divine
power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through
the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4
For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises,
so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”
4.5.3.6. The word of
God is what God uses to produce faith in our lives.
4.5.3.6.1.
Romans 10:17, “17 So faith comes from
hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
4.5.3.7. The word of
God is the food our spiritual life needs to grow.
4.5.3.7.1.
1 Peter 2:1-3, “1 Therefore, putting
aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like
newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow
in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the
Lord.”
4.5.3.8. Man is to
live by every word of God.
4.5.3.8.1.
Matthew 4:4, “4 But He answered and said, “It
is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds
out of the mouth of God.’ ””
5. VS 6:18 - “18 With all prayer
and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the
alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,” - Paul admonishes the Ephesians to pray at all
times in the Spirit and to be alert in prayer with all perseverance and
petition for all the saints
5.1.
Paul knew that it was not enough to tell people all
that their inheritance in Christ involved, as he attempted to do in the first
three chapters of this book. He knew
that it was not enough to tell them to be walk in a manner worthy of Christ, as
he told them to do in chapter 4. He knew
that it was not enough to tell them to be filled with the Holy Spirit, as he
told them to do in chapter 5. In fact,
he knew that it was not enough to tell them to put on the full armor of God as
he did here in chapter 6. Paul knew that
without prayer that Christians would never fulfill their calling by the Lord
and honor and please God with their life.
Because we have such an adversary as the Devil we must continually be in
prayer for ourselves and others.
5.2.
The Greek word that Paul uses here which is translated
‘prayer’ means “general prayers.”
The Greek word that Paul uses here which is translated ‘petition’
refers to specific prayers that are prayed by God’s people.
5.3.
Paul admonishes us here that we are to ‘pray at all
times,’ but this doesn’t refer to meaningless repetitious prayers but
rather the habit of lifting all of our needs up to the Lord for prayer, of looking
to God as our resource in all things.
5.4.
This prayer that we are to always be praying is to be
prayed ‘in the Spirit.’
5.4.1. The word ‘Spirit’
refers to the Holy Spirit not the attitude that we might pray in. The Holy Spirit is to fill us, which means to
control and empower us, and thus we are to seek to be filled with the Spirit as
we pray each day.
5.4.2. It is
important for each of us as Christians to be filled with the Holy Spirit for Paul
wrote to us that the Holy Spirit helps us when we pray by translating our
prayers into being God’s will, “Romans 8:26, “26 In the same way
the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we
should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep
for words.””
5.5.
Prayer is to be made by us for every single saint for
‘all’ are in need of prayer.
5.6.
Finally, Paul writes that we need to be ‘alert’
in prayer and also to ‘persevere’ in it.
Prayer is not easy and thus we need to labor in God’s strength to be ‘alert’
and to ‘persevere’ in our praying.
6. VS
6:19-20 - “19 and pray
on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth,
to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which
I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly,
as I ought to speak.” - Paul prays
for himself for utterance and boldness to preach the mystery of the gospel
6.1.
Paul knew his own limitations as well as how he needed
to be totally dependent upon God in his life to do anything. He was not ashamed to often ask for prayer
for himself.
6.2.
Having been in jail in
6.3.
Paul writes that he is ‘an ambassador’ for
Christ ‘in chains’ because of his preaching of the gospel.
7. VS
6:21-22 - “21 But
that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the
beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known
to you. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you
may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts.” - Paul tells the Ephesians that he was sending
to them Tychicus to deliver the letter and to answer any questions they might
have about Paul and his well being
7.1.
Paul considered Tychicus a ‘faithful minister in
the Lord’ and a ‘beloved brother’ and thus he entrusted to Tychicus
the delivery of this letter to the Ephesians.
Tychicus also delivered to the Colossians Paul’s epistle to that church.
7.2.
Many worried greatly about Paul and his sufferings and
thus Paul instructed Tychicus specifically to convey to everyone how Paul was
doing while in prison and to comfort their hearts in the process by telling
them that the Lord was with Paul and faithfully ministering to him during all
that he was going through.
8. VS
6:23-24 - “23 Peace
be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ
with incorruptible love.” - Paul’s
salutation
8.1.
This is just a typical salutation of Paul’s as he
wishes them ‘peace,’ love with faith,’ and ‘grace.’
9. CONCLUSIONS:
9.1.
Put on the full armor of God so that you might be able
to stand firm when your face spiritual attack:
9.1.1. Loins
covered by truth.
9.1.2. The
breastplate of righteousness.
9.1.3. Feet shod
with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
9.1.4. The Shield
of Faith to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one.
9.1.5. The Helmet
of salvation.
9.1.6. The Sword of
the Spirit which is the will of God.
9.2.
Pray at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and
petition for all of the saints.