On December 8, 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt released this request: “I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.” This was not a shock to anyone, for in the President’s words, “December 7, 1941 [was] a date which will live in infamy.” It was the day that Japanese air squadrons attacked United States’ armed forces at Pearl Harbor. In short, his command was, “You know something revolutionary to our state has happened, you know we are about to engage in war, and so, troops, get ready for war!”

In the same way, hundreds of years before that speech, the apostle Paul was finishing up his letter to the believers in Ephesus. He had outlined to them already that something revolutionary had happened in their lives to bring about a great change. They had been rescued from “following the course of this world, [from] following the prince of the power of the air,” in the words of the apostle, they have been made “alive together with Christ – by grace [they had] been saved” (Ephesians 2:2;5). And because of the radical transformation in their lives and the difference that would now be reflected between their lives and the lifestyle out of which they had been delivered, Paul tells them in this final passage of his letter, “Troops, get ready for war.”

We are in the same place this morning. For if we have been saved by God’s grace, then we are in war. And in this war we must stand firm against all the temptations of the devil that might come against us. But there is good news; God has provided us all that we need for this war. However, at this point we all might be asking a number of questions, “Exactly in what way are we in a war? How are we supposed to stand? How do we attain what God has provided for us in this war? How do we fight?”

These are natural questions that a text like Ephesians 6:10-20 should have us asking as we read over it. However, we need not think these questions are without answers. Therefore, this morning I want to try to answer these questions as we try to ready ourselves for this spiritual war that war are to prepare ourselves for and in which we are supposed to fight. The first is …

“What exactly are we fighting against, trying to withstand in this war?” (6:10-13)

Paul begins in verses 10-11 writing, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” We will focus a bit more in a second on those first few phrases, but for now, we see that we are to stand “against the schemes of the devil.” He also tells us in verse 12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness against, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

So we are against he “schemes” of Satan and wrestling against these “powers,” “authorities,” and “cosmic powers.” Here, we might say that Satan is easy enough to understand from other texts of Scripture; he is the slanderer, the accuser of the brethren. But what are these other powers?
These are probably evil spirits that are doing the same work as “the prince of the power of the air,” the name Paul gives to the devil in Ephesians 2:2. And Paul giving so many descriptions of them is probably just to elaborate on their nature, sphere of dwelling, and works. It is probably enough to know that they are evil and are attacking us.

But in what sense are these “supernatural agencies,” these evil spirits, and Satan attacking us? Paul mentions that the devil is scheming against us in 6:11 and fires “flaming darts” at us in 6:16? It might seem that we need a great ability to decipher coded language to find out what he means here. How in the world are we supposed to know what these schemes will be? How will we know what these “flaming darts” will be?

They are nothing different than what Paul has already revealed as Satan’s works earlier in the book. In 4:25-32, Paul had written, “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor … be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal … Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths … Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you … forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you” (emphasis added). Our fight is fought against temptations to return to our old way of thinking and living which strikes against the body of Christ. Therefore, we are fighting against the temptation to be characterized by that way of living which should no longer characterize us. And by letting things such as bitterness, malice, and slander grow in our hearts we are not extinguishing Satan’s darts and recognizing his schemes. These temptations are what we are fighting against.

But it is clear from the exhortation in verse 13 that we have been given equipment, “armor” to stand against such battles of temptations and schemes from the devil. However, we might be asking, “That’s great that we have the armor of God, but what is that exactly?” That is the question we want to answer next.

“What is the armor of God with which we have been equipped?” (6:10, 13-17)

Paul gives us a list of pieces of “armor” that we are supposed to put on in this fight. He has already told us that we need to be strong “in the strength of [God’s] might” in verse 10 and that we should “take up the whole armor of God, that [we] may be able to withstand” the temptations of Satan in verse 13, but in verses 14-17 he lists for us the specific pieces of armor.

He writes, “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Now just as “flaming darts” was not literal but Satan’s temptations for us to walk in our old way of life (some examples of which we find in 4:25-32, and there are others within the book), so the pieces of God’s armor are not literal but are images pointing us to spiritual realities on which we can stand. They are pieces of armor are mainly drawn from Old Testament references that remind us of spiritual realities that will protect us from Satan’s attacks if we will stand in them. We will walk through these pieces of armor one at a time.

“The belt of truth” (6:14) – This imagery of a belt of truth is drawn from Isaiah 11:1-5 as we are told that the Messiah will come with a belt of righteousness (or truth). The idea in this passage of Isaiah is that the Messiah will come and judge his people according to truth, in truthfulness.

Thus, the apostle is urging his readers to appropriate the truth of the gospel and imitate their Messiah in living in truthfulness. That is to say, we know and understand truth, and therefore we should constantly renew our minds to the truth and live in that way. For it is by knowing the truth and living therein that we will be able to recognize Satan’s lies.

For example, you are more likely to get dirty if you are wearing a pair of old overalls rather than if you were wearing a white tuxedo. And the reason would be because you know that you do not belong around dirt while wearing a white tuxedo. In the same way, as you renew your mind to truthfully who you are in Christ’s sight, you will be able to resist Satan’s lies that says you should be involved in this sin or that for that’s just who you are.

“The breastplate of righteousness” (6:14) – This imagery is picked up from Isaiah 59:15-17 where God sees no justice or righteous living on the earth and so he comes we a breastplate of righteousness. Therefore, the imagery is teaching us that we should, because we are in a righteous standing before God by his grace, live righteously in the world. It is not different than Paul’s exhortation in 4:24, “Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

So Paul is saying in essence, “God has provided you righteousness and the strength to live accordingly, so resist Satan’s temptations to live unrighteously but understand what righteousness looks like in your God and imitate him by living righteously.”

“Feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace” (6:15) – This image comes from Isaiah 52:7 as one comes declaring salvation to men, but picking up the meaning of it is a bit difficulty. However, Paul has already pointed out how the gospel brings peace with God and man in Ephesians 2. We who were by nature children of wrath are now God’s very own children, and the wall that separated Jew and Gentile has been broken down by the gospel. Therefore, Paul is telling us most likely telling his readers to let the peace that comes from the gospel rule their hearts. For Satan’s attacks will come in trying to divide the body with enmity and in deceiving the believer to think he is being held in contempt by God. However, when we allow peace to rule our hearts Satan’s temptations along these lines are thwarted.

“The shield of faith” (6:16) – This spiritual truth that will protect us is quite clear; our shield against Satan’s attacks is faith. Just as all obedience stems from faith, so all disobedience stems from a lack of faith. Therefore, when Satan tempts you to disobedience, it is faith in God’s truth and promises that will give you the strength to press on to obedience. We have no greater example of this than Christ, as Hebews 12:2 tells us, “For the joy set before him [he] endured the cross.” That is to say, what he saw and held to by faith gave him strength to obey.
“The helmet of salvation” (6:17) – The imagery for the helmet of salvation, like the breastplate of righteousness is from Isaiah 59:17 where the Lord comes bringing righteousness and salvation. And just as Paul used the imagery of righteousness, so he is now telling his readers to realize daily that salvation is theirs. Though we are in a battle, the outcome is not in doubt. So as we are tempted to remain in sin and think we are slaves thereunto, we can know differently as we remember the salvation that Christ has provided that is sure.

“The sword of the Spirit” (6:17) – Paul does not leave doubt as to what this imagery refers to, writing, “which is the Word of God.” This is a phrase Paul often uses for declaring the gospel, and therefore, Paul is probably telling his readers to speak the gospel to men and women. For it is the gospel that is the most powerful weapon against Satan. Speaking the gospel to ourselves and others brings about a working of salvation. Therefore, we are to march forward in this war, resisting temptations with the truth we know, with righteous living made possible because of our righteousness, with peace that we have been given through the gospel and which can make our feet firmly planted, with faith that will allow us to hold to the truths of God when Satan is throwing all kinds of temptations against us, with salvation that we know is sure when Satan attacks with doubt, and with the Word of God with which we pierce into Satan’s work and bring salvation to others and “work out our own salvation” (Phil. 2:12) as well. But there is one final crucial question left to answer.

“What does this practically mean we do each day as we battle to live holy?” (6:18-20)

I will end with this morning with a few things that I think we can do every day in order to prepare ourselves for battle and stand firm within it.

1. Remind yourself of these spiritual realities each day.

You might even want to do it as you are getting dressed each day. As you put on your belt, renew your mind to truths of God’s word in preparation to protect yourself against Satan’s lies. For example, if you are tempted with the pleasure that comes from lust, remind yourself that the pleasure of sin is fleeting whereas there are pleasures at the right hand of God forever. As you put on your shoes, remember that the gospel has brought peace between men. Then if you are at that moment harboring bitterness against a brother or sister in Christ, forgive him or her in obedience to the working of the gospel. Again, as you take your coat, remind yourself of promises from God’s word that you will hold to in faith in case Satan tries to shake you with temptations built upon lies and doubt. You can go on from there; you probably get the picture.

2. Pray that you’ll have strength to walk in obedience and pray the same for others.

We need prayer for our own lives. Paul knew it, and that is why he asked them to pray for him in verses 19-20. He wanted to be obedient to his calling but knew he needed prayer if he was going to be. In the same way, pray for yourself to obey the Word and resist Satan’s attacks. And then pray for others. Paul told these Ephesian believers to pray for all the saints. We need to pray for our brothers and sisters as we are praying for ourselves.

3. Keep eternity in mind.

In those last three verses, Paul tells them to “keep alert.” This is a reference to alertness in knowing the Lord’s return in inevitable. We need to remind ourselves throughout every day of eternity, for this makes temptations to the passing pleasure of sin lose a bit of the foundation on which it draws its strength.

4. Resists Satan’s temptations and speak the Word of God.

That is to say, when you are finally in the moment of temptation resist and obey what God commands you in speaking his Word. You may say, “Now, I try to do that, but I fail; that’s my problem.” However, if you will do all these other things first, you will find yourself much stronger to stand against the schemes of Satan, for you will have clothed yourself with the armor of God and will be fighting in his strength.

Brother and sisters, we need to hear Paul’s plea to us this morning, “Troops, get ready for war!” We are indeed in a war, but it is a war to which we know the outcome and a war in which we have been provided armor from God, spiritual realities to strengthen us against Satan’s attacks. Therefore, each day prepare yourself with these realities of who you are, what God says, and how you should live, and then go out and walk obediently as soldiers of Christ. May his grace be with you. Amen.

ARMING OURSELVES FOR WAR