Part I: Be Strong in the Lord
Ephesians 6:10-18
We are beginning a new sermon series on the Armor of God. What is the Armor of God? Why does it matter? What difference will it make in my life? We will look to answer these questions and then some. We will go through each piece of the armor and get a better understanding of it and how to equip ourselves with them.
Background:
First, we are going to set the stage. Paul the Apostle is writing to the church in Ephesus. He ministered to the people there for a short time during his Second missionary journey (Acts 18:18-21) and then for more than two years in his third missionary journey (Acts 19:1-41). Paul saw many people come to Jesus and successfully planted a thriving church in the city. However, the church had its fair share of issues.
Ephesus was a port city, also known for its trade. It was also an important city in the Roman Empire. One of the things Ephesus was known for was the Temple of Artemis where people would come to worship the goddess by having sexual interactions with its harlots. There were many other strange norms in the city of Ephesus where the church Paul was writing to resided. Paul was writing to inform them concerning their faith and address some of the issues that came with living in Ephesus. Paul covers the position we have in Christ along with the basics of our Christian walk.
Paul covers:
Last on his list of things to address was spiritual warfare. Lets pick up in verse 10 of Ephesians 6.
Ephesians 6:10-13 NKJV
“10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Let’s take this verse by verse…
Be Strong in the Lord:
V10 - “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might…”
“Finally” in verse 10, Paul is saying…
Paul encourages the church to be strong, but not in their own strength. The words “be strong” actually mean “to be strengthened.” The apostle was saying to be strengthened in the Lord. We have to be strengthened through the power of His might.
Before a soldier is outfitted with the equipment needed to fight and win in battle, they go through physical training; boot camp if you will. During this time they are trained to strengthen their bodies that they may be able to stand strong with the equipment given to them. The armor is important, but a soldier must be able to stand strong in order to use the armor properly.
Similarly, before we can take up the armor of God, we too must be strong in the Lord! Not in our own power, but in the power of His might. The power of His might is the same power that rose Jesus from the dead. It is the power of the Holy Spirit! Let us be strong not in our own strength, but in the strength of His mighty power.
A soldier doesn’t get ready for battle, during the battle. Instead, he prepares for the battle before it takes place! If a battalion of soldiers wait until the battle commences to begin getting ready, then they will have already lost! In the same way, If we wait until the day of temptation to begin getting ready, then we have already lost the battle. Don’t wait for the battle to start to begin preparing for the battle. You have to be ready before it begins.
We must be strengthened by the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, how do we do that? How do we become strong in the Lord? How should we be embowered by the Holy Spirit for battle?
By putting on the whole Armor of God!
Put on the Full Armor of God:
V11 - “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
We become strong in the Lord by putting on the whole Armor of God. Now, these are not physical pieces of armor that we are equipping ourselves with, but spiritual. Every piece of armor is a physical representation of a spiritual application that prepares you for the attack of the enemy.
Verse 11 also says that putting on the armor of God allows you to be able to stand against the “wiles” of the devil.
Wiles = Schemes; Trickery; Deceit
The spiritual application of the armor of God prepares you to be able to withstand the deceitful schemes of the devil. Whether you believe it or not, the devil is scheming against you. He is trying to get you caught in a trap, trying to get you to believe a lie, trying to trick you into a false narrative. Not just you, but he is also after your family as well. The only way to overcome is to be strong in the Lord.
The devil will ultimately lose in the end. Jesus says that He has overcome the world and He has overcome the devil. In Christ, we have overcome the world as well. The armor of God gives us the power to stand strong against the deceitful schemes of the enemy. We must be strong in the Lord.
Getting to the Root:
This is an important point that Paul is bringing up. Look at what he says in verse 12…
V12 - “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
What it is saying is that the putting on of the armor of God is a reminder that there is a spiritual influence to some (or most) physical problems. Whether it is marital problems, issues at work, stress, fear, anger, addiction, etc, they all have a spiritual root. However, the issue you see with your eyes is simply the fruit. If all we do is deal with what we see above the ground, all we can do is manage it. Why? Because we are not getting to the root of the problem. If we want to get rid of the problem completely then we have to get to whats under the ground; we have to get to the root.
Paul is saying that we are not wrestling with evil people, but the spiritual forces working behind the scenes to do evil things. People and problems are not your enemy, the devil and his schemes are your enemy.
In other words, the next time someone snaps back at you or starts talking crazy, remember that they themselves (flesh and blood) are not the enemy. Talking crazy back and trying to put them in their place will only make the situation worse. They are not your enemy, the devil who has tricked them into believing a lie is the real enemy. He is trying to trick you and lead you into a trap.
Knowing this…
Withstand the Attack of the Enemy:
V13 - “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Knowing that our enemy the devil is scheming to trick and entice you into a trap, put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to “withstand” the evil day. To withstand is to resist or defend. The evil day is the day or moment of temptation. We cannot withstand the devil in our own strength. Instead we can only be strong by putting on the whole armor of God.
Throughout the series, we are going to look at each piece of the armor, why it is important, and how to equip ourselves with it. This is so that we can be prepared for the attack of the enemy and withstand his schemes against us.
We will take a look at:
Takeaways:
