WEAPONS II
Eph 6:1 Children, do what is ordered by your fathers and mothers in the Lord: for this is right.
2 Give honour to your father and mother (which is the first rule having a reward),
3 So that all may be well for you, and your life may be long on the earth.
4 And, you fathers, do not make your children angry: but give them training in the teaching and fear of the Lord.
5 Servants, do what is ordered by those who are your natural masters, having respect and fear for them, with all your heart, as to Christ;
6 Not only under your master's eye, as pleasers of men; but as servants of Christ, doing the pleasure of God from the heart;
7 Doing your work readily, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8 In the knowledge that for every good thing anyone does, he will have his reward from the Lord, If he is a servant or if he is free.
9 And, you masters, do the same things to them, not making use of violent words: in the knowledge that their Master and yours is in heaven, and he has no respect for a man's position.
10 Lastly, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his power.
11 Take up God's instruments of war, so that you may be able to keep your position against all the deceits of the Evil One.
12 For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against authorities and powers, against the world-rulers of this dark night, against the spirits of evil in the heavens.
13 For this reason take up all the arms of God, so that you may be able to be strong in the evil day, and, having done all, to keep your place.
14 Take your place, then, having your body clothed with the true word, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 Be ready with the good news of peace as shoes on your feet;
16 And most of all, using faith as a cover to keep off all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
17 And take salvation for your head-dress and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 With prayers and deep desires, making requests at all times in the Spirit, and keeping watch, with strong purpose, in prayer for all the saints,
19 And for me, that words may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make clear without fear the secret of the good news,
20 For which I am a representative in chains, and that I may say without fear the things which it is right for me to say.
21 But so that you may have knowledge of my business, and how I am, Tychicus, the well-loved brother and tested servant in the Lord, will give you news of all things:
22 Whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, so that you may have knowledge of our position, and that he may give comfort to your hearts.
23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Grace be with all those who have true love for our Lord Jesus Christ.
(BBE)
Quick summation.
Christ died for our sins AND to open the way for the Holy Spirit. The New Age has something right in that God had to have holy places to dwell, Our "temples" had to be sanctified for the Holy of Holies to exist in them. For the Holy Spirit to dwell and save and empower. The Spirit will work to sanctify us, to burnish us to the shine of the Lord, to make us more like the One who Sanctifies.
And to make us part of the Spiritual body. The one that does the work here on Earth. The work:
Mt 28:18 And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
(ASV)
Mr 16:15 And he said to them, Go into all the world, and give the good news to everyone.
16 He who has faith and is given baptism will get salvation; but he who has not faith will be judged.
(BBE)
Keep this in mind as we pursue the discussion of weapons. I want it firmly in your mind.
1-9: These go with the previous chapter but I include them again here. There are things we can do as Christians to strengthen ourselves, ways we can live to honor Him and to build ourselves up. The list of God's commands toward us to help with that is here (http://yourtruelifenow.blogspot.com/). And the idea of that strengthening hangs in the background, Keep it there, also.
10 Lastly, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his power.
11 Take up God's instruments of war, so that you may be able to keep your position against all the deceits of the Evil One.
Moving from our own strength to His power. First we are to take up the weapons. That is the first act, the first thing to do. And the reason to take up the weapons is to KEEP our position, to hold the ground God put us on against all Satan's deceits.
Get that. These are weapons given to help us HOLD the ground, to remain in the place he has placed us. To be strong in our part of the body. Recall that Satan's attacks were against Adam and Jesus who were IN the will of God when he attacked.
https://www.gotquestions.org/full-armor-of-God.html
Question: "What is the full armor of God?"
Answer: The phrase “full armor of God” comes from Ephesians 6:13-17: “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Ephesians 6:12 clearly indicates that the conflict with Satan is spiritual, and therefore no tangible weapons can be effectively employed against him and his minions. We are not given a list of specific tactics Satan will use. However, the passage is quite clear that when we follow all the instructions faithfully, we will be able to stand, and we will have victory regardless of Satan’s strategy.
(I would profoundly disagree with the idea we don't know Satan's strategies. I outlined them before discussing his temptations of Adam and Jesus. They consist of twisting the Word of God to suit demonic purposes, tempting us to take what may be ours but is jot yet meant for us to have and tempting us to go after what seems to be in our personal interest and tempting us to think we are God.
(He has used these tactics and they result in things haunting the church today. Christians run around talking in tongues with no translation despite the direct orders of Paul not to because Charismatics believe they have a different understanding of 1 Corinthians. As a result we have decades of spiritually unguided yapping which is often seen as clearly demonic by those raised in Satanism. We have whole churches and TV channels devoted to the idea of naming and claiming wealth and health as if they were our divine right rather than a gift of the Lord, which means we assume the place of God in doing it, demanding healing as a promise God made and HAS to do. Blab it and grab it follows the lines of Satan's temptation that we can be like God and tempting Jesus to take the world without the cross. He keeps offering the world to us and wee keeping jumping at it even as he never comes through. The key behind it all is that he wants us focused here, on this fallen world of hurting flesh and dying stars, seeing only the illusion or, seeing the illusion, deceiving us into thinking we see something for US alone beyond the illusion, a special heaven where we get all WE want.
(The thing to know is that the temptations get refined to fit each of us and their nature will change form you to me, but those tactics are so successful they don't seem to change. Making the FIRST weapon so important.)
The first element of our armor is truth (verse 14). This is easy to understand, since Satan is said to be the “father of lies” (John 8:44). Deception is high on the list of things God considers to be an abomination. A “lying tongue” is one of the things He describes as “detestable to Him” (Proverbs 6:16-17). We are therefore exhorted to put on truth for our own sanctification and deliverance, as well as for the benefit of those to whom we witness.
(This was Jesus main weapon, quoting God's truth against every temptation. Making daily study more vital.)
Also in verse 14, we are told to put on the breastplate of righteousness. A breastplate shielded a warrior’s vital organs from blows that would otherwise be fatal. This righteousness is not works of righteousness done by men. Rather, this is the righteousness of Christ, imputed by God and received by faith, which guards our hearts against the accusations and charges of Satan and secures our innermost being from his attacks.
(That seduction of our own works for whatever reason that we are better than them, all those that we discussed earlier are so deadly because they become a weapon we are deceived into believing is effective when it is in fact the way to seduce us into the demonic path of false religion. We cannot stand in our own righteousness. That is why so many false faith healers tell you you have to have YOUR faith to get healed, placing the idea of your own power in the faith when it is the spirit that gives us faith. We forget our position rather than defend it. Our position is IN Christ.)
Verse 15 speaks of the preparation of the feet for spiritual conflict. In warfare, sometimes an enemy places dangerous obstacles in the path of advancing soldiers. The idea of the preparation of the gospel of peace as footwear suggests what we need to advance into Satan's territory, aware that there will be traps, with the message of grace so essential to winning souls to Christ. Satan has many obstacles placed in the path to halt the propagation of the gospel.
(A further truth is based on my experience in fighting in martial arts and kick boxing. The most important work there is done by the feet, not just the hands. The feet need proper placement for support, for striking and connecting to maximum effect. Power in the punch and kick comes from the hip, power for the thrust of a sword as well. Feet need to move with care so balance is kept all the time. Recall Christ always wanting us to be balanced, no fear, no anger. Recall the word "position. Shoulders over the feet; body moves to an angle so the enemy has the least profile to attack. Even placement and movement calculated to keep it even so you can't be struck and knocked off balance.
(15 Be ready with the good news of peace as shoes on your feet;
(Recall too that the Gospel is the mission. Eyes focused on the mission, moving within the cause and aim of the mission. Balanced in the mission.
(There is also the tactical retreat, moving backward to regain our feet and then back to the mission.
(Never forget that sometimes the Spirit itself leads us into temptation to temper us and sometimes we fail the tests and so need to regain our balance then go on.)
The shield of faith spoken of in verse 16 makes Satan's sowing of doubt about the faithfulness of God and His Word ineffective. Our faith—of which Christ is “the author and perfecter” (Hebrews 12:2)— is like a golden shield, precious, solid, and substantial.
(Again, recall it is not YOUR faith but the faith of God made manifest in you.
John 6: 29: This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.
Summation verse for all that's mentioned above:
John 20:21-22 Then Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you. As My Father has sent Me, even so I send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.")
The helmet of salvation in verse 17 is protection for the head, keeping viable a critical part of the body. We could say that our way of thinking needs preservation. The head is the seat of the mind, which, when it has laid hold of the sure gospel hope of eternal life, will not receive false doctrine or give way to Satan’s temptations. The unsaved person has no hope of warding off the blows of false doctrine because he is without the helmet of salvation and his mind is incapable of discerning between spiritual truth and spiritual deception.
https://www.gty.org/library/bibleqnas-library/BQ060513/What-Is-the-Helmet-of-Salvation
(The fifth piece of God’s armor is represented by the Roman soldier’s helmet, without which he would never enter battle. Some of the helmets were made of thick leather covered with metal plates, and others were of heavy molded or beaten metal. They usually had cheek pieces to protect the face.
The purpose of the helmet, of course, was to protect the head from injury, particularly from the dangerous broadsword commonly used in the warfare of that day. That was not the much smaller sword mentioned later in this verse, but was a large two–handed, double–edged sword (rhomphaia, see Rev. 1:16; 2:12; 6:8) that measured three to four feet in length. It was often carried by cavalrymen, who would swing at the heads of enemy soldiers to split their skulls or decapitate them.
The fact that the helmet is related to salvation indicates that Satan’s blows are directed at the believer’s security and assurance in Christ. The two dangerous edges of Satan’s spiritual broadsword are discouragement and doubt. To discourage us he points to our failures, our sins, our unresolved problems, our poor health, or to whatever else seems negative in our lives in order to make us lose confidence in the love and care of our heavenly Father.
Since Paul is addressing believers, putting on the helmet of salvation cannot refer to receiving Christ as Savior. The only ones who can take up any piece of God’s armor, and the only ones who are involved in this supernatural struggle against Satan and his demon forces, are those who are already saved.
Trusting in Jesus Christ, immediately saves from the penalty of sin. For believers, this first aspect of salvation, which is justification, is past. It was accomplished the moment we trusted in Christ, and that particular act of faith need never be repeated, because we are secure in our Father’s hands—from whom, as we have just seen, we can never be snatched (John 10:28–29). We are forever saved from condemnation (Rom. 8:1).
The second aspect of salvation, which is sanctification, involves our life on earth, during which time we experience a measure of freedom from the dominating power of sin. Being now under God’s grace, sin no longer has mastery or dominion over us; we are no longer sin’s slave but God’s (Rom. 6:14, 18–22). Paul shows these first two aspects of salvation side by side in the previous chapter of Romans: “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (5:10). Christ’s death saved us once and for all from sin’s penalty, and His life within us now is saving us day to day from sin’s power and mastery.
The third aspect of salvation is future, the aspect of glorification, when we shall one day be saved altogether and forever from sin’s presence. Looking forward to that glorious time, John says, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). To be like God is to be without sin. We rejoice that this aspect of our salvation “is nearer than when we believed” (Rom. 13:11).
It is this final aspect of salvation that is the real strength of the believer’s helmet. If we lose hope in the future promise of salvation, there can be no security in the present. This, no doubt, is why Paul calls this same piece of armor “the helmet” which is “the hope of salvation” (1 Thess. 5:8). “Having the first fruits of the Spirit,” Paul explains in Romans, “even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved” (8:23–24). The helmet of salvation is that great hope of final salvation that gives us confidence and assurance that our present struggle with Satan will not last forever and we will be victorious in the end. We know the battle is only for this life, and even a long earthly life is no more than a split second compared to eternity with our Lord in heaven. We are not in a race we can lose. We have no purgatory to face, no uncertain hope that our own continued efforts or those of our loved ones and friends will perhaps some day finally make us acceptable to God. We know that whom God “predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Rom. 8:30). There is not the loss of a single soul from predestination to justification to sanctification to glorification. That is God’s unbroken and unbreakable chain of salvation (cf. John 6:39–40; 10:27–30).
We have a certain hope, “a living hope,” as Peter calls it. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he exults in his first epistle, “who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:3–5). When the helmet of that hope is in place, we can “greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, [we] have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of [our] faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though [we] have not seen Him, [we] love Him, and though [we] do not see Him now, but believe in Him, [we] greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of [our] faith the salvation of [our] souls” (vv. 6–9). That is the salvation which is our helmet. Our helmet is the certain prospect of heaven, our ultimate salvation, which “we have as an anchor of the soul” (Heb. 6:19).)
Romans 8:6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace:
(BBE)
Verse 17 interprets itself as to the meaning of the sword of the Spirit—it is the Word of God. While all the other pieces of spiritual armor are defensive in nature, the sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon in the armor of God. It speaks of the holiness and power of the Word of God. A greater spiritual weapon is not conceivable. In Jesus' temptations in the desert, the Word of God was always His overpowering response to Satan. What a blessing that the same Word is available to us!
Jameison, etc
:
sword of the Spirit--that is, furnished by the Spirit, who inspired the writers of the word of God (2Pe 1:21). Again the Trinity is implied: the Spirit here; and Christ in "salvation" and God the Father, Eph 6:13 (compare Heb 4:12; Re 1:16; 2:12). The two-edged sword, cutting both ways (Ps 45:3,5), striking some with conviction and conversion, and others with condemnation (Isa 11:4; Re 19:15), is in the mouth of Christ (Isa 49:2), in the hand of His saints (Ps 149:6). Christ's use of this sword in the temptation is our pattern as to how we are to wield it against Satan (Mt 4:4,7,10). There is no armor specified for the back, but only for the front of the body; implying that we must never turn our back to the foe (Lu 9:62); our only safety is in resisting ceaselessly (Mt 4:11; Jas 4:7)
If we are to stand, we must be facing, even in retreat, facing the enemy. In the Samurai code, the faithful soldier is told to test his armor, but only the front. Japanese style of fighting if based in holding the ground you have and pressing forward. Just recall we are to hold our position IN Christ. It is not about advancing to new territory when we are using these weapons. The mission is about the gaining souls. OUR warfare here is about holding our position to we can advance the Gospel despite temptations to falter.
In verse 18, we are told to pray in the Spirit (that is, with the mind of Christ, with His heart and His priorities) in addition to wearing the full armor of God. We cannot neglect prayer, as it is the means by which we draw spiritual strength from God. Without prayer, without reliance upon God, our efforts at spiritual warfare are empty and futile. The full armor of God—truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer—are the tools God has given us, through which we can be spiritually victorious, overcoming Satan’s attacks and temptations.
Spurgeon:
Ver. 17,18 He who is truly saved and knows it will wear a "helm" of health." The seat of thought and decision will be safe.
The Bible is a bright, keen, pointed, well-tempered weapon, for offence and defense, it cuts a way for us through all foes, slays sin, and chases away even Satan himself. "It is written" is the terror of hell.
This weapon of all prayer will often serve our turn when all others are out of our reach. So long as we can pray we shall not be overcome.
And Matt Henry's overview to compare and contrast. This is all important enough to deem this an apt study:
Ephesians 6:10-18
Here is a general exhortation to constancy in our Christian course, and to encourage in our Christian warfare. Is not our life a warfare? It is so; for we struggle with the common calamities of human life. Is not our religion much more a warfare? It is so; for we struggle with the opposition of the powers of darkness, and with many enemies who would keep us from God and heaven. We have enemies to fight against, a captain to fight for, a banner to fight under, and certain rules of war by which we are to govern ourselves.
" Finally, my brethren (Eph 6:10), it yet remains that you apply yourselves to your work and duty as Christian soldiers."
(I grew up with this idea even in song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG78M7g9wRo I find myself understanding the notions that we are at war, but we are not soldiers except in the sense we are to follow the orders of the Lord. We can get caught up in the idea were are nothing but a fighting force when we are a force for Spiritual conflicts and every attack is aimed specially at each of us,
Because we have an enemy with us all the time who helps the enemy on our battle, More next time.
(It behooves me to point out that the song above has two YouTube posts One contains pictures of Crusaders in full armor against historical backdrops and another shows Salvation Army folks being honored with flags and all. It was the idea of warriors carried to the extreme for the purposes of the institutional church that led to the Crusades and pushed the idea of the justified war in the hearts of those who couldn't actually read the Bible for themselves. We may argue the historic significance of driving the Moors from Spain but we saw how the ideas of physically capturing Jerusalem for God and seeing it as bringing in a New Millennium failed. W)
Now it is requisite that a soldier be both stout-hearted and well armed. If Christians be soldiers of Jesus Christ,
I. They must see that they be stout-hearted. This is prescribed here: Be strong in the Lord, &c. Those who have so many battles to fight, and who, in their way to heav. en, must dispute every pass, with dint of sword, have need of a great deal of courage. Be strong therefore, strong for service, strong for suffering, strong for fighting. Let a soldier be ever so well armed without, if he have not within a good heart, his armour will stand him in little stead. Note, spiritual strength and courage are very necessary for our spiritual warfare. Be strong in the Lord, either in his cause and for his sake or rather in his strength. We have no sufficient strength of our own. Our natural courage is as perfect cowardice, and our natural strength as perfect weakness; but all our sufficiency is of God. In his strength we must go forth and go on. By the actings of faith, we must fetch in grace and help from heaven to enable us to do that which of ourselves we cannot do, in our Christian work and warfare. We should stir up ourselves to resist temptations in a reliance upon God's all-sufficiency and the omnipotence of his might.
II. They must be well armed:
"Put on the whole armour of God (Eph 6:11), make use of all the proper defenses and weapons for repelling the temptations and stratagems of Satan--get and exercise all the Christian graces, the whole armour, that no part be naked and exposed to the enemy."
Observe, Those who would approve themselves to have true grace must aim at all grace, the whole armour. It is called the armour of God, because he both prepares and bestows it. We have no armour of our own that will be armour of proof in a trying time. Nothing will stand us in stead but the armour of God. This armour is prepared for us, but we must put it on; that is, we must pray for grace, we must use the grace given us, and draw it out into act and exercise as there is occasion. The reason assigned why the Christian should be completely armed is that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil--that he may be able to hold out, and to overcome, notwithstanding all the devil's assaults, both of force and fraud, all the deceits he puts upon us, all the snares he lays for us, and all his machinations against us. This the apostle enlarges upon here, and shows,
1. What our danger is, and what need we have to put on this whole armour, considering what sort of enemies we have to deal with--the devil and all the powers of darkness: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, &c., Eph 6:12. The combat for which we are to be prepared is not against ordinary human enemies, not barely against men compounded of flesh and blood, nor against our own corrupt natures singly considered, but against the several ranks of devils, who have a government which they exercise in this world.
(1.) We have to do with a subtle enemy, an enemy who uses wiles and stratagems, as Eph 6:11. He has a thousand ways of beguiling unstable souls: hence he is called a serpent for subtlety, an old serpent, experienced in the art and trade of tempting.
(2.) He is a powerful enemy: Principalities, and powers, and rulers. They are numerous, they are vigorous; and rule in those heathen nations which are yet in darkness. The dark parts of the world are the seat of Satan's empire. Yea, they are usurping princes over all men who are yet in a state of sin and ignorance. Satan's is a kingdom of darkness; whereas Christ's is a kingdom of light.
(3.) They are spiritual enemies: Spiritual wickedness in high places, or wicked spirits, as some translate it. The devil is a spirit, a wicked spirit; and our danger is the greater from our enemies because they are unseen, and assault us ere we are aware of them. The devils are wicked spirits, and they chiefly annoy the saints with, and provoke them to, spiritual wickedness, pride, envy, malice, &c. These enemies are said to be in high places, or in heavenly places, so the word is, taking heaven (as one says) for the whole expansum, or spreading out of the air between the earth and the stars, the air being the place from which the devils assault us. Or the meaning may be,
"We wrestle about heavenly places or heavenly things;"
so some of the ancients interpret it. Our enemies strive to prevent our ascent to heaven, to deprive us of heavenly blessings and to obstruct our communion with heaven. They assault us in the things that belong to our souls, and labour to deface the heavenly image in our hearts; and therefore we have need to be upon our guard against them. We have need of faith in our Christian warfare, because we have spiritual enemies to grapple with, as well as of faith in our Christian work, because we have spiritual strength to fetch in. Thus you see your danger.
2. What our duty is: to take and put on the whole armour of God, and then to stand our ground, and withstand our enemies.
(1.) We must withstand, Eph 6:13. We must not yield to the devil's allurements and assaults, but oppose them. Satan is said to stand up against us, 1Ch 21:1. If he stand up against us, we must stand against him; set up, and keep up, an interest in opposition to the devil. Satan is the wicked one, and his kingdom is the kingdom of sin: to stand against Satan is to strive against sin. That you may be able to withstand in the evil day, in the day of temptation, or of any sore affliction.
(2.) We must stand our ground: And, having done all, to stand. We must resolve, by God's grace, not to yield to Satan. Resist him, and he will flee. If we distrust our cause, or our leader, or our armour, we give him advantage. Our present business is to withstand the assaults of the devil, and to stand it out; and then, having done all that is incumbent on the good soldiers of Jesus Christ, our warfare will be accomplished, and we shall be finally victorious.
(3.) We must stand armed; and this is here most enlarged upon. Here is a Christian in complete armour: and the armour is divine: Armour of God, armour of light, Ro 13:12. Armour of righteousness, 2Co 6:7. The apostle specifies the particulars of this armour, both offensive and defensive. The military girdle or belt, the breast-plate, the greaves (or soldier's shoes), the shield, the helmet, and the sword. It is observable that, among them all, there is none for the back; if we turn our back upon the enemy, we lie exposed.
[1.] Truth or sincerity is our girdle, Eph 6:14. It was prophesied of Christ (Isa 11:5) that righteousness should be the girdle of his loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. That which Christ was girded with all Christians must be girded with. God desires truth, that is, sincerity, in the inward parts. This is the strength of our loins; and it girds on all other pieces of our armour, and therefore is first mentioned. I know no religion without sincerity. Some understand it of the doctrine of the truths of the gospel: they should cleave to us as the girdle does to the loins, Jer 13:11. This will restrain from libertinism and licentiousness, as a girdle restrains and keeps in the body. This is the Christian soldier's belt: ungirded with this, he is unblessed.
[2.] Righteousness must be our breast-plate. The breast-plate secures the vitals, shelters the heart. The righteousness of Christ imputed to us is our breast-plate against the arrows of divine wrath. The righteousness of Christ implanted in us is our breast-plate to fortify the heart against the attacks which Satan makes against us. The apostle explains this in 1Th 5:8, Putting on the breast-plate of faith and love. Faith and love include all Christian graces; for by faith we are united to Christ and by love to our brethren. These will infer a diligent observance of our duty to God, and a righteous deportment towards men, in all the offices of justice, truth, and charity.
[3.] Resolution must be as the greaves to our legs: And their feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, Eph 6:15. Shoes, or greaves of brass, or the like, were formerly part of the military armour (1Sa 17:6): the use of them was to defend the feet against the gall-traps, and sharp sticks, which were wont to be laid privily in the way, to obstruct the marching of the enemy, those who fell upon them being unfit to march. The preparation of the gospel of peace signifies a prepared and resolved frame of heart, to adhere to the gospel and abide by it, which will enable us to walk with a steady pace in the way of religion, notwithstanding the difficulties and dangers that may be in it. It is styled the gospel of peace because it brings all sorts of peace, peace with God, with ourselves, and with one another. It may also be meant of that which prepares for the entertainment of the gospel, namely, repentance. With this our feet must be shod: for by living a life of repentance we are armed against temptations to sin, and the designs of our great enemy. Dr. Whitby thinks this may be the sense of the words:
"That you may be ready for the combat, be shod with the gospel of peace, endeavour after that peaceable and quiet mind which the gospel calls for. Be not easily provoked, nor prone to quarrel: but show all gentleness and all long-suffering to all men, and this will certainly preserve you from many great temptations and persecutions, as did those shoes of brass the soldiers from those gall-traps,"
&c.
[4.] Faith must be our shield: Above all, or chiefly, taking the shield of faith, Eph 6:16. This is more necessary than any of them. Faith is all in all to us in an hour of temptation. The breast-plate secures the vitals; but with the shield we turn every way. This is the victory over the world, even our faith. We are to be fully persuaded of the truth of all God's promises and threatenings, such a faith being of great use against temptations. Consider faith as it is the evidence of things not seen and the substance of things hoped for, and it will appear to be of admirable use for this purpose. Faith, as receiving Christ and the benefits of redemption, so deriving grace from him, is like a shield, a sort of universal defence. Our enemy the devil is here called the wicked one. He is wicked himself, and he endeavours to make us wicked. His temptations are called darts, because of their swift and undiscerned flight, and the deep wounds that they give to the soul; fiery darts, by way of allusion to the poisonous darts which were wont to inflame the parts which were wounded with them, and therefore were so called, as the serpents with poisonous stings are called fiery serpents. Violent temptations, by which the soul is set on fire of hell, are the darts which Satan shoots at us. Faith is the shield with which we must quench these fiery darts, wherein we should receive them, and so render them ineffectual, that they may not hit us, or at least that they may not hurt us. Observe, Faith, acted upon the word of God and applying that, acted upon the grace of Christ and improving that, quenches the darts of temptation.
[5.] Salvation must be our helmet (Eph 6:17); that is, hope, which has salvation for its object; so 1Th 5:8. The helmet secures the head. A good hope of salvation, well founded and well built, will both purify the soul and keep it from being defiled by Satan, and it will comfort the soul and keep it from being troubled and tormented by Satan. He would tempt us to despair; but good hope keeps us trusting in God, and rejoicing in him.
[6.] The word of God is the sword of the Spirit. The sword is a very necessary and useful part of a soldier's furniture. The word of God is very necessary, and of great use to the Christian, in order to his maintaining the spiritual warfare and succeeding in it. It is called the sword of the Spirit, because it is of the Spirit's inditing and he renders it efficacious and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword. Like Goliath's sword, none like that; with this we assault the assailants. Scripture-arguments are the most powerful arguments to repel temptation with. Christ himself resisted Satan's temptations with, It is written, Mt 4:4,6,7,10. This, being hid in the heart, will preserve from sin (Ps 119:11), and will mortify and kill those lusts and corruptions that are latent there.
[7.] Prayer must buckle on all the other parts of our Christian armour, Eph 6:18. We must join prayer with all these graces, for our defence against these spiritual enemies, imploring help and assistance of God, as the case requires: and we must pray always. Not as though we were to do nothing else but pray, for there are other duties of religion and of our respective stations in the world that are to be done in their place and season; but we should keep up constant times of prayer, and be constant to them. We must pray upon all occasions, and as often as our own and others' necessities call us to it. We must always keep up a disposition to prayer, and should intermix ejaculatory prayers with other duties, and with common business. Though set and solemn prayer may sometimes be unseasonable (as when other duties are to be done), yet pious ejaculations can never be so. We must pray with all prayer and supplication, with all kinds of prayer: public, private, and secret, social and solitary, solemn and sudden; with all the parts of prayer: confession of sin, petition for mercy, and thanksgivings for favours received. We must pray in the Spirit; our spirits must be employed in the duty and we must do it by the grace of God's good Spirit. We must watch thereunto, endeavouring to keep our hearts in a praying frame, and taking all occasions, and improving all opportunities, for the duty: we must watch to all the motions of our own hearts towards the duty. When God says, Seek my face, our hearts must comply, Ps 27:8. This we must do with all perseverance. We must abide by the duty of prayer, whatever change there may be in our outward circumstances; and we must continue in it as long as we live in the world. We must persevere in a particular prayer; not cutting it short, when our hearts are disposed to enlarge, and there is time for it, and our occasions call for it. We must likewise persevere in particular requests, notwithstanding some present discouragements and repulses. And we must pray with supplication, not for ourselves only, but for all saints; for we are members one of another. Observe, None are so much saints, and in so good a condition in this world, but they need our prayers, and they ought to have them. The apostle passes hence to the conclusion of the epistle.
Now catch your breath. The Spirit has armed us to keep our position in Christ's body and in the mission. Now let's spend time discussing what those positions are and the other weapons of the Spirit that we call "gifts."
Eph 6:1 Children, do what is ordered by your fathers and mothers in the Lord: for this is right.
2 Give honour to your father and mother (which is the first rule having a reward),
3 So that all may be well for you, and your life may be long on the earth.
4 And, you fathers, do not make your children angry: but give them training in the teaching and fear of the Lord.
5 Servants, do what is ordered by those who are your natural masters, having respect and fear for them, with all your heart, as to Christ;
6 Not only under your master's eye, as pleasers of men; but as servants of Christ, doing the pleasure of God from the heart;
7 Doing your work readily, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8 In the knowledge that for every good thing anyone does, he will have his reward from the Lord, If he is a servant or if he is free.
9 And, you masters, do the same things to them, not making use of violent words: in the knowledge that their Master and yours is in heaven, and he has no respect for a man's position.
10 Lastly, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his power.
11 Take up God's instruments of war, so that you may be able to keep your position against all the deceits of the Evil One.
12 For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against authorities and powers, against the world-rulers of this dark night, against the spirits of evil in the heavens.
13 For this reason take up all the arms of God, so that you may be able to be strong in the evil day, and, having done all, to keep your place.
14 Take your place, then, having your body clothed with the true word, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 Be ready with the good news of peace as shoes on your feet;
16 And most of all, using faith as a cover to keep off all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
17 And take salvation for your head-dress and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 With prayers and deep desires, making requests at all times in the Spirit, and keeping watch, with strong purpose, in prayer for all the saints,
19 And for me, that words may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make clear without fear the secret of the good news,
20 For which I am a representative in chains, and that I may say without fear the things which it is right for me to say.
21 But so that you may have knowledge of my business, and how I am, Tychicus, the well-loved brother and tested servant in the Lord, will give you news of all things:
22 Whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, so that you may have knowledge of our position, and that he may give comfort to your hearts.
23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Grace be with all those who have true love for our Lord Jesus Christ.
(BBE)
Quick summation.
Christ died for our sins AND to open the way for the Holy Spirit. The New Age has something right in that God had to have holy places to dwell, Our "temples" had to be sanctified for the Holy of Holies to exist in them. For the Holy Spirit to dwell and save and empower. The Spirit will work to sanctify us, to burnish us to the shine of the Lord, to make us more like the One who Sanctifies.
And to make us part of the Spiritual body. The one that does the work here on Earth. The work:
Mt 28:18 And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
(ASV)
Mr 16:15 And he said to them, Go into all the world, and give the good news to everyone.
16 He who has faith and is given baptism will get salvation; but he who has not faith will be judged.
(BBE)
Keep this in mind as we pursue the discussion of weapons. I want it firmly in your mind.
1-9: These go with the previous chapter but I include them again here. There are things we can do as Christians to strengthen ourselves, ways we can live to honor Him and to build ourselves up. The list of God's commands toward us to help with that is here (http://yourtruelifenow.blogspot.com/). And the idea of that strengthening hangs in the background, Keep it there, also.
10 Lastly, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his power.
11 Take up God's instruments of war, so that you may be able to keep your position against all the deceits of the Evil One.
Moving from our own strength to His power. First we are to take up the weapons. That is the first act, the first thing to do. And the reason to take up the weapons is to KEEP our position, to hold the ground God put us on against all Satan's deceits.
Get that. These are weapons given to help us HOLD the ground, to remain in the place he has placed us. To be strong in our part of the body. Recall that Satan's attacks were against Adam and Jesus who were IN the will of God when he attacked.
https://www.gotquestions.org/full-armor-of-God.html
Answer: The phrase “full armor of God” comes from Ephesians 6:13-17: “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Ephesians 6:12 clearly indicates that the conflict with Satan is spiritual, and therefore no tangible weapons can be effectively employed against him and his minions. We are not given a list of specific tactics Satan will use. However, the passage is quite clear that when we follow all the instructions faithfully, we will be able to stand, and we will have victory regardless of Satan’s strategy.
(I would profoundly disagree with the idea we don't know Satan's strategies. I outlined them before discussing his temptations of Adam and Jesus. They consist of twisting the Word of God to suit demonic purposes, tempting us to take what may be ours but is jot yet meant for us to have and tempting us to go after what seems to be in our personal interest and tempting us to think we are God.
(He has used these tactics and they result in things haunting the church today. Christians run around talking in tongues with no translation despite the direct orders of Paul not to because Charismatics believe they have a different understanding of 1 Corinthians. As a result we have decades of spiritually unguided yapping which is often seen as clearly demonic by those raised in Satanism. We have whole churches and TV channels devoted to the idea of naming and claiming wealth and health as if they were our divine right rather than a gift of the Lord, which means we assume the place of God in doing it, demanding healing as a promise God made and HAS to do. Blab it and grab it follows the lines of Satan's temptation that we can be like God and tempting Jesus to take the world without the cross. He keeps offering the world to us and wee keeping jumping at it even as he never comes through. The key behind it all is that he wants us focused here, on this fallen world of hurting flesh and dying stars, seeing only the illusion or, seeing the illusion, deceiving us into thinking we see something for US alone beyond the illusion, a special heaven where we get all WE want.
(The thing to know is that the temptations get refined to fit each of us and their nature will change form you to me, but those tactics are so successful they don't seem to change. Making the FIRST weapon so important.)
The first element of our armor is truth (verse 14). This is easy to understand, since Satan is said to be the “father of lies” (John 8:44). Deception is high on the list of things God considers to be an abomination. A “lying tongue” is one of the things He describes as “detestable to Him” (Proverbs 6:16-17). We are therefore exhorted to put on truth for our own sanctification and deliverance, as well as for the benefit of those to whom we witness.
(This was Jesus main weapon, quoting God's truth against every temptation. Making daily study more vital.)
Also in verse 14, we are told to put on the breastplate of righteousness. A breastplate shielded a warrior’s vital organs from blows that would otherwise be fatal. This righteousness is not works of righteousness done by men. Rather, this is the righteousness of Christ, imputed by God and received by faith, which guards our hearts against the accusations and charges of Satan and secures our innermost being from his attacks.
(That seduction of our own works for whatever reason that we are better than them, all those that we discussed earlier are so deadly because they become a weapon we are deceived into believing is effective when it is in fact the way to seduce us into the demonic path of false religion. We cannot stand in our own righteousness. That is why so many false faith healers tell you you have to have YOUR faith to get healed, placing the idea of your own power in the faith when it is the spirit that gives us faith. We forget our position rather than defend it. Our position is IN Christ.)
Verse 15 speaks of the preparation of the feet for spiritual conflict. In warfare, sometimes an enemy places dangerous obstacles in the path of advancing soldiers. The idea of the preparation of the gospel of peace as footwear suggests what we need to advance into Satan's territory, aware that there will be traps, with the message of grace so essential to winning souls to Christ. Satan has many obstacles placed in the path to halt the propagation of the gospel.
(A further truth is based on my experience in fighting in martial arts and kick boxing. The most important work there is done by the feet, not just the hands. The feet need proper placement for support, for striking and connecting to maximum effect. Power in the punch and kick comes from the hip, power for the thrust of a sword as well. Feet need to move with care so balance is kept all the time. Recall Christ always wanting us to be balanced, no fear, no anger. Recall the word "position. Shoulders over the feet; body moves to an angle so the enemy has the least profile to attack. Even placement and movement calculated to keep it even so you can't be struck and knocked off balance.
(15 Be ready with the good news of peace as shoes on your feet;
(Recall too that the Gospel is the mission. Eyes focused on the mission, moving within the cause and aim of the mission. Balanced in the mission.
(There is also the tactical retreat, moving backward to regain our feet and then back to the mission.
(Never forget that sometimes the Spirit itself leads us into temptation to temper us and sometimes we fail the tests and so need to regain our balance then go on.)
The shield of faith spoken of in verse 16 makes Satan's sowing of doubt about the faithfulness of God and His Word ineffective. Our faith—of which Christ is “the author and perfecter” (Hebrews 12:2)— is like a golden shield, precious, solid, and substantial.
(Again, recall it is not YOUR faith but the faith of God made manifest in you.
John 6: 29: This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.
Summation verse for all that's mentioned above:
John 20:21-22 Then Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you. As My Father has sent Me, even so I send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.")
The helmet of salvation in verse 17 is protection for the head, keeping viable a critical part of the body. We could say that our way of thinking needs preservation. The head is the seat of the mind, which, when it has laid hold of the sure gospel hope of eternal life, will not receive false doctrine or give way to Satan’s temptations. The unsaved person has no hope of warding off the blows of false doctrine because he is without the helmet of salvation and his mind is incapable of discerning between spiritual truth and spiritual deception.
https://www.gty.org/library/bibleqnas-library/BQ060513/What-Is-the-Helmet-of-Salvation
(The fifth piece of God’s armor is represented by the Roman soldier’s helmet, without which he would never enter battle. Some of the helmets were made of thick leather covered with metal plates, and others were of heavy molded or beaten metal. They usually had cheek pieces to protect the face.
The purpose of the helmet, of course, was to protect the head from injury, particularly from the dangerous broadsword commonly used in the warfare of that day. That was not the much smaller sword mentioned later in this verse, but was a large two–handed, double–edged sword (rhomphaia, see Rev. 1:16; 2:12; 6:8) that measured three to four feet in length. It was often carried by cavalrymen, who would swing at the heads of enemy soldiers to split their skulls or decapitate them.
The fact that the helmet is related to salvation indicates that Satan’s blows are directed at the believer’s security and assurance in Christ. The two dangerous edges of Satan’s spiritual broadsword are discouragement and doubt. To discourage us he points to our failures, our sins, our unresolved problems, our poor health, or to whatever else seems negative in our lives in order to make us lose confidence in the love and care of our heavenly Father.
Since Paul is addressing believers, putting on the helmet of salvation cannot refer to receiving Christ as Savior. The only ones who can take up any piece of God’s armor, and the only ones who are involved in this supernatural struggle against Satan and his demon forces, are those who are already saved.
Trusting in Jesus Christ, immediately saves from the penalty of sin. For believers, this first aspect of salvation, which is justification, is past. It was accomplished the moment we trusted in Christ, and that particular act of faith need never be repeated, because we are secure in our Father’s hands—from whom, as we have just seen, we can never be snatched (John 10:28–29). We are forever saved from condemnation (Rom. 8:1).
The second aspect of salvation, which is sanctification, involves our life on earth, during which time we experience a measure of freedom from the dominating power of sin. Being now under God’s grace, sin no longer has mastery or dominion over us; we are no longer sin’s slave but God’s (Rom. 6:14, 18–22). Paul shows these first two aspects of salvation side by side in the previous chapter of Romans: “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (5:10). Christ’s death saved us once and for all from sin’s penalty, and His life within us now is saving us day to day from sin’s power and mastery.
The third aspect of salvation is future, the aspect of glorification, when we shall one day be saved altogether and forever from sin’s presence. Looking forward to that glorious time, John says, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). To be like God is to be without sin. We rejoice that this aspect of our salvation “is nearer than when we believed” (Rom. 13:11).
It is this final aspect of salvation that is the real strength of the believer’s helmet. If we lose hope in the future promise of salvation, there can be no security in the present. This, no doubt, is why Paul calls this same piece of armor “the helmet” which is “the hope of salvation” (1 Thess. 5:8). “Having the first fruits of the Spirit,” Paul explains in Romans, “even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved” (8:23–24). The helmet of salvation is that great hope of final salvation that gives us confidence and assurance that our present struggle with Satan will not last forever and we will be victorious in the end. We know the battle is only for this life, and even a long earthly life is no more than a split second compared to eternity with our Lord in heaven. We are not in a race we can lose. We have no purgatory to face, no uncertain hope that our own continued efforts or those of our loved ones and friends will perhaps some day finally make us acceptable to God. We know that whom God “predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Rom. 8:30). There is not the loss of a single soul from predestination to justification to sanctification to glorification. That is God’s unbroken and unbreakable chain of salvation (cf. John 6:39–40; 10:27–30).
We have a certain hope, “a living hope,” as Peter calls it. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he exults in his first epistle, “who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:3–5). When the helmet of that hope is in place, we can “greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, [we] have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of [our] faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though [we] have not seen Him, [we] love Him, and though [we] do not see Him now, but believe in Him, [we] greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of [our] faith the salvation of [our] souls” (vv. 6–9). That is the salvation which is our helmet. Our helmet is the certain prospect of heaven, our ultimate salvation, which “we have as an anchor of the soul” (Heb. 6:19).)
Romans 8:6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace:
(BBE)
Verse 17 interprets itself as to the meaning of the sword of the Spirit—it is the Word of God. While all the other pieces of spiritual armor are defensive in nature, the sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon in the armor of God. It speaks of the holiness and power of the Word of God. A greater spiritual weapon is not conceivable. In Jesus' temptations in the desert, the Word of God was always His overpowering response to Satan. What a blessing that the same Word is available to us!
Jameison, etc
:
sword of the Spirit--that is, furnished by the Spirit, who inspired the writers of the word of God (2Pe 1:21). Again the Trinity is implied: the Spirit here; and Christ in "salvation" and God the Father, Eph 6:13 (compare Heb 4:12; Re 1:16; 2:12). The two-edged sword, cutting both ways (Ps 45:3,5), striking some with conviction and conversion, and others with condemnation (Isa 11:4; Re 19:15), is in the mouth of Christ (Isa 49:2), in the hand of His saints (Ps 149:6). Christ's use of this sword in the temptation is our pattern as to how we are to wield it against Satan (Mt 4:4,7,10). There is no armor specified for the back, but only for the front of the body; implying that we must never turn our back to the foe (Lu 9:62); our only safety is in resisting ceaselessly (Mt 4:11; Jas 4:7)
If we are to stand, we must be facing, even in retreat, facing the enemy. In the Samurai code, the faithful soldier is told to test his armor, but only the front. Japanese style of fighting if based in holding the ground you have and pressing forward. Just recall we are to hold our position IN Christ. It is not about advancing to new territory when we are using these weapons. The mission is about the gaining souls. OUR warfare here is about holding our position to we can advance the Gospel despite temptations to falter.
In verse 18, we are told to pray in the Spirit (that is, with the mind of Christ, with His heart and His priorities) in addition to wearing the full armor of God. We cannot neglect prayer, as it is the means by which we draw spiritual strength from God. Without prayer, without reliance upon God, our efforts at spiritual warfare are empty and futile. The full armor of God—truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer—are the tools God has given us, through which we can be spiritually victorious, overcoming Satan’s attacks and temptations.
Spurgeon:
Ver. 17,18 He who is truly saved and knows it will wear a "helm" of health." The seat of thought and decision will be safe.
The Bible is a bright, keen, pointed, well-tempered weapon, for offence and defense, it cuts a way for us through all foes, slays sin, and chases away even Satan himself. "It is written" is the terror of hell.
This weapon of all prayer will often serve our turn when all others are out of our reach. So long as we can pray we shall not be overcome.
And Matt Henry's overview to compare and contrast. This is all important enough to deem this an apt study:
Ephesians 6:10-18
Here is a general exhortation to constancy in our Christian course, and to encourage in our Christian warfare. Is not our life a warfare? It is so; for we struggle with the common calamities of human life. Is not our religion much more a warfare? It is so; for we struggle with the opposition of the powers of darkness, and with many enemies who would keep us from God and heaven. We have enemies to fight against, a captain to fight for, a banner to fight under, and certain rules of war by which we are to govern ourselves.
" Finally, my brethren (Eph 6:10), it yet remains that you apply yourselves to your work and duty as Christian soldiers."
(I grew up with this idea even in song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG78M7g9wRo I find myself understanding the notions that we are at war, but we are not soldiers except in the sense we are to follow the orders of the Lord. We can get caught up in the idea were are nothing but a fighting force when we are a force for Spiritual conflicts and every attack is aimed specially at each of us,
Because we have an enemy with us all the time who helps the enemy on our battle, More next time.
(It behooves me to point out that the song above has two YouTube posts One contains pictures of Crusaders in full armor against historical backdrops and another shows Salvation Army folks being honored with flags and all. It was the idea of warriors carried to the extreme for the purposes of the institutional church that led to the Crusades and pushed the idea of the justified war in the hearts of those who couldn't actually read the Bible for themselves. We may argue the historic significance of driving the Moors from Spain but we saw how the ideas of physically capturing Jerusalem for God and seeing it as bringing in a New Millennium failed. W)
Now it is requisite that a soldier be both stout-hearted and well armed. If Christians be soldiers of Jesus Christ,
I. They must see that they be stout-hearted. This is prescribed here: Be strong in the Lord, &c. Those who have so many battles to fight, and who, in their way to heav. en, must dispute every pass, with dint of sword, have need of a great deal of courage. Be strong therefore, strong for service, strong for suffering, strong for fighting. Let a soldier be ever so well armed without, if he have not within a good heart, his armour will stand him in little stead. Note, spiritual strength and courage are very necessary for our spiritual warfare. Be strong in the Lord, either in his cause and for his sake or rather in his strength. We have no sufficient strength of our own. Our natural courage is as perfect cowardice, and our natural strength as perfect weakness; but all our sufficiency is of God. In his strength we must go forth and go on. By the actings of faith, we must fetch in grace and help from heaven to enable us to do that which of ourselves we cannot do, in our Christian work and warfare. We should stir up ourselves to resist temptations in a reliance upon God's all-sufficiency and the omnipotence of his might.
II. They must be well armed:
"Put on the whole armour of God (Eph 6:11), make use of all the proper defenses and weapons for repelling the temptations and stratagems of Satan--get and exercise all the Christian graces, the whole armour, that no part be naked and exposed to the enemy."
Observe, Those who would approve themselves to have true grace must aim at all grace, the whole armour. It is called the armour of God, because he both prepares and bestows it. We have no armour of our own that will be armour of proof in a trying time. Nothing will stand us in stead but the armour of God. This armour is prepared for us, but we must put it on; that is, we must pray for grace, we must use the grace given us, and draw it out into act and exercise as there is occasion. The reason assigned why the Christian should be completely armed is that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil--that he may be able to hold out, and to overcome, notwithstanding all the devil's assaults, both of force and fraud, all the deceits he puts upon us, all the snares he lays for us, and all his machinations against us. This the apostle enlarges upon here, and shows,
1. What our danger is, and what need we have to put on this whole armour, considering what sort of enemies we have to deal with--the devil and all the powers of darkness: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, &c., Eph 6:12. The combat for which we are to be prepared is not against ordinary human enemies, not barely against men compounded of flesh and blood, nor against our own corrupt natures singly considered, but against the several ranks of devils, who have a government which they exercise in this world.
(1.) We have to do with a subtle enemy, an enemy who uses wiles and stratagems, as Eph 6:11. He has a thousand ways of beguiling unstable souls: hence he is called a serpent for subtlety, an old serpent, experienced in the art and trade of tempting.
(2.) He is a powerful enemy: Principalities, and powers, and rulers. They are numerous, they are vigorous; and rule in those heathen nations which are yet in darkness. The dark parts of the world are the seat of Satan's empire. Yea, they are usurping princes over all men who are yet in a state of sin and ignorance. Satan's is a kingdom of darkness; whereas Christ's is a kingdom of light.
(3.) They are spiritual enemies: Spiritual wickedness in high places, or wicked spirits, as some translate it. The devil is a spirit, a wicked spirit; and our danger is the greater from our enemies because they are unseen, and assault us ere we are aware of them. The devils are wicked spirits, and they chiefly annoy the saints with, and provoke them to, spiritual wickedness, pride, envy, malice, &c. These enemies are said to be in high places, or in heavenly places, so the word is, taking heaven (as one says) for the whole expansum, or spreading out of the air between the earth and the stars, the air being the place from which the devils assault us. Or the meaning may be,
"We wrestle about heavenly places or heavenly things;"
so some of the ancients interpret it. Our enemies strive to prevent our ascent to heaven, to deprive us of heavenly blessings and to obstruct our communion with heaven. They assault us in the things that belong to our souls, and labour to deface the heavenly image in our hearts; and therefore we have need to be upon our guard against them. We have need of faith in our Christian warfare, because we have spiritual enemies to grapple with, as well as of faith in our Christian work, because we have spiritual strength to fetch in. Thus you see your danger.
2. What our duty is: to take and put on the whole armour of God, and then to stand our ground, and withstand our enemies.
(1.) We must withstand, Eph 6:13. We must not yield to the devil's allurements and assaults, but oppose them. Satan is said to stand up against us, 1Ch 21:1. If he stand up against us, we must stand against him; set up, and keep up, an interest in opposition to the devil. Satan is the wicked one, and his kingdom is the kingdom of sin: to stand against Satan is to strive against sin. That you may be able to withstand in the evil day, in the day of temptation, or of any sore affliction.
(2.) We must stand our ground: And, having done all, to stand. We must resolve, by God's grace, not to yield to Satan. Resist him, and he will flee. If we distrust our cause, or our leader, or our armour, we give him advantage. Our present business is to withstand the assaults of the devil, and to stand it out; and then, having done all that is incumbent on the good soldiers of Jesus Christ, our warfare will be accomplished, and we shall be finally victorious.
(3.) We must stand armed; and this is here most enlarged upon. Here is a Christian in complete armour: and the armour is divine: Armour of God, armour of light, Ro 13:12. Armour of righteousness, 2Co 6:7. The apostle specifies the particulars of this armour, both offensive and defensive. The military girdle or belt, the breast-plate, the greaves (or soldier's shoes), the shield, the helmet, and the sword. It is observable that, among them all, there is none for the back; if we turn our back upon the enemy, we lie exposed.
[1.] Truth or sincerity is our girdle, Eph 6:14. It was prophesied of Christ (Isa 11:5) that righteousness should be the girdle of his loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. That which Christ was girded with all Christians must be girded with. God desires truth, that is, sincerity, in the inward parts. This is the strength of our loins; and it girds on all other pieces of our armour, and therefore is first mentioned. I know no religion without sincerity. Some understand it of the doctrine of the truths of the gospel: they should cleave to us as the girdle does to the loins, Jer 13:11. This will restrain from libertinism and licentiousness, as a girdle restrains and keeps in the body. This is the Christian soldier's belt: ungirded with this, he is unblessed.
[2.] Righteousness must be our breast-plate. The breast-plate secures the vitals, shelters the heart. The righteousness of Christ imputed to us is our breast-plate against the arrows of divine wrath. The righteousness of Christ implanted in us is our breast-plate to fortify the heart against the attacks which Satan makes against us. The apostle explains this in 1Th 5:8, Putting on the breast-plate of faith and love. Faith and love include all Christian graces; for by faith we are united to Christ and by love to our brethren. These will infer a diligent observance of our duty to God, and a righteous deportment towards men, in all the offices of justice, truth, and charity.
[3.] Resolution must be as the greaves to our legs: And their feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, Eph 6:15. Shoes, or greaves of brass, or the like, were formerly part of the military armour (1Sa 17:6): the use of them was to defend the feet against the gall-traps, and sharp sticks, which were wont to be laid privily in the way, to obstruct the marching of the enemy, those who fell upon them being unfit to march. The preparation of the gospel of peace signifies a prepared and resolved frame of heart, to adhere to the gospel and abide by it, which will enable us to walk with a steady pace in the way of religion, notwithstanding the difficulties and dangers that may be in it. It is styled the gospel of peace because it brings all sorts of peace, peace with God, with ourselves, and with one another. It may also be meant of that which prepares for the entertainment of the gospel, namely, repentance. With this our feet must be shod: for by living a life of repentance we are armed against temptations to sin, and the designs of our great enemy. Dr. Whitby thinks this may be the sense of the words:
"That you may be ready for the combat, be shod with the gospel of peace, endeavour after that peaceable and quiet mind which the gospel calls for. Be not easily provoked, nor prone to quarrel: but show all gentleness and all long-suffering to all men, and this will certainly preserve you from many great temptations and persecutions, as did those shoes of brass the soldiers from those gall-traps,"
&c.
[4.] Faith must be our shield: Above all, or chiefly, taking the shield of faith, Eph 6:16. This is more necessary than any of them. Faith is all in all to us in an hour of temptation. The breast-plate secures the vitals; but with the shield we turn every way. This is the victory over the world, even our faith. We are to be fully persuaded of the truth of all God's promises and threatenings, such a faith being of great use against temptations. Consider faith as it is the evidence of things not seen and the substance of things hoped for, and it will appear to be of admirable use for this purpose. Faith, as receiving Christ and the benefits of redemption, so deriving grace from him, is like a shield, a sort of universal defence. Our enemy the devil is here called the wicked one. He is wicked himself, and he endeavours to make us wicked. His temptations are called darts, because of their swift and undiscerned flight, and the deep wounds that they give to the soul; fiery darts, by way of allusion to the poisonous darts which were wont to inflame the parts which were wounded with them, and therefore were so called, as the serpents with poisonous stings are called fiery serpents. Violent temptations, by which the soul is set on fire of hell, are the darts which Satan shoots at us. Faith is the shield with which we must quench these fiery darts, wherein we should receive them, and so render them ineffectual, that they may not hit us, or at least that they may not hurt us. Observe, Faith, acted upon the word of God and applying that, acted upon the grace of Christ and improving that, quenches the darts of temptation.
[5.] Salvation must be our helmet (Eph 6:17); that is, hope, which has salvation for its object; so 1Th 5:8. The helmet secures the head. A good hope of salvation, well founded and well built, will both purify the soul and keep it from being defiled by Satan, and it will comfort the soul and keep it from being troubled and tormented by Satan. He would tempt us to despair; but good hope keeps us trusting in God, and rejoicing in him.
[6.] The word of God is the sword of the Spirit. The sword is a very necessary and useful part of a soldier's furniture. The word of God is very necessary, and of great use to the Christian, in order to his maintaining the spiritual warfare and succeeding in it. It is called the sword of the Spirit, because it is of the Spirit's inditing and he renders it efficacious and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword. Like Goliath's sword, none like that; with this we assault the assailants. Scripture-arguments are the most powerful arguments to repel temptation with. Christ himself resisted Satan's temptations with, It is written, Mt 4:4,6,7,10. This, being hid in the heart, will preserve from sin (Ps 119:11), and will mortify and kill those lusts and corruptions that are latent there.
[7.] Prayer must buckle on all the other parts of our Christian armour, Eph 6:18. We must join prayer with all these graces, for our defence against these spiritual enemies, imploring help and assistance of God, as the case requires: and we must pray always. Not as though we were to do nothing else but pray, for there are other duties of religion and of our respective stations in the world that are to be done in their place and season; but we should keep up constant times of prayer, and be constant to them. We must pray upon all occasions, and as often as our own and others' necessities call us to it. We must always keep up a disposition to prayer, and should intermix ejaculatory prayers with other duties, and with common business. Though set and solemn prayer may sometimes be unseasonable (as when other duties are to be done), yet pious ejaculations can never be so. We must pray with all prayer and supplication, with all kinds of prayer: public, private, and secret, social and solitary, solemn and sudden; with all the parts of prayer: confession of sin, petition for mercy, and thanksgivings for favours received. We must pray in the Spirit; our spirits must be employed in the duty and we must do it by the grace of God's good Spirit. We must watch thereunto, endeavouring to keep our hearts in a praying frame, and taking all occasions, and improving all opportunities, for the duty: we must watch to all the motions of our own hearts towards the duty. When God says, Seek my face, our hearts must comply, Ps 27:8. This we must do with all perseverance. We must abide by the duty of prayer, whatever change there may be in our outward circumstances; and we must continue in it as long as we live in the world. We must persevere in a particular prayer; not cutting it short, when our hearts are disposed to enlarge, and there is time for it, and our occasions call for it. We must likewise persevere in particular requests, notwithstanding some present discouragements and repulses. And we must pray with supplication, not for ourselves only, but for all saints; for we are members one of another. Observe, None are so much saints, and in so good a condition in this world, but they need our prayers, and they ought to have them. The apostle passes hence to the conclusion of the epistle.
Now catch your breath. The Spirit has armed us to keep our position in Christ's body and in the mission. Now let's spend time discussing what those positions are and the other weapons of the Spirit that we call "gifts."
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