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Evil is real. There are physical, tangible challenges we face as we live the way of Jesus related to thoughts, emotions, people, places and things. There is also a spiritual realm in which the fight against evil is waged. God wants us to experience strength and power as we stand against evil in both the physical and spiritual planes. He gives us the equipment we need in order to not be defeated. Today, we will learn about that equipment and how it prepares us to live victoriously in Christ.

 

Consider friends, the Roman Empire. At its height of power it controlled all the Mediterranean World and beyond. What would you consider to be its greatest strength? You might offer the renowned Pax Romana, the Peace of Rome, as the empire’s greatest strength. Perhaps you think of her system of roads that united every land under her rule. Certainly noteworthy would be her government centered on the Roman Senate. I believe that at the top of the list is what enabled all of these strengths. Her greatest strength was her armies, the legions of Rome. Those legions were ultimately dependent on the disciplined valor of each legionnaire, armed and ready to face his foe.

The apostle Paul tells us we are engaged in battle. I invite you to turn in your bibles to Ephesians chapter six verse ten. In our day the most well known warrior is a fully armored and fully armed US soldier. In Paul’s day, the most well known warrior was a fully armored and fully armed legionnaire. Paul tells us that we are spiritually embattled, that we are to put on spiritual armor and he illustrates this by pointing us to the armor of a Roman soldier. I invite you to stand with me as we give voice to this part of God’s holy word either from memory or reading the words on the screen. Please join me.

Every time we read the bible, God intends for us to gain understanding through his Spirit. We pray that will be true for each of us today.

Welcome to the battle.

The movie Gladiator opens with a vivid battle scene. The commanding general Maximus, portrayed by Russell Crowe, intends for this to be the final battle in the campaign against the Gauls. Everything stands ready. Maximus has supreme confidence in his strategy and his legion. His last exchange with his trusted commanders is just three words: “Strength and honor!” Minutes later, mounted before the cavalry unit he will lead into battle, he calls them to remember, “What we do in life echoes into eternity!” And the battle commences. Strength. Honor. In life. In eternity. Every legionnaire, fully armed, takes his stand under the orders of his general and victory is won.

The battle is ours, Paul says. Paul tells us to put on the armor of God, the full armor of God, and stand firm in the face of the forces of evil in all their forms as they come against the purposes of God. Glenn assured us last week that our foe is real, the war is already won, Christ is already victorious and that Satan seeks to dissuade us, discourage us and defeat God’s work in us and through us. So we are in a battle. We are to do our part just like every legionnaire did his.

Welcome to the armory of Rome.

If we were legionnaires we would each have at least six pieces of armor by which we would be fully prepared to do our part in the battle. Paul lists them in this order: belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet and sword. Let’s consider each one in this order.

The belt was called the cingulum. Usually made of leather this belt benefitted the soldier in two ways. It provided a way for him to gather up his cloth tunic so he could move his legs freely. It also held his sword.

The breastplate was called the lorica. Covering the torso, both front and back, this piece of hammered metal provided protection for all the soldier’s vital organs.

The shoes. These caliga were open shoes made of leather and strapped in such a way to hold securely in any terrain. On the bottom were metal studs which gave the legionnaire excellent footing. The legionnaire’s shoes enabled ease of travel, agility and stability even in the most desperate hand to hand combat.

The shield was called the scutum. It was two and a half feet wide, four feet high and a palm’s breadth thick. It was made of two planks glued together, the outer surface covered first with canvas and then with leather. Its upper and lower rims had an iron edging which protected it from descending blows and also from injury when rested on the ground. It also had an iron boss fixed to it which turned aside blows from the attacker’s weapons. This feature also could stun an enemy when the shield was thrust forward offensively. The curved shape of the shield allowed arrows and enemy blows to glance off without transmitting the full force of the impact to the legionary sheltering behind it.

The helmet, called the galea, was made of bronze or iron. There were often reinforced ridges or bars along the crest or over the eyebrows. At the base of the helmet in back was a protruding, sloping piece of the same metal as the rest of the helmet that offered protection for the neck from blows that came from behind.

The sword was referred to by several names the most popular of which was the gladius. This was the Roman short sword. These swords were eighteen to twenty-four inches in length. They were two-edged so that any slashing movement would do damage to an enemy. The sword also had a tapered point for stabbing. It has been called by some “the sword that conquered the world”.

The might of the Roman Empire was secured and maintained by the men who stood firm, in their full armor, against all foes. There is no better metaphor available for Paul as he tells his readers of the battle in which we are engaged. It is a powerful metaphor, an unforgettable illustration.

But Paul clearly says our battle is not a physical battle against flesh and blood like on a Roman battlefield. It is a battle that is spiritual. Five centuries ago, one Jesus follower by the name of Martin Luther wrote about this spiritual battle. Verse after verse, he takes this text in Ephesians and affirms its truths. The words Luther wrote celebrate the great power of God in which we stand. Let’s stand and praise God together as we sing “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”.

Let’s take a moment to review what Paul has told us in this letter to the Ephesians. He first affirms who God is, who Jesus is, and who we are in Christ. Starting in chapter four, half way through the letter, he calls us to “walk worthy of our calling”. Based on who we are in Christ, we are to live 24/7 in the way of Jesus in every area of our lives in every single moment. Then, starting at verse ten of chapter six, we are brought face to face with the reality that this 24/7 walk with Jesus is actually a spiritual battle. As we live the way of Jesus, a host of evils are arrayed against us. The command we hear starting in verse ten is two-fold: “Put on the full armor of God” and “stand firm.” The battle is on.

Much has been made about this text through the years. One puritan pastor of the 17^th century commented on verses ten through twenty of chapter six taking over fourteen hundred pages to do what he considered a thorough interpretation and application of these truths. I’ve heard messages that basically begin and end with the metaphor of belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet and sword and go not much further than sounding a dire warning of the devil who may well kill us when we step around the next corner. We better, these teachers say, have our sword and shield and helmet ready as if this is a physical battle. It is most decidedly not.

We are in a spiritual battle. We have been given spiritual armor that protects us as we live the way of Jesus. What is this full armor of God? Paul tells us it consists of six pieces.

First is Truth. Truth is intended in two ways. It is the revelation of God in Christ Jesus and in Christian Scriptures. As good soldiers we are to know our marching orders. We are also to obey them. We are to live the truthful way of Jesus in all circumstances and with every person. Truth of doctrine and truth of life go hand in hand.

The second piece of our spiritual armor is Righteousness. We are made right before God through the person and work of Jesus who died for the sin of the world. This righteousness also refers to a moral, upright character and conduct. The more we live righteously, the less room there is for defeat. The more we live in obedience to our commander, the less impact evil has in us. Wherever we know our lives do not match up with God’s ways, we should stop and turn once again to full obedience. Righteousness is both what Christ has done for us and what we do as we live the ways of Jesus.

Third, we are to put on the Gospel of Peace. Everyone longs for peace. Only the followers of Jesus have it. We can stand strong when everyone else is losing heart when we are immersed in God’s peace. That peace is ours because Jesus came to be our peace and to reconcile us to God. In right relationship with him, we experience a readiness, a firmness, a resolve that can enable us to be steadfast and unmovable. Where anxiety threatens, we should re-affirm God’s peace. We are non-anxious because we are ruled by peace.

Faith is the fourth piece of spiritual armor. What does faith do for us? It sums up our entire relationship with God and it is all God’s doing. We put on faith affirming the faithfulness of God who will fulfill all his purposes for us. In faith, we do not panic. We do not lose hope in God. We believe wholeheartedly in the good plans and purposes of God even when circumstances beyond our control come against us. We stand by faith.

The fifth piece of armor is Salvation. The reality of our salvation already received in this life and of the salvation that is assured for eternity allows us to live with an unshakeable confidence. It is a gift once received and constantly applied every moment of our lives.

The Spirit which is the Word of God. This includes God’s written word, the bible. So, we need to read it, know it, live by it and share it with others. This word also is the living Word, the Lord Jesus. It is also the full activity of the Spirit of God in us so we become more and more like Jesus and so we will live the way of Jesus so the world is transformed one person or situation at a time.

Truth. Righteousness. Peace. Faith. Salvation. Spirit Word. None of this is new to us as students of Ephesians. These six are specifically addressed in the opening chapters of this letter. All of them are gifts we receive from God and are spiritual realities of who we are in Christ. “In Christ.” Remember that phrase? What did God do for us in Christ? Who are we in Christ? Paul tells us all this in the first half of Ephesians:

• we are among the faithful
• we are blessed with every spiritual blessing
• we were chosen
• we are holy and blameless
• we were predestined
• we were adopted
• we have his glorious grace
• we have redemption through his blood
• we have forgiveness of sins
• we are bathed in God’s grace
• we have the knowledge of God’s will
• we will see the ultimate fulfillment of God’s will
• we have hope
• we are the praise of God’s glory
• we were included in the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation
• we were labeled with the Holy Spirit
• we were made alive
• we are seated in the realms of heaven
• we will see the incomparable riches of God’s grace
• we were created for good works
• we are in the presence of God
• we are part of a new humanity of those who live the way of Jesus
• we live in peace
• we are reconciled to God and to all who believe
• we are joined together like a building to be a holy temple
• we may approach God with freedom and confidence
• we are not to be discouraged
• we have Christ in our hearts
• we are rooted and established in love
• we have power
• we know the love of Christ
• we are filled to the measure of all the fullness of God
• we are the glory of God

Can I get an “Amen!”? So, what is it that stands against you? Merely a defeated enemy. In another letter of Paul, he asks:

• Who can be against us?
• Who will bring any charge against us?
• Who can condemn us?
• Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

And his unequivocal answer is a resounding “No one! No thing! No how!” His exact words are, “. . . In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Are you racked with doubt that you know Jesus? Are you being ridiculed because you seek to walk the ways of Jesus? Are you mired in debt? Is your heart hardened toward your spouse, your mom or dad, your children? Are your professional aspirations falling apart around you? Are you sick? Are you tired? Pick up your armor. Pick up Truth and put it on. Pick up Righteousness and put it on. Pick up Peace and put it on. Pick up Faith and put it on. Pick up Salvation and put it on. Pick up the Spirit/Word and put it on. Pick it all up and put it on.

How do we do that? We yield, we surrender, we trust in Jesus. He is our armor. We take up and put on Jesus. As we do so we stand firm. Jesus is our armor. Take him up and put him on. What does this mean? Allow me to suggest that in every moment we know evil is closing in, we take just a moment to think these words: “Now I put on Jesus.” “I take up and put on Jesus.” “I stand here in Jesus!” This simple affirmation will give you courage to stand firm to the end.