Our Armor

Would you turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 6?

I'm going to start in v. 10 and read through v. 17.

God, would you bless your people as we read your Word.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,

against the cosmic powers over this present darkness,

against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

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 firm.

Stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth,

and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.

And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Amen.

Tomorrow morning, you wake up.

And you wake up to sounds of skirmishing going on outside your house or your apartment.

So as you get out of bed, you reach on your nightstand for your binoculars.

You're not a peeping Tom!

These binoculars have scriptural lenses that enable you to see the unseen spiritual world.

And as you bring these binoculars up to your eyes and you're gazing out at your neighborhood,

what captures your attention is something flipping down on the ground.

The rest of this thing is behind a building, so you can't see it.

But as you focus in, it's the flipping of a lion tail.

And you call to your mind 1 Peter 5.8.

Our enemy, the devil, prowls around like a lion seeking for someone to devour.

And you wonder, does anybody else know what lurks?

Does anybody else know of this lion?

Sobered up, you put your binoculars down.

As you turn away from your window to get ready for your day,

there in front of you is a seven foot chest.

It's got two five foot doors that will open towards you.

Inlaid on each door, there's a word.

Stand firm.

Stand firm.

Stand firm.

Stand firm.

This arm wore.

It takes up your whole room.

As you run your hand across the wood of that chest,

your spirit rises.

This is no ordinary wood.

This is wood that has come from a tree called Calvary.

Simply touching the wood invigorates your inner man.

The armor is not elaborate, but the craftsmanship is unrivaled.

The top molding of this chest takes the form of a crown.

And like a crown, the outer wings of the molding, they expand beyond the armor itself.

And the tips of this crown from the tops, it tapers down and into the centerpiece.

And the centerpiece itself is a cross that is a foot high.

A replica.

A replica of the cross from which this wood was harvested.

The contents of this chest, of this armor, you know, are from another country.

From a distant land.

Your homeland.

This chest was given to you the day you became a citizen of heaven.

You used to follow the course of the world.

The prince of the power there.

The evil one.

Living for your passions of your flesh.

But that all changed when God gave you ears to ears here in eyes to see.

Three years ago, your king came for you.

He delivered you.

He delivered you from the domain of darkness.

And brought you into the kingdom of the beloved son Jesus in whom you have redemption.

The forgiveness of your sins.

And oh, you long to see him.

Face to face.

Face to face.

Face to face.

Face to face.

Inlaid below the cross that is the centerpiece of the crown on top of this armor.

Inlaid right below that, but above those two doors, is the word armor.

It's a kind of inlaid brass.

With a red hue.

A hue that reminds you of blood.

Your king's blood.

Shed for you.

On the cross.

That has already won the victory.

He triumphed over the devil and his demonic hosts.

Through the cross.

His cross work disarmed the rulers and authorities.

Of this present darkness.

Victory is assured.

Victory is won.

And so before you even open up these doors, you know that Christ has won the victory.

Though your enemy is already defeated.

He is for a time on the run.

And seeking to wreak havoc.

The armor in this chest.

This armor.

This armor was forged and formed with you in mind by God.

In fact, we read in Isaiah that this armor was worn by God himself.

This armor will come to you, has come to you as a complete set.

Each piece works as part of the whole to protect you.

The armor is designed to equip you from head to toe in order to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

By and large, this armor is defensive.

You know what's in there.

But you stand back to look at these five foot doors.

Again, you look at the inlaid bronze words.

Stand firm.

And as you reach to grab hold of the bronze knobs, you know what happens?

Those words become ablaze.

With heavenly delight.

Your king delights in you opening this chest.

He wants you to put this armor on.

You're reminded of Ephesians 6.13.

Take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day.

And having done all, to stand firm.

As you open up the doors, you are met with a heavenly fragrance.

It's the smell of crab apples in full bloom in spring.

But sweeter.

It's the eternal bloom of heaven meeting you.

And instantly, it invigorates you.

Strength, as you open those doors, are met by that fragrance.

Inside the doors are inlaid more words.

The strength of his might.

This armor is for you.

To strengthen you.

To give you what you need.

And there laid out, in the order you will put them on,

is the belt.

The breastplate.

A pair of ankle-high boots that are open-toed.

A large shield.

And behind these, a platform with a helmet.

And you can see the hilt of a sword.

A sword that is living.

A sword that is lethal.

A sword that is legendary.

All given to you.

A sword that is evil.

A sword that is evil.

A sword that is evil.

A sword that is evil.

A sword that is evil.

All given to you.

So that you would be strengthened.

To stand firm against the devil.

With the doors open, you reach in and you pull out this belt.

You take hold of it.

Verse 14.

This belt of truth is the belt which is truth.

It represents truth.

Truth is reality.

The truth of a matter is the reality of a matter.

The way things really are.

And in the book of Ephesians, we've already encountered this word truth.

In Ephesians 4.21, we read that the truth is in Jesus.

And we all know what Jesus said in John 14.6, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father but through me.

When you became a Christian, you were brought into the true reality of life.

The way things really are.

And this is essential and fundamental to our living now.

It's the first thing that we put on.

A Roman legionnaire or a Roman soldier would put on this belt, which was more like a leather apron.

It would be the first thing that he would put on.

It would protect his waist and upper thighs.

And it would be the thing that he would attach his sword to on the right side.

We'll come back to the sword.

But as he would buckle his belt, this belt around his waist, he would feel the leather tighten around him.

Giving him a sense of strength.

Of confidence.

You know that phrase, gird up your loins?

That's a great phrase for what's happening here.

Gird up your loins.

Strengthen yourself with the belt of truth.

The first thing that we must do as Christians is to strengthen ourselves with the truth that is found in Christ Jesus.

Gird up your loins.

So here it is.

Here's the truth that you must tighten around your waist as the first thing every day.

Here it is.

Jesus Christ is of first importance.

That's the truth of the matter.

Jesus Christ is of first importance.

It's all about him.

Jesus really is God incarnate.

Born of a virgin.

He really lived a sinless life.

He really died as a substitute for sinners.

He was really raised from the dead.

Triumphing over sin, death, and the devil.

It's true.

It's true that he's at the right hand of God now.

Interceding for all of us at this moment.

It's also true that he's waiting for a word from his father.

The word go.

And when he hears that word go, he's coming back.

And he will make all things right.

It will be a final and very public judgment for justice to be made known.

It's all true.

God really does have a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in Christ.

It's of first importance.

And that's why Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15,

For I deliver to you as of first importance what I also receive.

That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.

That Christ was buried.

That Christ was raised from the dead on the third day in accordance with Scriptures.

You see, in the Apostle Paul's mind,

it's all about Christ.

He is of first importance.

Which makes us realize this.

Eternity is real.

Hell is real.

Heaven is real.

The judgment to come is real.

And so we tighten this belt of truth around our waist.

It's all about Christ.

It's the first thing that we put on.

It steals you for the fight.

It reminds you over and over again of why we must stand firm.

Because it's all about Jesus.

It's about His fame.

His glory.

By putting on this belt of truth,

you guard yourself from the subtle lies of the enemy

that seek to distract you from that which is of first importance.

If you're not reminding yourself regularly that Christ is first,

it's all about Him.

It's just a matter of time before something other than Christ

becomes that for which you live for.

Have you lost sight of Jesus?

Have you forgot that He's first importance?

That it's all about Him?

Well, how do you put this belt of truth on?

Well, what you do is you regularly renew your mind with God's Word.

The Bible reveals truth.

It's all about Christ.

He's of first importance.

Him we proclaim, Paul says.

For me to live is Christ, Paul says.

And He died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves,

but for Him who for their sake was raised, Paul says.

So the truth of the matter is that it's all about Christ.

That's the belt we put on first.

Buckle that on every day.

Having buckled on the belt,

we reach back in

and our hands grab hold of a breastplate.

Armor.

It's the breastplate which is righteousness.

For a Roman soldier,

the breastplate was an essential piece of armor.

It protected his vital organs.

Lungs, kidneys, liver.

Of course, his heart.

A soldier would be foolish

not to wear the breastplate into battle.

And what Paul is saying here

is that there is a righteousness

that Christians put on

that functions like a protective breastplate

against the schemes of the devil.

The righteousness that we are to put on

is not our own righteousness.

But the righteousness of Christ.

Now, I know that the word righteousness

is a church word.

Think of righteousness as being

in right standing with God.

being fully accepted by God.

When a sinner believes in Christ,

God makes that sinner righteous

in His sight.

He justifies them.

And so what Paul is telling us here is this.

We are to regularly renew our minds

with the truth of our own justification.

that God has made us righteous

in His sight.

When a sinner believes in Christ

for the very first time,

God does two amazing things simultaneously.

So a sinner hears the gospel,

they respond by faith,

and then God responds to their saving faith.

And here's what God does.

God takes the sinner's sin,

the guilt and condemnation for it,

and He takes it and places it on Christ.

The fancy word is to impute.

He imputes our sin on Christ.

And then, God pours out

all of His wrath

for our sin on Christ.

pours it out

till there is no more.

Until it's all paid for.

Do you know what the result of this is?

Here's the result.

Full and complete forgiveness

of all sin,

past, present, and future.

That's the result.

That's why Paul writes in Romans 1,

there is therefore now no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus,

those who have been justified.

Why?

Because Christ was condemned

and bore the wrath for them.

But this is only

half of justification

that we've been forgiven.

Here's the other half.

As our sin was imputed to Christ,

and God poured out His wrath on it,

Christ's righteousness

is imputed to us,

and God pours out His affection

on us forever.

Jesus lived a sinless life

fully pleasing to God His Father.

Remember at His baptism,

the words,

Oh, this is my beloved Son

with whom I am well pleased.

What God does

the moment a sinner believes

is He takes the 33 years

of Christ's perfect obedience.

Something we could never do.

And He imputes that obedience,

that rightness to us.

So not only does God

pour out His wrath on Christ

for our sin,

for giving us everything,

He imputes Christ's righteousness to us,

making us pleasing in His sight

because we're in Christ

and then in Ephesians 2,

He's able to pour out on us

for the ages to come

the immeasurable riches

that are ours in Christ Jesus.

It's amazing, isn't it?

That's your breastplate.

Justification is your breastplate.

One of the tactics of the devil

is to assault Christians

by causing them,

tempting them to doubt

their justification.

To doubt God's Word

that they are in fact

completely forgiven

and fully accepted

in God's sight

because of what Christ

has done for them.

The devil wants to undermine

our confidence

in the peace

that Christ purchased

for us through His blood.

The devil really doesn't want us

thinking about Romans 5.1.

Therefore, since we have been

justified by faith,

we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The devil really doesn't want us

thinking about Romans 8.1.

There is therefore now

no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus,

those who have been justified

by God.

You see,

believing God's Word

that we are justified

by His grace,

believing that is vital.

It's vital to our spiritual health.

It's essential to our spiritual well-being

as a Christian

and it is critical

in the spiritual fight

at hand.

It's a prime target of the enemy.

One of His tactics as well

is to keep us focused on our sin,

rather focused on our Savior.

The Savior who died for our sin.

The Savior whose righteousness

we received

was imputed to us.

You know what?

Maybe you're one of these Christians.

There are a lot of Christians

who,

though justified by grace,

they are completely forgiven

and fully accepted.

That's true of them.

So even that being the case,

they still live in fear

of a condemnation

that will never happen.

Because Christ already bore it all.

The devil is playing a game.

He's trying to keep you

from living in the fullness

of what Christ has done for you.

So what you do is

you put on the breastplate

which is the righteousness of Christ

and you stand against

the schemes of the devil.

So,

when the accuser

whispers in your ear,

sinner,

or he raises something like this,

I haven't forgotten

what you did 10 years ago.

You call yourself Christian.

only if your church needs

guilty.

You're guilty.

Anybody know that

line of lies?

Here's how you respond

with the breastplate

of Christ's righteousness.

You know, there's no denying.

No denying what I did

10 years ago was sin.

I'm not denying that.

But that sin,

along with all my other sin,

was paid in full

by my Savior

on the cross.

And He crushed your head too.

His righteousness

has been imputed to me

and that will never,

ever be revoked.

Though some of your accusations

may be true,

they no longer stick

because I'm no longer

condemned.

That's the breastplate

of Christ's righteousness.

Strap that on.

Walk through your day.

With that on,

you reach back into

the Gospel armor.

And the next piece of armor

is actually footwear.

Verse 15.

Sandals.

Which provide a kind

of readiness.

Footwear that makes you

ready to stand firm

against demonic assaults.

What Paul is referring to

is the half boot

of a Roman soldier

that was open-toed,

but that would have had

leather straps

that soldiers would wrap

around their ankles

and tie tightly

just below the calf.

For us,

it would be basically

first century high tops.

That's what they would be.

With open toes

so you can get a pedicure

if you wanted to.

That kind of a thing.

I don't think Roman soldiers

got pedicures,

but I don't know.

Furthermore,

these sandals

had studded souls

for traction.

They could dig in.

They were like

first century high top

cleats.

It's a picture of stability.

Being able to hold

one's ground

when opposed.

The idea is

to have your feet

firmly planted

to be unmovable.

And notice,

it's the gospel of peace

that makes us

unmovable.

In verse 15,

we stand our ground

against the devil

because we are

at peace with God.

That's the rationale.

We are firmly grounded

by the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

So here's how it works.

let me put it

in the form

of a question.

If I'm at peace

with God,

a peace that He purchased

through the blood

of His Son,

if I'm at peace

with God,

what can anyone

or anything

do to me?

Nothing can undercut me.

Nothing can undercut

that peace.

peace.

It was acquired

by my Savior.

Romans 8, 30-32,

and those whom God

predestined,

God also called.

And those whom God

called,

God also justified,

made peace with them.

And those whom God

justified,

He also glorified.

What then shall we say

to these things?

If God is for us,

who can be against us?

He who did not spare

His own Son,

but gave Him up

for us all,

how will He not also

along with Him

graciously give us

all things?

There is nothing,

nothing that can separate us

from the love of God

in Christ Jesus,

which means there's nothing

that the devil

can throw at us

that is able

to undercut

our peace with God.

our footing is sure.

We've got gospel traction.

We stand firm.

We're unmovable in Christ.

Now, I think it's a bit ironic,

don't you,

that what makes us ready

for war against the devil

is being at peace with God.

Don't you find that

a bit ironic?

But being at peace with God

means no human

or superhuman being

can undermine it.

this peace was secured

by Christ Himself.

Dig in.

Well, we've strapped on

our sandals.

We reach into the chest

once more

and our hands feel

a big old,

big old shield.

The shield of faith.

Verse 16.

We're to take up

this shield of faith

in all circumstances.

It's the shield

which is faith.

It's our exercising

of faith

in God

and in His Word.

Now, when you hear

the word shield,

don't think Captain America.

Don't think circular shield

that he throws.

That one,

it's cool,

but that's what Paul

has in mind.

The shield Paul

is writing about

was a large

rectangular shield

that was

four feet tall,

two and a half feet wide.

It would have

two layers of wood

glued together.

Over that would be laid

a layer of canvas.

Over that would be layered

a layer of calf skin.

And then it would be bound

by iron on the top

and iron on the bottom.

So it weighed something.

It was big.

You might be asking,

why was it so big?

Why did it have

canvas and calf skin on it?

It was that big

in order to protect

the whole body

of a Roman soldier.

And it had canvas

and calf skin on it

in order to extinguish

flaming arrows

being launched in.

You see,

at that time in history,

people, enemies,

would shoot in flaming arrows

into legions of armies.

And so what these soldiers

would do,

they dip their shield

in water

before a battle

and pull it out.

And so that shield

would not only

intercept an arrow,

it would extinguish

an arrow.

And in verse 16,

we read that our enemy

is launching

fiery arrows

into us.

The evil one

is not only seeking

to pierce us,

but to start fires

among us.

Now there are a lot

of applications

for the shield of faith.

We can go a lot

of different ways with it.

I want to go one way

in particular.

The shield,

which is faith in God

and His Word,

is not only for our

personal well-being

as individual Christians,

it's for our well-being

as a church.

The evil one

is seeking to distract

and divide us

by starting fires

among us.

You see,

what would happen

back in the day

is volleys of firing

arrows would be

launched in,

and now,

the army on the

other side of that

would have to

extinguish fires.

It would send armies

into a fright.

And it would provide

vulnerabilities and

opportunities

for further devastation.

The evil one

is seeking to distract

and divide us

by starting fires

among us.

I don't have

particular fires

in mind,

but I know

it's a tactic.

Our faith

in God

and His Word

intercepts

and extinguishes

the devil's

flaming arrows

that are intended

to divide us.

One of the greatest

temptations the devil

will use to divide us

is by

inflaming

our bruised

pride,

taking advantage

of hurt feelings

when your ideas

or suggestions

are not taken

seriously

or not acted

upon.

The devil is

seeking to exploit

disagreements

among us.

He's looking to

exploit perceived

wrongs or even

exploit when we

really do sin

against each other.

The evil one

is aiming his

flaming arrows

of division

into gaps

among us

formed when we

hurt each other.

these gaps

are real

and they are

prime targets.

That's why

in Ephesians 4

26-27

Paul says

don't sin

in your anger.

Don't let the sun

go down on it.

Don't give the devil

an opportunity.

Don't give him

a gap

to shoot into.

So here's what

we must do.

We must exercise

faith in God's Word

when we've been

wronged

or when we've

wronged another

or when we become

aware of strain

between brothers

or sisters.

When there's hurt

among us

not only do we

help the one

hurting we must

protect the rest

of us from that

hurt becoming

exploited by our

enemy.

Do you get it?

Do you get it?

So here's how we

wield the shield

of faith

from a divisive

attack

from the evil

one.

Remember

Ephesians 4

1-6

remember

Philippians

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

3-5

remember

Psalm

1-33

remember

call to mind

John 17

all these passages

about unity

about unity

about this unity

that Jesus has

purchased us

with his blood

he's made us

one body

and we are

to work hard

at preserving

the peace

work hard

at being

unified

flaming arrows

have the potential

of igniting

people's pride

and so

these

passages

shield us

from our own

pride

they help us

to walk

humbly

to die

to ourselves

and look

to others

best

in order

to preserve

the unity

purchased

by Christ

there's one

other application

with the shield

of faith

that I want

to call

your attention

to

it's this

did you notice

that we're

to take up

the shield

of faith

in all

circumstances

that means

we're to be

ready with

the shield

of faith

on our

day off

during

vacations

during our

downtime

watching tv

surfing the

internet

we must

be vigilant

at all

times

in all

circumstances

exercising

faith

well we got

the shield

of faith

on

let's reach

back in

verse 17

the helmet

of salvation

the helmet

which is

salvation

okay

in a battle

your head

is a prime

target

yes

yes

and the devil

would love

to get in

your head

not literally

but like to

mess with

your head

and what he'd

really like to

mess with

is your

identity

who you

are

what you

believe about

yourself

is critical

in this

fight

what you are

to put on

your head

is the helmet

which is

salvation

in other words

you are to

regularly call

the mind

who you are

that you are

saved

you've been

rescued

from the domain

of darkness

transferred to the kingdom

of light

you were dead

now you're alive

you are a saint

of the living

God

the enemy

doesn't want you

to remember

your true identity

a sinner

saved by grace

he doesn't want

you to recall

that not only

did God save you

from something

sin

he saved you

for something

himself

you're a holy

one

a saint

saved

when you put

this helmet

on

it speaks

to you

it says

you are mine

and you know

what we want

to say back

Psalm 119

94

I am yours

I am yours

you put that

helmet on

and you say

I am yours

I am yours

it's a tremendous

sense of assurance

we've seen

now the helmet

and now we reach

into this chest

for the last

piece of

armor

which is the sword

the word of God

the last piece

of armor

is the sword

of the spirit

it's an 18 inch

blade

that Roman

ligoniers

would wear

on the right

side

and it was

specifically

designed for

close hand

to hand

combat

did you notice

it's the sword

of the spirit

it originates

in the mind

of God

it's the bible

the word

of God

every word

of this book

originated

in the mind

of God

the Holy Spirit

moved men

in such a way

that they penned

what God

intended

not one word

more

not one word

less

this is his

book of life

for us

it's the sword

of the spirit

and it's living

Hebrews 4

12

it's lethal

2nd Corinthians

10

it destroys

strongholds

and it's legendary

we see it

operating

in Matthew 4

Jesus

swinging the sword

of the spirit

when he was

tempted by the devil

himself

three times

three times

Jesus responds

with God's word

and in the final

temptation

the devil

makes an attempt

offers Jesus

the kingdoms

of the world

only if Jesus

would fall down

at his feet

and Jesus

is like

I've had

enough

of this

Jesus

says

be gone

Satan

be gone

you shall

worship

the Lord

your God

and him

only

shall you

serve

and you

remember

what the

devil

did

he left

Jesus

exercised

his authority

to which

the devil

obeyed

we share

in Christ's

authority

we can say

be gone

Satan

and he

leaves

in Martin

Luther's

a mighty

fortress

is our

God

he says

one little

word

shall fell

him

you know

that Martin

Luther was

asked

what is

that little

word

you know

what he

said

one might

think

Jesus

but that's

not how

Martin Luther

responded

he said

liar

as in

John 8

44

liar

be gone

liar

be gone

when you

feel tempted

you are

free

and authorized

by God's

word

to say

liar

be gone

it's

Christ's

authority

so here

we are

in front

of now

an empty

chest

we've been

outfitted

from head

to toe

in order

to stand

firm

against the

schemes

of a

devil

these six

pieces of

armor were

given to you

by God

so that you

could stand

firm

there's

still the

smell of

blossoming

crab apples

in the air

you look at

the doors

the strength

of his

might

and you've

been strengthened

you've taken

to heart

each piece

it's all

about Christ

that's your

belt

you've been

imputed with the

righteousness of

Christ

that is your

breastplate

you're immovable

with the peace

of God

your sandals

God's word

repels

every

flaming

missile

that's your

shield

of faith

I am yours

is the

helmet

on your

head

and God's

word

living

lethal

legendary

that sends

the devil

fleeing

as you

close the

doors

those two

words

are still

blazing

stand

firm

God's

given you

what you

need

for in a

little while

and it's

just a little

while

you will

see him

face to

face

let me

pray

God I

do pray

that you

would

strengthen

us

revive

us

tomorrow

morning

God I

pray when

we wake

our first

thoughts will

be it's

all about

Christ

in Jesus

name

Amen