Last fall, I preached a series of sermons on the armor of God as part of a series in the epistle to the Ephesians. Today, I am not preaching any of those sermons. I am preaching this sermon on a familiar passage out of a sense of urgency for all of us (me included). It might be because we are honoring six of our own from Meadowbrooke Church who have graduated from High School. It may also be because of multiple examples we are given in the Bible of individuals who started well, but whose lives ended poorly; people like Solomon, Uzziah, Judas, and the two men Paul lists in 1 Timothy (Hymenaeus and Alexander) who did not do the things Paul urged Timothy to do, which was to, “...fight the good fight, keep the faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith” (1 Tim. 1:18–19).
Then there are the repeated admonitions throughout the New Testament; permit me to share some of those with you this morning:
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.” (Matt. 24:42)
“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” (1 Cor. 16:13)
“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.” (Heb. 2:1)
“So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:15-16)
“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 So resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brothers and sisters who are in the world.” (1 Pet. 5:8-9)
Aside from the multiple examples of the moral failure of key individuals in the Bible who started off strong spiritually and then ended badly, and the many appeals throughout the New Testament to “be careful,” to “pay attention,” to “be alert,” and to be “sober minded.” Over the past 18 years and nearly 180 hours I have spent in the book of Revelation, the thing I have seen and keep seeing is the repeated appeal throughout the book to persevere until the end:
“Be faithful until death...” (Rev. 2:10)
“The one who overcomes, and keeps My deeds until the end...” (2:26)
“Hold firmly to what you have...” (3:11)
“The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.” (Rev. 21:7)
The question is how do you finish well, stay alert, and endure until the end? I believe Ephesians 6:10-18 provides us with that answer.
The Enemy is Demonic and Real (v. 12)
We are specifically told that the struggle we face is both demonic and real. We are told in Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” The reason we are told to be strong in the Lord is because our struggle is with powerful forces that are demonic in nature: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).
The rulers, powers, world forces of darkness, and spiritual forces of wickedness are those angels who sided with Satan in his war against God. Although Satan is only one demon who cannot be in more than one place at a time, he has authority over millions of demons who obey his every command. The rulers, authorities, powers, and spiritual forces of wickedness are different demons with various ranks and responsibilities; some influence governments and kings, others have a more global influence, and many focus their attacks on individual Christians.
Now to be clear, we are told that when Jesus saved you and redeemed you through the life He lived, the sin-atoning death He died, and His victory over the grave... that He, “disarmed the rulers, powers, world forces, and spiritual forces of wickedness” and, “made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him [Jesus]” (Col. 2:13-15). In his [1]book, The Warrior Savior, Owen Strachan wrote, “The crucifixion represented a real death, but not a real defeat.”
Listen, the demonic powers have no claim or authority over you Christian except what you give to them. Paul does not mince words here and leaves no room for confusion: “For our struggle...” our fight is not just a fight, but it is a wrestling match in the way that it is not off in the distance but in your face, around you, on you, and is only interested in choking you out! And “our struggle” is not only with our flesh, but also with, “...the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Our enemy’s attacks come from afar and they come to us up close! The enemy brings his fight against us in all different way and techniques! It comes in the form of slander, false teaching, and the temptation to sin. Our fight can come in the form of doubt, depression, and deception. The battle can come in the form of persecution from friends, family, or state authorities. Believe me when I say this: the enemy knows you better than you know you, and he is strategic, deceptive, and is set on silencing or sidling you in any way possible. It is possible that you have already given the enemy ground, and you are trapped and not sure out to break free. There is One who is mightily greater than they!
The Strength of the Lord is Necessary (vv. 10, 13-17)
There is no persevering, no conquering, and no victory apart from Jesus! There is only one remedy against Satan, against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places... and that remedy is the One who disarmed them, “...having triumphed over them” (Col. 2:15). There was only One capable of doing such a thing: “And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col. 2:13–14).
Listen, when it comes to the Christian life, when it comes to standing firm, when it comes to persevering, when it comes to being a Christian, you CANNOT do it apart from Jesus! He alone is “the first and the last, and the living One; He was dead, and behold, He is alive forevermore, and it is He who holds the keys of death and Hades” (Rev. 1:17-18). The One who died is the Lamb of God, and because He is the Lion of Judah, He conquered death when He got up on Sunday morning and because He is both the Lamb and the Lion, He alone is worthy, “to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing” (Rev. 5:1-14).
When it comes to living the Christian life, you cannot do it with Jesus at a distance, you cannot do it with Him being second, and you cannot do it out of your own strength! You can only do it if He is your strength. The biblical definition for the word “salvation” is not confined to a date when you believed and said some prayer. No! The biblical definition for salvation includes the day you were saved but is only complete when you receive a resurrection and all things in creation are made new. It is of this salvation that the great multitude in heaven that includes every nation, all the tribes, peoples, and languages who cry out at the top of their lungs: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Rev. 7:10). The completion of your salvation in the biblical sense, cannot be done on your own, but ONLY in the strength and might of King Jesus (Eph. 6:10)!
Okay, so how can you be strong in the strength and might of Jesus? We are told that we do that by putting on the full armor of God (v. 11). What is the armor of God? Let me first tell you what it includes:
- The belt of truth, which is God’s truth.
- The breastplate of righteousness, which is Christ’s righteousness.
- The shoes of the gospel of peace, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ that that we stand firmly in.
- The shield of faith is our hope in God that is saturated by the truth of God’s word.
- The helmet of salvation, which is the security that we have in the assurance of our salvation.
- The sword of the Spirit is the word of God as our offensive weapon in all the armor we are to put on.
For those of you who were here for the armor of God part of the Ephesian series, what I am about to say probably will not surprise you. Each piece of the armor of God belongs to Jesus. Jesus is our belt of truth, Jesus is our breastplate of righteousness, Jesus is our peace, Jesus is our shield of faith, Jesus is our helmet of salvation, and Jesus is the Word of God. I am convinced that the way one puts on the armor of God is by abiding in Jesus. This is why the phrase “in Christ” or “in Him” or any other phrase related to “in Christ” is repeated about 36 times in the short six chapters that make up Ephesians. The only way to put on the armor is by abiding in Jesus.
What does it mean to abide in Jesus? There are scores of passages we can turn to answer that question, but I will show you two: The first is in 1 John 3:24, and this is what the apostle John wrote: “The one who keeps His commandments remains in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He remains in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (1 John 3:24). Listen, the only way you can know how to keep His commandments is if you know what His word says; His commandments are His words. The second passage that unpacks what we just read in 1 John is found in the Gospel of John through the words of Jesus:
“Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.... If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.... If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.” (John 15:4, 7, 10)
The word “remain” can also be translated “stand.” In John the Greek word that is used is abide, menō, which is a different word than the one used in Ephesians 6:10-11, (histēmi). The point is the same though, there is no standing firmly against the devil’s schemes unless you are abiding in Jesus by keeping His Word and making it apart of you. There is no taking up the armor of God if you are not remaining, abiding, or standing in fellowship with Jesus.
The Power of Persistent Prayer is Needed (vv. 18ff.)
There are six pieces of the armor of God that are typically emphasized in sermons and in books, and I listed all six that are mentioned in the Bible, but there is one more that does not get the kind of attention that it deserves.
In the Bible, certain numbers are important. The number 3 signifies divine wholeness and perfection, the number 4 symbolizes completeness in relation to creation, the number 1,000 symbolizes an extended period of time or an indefinite but great amount of time, and the number 7 symbolizes completion, wholeness, and perfection. The number 7 appears throughout the Bible over 700 times. In six days, God created everything and on the seventh day, He rested, which marked the completion of creation.
The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit are only six pieces and do not complete the set! Yet we are specifically told in Ephesians 6:11, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” There is a seventh piece that completes the set and that seventh piece that belongs to the “whole armor of God” is how you know you have put on the armor of God and how you know that you are abiding in Jesus! The seventh piece of the armor of God that completes the set is found in our dependance upon Jesus through prayer; look carefully at verse 18: “With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all perseverance and every request for all the saints...”
How does one stay alert? How can the Christian persevere? By putting on the full armor of God? How do I put on the full armor of God? By standing in the One to whom six pieces of the armor belongs and by dependently going to Him, “With every prayer and request...” How often ought we to pray? We are to pray, “at all times in the Spirit...”
So important is prayer as a part of the full armor of God, that the apostle Paul asked that these Ephesian Christians also pray on his behalf that God would do the following four things in his life:
- That God give Paul the words to say.
- That God open Paul’s mouth.
- That God embolden Paul in the opening of his mouth.
- That God use Paul to clearly make known the mystery of the gospel.
What is the point? The point is this: There is no persevering, no conquering, and no victory apart from Jesus! The only way to stay awake and watchful, the only way to keep yourself from falling into the foolishness of sin, the only way to be aware of the schemes of the devil is if you are, “strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might” (v. 10). The only way you are going to do that is if you are abiding in the Lord by keeping His word, and the evidence you are abiding in Him is if you recognize that your only recourse against His schemes is to run to God in prayer.
[1] Own Strachan, The Warrior Savior (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing; 2024), p. 21.
