Ephesians 6:10-18, Trinity 21
✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠
We are in the midst of a war. And it’s much more than just a political or a cultural battle. Those things are important, but they are side skirmishes in a much larger and more consequential war. Many people may not even be aware that this battle is taking place, but St. Paul reminds us in today’s Epistle that it’s very real, and it’s been going on since the fall of man. It is written, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness . . .” The enemies that we Christians fight are largely hidden and unseen. For our adversary is the devil and the host of other fallen angels we call demons, each of whom has his own power in this dark world in which they war against Christ and Christ’s people. The fight is for our eternal destiny. It’s a battle for human souls.
This is important to remember, because if we’re fighting the wrong enemy, true victory won’t be achieved. Very often Christians are deceived into thinking the struggle is primarily this-worldly, that it’s a political or a social or a behavioral thing. If we would just pass the right laws or change people’s outward conduct or stop climate change or get rid of the bad guys, then everything would be fine. But that’s just a game of whack-a-mole, where you deal with one problem and another one inevitably arises to take its place. Earthly weapons and power, human strength gets you nowhere in this war. For this is not a natural but a supernatural battle. It will only be won by using the spiritual defenses and weapons that the Lord has provided us.
St. Paul writes, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” Our strength as Christians does not come from within but from the One who died and rose again for us. Do you remember the story of Gideon in the Old Testament? The children just had it in Sunday School last week. At the time of Gideon, Israel was oppressed by a powerful enemy called the Midianites. At God’s direction Gideon gathered an army of tens of thousands to defeat the Midianites. But God told him that his army was too big, that the people would think they had won a victory by their own strength. So the Lord had Gideon reduce his army down to a mere three hundred men. And by the Lord’s design, Gideon’s men deceived the Midianites into turning their weapons on each other, and Israel won a great victory over the princes of Midian. In this way God made it clear that it was only by His power that Israel could triumph. So we also pray with the Psalmist, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your Name be the glory.” God makes the weak powerful and the powerful weak. “Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.”
To help us to do this, St. Paul issues instructions like a commander to an army. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” First, put on the belt of truth, Paul says. God would have you to be defensed against Satan’s trickery by being girded up and encompassed with the saving truth of Christ and His Word. Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” And He also said, “If you continue in My Word, then you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” The devil attacks with the lie that the Scriptural account of creation isn’t true and can’t be trusted, that we need to correct it with evolutionary science. He battles with false declarations that all religious beliefs are equally valid, that you can achieve eternal life by your own goodness and spirituality. He ambushes you with empty promises that the way to happiness is to follow your own will rather than God’s will. The devil is the father of all the lies that fill this fallen world. And so only by continuing in and dwelling upon the truth of Christ’s Word are you set free–free from the power and deception of the devil, free from the bondage of sin. Keep coming to church each week. Keep having your daily devotions. And in that way keep the bombardments of the world at bay.
After the belt of truth, Paul speaks of the breastplate of righteousness. The very heart of our lives as Christians is protected by the impenetrable holiness of Christ. Galatians 3 says, “All of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ,” like a bulletproof vest. Those of you who are fans of the “Lord of the Rings” books and movies remember how young Frodo was once violently stabbed by monstrous creature in battle, but he lived because, beneath his clothing he was wearing an impervious garment of mithril given to him as a gift. Frodo survived uninjured. In a similar but much greater way, the perfect life and death and resurrection of Jesus in whom we trust covers us and defends us. Just as a breastplate would guard the heart and lungs and other vital organs of a soldier, so also the breastplate of Christ’s blood and righteousness makes our heart invulnerable against Satan.
St. Paul then speaks about your feet being fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace. Believing in the good news that peace has been made between us and God the Father through His Son Jesus, we are prepared to go out with willing feet into the battle, demonstrating the character and courage of a warrior of God. Just as a soldier’s shoes made him ready to fight on the rocky terrain, so also the Gospel of peace and reconciliation with God prepares us to do His will in this struggle earnestly and willingly.
The Epistle continues, “Above all, take the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” The image that Paul probably has in mind here is a particular type of long, thin Roman shield that went from head to toe. Historians say that it was covered in such a way that it was an excellent defense even against arrows whose tips has been dipped in tar and set aflame. In the same way a Christian’s faith in Christ and reliance on God’s promises shields him from all the fiery temptations of the devil–not just temptations to immorality, but the temptation to false belief and doubt. When the devil seeks to lead you away from Christ, when he tries to convince you you’re not really saved or a Christian, raise the shield of faith in Jesus. Remember that you are baptized into Christ. Taking refuge in the Lord, the devil’s arrows can’t touch you. With the shield of faith, the soldier of God can stand his ground.
St. Paul goes on, “Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Notice now that Paul shifts from the defensive to the offensive. After referring to the helmet of Christ–which saves us from the fatal blow, which gives us the mind of Christ–he then speaks of the primary weapon of attack that Christians have in this spiritual battle, the holy Scriptures. This is the sword that runs the devil through. Consider, after all, how Jesus dealt with Satan’s temptations in the wilderness. You know that to every test Jesus responded, “It is written . . .” And the devil was defeated; there was nothing more he could say or do. Living in this victory of Christ over the evil one, we also are to arm ourselves with the words of God and study them and meditate on them. Then we will be skilled swordsmen able to tear the devil to shreds; then we will be more than conquerors through Christ, whose Word is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
St. Paul wrapped up his battle instructions with the admonition to pray always. We dare never forget that the army of the church marches on its knees, humbling itself before the Lord in prayer in order one day to be lifted up with Christ.
And indeed, through Christ we will be lifted up in triumph over our enemy. For the outcome of victory has already been attained for us on the cross. Jesus took everything Satan could throw at Him, and yet Jesus was not defeated. Our Lord had no belt to gird Himself but only soldiers casting lots for His clothing. He had no breastplate to protect Him from the spear in His side. He had no shield to guard Him from the flaming arrows of suffering that the evil one threw at Him. Instead of a helmet He wore a crown of thorns. And yet what seemed like the worst sort of defeat turned out to be a glorious triumph, a sneak attack destroying the devil’s stronghold of sin and death from the inside out. Just as Gideon caused the Midianites to turn their weapons against themselves, so our Lord turned the devil’s weapon of death against him to crush him and defeat him. Having taken the devil’s worst in our place, Jesus rose from the dead in great victory Easter morning, assuring us that our sins have been forgiven, and that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons shall be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That same Lord Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God, interceding for us, hearing the prayers we offer on behalf of ourselves and one another, answering them for our eternal good.
So remember, brothers and sisters of Christ, we are truly in a spiritual war with eternal significance. It will not end until the end of your days. But Christ the Conqueror goes before you. “Therefore, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠