“Letter to the Ephesians: Be Strengthened” Eph 6:10-20

 

We are now in the last week of our sermon series on the letter to the Ephesians and have arrived at what is arguably one of the most well known passages from this letter - the armor of God.

What Paul is masterful at is taking something that everyone knows, something that everyone sees and giving it a new Kingdom meaning. Remember that we are in Ephesus, part of the Roman word, so of course people would know what Roman armor would look like. The shield, the sword, the helmet - all of it. But Paul essentially says, you may see these things right now and think about the power of the world, but next time you see them I want you to think of the power of the Kingdom of God.

Friends, we already do this in our culture. If I would ask you what you think of when you see the cross - not many of you would say a tool of the Roman Empire to accomplish capitol punishment. We see the love of God, salvation, and God’s gift of new life. Or the dogwood tree, the lily, the manger. All things that may have one meaning in the world - usually relating to natural beauty or a specific purpose, but through the light of God, we see them with the eyes of the Kingdom of our Lord.

Unfortunately for us, sometimes it is really hard to translate ancient writings into modern English that we can understand. So we sometimes miss some really important things. For example, right at the beginning of today’s passage we hear these words “be strong in the Lord.” Now often when we tell people to be strong we are calling upon them to dig deep within themselves in order to bring forth some unknown strength. In other words its about what we can do by our own power and might, which is certainly not how this letter is calling us to be at its end. 

All throughout the letter, Paul has been reminding us who we are in God and to rely on God alone, even when it may not make sense by the world’s standards. The more accurate translation is the title of today’s sermon. Be strengthened in the Lord. It’s not about you calling upon your own reserve and strength and stamina, my friends, its about falling into the arms of Jesus and allowing him to strengthen us in ways that we simply cannot on our own.

So how do we go about finding strength in the Lord? We put on the armor of God. 

When I was little, there used to be a few Christian bookstores in the area that we would visit frequently. And I still remember in one of them seeing this kids sized version of the armor of God. It looked so cumbersome and uncomfortable, made of plastic pieces to fit over your body. But that isn’t what the first hearers of this letter would have had come to mind. They would have thought of the Roman soldiers in the area, who showed their power through the arm of the state through this armor.

To which Paul says - listen, we are putting on this armor not to go out and fight people for wealth, power, and prestige, as is the way of the world. No, we are putting on this armor to fight bigger spiritual battles. Battles that this world may not see and certainly cannot understand. We are fighting against the devil himself. 

And for that type of battle, you need to be equipped a lot differently than the soldiers and guards that you see around you.

First, you need to put on the belt of truth. Not the truth that the world tries to profess, but the truth of God. The truth that Christ has conquered the grave and will have the final victory. The truth that the darkness may try to overcome the light, but the light will not be stopped. Friends, if we do not know and step into living this truth, then there is no way we can stand firm against the devil’s schemes. It’s notable that this is the first part of the armor of God, because it is what holds the rest of the defense we have together. It girds us with the strength of Christ because we know Christ.  Not just know of Christ or know facts of what he has done, but we know him personally. We have seen how his truth has changed us in the past, so we allow that truth to guide us into the future. 

Second, is the breastplate of righteousness. Breast plates served the purpose of protecting one of the most important muscles in the body - the heart. It would be akin to a bullet proof vest today, even if that is very different from the weapons used in the Roman Empire. But it is similar in this way - you can survive being wounded in the arm or the leg - but the heart needs to be protected at all costs.

So how is the heart protected? Through righteousness. Often when we hear the word ‘righteousness’ one of the first things that comes to mind is righteousness living, which is important. But remember that we are talking about being strengthened by Christ here - so we are putting on the righteousness of our Lord. For it is only through this righteousness that we can even attempt to live a righteous life through grace - because everything has been counted to him as righteousness. When we start to think that we can live okay on our own - well friends, that is the one of the most fatal wounds to our hearts - pride.

Next, we need to check our feet to see if they are fitted with readiness. But not just any type of readiness - but the readiness of peace. Think back to the prophet Isaiah foretelling the birth of our Savior. What did he say about feet? How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news. Brothers and sisters, we need more people who are willing to allow their feet to carry them to bring good news. To go far and wide equipped by the truth and righteousness of Christ to preach the Gospel of peace. Not the peace of the world, but the peace of our Savior.

But we aren’t quite there yet. We need to pick up the shield of faith. Back in the times when Paul is writing, soldiers would do this really interesting thing with their shields. They would dip it into water before battle in hopes that when the flaming arrows would hit it, they would be deflected. So what can deflect the arrows coming at the Ephesians? Faith. 

There isn’t any specific persecution that Paul names that the Ephesians are facing, but they were harassed almost daily by their neighbors. How do you face that and not let it wear down your strength and spirit? Faith. Faith in the one who is greater. Faith in the one who has the victory. Faith in Christ alone. Under the helmet of the Salvation of Christ. 

Then Paul calls for the Ephesians to pick up the only piece of the armor that would be considered offensive instead of defensive - the Word of God. Friends, we need to actually be in the Word. Not just listen to what I stand up here and tell you on Sundays or what we study together in Sunday school or Bible Study. We need to be in it ourselves, asking the Spirit to guide us. There are lots of folks who think they know what the Bible says, but when they actually get into Scripture themselves, they realize that isn’t quite accurate. 

Finally, what binds all of this armor together? Prayer. Prayers for vigilance. Prayers for other believers. Prayers for strength. 

Friends, sometimes we may feel like we may not know how to face the world, but the good news is that we do not go anything alone. Christ is calling us to know his Word, to step into his truth, to rely on his righteousness, to claim his salvation. Live into faith in him. For through this living in and for Christ, we can do all that he has called us to do. Amen.