For Christ and for the Nation (2)*

(God’s Magnificent Work Through Christ)

Eph 6:10-19

 

In the passage in Ephesians 6, four times Paul asks us to STAND. Do not escape, stand firm. How?

“Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God.”  How are we going to face this battle?

 

Paul gives practical advices about how to be armed for this battle:

Six steps in preparation:

-The first three pieces of armor should be worn before the soldier enters the battle (all the verbs are in past tense).

-The next two pieces of armor are taken up as the Christian advances towards the enemy territory,

-While the last weapon is used both for purposes of defense and offence.

 

A. Preparation for the Battle

 

1.  The Belt of truth. The soldier is ready with integrity (faithfulness)

Please notice how a Roman soldier was prepared. He wore a leather belt (6-8inch) which gathered up his long tunic in order to be ready to go. In today’s terminology it means to roll up one’s sleeves to do something: To be ready. My mom often told us how my grandfather wore his long garment (zouboun) every morning and then he wore his long belt which surrounded his body a couple of times. That meant he was ready to go.

 

We find the image of a belt in Isaiah. The word “faithfulness” in Hebrew is translated to “truth” in Greek. We read in Isaiah 11:5 “Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” This is a description of the Messiah.

 

An army needs to have soldiers who are “true”, who are “faithful”. One cannot fight the deceiver (evil) when he/she is deceitful. The best example of truth and faithfulness is Christ himself. Our battle is not ours; we are fighting the Lord’s battle. We can be prepared by wearing the belt, Christ on our waist. Christ teaches us to be true and faithful. Integrity is a quality we look for today. When we search for new candidates in the government, we look for integrity.

2. The Breastplate of Righteousness:                                                       

The breastplate was a leather-covered metal jacket shaped like a sleeveless vest. The important thing is that breastplate covers the vital parts of the body, both front and back.

We find the image in Isaiah 59:17, “He put on righteousness as his breastplate.”

We see this in the Psalms. The king will not go to the battle unless his relationship with the Lord is good.

“-Let the LORD judge the peoples.
       Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness,
       according to my integrity, O Most High.

-My shield is God Most High,
       who saves the upright in heart.”  (Psalm 7:8,10)

 

We cannot have righteousness through our deeds. Again only through Jesus we have righteousness. Only though Christ we are justified and have become righteous. Therefore when we go to our battle, our chest and back should be covered with the righteousness of Christ.

 

3. The Soldier’s Shoes: The Mobility of Peace.

We read in history books that one of the reasons of Julius Caesar’s success as a general was the fact that his men wore military shoes that made it possible for them to cover long distances.

Shoes allow mobility. What is the use of the soldier if he cannot move?

“Feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” Paul is talking about peace with God. He is talking about our relationship with God. He is talking about “Shalom”, our peace with God. Nothing paralyzes us more than losing our peace with God. The Good News is that “shoes” mean that we should take this peace all over, into the world. As Isaiah describes it:

      “How beautiful on the mountains
       are the feet of those who bring good news,
       who proclaim peace,
       who bring good tidings,
       who proclaim salvation.” (Isa 52:7)

 

B. Going to the Battle:

1. The Shield of Faith

A Roman shield was often a rectangular one. “It had two layers of wood glued together and covered first with linen and then with animal skin.” (Armitage Robinson) These are special shields to extinguish flaming arrows.

 

We Christians cannot just stand still. We move. And when we move the “devil” will throw flamed arrows to stop our mobility. These arrows paralyze our walk. These arrows could be a lot of things. It could be talks about your mission, talks about your life. It could be people who try to stop a good work you’re doing in the church.

The shield represents our faith in Christ. When we are firm in our faith, the deadly arrows cannot hit our heart. He is our shield. He protects us.

As the psalmist writes:

“We wait in hope for the LORD;
       he is our help and our shield.” (Psalm 33:20)

 

2. Helmet of Salvation

The helmet protects the head. What is the use of a soldier where his head is not protected? The helmet of salvation keeps the mind safe, reminding that this battle is the Lord’s. God is faithful, and He is committed to our salvation. We have assurance of salvation in Christ. We are protected with the salvation that Jesus delivered to us.

We read in 1st Thess. 5:8, “putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”

Marten Luther wrote the famous song A Mighty Fortress inspired by Psalm 46. There is victory with the Lord. He is our shield, helmet, fortress.

 

3. The sword of the Spirit

This is an instrument that should be used very carefully. It is defensive and offensive. In both cases, it should be used carefully.

Two incidents where the sword was used:

-Saul was a warrior and he used the spear. David was a musician and knew how to use the harp. Once Saul was encamped with 3000 soldiers. They all slept. Now David entered the cave and could easily kill Saul. But he did not touch the king. Instead he took Saul’s spear. Then he went out and shouted to Saul: “Behold the spear… the Lord delivered you into my hand, but I refused to stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed” (1 Samuel 26).    He was saying, “Saul, your weapon can not solve anything. Trust in the Lord. He will deliver you.”

-Jesus was arrested in the garden and Peter took the sword and cut of the ear of one of the soldiers. Jesus put back the ear and asked Peter to put back his sword. Jesus said, “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52)

 

In both cases the message is one, God Kingdom is advanced not by the sword, but by His Spirit, by His Word, the Scripture. Paul writes in Hebrews: “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrew 4:12)

 

Christians can be effective if the Word of God is in their hearts. Learn the word, meditate on it and “eat’ it, so it will be part of you. This is our strongest WEAPON.

 

Paul ends this part saying nothing can be achieved without prayer. Not one day, or one time, but pray all the times.

You see prayer keeps us always in touch with the chief commander. We need His presence in our lives, every day, every moment.

 

If Vartan and his friends defended the Christian faith, they were wearing the armor of God. It was a tough battle, where so many lost their lives. By the blood of the martyrs, we kept our faith, we persevered. And today we Armenians can continue the journey of our faith.

 

May God renew you today with His “armor.” May the letter of Ephesians help you to stand firm in your faith.

Amen

 

 

*Partly based on a sermon by Pastor Brian Morgan.