Nakala

When young David went out to fight the giant Goliath, he must have been quite a sight. He did not look like a soldier—no sword, no spear, no helmet, no armor. Nevertheless, David was well equipped for the fight. That is because he realized that behind the physical confrontation with the mighty Philistine warrior was a spiritual battle, and for that he was prepared. Remember David’s first words to Golath? “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord” (1 Samuel 17:45).

As Paul comes to the end of his letter to the Ephesians in chapter 6, he makes it clear we are all in a real spiritual battle and there is no escaping it. So, we better be prepared—equipped for the fight—if we hope to be successful.

Here is the challenge Paul begins with in verse 10: “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” Human strength is not going to overcome the attacks we will face, because those attacks are in the spiritual realm. They take the form of various temptations seeking to pull us away from the Lord and into sin, discouragement, and ineffectiveness—temptations that effectively silence our testimony for Christ in this world.

We need to draw strength—spiritual strength—from the Lord. The Lord’s “strength” and His “might” refer to His power operating in us and through us. If we are to be victorious, we must look to Him and the resources He provides.

Those divine resources that strengthen and equip us for the battle are described in verse 11 as the “whole armor of God.” Paul urges us to “put on” this armor, which he is going to describe for us a few verses later.

Keep in mind that Paul has been under house arrest in Rome and he has been guarded by soldiers rotating in shifts. He has had plenty of opportunities to not only share the gospel with them but also to get a good look at their armor.

Roman soldiers were well prepared to defend themselves and overcome any physical threats they encountered. Paul wants his Christian readers to be just as prepared for the spiritual attacks they will face in life.

Here in verse 11, Paul calls these attacks “the schemes of the devil.” Beloved, we are no match for him without God’s help. The devil, Satan, is a powerful, fallen angel who, along with his helpers, constantly seeks to turn us away from God.

We are not fighting “flesh and blood,” Paul writes in verse 12; we are fighting against, “rulers,” “authorities,” “cosmic powers,” and “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” These terms all refer to demons, or fallen angels, and they suggest some rank or order among them. This is another way of telling us that they are powerful and organized. And they are certainly not idle.

The key to our defense, to standing firm against these schemes and strategies of the devil and his kingdom, is to put on a full set of armor—armor provided by God.

Do not misunderstand this; we are never told to mount an attack against the devil, to attempt to “bind” the devil or his demons, but to “withstand” them. That means to resist them and stand firm when we come under their attacks. The devil’s attacks come in the form of temptations to all sorts of sinful behavior: excusing immorality, giving in to pressure to act like the world, seeking approval from people rather than from God, putting a career in front of godly character, avoiding responsibilities in the home, remaining silent rather than speaking the truth and sharing with others the gospel.

How do we stand firm in life? We do so by using what God has provided for our spiritual protection. And this begins by putting on “the belt of truth” (verse 14). The Roman soldier’s leather belt was an essential strap around his waist, since all the pieces of armor connected to it in some way.

The belt of “truth” is connected to everything we do. Our lives should be characterized by commitment to what is true and living honesty in light of it. We must be people of integrity. When we are committed to this, we will be on guard and we will be guarded against Satan’s attacks.

The second piece of armor is the “breastplate of righteousness.” This is practical righteousness—in other words, this is practicing what is right. By God’s grace we have received Christ’s righteousness as His gift to us through salvation, and now we are to live it out.

The breastplate protected the vital organs—especially the heart. We need to put on this breastplate of righteousness every day, so that when temptation arrives—and it will—our hearts will be protected.

Third, Paul says we need to put on as shoes the “gospel of peace” (verse 15). The gospel, or good news, of salvation has brought us peace with God (Romans 5:1). This inner, spiritual peace prepares us to handle the battles we face in life.

Verses 16-17 list three more pieces of spiritual armor God has provided for our protection. First is the “shield of faith,” which will “extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” This term for “shield” was used of the large Roman shield, some four feet tall. Under enemy fire, the soldier would crouch down behind it.

The fiery arrows represent all the temptations that come our way, and this shield extinguishes them. This refers to the Roman soldier’s practice of wrapping his shield in leather and then, before a battle, soaking the leather with water. 

Next, Paul speaks of the “helmet of salvation” (verse 17). We are saved by grace, which is received by faith. We have nothing to do with it. However, we are to “put it on our heads,” resting our minds in the assurance of our salvation, knowing Satan cannot bring us eternal harm.

And let me tell you, beloved, most of Satan’s weapons are directed at our minds—our thoughts, doubts, and fears. So, put on the helmet that surrounds your thoughts with the truth of your salvation, by faith in Christ alone.

Finally, there is the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The Greek term for “word” here refers to individual words or passages from the Bible. When temptation comes, we must be ready to call to mind specific biblical passages, promises, and principles to combat our enemy.

When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He used the same weapon we are to use today. Three times Jesus quoted Scripture to counter Satan’s temptations. How important it is, then, that we know, learn, and even memorize God’s Word as we prepare to stand against the enemy.

Well, now that we are all dressed up in this armor, what do we do next? Paul says in verse 18 we are to be “praying at all times.” Prayer is simply acknowledging that even though we are dressed for battle, we are helpless without our Commander in Chief—our living Lord.

You could put it this way: we are all dressed up to kneel down. We are dressed for battle, and we face it on our knees, with an attitude of total dependence on the Lord.

And we are not just praying for ourselves, but for other believers as well. Paul even ends this passage by asking his readers to pray for him, not that he might be released from imprisonment, but that he might “boldly . . . proclaim the mystery of the gospel” (verse 19). To whom? Well, he has a few more Roman soldiers to witness to in the days ahead.

Now, as Paul concludes this wonderful letter, he commends Tychicus, who is delivering the letter to the church in Ephesus. And then he prays a benediction, rehearsing one final time God’s wonderful, undeserved gifts of peace, love, faith, and grace.