Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
+
Stand Firm in The Lord’s Armor, Jesus Christ
Ephesians 6:10-20 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can
take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and
after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In
addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take
the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with
all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for the all the saints. Pray also for
me, that whenever I open my mouth, word may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the
gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
he devil is a schemer, he plays tricks, but it’s not a game. He schemes so that we, believers in the Lord, who is God
the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, come to feel abandoned and desperate, fill with fear and run the
fight, despair over the final victory, afraid it won’t come. By his schemes the devil is engaging us in spiritual
warfare. We cannot stand against him on our own. Our native human strength, wisdom and intelligence is not protection
enough. In fact, it is completely inadequate. Paul the Apostle, therefore, encourages us today, “Finally, be strong in the
Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s
schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the
powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
T
Battle armor was something very common in the age of Jesus and the Apostles. They lived in the era of the Roman
military. Roman soldiers were armored and armed to the hilt, head to toe. Yet we should not forget that our U.S. Army
and Marines are armored today on the battlefield, fighting the Islamists. The purpose of armor is to give confidence to the
soldiers on the battlefield, that they have a fighting chance to survive when the bullets begin to fly and IEDs explode. Our
soldiers, fighting in the field today in Afghanistan, wear their helmets, and their body armor, which includes an outer
tactical vest (OTV), deltoid axillary protectors (DAP), side plates, and ballistic inserts. Our military is continuing its
search to improve the armor and overall armor coverage of the soldier’s body. In the article, “The Marine Corps Explores
New Body Armor Concepts,” dated December 2011, we learn, “United States Marine Corps Systems Command
(MARCORSYSCOM) is in the process of exploring new industry concepts for individual body armor. Dubbed Modular
Armor System (MAS), the future design is seen as allowing the individual Marine to configure and tailor the armor level
based on mission requirements” (www.defencemedianetwork.com). Yet armor can only do so much; it really can only do
so much. Our soldiers on the battlefield get wounded, sometimes very seriously, and yes, sometimes fatally. In
Afghanistan, 17,382 U.S. soldiers have been wounded, and 2,101 killed. Armor design, even that which allows the soldier
to tailor the armor level based on mission requirements, cannot help our soldiers in their minds and hearts, where each one
fights a battle inside themselves. The sense of feeling abandoned, the desperation, the despair, the depression, and
thoughts of suicide that torment many of our soldiers as they return home from the battlefield, where they lived under
great stress and loss of life far from home. The Lord’s armor, however, is not insufficient in any way. It is tailored to meet
every mission requirement we have as his witnesses of truth against the devil’s schemes and lies, armor which is
specifically designed to protect the most vital areas: the heart, soul, and mind. While the devil is a warrior, seeking to
destroy our faith, the Lord is a warrior, far mightier than the devil. The Lord’s armor and weaponry are far greater than the
devil’s ability to harm us. “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s
schemes,” Paul says.
When we have confidence in the Lord’s armor I think this enables us to change our spiritual posture as we engage the
devil and his scheming. What I mean is that we lean into the devil rather than allow him to knock us backward on our
heels. Posture says a lot. The Lord’s armor gives us confidence to engage the devil with a strong posture that says, “I am
confident to win against you. You are not going to knock me back on my heels.”
Why can we have such confidence? The Lord’s armor is battle-tested. It will not fail us when we engage in the fight that
is not against flesh and blood, our fellow citizens of the human race, but against the devil who wants to destroy us all.
How was it tested? Under the most severe circumstances, when the full force of the devil hammered against it, or should I
say, “hammered against him.” The armor is not really an “it,” but a “him.” The armor is Jesus. This is what makes Jesus
remarkable. He is Creator; he is God the Son almighty; yet he, in human form, in flesh and blood, humbled himself to be
tested by devil’s schemes. It tells us what we need to know about God. He took on flesh and blood because cares for our
flesh and blood, heart and mind, and our soul too. His caring is not mere words, but actions that took place on this very
battlefield, this valley of the shadow of death. He came to bring the fight to the devil, who had been bringing the fight to
the human race for so long, ever since the devil schemed to convince Eve drop her defense behind God’s Word so that she
might eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God had forbidden. On that day, Adam and Eve died
spiritually. Jesus came as the second Adam, the one which would win the fight that our first parents lost.
We see the battle engage when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and then was led out into the desert by the Holy
Spirit. There he fasted forty days and forty nights, and his day of evil came when the devil came to him and tempted him
to sin, shooting three fiery arrows at the Lord’s heart. 1) He tempted him to turn stones into bread; 2) He tempted him to
cast himself from the high point of the temple to test whether his Father would save him from a reckless act; 3) He
showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and promised that all of them would be his if he only bowed down and
worshipped him. What did Jesus do? He shielded himself each time with God’s Word. “It is written, ‘Man does not live
on bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” “It is written, ‘Do not put your God to the
test.’” “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord God and serve him only.’” What happened next? The devil fled. The devil
FLED! The Lord Jesus wore the armor that was complete. There were no exposed areas and the devil’s arrows couldn’t
hit their mark. I can’t impress on you strongly enough: it is essential for you to shelter yourselves behind God’s Word
when tempted by the devil. Jesus employed it himself and did so perfectly. God’s Word is armor, personally tailored to
repel every fiery arrow the devil shoots are your heart, mind, and soul. God’s Word is Jesus, the embodiment of the Word,
who came to fulfill it by defeating the devil once and for all at the cross. There, it may seem to us that the armor of the
Word failed Jesus. Was he not flogged, hit over the head again and again with a staff, was he not crucified? Where was
the armor to prevent the injuries? But the Lord’s armor, God’s Word, is not such that promises to keep our body
constantly safe from injury, but rather it protects our heart, mind, and soul from unbelief, desperation, fear and despair.
The Lord wore the armor of God’s Word and it did not fail him in any respect. It kept him safe as it had in the desert: he
did not despair of his hard mission. Rather, he patiently bore our sins and the world’s sin, including all the desperation,
fear, and despair that the devil promotes in our hearts. At the cross, the Lord offered a complete sacrifice for our sins.
When his suffering was completed, he simply said, “It is finished,” and then cried out, “Father, into your hands I
commend my spirit.” Then he died.
What happened next, on the third day, means everything, however. If Jesus had died and remained dead, the Word of God
which foretold his resurrection would have been proven false. We would be left without its protection against the devil
and his lies. But Jesus rose again to life. What confidence this brings as we shield ourselves in God’s Word! By it, we are
shielded by risen Jesus himself, who overcame sin, death, and the devil. How important, because, each of us encounters
our own moments in the desert, when, all alone it seems to us, the devil comes tempting us to give up our hope in Jesus.
He aims and shoots fiery arrow after fiery arrow to achieve this, each temptation a little different, but each deadly
effective. But we are never alone during those moments or unprotected in any way! We wear the armor that protects us
from any lie the devil tells, such as, “Lay down your shield of God’s Word; you can defend yourself against me by your
own human power,” and another is this, “All is lost. You are lost. You are mine.” Defending ourselves against him with
God’s Word, all is not lost. All is won. Jesus fought the fight and won the fight, for he died to defeat the devil and then
rose again! Therefore, God’s Word, which testifies of Jesus, is true protection for our faith in him and always will be!
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your
ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your
waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from
the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming
arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” In these,
we employ the defense we need when the devil attacks, and we unsheathe the weapon we need to take the fight to him
who has already lost. In doing so, our fellow brothers and sisters of the human race, our own flesh and blood, can be saved
with God’s Word, which is Jesus, who took on our flesh and blood to save us all! This is his bold mission.
The LORD is my shield and the horn of salvation, my stronghold. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise and I am
saved from the enemies.” Psalm 18: 2,3