EPHESIANS 6:15

In this part of the book of Ephesians we have been looking at the armor that God has provided so that the believers in Jesus Christ will be properly equipped for the spiritual battle that we all will face. If you have the armor on, then you will be safe. If you do not, you will be in big trouble. Remember that the goal is to “stand.” Paul came to the end of his life and was able to say, “I have finished my course. I have kept the faith.” If you can go through the spiritual battles of life, and at the end still be looking to Jesus, you will have won a great victory. Not everyone has done that. Some started well, but did not finish well. Something happened along the way, and they fell. They must not have obeyed this admonition in Ephesians chapter 6. “Take unto the whole armor of God that you may be able to against the wiles of the devil.”

The armor of God is seen in Ephesians chapter 10 to be made up of at least seven spiritual qualities. They are truth, righteousness, the gospel, salvation, the Word of God, faith, and prayer. Concerning the gospel being a part of the armor of God that you must have on, the Bible says in Ephesians 6:15, “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” Remember that the goal is to stand and not fall. Roman soldiers were equipped with footwear that had spikes on the soles so that they would be able to stand firm in the contest. If they were to slip and fall, it would be all over. The gospel serves that purpose for the Christian. We stand firm when we are properly grounded in the gospel of Christ. It is because of the good news of Jesus Christ that we serve Him anyway. It is not because of who we are: it is because of who He is and what He has done for us that makes the difference. The devil may be able to do a lot of things against us, but he can never take away the glorious gospel of Christ. Think often of the true meaning of what Christ did for you on the cross of Calvary, and you will be well-armed for the spiritual battles of life.

Even though we are involved in a spiritual battle, it is interesting that Ephesians 6:15 calls this part of the spiritual armor, “the gospel of peace.” As followers of Jesus, we are servants of the Prince of Peace. Jesus did say, “Blessed are the peace-makers.” Jesus promised His disciples, “My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you.” The only ones who know anything about true peace are the followers of Jesus. One of the terms given in the Bible to unsaved people is “children of wrath.” Too often there is contention, there is fighting, there is disagreement, there is negative competition between human beings. The purpose of the spiritually-minded person is to bring peace: the peace that only the gospel of Christ can give. If you are not a peace-maker, then you are a trouble-maker; and you also are showing that you are not armed with “the gospel of peace.”

Ephesians 6:16 says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” If the various parts of the spiritual armor can be ranked, this one may be the most important. It does say, “Above all, taking the shield of faith…” The spiritual battle has a lot to do with faith vs. sight. “This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” “Without faith it is impossible to please God. For they that come to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Jesus was disappointed with the disciples when they did not manifest the faith that they should have had, and Jesus said to them, “O ye, of little faith!” The goal is to be at the point where Jesus would not say that of us. If you keep your faith in Christ no matter what happens to you, then you will be winning the battle of faith.

This is how the battle works: The devil causes some great trial or tribulation or sorrow to come into your life, called here “the fiery darts,” and then you must have the proper reaction to them. In order to live by faith you must concentrate on the promises of God instead of concentrating upon the bad circumstances that have happened to you. For example, there is the great promise of Romans 8:28 that says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and to them that are the called according to His purposes.” That is an important promise to remember especially when things seem to go wrong. You must hold onto promises like that and you must hold onto them like a shield. You cling to those great promises, you stand on them, and you hold them up. No matter what happens, you believe the promise instead of believing the circumstance. If you do that, you will be taking the shield of faith, and you will quench anything that the devil or any other evil force brings against you. If you have real faith in the Almighty God, then you know that the Lord Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and you know that He is so powerful that somehow He will take even the bad things done by the evil ones and turn it out for good in your regards. You may have to wait until the Judgment Seat of Christ to see exactly what good was done, but you know by faith that you will see it: perhaps in this life and definitely in the next.

Ephesians 6:17 says, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Concerning the helmet of salvation, perhaps we can think of it from the standpoint of the fact that a blow to the head in the kind of combat the Romans were involved in would likely be a mortal blow. If you have on the helmet of salvation, then you cannot receive a mortal blow. Once saved: always saved. The devil can take everything from you, except your salvation. If you are saved through faith in Christ, you have the most important thing. Jesus said, “What should it profit a man should he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?” Because of Christ, when you die, you will go to heaven. Jesus said to His believers, “Where I go, there you will go also.” Jesus also said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” If you think about the fact that through Christ you are going to go to heaven and be there forever, it does not really matter too much what happens to you in this life. Perhaps the “helmet of salvation” refers to the fact that a helmet is on the head, and of course, the head is where the brain and the thoughts are found. Make sure that you put on the helmet of salvation. Make sure that you think about how wonderful it is to be saved. Feed upon the joy of your salvation, and then you will have on the helmet as a necessary part of the spiritual armor in the battle of faith against materialism.

Ephesians 6:17 spoke of having “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” One of the things that is interesting to note about the armor is that every piece mentioned in this passage is defensive except for the sword. The sword is that which will pierce the enemy and defeat him. The sword is the word of God. Remember that this is a battle of truth against error. The truth is the Word of God. Your little philosophies of life are not the truth. Your illustrations or your jokes are not the truth. My explanations are not the truth. The truth is the Word of God. That is why He gave His Word, so that we could know the truth about Him and then speak the truth.

The rulers of the darkness of this world want to keep us quiet. That is one of their primary goals. They will try to ruin your reputation either through your own faults or through gossip, and maybe that will keep you quiet. They will put pressure on you from every direction to keep you from having your part in the spread of God’s Word. That was the last thing that Jesus asked His disciples to do before He ascended to heaven. Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel.” Paul wrote by the Holy Spirit in Romans 10:14, “…and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear without a preacher?” God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ desire that believers would learn the Word and then speak forth the Word. The speaking forth of the Word of God is essential. It spreads the Light, and darkness does not dwell where there is Light. Darkness loses its power when the Light is turned on. You are a loser in the spiritual battle unless you find how and when and where is the appropriate circumstance for you to help spread the Word. Take up the sword. It is the Sword of the Lord, a mighty sword, against which no spiritual opposition can stand. God has prepared us for the battle. He has given us a sword. God wants you to use His sword. Are you?

Even though no more pieces of armor are mentioned from this point on in Ephesians chapter six, one more thing is mentioned that is a continuation of this idea that the believer is a spiritual soldier fighting a spiritual battle, not against men but against the rulers of the darkness of this world. Ephesians 6:18 says, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” The beginning of this entire teaching on the spiritual armor was given in Ephesians 6:10, and it said to “be strong in the Lord.” No one will be strong “in the Lord” Jesus without praying to Him. You are not relying upon the Lord and you are not depending upon His strength unless you are praying to Him. You pray to Him because you know that you are totally dependent upon Him. That is why Paul wrote, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” His weakness compelled him to rely upon the Lord Christ, and the Lord Christ was His strength. When you become saved, you have access to the strength through Christ, but that does not mean that you will take advantage of it the way that Paul did.

You must pray in order to have spiritual strength for the battle. There is never a situation that does not need prayer. That is why Ephesians 6:18 says “praying always.” There is no such thing as praying too much, but there is such a thing as praying in the wrong way. It says, “with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” The previous verse told us about the “sword of the Spirit,” and now we are told to pray “in the Spirit.” A Christian must be led by the Spirit in everything that he does. A Christian must be led by the Spirit in the use of the Word of God. A Christian must be led by the Spirit in prayer. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” The gospel tells us that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. The problem that some people get into in regards to prayer has to do with the wrong kind of emphasis on human effort where prayer is viewed as the saying of words instead of as a conversation with Jesus Christ. Jesus spoke of the wrong view of prayer when He said not to use “vain repetitions.” We need real prayer where people desperately call out to God in the name of Christ. If we have that kind of prayer, we will be strong in the spiritual battle. If we do not, we will be weak. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Of course, we are praying that God would strengthen us in the spiritual battle, but our prayers do not stop there. Remember the great commandment that Jesus gave to love your neighbor as yourself. If you are going to pray for yourself in regards to the great spiritual battle, then you need to be praying for others also. They need prayer, and so the Bible says in Ephesians 6:18 concerning prayer, “and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Have you ever heard of persevering in prayer? Right here is a good scriptural basis for it. There are things that you cannot change, but you can pray about them. You can keep looking to the Lord about them. The word that is translated “perseverance” means that you are doing something that is your pattern and your calling. It is something that you are engaged in on a regular and persistent basis. The career that you have been called to is prayer between you and your Savior. The implication here is that you may not see the answer right away, but if you keep on coming to the Lord, you will eventually find what you really need. Jesus said, “Seek and ye shall find.” In other words, keep on seeking and you will find. Those who do not find are the ones who stop seeking. Those who do not obtain answers to prayer are the ones who stop praying.

In regards to the spiritual battle against the forces of evil and darkness, Ephesians 6:18 tells us to pray “for all saints.” Don’t just pray for the ones that you prefer or the ones who are in your inner circle. The very ones who need prayer the most are likely to be the ones that you are not yet praying for. Sometimes what someone needs is simply for someone to pray for them. That is the message that Paul gave here in Ephesians 6:18. It is also the message that Paul gave earlier in the book of Ephesians when Paul let the believers in Ephesus know that he was praying for them. Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:14-16, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.”

___________________________________________________