Sermon Text: Ephesians 6:10-18
Date: September 15, 2024
Event: Proper 19, Year B
Ephesians 6:10-18 (EHV)
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the Devil. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13For this reason, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to take a stand on the evil day and, after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness fastened in place, 15and with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace tied to your feet like sandals. 16At all times hold up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. 17Also take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18At every opportunity, pray in the Spirit with every kind of prayer and petition. Stay alert for the same reason, always persevering in your intercession for all the saints.
Be Strong in the Lord
Strength is a subjective concept. Maybe it’s objective on the bench press where the strongest person can lift the most. But what if that person who is physically strong cracks very quickly under pressure so that when they need that strength to help someone else, they can’t act? Are they still truly strong if that strength is never used? What if that person uses his strength at every opportunity rather than showing restraint? Are they truly strong if they can’t control their impulses?
How much of strength is optics? Can a leader who struggles in appearance and speech be strong even if they don’t appear that way in person or on camera? Can someone meek be considered strong when they are working tirelessly for the good of others? Is someone who replaces substance with emotion and passion to rile up people actually a strong leader, or just a manipulator?
Even the sentiment we might share with someone going through a tough time, “Be strong!” can be confusing. What do you mean by that? Don’t let things get you down? Maintain a positive attitude despite the circumstances around you? Identify where you need support and help, and go seek that out? Operate as if the bad things aren’t happening? Strength is subjective.
This morning, we have some examples of strength from God’s Word. We heard the classic (and narratively, one of my favorite) accounts from the Old Testament in the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, where Elijah demonstrated unwavering faith and strength in God against the prophets of a false god. Jesus showed his power over even the demons his disciples lacked the strength to drive out. In our Second Reading, which is our focus for this morning’s meditation, we have Paul’s encouragement to put on the armor of God. So, what does it mean to truly be strong? And more to the point, what does it mean to be strong in the Lord?
We first need to establish that we are in a battle. But this battle is not against other people, our neighbors in the human race. We are not set against them; instead, we are at war with the forces of spiritual evil. Paul explained it this way: Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the Devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
This is important to remember in an increasingly polarized world. Never mind the upheaval that we find in politics, people pitting themselves or being pitted against each other. But think about things from a spiritual standpoint, of matters of faith and eternity. You don’t have to look very hard to find someone who doesn’t see eye to eye with you on who Jesus is and what he did, how important that is, or what it means to be a Christian. You don’t have to search very long to find someone who considers your faith foolish, your focus on eternal, spiritual things misguided, and your desire to share your faith with others manipulative. But, even as you find so many people set against you and your faith, your battle is not with them. Your battle is with those things that would lead them away from God’s truth and into these misguided beliefs.
However, the focus on other people is, in many ways, missing the true point. We want to be aware of where there is a threat to our own souls and faith in the attacks waged by these spiritual enemies. After all, we can’t help others if we are in need of help ourselves. And so as we walk through this life where spiritual battles rage around us and even inside of us, Paul has one clear direction: Put on the full armor of God.
Paul lists several pieces of this armor set, and this imagery likely originates in Isaiah chapter 59, where God’s intervention for his people is described this way: The truth is missing, and anyone who turns from evil makes himself prey. The Lord looked and saw something evil—there was no justice. He saw that there was no one. He was appalled that there was no one who could intervene. So his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness supported him. He clothed himself with righteousness like armor and wore a helmet of salvation on his head. He dressed in garments for vengeance, and he wrapped himself with zeal like a cloak. … Then a redeemer will come for Zion and for those in Jacob who turn from rebellion. This is the declaration of the Lord (Isaiah 59:15-17, 20). God himself puts on the helmet of salvation, cloaks himself with righteousness, and serves as a Redeemer for those who had turned away from him.
Jesus was that armor-bearing Redeemer, although he didn’t look well-equipped for his battle. Stripped of his garments rather than decked out in armor, nailed to a cross by his enemies, he looked like he had lost the battle before it started. But, as is true for us, so it was true for Jesus: his battle was not against flesh and blood. He didn’t lose the battle against the Jewish leaders or the Roman authorities because he was never actually in conflict with them. Instead, he was making the ultimate stand against the Devil. There at the cross, our Redeemer won despite the apparent loss. His death paid for all sin, and his victory would take just a few days to prove when his tomb was empty because he rose from the dead.
So now we take out stand not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness. The battle that rages around us is a battle for our souls. Satan is trying to pry us away from God, to get us distracted from him, his love, and his forgiveness so that we end up losing our souls the same way he lost the battle with God. So he cowardly launches his flaming arrows of temptation at us—both to sin against God’s will and to doubt God’s goodness to us. Everything that comes from our spiritual enemies is meant, one way or another, to undermine our confidence in God, to separate us from him so that we turn our back on his forgiveness.
This battle may not always feel like a battle. Perhaps we are being pried away from God by luxuries and joys in this life, so we start greatly valuing entertainment, leisure, work we love, or anything else that captures our imagination. These things that, at first blush, feel like blessings, not danger, may lead us to value them more than we value God, to seek them out rather than be concerned about what God says and has done.
Other times, this doesn’t feel like a battle because it feels like we’ve already lost, as our spiritual enemies use fear and desperation for things in this life to pry us away from the comfort of God’s love. Anxiety goes to the extreme, fears and worries sink us into deep depression, and we may approach this life as if the battle is already over and we lost because we’ve stopped considering what God has done and can only see where we have failed.
So whether we feel it or not, see it or not, acknowledge it or not, this battle rages around us; it is enflamed within us. And as a result, we might speak of the fighting as if the outcome is uncertain. Two enter, and one will leave. It’s us against Satan, us against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. But that gives our spiritual enemies far, far too much credit. It ignores what Jesus has already accomplished. Our confidence is not that Jesus will win; it’s that Jesus did win. As a result, our confidence is not that we will win, but because of Jesus’ victory in our place, we have won. This isn’t actually a contest anymore; Jesus won! We win!
How would knowing the outcome change the way you feel about entering a contest? If you knew your team would win the championship, would you sweat the ups and downs of the playoffs? If you knew your nation would win the war, would you despair in the ebb and flow of the battle? Knowing the outcome would make weathering the storms of conflict much easier. There might still be times of distress, especially if the inevitable end slipped your mind briefly, but you could always return to the certainty of the outcome you already know for comfort.
Such is the case with these spiritual battles. Jesus already won; the conflict just has to wind down. Satan and his cohorts will rage and scream and act like they have not lost; they will try to get you to think that they have not already been defeated, but they have been. They die defeated at the foot of your Redeemer.
And your Redeemer does not leave you alone. He gives you his armor to wear to weather the storms of Satan’s death throes. Stand, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness fastened in place, and with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace tied to your feet like sandals. At all times hold up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. Also take the helmet of salvation. All of those pieces of armor serve as defense, not offense. You won’t attack anyone with a helmet or try to whip them with a belt. That’s not going to be effective at all. But that belt will hold your clothing together safely, the plate armor will protect your vital organs, the shield will render the enemy’s assaults worthless, and the helmet will protect your head.
This ultimate defense is what God provides. He doesn’t promise that we will not face trouble, hardship, or sorrow, but he does promise that they will not eternally and mortally wound us. Satan is not able to drag us away from God. Like a dog on a chain, he is limited, and like a violent criminal awaiting sentencing, he will be locked away. God is our sure and certain defense. To use a slightly different picture, we might call our God a mighty fortress.
But there is one piece of this armor set that is for offense. We are to take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The one tool, the one weapon we have to ward off all the ill of this life, is the only one we need—God’s Word. God’s Word is the certainty of our salvation—it tells us of Jesus’ already-completed victory. God’s Word is the thing that Satan cannot stand against. James encourages us, “Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Jesus himself met Satan’s head-on temptations with the promises of God from his Word and stood his ground perfectly (see Matthew 4). So, too, you and I have that sword in hand, ready at all times, to ward off the attacks of our spiritual enemies. And if we look at the description of the other pieces of the defensive armor: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation—all these, too, flow from God’s Word. God’s Word is for us both offense and defense, unbreakable and undefeatable in both uses.
Remember where we started? What is strength? How can we be strong in the Lord? His Word. Clinging to his promises, clinging to the work he’s done for us, allowing your weak self to find strength in God’s almighty power that forgives your sins and rescues you from all doubt—that is strength.
Personally, I feel like every day I understand the father speaking to Jesus in our Gospel a little bit better, not as a parent, but as a person, “I do believe. Help me with my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). This is how and where God tends to that unbelief and doubt in all of us: his Word. He wraps us in the armor of his protection and assures us of his promises to make our way through this spiritual battlefield. The end is certain; the end is victory in our Savior, Jesus Christ.
So, my brothers and sisters, today, this week, the rest of this year, and until the Lord calls you home, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. How? Put on God’s armor. Amen.
