YouTube video sermon
Ephesians 6:14-18a
Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Ephesians 6. We’re getting ever so close to concluding our study of Paul’s letter to the believers in the church at Ephesus. I know that it’s been a long road, but I trust that it’s been a good journey. You know, I’ve had several people say to me over the years – as we walk little by little through various books of the Bible (both Old/New Testaments) – that they never really appreciated all that was to be found in whatever book of the Bible it was until we went chapter by chapter and sometimes verse by verse through it. And if that kind of describes you, then let me just encourage you with these words: Me Too.
Listen, let me tell you something. Like a movie producer or editor, there’s so much more that I leave on the desk or the office floor because I just can’t fit it into a sermon. Those of you that have ever taught a class (of any kind), but particularly on the Bible, you know this is true. And while I wanted to preach an entire sermon on each piece of armor, I just felt like we needed to keep moving.
In fact, if you think that my treatment of these verses is a bit slim, then let me recommend a two-volume set of books by the late Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Dr. Lloyd-Jones was a Protestant minister and also a medical doctor. He served for nearly 30 years as the minister of Westminster Chapel (not to be confused with Westminster Abbey) in central London. Dr. Lloyd-Jones wrote a 375-page exposition of Ephesians 6 in 1976, and a year later he finished its companion 365-page exposition to supplement the parts that he left out in his first book.
So, you have somewhere in the neighborhood of 750 pages of homework, which is your assigned text. Some of you just had a momentary flashback, a temporary triggering of PTSD, remembering those dreaded days in school classrooms. In any event, I’m sure that you will find whatever else might be missing from the gaps in today’s sermon in The Christian Warfare: An Exposition of Ephesians 6. Speaking of Ephesians 6, have you found your spot? Follow along with me in your Bibles or on the screens.
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
We come, gracious God, entirely dependent upon the work of the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to the truth of your Word, to grant us grace in order that we might believe and rest in it. So, accomplish your purposes, we pray. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.
This morning, we’re going to consider the first three pieces of armor that Paul lists: the belt, the breastplate, and the shoes. Next week we’ll consider the shield, the helmet, and the sword.
As I mentioned last week, we’re called to “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” So, let’s be sure that we start with the proper perspective. Paul doesn’t see this as a call to me-centered spiritual warfare: “Be you. You’re powerful when you’re you. Here’s a key: Nobody can beat you at being you. Be you, because when you’re you, you activate your anointing.” No, Paul sees this through the lens of the gospel. Be strong – yes! But be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Stand firm – yes! But do so wearing God’s armor, not your own.
Why am I refocusing our attention on Jesus and the gospel? Because, again, the temptation of this world is to do things in our own strength, to take our eyes off of Christ, or to even outright forget God. Think about it. If we were completely honest, how many of us got out of bed every day this week and before we left the house for work or play or appointments or whatever – how many of us began with prayer? The truth of the matter is that most of us (pastor included) can get sucked into the ordinary and mundane nature of life to such a degree that we unconsciously say to ourselves and the watching world, “I’ve got this. I can do this. This is no problem.” And while I want to acknowledge a healthy view of self-esteem, I also want us to recognize that on most days we wake up and begin to engage in a spiritual, moral, and ideological battle in our own strength, and in our own armor, rather than in the Lord’s strength and in God’s armor.
While these verses are written to us, and they involve us, and they concern us, and there’s a personal application of these verses in our everyday, mundane, ordinary lives – the focus of these verses is NOT on you and me – it’s ultimately on Jesus and our victory in the battle because of His sacrifice upon the cross of Calvary. He’s the One that ensures victory. He’s our Savior. He’s our Redeemer. He’s our Defender and Protector. The glory belongs to Him. It’s all about Jesus.
The Belt of Truth
Now, we’ve spoken in the past a little bit about lists in the Bible and how to understand lists, what conclusions you can and can’t draw concerning lists, and that sort of thing. Well, these pieces of armor, in some sense make up a list. And while I want to be careful not to establish an incorrect emphasis of certain parts of the armor of God to the detriment of other parts; nevertheless, I find it absolutely fascinating that Paul began with the soldier’s belt. And I’m, perhaps, even more surprised that he equates it with truth.
Again, think about it with me. If I gave you a picture of a modern-day soldier, and told you to use that as your inspiration for describing the armor of God where would you start? I’d be willing to bet that almost every single person would begin with the soldier’s weapon, right? We’d start with the gun, right? Paul’s version of the gun was the sword, and it’s the last thing he mentions. He starts with something that most of us wouldn’t even include in our list: the belt.
The BDU (battle dress uniform), more commonly known to us as cammo or fatigues, consists of a pair of pants, a t-shirt, and a button-own shirt. So, there’s still a need for a belt. And it still serves the same basic function as the one in Paul’s day. To be fair, Paul’s Roman centurion didn’t have a separate pair of pants (his was a single robe, or something akin to a kilt), but he used the belt to hold the extra material up when he ran or engaged in combat. So, you took the long robe/kilt-like part and you hiked it up and tucked it into the belt. That way your legs were free to move. You were less likely to trip or be hampered when moving about. And while most of us wouldn’t have included it on our list of armor, trust me; the last thing a soldier wants is his/her pants falling down in the middle of battle. So, Paul begins, and perhaps we should too, with the belt.
Paul equates it with the “truth.” And we’re left with this question: is Paul referring to “objective truth” or “subjective truth?” Objective truth would be a statement such as the one Jesus makes in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Is that what Paul means, or is he speaking more subjectively like when we talk about speaking truthfully as opposed to being liars? The commentaries are almost split 50/50. And the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced in my own heart and mind that it doesn’t need to be an either/or proposition. It’s both.
We begin by appreciating, as Paul said in chapter 1:13, “In Him [Jesus] you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” Truth is founded in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Truth is founded in God, and Jesus was God in the flesh. The truth of our salvation is found in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection for the forgiveness of our sins.
At the same time, however; when we accept the truth of Jesus and the gospel, the Bible is clear that we become a near creation and there are new realities and responsibilities. So, when I say to myself and others that I’m a Christian, I’m a Christ-follower, I’m a believer in Jesus, what I’m also saying is that speaking truthfully is my new mandate. Again, Paul says in this same letter, in Ephesians 4:15, “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ.” So, the truth that is represented in the belt is both objective truth (Jesus is God and thus the only way of salvation) and it’s subjective truth (as His child, I should desire to speak truthfully).
And that leads me to one last comment before we move on. What’s one of the primary things that we complain about today? Not knowing who or what to trust, right? Whether it’s politics, or healthcare, or sexuality, or education, or even religion, trust and truth are absolutely essential. We’re living in a world where truth is whatever people want it to be. Yet Paul, over 2,000 years ago, writes about the armor of God and starts with the belt of truth.
As followers of the Truth, we have an opportunity to step into the moral void and shine the light of Jesus and an understanding of God and truth that corresponds with reality – not a faked version to further someone’s partisan agenda or nefarious fantasy, but a real and true version that points to salvation and redemption from sin in Jesus alone.
The Breastplate of Righteousness
This was the hardened leather plate, perhaps even metal, that was worn over the upper body of the Roman soldier. If you’ve ever watched the movie Gladiator (featuring Russell Crowe), this is the black breastplate that had the image of two horses on it (Argento and Scatto). It would be the equivalent of our modern body armor or tactical vest with Kevlar or ballistic plating. Obviously, it covers the most vital organs: the lungs, the heart, the liver, and the spleen.
Like the belt of truth, this, too, can be spoken of in objective terms and subjective terms. For example, in 1 Corinthians 1:30, Paul writes, “And because of [God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” In other words, it’s because of our union with Jesus that we even have a right standing before God. It’s objective. It’s concrete. It’s positional.
However, although I’ve been made right before God on account of my faith in Jesus and therefore I’m positionally righteous, that still means that as a child of God I’m supposed to seek to live righteously. In other words, just because my standing before God is as a righteous person, that doesn’t give me the right to live any old way I want. Because I’ve been made righteous by Jesus, I ought to likewise seek to live a holy and pure life and make decisions that reflect my position before God. James 1:19-20 puts it like this, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” See how that works?
See, the person who falsely declares themselves to be a Christian and who believes they have a right standing before God (when in fact they don’t trust Jesus), but who continuously lives outside of God’s will and, in some cases, obstinately refuses to change his/her lifestyle is vulnerable to every attack and is susceptible to every temptation.
If the vital organs are exposed, all it takes is one shot and you can be mortally wounded. While you don’t want to hurt your legs or arms or waist (or any part of your body for that matter), there is a sense in which those are not as important. That’s why we call these organs “vital.” It’s vital that we have the righteousness of Christ covering our hearts. When Satan accuses us of being unworthy, stand firm with the breastplate of righteousness that you received the moment you trusted Christ for your salvation.
The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace
I need to be careful talking about this, but I can hardly walk into my closet (or my bedroom, for that matter) because of all of the shoes. Ladies, what’s up with all the shoes? I single out ladies, but it’s not just women. Have you noticed the variety of footwear that’s available today? There’s a shoe for almost every conceivable outing.
There are shoes for basketball and running and tennis and golf and wrestling and auto racing and football. There are shoes for working in the yard and boots for riding horses and boots for working on the factory floor. There are shoes for church and shoes for the office environment and shoes for going out on the town. Name a scenario, any scenario, and there’s a shoe somewhere that was made specifically for that occasion. Then there are the shoes made specifically for an outfit, right ladies. Sandals for this dress and heels for that dress. Flats for this outfit and pumps for that one. Wedges over here and stilettos over there. It’s crazy, but the point is this: you need the right shoes for the job at hand.
Like the belt of truth, we don’t normally associate shoes with military armor. Nevertheless, it’s true. They’re just as significant as the other parts. Let’s go back to our soldier. Josephus, the Jewish historian of the first century said that part of the military prowess of Caesar’s army had to do with their shoes. Because they had superior footwear, they were able to march longer distances than their enemies. And because their enemies had inferior shoes they weren’t able to go as far.
What shoes are we wearing – shoes of readiness to share the gospel of peace. You know, we’re told in Scripture “how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news” (Isaiah 52:7). Ephesians 2:17 says, “And [Jesus] came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.” Shoes of peace represent the fact that we are no longer at war with God. Because of Christ’s atoning work upon the cross, we’ve been reconciled to Him.
How are we doing in sharing the gospel? I don’t say this to make us feel guilty. I say it to myself. In all of our encounters and all of our opportunities, have we taken the time to speak a word for the gospel, to speak a word for Christ? Are we ready to share the Good News of the gospel? That’s our commission. Those were, in fact, the last words of Jesus to His disciples. We normally think of the Great Commission as offered in Matthew’s gospel, but listen to Mark’s gospel, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16a).
As we fight spiritual battles, as we take our stand for moral and righteous living in evil days, we must remember that our goal isn’t to return vengeance or hatred to the very people that need to be redeemed, that need to be saved, but rather to proclaim peace with God through Jesus Christ.
Father, thank you for your Word. Thank you for the awareness that the task is never finished. Thank you that in every generation you raise up those who will take a stand, those who will take up the full armor, those who won’t tie themselves up in knots but will have an adaptability so as to seize the opportunities that are presented.
God, give us those eyes, give us that care, and grant that as we think about the future of our church, our community, and our world, that we might take seriously the exhortations of Scripture here. And we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.