Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians
chapter 6. We'll be looking at verses 10
through 17 this evening. We'll take these verses as they
come. And I pray that the Lord would give us strength and encouragement
from these verses. The title of the message is Christ
Our Strength and Armor. Christ Our Strength Here in the conclusion of Paul's
letter to the church of Ephesus, he says in verse 10, finally,
finally, my brethren, be ye strong in the Lord and in the power
of his might. The apostle in this conclusion
of his letter to the church of Ephesus writes these words of
exhortation to them. Finally, brethren, Be strong
in the Lord. This is a needful encouragement
and exhortation for every believer in Jesus Christ. Everyone who
believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, be strong not in yourself. Be strong not in your mind. Be
strong in the Lord and the power of His mind. He exhorts every
one of us to be strong in Christ. Now, what believer in Christ
does not need strength? Who among us does not need strength? What believer in Christ does
not know something of personal weakness? We know something of personal
weakness, don't we? We have some experience in this
matter of personal weakness. All believers in Christ, when
we are quickened by the Holy Spirit, we begin to see something. We have not seen it fully, but
when the Spirit of God first brings light and life into our
souls, we begin to see something of our own self, our own sinful,
utter ruin and depravity. We see something of our fleshly
nature. We not only learn at the new
birth, we not only learn that all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God, but rather we know this, that we have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. I remember I used to be
self-righteous in this matter. I used to say, man, I wish so
and so could have heard this message. All the while myself,
I was lost. But when God the Holy Spirit
quickened me, I began to see my own personal sin, my own ruin. that I had sinned against God. We were once like the Pharisee.
We gave thanks. We said, thank you God that I'm
not like this person. I thank you that I'm not like
my brothers or my sister that's way out in sin. We were like
that at one time until God quickened us and then we were like the
publican. God be merciful to me, the sinner. We began to understand
that we are the sinner. And then the grace of God, by
God's grace, it came to us and God commanded the light to shine
out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give us the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We were darkness, full of darkness. But God gave us light. He began
to give us understanding of ourselves, who we are, and to know our need
of a Savior. If you've never known your need
of a Savior, then you've never been saved. God has to show us who we are,
and He gives us light and life to see not only who we are, but
who Christ is. We begin to see who He is. We know that He is the only Savior
for sinners. When God sheds the light of the
gospel in a man's heart, he doesn't know much, but he knows this.
He is the sinner, and Christ is the Savior. That's all he
may know. But I'll tell you what, that's
a gift of God's grace. That's a gift of grace. We're like that lame man that
was healed in the temple by the apostle Peter. When the apostle,
by the Holy Spirit, healed that man, that man, as soon as the
word of Peter came to him, his legs received what? Strength! Strength! And then the scripture
says he went and walking and leaping and praising God. Isn't that our experience? That
God by grace showed us our weakness, not only showed us we were lame
on our feet, but gave us strength. In the Holy Spirit, He gave us
strength in a new nature. We're like that man. He didn't
need rehabilitation, did he? He didn't need therapy. He didn't
need a cane. When the Holy Spirit gave him
strength, he stood, he walked, he leaped, he praised God. Even
so, when the Spirit of God quickened us, He gave us strength. He gave
us strength. Strength to what? To believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave us a new heart, a new
life that was not there before. He created in us a new nature. And we began to stand. Stand
on what? Stand on Christ. We began to
stand on the rock and foundation for our souls, which is the blood
and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Even so, believer, do you not
now stand on the same strength, by the same strength? We stand
now and receive all of our strength, all of our hope, all of our acceptance
with God from Jesus Christ alone. He is our strength. O child of
God, remember that this flesh is still flesh. It has not changed. Jesus told us this. He said,
that which is born of flesh is what? Flesh. It'll live flesh. It'll die flesh. It's always
flesh. It's not changed. The old man
is still the old man. He's still just as weak and prone
to sin as he ever was. Let us constantly forsake trying
to find any strength or confidence in Him. Christ did not save us by grace
and leave it to our strength to finish. Remember that. Christ did not
save us by grace and leave the rest to your strength to finish. No. Well then why do we look within
our own hearts and minds for confidence, strength, or assurance
of grace? Why do we look within? Why do
you look in this mind and try to pull out the cobwebs and try
to look around to find some assurance And I had quite a bit of experience
this week with my sickness when I was laid out on my back and
I had nowhere else to go, nobody to entertain me, nothing to take
my mind away from me. So what did I do? I began to
look within this thing here and in my heart, try to find something.
You know what I found? What I always find. Nothing.
Nothing. Nothing but sin, sin, sin. No confidence in this flesh.
Why do we suppose that we are at any time and point above any
evil or trust our own flesh to resist sin? It's then when we lean upon the
arm of flesh or trust in our own strength, we soon find ourselves
full of fear. Is that not so? You lean on yourself
for a minute, and you're going to find nothing but fears and
doubts and difficulties and troubles. You trust in this flesh, and
you will find that you are completely without any strength. Therefore, believer, let us be
exhorted right now. Look to Jesus Christ. Look to Jesus Christ as all your
strength to stand before God and all your strength to finish
the race set before you. This race that God has set before
you, this path that God has set before you, you will not finish
in your strength. You didn't start in your strength
and you won't finish in your strength. We will finish only
in the strength of Jesus Christ by the power of His might. the
power of His might. Be strong, believer, and remember
that Jesus Christ is all your righteousness. Be strong. You remember, take it to heart
that Jesus Christ is all your righteousness. In Jeremiah chapter
23 and verse 6, He is called the Lord, our righteousness. All our righteousness that we
have was made by Him, merited by Him, and performed by Him. And as a result of our union,
we are accepted with God. Do you get that? You're accepted
with God based on His righteousness. His righteousness. Did I mention
it's His righteousness that makes you accepted with God? It's all
His. In Ephesians 1, he tells us that
we have been accepted with God because we are in Christ. He
said, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made
us accepted in the Beloved, in Christ. Our union with Christ
was not based on any merit in us, not any goodness in us, not
any righteousness to be found in us, but according to God's
own sovereign will and grace. You were in Christ. His righteousness was your righteousness
from the beginning by union. Union. As a result of this union,
you have been made the righteousness of God in Him. In Him. In Jeremiah 33 and verse 16,
the Lord tells us what we have because He is the Lord our righteousness. The Scripture now turns to the
church and He says to those who are believers in Christ, you
know what your name is? The Lord our righteousness. This
is the name whereby she shall be called. The Lord our righteousness. Just as a wife takes her husband's
name. Why do you suppose that is? Because it's a picture. It's
a picture of what God has done. In our union and marriage with
Christ, we take His name because He's given us His righteousness. Therefore, God has given us righteousness,
Christ's righteousness, and we are called by His name. Not only
this, believer, be strong and remember that it was by the death
of our Savior on the cross that all our sins have been removed. Be strong. Be strong, for all
your sins have been forever put away. Go to Hebrews chapter 9.
I like this word, once. This is used several times in
the book of Hebrews, once. Speaking of the death of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 9, chapter 9 and verse
24. You remember those priests, they
had to go into that altar once a year. They had to go bring
that blood in once a year. And every year. This was a pattern. It says, For Christ is not entered
into the holy place made with hands, which are the figures
of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us. Nor yet should he offer himself
often, as the high priest entered into the holy place every year
with the blood of others. For then must he have often suffered
since the foundation of the world, but now once. once in the end of the world
hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, and after this the judgment, even so Christ was
once offered to bear the sins of many. and unto them that look
for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
Now look over at verse 9 of the next part. He said, and then
said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, speaking of Christ, O God.
He taketh away the first that he may establish the second.
By the witch will, by God's will, we are sanctified through the
offering of the body of Christ. How many times did he offer it?
Once. for all. For every priest standeth
daily, ministering often after times the same sacrifices, which
can never take away sin. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified." You, believer, who are sanctified by God, set
apart in union with Christ, you have His righteousness, and not
only that, by His one offering for sin, He has forever removed
your sin from you. Is this not to give us strength?
You bet it is. You bet it is. Be strong, believer. Be strong for the blood of Christ
that was offered once, that He bore our sins in His own body
on the tree, that He bore our guilt. Friends, Jesus Christ's
suffering was not pretend. It was real. He really endured
the wrath of God for our sins. In that God imputed our sins
to Christ, He bore their guilt, their shame, their vileness before
God's holy throne. And God's holy wrath came down
and poured out itself on Christ the Son. And He truly died in
our stead. For what purpose? To put away
our sins from us. The Scripture says in Psalm 103
and verse 12, How far has He removed our sins from us? As
far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgression
from us. Be strong. Be strong. Be strong in His righteousness,
be strong in His blood. Third, be strong in His resurrection,
believer, for He is raised from the dead and seated on the right
hand of God. Our Savior who loved us, our
Savior who died for us is risen from the dead and is ascended
to the throne of glory. He who received us as His bride,
as a gift of his father's hand and has loved us and gave himself
for us, he is now risen and has all power given to him in heaven
and in earth. Behold then the power and might
of our Savior. All power. All power, he said, is given
to me. Believer, is that not so? What then is outside of His power? Absolutely nothing. Nothing is
outside of His power. Our Lord who loved us has all
power, all strength, and all might, and by Him, by His grace,
by His love, by His strength, these graces flow to us from
His throne. These graces that He has given
us will never run dry. Isn't that our fear? Is that
not the fear that we have that somehow this is going to end?
Somehow this is going to dry up? This is too good! How can this be? No. He says it'll never dry up. It'll
never end. Because He's sitting on the throne.
He has secured our salvation. How then Shall we be able to
continue in our struggles and difficulties of this life which
is full of sorrow? Full of sorrow. Is not this life
full of sorrow? Have you not found that to be
true? This life is full of hatred, full of sin. How can we be faithful to the
duties and responsibilities as believers in Christ, seeing that
we still have this rotten corpse draped around our necks? How
can we find strength? How are we able to resist temptations
of sin so not to bring reproach upon our Savior? I tell you it's
only by the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ. Only by looking
to him who is the author and finisher of our faith. By leaning on him and not trusting
the arm of this flesh. Leaning more and more on him
who is the rock of our souls. Is that not where we get strength
from? Trusting Christ. Trusting Christ. Second of all,
Paul tells us not only to be strong in Christ. Look at the
next verse here in our text. Go back there. Look at this in
verse 11. He says, put on the whole armor
of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil. Believers, we know our need of
strength against ourselves. We know our need of strength
against this flesh. But there's another enemy, and
I would not have you ignorant of him. The greatest trick that
Satan has ever pulled is to make men think he does not exist. Oh, believer, you have an enemy.
You have an enemy. Believer, Satan is a real enemy
to our souls. He is the father of lies and
the father of murderers. He is a murderer from the beginning.
And there is no being that hates us more than he does. I tell
you, there's some people that might hate you, but there's no
one that hates you as much as he does. He despises you. He hates you with full, unadulterated
hatred. And He would have nothing more
than to see your soul ruined. Ruined. Let us not be ignorant
then of His wiles. What is the word wiles? We don't
use it. It means deceptions, trickeries. Deceit. Although He is powerful. And
I tell you, your enemy is powerful, friends. Remember the Lord told
Peter this. He said, Satan desired to sift
you as wheat. How easily is wheat sifted? All
it is is thrown in the air. You throw wheat in the air, that's
how it's sifted. He's easily to sift you or me. I tell you, He's of greater power
than we are. Don't shun to know your enemy. If you do, it's to the peril
of your own souls. Yet, He is not greater of power
than our Lord. Jesus said, But I have prayed
for thee, that thy faith fail not. But despite His power, Let
us be aware that His wiles are not any different than they were
from the beginning. The lust of the eyes, the lust
of the flesh, and the pride of life. These are the same things
He deceived our mother Eve with. And they're the same wiles that
He tries to deceive us with. And all these All of these appeal
to our natural man. All of it, listen to me, all
of his wiles, all of his deceptions appeal to the natural man. To that old man that is in us,
every trick is like a metal to magnet. It's attracted to it
and it can't do anything to separate itself from it. There is no strength in the old
man to resist none. No strength for the old man is
always sinning. And just to mention sin. Doesn't
that just bring sin to our mind? When I say sin, doesn't sin pop
in our mind? It just comes out. It can't control
itself. It is totally irresistible to
the old man, his wiles. A whisper from the devil in our
ears brings forth rebellion and unbelief. How many wicked thoughts
have come from nowhere? How many thoughts that you would
never voice to anyone. Where do they come from? Why
do they come in so easily? They come into our soul and cause
us to doubt God's Word. To doubt all those strengths
that I just mentioned. All of those things that Christ
did. What comes to our minds when He whispers in our ears.
Doubts and fears arise so quickly. How can we stand against such
a foe whose wiles we're so easily prone to? How can we be faithful
to our God, seeing that there is no strength in us to resist
Him? Because our strength comes from
the Lord. This is how we are to resist
Him. And Paul uses the metaphor here
of armor. Armor. He says, put on the whole
armor of God. put on the whole armor of God. 4, verse 12, we wrestle not against
flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places. Listen to me, your fight is not
with flesh and blood. Your fight is a spiritual struggle. It is a real and spiritual struggle. Therefore, you do not need carnal
means to help. You need spiritual things. Spiritual
things. How foolish is it for a man to
look for physical cures to a spiritual disease? Isn't that what works
religion does? Looks to physical cures for spiritual
disease. Why then would we look to physical
means Look to carnal means to fight a spiritual enemy. I know you get tired. But I tell
you, it's not flesh and blood you're dealing with. Coffee will
not help this. Coffee won't help. It's a spiritual
struggle. And even if you were awake, what
would your mind be doing if you had coffee? It'd be wandering
somewhere else. It'd be going in 12 different
directions. This is a spiritual matter. We
wrestle not against flesh and blood. Our enemies are not governments. They're not people. We don't
wrestle with flesh and blood. What if you could have everything? All the government that you wanted.
You wanted a good government. You got it. You wanted financial
security. You got it. You wanted your family
and your friends to be the best that they are. You got it. Then
what? Do you suppose everything would
be well? Do you suppose that the warfare would cease? That
your flesh would say, ah, I'm satisfied, that's enough. Do
you suppose the enemy would stop harassing you and attacking you?
No, he will not. Wake up, my soul. You're at war. You're at war. You're at war with spiritual
foes, rulers of the darkness. This world will never love you
nor Christ. This world will never cease and
neither will their master cease from seeking your utter ruin
and the blasphemy of your Savior's name. Consider his tenaciousness. Even
though he knows his doom is sure, even though he knows that none
of Christ's redeemed shall be lost, yet he still is tenacious
and will not cease in his hatred, will not cease to cause your soul to be ruined. Therefore, in conclusion, let
us see what are the things that we have in this spiritual armory. First of all, he says, put on,
he says in verse 13, wherefore taken to you the whole armor
of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all to stand, stand therefore, having your
lorns girt about with truth, What holds this whole thing up
is the belt. Got a belt. I got it on for a
reason. So my pants don't fall. The belt,
that's what it's for. And that's what he's saying.
Put on the belt of truth. What is the belt of truth? It
is the Word of God. Friends, this is the foundation
for all our strength and hope and faith. It is the Word of
God. Gird on the truth. The Word of God is the belt of
truth that holds the whole armor together. I tell you, this is
why he would take one sentence, one word, and try to discredit
one, because if he could discredit one, the whole thing is worthless.
But friends, he can't. This is the truth. This Word
is the Word of God, and the sum and substance of this Word is
Jesus Christ. Now, the enemy would have you
try to find anything else in this book but Jesus Christ. He'd
have you look in here and find your financial future. He'd love
you to have in here and find out how to have a good marriage.
And he'd love for you to look at these verses, tell you how
to be a good person and how to walk right and how to obey the
law. He'd love for you to see those things, but that's not
what it's for. This whole book is about the
Lord Jesus Christ, and every time you open it, you should
find Him. You should find Him first. I know you want to find your
situation. You want to find yourself. Find
Christ first. Find Him first. He is the sum
and substance of the book. He is the truth. He is the true
God and He is truly man. He is the true and faithful High
Priest and He is the true Savior of man. Second of all, put on
the breastplate of righteousness. Having the breastplate of righteousness.
What does the breastplate do? It protects the vital organs.
What is the vital organ of the gospel? It is righteousness.
You want to know what the gospel is about? It's about righteousness.
Without righteousness, we cannot be accepted with God. Righteousness
is the sum and substance of the gospel. It is the heart of the
gospel. Righteousness. Put on the righteousness
the blessed plate of righteousness. This is his favorite target.
He says, how in the world can you be accepted by God? You.
You are so vile and you are so full of sin. How do you think
for one minute God will accept you? Who's not thought that? Who's not had that enter their
heart even in this hour? To which we must answer truth. All I am is vile and sinful,
but my righteousness does not depend upon me. The righteousness
of mine depends completely upon the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He is all our righteousness. Praise God our righteousness
does not come from our obedience but from His. Praise God that
that righteousness is not imputed to me because of my faith in
Him but rather it was made by His faith. And by the grace of
faith it was given to me. You gird that truth on according
to the Word of God that we are made righteous by His righteousness. And thirdly, the shoes of the
gospel. Believer, let us hold fast to
the truth of the blood of Jesus Christ. He says, and shod your
feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. In Colossians 1.20, It says,
He hath made peace by the blood of His cross. We will not make our peace with
God. Christ has already made our peace,
and you should shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel
of His peace which comes by His blood. These shoes that these
soldiers would wear, they're not just regular flat-footed
shoes, they're more like cleats. They had big spikes in the bottom
of these shoes that were curled backwards for a reason so that
they would dig down into the ground so that they can hold
their ground. Hold their ground. How is it
we can hold our ground against such a foe as Satan who is more
powerful than we? How is it that we can stand our
ground? How is it that we can have such
hope and confidence? It is in the blood of Jesus Christ
that is rooted down as our foundation by which we stand. The blood
of Jesus Christ has made our peace with God. What can wash
away my sins? Nothing. but the blood of Jesus. What gave you peace with God?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. I'll tell you, He comes in sometimes
and tells you your God is angry with you. Is that not so? Has
He not whispered, boy, God's mad at you? You've done it this
time. I tell you, our God chastens
us as a father does his children, but he does it not out of anger,
but out of love and grace. Our Father chastens us out of
love and mercy, so no matter our circumstances, our peace
is not rooted in circumstances. Who hasn't looked at their circumstances
and then judged whether they're They're standing with God based
on their circumstances. We've done it. How foolish is
that? There's no standing there. What
is the foundation? It is the blood of Jesus Christ. And fourthly, the shield of faith.
The Spartans used to have a saying. When they went into battle, they
said to their mothers, I will return with my shield or on it. They knew the importance of the
shield. It was the most vital piece of
armor. And I tell you, the shield of faith, dear friends, is the
most vital piece that we must have with us. We must believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and keep on believing. Trust and
keep on trusting. Believe now. Don't trust in what
went before or what's coming up. Believe in Christ now. The enemy may pose many great
questions that we may not be able to answer because of our
ignorance. But may God give us grace to
uphold the shield of faith and say with Jack the Huckster, I'm a sinner and nothing at all. But Jesus Christ is my all in
all. And fifthly, the helmet of salvation.
This is to guard the mind. Oh, how my mind is so easily confused. Easily confused. How is it that
we should protect the mind? By thinking. of God's great salvation. The salvation of God is the helmet
that adorns our heads and protects our minds. Let us keep our minds
focused on the eternal grace of God. Consider God who purposed
salvation. Consider Christ who accomplished
salvation. Consider the Spirit of God who
keeps us in the faith and causes us to grow in every grace and
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when you've learned all you
can learn, You've just begun. You've not even begun to scratch
the surface of this matter of salvation. When you think you've
learned enough, then what you've done is taken the helmet off
and put it in the closet. What good kind of helmet is that?
It's not good for anything. May God help us to grow in these
graces, to grow in our knowledge of God's grace and mercy. And
lastly, the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. This is the
only offensive weapon we have, but surely it is only powerful
in the hands of the Holy Spirit. I tell you what, sometimes we
take this book and we wield it like a crazy person. The sword
of the Spirit, the Word of God, we just swing it around and nothing
happens. Nothing. But in the hands of the Spirit
of God, it accomplishes everything He intends it to do. May God teach us to war with
the right hand and with the left in this matter of preaching the
gospel of God's grace. Believer, let us be strong in
our Lord. Let us be aware of our enemy.
Let us use the armor that God has given us. And let us trust only in the
strength of our Savior to win. And you know what? You shall
win. The victory has already been
accomplished. Praise God for His mercy and
grace that keeps us. This stand will be dismissed
in prayer.