Okay, this morning, Ephesians
chapter 6, I'm taking the title from verse 11 and verse 13, where
it's quoted twice here. Ephesians 6 verse 11 says, "...put
on the whole armor of God." Put on the whole, complete, total
armor of God. Now, if it's an armor of God,
it must be pretty good. I mean, God's provided it, an
armor, To protect us, it must be pretty good. Let's put it
on. Put it on again in verse 11 or
verse 13 rather. Wherefore take unto you the whole
armor of God, that you may be able to stand or withstand in
the evil day, in the day of temptation. So the title for the message
is put on the whole armor of God. Our God and our Savior does
not save us and then leave us in this hostile world of vicious
enemies to defend ourselves. He said, lo, I'm with you always,
even to the end of the world. He gives unto us means, devices,
and tools to use actively to engage our enemies, and by his
grace and strength to stand fast for the gospel, stand fast in
the gospel, and contend for the faith once delivered unto the
saints, be sure of this, His grace is sufficient." Let me
read this familiar Scripture to you. Don't turn, I'll just
read it to you. When the Apostle Paul writes
in 2 Corinthians 12, lest I be exalted above measure through
the abundance of revelations, There was given to me a thorn
in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should
be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the
Lord three times that it might depart from me, and he said to
me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made
perfect in your weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will
I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may
rest upon me." We are weak creatures. We need Christ to defend us at
all times. And be sure, the God of all grace,
as we just read, His grace is sufficient for us. Is His grace
enough? Yes, it is. It's the grace of
God. It's the grace of God. Now, look at verse 10. Ephesians
6, verse 10, finally, finally, my brethren, be strong in the
Lord and in the power of His might. It reminded me, turn two
or three pages over, it reminded me of what Paul writes in Philippians
chapter 3. Finally, my brethren, rejoice
in the Lord Jesus Christ. To write the same thing to you,
to me indeed, is not grievous, but for you it is safe. So finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord. Be strong in the Lord. Now, no believer is strong without
the Lord Jesus Christ in us. We are by nature weak, sinful,
Creatures of this flesh. Our Lord said this in John 15.
He said, without Me, you can do nothing. Nothing. We cannot believe the gospel
without Him. We cannot repent. Repentance
and faith is a gift of God. We cannot come to the Lord Jesus
Christ without His calling us. drawing us by His power and His
grace. We only believe the gospel according
to His mighty power. Without me, you can do nothing.
And yet, Paul writes this. Turn over here to Philippians
chapter 4. Look at verse 12. Philippians 4.12, for I know
both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and
all things I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry,
both to abound and to suffer need. Now watch it, I can do
all things through Christ who is my strength. So I'm nothing,
our strength is Christ. Find Him, my brethren, and be
strong in the Lord. It's only as we learn this lesson
of faith, to put no confidence in the flesh, but rather totally
lean and trust Him at all times. He is our strength and He is
our salvation. Now let me just read this to
you because it's familiar. In Psalm 27. When David talks
about his enemies, he says, Psalm 27, verse 1, The Lord is my light,
my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my
life, whom shall I be afraid? Now, the strength of salvation
is not you. The strength of faith is not
you. The strength of salvation is Christ in you. That's the
hope of glory. So He is. Thy name, my brethren,
be strong. Now look what it says. Thy name,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord. In the Lord. And in the power of His might. Now how much power does He have?
All power is given to me in heaven and earth. He has all power.
Wouldn't it be wise to trust Him? To look to Him? Another
Psalm, Psalm 46, God is our refuge and strength, a very present
help in trouble. Now, turn to one page, Ephesians
6, verse 11. In these next verses, the Apostle
lays out for us a clear road map, how we are to be strong
in the Lord, in the power of His might. How to fight the good
fight of faith. When Paul writes his last words
from prison, 2 Timothy 4, he said, I've fought a good fight.
I've finished my course. I've kept the faith. Now look
at verse 11 and verse 13. Put on the whole armor of God
that you may be able to stand against the devil, the wiles
of the devil. Stand against the devil in the
strength of the flesh. Wherefore, take unto you the
whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the
evil day, in the evil time, and having done all, to stand. having
done all to stand in Him. Take the whole, full, complete
armor of the gospel, which is summed up in a person, the Lord
Jesus Christ. He is the armament of the gospel. Put it on by faith. Use it. Stand
and fight the good fight of faith. We live as believers in this
evil world. We are surrounded by evil powers,
by evil people that would consume us and destroy us if the Lord
Himself did not take care of us by His grace. Now, you remember,
don't turn, let me just read this to you because you're familiar
with this. A good example of that, when Peter was tempted
and the Lord intervened in Luke 22, 31, The Lord said to Simon Peter,
Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you
like wheat. But I prayed for you, that your
faith fail not. When thou art converted, strengthen
the brethren. The Lord Jesus Christ always
intercedes for us, as our advocate, as our mediator. Peter was no
match for the devil. Was he? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. Be strong in the Lord, in the
power of His might. Now, look at verse 12, back in
our text, where we wrestle not, we not only, and I think it can
be rightly read this way, some versions give it this way, where
we wrestle not only against flesh and blood, we do have that conflict
in the flesh. Especially the believer, between
the old man and the new man, there's a warfare there. We not
only wrestle against flesh and blood, but against also principalities,
against powers. He's talking about evil things.
Against the rulers of darkness of this world. Against spiritual
wickedness in high places. Wow. The reason we have need
of complete armament of the Lord, we have some very strong and
vicious enemies that would seek to harm us and to destroy us. Our battle as believers, not
only do we have fleshly adversaries, and we, by the grace of God,
Lord willing, we can face them and deal with them. They're sinful
men, weak men just like we are. But he mentions here spiritual
wickedness in high places, spiritual enemies to our soul, wicked spirits. What a gruesome description of
our spiritual enemies, rulers of darkness, principalities,
and powers of darkness of which we cannot deal with. We cannot
deal with. who oftentimes these spiritual
wicked enemies would so easily deceive us if the Lord didn't
keep us by His grace. Find 2 Corinthians. I do want
you to see this one, 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Look at this, verse 13. For such
are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming himself
into the apostles of Christ, and no more before Satan himself
is transformed to an angel of light. Therefore it's no great
thing that his ministers also be transformed as ministers of
righteousness, whose end shall be according to their These who
are our adversaries, they don't come to us with a pitchfork and
a pointed tail in a red suit. They come as angels of light. that would deceive us if the
Lord did not keep us. At one time, as unbelievers,
we were walking with them. Turn over here to Ephesians chapter
2. Remember, Ephesians chapter 2, at one time we were walking
with these workers of evil. and the prince of the power of
the air, the God of this world. Ephesians 2 verse 1, And you
have to be quickened who are dead in trespasses and sins,
where in time past ye walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in children of disobedience, among whom also
we all had our conversation in time past, in the lust of the
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind, were
by nature children of wrath, even as others, Ah, but God,
who is rich in mercy for His great love, wherewith He loved
us even when we were dead, hath quickened us together with the
Lord Jesus Christ, raised us up together, and made us sit
together in the heavenlies in Christ. Now by the Lord's grace,
because of the work of God's grace, we fight against them. They promote these false workers,
these angels of light, Falsely, they promote religious pride
and self-righteousness rather than the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ alone. Now, Ephesians chapter 6, verse
13. Wherefore, take unto you the
whole armor of God, verse 13, that you may be able to stand
and withstand against all these forces of evil. Again, the Apostle
Paul tells us to take what is provided, use what God has given,
and use it wisely to enable us to withstand temptation and stand
in the evil day against the evil one. Our Lord prayed for us in
John 17 in His high priestly prayer. He said, Father, keep
them from the evil one. Thank God He prays for us. Now
I want you to look just across the page, Philippians chapter
1, to stand in that evil day. Philippians
chapter 1, verse 27. Only let your conversation be
as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and
see you or else be absent, that I may hear of your affairs, that
you stand fast in one spirit, one mind, striving together for
the faith of the gospel. And in nothing terrified by your
adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition,
but to you of salvation and that of God. For unto you it is given
in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, that's given
of God, but also to what? Suffer for Him. Now, the Lord
does send us trials, but the Lord does send us grace that
is sufficient for the trial. Now, in verses following, Ephesians
chapter 6 verse 14, Down to verse 8. I don't want to scare you
here, but there are seven things that are mentioned here. Seven
things are given to us. Stand therefore upon the foundation
that the Lord has laid out, which is the Lord Himself. He is that
foundation. Of the foundation can no man
lay than that which is laid. Stand and abide in the faith,
hold your ground, not yielding, not retreating, not deserting
your post, but persevering in the faith, continuing in the
faith. Now, seven excellent weapons
the Lord has given to us, beginning at verse 14. Stand fast, therefore. That's the third time He tells
us to stand. Stand. Stand. What do we stand
upon? Not sinking ground. On Christ
the solid rock I stand, all other ground is seeking sand. Stand
therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having
on the breastplate of righteousness, wrap yourself up with the truth. Wrap yourself up with the truth
found in the Word of God. This is mentioned first because
it's the most important and it's the sure foundation of the rest
that is given. It is God's truth that sets us
free from sin, from error, and false religion. He said, you
shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. The
Lord Jesus Christ said, I am the way, The truth and the life. So stand therefore, stand therefore
having your loins, yourself wrapped up with the truth. The truth
found in the word of God. Let's talk about the truth of
who God is. How do you know anything about
who God is? For the Word of Truth reveals unto us who God is. He's holy, He's sovereign, He's
eternal, He does not change. With the Lord, all things are
possible. We don't know anything about
who God is apart from the Word of Truth. Wrap yourself up in
the truth of who He is. and then wrap yourself up knowing
who we are. Totally sinful, weak creature,
totally dependent upon Him. The truth of the Word of God
tells us the truth about who we are, the truth who God is,
and the truth about how God saves sinners. How does God save sinners? Well, it's by His grace, isn't
it? For by grace are you saved through faith. And that, not
yourselves, it's a gift of God. It's God who saved us and called
us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
His own purpose and grace, giving us in Christ Jesus before the
foundation of the world. Now, having that foundation of
the truth, being built upon the truth. Now, second thing he says
here, having on. having on the breastplate of
righteousness. Now, the breastplate, a soldier,
that covers his vital parts. Even our military, they have
a vest that covers the vital parts, heart, lung, kidneys.
And the military, and even our policemen today, they have to
wear a vest to protect those vital parts, vital parts. And I'm glad that they have that
Kevlar, is that what it's called? It will stop a bullet. That's
a good thing, but I tell you what's better, to have on a breastplate
of righteousness. A breastplate of righteousness.
What do you think he's talking about here? It's not our morality. Having on a breastplate of your
morality. Well, God said away with this
filthy rags. Wouldn't you like to have a breastplate
of righteousness that's woven and given and provided of God
and He puts it on you? He is the Lord, our righteousness
before God. That's why Paul said, I count
everything else lost, dung, and ruined, that I may win Christ
and be found in Him who is my righteousness. He's called in
Jeremiah 23, He's the Lord our righteousness. Blessed is that
man whom the Lord imputeth righteousness with. It out works. Satan and
all of his allies cannot pierce or penetrate that righteousness
provided of God in Christ Jesus. Now aren't you glad you have
that breastplate of Christ our righteousness? Yourself wrapped
up in the truth. Your loins all girded up with
the truth. Have it on the breastplate of
Christ. And then verse 15, here's the third thing. He goes down
to the feet. Now, I've never been in the Army,
I've never been in the military, but I've talked to those who
have. I have a dear friend who spent two times, two tours in
Vietnam, and one of the things that they emphasized to him was
keeping his feet in good shape. Your socks. Your boots. The boots. They give the military
the best boots. Put your boots on. Boots on the
ground. Having your feet shod as a believer
with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Now the military provides
good boots. And I'm glad those soldiers have
good boots. But wouldn't you rather have the gospel of peace
upon your feet." Sure you would. Having our feet shod with the
preparation, the preparation of the gospel. Who prepares these,
who makes these shoes anyway? That's good to have a good shoemaker,
isn't it? To buy good shoes. But who makes the preparation
of these shoes for the feet of God's people? It's a preparation
that He has done for us. It's a preparation of a gospel
of peace. He made peace for us with His
own blood. Being justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He made peace
for us. Through the Lord Jesus Christ
making peace for us, we can walk through this world of thorns
and briars, and our feet can stand firm to go and preach the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ into all the world. Don't turn and read this because
you're familiar with it. We read it all the time. In Romans
10, it mentions something there about the preacher's feet. Did
you remember that? Romans 10, let me read it to
you. Romans 10, verse 13. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him
whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in Him
of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? Romans 10 verse 15, How shall they preach except
they be sent? Oh, how it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. And the reference is to Isaiah
52, which says, their message is, Behold, the Lord thy God
reigneth. Our message that we carry with
the preparation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is,
behold, he reigns in all things, in salvation and in providence
and in all things. Go forth and preach the gospel
in all the world, and we can do so We can walk through this
world having on the gospel that's prepared for us. It's the gospel
of peace. You see what he's saying here?
It makes from head to toe. And then he mentions verse 16,
he mentions to take the shield above all, above all, taking
the shield of faith. Now why is he stressed that?
Wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darks of
the wicked. Hold forth that shield of faith.
Above all, taking this shield of faith. Well, a couple of scriptures
come to mind. Faith is the substance of things
hoped for, right? The evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11 verse 1. And then in Hebrews 11 verse
6, He says this, without faith,
oh, without faith, it's impossible to please God. He that cometh
to God must believe that He is, and that He is rewarded them
that diligently seek Him. You see, God gives His people
faith, God-given faith, We know faith is a gift of God, right?
God-given faith. How do I know that the faith
I have is God-given? How do I know it's not false
faith? There is such a thing as false, phony faith. How do
I know the faith I have is true and real? This shield of faith
that he's talking about here. Well, it has one foundation.
That's the Word of God. It has one object. the Lord Jesus
Christ, looking unto Jesus, who's the author and finisher of our
faith. So the shield we have, if we're able to quench all the
fiery darks of the wicked, is trusting Him, believing Him at
all times. At all times. It would be impossible
to stand and fight and to preach the gospel if we didn't believe
and trust the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan and his many allies shoot
many fiery darts of doubt, fear, depression against us, questioning
our interest, our state in the gospel. How are we to quench
them? By believing Him. The best way
to defend is that believing and trusting the Lord Jesus Christ
for all things. God said of Abraham, we studied
Abraham this morning, about him. Abraham believed God and it was
counted him for righteousness. But God says this of Abraham,
Genesis 15.1, Fear not, Abraham, I am thy shield and thy exceeding
reward. And David also says this in Psalm
3. Let me read it to you. Lord,
how are they increased that trouble me? Many are they that rise up
against me. Psalm 3, verse 2. Many there
be which say of my soul, there's no help for him. There's no help
for him in God. But thou, O Lord, art a shield
for me, my glory, and the lifter up of my head. I cried to the
Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill. Gave
me rest. So, take this shield. Take this
shield. Believe God. Trust Him at all
times, you people. Pour out your heart before Him.
God is a refuge for us. Verse 17, number 5. Take the helmet, the helmet of
salvation, cover up your head, your thoughts, your mind, your
thinking, your affection, Take the helmet of salvation, the
helmet of salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is called
the captain of our salvation, who's bringing many sons into
glory. It's Christ who is our salvation, who protects our head,
that gives us right thoughts about God, our thinking, and
protects us from evil. and false doctrines of men. The
Apostle writes this in 1 Thessalonians 5. But let us who are of the
day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love,
and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. That's Christ, the
hope of salvation. Christ in you is a hope of glory. We have a good hope through grace.
Take the helmet of salvation. Christ is our Savior, the only
Savior. You see what he's saying there?
And then, number six, on the second part of verse 17, and
the sword of the Spirit, the sword of the Spirit which is
the Word of God. The sword of the Spirit which
is the Word of God. As I said earlier, Hebrews 4
verse 12, the Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than
any two-edged sword. dividing a son or soul and a
spirit, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
That is the written Word and the incarnate Word. You cannot
separate the two. Above all, take the sword of
the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Christ incarnate is called
the Word of God, and the written Word of God. The written Word
of God is all about the living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Take the Word of God as a helmet of salvation. When the Lord was
tempted of Satan in the wilderness those 40 days, we read about
it earlier, the Lord Himself rebuked Satan every time with
what? The Word of God. The written
Word of God. It was His sword. We can't do any better than by
taking the Word of God, preaching it, reading it, believing it,
loving it, The Word of God convicts of sin,
corrects our errors in doctrine, and comforts our troubled heart.
Our Lord said, these words have I spoken unto you, that in me
you might have peace. In this world you shall have
tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome. Number seven. You didn't think I'd get there,
did you? Number seven. Verse 18, praying
always. What a privilege God has given
unto us to call upon the name of the Lord. Seeing we have a
great high priest that has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son
of God, who is tempted in all points like as we are, yet without
sin, He said, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that you
may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews
4, 14-16, praying always. That's the very breath of a believer,
is to pray unto the Lord. You remember this verse? Don't
turn, let me just read it to you. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse
16. Rejoice evermore, rejoice in
the Lord. Verse 17 says, pray without ceasing. and in everything give thanks,
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
What a privilege we have to carry everything to God in prayer. Cry out unto your Father, Lord,
what would you pray? A man asked me one time, said,
I just don't know what to pray. I don't know how to pray. I don't
know what to pray for. I said, I'll give you a hint,
and here's what you pray for. God, be merciful to me, the sinner. That's what we pray for. God,
be merciful to me, the sinner. That's our prayer. And our comfort
and hope is this. Every sinner who came to the
Lord Jesus Christ in need was healed. He never sent a mercy
beggar away empty. Now, those Pharisees who approached
him on the basis of their self-righteousness, he called them a bunch of vipers
and snakes. But every sinner who came to
the Lord Jesus Christ begging for mercy, blind Bartimaeus,
the leper who came to worship, said, Lord, if you will, you
can make me clean. He said, I will. Be clean. The blind man, the
cripple, He healed every one of them. That ought to encourage
us to come to the Lord. Praying always with prayer and
supplication in the Spirit. Watching therein too with all
perseverance. Perseverance. Continuing in the
faith. And supplication for all the
saints. Pray for one another. Forgive
one another. Love one another. And not like
this. Verse 19 in closing. And for me. He puts himself clear
at the end of the line. And for me. that utterance may
be given, that I may preach the gospel, that I may open my mouth
boldly and make known the mysteries of the gospel." Now, something
really strange in what Paul says there. Do you notice something
strange about that? He doesn't say, pray for me that
I might get out of jail. He's not even concerned about
being there. He knows he's there by the will of the Lord. And
he knows he's there to preach the Gospel. So he prays for,
Lord, help me to preach the Gospel. Pray for me. Pray for me. Persevering in prayer. Trust the Lord with all thy heart. Lean not to thy own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him
And he shall direct thy path, be not wise in thine own eyes,
fear the Lord, depart from evil, and that shall be health to your
navel and marrow to your bones. praying unto the Lord. What a blessed, complete armor
the Lord has provided for us. God help us to look to the Lord
Jesus Christ, who is our captain, who is our victor, who is our
savior, who is our righteousness, always coming to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Our Lord said this, All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me I will never cast them out. God help us to come by believing
Him, trusting Him, looking unto Him.