Ephesians 6:13-18 Bible Teaching

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So after telling his reader that we do not war against flesh and blood but against

“principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,”

Paul now goes on to describe how they were to do this, and says at verse 13
Ephesians 6.13-18
December 29th 2019
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13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

So, let’s go back.

There was a battle of Kingdoms on earth in that day – The Kingdom of Darkness against an encroaching Kingdom of Light, which was gaining more and more of a foothold with Jesus as its King.

He had successfully overcome the wilderness temptation before doing any miracles, which established his power on earth over the dark forces, and then in the garden of Gethsemane he overcame another temptation to save his own life.

Isn’t it interesting that the wilderness temptations were to serve himself – feed himself by turning stones into bread, show off by jumping off and having angels save him, grant himself all the kingdoms of the world if he would just bow down and worship Satan.

And then in Gethsemane the same thing – save yourself from the oncoming pain and sacrifice.

He overcame all but the victory was not yet complete. And Satan, dark powers, principalities and the like still retained some sway, powers and the like.

Last week I said that Satan was bound at Pentecost. And that this inaugurated the 1000 years of peace and that it ended and he was loosed in 60-63 AD.

I think I was presumptuous in this assessment and therefore wrong because here Paul is warning the believers and telling them that their war is against Satan not flesh and blood, which appears to intimate that Satan was still in operation.

To me we cannot get away with Satan being judged at Pentecost – but what that means we don’t know.

Nor can we get around the fact that the early Christian church did enjoy a space of peace for a span allowing it to grow.

Perhaps Paul wrote this epistle late in the game, when Satan was about to be released or in preparation for his release.

This is a gap or problem in my teaching – admittedly – but not a deal killer. I just don’t yet understand the chronology perfectly.

Whatever the case, Paul IS warning – telling – the Saints in that day to prepare themselves with spiritual weapons in a means to engage in spiritual warfare in a contest with the powers of this dark kingdom.

Again this was warfare against a vast and dark kingdom that had been set up over mankind. As such this does not seem to be a set of passages addressing the struggles Christian have with their own corrupt propensities – though they could be applicable I suppose.

Instead this refers to warfare on a large scale with the entire kingdom of darkness over the world.

I suggest that as they warred against Satan’s Kingdom reign over the earth, what Paul describes to them to employ are probably the very same things that Christians today employ in their warfare with the flesh as I would believe that what led Satan to do what he did were probably the very same traits or drives in human beings who turn from God.

In other words, in the absence of God and His light and love, it seems all things become self-centered, egotistical, arrogant, rebellious, mean, devilish, carnal and in the end life taking.

The ambitions of Satan were probably not original as that is exactly what foments in the absence of God. And so in another economy of creation – man – the same appear to arise.

If I am correct on this then the antidote and armor to protect oneself from either Satan, his angels, sheer darkness or their own flesh would remain the same.

In this we see how the word of God is eternal because it addresses everything from a principled basis and not only on a case by case situational basis.

So Paul says to them then, and to us today

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Now, most believe that the phrase, “that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,” speaks of the day when Satan was tempting them.

This is the natural assumption and may be true.

But the literal Greek reads this line this way: “That you may be able to stand in the DAY of Evil.”

It may mean nothing, but the New Testament is ripe with references to “a day” coming in their future. This day, is often referred to “that day,” in the word.

And that day is almost always speaking of the end when He would come with judgement and reward.

Listen to some examples from the Apostolic text:

2nd Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

In Matthew 7:22 Jesus said, speaking of the day of judgment:

“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?”

In Luke 10:12 Jesus said:

“But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.

He said in Luke 17:31
In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

The context of 2nd Thessalonians 1:10 is purely eschatological and says

“When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”

2nd Timothy 1:18 The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.

Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

In Matthew 26:29 Jesus says to His apostles:

But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.

Luke 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

To his apostles in John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

1st Thessalonians 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

2Th 1:10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

In 2nd Thessalonians 2:3 Paul had to reassure the saints then who were being taught that Jesus had already come and so he says:

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”

So when I read:

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the day of evil and having done all, to stand.

I tend to believe that this is speaking of that day to come, and he is preparing them. If I am correct in this then the binding of Satan theory could still be correct.

What is Paul’s hope? That each of them might be able to stand because they have
done all including putting on the whole armor of God.

And after telling them to put on the whole armor of God as a means to stand, he adds (at verse 14)

14 Stand therefore, (and he enters into the way the whole armor of God sits on them, saying) having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

In that culture the men wore loose flowing robes and the meaning of girding was when they would grab all of that cloth – when they were going to work or run or fight – and sort of strap it all up turning their robes into pantaloons, if you will.

Apparently the tool or piece that would enable them to do this was like a circle of metal that they would pull all the cloth through which would hold it in place and this piece was often used to hold all the armor in place too.

Paul appeals to this imagery but says they should gird their loins with truth, which is certainly a fantastic way to protect oneself against the wiles of the Devil or self.

I see things sometimes that are not there, but I do not think it is a mistake that Paul likens the truth to the girding up of loins.

This is tied to the notion of testimony, which is linked directly to the testes, and men in days of old would hold their testes in their hands as swear to the facts of something.

Testimony, truth, testifying, loins girded – are all connected and Paul is reminding his reader to seek truth, gird themselves up with truths that are testifiable.

But bottom line, the first thing or part of the armor Paul mentions is truth. Then he adds:

“And having on the breastplate of righteousness. “

The word here translated “breastplate” is describing what is called a cuirass, (in Latin a “lorica”) or a “coat of mail” which came in two parts – the front and the back, and protected a person from the neck down to the thighs. 1st Samuel calls is a coat of mail and Nehemiah calls it a harbergeon.

Goliath wore one that weighed five thousand shekels of brass which was about one hundred and sixty pounds.

Paul borrow from this piece of armor and likens it to righteousness which is derived from a Greek word that means, equity or perhaps integrity of a person and not holiness which comes from hagias.

A coat of mail protected the vital parts of the body; and the idea here may be, that integrity in life and righteousness of character would protect a person from the assaults of Satan just like a coat of mail would protect the heart, liver, lungs and such from the swords and arrows of an enemy.

It was the very incorruptible integrity of Jesus, his righteousness as it were, that protected him from the devil. And this may be what Paul is trying to say.

The idea of a coat of mail was that if it had integrity it would protect but a single space or defect in it could open a person up to an effective attack.

In 1st Kings 22:34 we read of a King of Israel being wounded because of a gap in the integrity of his armor. It says:

“And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.”

The idea, linked to personal integrity, is when you have an integrity, there is no room for an invasion or assault into your soul but lacking integrity opens us up to injury or death, just like a coat of mail lacking integrity would do the same.

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Shodding the feet refers to all means that a soldier would use to protect both the top and bottom of the foot.

In fact, the Greek term used here means, underbinding of the feet. In warfare anciently, in this culture, protection of the feet came in two parts:

The sandals, or shoes and what were called the greaves, which were those brass coverings that were often over the shins, ankles and top of the foot.

Paul takes this part of the armor and likens it “with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace.”

It’s a cumbersome phrase, but it seems to mean, prepare your feet, which do the transporting of your person in your walk, with “the Gospel of Peace,” and the sense seems to be that a Christian ought to be prepared to bring peace wherever she or he goes, and not disruption and trouble.

I tend to think this hearkens, at least in some way, to what Proverbs 6:16-19 says:

These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

The word rendered preparation–etoimasia means, properly, readiness, fitness for.

And if our feet are shod with “the preparation of the gospel it stands in opposition to feet shod with iron or brass but with peace, patience, longsuffering, goodness – in the cause of Christ. Paul adds

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Above all does not mean this is the most important thing. It better means “over all,” just as in a shield is held over all the rest of a warrior’s armor to add extra protection.

Overall of this, “taking the shield of faith” which is Paul’s way of saying that faith deflects many assaults, in this case, “the fiery darts of the devil.”

Ancient shields were made of light wood then covered with layers of brass and they would often round the edges and rub oil on them as a means to help redirect or deflect incoming arrows and swords.

Paul takes faith and applies it in the same manner as faith serves the same purpose that a shield served in warfare.

I love this imagery. In our day we have sciences so called (which I am not against) and philosophy, and other forces that are constantly being launched at the modern Christian, but faith has the capacity to deflect all of such things – with faith being real and genuine I might add, and not just faith for faiths sake.

Faith is when we credit something to be true, and act as if it is true, without a perfect knowledge of the thing itself.

Hebrews say the following:

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

In that verse the writer uses the word things twice.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Substance and evidence of THINGS – hoped for and not seen.

What are these things? Let me summarized it all down. I suggest that the THINGS mentioned here are . . . READY? The promises of God.

Since faith is not a sure knowledge of anything, but is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” then faith is the substance of the promises of God hoped for and the evidence of the promises of God not seen.

God makes promises – about Him, sin, death, resurrection, salvation, the origin and make up of His Son and a litany of other things.

Faith is choosing to believe these promises – even though we see through a glass darkly, and do not know much at all.

The writer of Hebrews goes so far as to say that we cannot even please God without Faith – it is something that God absolutely loves in His creations.

And so Paul says above all the other parts of the armor mentioned take the shield of faith

“wherewith” ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

The essential nature of faith to the Christian life cannot be overstated in my estimation as it is indispensable to all a person believes or does FOR the very reasons WE DO NOT KNOW.

So, we submit ourselves, our doubts, our anger, our intelligence, our wants and desires to His promises and explanations, trusting in Him to make good on all that He has claimed and promised.

And just as it is human nature to make our own way, instead of trusting his, fiery darts are leveled at the promises of God and faith is the means to refuse them or to deflect them from doing damage.
Paul puts it this way

“Wherewith (meaning with the shield of faith) ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (which, by the way, is better translated “of the WICKED ONE”

Verse 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

And take the helmet of salvation.

This sounds like “the helmet of the fact that you have been saved,” and perhaps there is something to this, but let’s look at the word salvation here.

The root word of salvation is soter, which means deliverer, who we admit is Christ.

From soter, we get sotayria, which means rescue or safety.

And from sotayria we get defender or defense. And this is the Greek term used here – the word for defense.

So in reality, Paul is saying put on the helmet of what defends you. Some may suggest that he is saying put on the helmet that you have been defended, but I prefer the translation that says:

Put on the defense of what (or who) defends you. And who is the defender, that brings us to safety, as our deliverer?

That is right, its Christ, who, we learned in chapter five, is the head of the body.

For Paul to tell us to put on the helmet of Christ is no mistake in analogy. It is direct and purposeful because it is akin to saying put on the mind of Christ, our defender.

1st Corinthians 2 says, “But we have the mind of Christ.”

Anciently, the helmet was a cap made of thick leather, or brass, fitted to the head, and was usually crowned with some decoration. Of course its purpose was to guard the head from a blow by a sword, or battle ax or club.

With the hope of victory through Christ our deliverer on our minds the warfare is much easier to endure, having the mind of Christ.

“And the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.”

We all know that swords are primarily an offensive weapon, though they are readily used to defend against the blows of an attacker.

Remember, Satan and his minions are the ones in question here, not flesh and blood. Don’t lose track of this fact.

And so when Satan comes swinging for the head or body, come back at him with your “sword of the Spirit – which is the word of God.”

We know that when Satan came to Jesus in the wilderness that Jesus used the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God to defend himself and His position, saying: It is written, three times.

The Word of God to us, from what I can tell, comes in three distinct forms which are all synonymously linked at the end of the day –

what the Spirit says
what the written word says
and what Jesus, the word made flesh, says, both by the Spirit and in what is written.

The whole thing can get confusing but Jesus Himself said, “My words are spirit” so it gets tough when we try to tease them all apart. Bottom line, the Spirit teaches us all things, all truths, which the word of God presents

Of course, the sword was an essential part of the armour of an ancient soldier. His other weapons were the bow, the spear, or the battle-axe. But, without a sword, no soldier would have regarded himself as well armed.

Again, when confronted with darkness, or with Satan in that age, no other means of defense or response or attack is viable. We can’t rely on our own wisdom, or philosophy or charm. Only God – His word by the Spirit, has the ability to cut through the power of the dark because His word is truth.

For this reason, we study the Bible as a means to understand the truth by the Spirit.

Paul adds finally, and not associating this advice with armor wear, and saying

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Again, we note that the constant prayer with all supplication is “in the Spirit” and not just words from our minds.

Paul speaks to the idea of allowing the Spirit to tell us what to pray for, opening up this communication with God through a means not normally present with citizens of the world.

He says to do this “with all prayer and supplication,” which means, with all petitions or all kinds or types of prayers.

And he adds

“And watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all of the Saints,”

The word translated watching is used four times in scripture. One of those times it is speaking of watching over a flock, the other time is here, and the remaining are used by Jesus in telling his disciples to watch so that they can be aware of the signs of the end of that age.

It is possible Paul commends watching here in the same sense. The believers are armed, they are ready, they are waiting for that day, and Paul naturally ends with commending them to watching.

This brings us to the conclusion of this epistle, where Paul says at verse

19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
21 But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things:
22 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.
23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. <