Ephesians 6:10-24
The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 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, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
A Gracious Greeting
21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; 22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.
23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
The call to fight the good fight is not about emphasizing supernatural skirmishes, but of standing strong in the Lord’s sovereign strength (1 Corinthians 15:57-58) and authority to forge forward with the gospel in the face of supernatural opposition (Revelation 12:11, 17) to the message of grace in Jesus Christ and the defeat of the adversary for eternity who opposes God’s work in and through we who are His. This figurative armor then is for the express purpose of standing up against the methods of evil attack on our bodies and souls as we press on to the upward call of God in Christ (Philippians 3:14). Our struggle is in heavenly places of an unseen realm where the battle for men’s souls is being waged and we are on the fields of conflict where we see only the results of this war. We are implored to comprehend the reality of the unseen and the purpose of God’s victory as valiant participants in the battle for the truth of God’s word and work throughout history in Christ from the fall in Eden’s Garden to the final battle and judgment of all and the glory of the reward of the prize of that call to stand in His presence at last (Job 19:25-27, Revelation 21:3, 22:3-4)! The armor is our protection to preserve His saints in the battle as well as our enabling for victory against the lies of sinful disbelief and disobedience of sin and to remain stand in the end when it is finished. The elements of the armor show us that truth is what protects us from the lies and why we cannot yield for even a moment in the smallest of essential truths of doctrine lest a vulnerable gap allows the enemy to pierce through and wound us. The righteousness of Christ and our own pursuit of holiness cover our heart and vital organs of life to enable us to press onward on our feet and not fatally wounded in defeat. Our combat boots walk out the word of God to guide our steps into the fray with the gospel of peace with God in Jesus Christ which we bring to free the captives of sin (Luke 4:18, 2 Corinthians 10:5). The most vital defensive piece of equipment is the shield of faith which is our absolute assurance of the Lord enabling us by His Spirit to douse the fiery arrows of the devil who tries to constantly incite us to sin and keep us from keeping others to join him in the lake of fire prepared for him (Matthew 25:41) at his final defeat. We have this hope in trusting God’s word by the faith given us to persevere because we know this is true as it has been written without the doubt of His word introduced (Genesis 3:1) in Eden’s paradise lost without that certain hope. That hope is restored in Jesus Christ through His gospel of salvation to restore reconciling peace with our Father (Romans 5:1-2, 10-11, 16:20, Colossians 1:20) in heaven, and so the helmet of salvation keeps the truth safe and secure from all alarms as we yield the sword of the Spirit of truth against all lies to a certain victory. All these elements of armor are kept polished and battle worthy by bathing them in prayer for our strength and wisdom and for the salvation of others to hear and und His word which we proclaim. We persevere for ourselves and others by prayer and the knowledge of the truth of the gospel we live for! Like Paul, as fellow ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) we pray for one another to speak this truth of the gospel without holding back and with fearless abandon of our own lives (Galatians 2:20, 2 Corinthians 5:15) that others may live forever. We also imitate this letter’s ending to share with each other how we are doing that we may encourage and comfort one another with the remind of the peace and love of God assured us all who are sincere in this pursuit of the truth of the gospel in which we fight the good fight (1 Timothy 6:12). We have been equipped to be valiant and fight for the truth and so we consider all these things with serious attention as to their true meaning and application.
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