SERMON OUTLINE

The Full Armor of God        Ephesians 6.10-20

Be Empowered and Put On    Ephesians 6.10-11

Introduction

The Devil is an intelligent, powerful, angel who rebelled against God and now opposes all that represents God. He is the god of this world and has control and influence over the world. He is methodical, persistent, skillful, and deceptive. He seeks to take everyone to hell with him. Christians are aware of his schemes and work to bring people out from under his influence and lies.

Be Strong in the Lord

-Imperative, present, passive verb with “en” prefix

-A command to let God continually strengthen us

-Living in the understanding of our justification, no condemnation by the law, freedom from the power of the flesh, and the Holy Spirit within us, in our union with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

-We are strengthened as we understand being in Christ through studying the Word of God, by prayer and by gathering with God’s people. We are also strengthened in whatever way is needed as we look to God in all things.

Put On the Whole Armor of God

-Imperative, aorist, middle verb

-A command to decisively put on ourself the whole armor of God

-The verb form of this command is repeated for all the pieces of armor in verses 13 to 17.

Principle of Grace and Responsibility

-We are to battle from a position of victory in Christ

-Victory begins with an understanding of our union with Christ and all that God has done in that union.

-Then comes action and engagement in the battle.

Conclusion

Out of the understanding of our new life in Christ comes strength to engage with our culture and with the spiritual forces of evil.

SERMON NOTES

The Full Armor of God(2)     Be Empowered and Put On    Ephesians 6.10-11

-Last week I introduced you to our enemy the Devil and to his demonic kingdom. I described to you the Devil’s origin and his rebellion and hatred of God and all that represents God. I explained his intelligence, his great power, his control and influence over the world and its systems and organizations. I warned you of his methodical persistent skillful deceptions and schemes to capture mankind and to bring as many people to hell with him as he can. The Devil knows for certain that his destiny is the lake of fire and that his time is almost up and he is working very hard in these last days.

-We learned that everyone on earth is part of this all out war between God and the Devil, yet most people are not aware of their slavery to sin and of the Devil’s rule over them. They are unaware that they will spend eternity with the Devil in hell and not with God in heaven. Ignorance of the Devil and of his plans to bring humanity to hell is exactly what the Devil wants. In the last number of years vampires and demons have become popular movie and book material but they have been presented mostly as entertaining stories and they are not taken seriously. How skillful the Devil is in his evil deceits.

-If you are a Christian this morning, God has set you free from the slavery of sin and made you spirit alive through faith in Jesus Christ. God has given you a new eternal destiny with God. As a Christian God has also made you aware of the Devil and his kingdom, and of his plans to slander God and to destroy all that represents God. As Christians we should be aware of the spiritual warfare that is going on all around us and we should be part of that warfare.

-We are commanded to resist the Devil. We are to defend what belongs to God from the Devil’s attacks. We are also commanded to stand against the Devil. We are to offensively attack the Devil and take people and authority away from his kingdom for the Glory of God. One commentator wrote, “The war will be lost unless we exert ourselves. God’s plans will not fail but victory goes to those who overcome. To overcome we must fight”. Most of the people in Welland belong to the Devil and are going to hell with him. Are you in the battle? Are you growing in your own Christian life each day so you can resist the Devil yourself? Are you a witness for Christ each day? Are you fervently praying for the lost to be saved? Do you really desire people to be born-again? Are you spreading the Gospel seed by giving out tracts/Bibles or telling others they need Jesus? Ask God how you can help in the most important battle of all.

-In Christ we have both the power and the weapons to engage in this battle. This morning I want us to study two commands. The first one is “Be strong in the Lord” in verse 10. And the second one is “Put on the full armor of God” in verse 11. Next week we will look at the 7 pieces of the armor of God.

-Together the two commands, “Be strong in the Lord” and “Put on the full armor of God” teach us a very important principle on how to live the Christian life and how to stand in the battle against the Devil.

-Let me begin by explaining the grammar of the verbs used in these two commands. Try to follow along with me. The first verb, “Be strong”, is an imperative, present, passive verb. Imperative means “be strong” is a command to me from God. Present tense means that I am to continually “be strong”. And passive means that I am to allow someone else to make me strong. In this verse that someone else is the Lord. The verb used has the prefix “en” and means “to receive strength, to be strengthened”. To better understand what God is saying here lets translate this verb as “let yourself be continually strengthened”.

-Now Paul adds to the verb the phrase “in the Lord”. Adding this to our verb we have, “Let yourself be continually strengthened in the Lord”. Paul tells us what it means to be “strengthened in the Lord”. It means to share in “the might of his strength”. So this first command is “Let yourself be continually strengthened in the Lord, that is in the mighty power of the Lord’s strength”.

-We are to continually allow ourselves to be strengthened in the Lord. We are to always live in the Lord’s great strength by looking to Him and depending on Him in all we do. I will try explain more fully what this means in a few moments but for now let’s examine the grammar of the second verb.

-The second verb, “Put on”, is an imperative, aorist, middle verb. Imperative means that God commands me to “put on”. The aorist tense means I am to “put on” with one unwavering decisive and complete action. This verb is saying “put it on, put it all on”. The middle voice means I am to “put it on” myself. What I am to put on is “the whole armor of God”. For a better understanding we can translate this as, “Put on yourself the whole armor of God”.

-In verse 11 we are commanded to put on ourself the whole armor of God. This command to actively prepare ourself and to get into the battle continues through the rest of the verses we are studying by using the same verb form. In verse 13 we are commanded to “take upon ourselves” the whole armor of God. In verse 14 we are commanded to “gird ourselves” with truth, and “to put on ourselves” the breastplate of righteousness. In verse 15 we are commanded to “shoe ourselves”. In verse 16 we are commanded to “take upon ourselves” the shield of faith. And finally in verse 17 we are commanded to “take upon ourselves” the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. All of these commands are what we are to do ourself to resist and to stand against the Devil.

-Now I told you when I began that these two commands teach us a very important principle on how to live the Christian life and how to stand against the Devil. This is the principle: the Christian life is a blending together of both divine grace and human responsibility. Stating this principle in terms of our battle against the Devil and evil, we battle against the Devil from a position of victory in Christ but we must also engage in the battle ourself.

-The order of these two commands is significant and should not to be changed. The first command is passive and the second command is active. The second command for us to be active in the battle assumes obedience to the first command to allow ourselves to be continually strengthened in the Lord.

-The victorious Christian life begins with an understanding our union with Christ and of all that God has done in us and for us through our union with Christ. What makes us weak as Christians and leads to defeat is the guilt of sin, the condemnation of the law, and the power of the flesh. In our union with the death of Christ we need to understand that we are fully forgiven from sin and justified before God. We need to know that in Christ we are dead to the condemnation of the Law. We need to understand that we are dead to the slavery of sin and to the power of the flesh, and dead to our old life in Adam. In our union with the resurrected Christ we are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and have power and authority over the Devil and all his demons. In Christ we have been made spiritually alive by the coming of the Holy Spirit to live within us. In Christ we are a new creation. In Christ we are strengthened to resist and to stand against the Devil and his schemes.

-The first command from God for living the Christian life and to stand against the Devil is to let God continually strengthen us in Jesus Christ. God has done a supernatural work in us by uniting us with His Son in death and resurrection and in Christ where our strength is to be found. As you study Paul’s teaching you will notice that he always teaches about what God has done in us and for in Christ before he calls us to ethical living or in this case to resist and stand against the Devil. In chapter 1 Paul outlined the great work of God in believers in Christ and then went on to teach about the work of the Church. Again in 4.17-24 Paul taught on our union with Christ before he commanded Christian behavior. Again in these verses Paul first reminds us of our union with Christ and that we are to continually allow ourselves to be strengthened in Christ as we go into active battle. As one commentator wrote, “The battle is a question of day by day thinking who we are and what we are and [then] living what we are in Christ”.

-There is no action required in this first command. We are commanded to understand God’s work in us in Christ, and to accept by faith our new position in Christ. We need to both know and accept who we are in Christ and then go on to live as Christians from our strength in Christ. God is able to keep us and strengthen us in Christ in every circumstance so that we obey and bring Glory to God. There are times when this strengthening in Christ will be felt. We may be strengthened emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually in times of need. But most of the time we will be strengthened in knowing that in Christ we are justified, and free from the power of sin, the law, and the flesh. We will be strengthened in knowing the victory of Christ over the Devil through the cross. We will be strengthened in the hope of eternal life.

–How do we let ourselves be continually strengthened in Jesus Christ? Being strengthened in Jesus Christ begins by knowing what God has done in uniting us with Christ. This understanding comes through studying God’s Word, the truths of the cross of Christ and praying for insight into what God has done for us and to us in Christ. Then we need to believe what God says about us in Christ and regularly think of ourselves as in Christ. This will change our self-image, our response to others, to our circumstance, to temptation and trials, and to the use of our time and resources.

-Spending time in God’s presence in prayer is also how we let ourselves be continually strengthened in Jesus Christ. Just being closeted alone with God strengthens us. In my own spiritual life it is quiet time spent alone with God in prayer that I have found to be most beneficial for spiritual growth. Time alone with God has been energizing and insightful and refreshing, and continues to be. I always seem to come out of those quite times with God with a renewed focus, a willful determination to Glorify God, and a new energy.

–Gathering regularly with God’s people on Sundays is also a way of letting God continually strengthen us in Jesus Christ. We should attend as often and as regularly as we can to receive strength from being with God’s people.

-So to live a victorious Christian life we need to know who we are in Christ and believe what God says about us. God gave us the Word of God so we could know Him and what He has done in us and for us in Christ. We also need to regularly renew our spirit in God’s presence through prayer. We also need the encouragement of gathering with God’s people.

-As we let God continually strengthen us in Jesus Christ we move to active battle in service to God. In that battle we have specific armor to put on. God has marked out our responsibility, our action, and our work of resisting the Devil and standing against him and taking new ground in the name of our God. When we know our position and strength in Christ we can engage in the daily battle against evil and sin and all that is against God.

-I will speak more next week about the armor we are to put on and how to put it on. The command to put on the armor of God is a command to put on Christ, to live out our union with Christ and to engage the enemy as we live our life in Christ.

-The one point I want to emphasize this morning is that we are to live our Christian life in the Grace of God and from the foundation of God’s work in us in our union with Christ. It is from that position of strength in the Lord that we are to think and act and live. We are to pray, witness, serve, stand against evil, do good, share the Word of God, live an active, outspoken, deliberate life for God and suffer all the consequences of living that life, because of God’s work in us in Christ. Out of the understanding of our new life in Christ comes strength to engage with our culture and with the spiritual forces of evil in this world.