Be Strong in the Lord!

Ephesians 6:10-13 ESV

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 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 firm.”

What does it mean to put on the whole armor of God? It means that we are walking (in conduct, in practice) in the faith we confess, day by day and moment by moment. We are walking in obedience to our Lord, and in walks of holiness and righteousness, and we are no longer walking in sin. We are saying “No!” to ungodliness and worldly passions and desires, and we are living self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the power of God, one day at a time, by the grace of God (see Titus 2:11-14).

Jesus Christ is truly Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives, and our lives now belong to him to be lived out by his grace according to his will and purpose. He isn’t just our Savior who saved us out of our lives of sin, but he is now the one who is ruling our lives and leading us in the way that we ought to go. And we are following his lead, and we are going where he sends us, and we are saying what he gives us to say, and we are doing the will of God, and we are serving his purposes, and we are defying the enemy of our souls.

And we should be doing this day by day, in the power of God, not just because it is the right thing to do, and not just because of God’s love and grace to us in saving us from our sins, but because we need to live like this in opposition to the enemy of our souls or we might easily be led back into sin. For Satan is not going to give up on us. He is going to continue to fight against us until he can get us back in his camp doing his will for our lives. And we will not survive his onslaughts if our lives are not surrendered to God, to do his will. So we must persevere in obeying our Lord.

Ephesians 6:14-17 ESV

“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” 

Now, this is a figurative illustration of what it looks like to put on that armor of God each day. And the first thing here we are to do is to fasten on the belt of truth. And it has to do with being dressed in readiness, ready to work, kind of like a workman putting on a tool belt which he needs to do his job. If he doesn’t put on that tool belt, then he can’t do his job, and so he is not prepared and ready to work. And our tool belt is divine truth, the word of God. We have to be students of the Scriptures who know what the Word teaches and who are putting that truth into practice in our daily lives.

And the breastplate of righteousness is what protects the heart and its emotions and desires from desiring and giving into what is evil. But it is those who practice divine righteousness who are righteous in the sight of God (see 1 John 3:4-10). So we put on that breastplate of righteousness via us obeying our Lord and doing his will, and via us resisting Satan and fleeing temptation, and via us walking (in conduct, in practice) now according to the Spirit, and no longer according to the flesh, in walks of holiness and righteousness and in moral purity, and in obedience to our Lord.

And when I think of us putting on shoes for our feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace, that immediately takes me to Romans 10:15 which says,

“And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’”

We are to be those who are sharing the truth of the gospel with other people, and I believe we should be doing this daily, especially if we are on the internet and on social media, which is a great place to share the gospel. But we need to be sure that what we are teaching is the full gospel message and not a half-truth gospel so many are passing off as the truth these days. For Jesus died that we might die with him to sin daily, and that we might live daily for him and for his righteousness (1 Peter 2:24; Luke 9:23-26).

And to take up the shield of faith is to put that true faith into daily practice in our lives. And true faith is not just lip service. True faith is crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer living as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness (see Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 4:17-24; Luke 9:23-26).

And a helmet is something we put over our heads (minds) to protect them from harm. And our salvation is not just forgiveness of sins so that we can now go to heaven when we die. Our salvation is freedom from enslavement to sin so that we can now live to God and to his righteousness in walks of holiness and in obedience to our Lord Jesus. So, this has to do with us having a change of mind away from living in sin to now following our Lord in walks of holiness, and moral purity, and uprightness, in his power.

And if we are to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, this is not an intellectual exercise. This is not just about reading the Scriptures and even putting them to mental memory. But this has to do with living out the Word of God, and what it teaches us we must do, in our daily lives and practices and conduct. For Satan doesn’t mind if we commit Bible verses to memory. He knows them, too. What he minds is when we put the truths of God’s Word into daily practice. For then he is a defeated foe.

Ephesians 6:18-20 ESV

“..praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

And then we must be those who are praying continually. And what I believe this means is that we are always in an attitude of prayer to where our Lord can speak to us anytime of day or night, and we will hear his voice within us speaking his truths to our hearts (not audibly usually), guiding us in the way that he has for us moment by moment, and day by day. And we, in turn, have that open communication with him to where we can speak with him any time of day, regardless of what else is going on in our lives.

And we need to be praying according to his will, and for one another, and especially for those who are spreading the truth of the gospel to the people of this world. For they are being opposed if they are sharing the truth and not the lies that so many are spreading today in the name of Jesus and of his gospel. So, please pray for those who are telling people the truth of the gospel of Christ.

No Less  

An Original Work / March 19, 2012

I can do no less than praise You,

Lord, for all You’ve done for me.

You died for my sins to save me,

So I would be set free.

I adore You! Lord, I praise You!

Jesus, Savior, King of kings!

You provided my redemption.

Your grace has pardoned me.

I can do no less than serve You. 

Lord, Your witness I would be,

Telling others of Your love,

And why You died on that tree.

Tell of how You gave of Your life,

So from sin we’d be set free,

So we could worship You forever,

And live eternally.

I can do no less than love You,

Lord, for You have first loved me.

You gave of Your life so willing,

Because You cared for me.

Turn from my sin! Obey freely!

Live for You each passing day.

Read Your word, and follow Your lead,

Lord, as I humbly pray. 

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