Tonight we continue in the second half of this wonderful book of Ephesians…doctrine in the first half, how to live out that doctrine in the second half

To summarize the doctrinal portion: we learned that our salvation is solely the work of God, accomplished by God on our behalf while we were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph 2.1); we are saved “by grace through faith” in Ephesians 2.8-9; in the last three chapters, we learn we are one people in one Spirit, unified in the bond of peace; that we are to be who we are, to walk in a manner worthy of the calling of Christ…we have put off the old self of the flesh, and put on the new self in Jesus; we’ve examined in detail the “household code” of relationships 

Now, as we begin the sixth chapter, Paul turns to his closing instruction -- how to stand and fight the devil and the hordes of hell

Turn with me to Ephesians 6.10-15 and we’ll read God’s word together

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 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. 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 firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 

Would you join me in prayer

I. Commander’s Intent                           6.10-12

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 

I’ve mentioned that most of my professional life has been in association with the military in one way or another…when I’ve been in combat zones, one of the first things you receive when you arrive is a briefing on the commander’s intent and the rules of engagement. These documents are for everyone involved in the operation and the space often called the AOR, or Area of Responsibility, and convey the direction and objectives of the commander, so that everyone is aware of the intent and are able to support the operation as needed. The Rules of Engagement, or ROE, are provided to everyone so that they knew places to go and places to avoid, what equipment to have on your person and in what configuration, and even what uniform to wear. For example, the ROE covered issues such as helmets on or off, whether we were to wear body armor, hard or soft-top configurations for vehicles, and even whether we kept the safety engaged on our weapons or whether we kept the safety off

As we begin this passage in Ephesians -- the longest and most complete passage in the New Testament about the subject of spiritual warfare, which is the topic Paul chose to close this book on the doctrine of the church and how we are to BE the church -- as we begin tonight, I see in these two instructions in verses 10 and 11 the Commander’s Intent and the Rules of Engagement for us as combatants in this battle, or maybe better said, this war

“Finally” renders ‘loipon’ (3063), meaning “remaining” or “henceforward”…”finally” conveys the sense, of course, that Paul is approaching the end of the letter, but this same word also conveys the sense that Paul is warning us that “for the remaining time” -- until Jesus comes -- our experience will be characterized by, if not dominated by, spiritual conflict -- that our experience as believers is to be that of warfare, and he is now telling us of our commander’s intent, the ROE, our equipment, our lines of effort, if you will, how we will go about contesting this battlespace…

Our first instruction is to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might”

We see this clearly...we cannot go into this fight in our own strength…if we do, we will, as my dad used to say, “get our ears pinned back”, which I think is a north Texas reference to getting soundly and quickly defeated…

This commandment to “be strong” is very similar in intent to the commandment given to Joshua in the first chapter of that book…there, ”strong” is used four times in thirteen verses, each a direct imperative to “be strong” -- but there, as here, God isn’t telling us to increase our human strength to the maximum capacity, but instead to seek for, plead for, His strength to fight this adversary…we are not told to simply “be strong” but to “be strong in the Lord” -- it is a passive imperative: be made strong in the Lord…find your strength in Him

The second descriptive phrase is “and in the strength (power) of His might” has been used by the apostle already in this letter…Ephesians 1.19

19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come

What is this power, this strength of God that Paul wants us to see and understand? It’s in the context of his prayer for the Ephesians…he’s asking God to show them His power, that they might see the working of His great might

We see from the text that it’s the power of God present and effective in the raising of Jesus Christ from the dead, His seating at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly places, and then watch this: “…far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come”

So this power -- this strength -- this might -- that we are commanded to “be strong” in -- to seek for this supernatural battle -- is the same resurrection power that brought the dead, crucified body of the Son of God to life, that then brought Him to rule and reign over the heavenlies, above the very powers and dominion and authority that we are now called to battle here in this life…in other words, God seeks to give us the power by which He has already defeated our enemies through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ

Now that’s a prayer worth praying…”Father, I need the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, that has already defeated my enemies…please grant me the strength and might of Your Hand against my adversary”

Will the Almighty God answer that with “I will”? I believe so, because He is the One Who will receive all glory from the victory…while it is our fight, we are told to fight in His power…

The ROE -- rules of engagement -- for this battle is also simple: put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

What gear are we to put on for the day of battle? His armor…not anything we brought with us, it’s what we are issued when we arrive at the front, as it were…

I once deployed with the US Army’s Tenth Mountain Division to Port au Prince, Haiti…the instructions said to bring uniforms and boots, and very little else…that I would receive everything else I needed when I arrived at Fort Drum, New York, the home of the Tenth Mountain…and sure enough, for about four days, all I did was collect my gear -- ceramic-plated steel body armor flak jacket, a helmet, a 9mm Glock with ammo and extra magazines, a sleeping bag and mosquito netting, and a vest of straps called Load Bearing Equipment, or LBE, basically a piece of gear to carry other pieces of gear, like a flashlight, canteen, ammo pouches, a basic first aid kit, and a few other miscellaneous items…

Similarly, when we show up for this battle, you can leave your gear at home -- the Lord Himself will give you what you will need -- and since this battle isn’t against flesh and blood but spirit, nothing you bring will help, anyway…you need what He has, not what you have

And it is important to note that God Himself is said in the book of Isaiah to wear armor…

Isaiah 59.17

17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate,

   and a helmet of salvation on his head;

he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,

   and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.

So in a sense, we get to use the Father’s gear -- a breastplate of righteousness and a helmet of salvation, just as we find in our Ephesians passage

Once you get your gear, which we will begin to pick up in a few minutes, you need to know what the purpose of all of it is…in this case, it’s to stand against the schemes of the devil

“Stand against” doesn’t seem to imply a passive resistance, just standing still and taking the enemy’s shots…we do get an offensive weapon, which we will study next week…it seems the meaning might be closer to resist him, as in the book of James…

James 4.7     Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

We aren’t commanded to attempt to take the fight to the devil…we won’t need to…if we’re just following Jesus, we can rest assured that our adversary will seek us out…

We can take our training cues from Jesus Himself in the Wilderness Temptations…He was seeking His Father, seeking the spiritual strength from the Holy Spirit that He would need as He began His public ministry, when Satan, who is certainly known to Jesus, used his most subtle tactics to approach Jesus…Jesus responded with the same offensive weapon we are given, the Word of God…our Lord “stood against” and “resisted” the devil, just as we are instructed to do

But there is something specific we are to “stand against” -- the “schemes of the devil” 

“Schemes” renders the Gr word ‘methodeia’ (3180), to work by method, following or pursuing an orderly and technical procedure in the handling of a subject; used in ESV, NASB, NIV

The KJV uses the word “wiles” -- JB Phillips translates it as “all the devil’s methods of attack” -- CJB “the deceptive tactics of the Adversary”

This last translation -- “deceptive tactics” -- tells us something important about this verse, which we will examine in greater detail next week, but for now, remember this: tactics are what individuals or units do when they are in killing range of each other

So let me restate the verse this way: we must be prepared and armored up so we can resist and withstand the deceptive tactics the Enemy will use to attempt to kill us

What are these tactics?

Kent Hughes describes a few for us: 

The devil masquerading as an “angel of light” -- if you were the prince of darkness, what better disguise than light? 

II Corinthians 11.13-15 (CJB)

13 The fact is that such men (those who opposed Paul) are pseudo-emissaries: they tell lies about their work and masquerade as emissaries of the Messiah. 14 There is nothing surprising in that, for the Adversary himself masquerades as an angel of light; 15 so it’s no great thing if his workers masquerade as servants of righteousness. They will meet the end their deeds deserve.

The devil’s servants will look trustworthy…maybe even good and godly…but as they begin to oppose the gospel, we will begin to recognize their disguise for what it is -- a falsehood and a deceit

Satan also uses sensuality, especially in our day…see if you can look at your world this week with fresh eyes -- everything from billboards and TV, to print media, to social media, Facebook, Twitter…watch to see how much sensuality and sexuality is present that we tend to simply overlook…it is a tactic of the Evil One to distract, deceive, and destroy

Satan is also a master at using false guilt…guilt for sins and failures that the Lord has forgiven long ago, but which our Adversary likes to continue to bring up to us even though they have been separated from us as far as the east is from the west…if you’ve brought something before the Lord in confession and repentance, you can rest assured that He has forgiven you and covered that sin with His very blood…it’s your Enemy that wants you to continue to feel the pangs of false guilt until it paralyzes you

And perhaps Satan’s favorite deceit is to try to convince us that God is not truly good, or as good as He could be to us…that He is holding back on us, removing from us His best blessings, the ones we want the most…if this tactic sounds familiar, it’s because it’s been tried before…against Jesus in the Wilderness, and Eve in the garden of Eden…Eve failed to withstand the temptation to doubt the goodness of God, but Jesus withstood it and defeated our Enemy

And in our modern age, a final tactic is to convince believers, and even the lost, that the devil simply doesn’t exist…that the devil is a relic of a superstitious past and has no basis in reality…if you think that might be true, I would remind you that Jesus did battle with him and spoke of him often, warning us of his schemes, and it would be the height of foolishness to ignore such clear biblical teaching

With Paul, we can say that we are not unaware of our Adversary’s tactics…and we are armored up to withstand them

II. The Enemy We Fight                              6.12

12 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. 

This verse is full of vital truth about our Enemy -- we must know all we can about him without obsessing over him -- don’t think for a moment that he is slacking up or resting -- he is not -- but there is one bit of good advice from an unexpected source, Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese military philosopher who wrote “The Art of War” -- “If you know the enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.” 

Know your Enemy -- know yourself -- and -- know your Lord -- and you need not fear.

What do we learn from this verse?

Lesson #1: this is personal. “Wrestle” indicates hand to hand combat…this isn’t at all what much of war has become today, with machines or technology doing much of the fighting, directed from afar by the “combatants” -- it isn’t firing shells from artillery or ships, or dropping bombs from unmanned aircraft being flown from halfway around the world -- no, this is first-century, not twenty-first century -- grappling up close -- that’s why the equipment we have is armor, personal gear, a single handheld weapon, not equipment

Lesson #2: this is supernatural. The word is clear -- our adversary isn’t flesh and blood. In warfare through the centuries, technology and politics and information and tactics and techniques and procedures have all changed -- but at least we always knew that we were fighting other humans -- our opponents were flesh and blood like us, that we could triumph on the battlefield by killing our enemy, as David did Goliath…but this, this is different…all our usual weapons are of no use in this fight against spiritual beings, the evil forces of this present darkness

Lesson #3: this is our fight, but we must use the weapons and power of Another.

It’s a battle we’ll lose if we fight it in our own strength, or with conventional/human tactics and strategies…it is spiritual, and using purely human methods or means will assure our defeat…as I said before, you don’t need to bring anything of your own to this fight, just use the equipment your Commander provides you…He knows what we need, and He will provide it

II Corinthians 10.3-4

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 

We walk in the flesh -- but that’s not how we fight. The weapons from God don’t have human power, which is useless -- they have divine power to destroy strongholds, rendering ‘ochuroma’ (3794), in this context a metaphor for human arguments against God…these weapons have divine power to pull down strongholds of unbelief and doubt and rejection…our weapon is the Word of God, wielded with praise and worship…that’s how we fight our battles

We face a singularly powerful enemy who goes by several names -- your adversary the devil (I Pet 5.8), Satan (Job 1.6), Lucifer (Isaiah 14.12), Abaddon and Apollyon (Rev 9.11), Beelzebub (Matthew 12.24), Belial (II Cor 6.15), the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12.10), the Dragon, that old Serpent (Rev 20.2), the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2.2), our Enemy (Matthew 13.39), liar and murderer (John 8.44), the prince of this world (John 14.30), the tempter (Matthew 4.3), the god of this world (II Cor 4.4) -- and he is the commander-in-chief of a vast army of highly trained, battle-hardened, experienced warriors, whom we generally call demons on an individual level, but here Paul uses four terms which, taken together, indicate an organized force under Satan’s command, likely with some levels not unlike the angelic realm from which Lucifer fell, with archangels and angels; in at least some sense there appear to be geographic distinctions, both from the use of the word “rulers” which implies territorial authority, and from a very interesting passage in the book of Daniel

Daniel 10.12-14

12 Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, 14 and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”

What these beings of the spirit realm exactly are, and how they are organized, we do not know with complete clarity, but this much we do know: 

Led by the most evil created being in the universe, a fallen archangel, this innumerable army of demonic beings are filled with hate for the Almighty God, especially Jesus Christ as their Victor and Conqueror, the Son of God; they hate the Church of God, the people of God, the Word of God, and the work of God…Hughes reminds us, “Satan has no conscience, no compassion, no remorse, nor morals.” We will receive no grace and no mercy…for he is the thief of John 10…

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 

That’s our Enemy.

What is his base of operations? This lost and dying world. Listen to the Scripture…

I John 5.19     19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

II Corinthians 4.3-4      3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.        

Ephesians 2.1-2       And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 

Acts 26.15-18            

15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Matthew 4.8-10

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

      “‘You shall worship the Lord your God

            and him only shall you serve.’”

Sounds bleak, doesn’t it…like Satan is in complete control of planet Earth…he is a defeated foe, an enemy who is beaten and who knows it, but he isn’t going down without a fight, and he intends to take as many people as he can with him into everlasting punishment…Satan and his demons are a formidable adversary, an insurgent force within God’s universe, defeated but not yet destroyed…the day is coming, and all of hell’s minions know it, when they and their leader will be crushed by the Lord Jesus Christ as foretold by Genesis 3.15, and we will play a part, too

Romans 16.19-20

19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

But Psalm 24 is still true…

Psalm 24.1           The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,

And one day, not many days from now, the Enemy will be fully and finally defeated, never to rise again, and the Kingdom of God will be established and will reign forevermore…then the words of Daniel the prophet will be accomplished…

Daniel 7.13-14

and behold, with the clouds of heaven

   there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days

   and was presented before him.

14 And to him was given dominion

   and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

   should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

   which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

   that shall not be destroyed.

That’s how the story ends…God wins, and we win with Him. Hallelujah!

III. The Whole Armor of God, Part I                     6.14-15

So now we come to the equipment list…we’ll cover three items tonight, and the remainder next week, when we wrap up the book

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 firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 

As Paul begins the armor inventory of sorts, he gives us one more reminder to “take up” the whole armor of God…just a reminder that armor does no good unless it is worn…what a tragedy to be defenseless in a battle just because you neglected to put on your armor and take up your sword

The use of the word “stand” is of great importance -- used four times in these six verses -- “withstand” renders ‘anthistemi’ (436), meaning to stand against something, to oppose something; “stand” renders the root word of “withstand”, histemi (2476), which is a general word simply meaning to stand or to stand in a certain way (“firm” in Ephesians 6.34, “stood speechless” in Acts 9.7) 

The intent seems to be to stand and resist the devil in any way you can…and the promise is that when you submit yourselves to God, then resist the devil in God’s power and strength, our Enemy will flee

James 4.7        Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

But there is another lesson to learn from Acts 19…an interesting story of an attempted exorcism that went badly…

Acts 19.13-16

13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 

So the lesson is you better actually know Jesus before trying to invoke His Name and cast out a demon…using some sort of mystical or magical incantation to try to control evil spirits is a bad idea…you could end up running out of the house naked and bleeding…but as James says, when you submit yourself to God first, stand in His power and resist the devil, your Enemy will flee

I don’t find any instruction for believers to attack or go offensive, if you will, against Satan or his demons…we do have the sword of the Spirit, but it would seem we would use it to fight back, much as Jesus spoke the Word of God to Satan in the wilderness temptations…but let’s be clear…when we are attacked, and engaged in spiritual warfare, our only weapon is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…we’ll cover more on that next week…for now, we just need to understand that our task is to withstand the enemy in our armor and with the word, and resist him at every opportunity…but as I said before, we aren’t commanded to attempt to take the fight to the devil…we won’t need to…if we’re just following Jesus, we can rest assured that our adversary will seek us out…

Then the passage says that our work is at a time Paul calls “the evil day” -- this isn’t clear if a specific day is meant by this phrase…it seems most likely that it represents this period of time, between the earthly ministry of Christ and the end of the age…in other words, every day in our experience of time is “an evil day” -- we will face conflict and struggle in the spiritual realm each and every day…the point is not that the fight never ends, the point is that every day is another day, another opportunity, to stand in the power and authority of Christ and oppose our Adversary…as the text says, having done all, to stand firm. 

So it seems that Paul lists the equipment in the rough order in which a soldier would put the equipment on…

The first is the belt of truth…”belt” renders a compound Gr word, ‘perizonnumi’ (4024), meaning to wrap around, or gird about the body…when used in a metaphorical sense, as here, the idea is that truth, God’s truth, which is the Gr word ‘aletheia’ meaning true, truth, actual reality, not just the appearance, is what girds the Christian around the middle of the body, holding all the garments together, providing a sense of security; for a Roman soldier, the belt provided the means to gather the garments on the lower body around the legs, bring them up to the waist, and tuck them into this belt…men of the day were familiar with the term “gird up your loins”…that’s what the belt allowed for…additionally, the belt was the means to support the sword, generally fastened to the belt on the left hip for right-handed soldiers

Without a belt, the soldier couldn’t function effectively in combat…their garments would become an hindrance, their gear couldn’t be properly carried or handled, and they certainly couldn’t walk without being tripped up…other pieces of the soldier’s armor depended on the belt to be securely in place

So it is with truth…when you are girded about with the truth of God, when it holds all of you -- your mind, heart, spirit, your theology and values, your relationships, everything about you -- securely in place, you are prepared, able to be equipped with the rest of the whole armor of God…you are ready for action, even combat…

But without God’s truth to gird you about, to hold everything together, then everything quickly begins to fall apart…you aren’t sure of what is real and what is not, what is true and what is false…and it is, I think, an epidemic within the professing church…I’ve observed few people who understand Who Jesus is and what He did, who understand the meaning of the Cross and sin and redemption, and can put into words the truth of God’s word…believers who have been raised on a liquid diet into supposed spiritual adulthood are usually unable to explain what they believe and why they believe it, they’re unable to give a defense to someone else for the hope that is within you, as Peter adjures us to do…few of us have to be scholars, but all of us must be able to describe and define the basic truths about our faith…our individual salvation testimony is very important and a compelling witness, but it is difficult to lead someone to faith in Jesus if that’s all you know…as Paul reminds us in Romans 10…

Romans 10.14-15, 17

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 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!” … 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

We must know the truth of God -- not just in a theological sense, but in an applied sense…the truth of God must move from our heads and hearts to our hands and feet if we are to be Jesus-followers in these difficult days…and you sure better have a solid grasp of it before you engage in battle with the demons of hell…for as Jesus tells us in John 8,

John 8.31-32

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

So how’s your spiritual battle going? If you’re feeling that everything isn’t exactly tightened up, if things seem a little bit too loose, then maybe you need to gird yourself again with a fresh understanding of the truth of God, making sure to apply what you know

The second piece of gear is the breastplate of righteousness

and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 

The Greek word rendered “breastplate” is the word ‘thorax’ (2382), a word well-known to a biology student, and a word which gives us the related word “thoracic” indicating the torso -- the abdomen and chest area, to include the back…and that’s exactly the part of the body that the Roman breastplate protected…generally made of metal and covering the soldier’s upper body from the neck to the upper thighs…one commentator, Markus Barth, understood this word to represent something more akin to chain mail, which was known and used in the first century by officers and imperial officials

In either case, this was an essential piece of equipment…other than taking a blow or arrow straight to the head, this was the most vulnerable part of the warrior’s body…he needed to protect the vital organs in this thoracic region of the body -- the heart, the kidneys, the lungs, the liver -- lose any one of those, and you’re out of the fight, and likely dead

But with that protection, the Roman soldier was able to effectively engage in combat, secure in the knowledge that he was protected from both ranged weapons such as bows and spears, and close-in weapons such as the short sword that he himself would be carrying…he would not dare to step on the battlefield without his breastplate

And it was at this point that the great Reformer, Martin Luther, struggled so with God…for he had accepted the wrongful notion that in order to be justified before God, He required us to personally be righteous before Him, and he knew beyond a doubt that he could never fulfill that impossibly high standard…it was then that Brother Martin discovered the truth of God in Habakkuk 2.4, that “…the righteous shall live by his faith” and God’s Spirit taught him the truth of Romans 1, 

Romans 1.16-17

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

When Martin discovered that the Scripture plainly said that our righteousness is not from ourselves, but is imputed to us from Christ, for our righteous deeds are, as Isaiah rightly says, “…filthy rags…” -- when he understood that we walk by faith in the righteousness of Jesus, not in our own insufficient righteousness, that truth lit the fuse of the Protestant Reformation that reformed the Church and reshaped the entire world

Our breastplate of righteousness isn’t our own righteousness, it represents the righteousness of Jesus Christ that saves us, that bought our redemption, that is the assurance of our right standing before the Holy Father…again, you don’t want to go into this fight with some gear that you found and brought yourself to the battlefield…no indeed…to survive in this battlespace, you have to wear the armor forged and furnished by God Himself…if you lack this righteousness, nothing can save you, but if you have it, nothing can ultimately harm you, for you are saved for all of eternity, not on your own merit, but because of the righteousness of Jesus

So how’s your spiritual battle going? If you’re feeling wounded, maybe severely, overcome by the battle, it might be because you’re trusting in your own righteousness…try putting on a breastplate made from the righteousness of Jesus…it will protect you when your own righteousness fails you

The third piece of equipment is for your feet -- 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 

We understand that these shoes, the standard footwear of the Roman soldier, were called the caliga…they were made of leather, open toed, heavy leather soles studded with nails, and tied around the ankles and up the shins to just below the knees…they were an ancient equivalent of cleats in the sense that they were designed to grip the ground and provide stable footing for warriors in the midst of hand-to-hand combat…they weren’t made for running, or for use on paved or stone surfaces…but then again, that’s not where they were meant to be used…they were for use in the field…they were perfect for the battle formations used by the Roman infantry that they had first defeated in battle with the Greeks, then adapted from them and improved, known as the phalanx…there were several variations of the phalanx, but essentially the phalanx was a close-order infantry formation which moved slowly but unstoppably across the battlefield…they were very difficult to defeat until the phalanx could be broken apart…more on this next week when we discuss the shield and the sword…but for now, we need to understand that the Roman infantry moved on their feet, and the caliga was critically important to not just their success, but their survival

What are the caligas, the boots on our feet as Jesus-followers? What gives us firm footing, what makes us steadfast and immovable? It is the “gospel of peace” -- both the gospel of peace in our own lives, and our readiness to share that gospel with those who still need to hear of the Savior…let’s look more closely at this “good news” of peace…

First, it is peace with God…let’s turn first back to the book of Romans…

Romans 5.1-2   Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Those who have been justified by faith -- made right with God by faith in the shed blood of His Son -- experience peace. But not just any peace -- it’s His peace…

John 14.27

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 

This isn’t the counterfeit peace that the world wants to convince you is the real thing…the temporary, fleeting peace of having the newest car, the most desirable relationship, the most up-to-date phone -- that isn’t peace, and it doesn’t last -- the world can’t give real peace to you because they don’t have it, but neither can the world take it away

This peace is God’s shalom peace -- wholeness, completeness, well-being in every way and for always -- this is God’s peace…in Greek, it’s the word ‘eirene’ (1515), health, goodness, prosperity, absence of conflict or strife

And in addition to peace with God, we also have the peace of God…

Philippians 4.7

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

But His peace doesn’t just bless us with wholeness and healing beyond our understanding, it guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus

So how’s your spiritual battle going? Feeling a little wobbly on your feet? Not as stable as you would like? Maybe you need to return to the Lord and have him check your shoes…see if you’re experiencing the peace of God in it’s fullness, or if you’re too consumed with the things of the world that distract you from His word…sometimes finding greater stability and peace in your walk with Jesus could be as simple as turning off the news, the TV, the internet, Facebook and Twitter…then you can get back into the battle with more peace and less anxiety

So here’s the thing: we have an enemy, more powerful and more filled with hate than we can imagine…but we have Jesus, our Lord, our King, our Commander, Who equips us and sends us into battle to withstand the onslaughts of our Adversary, and to stand in His truth, righteousness, and peace, all to the glory of Jesus

This vision of spiritual warfare so captivated Martin Luther that, based on Psalm 46, he wrote one of the most famous hymns of our Christian faith, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” -- this is the third stanza

And though this world, with devils filled,

Should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed

His truth to triumph through us.

The Prince of Darkness grim,

We tremble not for him.

His rage we can endure,

For lo, his doom is sure.

One little word shall fell him.

Let’s close in prayer