It is just after dawn in downtown Los Angeles. A police officer called Bob Schultz is on his motorcycle, when he notices a black pickup truck driving through a red light. He says to himself, “Here’s a guy who must be late for work. He’s going to just love the ticket I’m about to issue him.” He switches on his flashing blue light and his siren, and he rides off in pursuit. Officer Schultz pulls the pickup over to the side of the road, climbs off his motorcycle, walks over and signals to the driver to roll down the window.
Officer Schultz smiles and says, “Good morning, sir. May I see—” but he doesn’t finish his sentence. Because the guy driving the pickup truck panics. With a bag full of banknotes on the passenger seat, he takes the gun he had threatened to use – but without firing a shot - just ten minutes earlier in a hold-up at a 24-hour convenience store. He points his gun at Officer Schultz’s chest and fires a single shot.
Schultz falls to the floor. But a few seconds later, to the criminal’s great surprise, the cop gets back to his feet, pulls out his service weapon, and fires two shots. The first shatters the truck’s window, and the second pierces through the car door and lodges in the driver’s leg. “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” he shouts, and he throws the bag of stolen money out of the shattered window.
The life of LAPD Officer Bob Schultz was saved by dozens of layers of that super-strong fabric called Kevlar. Only one centimeter thick, Kevlar can stop most projectiles without difficulty. A bulletproof vest is literally a matter of life and death.
But spiritual armour is a matter of eternal life and death. It’s what today’s passage is all about, so if you have a Bible, please turn with me to Ephesians 6, and we’re starting at v10.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
1) Our enemy
If only our spiritual enemy were a humble, everyday convenience store robber like that loser in the pickup truck.
But God’s word today introduces our real enemy as not human at all, but supernatural and demonic. Our enemy is an unseen power, identified for us here as the devil.
The Bible describes him as a spiritual being of superior intelligence to us. Verse 11 speaks of “his schemes”, meaning he devises crafty and ingenious strategies to undermine and attack our faith.
He is a spiritual being of superior strength to us as well. In his first letter, Peter describes the devil as an apex predator who sits proudly top of the food chain. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” he says. He can devour, he can destroy.
The book of Revelation portrays the realm of the demonic with words like “abomination,” “beast,” “dragon” and “serpent.” Which of these words describe realities you would allow inside your home?
We need to understand this because we can easily fall into the trap of thinking that people are the problem. And it is undeniable that some people are antagonistic towards us because of our faith and some even hate us for being Christians. But God’s word tells us here not to fight with them. In fact, Jesus says the exact opposite; he tells us to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us.
Our real issue is not with any human being, no matter how depraved or wicked he or she might be. Verse 12 says, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Satan rules an extensive network of demonic darkness, with legions of evil spirits at his beck and call.
How would that have sounded to the people who first read this letter? Their city was dominated by a massive pagan temple where idol worship was almost a civic duty. You remember when we looked at Acts 19 how the progress of the gospel was interrupted by a servant girl with an evil spirit. Many who were converted from occult practices publicly burned their books and idols and this power encounter, this clash of kingdoms, eventually provoked a riot sending the whole city into uproar.
Added to this, in Acts 20, Paul spoke to the elders of the church and warned them that in the future, savage wolves would come in among them, distorting the truth and drawing away believers after them. “So be on your guard,” he said to them.
Our struggle too is against a whole dark, demonic realm of evil spirits that has influence in false religion, in politics, in the arts, in big business, in law and order, in the media, in healthcare, in high finance, in science, in education. All these spheres are spiritual battlegrounds; we can feel it.
Unfortunately, you and I are no match for Satan and his demonic army. That’s the bad news. But all the powers of hell (times a hundred) are no match for Christ. As John Wimber used to say, “There is nothing that Satan can do that Jesus did not ‘undo’ on the cross!” That’s the good news.
This explains why the devil targets his schemes and strategies not against God, against whom he has no chance, but against God’s people. It’s why he will not rest, day or night, from launching assaults, and accusations and attacks on your faith.
And it’s why it says here, not “act tough, trusting in yourself and in your own brilliant ideas,” but “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”
2) Our stance
Given the superior intelligence and strength of our enemy, you might think it might take an ingeniously complex strategy or superhuman firepower to subdue and defeat him.
But four times in this short passage, our battle orders are summed up in one simple word of resistance; stand. Stand against. Stand your ground. Stand firm. And, if you do, you will be able to say at the end of every attack, “I’m still standing.”
There’s a bronze statue of Winston Churchill just off the Champs Elysées in Paris. And the inscription on the plinth simply says, in English, “We shall never surrender.”
At the time Paul wrote this letter, there was one dominant world superpower; the all-conquering Roman Empire. In the Roman military, surrender was unthinkable. Retreating without orders was seen as highly dishonourable. And the instruction here in v11, v13 and v14 is never to withdraw, never to retreat, never to give an inch, never to wave the white flag, but to stay at your post come what may and hold your ground.
You see, our hope is not that God will take us out of the battle so we’re nice and safe. We live in victory when we stay in the battle with the absolute assurance that we will win.
Have you ever noticed that no matter where you go in the world, gravity always drags everything downwards? You throw an object up into the air, no matter how high, and it will fall back to the ground. Every time.
What’s true in physics is also true for lifestyle. If you neglect routine maintenance on your car, it will break down. If you don’t work at your marriage, it will spiral down into unhappiness and even breakdown. If you don't shower daily, and wash your clothes regularly, you will start to wonder why people always seem to avoid you.
What’s true in physics and in lifestyle is also true spiritually. Unless you actually stand against the spiritual forces of evil at work in the world, they will eventually grind you down.
That’s it. But with the help of God, we can stand with confidence that no weapon formed against us will prosper.
3) Our armour
Standing firm is only part of our resistance. “Put on the full armour of God”, Paul says. In fact, he says it twice; once in v11 and once in v13, just in case we weren’t paying attention the first time.
This building, before we took ownership of it, was a carpet warehouse. But before that, it was a store for army supplies. Maybe that should serve as a constant reminder that we’ve got to daily put our armour on.
Verses 14-17 list six items of equipment that we need to wear. All of it. There is no single “secret” to the Christian life that fixes all the problems. It’s no good saying, “I’ve got the shield” or “I’ve got the belt” so I don’t need the rest.
We need the full armour, the whole armour. If we don’t, the enemy will scheme to exploit the one part of us that is exposed. And notice, if we are going to prevail, and not fail, in spiritual warfare, it needs to be the armour of God, not our own home-made spiritual defences. Human wisdom will not do.
The belt of truth (v14)
Firstly, v14, the belt of truth, buckled round your waist. A Roman soldier’s leather belt was wide and strong; it held the rest of the rest of his armour in place and from it hung the purse for his money and the scabbard for his sword. It’s the belt of truth.
Historians say we are living in the Contemporary Age, which follows on from the Modern Age.
Technologists tell us that we’re living in a period of history called the early digital age. With the rise of artificial intelligence, who knows what the middle and late digital age will look like - if indeed we get there.
But sociologists define our era as the post-truth age. We live now at a time of shaking foundations, of widespread confusion, of deconstruction of belief and of trivialising truth claims. Does this account for the current crisis in mental health in our society? Probably it is part of the reason.
People are immersed in a head space where it is increasingly difficult to know what is real and what is not. I mean, even the perfectly straightforward question of what gender we are is now a tortuous muddle infecting every area of society.
Who are we? What are we to think? Why are we here? How are we to live? What are we to do? Where will this all lead?
Jesus called the devil “a liar from the beginning and the father of lies.” But to his followers, he said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free…” Listen, the first thing you need in the spiritual battle is to be held together by truth.
The breastplate of righteousness (v14)
The breastplate was a large leather or bronze section of body armour that covered the heart. It says in Proverbs 4.23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
The devil wants you to lose heart. He loves to point to you and say, “You’re always messing up. You must be one of the worst Christians I’ve ever met. Do you really think God could use you? What a joke!”
Protect and defend your inner life; your emotions, your motives, your feelings, your attitudes because they determine your actions and your actions determine how your life ends up.
But over our hearts, we have breastplate of righteousness to wear. The thing is, how can we be counted and declared righteous by God? Is there an elaborate ceremony with religious rigmarole and long-winded liturgy I have to go through? No!
Do I have to wear a hair shirt or submit myself to flagellation and live a severe, ascetic lifestyle? No!
Do I have to make some great sacrifice, or push some enormous boulder up a hill, or go and slay dragons in a castle with a moat of fire? No!
I just come as I am, empty handed. And the righteousness I wear over my heart is not my own pathetic moral goodness, but Christ’s perfect righteousness that God gives me as a free gift through faith.
If you are in Christ, when God looks at your heart, he sees only the perfections of the Son he loves. That is part of your armour.
The footwear of readiness (v15)
The third item of armour is for your feet.
I mentioned the history of this building earlier. I was once part of a church in the 1990s which met in a converted factory that had previously manufactured screw-in studs for football boots.
And they always used to refer to that history as a prophetic word over them, that they were in a ferocious contest and they needed to not slide, but stand. As a young church plant, they saw many young people; drug users, dropouts, anarchists, rebels, social misfits come to faith in Christ. There were lots of hairy moments, and much deliverance, but that church is still strong and healthy today.
Some English language Bibles use the word sandals here and we think of sandals as lightweight and flimsy beachwear. But remember, the Roman empire expanded some way north of Darlington, and depending on where a Roman soldier was serving, his footwear could have included hobnails, fur lining and had leather straps or sometimes bronze shin guards that went up to the knee. Crucially, the footwear had heavy soles with small spikes, like athletics shoes, to give grip and traction in hand-to-hand combat.
Being ready and willing to tell your testimony and share the gospel gives you protection in spiritual warfare. Who can I share the gospel with? Where do I even start?
Start where you are. A woman who had attended an outreach week in her church wrote afterwards to the evangelist saying, “Dear Sir, I have come to know Jesus Christ during the mission. I feel he is calling me to preach the gospel. The trouble is, I have twelve children. What shall I do?” The evangelist wrote back, “Dear Madam, I am delighted to hear that God has called you to preach the gospel. I am even more delighted that he has provided you with a congregation!”
The shield of faith (v16)
The fourth item is the shield of faith. I can’t find one example anywhere in the Bible where God asks someone to do something easy. And Ephesians 6 paints the terrifying picture of a city under siege with fire-tipped arrows raining down on it.
There are days when we feel beleaguered, surrounded on every side, by doubt, and cynicism, and false guilt, and scepticism, and temptation, and accusation, and discouragement… sometimes the whole lot at once! Have you had days like that? Hold high the shield of faith! Lay hold of the promises of God! Stand firm with defiant determination to stand your ground and not give Satan an inch.
Because you have defences that can put out the fires of all the enemy’s burning arrows. Faith.
Worry won’t help you. Worry looks around. Fear won’t help you either. Fear looks inwards. Regret won’t help you. Regret looks back. But faith; faith looks up. Ask God for more faith, ask for greater faith, ask for the spiritual gift of all conquering faith, faith that moves mountains.
The helmet of salvation (v17)
2 Corinthians 10.4-5 talks about tearing down negative strongholds by taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And the fifth piece of armour is for the head, where God is renewing your mind day by day. It’s the helmet of salvation.
Knowing deeply that you are saved by grace, that Satan was overpowered at the cross, that your sins were nailed there forever, that you are assured of your home in heaven and that hell has no hold over you, means you can lift your head with confidence in any battle.
The sword of the Spirit (v17)
And the last piece of equipment is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. John Stott in his commentary talks about how God’s word cuts through people’s defences, pricks their consciences and stabs them spiritually awake. The word of God has cutting power, sharper than any double-edged sword.
Nicky Gumbel sometimes talks about a man went to university with called Earl Smith. Earl came from a family with lots of money. He was independently wealthy and did not need to work. He wasted his life, taking all kinds of drugs; cannabis, amphetamines, cocaine, heroin... By the age of thirty he was hospitalised and was a very sick man.
A Christian friend came to visit him in hospital and gave him a New Testament. Earl was delighted. The Bible paper was very thin so it was ideal for rolling joints. He rolled and smoked his way through Matthew, Mark and Luke. But when he came to John’s Gospel, he started reading. As a result of reading John’s Gospel, he had an encounter with Jesus. His heart believed, he turned from his life of sin, and all his spiritual chains fell off. Earl was filled with joy.
The psychiatrist in charge of Earl’s case was not only intelligent, she was beautiful as well; in fact, she had been a fashion model before she became a mental health professional. She watched how he changed and got better, and one day she said to him, “Look, I have it all – a good career, a good salary, good looks and good qualifications – but I am not fulfilled. You’ve made a mess of your life up to now, and yet you seem happy at peace. What has happened to you?”
Then he told her what he had read in John’s Gospel, how it had changed his life. And then he led her to faith in Jesus Christ.
Ending
As I end, let me sum it all up in three simple sentences. 1. You live in God’s world, because he created it. 2. You live in Satan’s world, because he corrupted it. But 3. You live in Christ’s world, because he has conquered it.
Satan is devious and powerful. Don’t underestimate him and let your guard drop.
But don’t overestimate him and live in fear. He is a fallen creature, his future is doomed, and he awaits his eternal final destruction when Jesus returns. Until that day, take your stand - and hold your ground.
Sermon preached at King's Church Darlington, 17 May 2026.
No comments:
Post a Comment