Putting on the Armor and Standing Firm in the Lord, Sept 2, 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today we look at the full armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-20

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² 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. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor 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. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

It is important to note that after St. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, reminds us to live and life worthy of our calling, to submit to one another out of reverence or fear of the Lord, and turns the whole concept of marriage and family from a pecking order into serving one another in submission to Christ he tackles the most important practical purpose for which we are called.

St. Paul reminds us that we are in a battle. It is hard for us to remember when we spend so much time working, paying bills, hoping to work in order to pay bills, raising families, running around trying to catch up, going to class, studying etc.... that we are in a war! I think Satan has worked overtime to keep us from seeing the battles around us. We set up all kinds of protections in order to keep safe and secure yet what St. Paul is reminding the people in Ephesus, a city with many retired soldiers, writing as he is in Prison in Rome surrounded by soldiers that we are soldiers of the Cross. He is looking at the guards and thinking of the people in Ephesus a major city with soldiers, the governor the temple to Diana and many other things:
Wikipedia notes:
 When Augustus became emperor in 27 BC, he made Ephesus instead of Pergamum the capital of proconsular Asia, which covered western Asia Minor. Ephesus entered an era of prosperity. It became the seat of the governor, growing into a metropolis and a major center of commerce. According to Strabo, it was second in importance and size only to Rome.^[20] Ephesus has been estimated to be in the range of 400,000 to 500,000 inhabitants in the year 100, making it the largest city in Roman Asia and of the day. Ephesus was at its peak during the 1st and 2nd century AD.
The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (Diana),^[21] who had her chief shrine there, the Library of Celsus, and its theatre, which was capable of holding 25,000 spectators.^[22] This open-air theater was used initially for drama, but during later Roman times gladiatorial combats were also held on its stage, with the first archaeological evidence of a gladiator graveyard found in May 2007.^[23] The population of Ephesus also had several major bath complexes, built at various points while the city was under Roman rule. The city had one of the most advanced aqueduct systems in the ancient world, with multiple aqueducts of various sizes to supply different areas of the city, including 4 major aqueducts. They fed a multiple set of water mills, one of which has been identified as a sawmill for marble.
Ephesus was similar to us in North America. They felt secure, they were important. From a worldly point of view they had it all. But as Paul remembered these saints he wanted them to not be fooled by having a worldview that did not take into account the SPIRITUAL reality all around.

He exhorts them to look at things with a heavenly perspective. That Satan is real and he is at work even when we think we are safe. He wants to lull us into the false sense of security that money, a war that is far away in Afghanistan, Syria etc.. but not here, means we are safe. He wants us to think that we are secure as he plans to strike. St. Peter reminded us that we should humble ourselves and recognize that "our enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8) St. Paul and St. Peter understood that we are all targets and like Job the Lord does allow us to be tested. Although not beyond our abilities:

1 Corinthians 10:13

¹³ No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

So Christ spoke through Peter and Paul to remind us of the battle but also to remember HE WON THE WAR! THEREFORE WE WIN IN CHRIST!!

May this reminder to put on the Full Armor of God and Stand Firm in Christ help us to dress up with the knowledge we are at war but we know the outcome and WE WIN!

AMEN! COME LORD JESUS!

Love in Christ,
Pastor