Daily Bread Ephesians 6
Daily Bread – Ephesians 6
The Armor of God
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For 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. 13Therefore 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. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And 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.
19Pray 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, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Observation
As Paul concludes his “manual for the church” and letter to the Ephesians, he concludes by teaching them about the “Armor of God”. He has laid the foundation for how they have been saved by grace through faith, and how God has purposed this since the beginning of Creation. He has shown them how each person has been given a gift to build up the body of Christ and has a role in the priesthood of all believers. He has given them the five fold functions of leadership roles (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher). And now Paul lets them know that there will be resistance to the “Missio Dei” (Mission of God) being carried out in this life.
But he reminds them that they have been given a greater power in the Lord and his mighty strength which is within them. As John says, “Greater is He that is in you, than He that is in the world”. He reminds them that there is a battle going on that is not visible to the human eye in the cosmic realm. And finally, he reminds them of the weapons they have been given to fight this battle.
Our modern day weapons of war are different, but the readers back then would have identified with this 1st century armor: a belt, a breastplate, a helmet, shoes and a sword. Without these a person would not be fit for battle. Paul then equates each of these with a spiritual armor we have been given. Truth (about who we are and who God is), Righteousness (Jesus’ righteousness which he gives us as we trust in Him by faith, this means a right relationship with God), Readiness (a willingness to share the Good News with those who don’t know), Faith (unflinching trust in God’s promises), Salvation (forgiveness from sin and an eternal place with God in heaven), The Word of God (God’s powerful Truth, which is able to fight and defeat any lies the world and evil one throw at us), and finally Prayer in the Spirit, (conversation with God that keeps us close to God and focused on the battle at hand).
Application:
As you seek to live a life for God and pass on the Good News of Jesus to those who you have influence over, there will be resistance. As you seek to live a life worthy of your heavenly calling in Christ Jesus, you will be engaged in a battle against your own sinful nature, the world and the evil one.
It will be no accident when you start to grow in your faith that there will be opposition. But the Good News is you need not fear, but merely use the weapons and armor of God, which has been given to you when you came to faith. The evil one can’t touch believers in Christ who are living in the power of the Spirit and relying on the tools God has given us to fight and win the spiritual battle.
In fact the battle has already been won on the cross when Jesus defeated the powers of darkness by dying on the cross for our sins and being raised from the dead. Sin, death and the power of the devil has been defeated once and for all. But as we are aware of this and use the weapons we have been given we will be victorious and be an ambassador for the Good News.
By reading these devotionals, which are straight from God’s word, and praying each day, you are using two of the most effective weapons Jesus has given you. May you continue to be strengthened in your faith and rely on the righteousness of Christ as you live a life worthy of the calling and help pass on faith to the next generation.
Prayer: God we thank you that you have given us every thing we need to defeat every scheme of the evil one to derail us from living a life worthy of our calling in Christ. Continue to train us to use the weapons you have given us and remind us that the battle has already been won and one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father, Amen.
The Armor of God
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For 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. 13Therefore 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. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And 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.
19Pray 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, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Observation
As Paul concludes his “manual for the church” and letter to the Ephesians, he concludes by teaching them about the “Armor of God”. He has laid the foundation for how they have been saved by grace through faith, and how God has purposed this since the beginning of Creation. He has shown them how each person has been given a gift to build up the body of Christ and has a role in the priesthood of all believers. He has given them the five fold functions of leadership roles (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher). And now Paul lets them know that there will be resistance to the “Missio Dei” (Mission of God) being carried out in this life.
But he reminds them that they have been given a greater power in the Lord and his mighty strength which is within them. As John says, “Greater is He that is in you, than He that is in the world”. He reminds them that there is a battle going on that is not visible to the human eye in the cosmic realm. And finally, he reminds them of the weapons they have been given to fight this battle.
Our modern day weapons of war are different, but the readers back then would have identified with this 1st century armor: a belt, a breastplate, a helmet, shoes and a sword. Without these a person would not be fit for battle. Paul then equates each of these with a spiritual armor we have been given. Truth (about who we are and who God is), Righteousness (Jesus’ righteousness which he gives us as we trust in Him by faith, this means a right relationship with God), Readiness (a willingness to share the Good News with those who don’t know), Faith (unflinching trust in God’s promises), Salvation (forgiveness from sin and an eternal place with God in heaven), The Word of God (God’s powerful Truth, which is able to fight and defeat any lies the world and evil one throw at us), and finally Prayer in the Spirit, (conversation with God that keeps us close to God and focused on the battle at hand).
Application:
As you seek to live a life for God and pass on the Good News of Jesus to those who you have influence over, there will be resistance. As you seek to live a life worthy of your heavenly calling in Christ Jesus, you will be engaged in a battle against your own sinful nature, the world and the evil one.
It will be no accident when you start to grow in your faith that there will be opposition. But the Good News is you need not fear, but merely use the weapons and armor of God, which has been given to you when you came to faith. The evil one can’t touch believers in Christ who are living in the power of the Spirit and relying on the tools God has given us to fight and win the spiritual battle.
In fact the battle has already been won on the cross when Jesus defeated the powers of darkness by dying on the cross for our sins and being raised from the dead. Sin, death and the power of the devil has been defeated once and for all. But as we are aware of this and use the weapons we have been given we will be victorious and be an ambassador for the Good News.
By reading these devotionals, which are straight from God’s word, and praying each day, you are using two of the most effective weapons Jesus has given you. May you continue to be strengthened in your faith and rely on the righteousness of Christ as you live a life worthy of the calling and help pass on faith to the next generation.
Prayer: God we thank you that you have given us every thing we need to defeat every scheme of the evil one to derail us from living a life worthy of our calling in Christ. Continue to train us to use the weapons you have given us and remind us that the battle has already been won and one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father, Amen.
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