I invite you this morning to turn in your Bibles to the letter of Paul to the Ephesians. We are nearing the close of this letter. We're going to pick up today in chapter 6, beginning in verse 10. Ephesians chapter 6, beginning in verse 10. We are presently involved in a worldwide war against terror. A war that is being waged against enemies who attack us because of our citizenship and our national commitments. The front line of this war is not out there someplace, it is right here. We live on the front lines because the enemy has brought it to us. Our enemies in this war do not fight with conventional methods. They make their plans in secret and then they execute those plans whenever and wherever they will without notice and without any regard for who's injured. They rely on cunning and deception in order to be effective against a superior power. They seek to demoralize us so that we will retreat from the fight and let them prevail. Given our current state of world affairs, I could be talking about the war of terror which the United States is engaged in with many from the Middle East, some in our own borders, but I'm not. I'm talking about a war that has been waged much longer and much more broadly, and that is, in fact, much more deadly. I'm talking about the war that Paul calls to our minds in our text this morning, a war between the devil and the kingdom of God. A war being waged against the citizens of this kingdom. And it comes as a very stern and stark but also encouraging reminder at the close of this book of what Paul has tried to tell us all along. In the first three chapters of this letter, Paul proclaimed to the saints how God had blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. And he established how the redemption accomplished by the Lord Jesus applied through faith to each and every one of his children has joined them to the one holy, universal, and apostolic church. He has established the undeniable case and undeniable fact of the position of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he moved on in the last three chapters to turn our attention to our responsibility as these citizens. As the citizens of the kingdom of God, we are called to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. We're called to live lives characterized by love that builds up the body of Christ, by a purity that reflects God's righteousness and holiness. and by the Holy Spirit wrought prudence or wisdom that he gives us to submit to God's will. God is sovereign in our salvation, but we as his people are responsible to respond in faith and with obedience. And then Paul comes to 6, verse 10 to 20, and he sums up this entire letter by reminding us that in our efforts to live lives worthy of our calling, We will face opposition. In our text this morning, he reveals to us the fact that the saints are stationed on the front lines against spiritual enemies, equipped by God in order to stand firm. So let us read together. I will read and follow verses 10 through 20 of chapter 6 to the Ephesians. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor 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 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 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. Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around 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 of 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, and pray in the Spirit and 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. 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, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. Here ends the reading of God's Word. and verses 10 to 20 is an entire thought which I hoped to cover today but I have to leave off 18, 19 and 20 I'll have to leave you hanging we will concentrate on what Paul has revealed to us in verses 10 through 17 when you're stationed on the front line in a war your victory if not your very survival depends upon how well you know your enemy is this not one of the great lessons we learned on September the 11th? As a nation, we'd fallen asleep. We dropped our guard and we did not know that the enemies had arrived on our own shores to bring the battle to us. In the same way, the saints of God need to know that we live on the front line. We live in a war against spiritual enemies. it's easy to rejoice in the good news of the gospel. And it's easy sometimes to look forward with hope to the last day when we will enjoy the fullness of our redemption. But as we wait for that day, we can often lose sight of the fact that our deliverance from sin and death today has not yet delivered us from the battle. This battle that has been raging since the serpent invaded the Garden of Eden. When I say the serpent, I mean the devil. Because of Adam's fall, each of us was conceived and born in the service of God's enemy, the devil. Even all of us who think we're good people, willingly and continually we wage war against God and His Christ, fighting Him to our death, even eternal death in hell. But by the grace of God, the saints have come to realize that we are God's enemies. And we have by faith accepted His offer of peace in the Lord Jesus Christ who shed His precious blood to take away all of our sins and to set us free from the tyranny of the devil. But even though that's been done, We are still on the front lines. We find ourselves standing on the opposite side, however, no longer fighting against our God, but fighting for Him. For we find ourselves on the side of gratitude instead of rebellion. As children of God, our former Father is now our enemy. And in verse 11, Paul identifies him. He's the devil. The very one who tempted Eve and Adam in the garden. The very one who tempted Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is that spiritual creature. He is a creature who wages war with cunning and with deception so that Paul says we must stand against his schemes, his evil devices. In verse 12, Paul lifts the veil for us as saints to see what stands on the other side of the front line. To see that the devil doesn't wage war alone. he has an army at his service. And he writes, 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 realms of evil in the heavenly realms. This is a spiritual war. And because our enemies are spiritual, the devil's first method of deceit, his first train of attack is to convince us or have us believe that there really is no enemy. that he doesn't exist. After all, we can't see them. We can't touch them. We can't physically sense their existence at all. And this tactic has proved very effective in the life of the church, especially over the last 200 years, as men have given more faith to what man can observe in science than what God has revealed to be the truth in his word. And many professing Christians have fallen victim and have left the front line and left the church open to attack. Now, would this be a safe strategy to follow for our nation in light of the terrorist war we're involved in? Can we safely conclude that we have no enemies simply because we have not met them face to face? Of course not. We have enough information to know that they're there and that they're active and that they're set against us. But the quality of the information that our government has is nothing compared to what God has about our enemies and what He's revealed to us in His Word about our enemies. His knowledge is complete. It is without error. And He has revealed, of all that He knows, all that we need to know in order to stand against Him. He has left us no place to depend on our senses. He has revealed the truth in clear terms that we have an enemy. And if that strategy fails and people actually continue to believe that we fight against a spiritual enemy, the devil offers another deception. Because God has not told us everything that he knows about our enemy, the devil will have us question if we know enough. Perhaps we need to know more. And many are tempted to neglect their duties on the front line of the church by getting entangled in speculation about such things as how should we rank the rulers and the authorities and the powers that Paul mentions here. What are the duties that each have? What are the powers that they have? And how can we best counteract them? And this too has proved an effective strategy. especially in the last 20 years or more. Christian authors have spun elaborate and intriguing tales out of nothing and written spectacular works of fiction, some of the best that's on the market. But their speculations too often distract the people of God from the non-fiction that God has revealed in His Word. Would we be safe to follow this logic as a nation? Can we afford to not act on what we know for sure and spend our time pursuing what we can never know for sure? Of course not. It's ludicrous on the face. And yet, in this spiritual warfare, many are sidetracked by speculations. Where are you? Have you left the line because you think there is no war? Have you become entangled and distracted from your duty? if you have been deceived into inaction in the life of the church, you need to wake up. You need to repent before God for your dereliction in your duties and to take up your place in the church of Jesus Christ. You can be sure that when you do, your life will never be the same because the devil will no longer ignore you and you will be engaged in this warfare of which we're told. It's not without reason that the Apostle Peter describes our enemy in this way. He says, Paul uses a little different imagery here, a military imagery, describing the devil's attacks against the soldiers of Christ as the flaming arrows of the evil one. Verse 16. And this is an apt picture for the devil's first line of attack. We have returned to an age of epic movies and I would dare say most here have seen at least one. And they have to have the battle scene where the archers shoot from afar and strike down the unsuspecting men and that's how the devil attacks. These attacks strike without warning. They come without anticipation and they bring with them much suffering and misery. It's these occasions that Paul speaks of in verse 13 as the day of evil when it comes, when the devil attacks. Now the devil's quiver is filled with all kinds of these fiery bolts to bring against the church. Sometimes he strikes through difficult circumstances that bring physical or spiritual distress. And sometimes he strikes through the anguish of a loss, something that you hoped for, expected, and held on to so tightly that it's taken away. Or sometimes through the recurring memories of sins that you know you've repented for, but that keep popping up in your mind. And no matter how these come, the devil's arrows are designed to inflame within you, within the saints of God, such things as lack of assurance in God and His saving work for you. discontent with God's provision so that you lust for more or bitterness that grows up to poison your relationship with God and with other people. The devil is not content just to strike you. He wants to undo you and he wants to have you believe that you've been separated from God so that you will fall. and the devil is relentless in his opposition as he works to overpower those saints who seek to stand in their own strength. According to verse 12, living on the front line is dangerous, and the struggle against spiritual enemies will be intense. The word translated struggle there is the word for wrestling, and in the military context, that speaks of hand-to-hand combat on the front line. To live a life worthy of the calling you've received, saints of God, is to engage in hand-to-hand combat against the devil and his minions. Therefore, in order to survive and to be victorious on the front lines against these spiritual enemies, we need to be equipped by God. So we turn from the familiar analogy that Paul used previously about the human body that portrays our unity and diversity as Christ the head and we the members as the one body, to a military analogy that speaks of the functional unity of a group of Roman soldiers under the command of a centurion, under a commander. Now, a centurion was responsible for preparing 100 men and training them for battle. And in order to survive and be victorious on the battlefront, they would have to function as one unit, one being. one command would move them all and they would move together. Forward, backwards, sideways. Whatever the call was, they would move together. In verses 10 and 11, we hear King Jesus, through his centurion Paul, if you will, give these commands to the saints. Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God. Our Lord has not sent us to the fight naked. He's not sent us to the fight in our own strength. We are commanded to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. And we are commanded in that Word of God to be passive and to continually receive the strength that comes from the Lord our God. For He holds all the power. We are called in this command to remember that apart from Christ, we can do nothing. In fact, apart from the church militant, apart from the body of Christ, by ourselves we can do nothing. But at the same time, we're reminded that His grace is sufficient for us. That His power is made perfect in our weakness. And that you can do everything in Christ who strengthens you. remember the first half of Paul's letter. It's all about what Christ has done for you. And listen to this word of prayer that Paul gave in chapter 1. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know. Be certain. Have no doubt. Believe so much that you'll act upon it that you will know His incomparably great power for us who believe. Incomparably great power for us who believe. And again in chapter 3 in his doxology, he reminds us in his praise of God when he says, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty strength. What more could we ask than to fight with the God of all power? But more He has given us. For He goes on in verses 11 and 13 to command us to put on the full armor of God. To actively, responsibly take up and put on once and for all the armor that comes from God and that is in fact His own armor. our God and Savior is the Lord Almighty. And when He comes in judgment as the warrior king, He comes in His armor, as Isaiah saw in chapter 59 of his prophecy. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one. He was appalled that there was no one to intervene. So His own arm worked salvation for Him and His own righteousness sustained Him. He put on righteousness as His breastplate and the helmet of salvation on His head. He put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped Himself in zeal as in a cloak. And according to what they have done, so will He repay wrath to His enemies and retribution to His foes. He put on righteousness as His breastplate. He put on the helmet of salvation on His head. He put on the garments of vengeance. And as is true of many Old Testament prophecies, there is something in this vision of both the first and the second comings of the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Son of God humbled Himself and became flesh, He came to bear for His people this judgment that God will bring against His enemies. His own arm works salvation for Him and His own righteousness sustained Him. That's our Lord. And in the time between Christ's finished work on the cross and His ascension into heaven to the right hand of the Father and His coming back in glory, clad in this armor, He extends the gospel of peace to all men through the Lord Jesus Christ. The peace offers on the table. Today is the day of salvation. If you reject God's offer of peace on His terms, then in the end you will suffer His wrath and His judgment forever in the torments of hell. But if you repent of your sin, forsake your own efforts to get right with God, and you trust in Christ alone as the one who has fully satisfied Almighty God in your place, Satisfying His righteousness, satisfying His justice. Then when He returns in glory, you will be found standing with the church, triumphant with the Lord Jesus Christ and clad in the full armor of God. When we look carefully at verses 14 to 17, We will see that it is only after we have put on the full armor of God, once and for all, that we will be able to stand firm. Paul writes, beginning in verse 14, and I will add a few words for emphasis. Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth already buckled around your waist. with the breastplate of righteousness already in place and with your feet already fitted with the readiness that comes with the gospel of peace. In addition to this, taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, take in hand, that is, receive once and for all the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Do you remember the story of David and Goliath? We all remember the victory, but sometimes we forget the preparation. David was going to handle that giant Goliath because he defamed and shamed the army of the living God. And Saul heard of it and had him come, and he offered him his armor. He says, put it on for the battle. And David, obeying his king, he put it on. And he moved around a little bit. And he took it off and he says, I'm not used to it. I think what that means is, I'm not fit for it. It doesn't fit me. So he denied Saul's armor and he went into battle in the armor of the Lord, which is not discussed there. But the thing is, he refused this armor because it wasn't fit for him. The saints of God receive the armor of God when we are justified by grace through faith in Christ. He gives it to us. And we will not refuse it because God has promised that He will fit us for it. He will grow us in grace and in faith to fit it so that we will not want to shirk it as David did the armor of Saul. He will do this through our sanctification, through the work of the Spirit within us. Book of Ephesians, chapter 1 to 3. This is what God has done for you. In our analogy, He's given you the armor of God. Chapters 4 through 6. Live in a manner worthy of your calling. Dependent on the Spirit, you'll be matured in grace and in faith and He will grow you in to fit that armor. God has given us Christ so that we can and will become Christ-like. And it's His armor that defends us in the attacks of the spiritual enemies. And it's His armor that we will use to fight the good fight until the day of Christ Jesus. So as we look through this list of armor, briefly, I want to remind you of the reality of the armor and its effect it will have in the life of His people. It is Christ who has belted you with truth. According to chapter 1, you were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is yours. And the Holy Spirit fits you for this armor as He makes you willing and able to obey the command of God to speak the truth in love so that in all things we will grow up into Him who is the head. Christ Himself is your breastplate of righteousness. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 that Christ has become our righteousness, our holiness, our redemption. He came and died for the sins of His people that He might give us this righteousness. It is yours. It is the armor of God. And the Holy Spirit fits you for this armor as He makes you willing and able to obey God's command to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. What God demands, He gives you in Christ. Paul assures us in chapter 2 of this letter that Christ himself is our peace. In Romans chapter 5 he writes that since we've been justified through faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. It's yours. it's been put on you. And the Holy Spirit fits you for this armor as He makes you willing and able to obey God's command to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. The shield of faith that binds you to Christ is the gift of God to you. It's by grace you've been saved through faith, Paul says. And this not from yourselves, It is the gift of God. Not by work so that no one may boast. It's yours. It's the armor of God. And as we live on the front line, we're to use it to defend ourselves against the attack of the evil one. Because faith turns our eye from ourselves and our own strength and turns us to Christ Jesus, who has all strength and who is our armor, who is our fortress. In Christ and through faith in Him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence. He is our rock. He is our shelter. And the Holy Spirit fits you for this armor as He makes you willing and able to use Christ's gifts of grace that He gives each and every one of you to apply them in works of service to the body of Christ, to other soldiers in the cohort, to other members of the body of Christ so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature. God extends His helmet of salvation as a free gift to all who will hear and obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. It can only be received once, but it can never be lost. And with it comes assurance of salvation. No matter how difficult the fight, no matter how painful the circumstance, He gives us His helmet. And by it we can be confident that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. And Christ Himself is the Word of God in the flesh, In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and He dwelt among us. The written Word of God, set down by the Holy Spirit, testifies to Him. And He is ours by grace, through faith. And Christ Himself applies His Word, His written Word, to His bride. That's you and that's me. Cleansing us by the washing with water through the Word in order to present us to Himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Christ is the Word of God and He has been given to us. And in His Word, His written Word, we find to be the sword of the Spirit who applies it to our hearts. And as soldiers in God's army, we are to continually grow in our knowledge of it. We are to handle it rightly. It is a dangerous weapon. We're to take every thought captive to it. We're to hide it in our hearts. We're to heed it in our lives. And we are to hold it forth to the nations as the gospel of peace. the word of God is living and active sharper than any two-edged sword of a Roman soldier it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit joints and marrow it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart and with it God exposes your sin and he exposes my sin and by it God reveals the Lord Jesus Christ and he will save those who trust in this Lord from their sins and by it the Holy Spirit of God dispels our doubts casts out our fears gives assurance of our salvation and he puts Satan to flight with it people of God we may resist the devil and he will flee and it is only as the church militant heeds these commands to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power and to put on the full armor of God that she will be able to fulfill God's purpose for her and that is that she would stand firm. On the front line against spiritual enemies, the saints are equipped by God according to verse 11 so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. And again in verse 13 so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground and after you've done everything to stand. We must not misunderstand what Paul is saying here. He does not picture the church pacifist standing still and waiting in the shelter of the fortress for Satan to break down the gates. Rather, he pictures the church militant. He pictures the Roman cohort under the commander of King Jesus, withstanding the attacks of the devil and moving forward in truth, in righteousness, in peace, and in faith. Together, marching forward in the battle, arrayed shoulder to shoulder, helmets gleaming, interlocked shields, and the word of the Spirit ready to be utilized on the front battle. marching together in the full armor of God and Christ, the church militant will withstand our enemies and we will move forward against them until the day when Christ returns to clear the battlefield forever. And on that day, when the dust settles and our faith becomes sight, the saints of God will be found standing with Christ, the victor. Let us pray. Almighty God and Heavenly Father, we are reminded today through the very vivid imagery of warfare, of our true circumstance. We are reminded that in this world as we wait for the return of Christ, we are engaged in a war, a spiritual war. And arrayed against us is the devil and his legions that would seek to undo us, to separate us from the body of Christ, from the troops with which we serve, to set us aside as uninvolved and unaware and leaving us alone. Oh Lord, if he would have his way, there would be no church, but Lord, we know that you will have your way. for you are the God of all power and you have not left us naked in this battle we enjoy your power in Christ and we have the armor of God in Christ and we have the Holy Spirit given us to enable us to use it in your service in this world help us Father to be vigilant to be purposeful to be aware to be soaked in your word that we might be ever ready to engage in the battle. Thank you that you've made provision for us in Christ. Thank you that you will perfect us unto glorification in Christ. And thank you that on the last day we will stand with Christ and watch the judgment upon the wicked. For he has already sustained it for us. We thank you in the name of Christ our Lord. Amen. Thank you.