Ephesians 6:10-20 10Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. 11Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. 17And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
There are many passages that I really like and a few I love deeply because they are my go to study and to read. This is one of those. Back in the days I had to testify in court, I would read this the night before I had to testify, because when I was on the witness stand it was a battle of wits, and I needed all the strength to carry with me. This is what a warrior does. They prepare for the battle.
We don’t like to talk about warriors and fighters these days. The ugliness of war is devastating but it is there, none the less. There is a huge difference between warriors and fighters. Fighters will fight anything, but warriors keep the peace, they prefer not to fight but if there is one, they are ready. This passage is about being a warrior. You see, I am a warrior born. When I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I was reborn, and that rebirth made me a warrior. This passage is about preparing for battle.
The Christian church has been minimizing the parts that deal with warfare for decades… many hymnals have removed such songs as “Onward Christian” soldiers and the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and when the song “Be thou my vision” was accepted into hymnals one verse was removed and later other verses were change to remove such words as Father, son and King. I think that is foolish. I refuse to sing the new version because it misses the point of the song. It is a warrior’s song.
This passage in the Bible is dealing with warfare. It is the battle against evil. If you ignore evil, it does not go away. It gets stronger instead. Paul is telling the Ephesians this. He is writing this powerful passage while he is in prison. He knows that the world around them is constantly bombarding them with things they should accept, and he is telling them how to battle this.
Paul says first be strong in the Lord and take from the Lord His strength by putting on the full armor of God. This full armor will help you stand strong against all that we are bombarded with each day. He explains what those things are that will divert us from our Lord. He tells you how to protect yourself in battle.
Paul is referring back to Isaiah where he says to girdle yourself with truth. The first thing a warrior puts on is his robe that he will wear under the armor, and it would be held together as a belt. That belt is truth, and it holds everything in the gospel together. It is the basis of faith, and who God is. It is not someone else’s truth for Jesus said, “I am the Truth.”
The second thing a warrior puts on is the breastplate. This is to protect the heart because the warrior is lost to the battle if the heart is stopped. That breastplate is righteousness. This refers to the price that Christ paid to save us from sin. Our hearts are protected by His righteousness.
The next thing the warrior needs to put on is the shoes that are made from the Gospel of Peace for even though he is a warrior… He is bringing peace to those at war. Paul in Romans 10:15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GLAD TIDINGS OF GOOD THINGS!” refers back to Isaiah. Warriors are sent out to speak of this Gospel of Peace, and for their journey they need strong comfortable shoes to carry them and those shoes are made from the Gospel of Peace which Jesus brought to us. This is a peace between mankind and God. Which in reading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, those shoes become comfortable.
Once the warrior has finished dressing the warrior needs other tools to aid him and the first is the Sheild of Faith. This will protect us during any battle because as long as we keep our faith in Jesus, that faith will deliver us. But a warrior needs to be alert so that they can move that shield in the direction of where those arrows are coming. The strength of their shield depends on how strong their faith is and how close our walk with Jesus is.
Then a warrior needs to protect the brain its thoughts, and that is protected by the helmet of salvation because without salvation in Jesus Christ, our thoughts are in the open unprotected but with salvation, those are protected.
The warrior needs a weapon, and that weapon is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. For a sword to remain battle ready it needs to be cleaned, sharpened, and the only way to sharpen this weapon is by studying the word of God.
Paul then tells them to pray and to petition in the Holy Spirit, asking God at all times for themselves, and for their brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul then asks them to pray for him that he may speak boldly. We need to pray for those who speak boldly for Christ. They are the warriors on the frontline. They are speaking the truth, and not something that has been pasteurized and homogenized to the point it no longer represents Christ.
My mother was a peacemaker, but she taught me that even peacemakers have to be bold and fight for what is right from time to time. Her wisdom tempered her warrior daughter to be first a peacemaker but also knowing that sometimes you have to fight.
The lyrics to Be Thou my Vision which is ancient Irish… When the churches removed High King of heaven they removed an important reference in this song… In ancient Ireland there were several kings but only one High King who was over all of them… The earth has many leaders but there is only one High King and that is God.
Be though my Vision, O Lord of my heart:
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day of by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my Light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee, and Thou with me Lord:
Thou my great Father, I thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, I with Thee one.
Be Thou my Battle Shield, my Sword for the fight:
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight:
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou my inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou are.
High King of heaven, my victory’s won
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befalls,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
Words: Dallan Forgail (8th Century)
Today’s Question:
Have you prepared yourself as a Warrior?
Ever in Christ’s Love,
Mary Elizabeth Todd
April 1, 2024 & October 16, 2024
Ruhamah United Methodist Church Bible Verses 