A series of homilies on Ephesians 5 & 6
A homily is “a short talk on a religious or moral topic; a usually short sermon; a lecture or discourse on or of a biblical theme.”
I am sharing a verse-by-verse series of short messages on Ephesians 5 & 6 (as well as other passages of Scripture) specifically targeted at reviving families and encouraging and exhorting husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, and children to do what God has commanded them to do, for if the church is to be revived and the country is to be awakened, the family must be revived first.
Ephesians 6:10-17:
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
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John Climacus said, “Let us charge into the good fight with joy and love, without being afraid of our enemies. Though unseen themselves, they can look at the face of our soul, and if they see it altered by fear, they take up arms against us all the more fiercely for the cunning creatures have observed that we are scared. So let us take up arms against them courageously. No one will fight with a resolute fighter.”
Leonard Ravenhill said, “A popular evangelist reaches your emotions. A true prophet reaches your conscience.”
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Today, we are going to continue looking at the sixth piece of armor — the sword of the Spirit. The Bible tell us to take “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
As you can tell from the amount of time we are spending on this particular piece of armor, it is very important. In fact, all of the pieces of our armor — the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation are all tied to the truth of God’s Word.
When we put on the belt of truth, we are putting on the truth of God’s Word. When we put on the breastplate of righteousness, we are clothing ourselves in the righteousness of Christ by obeying the word of God. When we put on the shoes of the Gospel peace, we are preparing ourselves to share the good news contained in the Bible with all whom we come in contact with. When we arm ourselves with the shield of faith, we are able to thwart and deflect the schemes of the enemy because of our firm belief in God’s Word. When we put on the helmet of salvation, we take comfort in the assurance of our rebirth and in the hope of Christ’s second coming — both of which are spoken of in Scripture.
And, finally, when we take up the sword of the Spirit, we actively use the Word of God to attack and defeat Satan, the flesh, and the world. Why? Because the “the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword…” Along with your armor and along with prayer, the only offensive weapon you will ever need to be successful in spiritual warfare is the Word of God.
The Scottish preacher Thomas Guthrie said, “The Bible is an armory of heavenly weapons, a laboratory of infallible medicines, a mine of exhaustless wealth. It is a guidebook for every road, a chart for every sea, a medicine for every malady, and a balm for every wound. Rob us of our Bible and our sky has lost its sun.”
In closing, Warren Wiersbe writes in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, “In one sense, the ‘whole armor of God’ is a picture of Jesus Christ. Christ is the Truth, and He is our righteousness and our peace. His faithfulness makes possible our faith; He is our salvation; and He is the Word of God. This means that when we trusted Christ, we received the armor. Paul told the Romans what to do with the armor: wake up, cast off sin, and ‘put on the armor of light’. We do this by putting ‘on the Lord Jesus Christ’. By faith, put on the armor and trust God for the victory. Once and for all, we have put on the armor at the moment of salvation. But there must be a daily appropriation. When King David put off his armor and returned to his palace, he was in greater danger than when he was on the battlefield. We are never out of reach of Satan’s devices, so we must never be without the whole armor of God.”
The Gospel Light Minute X 