A sermon on Ephesians 6:10-17 for the Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz.

One of my favorite action movie tropes is the armory scene. The protagonists have maybe suffered an initial setback or a small defeat, but now they know what they’re up against. They’ve studied their enemies, they’ve put together a flawless plan, and the only thing left to do is gear up. Whether it’s a shady weapons dealer, a secret underground lair, or a Q-type figure from James Bond, the arsenal is impeccable, they’re strapped to the gills, they’re ready to go out and do battle.

It’s that energy of the arsenal scene that Paul is capturing in our Epistle this morning. He’s giving us all of the equipment that we’ll need for our fight. But he also gives us a glimpse of what we’re up against, which underlines that we can’t do it on our own, but we need to enter God’s armory.

I. What We’re Up Against

So this section comes right at the end of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, there’s only three verses and then a closing greeting after this. So in many ways this is the final climax in the flow of Ephesians.

Paul has led the reader through Law and Gospel, he’s taught us the fundamentals, taken us through basic training. Then, in the sections immediately before our text, he’s given instructions for the Christian household—drawn up the military camp and divided everyone into their proper regiment.

Now, he’s guiding us out into the world, leading us into the fray. But before he lets us loose, he gives us some final encouragement, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” and he takes us to visit the armory, “Put on the whole armor of God.” But before he gives us the equipment, he shows us what we’re up against.

We need “to stand against the wiles of the devil.” We wrestle not “against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Now, I don’t think Paul is trying to make distinctions between specific classifications of demons, but the effect of this long list is overwhelming. We don’t wrestle against flesh and blood. Our enemies are not individual bad actors, we’re up against the spiritual forces of evil. Even when we face the temptations of our flesh, that’s not just flesh and blood, that’s spiritual warfare. We’re up against armies and legions of demons, the forces of the devil.

And if we were to face them on our own, the situation would look quite bleak. If we went out into battle carrying our own equipment, wearing our own armor, we’d be left defenseless.

If we girded our waist with our truthfulness, we’d be left with our pants down. “My truth” and “your truth” are just distortions of reality and how often do we lie and twist the truth to our own ends? If the breastplate we wore was that of our righteousness, it would be shattered at the first blow. We sin and fail and no matter how hard we try, it never seems to be enough.

If our feet were shod with our own preparation, we would be sluggish and sorely prepared. If we took the shield of our faith, the faith that I have in my heart, how often does that waver or falter or fade? Those fiery darts strike my heart when I am inflamed with temptation.

If the helmet that we wore was the salvation we could win by our works, our heads would be left unprotected. If the sword we wielded was the sword of our words, how often do our tongues stumble and give a poor defense?

We see what we’re up against. We see the spiritual forces of evil drawing up their line against us. If the only armor we have is what we can bring, it’ll be far from a fair fight. We’d be as good as dead.

II. What We’re Equipped With

But thanks be to God that He gives us His armor. We “take up the whole armor of God,” the armor that God has made and given to us. And this armor is what we need to win the victory.

We gird our waist with truth, none other than the truth of God’s Word, which holds everything up, binds everything together. We put on the breastplate of righteousness—the righteousness of Christ. His holiness, His perfect life which has been freely given to you and that is impenetrable.

On our feet is the preparation of the gospel, the readiness and the swiftness and the urgency that only that good news can give. We are defended by the shield of faith—not our weak faith, but the object of our faith, what we have faith in, we are defended by Christ and His work. He was tempted in every way just as we are, He endured those fiery darts, but He was without sin (Heb 4:15).

We have the helmet of salvation. We have Christ as our head and are protected from every evil assault by the salvation He has won. And we have as our only weapon the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, which “is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow” (Heb 4:12).

With this armor we cannot fail. We will always win. Why? Because the strength is not ours, it is God’s. The victory lies not in us, but in our armor.

Just like the various divisions of spiritual enemies, Paul’s point with this list isn’t to divide it all up and make distinctions, but to display unity. The Word of God is the belt and the shoes and the sword. Christ is the breastplate and the shield and the helmet. The armor of God is this list of stuff, but all of it’s Scripture, all of it’s Jesus.

He is “the way, the truth, and the life,” (Jn 14:6). He is “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS,” (Jer 23:6). He is our refuge and strength, our sole defense, our armor. When we put on the armor of God, we put on Christ. And Christ has won the victory. When you stand against the armies of hell, who goes down in defeat? Not you, warrior of Christ, but the army of demons lays strewn before you.

Through Christ’s death on the cross, our sins are forgiven, our salvation is secure, our enemies are defeated. Christ gives you His victory, gives you Himself to wear so that are “able to withstand in the evil day,” able to endure any temptation, “and having done all, to stand,” to stand before God in righteousness and purity, our sins washed away, clothed with Christ’s perfection, to stand justified before God.

One image or phrase that I’ve seen a lot is that of “prayer warriors.” People online will say things like, “I really need my prayer warriors right now” when they have a special intention and often prayer is conceived of as a sword that the Christian wields against their spiritual enemies. Now, I’m not trying to discount the importance of prayer or downplay its power, and Paul continues right after this armor of God section, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,” so prayer is something that the warrior of Christ does, but here in Ephesians 6, it’s quite clear that the “sword of the Spirit” is not prayer, but “the word of God.”

We fight our spiritual battles not with the fervor of our piety or the strength of our prayer, but with God’s Word, that is our weapon against the forces of evil. So when you face temptation, when you do war against the devil, yes, pray for strength and deliverance, but turn also to Scripture, study and hone that blade, incorporate the promises of Scripture into your prayers, for our victory is found in God’s Word, in what Christ has done for us. He is our armor and our strength, He is the one who has won the victory. We stand victorious, equipped with the armor of God, and each generation of believers continues the victory. You are strong, armed to the teeth, bristling with power, because you have Christ and He is victorious, you are “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Amen.