Ephesians Chapter 6

Verse 13 “Therefore put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” (NLT) This talks about taking up the armor of God so that we can withstand the evil day. And it ends with “standing firm”. We must have our minds made up in advance, and planted in the right way to go. We should put these pieces of armor on daily and have our minds made up so we can withstand the enemy’s attacks. When those attacks come, we will not be caught off guard and in fact, be found standing firm.

So the armor, let’s talk about that.

Verse 14 “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.” (NLT) The belt of Truth is our integrity. We should not give the devil any kind of foothold, not even a pinky toe, in our lives. In other words, we should not give him any kind of evidence of a lack of integrity or he will use it to cut us down. If we run around telling lies, the devil will slander us and have grounds/evidence to stand on. If we say one thing and do another, that is a lack of integrity. So we should let our yes be yes, and our no be no. This verse also talks about the “body armor” or breastplate of righteousness. This is a devout and holy life that is seeking God. Reading His Word, praying, and really trying to live according to God’s wisdom. 

Verse 15 “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.” (NLT) We have peace when we think of the Good News, which is the gospel message that Jesus died to cover all of our sins so that we could be in a relationship with God. Remember, without Jesus, we couldn’t prepare enough sacrifices to cover all our sins. There are just too many. And without sacrifices to cover our sin, we weren’t allowed to be in this relationship with God where we talk to Him in prayer and where He draws near to us. We needed Jesus. And when Jesus died to cover them all, this restored our relationship with God. We should have so much peace in our hearts about this! We have been reconciled (we’re back in a relationship) with God. So when the devil tries to make you anxious or depressed like your sin is too great, you really messed up this time, or you’ve fallen too far from God, your thoughts can remain steady at peace knowing that you are safe in a relationship with God. He can try to throw these invisible flaming darts, but your feet are planted in peace and those darts won’t cause you to run away.

Verse 16 “In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” (NLT) The shield of faith is what repels the attacks of the devil. Meaning, when the devil tries to take away your finances and scare you that you’re going to go broke, your faith says “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:26-33 NLT‬ ‭

The devil is always hidden in what you fear – God is not a god of fear tactics. So use your faith to shield your heart and your thoughts from any type of fear the devil tries to stir up in you. Use your faith to extinguish the devil’s darts. Respond to the devil’s lies with God’s Truth by speaking it out loud so your ears and the enemy can both hear it. That’s how we spur on our faith!

Verse 17 “Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (NLT) The helmet of salvation is this hope we have of what God promised us. He promised us that we have an inheritance in heaven. We will one day go there and be united with Jesus, the son, God, the father, and the Holy Spirit. Our salvation is a covering over our head, all our thoughts. You are covered. The enemy can’t touch your salvation.

And the last one is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Notice how I just used the Word of God to speak to my faith above in that example of fear. The sword of the Spirit is the only offensive piece of armor out of this whole list. The rest of them are all defensive pieces of armor. Knowing what the Bible says and speaking that truth is what pierces the devil and puts him in his place. Now listen, the devil knows the Bible. He knows scriptures better than you. There is proof of that all over the Bible. In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, the devil tries to quote God (but he intentionally misquotes God) to try to get Eve to do something God said not to do. The devil switched one little word in what God had actually said. There’s another example in the New Testament when the devil used scriptures to try to tempt Jesus. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.'” (Matthew 4:6 NLT) That’s conniving. Jesus didn’t need to jump off a cliff to prove He was the Son of God. Bu the devil thought if he used some scripture then this would get Jesus to do what he wanted him to do. Tricky. And this is why you need to know scripture too. The devil is going to try to tempt you and get you to do things by manipulating you with scriptures perhaps taken out of context. You need to be able to call the devil out when these attacks are coming and speak the truth in light of your situation.

Verse 18 says “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” (NLT) This means we should persevere in prayer at all times not just when we want something from God. Calling on God in prayer is an exercise of our faith and hope. We must persevere through every tendency to become weary and give up, even when we don’t get what we want. Often when we are doing really well and prospering in life, we forget to still run to God. We tend to run to him when we are in distress or need. So this scripture is really saying whether you are doing well or there are a lot of things going wrong in your life, a lot of difficulties, we need to keep on praying to stand guard against the devil. It’s really a privilege for us to be able to call on God for strength, power, peace, provision, and then receive it. We shouldn’t forget this. And we must stay alert. In First Peter 5:8 NLT it says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.” This is another warning. The devil is waiting for us to be caught off guard. So stay alert!

Verses 19 and 20 The author, Paul, asks for the words to boldly proclaim the gospel message. This should be our prayer request too. Fear keeps us from sharing Jesus with other people, even our family. Fear keeps us from even mentioning Jesus’ name. And Paul, this man who is known throughout the New Testament for being sold out for Jesus, is asking for even more boldness to share the gospel. To be able to speak freely, clearly, and without dreading ‘the talk about Jesus’. Now if he’s asking for more boldness to share Jesus, how much more should we be including that in our prayers?! Sometimes we get caught up in the embarrassment of sharing the Bible. Or fear of being a weirdo who speaks about the Bible out of nowhere and everywhere. But when we pray for opportunities and for God to give us boldness, we don’t have to overthink it. We don’t have to be afraid. God isn’t looking to make a fool out of you. He wants people to hear your testimony of His work in your life. This is how we share the Bible. We use our testimony. We don’t have to be quoting scripture left and right. We just need the boldness to share what Jesus has done for us and is doing in our lives. That is our testimony. It could be how He has provided for you when you didn’t see a way out. Or how He’s opened doors to you when you didn’t see a way. Or how He kept your kids safe in a scary situation. These are just conversational ways that we can boldly share Jesus.

When I’m reading the Bible every day, there is no shortage of experiences I can share with people as a testimony of God’s work. On a typical day, I’ll read scripture in the morning, and at some point during the day, there is a situation that comes up where I can really use what I learned in God’s Word that morning. And having that testimony of how God’s Word spoke to me and prepared me in the morning for that situation is the testimony I can share with friends or family. Or even neighbors who might ask how I’m doing. It’s really amazing! We always have a testimony. Let’s pray for the boldness to open our mouths and share that with others! This is how we give glory/credit to God.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I want to be found standing firm on your Word. Thank you for giving me the armor to stay strong when the devil comes lurking around. Help me to remember to put this armor on daily. I fasten the belt of Truth around my waist. This is my integrity. Help me to walk in integrity today in all I say and do. I put on the breastplate of righteousness as I read Your Word, pray, and live according to Your wisdom. I steady myself in the shoes of peace when I think about all You’ve done for me, Jesus. Thank you for Your sacrifice for me on the cross. I hold up the shield of faith and extinguish every dart of fear that the enemy tries to shoot my way. I put on the helmet of salvation and am secure in Your promise of my inheritance of Heaven. I grab hold of the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and arm myself with your wisdom, God. Holy Spirit, speak to my heart, and call these scriptures to mind when the enemy tries to tempt me. Spirit, help me stay in a place of prayer throughout my day, giving thanks for all things and bringing everything to You for wisdom and guidance. Help me stay alert and persistent in my prayers! And help me to speak boldly to share the gospel with others. Help me open my mouth and give you credit and glory for all that You’ve done in my life, Jesus. Thank You for who You are in my life, Jesus. In Your Name, I pray, Amen.