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Today we finish up our series on Ephesians.  A little review, we looked first at how the work of Christ is the foundation of peace.  It is through this work that peace comes to our future, past and present.  We then saw how through partnering with Christ we are able to attain peace in our Church, our homes and today in our own souls.  Great deal of this work is done by living as we are called – being who we are, and that is a new creation clothed in righteousness.

I think it’s interesting how Paul lays this out.  If it were us in modern times we would have not started with Christ, we would not have followed up on the community, and we would have started with us.  We would have started with us as individuals.  But, perhaps this should teach us something.  Paul is less concerned with us as individuals and more concerned with the community.  He doesn’t see us as the starting point – no the starting point is the work of Christ.  Part of what robs us of our peace is this illusion that we are at the center of the universe and so we have so much stress trying to order things to our own end.  When we realize that Christ is at the center and the community surrounds him then we can relax as planets in orbit around Christ in the constellation of the faithful.

And yet, today we turn to us.  We turn to the task of having peace as the people of God, we do that primarily through faith.  Isaiah 7:9 tells us the opposite of standing firm, “If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all.” Let us look us read this passage together, starting in Ephesians 6:10-24.

Be strong in the Lord. (Ephesians 6:10)

1. We are called to battle, called to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power” – not of our own might.
2. The type of soldier Paul goes on to describe here is not a gladiator or solo fighter, no he is a soldier in an army.  A piece of a much greater group!  We need to remember that the battle is the Lords and the army consists of more than one.
3. Romans fought as a unit and would go forward in a tight unit shoulder to shoulder and shield to shield.  They would form a box of men which was virtually impenetrable and undefeatable.  But they did not fight alone!  Neither do we, we have each other to rely on for support in battle.
4. The Romans frequently fought in the testudo formation and won the battle of Caer Crodoc because of it.  Where one man would not have survived, together they conquered!

Stand against the devil. (Ephesians 6:11-12)

1. Notice what we are called to, it’s not victory – it’s standing.  Paul is reminding us that we will not be defeating the devil, at least not single handedly.  Paul is reminding us that the battle is the Lord’s and the victory is his!
   1. Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
   2. 1 Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
   3. 1 John 5:4, “for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.”
   4. The victory was won on the cross, Colossians 2:15
2. Too many believers become frustrated when overwhelming situations come at them and bam they feel like they can’t win.  The truth is you can’t, but Paul reminds us that to stand is to be victorious.
3. Recall the story of “Pap” Thomas (George Henry Thomas) at the Battle of Chickamauga. All Thomas did was stand and it saved the entire Western Command of the Union Army.  Holding the line, standing firm was what made him victorious!
4. James 4:7 reminds us that simply resisting the devil will cause him to flee from us.

Equip yourself for battle. (Ephesians 6:13-17)

1. We need to be equipped for God’s battle with God’s armor!
   1. Belt of truth – John 8:44 reminds us that Satan is the father of lies and we can have no hope of standing if we can’t speak the truth!
   2. Breastplate of righteousness – The Roman armor Paul describes here was only effective while advancing, the breastplate was a piece of forward moving equipment.  The belt and the breastplate worked together to protect the core of the soldier.  We group these together often under the word “integrity.”  When we have integrity we are protected from many of the attacks of Satan.
   3. Running shoes – Notice the irony, it is the “gospel of peace” that makes us ready for war!  But when you get serious about taking the gospel you will need to run, Paul the prisoner of Christ knows!
   4. Shield of faith – The shields of the Romans were door like and would be the width of a man’s body and as tall as four feet!
   5. Helmet of salvation – 1 Thessalonians 5:8 reminds us that the helmet is the hope of salvation.  The helmet of salvation guards our minds! What does it guard our mind against?  Doubt, the doubt that we’re not good enough to get salvation.  Ephesians 2:8 reminds us that we’re not, but that we don’t have to be.  This present reality of salvation is a gift of God!
   6. Sword of the Spirit/Word of God – Notice how united the Spirit and the word of God is.  This is in stark contrast to those who would say that they are led by the Spirit more than studying the Bible.  Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that this sword is very sharp!
2. When does this battle come?  Every day, Ephesians 5:16 reminds us that the “days are evil.”  There will certainly be a day when evil rises up in one final stand and God wins eternally.  But, until then there are skirmishes and battles that surround us every day of our lives!
   1. The life of faith is a difficult and dangerous state of living and being.  It’s the armor that allows us to be at peace in the heat of battle.  You might remember that after the US invaded Iraq in 2003 it came out that our soldiers did not have adequate body armor protecting them.  This left families scrambling for the right protection for their loved ones.  Because having the right armor in battle makes the difference between life and death.
   2. The armor of God is able to completely guard us and protect us.  That’s why in the midst of battle we can have peace because we know that the armor of God, the armor from God is able to protect us.

Engage in battle through prayer. (Ephesians 6:18-20)

1. I believe that prayer is the greatest weapon we have in the spiritual battle.
   1. We know from Daniel 10:13,20 that there is cosmic activation and war waged through prayer.
   2. This prayer is to be done under the influence of the Spirit as the Spirit is the one who intercedes for us (Romans 8:26).  1 Thessalonians 5:17 reminds us that this prayer should be continuous!
2. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “3 Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards;c 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments 5 and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
3. It is prayer and prayerful study of the Bible that empowers us to take every thought captive, to destroy the strongholds of darkness.

Martin Luther at the infamous Diet of Worms, where he stood trial for heresy and faced great penalty – possibly death.  I believe that he was engaged in a great spiritual battle waging war against a stronghold of darkness – institutionalized sin and indulgence.  When asked if the works of his laid out on the table before him were his, when asked if he would accept or recant these works, Luther asked for a day.  During that day we know that he consulted with friends and prayed.  The next day when asked the same question, in an infamous speech, he said, “Here I stand, I can do no other.”  What would happen if we had the strength?  If we had the peace of Christ in us, just to stand?

*This interrupts our scheduled sermon series as we will pick up the teachings to the families in our upcoming Fireproof series.

Today I want to talk a bit about holiness and righteousness, the kind that Paul mentions in Ephesians 4:24 and explains in Ephesians 4:25 – 5:20.  Why is it so important?  Why does it matter to God what kind of lives we live? Does holiness, righteousness, purity matter?  Because God has set a line, a standard of purity and we’ve gotten so far from it.  We don’t even remember where it was, we were back there when we started as children in the faith.

This is so important because in our spiritual lives we are interconnected with each other and just a little bit of sin or strife works through disrupting the peace of the body.

Ephesians 4:25 states, “We are members of one another,” therefore let us guard against…

Errant Words (Read Ephesians 4:25 – 5:6)

1. What’s the problem with errant words?  They destroy others!
2. We see Ephesians 5:6 that lies and deception wound and lead astray.
3. It’s not just lies, evil talk that tears people down (Ephesians 4:29).  We are so good as destroying each other with our words!  Particularly our angry words are sinful and destructive (Ephesians 4:26).
   1. So often we’re willing to blow up and let the shrapnel of our angry words spray all over anyone within radius of us.
   2. Psalm 4:4 exhorts us to deal with it quietly and Hosea 7:6 reminds us to not allow it to smolder all night
4. Another way our words destroy each other is through obscentity (Ephesians 5:4).
   1. Crude speech and sexual humor were as common in ancient pagan society as they are today. They just lacked the technology by which to spread it!
   2. The word for “filthy” here means to bring embarrassment.  It’s exposing those things which ought to be private and covered.  It objectifies people instead of allowing their own decency and dignity to remain intact through decency.
5. Several places in this passage God is referred to as Father and we are referred to as children.  Children don’t have this problem really.  They say hurtful things, but it’s only as we grow that we truly learn how to hurt each other through words and prey on each others’ insecurities.  We’ve grown up, but in all the wrong ways.
6. The only way to defeat this is through prayer, the Psalmist prayers in Psalm 141:3, “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”  Maybe you need to set this as a screensaver on your computer or your phone.

Sinful Associations (Read Ephesians 5:7-14)

1. What’s the problem with sinful associations?  It destroys us and when we allow sinful associations to get in the way of speaking truth to our brothers and sisters in Christ – it destroys them.
2. The impure will not inherit the kingdom of Christ (Ephesians 5:5).  Paul tells to not be associated with the impure, but to live as children of the light.  (Ephesians 5:7-9)
   1. The word “associated” is translated more literally in the NASB as “partakers.”
   2. Paul tells us to be in the world but not of it and we see this truth here.  We are not to disassociate totally from evil doers as we’d have to live alone!  Rather we are not to share in evil with them.
3. Why can’t we have sinful associations?  Or associations of influence with darkness?  Because their influence influences the entire body.
   1. This does not mean that the body doesn’t love them, it means that we don’t allow them to influence us.  Galatians 6:1 tells us to bear with the unrighteous, but take care that we are not tempted.
   2. Realize a person’s influence can come in many shapes, through books or TV.
4. Part of our job is to expose the evil among us (Ephesians 5:11).  This is church discipline.
5. I’ve been a part of church discipline that is so restorative and glorifying.  I’ve also seen attempts at church discipline that have come off as self-righteous assassinations.
   1. The difference comes in Ephesians 4:29 when we start to ask, “Will this build up?”
   2. This is related to our first point.  How do you tell the truth but not tear someone down?  In love.  What if you just want to tell the truth but not build someone up?  Then just be quiet.
   3. Too often we’re willing to pass judgment on groups of people without speaking to them first.  This is gossip!
   4. We are to love the sinners in the world into the church and those that persist in the church we love them out – so that they would be loved back in!  The focus is on their restoration.

Careless Ignorance (Read Ephesians 5:15-16)

1. Too often we take this approach with God, “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”  But this is not an excuse!
2. Ephesians 5:15 – We must use care, the word is often literally translated, “Look Out!”
   1. The problem with careless ignorance is that it that it leads to a life that is less than best!  We often go into situations blind, with no heavenly perspective to guide us.
   2. Our days are short and dark – we must make the most of them!
3. Ephesians 5:10 tells us how to do that, we need to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.
   1. We are told to imitate God Ephesians 5:1-2 – We must know God to imitate him!
   2. We know as much about God as we want to and we have as much of God as we want.
4. If you come into a situation and you don’t know if it’s right or wrong – then wait and find out!

Foolish Behavior (Read Ephesians 5:17-20)

1. This is summary of everything above, but it summarizes a life that is lived in ignorance towards God.  The problem with this is that it destroys us and our community.
2. Ephesians 5:18 – Many people in the ancient world believed that drunkenness could produce a sort of possession by Dionysus, god of wine. Today we know that’s true and now many people who surrender control of themselves to their god of wine.
3. Ephesians 5:17-19 – We are commanded to not be foolish, but understand what God’s will is.
   1. I think that we to turn to many places looking for guidance and maybe even control of our lives.  We drink, we listen to talk radio, we watch talks shows, but we don’t ask our Father.
   2. Children don’t have this problem, they come to dad and they ask their mom.  It’s only as they get older do they start to realize, “Mom and dad don’t say everything I want to hear.”

by conducting transparent lives illuminated by the light of Christ.

The transforming power and event takes places in Ephesians 5:12-14.  Here we see that God takes all of our sinful behavior, exposes it to the light and it is there that even our sinful behavior becomes light.  How is that?  It is transformed as we allow the light of Christ to expose our lives – we change.  I’m a better husband at church, I’m a better parent in public, and I’m more faithful when I’m with you, why?  Because I’m exposed.  We must allow ourselves to live lives transparency for it’s only then that we will truly become members of one another.  Through this transparent light we are transformed if we will truly allow ourselves to inherit the kingdom as little children.

As I started on next week’s sermon I wiped this one out inadvertently, so I’ve attached a PDF file of my actual sermon notes from Sunday.   You can access this file by clicking here.