Welcome to the Grace Abounding broadcast brought to you by the Congregation of the Shreveport Grace Church meeting at 2970 Baird Road in Shreveport, Louisiana. My name is Ken Wymer. May the Lord God bless this message preached to the hearts of those He has purpose to hear and for whom the Lord Jesus laid down His life on the cross to pay their complete sin debt and justify them before God the Father. Please stay tuned. I'm reading today from Ephesians chapter 6. My text is taken from verse 11 down to verse 18 and this portion deals with the whole armor of God. We read in Ephesians 6.11, put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil 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. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." praying always, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." When we read here of the whole armor of God, it's a reminder that even though we may be God's chosen sinners from eternity, and ones for whom Christ Jesus came and paid our sin debt and has called us unto Christ by His Spirit of grace, yet we live in a fallen world. It's not just the world that lies in wickedness, but even our very hearts. The Apostle Paul, writing of his own testimony there in Romans chapter 7, said that I know that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. So we're surrounded not only by evil people and evil powers, but we bear in our flesh an evil nature. And that's true all the way until we die. There's never going to be a time when this flesh will not be our enemy. I know some wrongfully assume that once a sinner is converted to Christ and the Spirit of God is in them that somehow then they can live a victorious life above sin. That's a delusion. Sin is who we are and therefore we need at every moment this armor of God of which the Scriptures speak. It's a reminder that this world is not the friend of the grace of God or of his son the Lord Jesus Christ or of his redeemed ones and this goes all the way back to the fall in the garden there in Genesis chapter 3 in verse 15 where as part of the judgment that God rendered on Adam and Eve and all of their posterity which now includes any one of us born in this world he said that he would put enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman and that her seed, and there it's referring to the Lord Jesus Christ coming into this world in human flesh and being tempted in all things like as we are yet without sin. He was the only perfect man who overcame sin. There was no sin In him at any time never did he ever experience it although he was tried and tempted by the world by satan by men and yet in the end he won the victory over the seed of the serpent which is satan and so Our lord the seed of the woman bruised his head. Where is the venom? of a serpent but in the head so Christ bruised his head by his perfect life and by his substitutionary death there at Calvary whereby he satisfied law and justice that God might be just to declare righteous everyone for whom Christ paid the debt the scripture says that the seed of the serpent would bruise his heel and that's all that Satan could do was bruise Christ's heel tempted him and pursued him unto death and yet Christ gained the victory now if Christ gained the victory it wasn't just for himself but it was for everyone for whom Christ paid the debt those that the father gave him that he should save and has saved by his shed blood so this is why even though we're the Lord's by election if we're the Lord's it's by his electing grace from eternity and by redemption that work that Lord Jesus Christ accomplished at the cross paying the ransom for the sin of his people and by regeneration in other words the spirit of grace given to each one that God has chosen for whom Christ died and in time is drawn to Christ in faith and repentance those are his none can take them from his hand the Lord said he gives unto them eternal life and yet the reality is that the life which we live is described as a race to be run that's why in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 1 the Apostle speaks there of running the race setting aside the sin that does so easily beset us and run that race how? looking unto Jesus Hebrews 12 to the author and finisher of our faith we would be nothing without him we could not even run without him being the author given us life even to stand up and he's the finisher in other words he's already accomplished the work so we don't run as if this is a work yet to be done but we run knowing that he has finished the work and accomplished it for sinners such as we are calvary and he for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God this is how we run with hope with joy and that he has already finished the work and is set down that means that the work is finished so this life as one of the Lord's children is described as a race but it's also described even as we have read here in Ephesians 6 11 through 18 it's a battle to be fought and by God's grace we stand against all that the world or Satan or even our sin nature has to throw at us wonderful thing is that there is that armor is described as the whole armor of God someone pointed out that what's described here covers the front of the child of God there's nothing for the back and that's because we're never to turn our back and run we stand as I read a little while ago and having done all to stand who gives the grace to stand but God himself that's why it's called the whole armor of God but there is a battle and it is daily it is moment by moment being waged imagine a picture of soldiers in a camp that can never let down their guard they're on duty and they are vigilant because at any point the enemy can attack the face of that battle and certainly the war has already been won by the lord jesus christ but the battles continue until such time as either the lord takes us from this world in which at that time there will be no more war or the lord jesus christ comes back and uh... takes unto himself raises up onto himself everyone for whom he paid the debt where mortality it says in first corinthians fifteen shall take on immortality we must be where that there is a battle that is ongoing and for which God has given that whole armor. First Timothy chapter 6 and verse 12, Paul encourages Timothy saying, fight the good fight of faith. Faith here is described as that body of truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and his death and what he accomplished at Calvary. So it is a fight to be fought because it's put here as a command in the present tense. Continue to fight the good fight of faith. I know people use that term with regard to anything. If they're suffering from a terminal illness, well, fight the good fight of faith as if a positive attitude is what's going to help overcome that evil. But here, it is with regard to those things that pertain to the glory of the lord jesus christ and his honor and that those that he has sought and bought and taught do continue to look to him in that that faith that he gives it says there in first in the six twelve lay hold on eternal life Another way of reading that is, lay hold on Christ Jesus, who is eternal life. But notice, whereunto thou art also called. We're not talking about people pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and somehow trying to make it to the end. No, gritting their teeth and somehow persevering in themselves. Here it is addressed to those who have been called. summons is what that word is they have been by god's grace appointed to this life eternal life and particularly here in the instance of timothy is a minister of the gospel but it says and has professed a good profession before many witnesses if the lord has so taught us of his grace shown us arson nature and placed us in this world and given us more days to live on our lives in this world then we stand before men with a good profession. That word means confession. It has to be explained because there are many professors today who pretend to be the Lord's who aren't. This is talking about those that God has chosen and Christ is redeemed and the Spirit by His grace is called and summons and therefore as sinners saved by grace They stand in an evil world as a witness to the testimony of God's grace. Even myself, that's the only thing I can say that separates me from any other evil person in this world. It's the grace of God. So this is a conflict that will continue until we die, or until the Lord Jesus Christ comes again and takes His own unto Himself. So we need the strengthening of the Lord to stand against every deceitful way, not only of Satan and of the world, but of our own nature, which is the great enemy of Christ. We look without many times and think that the enemy is without, but dear friend, the enemy is within. We carry about in this body a body of death, which is part of living in this condemned world. so here's the armor getting back to ephesians chapter six and verses eleven through eighteen this is the armor which god has given and i dare say that if we read this every piece of this armor is a picture of the work of the lord jesus christ and what he is accomplished let's remember with regard to the warfare we're not contending against physical opponents. Frail and mortal men are not our real enemies. We tend to focus on them, but here in verse 12, the Apostle Paul is directed by the Spirit to declare that. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. so here's an enemy that is not seen with the physical life just like salvation it's not something physical that you do in order to be saved i know it's presented that way people say well if you'll just walk and i'll or say a prayer raise your hand about your head you can be saved our lord told they could be miss accept a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of god he cannot perceive it and so just as salvation is a spiritual work of God in Christ by the Spirit so is this battle here it describes this battle as being against principalities and against powers and against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness notice in high places here's a battle that is supernatural above anything we could ever perceive, and it has to do with an enemy that deals in lies and pride, idolatry, covetousness, lust, deceit, self-righteousness, and all manner of sin against God and against His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. I've pretty much described what our nature is but for the grace of God. and so we need to be where now how are we to be where well here are seven particular weapons that the Lord gives his own by which we then do stand in the face of the evil not only in the world but in our flesh verse 13 says were to take upon us, the complete armor, notice, of God. So this is not dependent upon our reasoning or learning or self-education or self-reformation or self-mortification. No, this is an armor of God, just as if you were enlisted in the military, and the military provides you everything you need to go to war. You're not bringing your own weapons along. these are issued by the military and you're trained to use them for your defense and the defeat of the enemy and so it is here with regard to the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day in other words withstand every trial withstand every conflict and temptation and having been given everything to stand in Christ. The reason we can stand is because to take on the whole armor of God is to take on Christ, is to put on Christ, is to see Him as our all. The battle is not with the flesh, therefore the armor and the weapons that God gives, they're not carnal, but spiritual. That's how the Apostle Paul describes it over in second corinthians chapter ten and verses three through five this is a battle that is spiritual in nature and therefore the answer is the person and work of the lord jesus christ we read for though we walk in the flesh this is second corinthians ten three we do not war after the flesh there's so many today when it comes to dealing with sin They teach people how to stand according to methods that men give them. Do this and do that and you'll stand. No, we do not war after the flesh. Reading on in 2 Corinthians 10.4, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, in other words, fleshly, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. In other words, the grace of God, the mercy of God, the person of Christ and His work. That's how these are mighty. Through God. Salvation is of the Lord from beginning to end. And it's to the pulling down of strongholds. Left to ourselves, we would already be defeated. But in Christ there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. And how does this work? Verse 5. Listen. Casting down imaginations. Isn't that where we are the weakest in our imagination? Left our own depraved minds, we would always be subject to sin. And every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. You know the highest thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God is what men call their free will. There is no such thing as a free will. Our will is bound by sin. and therefore because of the depravity of our will we cannot nor will we be subject to god unless he's pleased to break that will that's that casting down of that imagination that thought of that pride that somehow we have somewhat to offer to a holy god but it says here bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of christ Notice, not to our being obedient to Christ, but every thought to Christ's obedience, that which He came and worked out and satisfied God the Father, that God the Father might be just to declare righteous everyone for whom He worked out that salvation. So coming back to Ephesians chapter 6, let me briefly in the time remaining go over each of these seven weapons that we find cited here beginning with verse 14 it says stand therefore first of all having your loins girt about with truth that's a picture of wrapping about you just like a strong girdle which was part of that uniform that soldiers wore in order to keep everything tight while they ran well this girdle is the gospel of God's redemptive glory in through and by the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Peter in writing in his epistle in 1st Peter chapter 1 verse 13 declared this, Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ so this is that girl it's the gospel of God's redemptive glory and grace through the Lord Jesus Christ and this is the first part of the whole armor that is mentioned because it is the most important and the very foundation of all the rest gird about with truth this is the truth about God This is the truth concerning myself as the sinner, and it's the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ and His redemptive, justifying work that has brought reconciliation between the Father and myself. And it is what defends me against every evil of Satan or the world or any thought of even looking anywhere else, which would be a false hope. So that's the first. Your loins girt about with truth, the truth. Truth there means Christ. He is the truth. Second, it speaks of the breastplate of righteousness. Now this breastplate of righteousness is that righteousness which the Lord Jesus Christ himself came and worked out. We're not to look anywhere else or to give in to any other thought of righteousness before God other than this breastplate of righteousness, which again is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. To put on the breastplate of righteousness is to put on Christ. It's not our personal integrity or efforts at holiness that can in any way protect us. particular breastplate, protecting the heart. No, our heart's evil. But it's His perfect righteousness that He came and earned and worked out and established and God approved and imputed to the account of everyone for whom Christ paid the debt. That's that breastplate of righteousness which then repels any accusation or charge that Satan could ever bring against one of God's elect. I'll tell you, if Christ died for you, then there is therefore now no condemnation. You don't have any righteousness in yourself, but your righteousness is of God in Christ. Thirdly, it says having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. That's there in verse 15 of Ephesians 6. The feet shod means to have a firm-footed stability or foundation in the gospel of peace. If peace has been established between God and the sinner, in the Lord Jesus Christ is called the gospel of peace and so therefore you can't have any firmer ground than that your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace but also secondly it directs our path to have the feet shod means that we walk through this world on that gospel having no other foundation or no other direction than what the good news of peace through Christ gives us And it's with that that we go through this world. But fourthly, it says there in verse 16, above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Satan hurls darts of doubt, of fear, of depression, of weariness, not only Satan, but even our own imaginations, our sin nature. and all manner of questions regarding our spiritual state but even regarding the glory of christ and we can only be shielded against these fiery darts by that faith that god gives through his son the lord jesus christ revealed in his work and so that is the shield of faith it's the faith of god's word it's the faith of God's purpose that all that he does is according to his purpose and he works all things according that purpose and its faith resting on Christ's redeeming work that he is accomplished for his people fifthly it says take the helmet of salvation there in verse seventeen the helmet is the armor that protects the head against every false doctrine, the head being where our thoughts occur and here is the protection with that helmet of salvation, this helmet is the hope of salvation in Christ alone. A lot of people say well it's in Christ but then they add their endeavors and their works and their believing. No, the helmet that which protects our head, our thoughts, that helmet is the hope of salvation in Christ alone, the salvation of which Christ is, as we've read already, the author and finisher. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 30, we read that of Him are we in Christ Jesus. And it says there, who was made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Everything we are as far as salvation is in him wisdom righteousness sanctification redemption that helmet of salvation protects us of thinking of any other way Sixthly it speaks of the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God the Word of God is Also a synonym for Christ and it's compared to a sword that has two edges in Hebrews chapter 4 in verse 12 one hand you've got a the sword which kills, that's one edge, and then you have one that makes alive. That's how God works his salvation. It kills anything with regard to ourselves and brings us as dead sinners at Christ's feet, the convicts of sin, it cuts away any thought of personal righteousness, it kills pride, envy, lust, causes us to see everything we are as being sin, it reaches even the hidden and secret parts, but at the same time it's the Word of God which makes alive, it's the sword of the Spirit and raises us up to life in Christ alone. And then the final weapon there is prayer. It says, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Prayer is that which the Spirit of God gives to a needy sinner. It's not something we memorize or repeat with our lips, but from the heart. And it means to supplicate. It includes all kinds of prayer that is based upon need. We live in need, so therefore we live in this attitude of prayer continually. That's why it says, watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Is there ever a time when you can stop breathing and still live? Is there ever a time you can stop praying? I'm talking about from the heart, seeing your need, and still say that you have life. Now, we persevere in prayer because of our need, and that need is what the Lord grants us in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the armor of God. And if you're truly the Lord, you rejoice and thank Him that this armor is given in Christ from beginning to end. You have been listening to the Grace Abounding broadcast brought to you by the Congregation of the Shreveport Grace Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. For more information about our assembly, times of worship, and other Christ-honoring messages that you may follow online, please visit our website at www.shrevegrace.org. Plan to join us each week at this same time for another Christ-honoring message. To Him be all the glory.