Ephesians 6:10-20
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Personal Protective Equipment, I became familiar with the phrase personal protective equipment working for Exxon. The culture focused on safety. I had to wear protective gloves, goggles, a long sleeve shirt, and steel-toe boots to change a projector bulb. The goggles kept bulb particles from possibly flying in my eyes; the gloves were so I did not cut my hands on sharp edges or glass, long sleeve shirts for the same reason, and steel toe boots in case something heavy fell on my feet. Wearing the right equipment for the right job protected me from possible danger. I had to keep all my PPE on while doing a particular job; if I only had on a portion of the equipment, I would only have a part of the protection.
We all have some type of equipment for protection, especially during this time, people wearing gloves, masks, face shields, and double masks. Many people are trying to do their part to keep themselves and others safe, but you must make sure you have the correct type of protection and complete protection. If I sold you a car and told you only half the airbags work, would you still want to buy it? Some of you might be asking which half pastor? Do you think there are players in the NFL that would like to play football with just shoulder pads and no helmets? Personal protective equipment is useful as long as you have the right equipment for the proper purpose.
The apostle Paul is speaking of PPE in scripture when we get close to the end of Ephesians.
Paul is coming to a close, his first one, and Paul tells the people in the Ephesian church to have the right tools for the right purpose. Paul is speaking to the Ephesian church about having protection because Christianity was illegal during this letter. Christianity was not legal until 311AD.
Paul was writing this letter to the Ephesians during imprisonment. He was familiar with the Roman soldiers' weapons and the PPE they donned every day. And as a Roman citizen who had been thrown into Roman jails and subjected to Roman beatings, Paul was intimately aware of military hierarchies and punishments. Paul’s familiarity with Roman soldiers and Roman beatings is why he could describe the appearance of a Roman soldier so well.
Paul comes to the end of his letter; he reminds his readers of the powers arrayed against them and uses the image of a Roman soldier in a battle against his foe. For Paul, the enemies were formidable: “rulers … authorities … cosmic powers of this present darkness … spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (v. 12, emphasis added). This urgent reminder is one of the last things Paul underscores; one remembers best what is freshest in mind. His letter had begun with a lengthy and glorious peroration about being “blessed in heavenly places” (1:3). But even as we are blessed in heavenly places, we are also beset in heavenly places; therefore, we must be vigilant during the struggle against evil “in the heavenly places.”
The ancient Romans had a militaristic culture, people were expected to fight, but Paul tells the Christians that their battle is not with other people but with sin, evil, and death. These spiritual powers were affecting society. The Ephesian church members would have been in a city with many temples for other religions, and some even centered around political leaders.
Paul tells the Ephesian church to have the right PPE on
Belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness Feet fitted with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit.
Breastplate of Righteousness- A breastplate covers a large portion of your body, just like your righteous character can keep you and get you places other things cannot.
Feet ready to share the gospel - There is the action again, sharing the gospel, getting the word of Jesus Christ out to others. The roman soldier would have sturdy sandals that protected them and helped them move around better than barefoot.
Shield of faith- The shield is not a small circular shield but one of the long and tall shields that can deflect arrows no matter where they aim at you. The Roman shield was large enough to cover the whole body; made of wood, covered with animal hide, and bound with iron at the top and bottom. When dipped in water before a battle, it could extinguish fire arrows that had been dipped in pitch and set ablaze.
Helmet of salvation - The helmet of salvation is both a present experience and a future hope. We get saved but are constantly working on our salvation.
Belt of Truth - A Roman soldier's belt was tied around them to hold their sword.
Sword of the Spirit -word of God the Greek term used for sword in the Greek is a short sword, one used for close-quarters combat. To use the word of God, you will have to get close to other people.
In today’s world, we need PPE. We need it for the eyes and face, hands, bodies, respiratory system, and ears. If we distilled the message of health care professionals to four words, it would be this: “Protect yourself and others.”
Along with the PPE, we also need to pray. We need to pray and keep praying; prayer is just as crucial as the armor Paul mentions. Prayer is a continual part of Christian living.
Isaiah 55:6 (NKJV)
6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.
Matthew 7:7 (NKJV)
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Mark 11:23 (NKJV)
23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Pray and keep praying.
Talk as if we already have the victory, act as if we already have the victory. Paul is claiming the victory even though he is writing from jail. Paul knows that we already have the victory through the finished work of Jesus Christ.
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