Suit Up For the Fight

For those who were not with us in the morning worship, we looked at Ephesians 6, verses 10 through 13. And so this morning we considered what I titled Stand Fast in the Fight. And this evening, following on, verses 14 through 18, we’ll consider Suit Up for the Fight.

So we’re in the midst of a spiritual battle, and we have an enemy who’s very real. And this passage not only warns, but encourages the believer to understand that he has available to him what he needs in Jesus Christ. You have available to you what you need in Jesus Christ. So as you look back on the year past, that is true. As you look to the year ahead, that is true. And the answer really is the sum and substance of the Christian life in all of its victory, is looking on to Jesus. Looking on to Jesus.

We can say that, and you think, well, is that a glance? Am I just remembering him and thinking about him? Well, certainly that’s involved. But it is much more active than that. Much more deliberate—looking to, pursuit of, drawing strength from, making inquiry concerning his will, endeavoring to obey his word, and in every way you can, just keeping in mind his mind, his will, and depending on his grace.

Ephesians 6 verse 10, let’s read God’s Word together.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you 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 on to you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand, or rather 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 helm 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. Amen.

Once again, we’ll end the reading of God’s Word at verse 18. And what you have heard is the Word of the eternal God, which you are to receive, believe, and obey. And the people of God said, Amen.

Let’s pray.

Lord, help us not to worship with mere lip service. Please give us sincerity of heart. Make us real, make us honest. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways, and we don’t want to be such. And so we ask for the grace we need afresh to hear thy precious word, to not merely be a hearer but a doer. Take to heart what it is that thou art saying. We feel our limitations. We understand our capacity is very restricted, and that we need to grow in grace. We need to be led step by step. We need to be shepherded all the way. We are masters at finding ditches. We are so like sheep who go astray, turning everyone to his own way. And that’s even with thy love in our hearts, yet we still feel as a people that tendency to stray. So God, rescue us, and tonight by thy precious Word and by thy Spirit, strengthen all thy people. Thou dost love us, Lord. Please strengthen us. Thou dost see our plight. Please support us. Thou dost see, O God, all that we face and all that we wrestle with. O God, intervene. Help us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that we may be lifted up, that we may be helped. O please come, and even tonight, shut us in by the Holy Spirit. Speak, save, sanctify, lead us on. We pray all this in Jesus’ name, amen.

As I sought to draw the message to a close this morning, my emphasis was to urge you to keep on standing. No matter what, keep on standing. As we wrestle with the enemy, as he endeavors to engage us and wrestle with us, he will engage in such a way as to bring about weakness in us. And that weakness makes us unstable, and causes us to falter, to grow weary in well-doing—to use the language of Galatians 6—and ultimately to have some kind of posture or spirit and feeling of giving up.

The call this morning was, keep on standing no matter what. As we pick up from where we left off, verse 14 begins in the same manner: stand therefore.

The preacher sometimes is repetitious for a reason—driving points home, endeavoring to make sure the message is not missed. You’re in a battle for your life, and you have an enemy who wants you to stop standing. You must keep standing no matter what. Stand. Stand.

You may be here again this evening and feeling that weakness, and you have been wrestling with it maybe over recent weeks or months, or perhaps this whole year has been one that has not been your finest hour as a Christian, as far as you assess it.

The wonderful thing about the grace of God and being a child of God is that it opens up for the Christian the constant invitation to begin again. I have quoted it on numerous occasions, the language of George Whitefield—not that far from his death, his passing—having lived several decades of the kind of spiritual input that few could equal, in terms of his devotion and his labors, and his words even so late on in his life, just a few years from his death, to say, I will begin to begin to be a Christian.

Sometimes we have to just get back, hit the reset button, start again. I will begin to begin to be a Christian. The devil has worked, he has succeeded, I have failed. But it’s not an absolute failure. The righteous are distinguished by this mark: that they will rise up again. Though he falls, yet shall he not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. Stand therefore.

When I was first converted, you’re not long a Christian when at some point you come into contact with Ephesians 6, and it’s one of those memorable passages. It stands out. It’s very distinct—this warfare imagery. And of course, maybe depending on your context of your conversion, if it was similar to mine, which was that kind of Damascus road, very definitive, black and white, stark sort of experience, you’re very conscious of warfare. And so the language of Ephesians 6 comes to your mind and gives you much encouragement.

And when I first heard it explained to me, I was led to believe that here’s the Apostle Paul observing some Roman soldier and drawing his thoughts from the various parts of the armor of this Roman soldier standing before him. Some years passed, and I heard someone else explain it—that the various parts of this armor are more drawing from the various parts of the Levitical priesthood. And so I thought, well, maybe there’s credibility there. I certainly like the aspect that what Paul is thinking about is not so much something he observes in the world, but something he’s drawing from the Word of God.

Because if the apostles were anything, they were expounders of the Old Testament. And so they’re constantly drawing their mind back to and pulling from the Old Testament Scriptures in order to teach those in front of them.

But what I really think is going on here is neither of those. I don’t think it’s the Roman description. I don’t think it’s the Levitical priesthood. I think what he has in mind really is the imagery that Isaiah, under inspiration, puts before us in terms of the messianic warrior.

We have in Isaiah 11, for example, the language there: “And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” And we have in Isaiah 59. Turn to Isaiah 59.

In Isaiah 59 we see, right at the opening of the chapter, ‘Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.’ You’re the problem. Your sins are the problem.

And from verse 3 and following, some of those sins are described. They are people of violence, verse 7, their feet run to evil. Verse 4, they speak lies. They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity, and so on and so forth. This is the description. They are saturated in sin.

And in this context, Isaiah is prophesying the coming of the Messiah. And he says in verse 16, “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor.” God looked for someone to intervene, to help. No one. “Therefore his arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head. And he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.”

So there’s the messianic warrior. God Himself will intervene in this situation.

So go back to Ephesians 6. This morning we considered the battle. We considered the spiritual warfare and the devil’s very real. And the wiles of the devil, the schemes of the devil. We focused on verse 12. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. We’re not fighting humans. We’re not fighting political opponents. There’s something deeper. We are wrestling against the invisible, the supernatural.

And it’s important for Christians to understand it. That you need to fight with spiritual weapons. And that if you are in the midst of spiritual warfare, you can’t fight with carnal weapons and expect to win.

So the call was to stand fast.

Now, as we come this evening to verse 14 and following, the call is to suit up. Suit up for the fight. 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 helm 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.

So what I want you to see this evening is the necessity of suiting up. You cannot stand in this battle without being suited up. It is not enough to say, I’m a Christian. I’m saved. I’m going to heaven. Therefore I’m okay. No, you’re in a battle. You’re in a war. And you need to suit up.

Now, as we think about this, I want you to see the order. It’s very important.

Verse 14: “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth.” We suit up with truth.

Truth is essential. It’s foundational. It’s holding everything together. It gives integrity. And without truth, you cannot progress. You cannot move. You will trip. You’ll be tangled. You’ll be unstable.

Truth, of course, is objective. It’s the truth of God’s Word. It’s the truth of the gospel. It’s the truth of who God is and what God has done in Christ. But it’s also truth in terms of our own integrity. Truth in terms of being honest. Not living a life of deceit, not living a life of hypocrisy.

Part of the problem within the church, even the church that the apostle is addressing here, the Ephesians, in chapter 4:25, it says, “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour.” Falsehood can be in the life of the church.

So we suit up with truth.

And then he says, “And having on the breastplate of righteousness.” We suit up with righteousness.

The breastplate guards the vital organs. It guards the heart. It guards what is essential. And righteousness guards the heart of the Christian.

Now, righteousness here, I believe, is both the righteousness of Christ and practical righteousness. It’s Christ’s righteousness imputed to us. It’s our justification. It’s the fact that we stand before God accepted in Christ. And when Satan comes with accusations, we answer with the gospel. We answer with Christ. We say, Christ has died. Christ has risen again. Christ is at the right hand of God. Christ is my righteousness.

And so we take the breastplate of righteousness.

But also it’s practical righteousness. It’s holiness. It’s obedience. It’s walking in the light. It’s not giving place to the devil through secret sin. Because secret sin brings weakness. It brings instability. It brings guilt. It brings shame. And it gives Satan an opportunity to assault.

So we suit up with righteousness.

And then he says, “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” We suit up with peace.

The gospel of peace. The peace that we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The peace that guards us from fear. The peace that enables us to stand firm.

Now, the footwear here is essential for movement. It’s essential for standing. It’s essential for stability. And if you don’t have your feet shod, you will slip. You will fall. You will be unstable.

So the Christian must be grounded in the gospel. Grounded in the peace of the gospel. Knowing that he has peace with God. Knowing that the hostility is gone. Knowing that the wrath has been satisfied. Knowing that reconciliation has been accomplished.

Then he says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith.” We suit up with faith.

Now, the shield, of course, is defensive. It’s used to quench the fiery darts. The fiery darts are the temptations, the accusations, the fears, the doubts, the lusts, the despair—all those things that Satan throws at the believer.

And the shield of faith is the means by which we respond. Faith, of course, is not faith in faith. It’s faith in Christ. Faith in the promises of God. Faith in the gospel.

So when Satan assaults, we lift up the shield. We answer with truth. We answer with Christ. We answer with the gospel. We answer with promises.

And then he says, “And take the helm of salvation.” We suit up with salvation.

The helmet guards the head. It guards the mind. It guards our thinking. It guards our understanding. And salvation guards the mind.

Now, salvation here includes assurance. It includes confidence. It includes the knowledge that we belong to Christ. That we are His. That He has saved us. That He will keep us.

And when Satan comes with doubt, when he comes with fear, when he comes with despair, we answer with salvation. We say, I am the Lord’s. He has saved me. He will keep me. He will not let me go.

And then he says, “And the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” We suit up with the Word.

Now, the sword is offensive. It’s not just defensive. It’s used to attack. It’s used to respond. It’s used to cut.

And the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. It is the Spirit’s sword. The Spirit uses the Word. The Word is living and powerful. The Word is sharp. The Word cuts.

And the Christian must know the Word. He must be in the Word. He must be feeding on the Word. He must be armed with the Word.

And then he says, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” We suit up with prayer.

Prayer is essential. Prayer is not optional. Prayer is the means by which we receive strength. Prayer is the means by which we draw from Christ. Prayer is the means by which we endure.

And then he says, “And watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” We suit up with watchfulness.

Now, as we think about this, I want you to see that this is not passive. This is active. This is deliberate. This is intentional.

The Christian life is not automatic. You cannot drift into victory. You drift into defeat. You drift into sin. You drift into compromise. You drift into coldness.

You must be intentional. You must be deliberate. You must suit up.

Now, I want to take these one by one, and apply them.

First of all, truth. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth. Suit up with truth.

Truth maintains integrity before God. If we are to have integrity before God, then we must be people of truth. The warrior’s belt is not decoration. It’s not just something that he puts on. The description shows, in describing it as a belt, it shows the place of truth in the life. The tunic needs to be held together in order to move forward, to make progress, to be able to take each step and stop from tripping. It requires this belt to be on. And that’s what the truth does. It anchors. It anchors the man so that he may move through the world. It keeps him stable, causes him to walk as he should.

Part of the problem within the church, even the church that the apostle is addressing here, the Ephesians, in chapter 4:25, it says, wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor. Falsehood can be in the life of the church.

And so I say to you, Christian, suit up with truth. Be honest. Be real. Be sincere. Don’t be double-minded. Don’t be hypocritical. Don’t live a life of secret sin. Don’t live a life of deceit.

Truth maintains integrity before God.

But also truth maintains stability before the devil. The devil is the father of lies. He traffics in deception. He wants to destabilize. He wants to undermine. He wants to trip you up.

And so if you are not a person of truth, you’re vulnerable. If you are living in lies, you’re vulnerable. If you are living in deceit, you’re vulnerable. If you are living in hypocrisy, you’re vulnerable.

Suit up with truth.

Then righteousness. Having on the breastplate of righteousness. Suit up with righteousness.

Now, as we think about righteousness, I want you to think about Christ’s righteousness first of all. Christ’s righteousness is our justification. We are accepted in the beloved. We stand before God in Christ. We are clothed in His righteousness.

And when Satan comes with accusations, we answer with Christ’s righteousness. We say, Christ is my righteousness. Christ has fulfilled the law. Christ has satisfied justice. Christ has borne the wrath. Christ has paid the penalty. Christ has done it all.

So, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect?” It is God that justifieth. “Who is he that condemneth?” It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

So you suit up with Christ’s righteousness.

But also practical righteousness. You live righteously. You obey. You walk in holiness. You mortify sin. You resist temptation. You don’t give place to the devil.

Because Satan knows the power of secret sin. He knows that if he can bring you into secret sin, he can bring guilt. He can bring shame. He can bring weakness. He can bring instability.

So you suit up with righteousness.

And then peace. Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Suit up with peace.

Now, peace here is the peace of the gospel. It’s the peace that comes from knowing that you are reconciled to God. It’s the peace that comes from knowing that the hostility is gone. It’s the peace that comes from knowing that you are accepted.

And when Satan comes with fear, you answer with peace. You say, I have peace with God. I am reconciled. God is not against me. God is for me. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

So you suit up with peace.

And then faith. Above all, taking the shield of faith. Suit up with faith.

Now, faith here is not a feeling. It’s not an emotion. It’s not a vague optimism. It’s faith in Christ. It’s faith in the gospel. It’s faith in the promises.

And when Satan throws darts—fear, doubt, despair, lust, condemnation—you answer with faith. You lift up the shield.

And you say, I’m trusting Christ. I’m trusting the gospel. I’m trusting the promises.

You see, Satan wants you to look at yourself. He wants you to look inward. He wants you to look at your failures. He wants you to look at your weakness. He wants you to look at your sin.

But faith looks to Christ. Faith looks outward. Faith looks to the Savior. Faith looks to His finished work. Faith looks to His promises.

So you suit up with faith.

And then salvation. Take the helm of salvation. Suit up with salvation.

Now, salvation here includes assurance. And assurance is essential. Because Satan wants to bring doubt. He wants to bring fear. He wants to bring despair.

And so the believer must be grounded in the truth of salvation. He must know that he is saved. He must know that he belongs to Christ. He must know that Christ will keep him.

And if you lack assurance, you’re vulnerable. If you are constantly doubting, you’re vulnerable. If you are constantly living in fear, you’re vulnerable.

Now, assurance doesn’t come from looking at yourself. It comes from looking to Christ. It comes from believing the promises. It comes from the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. It comes from walking in obedience. It comes from fellowship with God.

So you suit up with salvation.

And then the Word. The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Suit up with the Word.

Now, the Word is essential. The Word is your weapon. The Word is your sword. The Word is what the Spirit uses.

And when Satan comes, you answer with the Word. You say, it is written. You say, thus saith the Lord. You say, God has spoken.

Now, if you are not in the Word, you’re vulnerable. If you are not reading, you’re vulnerable. If you are not meditating, you’re vulnerable. If you are not feeding, you’re vulnerable.

You cannot stand in this battle without the Word.

And then prayer. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. Suit up with prayer.

Now, prayer is essential. Prayer is the means by which we receive strength. Prayer is the means by which we draw from Christ. Prayer is the means by which we endure.

And if you are not praying, you’re vulnerable. If you are not seeking God, you’re vulnerable. If you are not drawing near, you’re vulnerable.

So you suit up with prayer.

Now, as we think about all of this, I want you to see that the Christian life is not a life of self-reliance. It’s a life of dependence. It’s a life of looking to Christ. It’s a life of drawing from Christ.

And that’s why I began with that. You have available to you what you need in Jesus Christ. You have available to you what you need in Jesus Christ.

So as you look back on the year past, that is true. As you look to the year ahead, that is true.

Now, let me just close by saying this.

Some of you, you’re in the battle. You’re in the fight. You’re conscious of the warfare. You’re conscious of the assaults. You’re conscious of the temptations. You’re conscious of the accusations. You’re conscious of the darts.

And you feel weak. You feel unstable. You feel like giving up.

Stand. Stand therefore. Keep standing. Keep standing.

And suit up. Suit up with truth. Suit up with righteousness. Suit up with peace. Suit up with faith. Suit up with salvation. Suit up with the Word. Suit up with prayer.

And if you have failed this past year, begin again. Begin again. The grace of God opens up the invitation to begin again.

I will begin to begin to be a Christian.

And some of you, you’re not in the battle. You’re not in Ephesians 6. You’re in Ephesians 2. You’re walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.

You’re held in bondage. You’re the plaything of the devil. And he has had a fatal day in your life this past year. And it’s going to be the same or worse next year, because he has not planned good things for you.

And tonight I call you, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. He is your only hope. He’s the only one who can rescue you out of your misery. He’s the only one that can pardon all of your sins. He’s the only one who will meaningfully and genuinely change the trajectory of your life. Seek him tonight. He will hear your prayer.

Let’s bow together in prayer. Just before I close, I’m conscious of the fact there may be some here and you’re not in the battle. You’re not living in Ephesians 6. You’re what’s described in Ephesians 2. You’re still walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that works in the children of disobedience—that’s you, that’s where you are tonight. And you’re held in bondage to your sin, and you’re the plaything of the devil. And he’s had a fatal day in your life this past year, and it’s gonna be the same or even worse next year, because I’ll tell you one thing, he has not planned good things for you. And tonight I call you, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. He is your only hope. He’s the only one who can rescue you out of your misery. He’s the only one that can pardon all of your sins. He’s the only one who will meaningfully and genuinely change the trajectory of your life. Seek him tonight. He will hear your prayer.

Lord, be gracious. Be gracious to us, your people. Be gracious to the unbelieving here tonight. We pray that you will look down with your pity. Oh, isn’t the love of Jesus something wonderful? Wonderful it is to me. Love beyond our human comprehension. The love of God in Christ, how can it be? This will be my theme in never-ending great redeeming love of Calvary.

God, I pray, help us to abide in Thee and help us to be strong in Thee. Equip us, enabling us to rest in the sufficiency of Christ and sovereign grace. For those here outside of Christ and lost and on their way to hell, we plead—oh, we pray—stop them tonight, save their souls. To the backslider, oh God, recover them. Let this be an evening of a new beginning for them. We thank you that we can begin to begin to be a Christian. We hear prayer and thank you again for graciously being near to us in this place this past year, and for using your Word in ways known and unknown.

And we ask that as we look to the year ahead, it would be with great expectation that the Lord who has blessed will continue to bless—yea, may even come suddenly to bless even more. So encourage us in our fellowship, equip us for the week ahead, and may the grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of God our Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit be the portion of every child of God now and evermore. Amen.