Meadowbrooke Church

The Breastplate of Righteousness

What does it mean to be a Christian?  How do you know that you are a Christian?  What assurance can you have that you will remain a Christian?  Well it is mentioned over thirty times in Ephesians, in fact we are told about 10 times in the very first and very long sentence that makes up the first 14 verses of Ephesians:
In Christ, all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places now belongs to you Christian (v. 3)
In Christ, you were chosen before the foundation of the world (v. 4)
Through Christ, you were predestined and adopted as sons and daughters of the living God (v. 5).
In the Beloved Son of God, you are a favored child of God (v. 6).
In Jesus, we have redemption, forgiveness, and the riches of God’s grace through His blood (v. 7).
In Jesus, God made known the mystery of His will (v. 9).
In Christ, the Father is bringing all things together to accomplish His good plan (v. 10).
In Christ, we have obtained an inheritance in accordance with the plan of the Father’s perfect will (v. 11).
In Christ, we are the praise of God’s glory (v. 12).
In Jesus, you have been sealed by God’s Holy Spirit for the day of redemption (v. 13).
 
To be a Christian is to be a person who was once spiritually dead, but now is alive with Christ not because of any religious activity on our part, but only because of the work of Jesus on our behalf (Eph. 2:1-9).  This is what it means to be a Christian, but how does one become a Christian?  I believe that in the same way that you become a Christian, is the same way you put on and take up the breastplate of righteousness. 
 
Some of you will remember our time spent in the sermon on the mount during my sermon series, “Something Greater” just over two years ago.  In fact, if you are trying to make sense of the rhetoric and animosity that we are experiencing in our nation, I encourage you to read the first manuscript in that series from May 22, 2022.  If you were here for that sermon series, you discovered that not only is the sermon on the mount the greatest sermon ever preached, but Jesus’ sermon shows us what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. 
 
During our time in the beatitudes I shared that the first three beatitudes, which are also known as “beatitudes of need,” reveal what is essential for any person to understand what is necessary for the salvation of your soul.  Let me walk you through it because it will help you appreciate just how encouraging the breastplate of righteousness really is.  So here are the first three beatitudes from Matthew 5:3-5,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
 
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
 
“Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.
 
To be poor in spirit is to arrive at the cross of Christ with empty hands, recognizing that you are spiritually bankrupt of any moral virtues adequate to earn or gain God’s forgiveness for sins committed against Him.  Those who mourn are those who see and understand their sins for what they are and grieve because of them.  The meek are those who understand that their problems are beyond them, their problems are because of the sin in them, and their problems are of their own doing. 
 
To come to Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins is to come to Jesus knowing that there is no righteousness in yourself; it is to mourn over the reality that your sins offend the God who is infinitely righteous, and to come to Jesus knowing that there is not one thing you can do to generate the kind of righteousness necessary for your salvation.  The person who has been truly born again is one whose experience is now the fourth beatitude: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6).  In Jesus, “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us” (Eph. 1:7-8). 
 
What is the Breastplate of Righteousness?
The Roman soldier’s breastplate was most likely form fitting and extended from the base of the neck to the top of the thighs, covering the thorax and abdomen for the purpose of protecting the vital organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and bowels.  The breastplate is the second piece of God’s armor we are told to put on, but what kind of righteousness does it represent? 
 
Is the breastplate of righteousness the righteousness of Jesus that has been imputed upon you the moment you were saved through faith by Christ alone?  The imputed righteousness of Christ is when the righteousness of Jesus is applied to you the moment you believed the gospel as we are told in verses like 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  Here, consider another passage that concerns the imputed righteousness of Christ from Romans 5:18-21,
So then, as through one offense [Adam’s sin] the result was condemnation to all mankind, so also through one act of righteousness the result was justification of life to all mankind. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. The Law came in so that the offense would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
In other words, the imputation of Christ’s righteousness is good news because God the Father no longer sees you as a sinner because of your sinfulness but sees you as righteous because Jesus’ righteousness has been applied to you permanently.   
 
Do you remember last week when I showed you that the belt of truth includes your identity in Jesus and that He is now your truth?  The One we follow is, “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6), and now we follow His way, we walk in His truth, and we are united to His life.  Some of you, like John Bunyan, really struggle with the tension between what you know the Bible says about your salvation and your very real frustration over your sin.  John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress, a book he wrote while in prison for preaching the gospel, it has now been translated into more languages than any other book, except the Bible.  Bunyan also wrote other books, and one such book so profoundly helped me with my own struggle of desiring to live for Jesus while struggling with my own sin. One day, while Bunyan was taking a walk, he discovered something that we dare not miss concerning the righteousness of Christ; he wrote about it in his book, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners:
One day, as I was walking in the field, my conscience still somewhat wounded and still fearing that all was not well, these words suddenly entered my soul: “Your righteousness is in heaven.”  And I thought, moreover, that I saw, with the eyes of my soul, Jesus Christ at God’s right hand.  I say, my righteousness was there [in heaven]; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, ‘He is in need of my righteousness,’ as my righteousness was right in front of him.  I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good state of heart that made my righteousness better, nor even my bad state that made my righteousness worse, since my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, ‘the same yesterday, today, and forever’ (Heb. 13:8).
 
Now indeed the chains fell off my legs, and I was loosed from my afflictions and irons. My temptations fled away too, so that from that time those terrifying Scriptures of God stopped troubling me; I now went home rejoicing in the grace and love of God.  So when I got home I looked to see if I could find that verse: ‘Your righteousness is in heaven,' but I could find no such statement. So my heart began to sink again; the only words which came to mind were these: ‘Of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30).[1] 
 
Bunyan’s book was first published in 1666, but his words echo what so many of us struggle with today as we seek to “walk in a manner worthy of our calling” (4:1).  But is this the breastplate of righteousness that we are to put on along with the belt of truth?  The answer to that question is yes... and no.  The answer is “No” in that if you are a Christian, you do not need to apply the righteousness of Christ to your life, that is something that only God can do and already has been done for you (see Eph. 1:7-12)!  If you are a Christian, you can say with the apostle Paul, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith...” (Phil. 3:8-9).
 
So in what way is the breastplate of righteousness the righteousness of Christ then?  We put on the breastplate of righteousness when we live and walk in the confidence and reality that all we have is Christ, and His righteousness is righteousness enough!  John Bunyan said that after he realized that all his righteousness was before the Father because Jesus is our righteousness and sanctification before God. He went on to say, “Having reached this point, I rested very comfortably here, for some time, at peace with God through Christ. ‘Oh,’ I thought, ‘Christ, Christ!’ There was nothing but Christ before my eyes.... Oh, I saw my gold was in my trunk at home, in Christ, my Lord and Saviour.  Now Christ was all – all my righteousness, all my sanctification and all my redemption.”[2]  This my dear brothers and sisters is what it looks like to take up and put on the breastplate of righteousness.  It is God’s to give, and it is now yours to rest, stand, and walk in! 
 
Why is the Breastplate of Righteousness Needed?
I am not sure I need to say much to convince you why the breastplate of righteousness is needed, but to be sure that you not only understand why it is needed, but that you are able to celebrate that it is yours to wear, I feel the need to point out a few more things. 
 
One of the great expositors and pastors of the 20th century, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, said of this piece of God’s armor: “You do not put on ‘the breastplate of experiences’, you put on the breastplate of ‘righteousness.’”  The breastplate of righteousness, like the belt of truth, is not something you generate or create out of your own strength. 
 
When Paul described the armor of God, he didn’t invent it based on what he saw the Roman soldiers wearing around him while in prison, his understanding of the armor of God came from various passages in the Old Testament such as Isaiah 59.  In Isaiah 53 we are promised a suffering servant who would be “pierced for our offenses and crushed for our wrongdoings” and that suffering servant was Jesus who was punished for our sins (see Isa. 53:5-10).  Then when we come to Isaiah 59, the suffering servant is now the divine and righteous warrior who will come to rescue His people from their sins.  Isaiah 59 begins with these words: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear” (vv. 1-2). 
 
As we read on, we discover similar language that is used in Ephesians 2:1-3 used in Isaiah 59:12-13, “For our wrongful acts have multiplied before You, and our sins have testified against us; for our wrongful acts are with us, and we know our wrongdoings: Offending and denying the Lord, And turning away from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lying words from the heart.”  Now listen to how desperate the condition of sinful humanity according to Isaiah: “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the street, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and one who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey. Now the Lord saw, and it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice” (vv. 14-15).
 
So what does Yahweh do to address the unrighteousness of His people?  He made salvation possible for those who could not save themselves!  It is in Isaiah 59:16-17 that Paul was referring to in Ephesians 6:14, “And He saw that there was no one, and was amazed that there was not one to intercede; then His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a cloak” (vv. 16-17).
 
The Divine Warrior promised in Isaiah 59 is He who would conquer our sin by suffering the wrath of His Father for our sins in our place!  The only truly and perfect righteous One hung on a cross for unrighteous sinners!  Upon His head was a crown of thorns to serve as a reminder of the curse of sin that He bore in our place, and once He declared that it was finished, the Divine Warrior bowed His head in death to become our salvation! 
 
Oh, dear brothers and sisters... do you see how critically important the breastplate of righteousness really is?  Jesus is not only our Divine Warrior who is qualified to save rebel sinners, but He is the One also promised in Jeremiah 23, “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. 6In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will live securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The Lord Our Righteousness’” (vv. 5-6).   
 
Jesus is our righteousness and to put on the breastplate of righteousness is to walk in confidence that He is enough because His mercy is rich, His grace is sufficient, and His love is great!  Charles Spurgeon described it this way: “Saints are so righteous in Jesus Christ that they are more righteous than Adam was before he fell, for he had but a creature righteousness, and the Christian has the righteousness of the Creator. Adam had a righteousness which he lost, but believers have a righteousness which they can never lose, an everlasting righteousness.”   To put on the breastplate of righteousness is to stand, walk, live, and run in consideration of Jesus as your truth and as your righteousness.  The breastplate of righteousness is important because when you put it on, it protects the vital organs of your faith, such as your heart.
 
Your hope and salvation are not bound to a nation, or whoever the next president will be.  Whatever happens today, tomorrow, on Tuesday, or any day before you, your Sovereign is Jesus, and it is He,
Who walks on the waters
Who speaks to the sea
Who stands in the fire beside you
He roars like a lion
He bled as the Lamb
He carries your healing in His hands!
 
He has said, “I am the first and the last, and the living One; I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Hades” (Rev. 1:17-18).  Amen.
 
[1] John Bunyan, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (Auburn, MA: Evangelical Press; 2000), pp. 113-14.
[2] Ibid, p.114.

Stand Firm with the Belt of Truth

October 31st marks the 507th anniversary of the protestant reformation when a Catholic monk by the name of Martin Luther wrote ninety-five complaints concerning the Roman Catholic Church and nailed those complaints to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg in 1517.  Little did Luther know that his complaints would be taken down, translated into multiple language, and mass produced through the newly invented printing press. 
 
It was because of what Martin Luther was reading and studying in his Bible that he wrote his complaints for the purpose of debating and dialoging over what he believed were inconsistences with the teachings of the church compared to what the Bible actually taught.  Eventually, on April 17, 1521, Luther would have to appear before the Diet of Worms to give account for the vast number of texts, treatises, letters, and tracts calling into question the teachings and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. 
 
It was at the Diet of Worms Luther was given the option to recant and repent, and if he did so, he would be welcomed back into the Church.   If Luther refused, he would be branded a heretic and burned at the stake.  Luther requested an adjournment to pray and formulate an appropriate response.  The meeting was reconvened the next day on April 18th, and it was on that day that Luther delivered a speech that would forever affect the Church.  Luther was only permitted to give a short and simple answer whether he would retract his teachings or stand by them; here is the most well-known part of his answer before the Diet of Worms: 
Since your most serene majesty and your highnesses require of me a simple, clear, and direct answer, I will give one, and it is this: I cannot submit my faith either to the pope or to the council, because it is clear that they have fallen into error and even into inconsistency with themselves. If, then, I am not convinced by proof from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into subjection to God's word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.
 
Luther was not burned at the stake over his answer but understood that his answer could have resulted in his death. What did happen was he had to go into hiding and change his name and appearance for a while, for his own safety.  Luther delivered his great speech because there was a truth greater and more important than his own safety, for what he was most concerned about was not what the Pope declared to be true, but what God’s word said and how everything else compared to what the Word of God said.
 
We live in a different time compared to the day Luther lived!  However, if you are a Christian, you a part of a community known as the church of Jesus Christ, and therefore are a people of one book, and that book is the Bible which contains within its pages the truth of how it is we are to live. 
 
When Paul wrote his epistle to the Ephesians, he did so while in prison.  Before the apostle was the presence of a roman soldier, and it was with the armor a soldier of Rome wore that Paul would become all too familiar. 
 
What is the Belt of Truth?
Paul lists six pieces that belong to the armor of God, seven parts if you include Paul’s statement on prayer in 6:18-19 and that there is no power apart from a dependance upon God in prayer.  The first piece of armor that he begins with is a belt.
 
The belt was an important part of a Roman soldier’s armor, not because it made it look better, but because it served two primary purposes: it was used to tuck in and keep the soldier’s garments from tripping him up, and it was used to hold the sheath for one’s sword.  It is worth noting that the belt also served to display a soldier’s military status and rank.  The belt went underneath the armor, while remaining visible so that it was obvious he was ready to fight. 
 
As the warrior’s belt was critical for his readiness in battle, truth is essential to the Christian life.  If we are going to stand in the might of the Lord, if we are going to be able to stand firm against the devil’s schemes, and if we are going to have any hope in resisting on the evil day, truth is essential to the Christian life.  It is the nature of our God and the character of His Word:
“Teach me Your way, Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.” (Ps. 86:11)
 
“God is not a man, that He would lie, nor a son of man, that He would change His mind; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num. 23:19)
 
“The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and just is He.” (Deut. 32:4)
 
Truth is not only essential to the Christian life; it is the center of the Christian faith!  Think about it, God’s fullest and most perfect expression of His faithfulness and character is in His Son, Jesus: “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:1–3a).  If you are a Christian, you follow Him who said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6b). 
 
Think about what Paul is saying in Ephesians 6:10-14; the only way you will be able to resist the father of lies (the devil) is by putting on the full armor of God, beginning with the belt of truth!  But, dear Christian, what is the belt of truth? 
I want you to think about the significance of where the belt is placed.  It is the first part of the armor that is put on and it is the one piece that is tightest and closest to your person.  I do not believe I am reading too much into this when I say that I believe the belt of truth is more than just the Word of God (although it certainly is that), it is also our new identity now that we are in Christ!  We who were once dead in our sins are now alive with Jesus (2:4-5), and now He is head over His church which we are now a part of (1:22).  We are now His body (1:23), Jesus is our peace (2:17-18), we are His temple (2:21), because Jesus now dwells in our hearts through faith (3:17).  
 
Through Christ, we are one body, sealed by one Spirit, called in one hope by one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all... (4:4-7).  Our identity is now in Jesus, which means that He is our truth!  This is why, more than any other book in the entire Bible is the phrase “in Christ” repeated more than thirty times to describe where it is the Christian finds his/her identity than in the epistle to the Ephesians! 
 
Listen, to put on the belt of truth is to do what we read in Romans 13:14, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” To put on the belt of truth is to identity with the Jesus who said: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27).  If you are a Christian, His truth is now your truth. 
 
Why is the Belt of Truth Important?
To put on the belt of truth is to be so identified with Jesus that you are freed up to, “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1).  To put on the belt of truth is to stand on the foundation of the prophets and the apostles with Jesus Christ as your eye-opening, mind-captivating, and life-shaping cornerstone (2:19-20).  To put on the belt of truth is to walk in love, “just as Christ loved you and gave Himself up for us, and offering and sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (5:1-2).  To put on the belt of truth is to subject yourself under the cleaning water of God’s word (5:26).  To put on the belt of truth is to identify with the Lordship of Jesus by doing what He says (see Luke 6:46).
 
We seem to live at a time in society when “my truth” trumps all other truths.  Since the days of Martin Luther, we have moved closer and closer to redefining truth with every form of media invented to give us more knowledge and make the world more accessible to us.  Now, do not misunderstand me, God gave us a brain to grow in our understanding and the different forms of media has made available to us some really great things, but it has also been used to pervert knowledge and truth.
 
Think for a moment of how the different forms of media have changed our lives.  The printing press paved the way for the enlightenment and modernity when truth was measured by reason.  The worldwide web paved the way for postmodernity beginning in the 60s until our present day with the conviction that reason and the human intellect is no longer the arbiter of truth, but also includes the emotions and intuition as the arbitrators of truth to the point when we now have our own truth.  Now, with the invention of AI, we are entering a new era and the way our society measures truth and morality, like modernity and postmodernity, will never be the same.  
 
Our world is changing so rapidly and so profoundly, but there is one thing that has not changed and cannot change, and that is this simple fact: all truth is God’s truth.  Truth belongs to our Creator and the lies belong to the devil.  Our identity is in Jesus who is, according to the Bible: “...the same yesterday and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). 
 
Our world is changing, but not so with our God!  He remains infinitely good, infinitely just, infinitely holy, infinitely wise, and is equally a God of love and mercy in infinite measure!  He alone, in our ever-changing world, remains always true, always honorable, always right, always pure, always lovely, always commendable, always excellent, and always praiseworthy (see Phil. 4:8).  The God who chose you before dirt was invented, He who redeemed you with His blood, and the One who has sealed you for the day of redemption DOES NOT CHANGE!
“For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, the sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.” (Mal. 3:6)
 
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (Jas. 1:17)
 
“God is not a man, that He would lie, nor a son of man, that He would change His mind; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num. 23:19)
 
So, if the One who is truth does not change, how is it and why is it that some in the church feel the need to mold and shape what the Bible teaches to what our ever-changing world defines as true?  So here is the rub.  If you are a Christian (or thinking about becoming a Christian), you follow Jesus who said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6b).  As Lord over your life, He will make demands upon your life for His glory and your good, to put the belt of truth on is to walk in light of your identity as a Christ-follower.  You cannot and you will not “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (4:1), if you are not putting on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14).
 
Because Jesus is the cornerstone of His church and the apostles and prophets are Her foundation, we, as His church, are “a pillar and support of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:14-15) in a world that does not know the Truth, because it does not know Jesus.  Sam Storms said of our enemy: “Satan will always flourish in the midst of theological ignorance.” 

Resist on the Evil Day

Can I ask you a question?  Why is it that we Christians in America tend to be surprised by the supernatural?  Think about what it is that we say we believe.  We believe the Bible to be true and supernaturally inspired by God Himself.  Because we believe the Bible to be supernaturally inspired, we believe God created all things by the act of His omnipotent will.  Because we believe the Bible to be inspired by God, we believe that there was a serpent in the Garden who successfully tempted Adam and Eve to sin, that Satan does indeed exist, as does his legions of demons. 
 
One of my favorite stories about the fight between the Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness is the one found in 2 Kings 19:8-37.  We do not have the time to read the entire story, but I do think it is worth pointing out a few things that happened in order to teach how we can respond to the threats of our day.  Judah’s king, Hezekiah, received a letter from the king of Assyria that read:
“Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, ‘Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’ Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved? Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed save them: Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar?” (2 Kings 19:10–12)
 
What was Hezekiah’s response?  He stood firm against his enemy in the way his great grandfather David encouraged God’s people to do: “Some praise their chariots and some their horses, but we will praise the name of the Lord, our God” (Ps. 20:7).  Here is Hezekiah’s response:
Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “Lord, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to taunt the living God. It is true, Lord; the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have hurled their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but only the work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. But now, Lord our God, please, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God.” (2 Kings 19:14–19)
 
God didn’t use Hezekiah’s chariots or horses, but instead, He sent the angel of the Lord and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers.  So, when we read stories like that, how is it that we are surprised?  When we read Ephesians 6:10-13 and are warned about the demonic realm consisting of rulers, powers, world forces of this darkness, and spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places... how is it that we do not take such warnings as seriously as we ought? 
 
Throughout the gospels we read of Jesus encountering the demonically possessed and how the demons were terrified of Him.  We read of the Jewish exorcists in Ephesus who went from place-to-place attempting to mimic the kinds of miraculous things they saw Paul do in the name of Jesus.  At one point, in an effort to cast out the demons the Jewish exorcists said: “I order you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches!”  The evil spirit responded: “I recognize Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?” We are then told that the demon possessed man, “pounced on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded” (see Acts 19:11-16).  I wonder if Paul recalled these stories when he wrote, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).
 
As we consider Ephesians 6:12-13 this morning, there are two points that we dare not miss.  The first is, “Our enemy is spiritual, strategic, and satanic.”  The second point is, “Our fight is direct, dangerous, and dogged.” 
 
Our Enemy is Spiritual, Strategic, and Satanic
What Paul wants us to understand is that when it comes to the world that Jesus said would hate us because it hated Him, that our struggle was NOT against flesh and blood.  In other words, our enemy does not include those who reject Jesus or embrace the ideologies of this world, but instead our enemy includes, “...the rulers, the powers, the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (v. 12). 
 
Ephesians 6:10-13 is the most explicit reference to the Christian’s struggle against evil forces that we have in the Bible.  It cannot be any clearer than this!  There is no real way to tell if Paul is describing an authority structure within the demonic realm, but it does seem that way from everything else I read in the Bible.  Let me begin by sharing five things that we know about angels from the Bible:
 
Angels are spirit beings that possess personhood, created for the glory of God (Ps. 148:2-5), and are a part of the created order (see also Job. 38:4-7; Isa. 6:2-4; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:14; 12:22; Rev. 4:8).
 
Angels are temporarily above man but will be subject to judgment by Jesus’ church at the judgment (1 Cor. 6:2-3). Meanwhile they are unusually strong, swift and intelligent, and can take the appearance of man (see Ps. 103:20; Dan. 9:21; Ezek. 28:12; 1 Pet. 1:11-12; Gen. 18:1-3; Mk. 16:5).
 
Angels are limited in ways that man is not. Angels cannot marry, man can (Matt. 22:30; 19:4-6); angels cannot experience redemption, man can (2 Pet. 2:4; Rom. 5); angels are created as angelic beings while man is created in the image of God (Ps. 148:2-5; Gen. 1:27).
 
Angels possess personhood: intellect, emotion, and will (emotion: 1 Pet. 1:12; intellect: 1 Pet. 1:12; will: Jude 6).
 
Angels seem to be ranked by authority (1 Thess. 4:16; Jude 9; Rev. 12:7; Eph. 6:12; Col. 1:16; Isa. 6:2; Ezek. 28:14). Lucifer was God’s guardian cherub (Ezek. 28:12-17) who seems to have out ranked all the other angels, there is at least one archangel (1 Thess. 4:16; Jude 1:9), cherubim (Gen. 3:24; Ezek. 10:1-22), seraphim (Isa. 6:2-3), and a multitude of angels (Rev. 5:11ff). 
 
We are told that the there was a war in heaven; the timeframe of when the war happened is unclear.  I believe the war happened sometime between creation and Genesis 3 when we are first introduced to Satan as the serpent.  The angels who sided with Lucifer (the dragon) are now known as demons.  Here is what we read in Revelation 12:7-9, “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Rev. 12:7–9). 
 
The rulers, powers, world forces of darkness, and spiritual forces of wickedness are those angels who sided with Satan in his war against God.  Although Satan is only one demon who cannot be in more than one place at a time, he has command over millions of demons who obey his every command.  Our enemy is spiritual, our enemy is strategic, and our enemy is satanic.  Our enemy is very real and although limited, they are capable of the following:
 
Demons can provide superhuman strength to the victims they possess (Mark 5:1-20; Acts 19:16).
They have the same capability that angels have in that physical barriers cannot restrict them (Mark 5:9-13; Dan. 9:21-23; 10:10-14).
Demons can physically harm, oppress, and possess humans (see Matt. 9:32-33; 12:22; 17:15; John 13:21-30; Acts 16:16-18; 19:11-16).
Behind every idol, false teaching, and anything that is against Christ are demons (1 Cor. 10:14-22; Gal. 4:3-9).
Demons can influence nations, world leaders, and governing authorities (read the books of Daniel and Revelation as an example).
 
It is good to have a right and biblical understanding of demons, but you must also understand that the Bible teaches us that they have no power over the Christian because of our relationship with Jesus who redeemed us!  If there is any bit of anxiety in what you have just heard about the demonic, consider what Colossians 2:13-15 promises:
And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. (Col. 2:13–15)
Our Fight is Direct, Dangerous, and Dogged
Jesus did indeed disarm the rulers and authorities through His sacrifice upon the cross and His triumph over the grave with His resurrection.  However, we are warned that we are still in a fight, and that our fight is with the demonic forces that stand opposed to God.  In this fight, we are to stand strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might by putting on the full armor of God. 
 
Our fight is a struggle; the Greek word that we get the word “struggle” (πάλη) from is a word used to describe the kind of fight that comes in the form of close hand-to-hand combat. The point is that we must be prepared for the enemy’s attacks from afar or up close, and the enemy brings his fight against us in all shapes and sizes!  It comes in the form of slander, false teaching, and the temptation to sin.  Our fight can come in the form doubt, depression, and deception.  Our struggle can be with the temptation to sin against God and others. The battle can come in the form of persecution from friends, family, or state authorities.
 
The evil day includes a greater evil that is coming, but it also includes any day you find yourself face to face with the enemy’s attacks or find yourself in his crosshairs from a distance.  The evil day will be the final cataclysmic satanic attack that will come just before Jesus’ second coming.  The evil day is your entire life as a Christian from new birth to physical death.  The evil day includes those days in the Christian life when the onslaught of the enemy seems the strongest.  The evil day are those days when the temptation to sin is more of a struggle than usual.  So, Christian, how will you resist in the evil day?  You do so by taking up the only help available to you that has been provided by God Himself: Take up the full armor of God.  The three imperatives of Ephesians 6:10-13 are as follows:
Be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might.
Put on the full armor of God.
Take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day.
 
When you have done everything to put on the full armor of God, only then can you stand firm.
Stand firm with and in all of God’s truth. His truth is the only truth that matters.
 
Stand firm with the breastplate of Christ’s righteousness. All of Christ’s righteousness is now your righteousness.
 
Stand firm in the peace of God as a beneficiary of His mercy. You are a child of God almighty.
 
Stand firm with a shield of faith, saturated by the water of the word of God. God is infinitely bigger than all your problems, but you will not know that unless you receive it from His word.
 
Stand firm with the helmet of salvation, which is the assurance that you belong to the One who chose you, redeemed you, and sealed you with His Holy Spirit. What can man do to you ultimately when the God of Life is for you?
Stand firm with the ability to handle the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. You have the Word of God that is the authority of God who is able to change lives.

Stand Against the Schemes of the Devil

Some of the pets that I enjoyed the most growing up were the kind that ate other living things.  Most of you know that I spent the first 12 years of my life in South Jersey just across from the Delaware and then moved into Pennsylvania on the other side of the Delaware.  As a kid, I owned a lot of pets!  I had hamsters, hermit crabs, at one time we had five Doberman pinchers, and a whole bunch of cats!  If I am honest, my favorite pets were the kind that ate other living things.  For example I used to own multiple Black piranhas that I would not only feed feeder goldfish to, but I would catch salamanders to feed to my piranhas.  At one time I owned a yellow rat snack I would feed mice!  However, I have never seen an anaconda in person.  I did come across something that caught my attention with the title: “How to be Prepared for an Anaconda Attack.”  Here is a list of instructions in the event that your path does cross with an anaconda, and it decides wants to eat you for lunch:
 
If you're attacked by an anaconda, do not run; the snake is faster than you are.
 
Lie flat on the ground.
 
Put your arms tight at your sides and your legs tight against one another.
 
The snake will begin to climb over your body.
 
Do not panic.
 
The snake will begin to swallow you from the feet end.
 
Step 6 will take a long time.
 
After a while, slowly and with as little movement as possible, reach down, take your knife, and very gently slide it into the snake's mouth. Then suddenly sever the snake's head.
 
Be sure your knife is sharp.
 
Be sure you have your knife.
     
Some Anacondas can grow up to 30 feet long and weigh over 500 pounds.  You will not catch me lying flat on the ground positioning myself to be its lunch!  Clearly this list is meant to be funny.  Yet, there is a greater serpent who is much more dangerous from which we very much, in a metaphorical sense, chose not to run; instead, we make it easy for him to do the thing he wants, and what he wants is to destroy us! 
 
Be Aware of the Devil’s Schemes
When Adam and Eve were in the garden, there was something worse than an angry anaconda talking to them! He is also known as Lucifer, Satan, and the devil.  He is described in the following scary ways: he is the Beast (Rev. 14:9-10), his name is Beelzebub (Matt. 12:24), he is described as a Dragon (Rev. 12:9), he is a roaring lion (1 Pet. 5:8), the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4), the Prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:1-2), the Ruler of Demons (Luke 11:15), the ruler of this World (John 12:31-32), Serpent of Old (Rev. 12:9).
 
Of all the places in the garden of Eden Adam and Eve could have hung out, they decided to idly stand unprepared before the one tree they were told not to eat from.  It was at that one tree that great Serpent waited and schemed his way into their minds, hearts, and lives.  It was the institution of marriage and family the Serpent wanted to attack and destroy, and he did it when Adam and Eve were unprepared!  Listen, the Serpent of Old still does the same thing today, the only difference is that he has had more practice at scheming since the Garden.  This is why Paul addressed how we can walk in a manner worthy of our calling in marriages, in our parenting, with our children, and in our working (see 5:22-6:9).  What “tree” are you idly standing in front of that you should not be? 
 
We laugh at the list I read to you about what you should do if attacked by an anaconda, but when it comes to sin and temptation, how many of lay down on the ground instead of running to Him who is the great serpent crusher, namely Jesus.  Instead of standing before trees we have no business standing in front of, we ought to be running to another tree, namely the cross of Christ!  Why?  Because “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (6:12).   
 
So, what are the devil’s schemes?  Well, he has a whole list of names that gives us some clue as to the kind of scheming he is up to.  Satan is known as the Accuser (Rev. 12:10), the Adversary (1 Peter 5:8), the Deceiver (Rev. 12:9), the Enemy (Matt. 13:39), the Evil One (John 17:15), the Father of lies (John 8:44), the Lawless One (2 Thess. 2:8-10), Murderer (John 8:44), the Tempter (Matt. 4:3), the Thief who comes ONLY to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10), and the Wicked One (Eph. 6:16).  So what do these titles and names tell us about our great enemy? 
 
As the accuser, Satan wants you to be paralyzed by past failures with the kind of shame and guilt that keeps you from running to Jesus in repentance because he wants you to believe that your sins are too great for God’s mercy, love, and grace!
 
As the adversary, the Devil seethes with hatred towards you. He will use all that is at his disposal to destroy you.  He wants to separate you from the community of God’s people because he knows that is where you are weakest. 
 
As the deceiver, he seeks to harm you with his cheap counterfeits by deceiving and scheming you into believe that the counterfeit will satisfy more than what God has designed for your good. He does this with sexuality, politics, and the good things that he can get you to treat as ultimate things.
 
Satan is an enemy because he wants to harm you.  Satan is the evil one because he is sinister, malicious, diabolic, heinous, crooked, vile, and malevolent... and all of his evil scheming is directed towards you and the success of God’s mission!  Satan is not only a liar, but he is also the father of lies; so of course he wants you to turn from any and all truth... especially God’s truth found in His word.  Satan is lawless, so he has no moral compass.  Satan has been a murder from the beginning, so he is no advocate for life.  Satan is a thief who only comes to steal, kill, and destroy.  Does it have to be any clearer than that?  The first step in standing firm against the schemes of the devil is to know how it is that he intends to scheme.   
 
Listen, Satan is the personification of evil, but he hides his true colors behind a veneer of what appears to be innocence. To understand the devil’s schemes you must be aware that he, “disguises himself as an angel of light”; and all the demons do the same (2 Cor. 11:14).  We will look into this more next week but know that he is not running around in a red suit and a pitchfork.  He is scheming behind the rulers, the powers, the world forces of this darkness, and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (v. 12). 
 
Stand Against the Devil’s Schemes
If you are a Christian, you are at war!  You who were once dead in your sins and were by nature a child of wrath (2:1-3) and were under the influence and enslaved to the rulers, the powers, the world forces of this darkness, and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (v. 12).  However, as powerful as the devil and the demonic world are, Jesus has already defeated them all!  Remember what we read in Ephesians 1:19-22; first Paul’s prayer: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18–19a).  The boundless greatness that is ours who believe, is NOT our power but the power of Almighty God! 
 
What happened at the cross and the empty tomb is that Jesus defeated the devil along with the rulers, the powers, the world forces of this darkness, and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places!  Listen to how Paul describes the way the devil and the demonic have been defeated:
“These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him head over all things to the church...” (Eph. 1:19–22)
 
All things are in subjection under the feet of Jesus, and it is He who is head over all things.  The devil has been defeated and he is not happy about it!  Because of Jesus’ victory through the cross and the His resurrection, your salvation was made possible (1:7-12; 2:4-5)!   We must stand against the devil’s schemes, but we are only able to do so in the strength of the might of King Jesus!  We do this only by putting on the full armor of God. 
Do not miss what is being said in verse 12: “Put on the full armor of God.”  This is not a suggestion, but a command (an imperative)!  Now, notice who the armor belongs to.  It is not armor we create that we are to put on, but armor that belongs to God!  The armor of God is armor He has provided, but you only need to put it on in order to “stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”   
 
Now we are going to take our time working through what each piece of the armor of God is in the weeks to come, but for now, you need to understand what it is.  We are not told to put on some of the armor to stand against the devil’s schemes, but the full armor of God; so what is the full armor of God?
 
The belt of truth: This is the first piece that a soldier would put on around his waist that would hold all the other clothing out of the way so that he could run and fight without any of his clothing under the armor getting in the way. It is not “your truth” but God’s truth that you are to put on and it is foundational for standing against the devil, but it will do you no good if you do not put it on by obeying the truth of God’s word.
 
The breastplate of righteousness: The breastplate as part of a warrior’s armor protects the vital organs, so it is no mystery why Paul would characterize the righteousness of Christ as essential to protecting the vital organs of the Christian’s faith. The breastplate of righteousness is provided by God because what we need and will always need is the righteousness of Christ!
 
The shoes of the gospel of peace: Just as any warrior cannot fight effectively without shoes, so it also true of the Christian.  The one who has the righteousness of Christ is one who hungers for the righteousness of Christ.  Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”  The shoes of the gospel of peace are the gospel of Jesus Christ that gives us shalom, which is the peace of God that prepares us to stand against the devil’s schemes as we are satisfied in Christ alone.
 
The shield of faith: The shield Paul has in mind here is not the little round shield a soldier might wield on his arm, but the kind designed to shield the whole body from the onslaught of arrows which I believe are the doubts, temptations, impure, and evil thoughts that come out of nowhere.  The shield of faith is only as large as your confidence in the Word of God, dependance upon the righteousness of Christ as your righteousness, and your conviction that only Jesus satisfies your soul.
 
The helmet of salvation: The helmet of salvation is the hope of our salvation (1 Thess. 5:8-9); it is the confidence that we belong to Christ and that there is no other who can satisfy and bring life to our whole being, but Christ alone!  The helmet of salvation is the security that we have in the assurance of our salvation.  The devil is the accuser and although he cannot rob you of your salvation, he can erode your confidence in the truth that the cross of Christ is sufficient for all your sins. 
 
The sword of the Spirit: The Sword of the Spirit is our only offensive weapon in all the armor we are to put on.  The Sword of the Spirit is the word of God, and like the shield of faith, it is only as effective as our ability to wield it through as we grow in our knowledge of it.  Of the word of God, we are told in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).  Sam Storms suggests that there are three primary ways we can use the Sword of the Spirit: “We proclaim the Word (as Jesus did; see also Rev. 12).  We pray the Word (Eph. 6:18-19; Acts 6:4; John 15:7).  And we praise with the Word (i.e., sing the Scriptures).[1]
 
Conclusion
So, how can you begin to stand firm against the devil’s schemes?  Well for starters, don’t lie down and make it easy for your enemy!  Stand firm by deciding to submit to God’s truth instead of what the culture says truth is.  Stand firm with a confidence that all the righteousness you will ever need is the righteousness of Christ.  Stand firm in the peace that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings.  Stand firm in a faith that God is both infinitely good and infinitely greater than all that stands against you.  Stand firm in the security that you are now a son/daughter of God because you are alive with Christ.  Stand firm with the confidence that the Bible is the Word of God and that it is indeed sharper than any other sword; stand firm by proclaiming the Word of God, praying the Word of God, and by praising with the Word of God. 
 
We can stand against the schemes of the devil in the strength of the One who beat the beast, bludgeoned Beelzebub, defanged the dragon, and leveled the roaring lion at the cross!  The Christ of the cross is the King of kings who is infinity greater than the god of this age. He preeminently and powerfully prevailed against the prince of the power of the air. He reigns on High and His heel is on the throat of the ruler of demons. One day soon the full weight of Jesus’ omnipotent heel will be felt upon the skull of the serpent of old, and on that Day his skull will finally and permanently be crushed!  Brothers and sisters, we can be strong in our Lord and in the strength of His might because He reigns!  We stand in the might of Jesus who said, “I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades” (Rev. 1:17-18).
 
[1] Ibid., p. 305.

The Strength of the Lord

The threat of sin within and among those who make up the Bride of Christ has existed since the beginning, and the danger of wolves is something we are warned about throughout the Bible.  In fact, after three years of strengthening the Ephesian Church through the faithful preaching and teaching of God’s Word, Paul warned: “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.  I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:28-30).  Years after Paul had left Ephesus, Timothy served as their pastor and in his final letter before Paul was executed by Rome, he warned Timothy of difficult days ahead—days I believe we find ourselves in today:
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these. For among them are those who slip into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Tim. 3:1–7)
      
The threat we face is also individual and internal!  The desires of your own sinful flesh are the most immediate and present threat you face!  We are warned: “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 John 2:15–16). This is why Paul pleaded with the Ephesian Christians to be diligent is how they lived and walked: “Be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16).
 
Although there are wolves who sneak in from the outside and there are real dangers from within, Paul wants us to understand the nature of those threats in Ephesians 6:10-13,
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” (Eph. 6:10–13)
 
The very real dangers we face as followers of Jesus includes wolves from the outside and our flesh and sin from within; however, our struggle is cosmic, and it is with the realm of the demonic!  My hope and plan for the weeks to come is to not only help you appreciate just how real our struggle is, but to offer you practical ways you can remain strong, stand against the schemes of the devil, and resist the spiritual forces of darkness by standing firm in your faith as a Christian. 
 
We are at War!
Today, I want to turn our attention to Ephesians 6:10, but before I do, you need to understand that if you are a Christian, you are engaged in a cosmic war!  It is a war that Paul categorizes as a “struggle.”  The Greek word Paul uses for “struggle” is palē (πάλη) which is a word used to describe what is involved in close hand-to-hand combat.  In close hand-to-hand combat, you have no choice, for you must chose to fight against the one who wants to harm you, or you must surrender to slavery or even death.  Before you were a Christian, you were, “dead in your offenses and sins...” (Eph. 2:1); according to Ephesians 2:2-3, you behaved and acted as one in agreement with the one who commands and orders the demonic realm against God and His creation: “Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath” (v. 3).
 
Jesus said, “I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matt. 16:18).  Out of God’s rich mercy, great love, and all-sufficient grace, you were rescued, ransomed, and redeemed through the cross of Christ.  If you are a Christian, it is because God made you alive with Christ (Eph. 2:5).  Through Jesus, God rescued you from your sin and Satan and according to Ephesians 2:6-7, He “raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  What we learn from the first three chapters in Ephesians is that the battle over our souls has been decisively and categorically won by Jesus!  However, the prince of the power of the air, the rulers, the powers, the world forces of darkness and the spiritual forces of wickedness want to do whatever they can to take you out by any means necessary! 
 
Martyn Lloyd-Jones rightly said, “There is no grosser or greater misrepresentation of the Christian message than that which depicts it as offering us a life of ease with no battle and no struggle at all.... The first thing we must realize is that the Christian life is a warfare, that we are strangers in an alien land, that we are in the enemy’s territory.”[1]  According to Paul, this is a warfare that we are in, it is a warfare we have to engage, it is a warfare that is ongoing, and it is a warfare with demonic cosmic forces that are determined to fight until the very end.  However, our strength to fight comes from a power that is not our own!
 
 
Our War Requires Us to Be on High Alert
In order to fight and to engage the spiritual war we find ourselves in, we must be alert, and we must be strong!  The very first word is, “Finally.” After all that he has written about what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be the Church of Jesus Christ that have been filled with doctrinal exhortations, firm warnings, and great encouragements, the apostle saved what we read in Ephesians 6:10-18 for last not because it is least important but because of the great threat that faces Christ’s Church!  The word “finally” is Paul’s bugle call for the Christians to assemble for action!  As Sam Storms observed in his book on spiritual warfare: “There is never a truce or ceasefire.  Satan takes no holidays.  He observes no Sabbath rest. There may be times of greater or lesser intensity, but never a time to relax or let down your spiritual guard.”[2]
 
Notice where Ephesians 6:10 is placed!  It is strategically and intentionally placed just after the section in Ephesians where Paul explains what a Christ-centered marriage looks like, how Christlikeness ought to be displayed in parent and child relationships, and how we can be Christ-like through our work.  It was through the institution of marriage, one of the great gifts of God, that Satan attacked for the purpose of destroying the relationship Adam and Eve were created to enjoy with God and each other and how their sin affected their children and how they managed the earth through work. 
 
When Eve was tempted by the serpent while Adam stood and watched, their struggle was not only with flesh and blood, but with the demonic cosmic forces of evil! When Cain murdered Abel, his struggle was not only with flesh and blood, but with the demonic cosmic forces of evil, and it has been that way ever since!  Do not miss how it was that the demonic cosmic forces of evil attacked Adam and his family.  Satan did not tempt Adam and Eve while they were on high alert and actively engaged in the work of God, he tempted them while they were both idol and their spiritual senses were dull.  When Cain decided to murder Abel, he increasingly became insensitive to the things that pleased God until he finally caved to the sin that God warned was lurking at the door of his heart, and instead of mastering it, he gave into his sin and murdered his younger brother (see Gen. 4:1-8). 
 
We will talk about this more when we look at verse 11 and how it is we can stand against the devil’s schemes, but for now I will say that you cannot expect to walk with wisdom or in a manor worthy of your calling as a born again follower of Jesus if you are not on high alert and ready for the kind of hand-to-hand combat that is always before you Christian! You may not be able to see the devil or his demonic hoards with your physical eyes, but as John Stott once wrote: “Beneath the surface, an unseen spiritual battle is raging”[3]
 
Our War-Time Strength is From God’s Might
Now, notice the urgency in the apostle’s language! First a command: “Be strong” (v. 10), then “stand firm” (v. 11), “resist” (v. 13a), “stand firm” (v. 13b), and then another command: “Stand firm” (v. 14).  But how are we to be strong, how are we to stand firm, how are we to resist?  We are to do it in the power of the God who raised Jesus from the grave! The Greek word Paul uses for “strong” is the same word he uses in Ephesians 1:19.[4]  The point is that the source of our power does not come from within, but from an infinitely greater power source!  Remember Paul’s prayer for the Christian at the beginning of his epistle: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe.” Then Paul uses the same language in Ephesians 1:19-20 that he uses in 6:10, consider the apostle’s carefully chosen words in 1:19-20 again: “These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places...” Our power comes from His might and nowhere else!  It doesn’t come from our talents, it doesn’t come from our skills, it doesn’t come from our education, and it doesn’t come from how many verses of the Bible we fill our brains with; all those things are good, but they are not the place from where we draw our power! 
 
We have got to get this straight in our churches and especially at Meadowbrooke!  We have seen several pastors fall recently, three of the men that come to mind have had such a profound impact upon my life such as Ravi Zacharias, Tony Evens, and just this week... Steven Lawson! I have the books these men have written on my bookshelves, I have listened to scores of their sermons, and their ministries have ended due to sexual sin!  For five years Steven Lawson preached in his church and at huge conferences while maintaining an affair with a woman a third of his age. 
 
There have been many Christian song writers and worship leaders who have either renounced their faith in the name of deconstruction and we have sung their songs with the impression that they were motivated by God.  It is possible to have a demonized or even a wolf in sheep’s clothing lead in our worship services and assume his motivations are pure when instead they are predatory.  Oh how easy it is to trust in skill, and charm, and beauty, through what we see and feel and assume the power is from God when it is not from Him.  How easy it is to become idol while our spiritual senses dull to the onslaught of the demonic! 
 
In Ephesians we are told repeatedly where it is that our source of power must come from if we are going to, “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (4:1).  Notice where it is that Christ is seated in Ephesians 1:21-23; He is seated, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:21-23).  Do you know what that means?  What it means is that He has conquered the rulers, powers, the world forces of this darkness, and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places!  They are all under the heel of His omnipotent foot!  All the might you will ever need to be strong, to stand firm, and to resist in the evil day is in Jesus. 
 
However, if you are not abiding in Jesus, if you are not pursuing Jesus, if He is not to your life and breath, then you will grow dull in your spiritual senses!  If God’s word is not the truth you are putting into your spiritual veins, if you are feeding your mind and soul more of what this world wants you to consume, if you are more interested in playing than you are in preparing to stand before Jesus... then you are easy prey for the enemy to devour! 
 
If you are a Christian, you have been chosen by God to be holy and blameless in Jesus (1:4-6). If you are a Christian, you have been redeemed through the blood of the Lamb of God for another city God has for you (1:7-12).  If you are a Christian, you have been sealed by God’s Holy Spirit and have all of the Holy Spirit you will ever need to live in the kind of divine power to stand firm against the devil and his schemes (1:13-14).  How much of your heart does the Father have?  How much of your allegiance does the Son have?  How much of your life does the Holy Spirit have? 
 
What changes can you make to be more alert and to stand in the strength of almighty God?  Permit me to make some recommendations:
Cut back on the time you spend on social media or what have on your watch list, and read your Bible more...
 
Instead of being consumed by secular music, listen more to praise music during the week. Music is in our DNA, and it is something we will enjoy throughout eternity, so start filling your mind and heart with praise now.
 
Pray! If you are not used to praying, start by praying the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4).  If you only pray a few minutes out of day, add another five minutes to your prayer time.  If you do not have a time scheduled to pray, find a time in the day and spend 5,10,15, 30 minutes, or more in prayerful conversation with God.
 
Finally, remember that your strength is not in your ability, skills, or talents when it comes to what God wants to do in your world. Our strength must come from God’s might!  Maybe instead of rushing for a solution to fix whatever is the biggest problem you are facing in your life, you should do what we read in Psalm 46:10-11,
“Stop striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth.” The Lord of armies is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold.”
 
[1] Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Christian Warfare: An Exposition of Ephesians 6:10-13, (Grand Rapids, MI: BakerBooks; 1976), p. 21.
[2] Sam Storms, Understanding Spiritual Warfare (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Reflective; 2021), p. 290.
[3] Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Ephesians (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2014), 175.
[4] In Ephesians 1:19, Paul uses dynamis (power); in 6:10, he uses endynamoō (strong).  Both words are from the same root.

The Glory of Christ is the Beauty of His Church

In Genesis 1:26-27, we learn that both Adam and Eve were created in the image of God.  He created Adam and Eve as male and female, and he created them equal as image bearers of God.  When God created mankind, He declared: “‘Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:26-27).  Listen, every time you see a human being, whether male or female, what is seen is a physical representation of the reality and presence of God.  No other creature represents God in this way except humans!  
 
When there was no suitable helper for Adam after naming the animals, we learn from Genesis 2:18-25 that God created from his rib one who was suitable for him.  God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” (Gen. 2:18).  So, we are told that God “caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept” (v. 21), and from Adam’s rib, God created Eve.  Adam’s response to Eve was: “At last this is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man” (v. 23). What follows Adam’s statement in Genesis 2:24 is what makes marriage so special and unlike any relationship that a person can have; it is also the verse the apostle Paul quotes in Ephesians 5:31, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 
 
The reason why I have chosen to continue with my plan to preach on these verses in Ephesians 5:22-33 is because of what Paul said about Genesis 2:24 in Ephesians 5:32. Listen carefully to what is written: “This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.”  I cannot remember who wrote it, but someone said that humans are the physical representation of the reality and presence of God.  Just as it is true that we, as image bearers of the living God, are the physical representation of the reality and presence of God, it is equally true that marriage between a man and a woman is the physical representation of the reality and presence of Jesus’ church as His bride, and His great, faithful, and uncompromising love for her. 
 
What marriage represents is the reason why we are told in Holy Scripture, “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers” (Heb. 13:4).  It is also the reason why Paul wrote that, “sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among the saints; and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks” (Eph. 5:3-4).  However, Paul did not stop there!  He continued with these sobering words that we all must take very seriously: “For this you know with certainty, that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, which amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (v. 5).  And just in case you are tempted to view these words as archaic, outdated, or that your feelings trump the authority of such words, listen very carefully to the verse that follows Paul’s warning about the danger the sexually immoral, impure, or greedy person faces if that person does not turn from such sins: “See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (v. 6).
 
The original title of my sermon for this Sunday was, “The Grandeur of Marriage.”  I believe God wants us to focus on the main point of Ephesians 5:22-33, and it is tucked away in verses 26-27, which states: “so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”  In fact, I would like to submit to you that what Ephesians 5:22-33 teaches us is this: Just as humans are the physical representation of the reality of God, so marriage between a man and a woman is the physical representation of the reality and presence of Jesus’ church as His bride.
 
In light of that, I have titled today’s sermon: “The glory of Christ is the beauty of His church.”  Instead of focusing our attention on the sins of a pastor and brother, our attention needs to be on Jesus and what He wants of us.  Now, before we begin, I do want to read for you 1 Timothy 5:19-22, which states:
“Do not accept an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. Do not lay hands upon anyone too quickly and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.” (1 Tim. 5:19–22)
 
We did have multiple credible accusations that the one under church discipline continued to lie and deceive; even when he was brought before the Board of Elders, he continued to lie and misrepresent the truth.  Our hope is and will remain that he will repent of his sins.  Our hearts remain broken over our need and responsibility to remove him from his position as Pastor of Discipleship and Pastor. 
 
What I want to do with our time this morning is to step back and focus on our own hearts by allowing the word of God to wash over us as His people.  
 
Jesus Intends to Present His Bride as Holy and Blameless
All throughout Ephesians, we see that the reason why we have been chosen by God the Father, redeemed by Jesus the Son, and sealed by God the Holy Spirit for your holiness and blamelessness in Christ!  How will He do it?  With and through His Word!  What does His Word say?
 
The Word of God says, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love” (Eph. 1:4)
His Word says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)
 
The Word says, “Be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” (Eph. 5:1–2)
 
The Word says, “Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.
 
The Word says, “‘Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise...” (Eph. 5:11–15)
 
Jesus intends for His people to pursue holiness!  The only way we can pursue a Christ-centered holiness is if we flee from the sins that lead us away from Christ!  The Bible calls us to, “Flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Tim. 2:22).  We must, “Flee sexual immorality” (1 Cor. 6:18).  But it is not only sexual sins that we must flee from, but we must also flee from any sin that threatens to entangle us, and in case you are wondering what sins are there that do not threaten to entangle us?  The answer is that there is no safe sin, they all threaten to entangle, and they all have the ability to destroy, rob, maim, and kill!  The list of sins is long, but here is a short list given to us in Proverbs 6:16-19, “There are six things that the Lordhates, seven that are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who declares lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers” (Prov. 6:16–19).
 
Jesus has given to His church spiritually qualified and gifted persons for the equipping and building up of his church to teach and preach His word as one way to cleanse His people, “by the washing of water with the word...” (v. 26).  What does this mean?  In the ancient east, before the bride was presented to the bridegroom, she would receive a cleansing bath with water before she was adorned in her bridal dress and presented to her groom.  We, as the Bride of Christ, are also being cleansed, and it is done through the Word of God.  We are called to this individually, but there are men like myself that are called to administer the word of God and to show you how to bath yourself in the Word of God... because the best thing I can give you is not what Pastor Keith thinks, but what the Word of God says! I am fallible but God’s word is infallible, for: “All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16–17). 
 
This is why when a pastor, elder, or church leader fails to meet the qualifications to be in such roles as listed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:7-9, such people are a danger to Jesus’s church that He loves, cherishes, is sanctifying, and has called to His Bride, “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”  Those of us called by Jesus to serve His Bride to equip His people will, “incur a stricter judgment” (Jas. 3:1); for this reason, we are to take passages like 1 Timothy 5:19-22 seriously.
 
I am deeply grieved and heartbroken by the actions of the one under church discipline. I am crushed by the damage his actions have caused others.  My prayer is that he will take 1 John 1:9 to heart which says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I also know that we are warned that what happened to our brother can happen to anyone in this room.  If a pastor can fall into unrepentant sin, then so can you, because our, “adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8); intends to bring you harm and he is really good at doing it! 
 
There are sins represented in this room such as gossip, sexual immorality, an unforgiving spirit, and more.  Some of you are so committed to your sin, that you refuse to turn from them out of a fear that you will be exposed, or you believe the enemy’s lie that you are so stuck in your sin that you are unable to turn from it. Here is what Hebrews 3:12-13 says, “Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:12–13).
 
Our adversary is fiercely loud, but Jesus has ripped out his teeth!  You may be overwhelmed by your sin, but you still have time to run to the One who still makes all things new (2 Cor. 5:17): “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
  
Jesus Will Present His Bride in All Her Glory as Holy and Blameless
How will Jesus present His Bride in all her glory as holy and blameless?  He will do it, “by the washing of water with the word” (v. 26) along with the power of His Holy Spirit (1:18-19a; 3:20-21).  God always uses the authority of His word and the power of His Spirit to do the things only He is capable of doing in our lives.  Jesus is committed to not leaving His church the way He found her.  What that means is that Philippians 1:6 is for you: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus.” However, the only way you will experience the thing He wants to do in you is if you listen to His word and obey it.  So dear Christian, what are you going to do with what you heard today?  Is Jesus asking you today, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say” (see Luke 6:46-49)?
 
Jesus will indeed present His Bride in all her glory as holy and blameless because He loves her too much to leave her the way He found her!  What will her wedding day be like?  It will be greater than any marriage you hope for or have dreamed to experience.  In Revelation 19:7-10, we are given a small peek through the curtain of eternity, and this is what we see:
Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brothers and sisters who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
 
This is why Jesus takes the sins within and by those who belong to His church very seriously.  It is the same seriousness we see demonstrated in the way the sin of Achan was addressed (Josh. 7:1-26), the sins of Eli and his two worthless sons (1 Sam. 2:12-36), and the sins of David with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11:1-12:23).  It is against the backdrop of the above examples I want you to consider as the most appropriate way I feel I can conclude my sermon:
 
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and about the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. (Heb. 6:1–6)
 
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has ignored the Law of Moses is put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severe punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26–31)
 
Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:1–2)

The Magnificence of Marriage

I heard a well-meaning pastor and theologian say by way of application from his reading of Ephesians 5:22-25 these words: “Godly women want to feed their men. Godly women are designed to make the sandwiches. This is not an absolute law, like the one about making babies, and there are times when a man fends for himself and makes quite a decent sandwich. But in the general scheme of things, the apostle Paul wants the women to make the sandwiches.”[1]  My question to you, is that what Ephesians 5:22-25 is teaching? 
 
So, here is how I hope to answer that question.  I hope to answer the above question by showing you how the willful subjecting of the wife to her husband and the sacrificial love of the husband for his wife is the apostle Paul’s way of showing us what Ephesians 4:1-3 looks like in marriage; consider these verses in light of marriage: “...walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
 
The way I am going to show you what sandwiches have to do with marriage is by explaining what Ephesians 5:22-25 is saying, then I will show what these verses mean for your marriage, and finally, we will look at some examples of Jesus and what He thinks about sandwich making. 
 
What is Ephesians 5:22-25 Really Saying?
So what is Ephesians saying?  Let me begin answering that question by unpacking what the Greek word hypotassō(ὑποτάσσω) means; it can be translated as subject, subordinate, or submit.  Although every major translation except the NASB (95 and 2020 editions) decided to use the word “submit” instead of “subject” I believe “subject” is a better translation.  So what is the big deal?  Why do I think it matters how hypotassō is translated?  In the most literal sense, the word means “to order oneself under” and in the case of the wife, she is to willingly order herself under the headship of her husband, which is much less confusing than “submit” and leaves less room for this verse to be abused in the ways it has been used in an attempt to subjugate Christian women.  This is why I believe “subject” is a better way to translate this word, besides the fact that most of the time the word is used in the New Testament, it is rightfully translated as “subject.”
 
Permit me to show you two other places hypotassō is used and why “subject” is a better translation of the word for Ephesians in the way wives ought to respond to their husbands.  The first is Luke 2:41-52 when Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Jerusalem with 12-year-old Jesus to celebrate the Passover.  Because they most likely traveled with friends and family, they did not realize they left Jesus in Jerusalem on their way back home to Nazareth.  So, Joseph and Mary turned back (probably in a panic) to go get 12-year-old Jesus and it is in Luke 2:48-51 that we see how hypotassō is used and translated:
When Joseph and Mary saw Him, they were bewildered; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You!” And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” And yet they on their part did not understand the statement which He had made to them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject [hypotassō] to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
 
What did Jesus do at the age of 12 as fully God and fully human?  How did he respond to his mother and stepfather as the rightful King of kings and Lord of lords?  He willingly placed Himself under the headship of his mother and stepfather as a 12-year-old boy.  Jesus was in Jerusalem because He had to be in His “Father’s house” but returned to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary because He was still under their headship. 
 
The other place the word is used is in Romans 13:1. Remember that the Empire of Rome wanted to suppress Christianity, and it was because of Paul’s preaching that Rome eventually sentenced him to death by beheading, yet Paul wrote, “Every person is to be subject [hypotassō] to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”  Paul willingly subjected himself under the Roman government but refused to disobey God when Romans demanded him to do so. 
 
With the same humility that led Jesus to subject Himself under the authority of Joseph and Mary, the wife is to subject herself under the headship of her husband.  With the same understanding and trust Paul had of God and in His sovereign reign over governments the wife is called to subject herself to her husband knowing that he will have to answer for every decision made in the home and will be held to account for how he loved his wife who is first and foremost a daughter of God Almighty. 
 
Now, what is the scope that the wife is to subject herself under the headship of her husband?  Look at verse 24, for it here that we are told: “But the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.”  Paul is not saying that you, wives, must be submissive in everything your husband tells you to do but to subject yourself under his headship as the one God has called to lead as one called by God to protect and provide as priest over your home out of a motivation to lay down his life for your good out of the kind of love that led Jesus to a cross: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (v. 25). 
 
What Does Ephesians 5:22-25 Mean for Life and Marriage?
So, what does Ephesians 5:22-25 mean for your marriage?  What it means, is that, unlike the world’s perverted view of sex and marriage, you are to walk in a manner worthy of your calling in your marriage, as a parent or as a child (6:1-4), and in your obedience to those placed in authority over you, who you work for, or how you exercise your God-given authority (6:5-9).
 
Think about what we have seen in Ephesians 4:1-5:21 as the application of who you are as one who once was dead but now is alive in Christ.  You were redeemed and saved to walk in the good works Jesus redeemed us for (Eph. 2:10).  As a child of God and His representation in a dark and evil world, you are to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called...” (4:1).  In light of your calling as a child of light, we are commanded to be, “imitators of God, as beloved children” and as beloved children, we are to “walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us” (5:1-2).  Now in everything that we say and do, we are to, “be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil” (vv. 15-16).  So, when it comes to what we say and how we treat one another as brothers and sisters in Christ regardless of whether you are single, married, employed, a student and living at home with mom and dad, caring for your elderly parents, we are commanded by God through the apostle Paul to, “subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ” (v. 21). 
 
But what does Christlikeness look like in marriage and what does Ephesians 5:22-25 have to do with making sandwiches?  Here is the way I see it: With the same humility Christ demonstrated and we are all called to practice (see Phil. 2:3-8), wives are to subject themselves to their husbands with the same humility Jesus demonstrated on earth during His incarnation as fully human while remaining fully God.  With the same selfless love that compelled Jesus to live the life we could never live and die the death we all deserved; husbands have and demonstrate for their wives.  With the same honor and dependence Jesus demonstrated on earth regarding God the Father, so believing Children are to honor their parents.  And, with the same willingness to subject Himself under the cross imposed by the Roman empire, so Christian slaves and employees are to obediently bear the burden they are called to with the same dedication Christ had not to Rome, but for the glory of God the Father.  As a wife, or as a husband, or as a child, or as a parent, or as a boss, or as a slave/employee... we are all commanded out of love and reverent fear for Christ to, “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (4:1), and to do so as “imitators of God, as beloved children, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us” (5:1-2). 
 
What Does Jesus Say about Who Should be Making the Sandwiches in Life and Marriage?
Now, a word about who Paul expected to make sandwiches when he wrote Ephesians.  The motivation of subjecting yourself under the headship of your husband is not because you are obligated to submit to whatever he wants, but because of a motivation for your love for Jesus.  This is the point of verse 22 and Colossians 3:18, which states: “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.”  Then, just a few verses later, we read: “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance” (Col. 3:20-21). Just because you are married does not mean that you are now a slave; if you are a follower of Christ who happens to be a wife or thinking about marriage, it is out of a radical love and deep reverence for Christ that in wanting to glorify Him in all that you do and knowing that He loves you infinitely more than any man on earth can... that you are willing to subject yourself to under the headship of your husband because of God’s design for marriage.
 
Now, a word to the men of Meadowbrooke: Consider the ways Jesus demonstrated His love for His Church during His incarnation.  We do not have the time to look at every example, but I do want you to consider some of them that we discover by reading the four gospels:
Well, for starters, Despite the cold shoulder Jesus received from the people He came to die for, His love compelled Him to persistently pursue them; how are you to love your wife? Be an imitator of God who is mindful of the great love and rich mercy you received because of God’s amazing grace, and walk in love before your wife and children, “just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us” (5:1-2).
 
Jesus demonstrated His love for His Bride even when she said and did things that frustrated Him (see Matt. 16:5-12 as an example).
 
Jesus grieved with His Bride when she suffered loss (see John 11:1-44).
 
Jesus loved His Bride when He washed the feet of His disciples in the upper room (John 13:5-20)
 
Jesus loved His Bride even while she could not stay awake during His hour of need and still prayed for her wellbeing (Luke 22:39-46; John 17).
 
Jesus loved His Bride even when She denied She knew Him (John 18:25-27).
 
Jesus loved His Bride even though he was abused emotionally and physically because of His love for Her (John 18:12-24, 28-19:15).
 
Jesus loved His Bride even to the point of carrying a cross She deserved for the purpose of dying a death He did not deserve on her behalf (John 19:16-30).
 
So, men of Meadowbrooke Church, if you love your wives in the same way Christ loved His bride, are you really going to demand that she make you a sandwich?  I do not believe for one second that Paul expected the wife to make the sandwiches!  I believe the point he was making is that if the wife and husband are walking with Jesus out of a reverence and love for Him, their marriage will be stronger for it.  She will subject herself under his headship in humility out of her reverence and love for Jesus, and he will want to love his wife deeply and sacrificially because of his deep love and reverence for Jesus. 
 
Here is why I believe Paul had in mind that both the wife and the husband would make the sandwiches.  Between the two, the kind of love that leads them to one another begins with Philia (friendship love) which has grown into an unconditional agape (unconditional love), and the fruit of that philia and agape love is eros (erotic/physical love).  The fruit of a Christ-centered marriage should be the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7,
Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with.
 
The other reason why I reject the ridiculous notion that Paul wants the wife to make the sandwiches is because of 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 in a relationship the fruit of a genuine friendship (philia) and unconditional love (agape) is physical and erotic love (eros).  Listen to these verses carefully and you tell me if the woman is the only one called to make a sandwich?
Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But because of sexual immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise the wife also to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise the husband also does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
 
Men and women, what if we took Ephesians 5:1-2 seriously regarding everything in life that is important?  What if we applied Ephesians 5:21 in our marriages, parenting, place of employment, and in our churches?  What if we looked at our spouse out of a motivation of Christ-like humility and love not out of selfishness, but a giving of oneself to the other and applied that humility and love to sandwich making, dirty dishes, diapers, to-do lists, walks, dates, and even the marriage bed? 
 
The top five reasons why marriages end in divorce are as follows: 1) Too much conflict, 2) a lack of commitment, 3) infidelity, 4) a lack of physical intimacy, and 5) communication problems.  If we take Ephesians 5 seriously, I believe a Christ-centered humility from the wife and a Christ-compelled love from the husband will do five things for your marriage:
 
Christ-centered humility and love will reduce the kind of pride that leads to conflict.
 
Christ-centered humility and love open your eyes to the value of your spouse and marriage.
 
Christ-centered humility and love will help prevent your eyes from wandering and compel you to fight against sexual sin.
 
Christ-centered humility and love will free both the wife and the husband to give themselves sexually to the other for the good and pleasure of the other more frequently.
 
Finally, Christ-centered humility and love will significantly reduce your communication problems because humility and love do wonders for marital hearing loss.
 
[1] Doug Wilson, The Natural Use of the Woman (YouTube Channel: Blog & Mablog; Jan. 24, 2022)

The Marvel of Marriage

 
If there were ever a sentence in the Bible to serve as a trigger for anger, resentment, and resistance towards the Bible it is most likely Ephesians 5:22, “Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord.”  The reason some women bristle at verses like Ephesians 5:22-24 is because they have not known the kind of love husbands are called to demonstrate in verse 25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her...”
 
Before we can even begin to address these verses, I need you to hear something.  Marriage is an institution created by God to be celebrated, enjoyed, protected, and fought for within the covenant relationship between God and one man and one woman for a lifetime.  However, if marriage (as God’s good gift) is something that you have made into the ultimate thing for your life, then you have potentially done two things:
You have set your bar way too low.
You have made an idol out of the institution of marriage.
 
When it comes to marriage, how can you set the bar way too low by making it the ultimate thing you aspire to?  By making marriage the ultimate thing, you miss its ultimate purpose in that it serves as the only institution on earth designed to reflect Christ’s relationship with the Church and the Church’s relationship with Christ (v. 32).  What is marriage?  It is a “great mystery” because it is, “an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one” (v. 32; NLT).  In fact, in reference to the mystery of marriage, the ESV, NIV, and CSB translate the Greek word megas (μέγας) as “profound” while the KJV, NASB, and NLT use the word “great.”  The word can also be translated: large, surprising, or prominent.  What is the point?  Marriage is a big deal for reasons much more significant than two humans who want to spend a lifetime together. 
 
When you read what is written in Ephesians 5 concerning marriage, you must read and study these verses within the context of everything written in Ephesians 1:1 - 5:21.  Let me help you understand Ephesians 5:22-33 in light of the overall context of the epistle: 
 
In Ephesians 1:1-19, the Christian was chosen before the foundation of the world to be redeemed and forgiven of all sin exclusively through the shed blood of Jesus upon a cross. If you are a Christian, at the moment you believed in Jesus, you were sealed by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of becoming holy and blameless as God’s treasured possession to the praise of His glory, so that Jesus, who is Lord over everything (vv. 19b-21), would be head over all things to the church (v. 22-23). 
 
In Christ, those who were dead in their sins are made alive according to Ephesians 2:1-10 because of the rich mercy, great love, and sufficient grace of God. The reason why you, Christian, were made alive... is to live out your calling as God’s, “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (2:1-10). 
 
Now that you are alive with Christ, you are a citizen “with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord...” (2:19-21). Because you are in Jesus, you now have a new identity, and as His redeemed people, we all can, “know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge” as His Church (3:14-19).
 
As those who were once far off but have been brought near as Jesus’ redeemed people, we are to be known for walking a better way as followers of Jesus, indeed, we are to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called...” (4:1). We do this, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (vv. 2-3).
 
As the Church of Jesus Christ, we are His holy Bride and no longer characterized by the “useless deeds of darkness” (5:3-13) but are now “children of light” (5:8-9) who walk with wisdom while the days are evil (vv. 15-16). We do this as the “holy temple of the Spirit of God” and “body of Christ”, who will experience a marriage as His beloved Bride. Now, as those who belong to Christ, we are to diligently keep, “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” since we belong to each other as, “one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all” (4:4-6).
 
If you are a Christian, then you are the Bride of Christ, and as the Bride of Christ, we come to what I consider to be the “hermeneutical key” for understanding what Paul states in the verses to follow regarding marriage, children, and work.  Here it is: “subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ” (v. 21). 
 
God’s Intended Culture for Marriage
It is important to point out that what proceeds what Paul says to wives and husbands is one long sentence in verses 18-21 that begins with an imperative: “do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit...”  So, the culture of a healthy marriage begins by being filled with the Holy Spirit instead of filling yourself with something that leads to debauchery.  The way to do that is provided in a list of four participles: 1) Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, 2) singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord, 3) always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father, and 4) subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ.
 
If you are wondering what Ephesians 5:19-21 looks like in the home, the point is not the songs you sing to one another, but what it is that moves you and motivates you as a wife or as a husband.  What Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:19-20 is not all that different than what he wrote to the Colossians: “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (3:16-17).
 
To “subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ” is to do all things, both in word and deed, in the name of the Lord Jesus.  The Greek word for “subject” is hypotassō (ὑποτάσσω) and it literally means to “put oneself under” another; here we are to humble ourselves in this way out of a reverence for Jesus.  In the case of Ephesians 5:21, we Christians are to mutually subject/submit to one another out of a humility that is empowered by the Holy Spirit which is best experienced as you are filled by the Holy Spirit.  The best way I can help you understand what Paul is communicating here is to see it against the backdrop of Philippians 2:3-8,
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.
 
Jesus, while equal to the Father, when He took on flesh during His incarnation, humbled Himself by taking the form of a bondservant.  What Jesus did, is that He subjected Himself under the authority of the Father to accomplish what was necessary for our redemption.  We are told that we must have the same mindset of Jesus in the way we treat one another.  Never was Jesus less than God, but He did willingly place Himself under the headship of the Father while He remained fully God and at the same time fully human.  We are to humble ourselves in the same way as brothers and sisters in a world where individualism and power struggles are part of the dog-eat-dog culture of the world that we live in.    
 
So, against the backdrop of Philippians 2:3-8, consider again Ephesians 5:21, “subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ” (v. 21).  Do you see it?  Do you see why this verse serves as a type of linchpin that joins what we read in verses 15-20 and the section in Ephesians that addresses husbands, wives, children, and slaves? 
 
How are Wives to “Subject” Themselves to Their Husbands?
So now we come to the word “subject” and the way it is used for how wives must respond to their husbands and how it is not used to instruct the way husbands are to respond to their wives. We will look more deeply at the husband-and-wife relationship as it is explained in these verses next week, but for now I want to set things up for next week in a way that still helps you today.
 
Within the covenant of marriage, a wife is to, “subject” herself to her husband, “as to the Lord” (v. 22).  The husband is not commanded to do the same regarding his wife.  Instead, he is commanded to love his wife “just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (v. 25).  Sinclair Ferguson states in light of Ephesians 5:21-22, there is, of course, an appropriate mutual submission in marriage.  The exhortation of 5:21 is to be obeyed by all Christians within the context of their mutual fellowship! But that is not the only aspect to the Christian life.  Mutual submission no more obliterates the command in 5:22 than it rescinds the command of Hebrews 13:7 ‘Obey your leaders’!”[1]
 
When it comes to marriage, the God who invented marriage offers a better way than the perversion of marriage propagated by the world.  Indeed, marriage was always intended to express, demonstrate, and point to a greater marriage that every Christian was chosen, redeemed, and sealed by the Holy Spirit to experience regardless of your marital status on planet earth (more on this in two weeks)!  The better way for the Christian woman, who happens to be a wife, is to illustrate how Christians (the Church) respond to the great love of Christ that compelled Him to willingly go to the cross to redeem her; the response of Jesus’ wife is to be that of joyful submission.  In a world that balks at any notion that a married woman must subject/submit to her husband; the Christian is called to a better way.
 
Listen, just as our response to Jesus should be one of deep and joyful submission to Him because of the love we have experienced from Him, the wife is to joyfully place herself under the loving headship of her husband in response to his self-sacrificing love, care, and protection for his bride. The command for wives to subject themselves to their husbands has nothing to do with value or importance, but God’s design for marriage and the kind of thriving, joy, and companionship He intends His people to enjoy within the covenant of marriage that He instituted.
 
What does it mean to “subject” yourself to your husband, as to the Lord?  Well, it certainly does not mean that you become his doormat so that he can treat you however he wants.  There is only One Lord, and that Lord is Jesus Christ.  There is a chain of command, and your first obligation is to obey Jesus as your Lord. 
 
The reason why I believe the NASB offers a better translation of hypotassō (subject) is because the wife is not commanded to enter subjugation under her husband as an inferior person to a superior human.  When a woman enters marriage, she does so as a different but equal counterpart to the man she loves.  The wife willingly and humbly places herself under her husband’s headship out of a deep trust and respect for him in response to the selfless love she has experienced and rightfully anticipates she will continue to enjoy throughout a lifetime of marriage when they come together as a one-flesh union.  Again, Sinclair Ferguson’s perspective on Ephesians 5:22-24 is very much appreciated: “Marriage is not a recipe for the subjugation of a woman, but a blueprint for her true freedom in a healthy, loving relationship with her husband.”[2]  Richard Coekin, in his little commentary on Ephesians, states:
As he [God] committed himself sacrificially to us in covenanted and exclusive love, so the most precious aspect of all our human relationships, and especially marriage, is to love and be loved, not merely with sentimental affection or sensual desire, but with sustained sacrificial kindness in every season of life—an unconditional love based not upon the other’s glamorous looks, but upon a commitment to be exclusively devoted to their best interests.  And what a stunningly wonderful blessing a happy Christian marriage is![3]
 
However, for some of you, your marriage seems anything but a “wonderful blessing.” Others of you are afraid of entering into marriage because of what you witnessed growing up.  The sad truth is that even in the Church, men and women have bought into the lie of a version of marriage that does not reflect what we read in the Bible. You need to hear that when it comes to marriage or any other relationship for that matter, God offers a better way.  Nevertheless, to experience that better way, it takes two who desire to walk in a manner worthy of their calling as followers of Jesus for God’s design for marriage to be experienced on some level.  In the weeks to come, I hope to offer you some level of help and encouragement for your marriage and your desire to follow Jesus well.
 
Before I conclude, permit me to address the woman and then the men of this church. 
 
To the women in this church: You are created in the image of God and there is no man whose love is greater for you than the one your heavenly Father has for you.  Any abuse you suffered growing up, the careless words spoken by any of the men in your life, or any treatment of you that has reduced you to an object is NOT a reflection of God’s love for you.  You are valued because God has placed value upon you as His daughter!  There is no marriage or situation where it is acceptable or okay for you to be abused or mistreated as a daughter of the God who loved you so much that He sent His only Son to die to redeem you. If you are in a marriage that seems more of a misery than the beautiful marvel it is intended to be, I want to encourage you to hang on and trust that the God who raises the dead can bring life to your marriage.  If you are in what you believe to be a dead or failing marriage, I would like to give you an assignment this week: Pray for your husband, that the God who created out of nothing, can do something with the man in your marriage.
 
To the men in this church: Everything I said to the women also applies to you.  It is possible to be in a relationship where you are demeaned, demonized, and devalued by the women in your life (more on that next week).  It is not okay for you to be treated poorly or talked down to or disrespected by your wife or children. I will say though, that we men tend to set the culture and spiritual climate of our homes; if you have not done a good job at doing that, it is not too late.  Permit me to give you an assignment this week, read John 13:1 - 19:30 and take note on what Ephesians 5:25 really means for your marriage: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”  Especially take note of what you can do differently or better to obey what is commanded of you as the husband of your wife. 
 
Finally, the God who raised Jesus from the grave cares more about your marriage than you ever could, so trust and believe that He can make something beautiful out of your mess.  It is on this point that I leave you with Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
 
[1] Sinclair B. Ferguson, Let’s Study: Ephesians (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust; 2021), 149.
[2] Ibid., 151.
[3] Richard Coekin, Ephesians for You (The Good Book Company; 2019), 164-65.

The Walk of the Wise (part 2)

From the Pulpit of Keith Miller
Meadowbrooke Church
August 25, 2024
 
 
The Walk of the Wise (part 2)
Ephesians 5:14-21
 
Introduction:
The definition of apathy is, “a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern.  Atrophy is the gradual decline in effectiveness or vigor due to underuse or neglect.  I said last week that spiritual apathy is the kind of thing that will happen when you are so paralyzed by shame that you stay in your shame instead of allowing it to motivate you into repentance.  Spiritual apathy, if left untreated, will lead to spiritual atrophy.  In Ephesians 5:14-21, we are given a four-fold pathway to keep us from spiritual apathy and to rescue us from spiritual atrophy; last week, I showed the first step for that pathway, and it was: “Run to Jesus as your only advocate.” 
 
If you are a Christian, you were once dead and now you are alive in Christ (Eph. 2:1-5).  If you are a Christian, you are alive with Jesus through the redemption of His shed blood (1:7).  You, Christian, are, forgiven of all your sin, but you have also been, “sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit.... for the day of redemption” (1:13-14; 4:30).  Because of God’s great love, rich mercy, and sufficient grace, you are His child and even more staggering (in my opinion), you are His inheritance (see 1:18-19a)!  Because of all of this, your awareness of your sin ought not lead to apathy, but to the place and time where your redemption was made possible which is the cross of Christ! 
 
With that being said, I believe Ephesians 5:15-21 is a pathway and plan to keep us from spiritual apathy and if necessary, to lead one out of spiritual atrophy. 
 
Pay Attention to How You Live (v. 15)
In consideration of that reality and hope that is yours in Jesus, the apostle Paul continues: “So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise...” (v. 15).  In light of verses 1-14, Paul does not suggest we take care how we walk, but commands it out of the utmost importance.  “be careful” is translated from Greek word “blepō” (βλέπω) and it literally means and is most commonly translated, “see” but it can also be translated in the following ways: “beware”, “watch out”, or “look.”  Verse 15 is an appeal to pay attention because there are dangers along the way as you “Walk.”  A better translation of this verse is: “Watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise people, but as wise...”
 
Consider the seven ways the word “walk” is used in Ephesians.  In Ephesians 2:1-3, the Christian once, “previouslywalked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”  If you are a Christian, you are God’s, “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (2:10).  Because of the great price of your redemption, you are to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (4:1) instead of walking “as the Gentiles also walk... because of the hardness of their heart” (4:17-18).  As children of God, you are to “walk in love just as Christ loved you and gave Himself up for us” (5:1-2).  You, Christian, are alive with Christ, and because you are alive with Christ, you are “light in the Lord” and no longer in darkness; therefore “walk as children of light” (5:8).  This brings us to the final verse where the word “walk” is used in Ephesians: “So then, be careful [watch carefully] how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise” (v. 15).
 
To watch carefully how you walk is to do so with urgency, care, and wisdom.  So how does one walk with wisdom?  Proverbs 9:10 tells us what the first step towards wisdom requires: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  According to proverbs, wisdom begins with a fear of the Lord.  To have some understanding of who God is will result in an appropriate response to Him, and that appropriate response is one of profound reverence, for this is what the Hebrew word for “fear”[1] means.  This is the response of the Seraphim and the prophet of Isaiah while in the presence of Almighty God, “sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted...” while the holy Seraphim covered their face and feet, Isaiah responded: “Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips” (see Isa. 6:1-5).  It was also the response of Job to a better understanding of the nature of God in light of his own suffering: “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent, sitting on dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).  Jesus spoke of wisdom in relationship to what we do with His words and our lives:
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.” (Matt. 7:24-27)
 
To walk with wisdom is to do so with an appropriate fear for who God is and a motivation to do what His Word requires is the spirit of Psalm 1:1-2, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.”
 
In the verses to follow, Paul provides us with key ways to walk in wisdom: 1) Use your time wisely for what matters, 2) live with an awareness of God’s will for your life, and 3) be intentional about what you consume.
 
Use your time wisely for what matters (v. 16)
Life is short.  The average human life is about 29,000 days.  That is all you have... maybe.  That is of course if heart disease, cancer, or a fatal accident doesn’t get to you first.  Of our 29,000 days, we sleep 9,490 (26yrs) of our 29,000 days away leaving us with only 19,510 days on earth awake.  So, how does the average person use his/her average number of days on earth? 
1,095 days are spent in the bathroom
402 days are spent getting dressed
365 days are spent looking for things we lost.
5 hours a day are spent by the average teen staring at the screen of their computer, phone, and television (that is over 3,100 hours a year spent staring at a screen)
5 days a year are spent on our cell phones (if those statistics remain the same, then within my 14-year-old son’s lifetime he will have spent 4,516 days of his life on his phone).
 
Allow me to put something in perspective.  The average age of Meadowbrooke Church is somewhere in the 30’s, which means that if you are 35 years old and if you average about 6.5 hours of sleep a night, and heart disease, cancer, or an accident does not cut those remaining days short, you have about 12,960 days awake left while the average screen time in America is currently 7.3 hours a day which is another 3,942 days of no human interaction that you can scratch off of those remaining 12,960 days left awake and living.   
 
My point is simply this, your time is very limited, so don’t waste it on things that do not matter.  The apostle Paul wrote Ephesians 5:16 in a day and age when social media and screen time did not exist, but the danger of wasting one’s life on things that do not matter was still before the Christian.  The evil that surrounded the Ephesian Church is the same evil that surrounds us but with different dress.  Ephesus had the Temple of Artemis and we have the porn industry.  The Hebrews were surrounded by the worship of Molech where infants were laid upon the arms of the idol as a sacrifice, we have Planned Parenthood offering free vasectomies and abortions in their buss outside of the DNC in Chicago and a well-known gourmet hotdog place offering patrons a free hotdog after their procedures on that bus. 
 
How do you keep your soul from spiritual apathy and atrophy?  How do we make the most of our time because the days are evil?  You do it by taking God-glorifying risks and by making God-exulting sacrifices for what really matters in light of eternity!
 
Live with an awareness of God’s will for your life (v. 17)
Living in a way that is worthy of your calling and walking wisely as a follower of Jesus while the days are evil requires that you are aware of God’s will for your life and that you live in light of that awareness.  So, what is God’s will for your life?  It’s simple.  We in Ephesians alone we are told that God chose you before the foundation of the world, “that we would be holy and blameless before Him” (1:4).  You were created, saved, and redeemed in Christ Jesus, “for good works, which God prepared beforehand” (2:10).  Now that you are saved by the blood of Jesus, “you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household... being fitted together... into a holy temple in the Lord” (2:19, 21).  Because we now belong to Jesus as the Church, “we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people” (4:14).  As followers of Jesus, we are expected, “to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (4:24).  Because you are now a child of God, we are to be “imitators of God, as beloved children” (5:1) because we are now “children of light” (v. 8). 
 
What is the will of God for your life?  It is to follow Jesus in such a way that He is first and everything else is second for it is He who said: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).  What is the will for your life?  It is your sanctification: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor” (1 Thess. 4:3-4).  What is the will of God for your life?  Here it is: “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Pet. 1:13-16).
 
Listen, any person, organization, job promotion, or desire that threatens to move you further away from God’s will for your life... IS NOT GOD’S WILL for your life!  If you want to walk in wisdom, you must live with the awareness of what God wants for your life ultimately.     
 
Be intentional about what you consume into your mind, soul, and heart (vv. 18-21)
The word worship comes from the word “worth-ship.”  What you give yourself to is what you value, and what you value most is what you ultimately attribute worth to.  What you put into your mind, you put into your heart, and what you put into your heart, you feed into your soul. 
 
Early in this series on Ephesians I said, that “you have all of God’s love you will ever need, all of the redemption in Jesus that you will ever need, and all of the Holy Spirit you will ever need.”  I followed up that statement with a question, and the question was this: “How much of your heart does God have? How much of your loyalty does Jesus have? How much of your life does the Holy Spirit have?  You see, when you believed in Jesus, you were baptized and sealed by the Holy Spirit, but the filling of the Holy Spirit comes when He has more of your heart. 
 
What Paul describes in verses 18-21 has more to do with the culture of your heart than anything else.  Anything that you put into your mind will ultimately affect the way you think, and what saturates your mind, will affect what and how you feel about certain things.  This is why Paul begins verse 18 with a prohibition: “And do not get drunk with wine...”  The point is simply this: Do not fill your stomach with something that will dull your senses, but fill your mind, soul, and heart with the God you were made to know!  R.C. Sproul wrote of this verse: “Paul is saying to drink deeply and constantly, keeping ourselves close to the Spirit of God, so that we maximize the means of grace of His presence and of His power in our lives.”[2]
 
Getting drunk with wine is debauchery.  What is debauchery?  It is having no control because the wine you have consumed has inhibited you from exercising good reason.  It is not just alcohol that can have this effect on your mind, heart, and soul.  If Paul was writing a letter to Meadowbrooke, I think it would include a sentence not all that dissimilar from Ephesians 5:18; maybe it would sound something like this: “Do not bow to your phones to be consumed by your screentime but be saturated by the word of God for the good of your mind, heart, and soul!” 
 
Think about it, how can you expect to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in your life if what is filling your mind is ultimately coming through a screen rather than the lenses of Holy Scripture?  How do you do this?  You do it by consuming God’s Word, you do it by “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs...” (v. 19), which happens when we gather for worship.  If you are consumed by the things of God, you will recognize that all the good that you have is from God (v. 20).  When you recognize that your life and all that you have belongs to God, you will submit to the authority of God over your life and to, “one another in the fear of Christ” (v. 21).  
 
The Spirit-filled life is a life governed by the Holy Spirit, and the only way you will be governed by the Holy Spirit is by pursuing the following three things:
 
Pursue God by seeking to know Him. Your understanding of who God is will create an appropriate response to Him, which is a deep and abiding reverence for Him and the things and life He wants for you.
 
Live the days you have left with a determination not to waste them but to invest them in what matters. You can do this by recognizing that after your days are up, you will live forever and how you live today is an investment for how you will live in heaven.
 
Be aware of what you put into your mind, heart, and soul. The more of your heart the Holy Spirit gets, the more of God’s peace and joy you will experience.  The more of God’s peace and joy you experience, the more of your purpose in this life you will experience. 
 
One challenge I would like to leave with you.  I want you to try something for a solid month, and if you do, I am confident it will help you grow closer to God and the people He has placed in your life.  Here is my challenge:
 
If you are single, put your phone down 30 minutes before you go to bed and thoughtfully read your Bible for 10-15 minutes (Pick any book in the Bible).
 
If you have children, make it a point that anytime you are sharing a meal together, that your phone is off or away from you. Before you eat dinner, thank God for your meal, while you eat dinner check in with each other about what is happening in each family member’s life, and then when diner is over, pick a verse(s) to read before you get up from the table.
 
[1] The Hebrew word for fear is “yir·ʾā(h)” (יִרְאָה); it is “a feeling of profound respect for someone or something, often a deity, conceived of as fear” according to Lexham Research Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible.
[2] R.C. Sproul, Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary (Sanford, FL: Ligonier Ministries; 2023), 78.

The Walk of the Wise (Part 1)

From the Pulpit of Keith Miller
Meadowbrooke Church
August 18, 2024
 
 
The Walk of the Wise
Ephesians 5:14-21
 
Introduction:
I understand that Ephesians 5:1-13 is a difficult section in the Bible, for at least 50% of the men and about 25% of the women in churches across America view porn at least once a month.  To listen to three weeks of sermons on Bible verses that address sexual sins when you already feel defeated is surely discouraging.  According to one study, 43 percent of Christian men and 20 percent of Christian women acknowledge that your exposure to porn (and any sexual sin for that matter) has worsened their relationship with God.[1]  What that means is that some of you not only feel stuck and defeated, but you also believe that you are far from God and that He is so disgusted by you he wants little or nothing to do with you.  I want you to know that if I just described you, you have bought into a lie! 
 
One of the titles given to the devil is “the accuser” and what is said of him is that he is, “the accuser of our brothers and sisters... the one who accuses them before our God day and night” (Rev. 12:10).  Jesus said of the devil that, “He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.  Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).  The devil is both master accuser and master liar, and he wants nothing more than for you to believe that your ongoing pattern of sins is making you more inaccessible to a Holy God whose wrath is being stored up against humanity for sins such as sexual immorality, impurity, and greed (v. 3). 
 
It is for the above reasons that I wanted to spend so much more time on Ephesians 5:14 then we were able to last week.  What you must remember is that Paul is not writing to non-Christians in his epistle to the Ephesians, but to Christians whose most dangerous adversary exists in their own flesh.  It is the thing that the apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 7:14-23,
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold into bondage to sin. For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, that the Law is good. But now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I do the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.
 
I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully agree with the law of God in the inner person, but I see a different law in the parts of my body waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin, the law which is in my body’s parts.
 
What is important to point out is that Paul was not paralyzed by the tension and struggle he experienced with sin in light of his relationship with Jesus, for it is in what he wrote in response to the war he experienced within that should help us to appreciate Ephesians 5:14-21.  What are we to do with the evil that is present within?  Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 7:24-25, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”
 
I have four points that really serve as a plan to keep you from spiritual apathy that can result in the atrophy of your faith and relationship with Jesus.  I will spend all this sermon on the first point and next week, we will look at the remaining three.  However, I want to list my four points so that you know where we are going in Ephesians 5:14-21.  Here is a pathway I believe the apostle gives us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that will keep you from spiritual apathy and atrophy:
Run to Jesus as your only advocate (v. 14)
Use your time wisely for what matters (vv. 15-16)
Live with an awareness of God’s will for your life (v. 17)
Be intentional about what you consume into your mind, soul, and heart (vv. 18-21)
 
Apathy is the kind of thing that happens when you are so paralyzed by shame that you stay in your shame instead of allowing it to motivate you into repentance.  Repentance is never stagnant but always mobile in the direction where Jesus can be found.  Apathy is what happens when you give up and are no longer interested in moving forward.  Spiritual apathy, if left untreated, will lead to spiritual atrophy.  Spiritual atrophy happens when your shame renders you spiritually immobile.  
 
Run to Jesus as Your Only Advocate (v. 14)
Ephesians 5:14 is not so much an appeal to non-Christians to find Jesus, but for Christians.  Most commentators/scholars agree that verse 14 is most likely a verse from an early church hymn quoted by Paul that was familiar to the Christians in Ephesus.  What I find so fascinating about the placement of verse 14 is that it is sandwiched between verses 3-13 that address the need to refuse to participate in the “useless deeds of darkness” and 15-21 that encourages the Christian to live wisely as children of light. 
 
Here is what I think was going on and why I believe Paul felt the need to write what he wrote in Ephesians 5:3-13. I believe that there were some Christians who were spiritually and morally apathetic towards certain forms of sexual immorality, impurity, greed, filthy and foolish talk, and vulgar joking.  Not only were they apathetic, but their apathy resulted in a type of spiritual atrophy resulting in their participation in certain forms of sin, which Paul listed.  In a very real sense, there were some in the Ephesian Church, as is true in churches today, who were slumbering in certain sins.  One of the many reasons why I believe this is the case is what is written in Romans 13:11-14,
Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let’s rid ourselves of the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let’s behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
 
As is true with many of the hymns and praise songs you are familiar with, the one quoted in verse 14 is infused with language from the Bible.  In fact, there is so much packed into verse 14, that I could preach multiple sermons just on this one short verse, but I will not do that.  What I will do is share four scripture passages with you that will open Ephesians 5:14 up to you in the same way they probably did for the Christians in Ephesus. I am not going to say a whole lot about the verses, I only want you to see them for reasons I believe will be obvious.  So, here we go:
Here are two passages on what is waiting for those who have been redeemed by Jesus: 
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. ‘For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you.’” (Isa. 60:1-2)
 
“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” (Dan. 12:2)
 
Here is a passage on how the redeemed should respond to God as a Father who loving disciplines His children:
“Do not rejoice over me, enemy of mine. Though I fall I will rise; Though I live in darkness, the Lord is a light for me. I will endure the rage of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will look at His righteousness.” (Mic. 7:8-9)
 
There is a fourth scripture passage I believe is tied to Ephesians 5:14, and it is found in Jonah 1:6.  Before we look at that verse, you need to consider the story of Jonah and how he got into trouble after being commanded by God to go to Ninevah (the capital of Assyria) to preach about the coming wrath of God upon Ninevah; Jonah got on a boat to go the opposite direction from where God told Him to go.  While in disobedience, we are told, “the Lord hurled a great wind on the sea...” (Jon. 1:4) which made life very difficult for everyone on the boat.  While everyone on the boat desperately threw stuff off the boat to lighten it in hopes of surviving the storm, Jonah was sound asleep in the stern of the ship.  Put another way: The prophet Jonah was asleep in his sin of rebellion.  Finally the captain of the ship found Jonah sleeping and had some words for Jonah: “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish” (Jonah 1:6).
 
In summary, it became obvious to the sailors that Jonah was running from His God (1:7-14).  When they asked what they needed to do to get Jonah’s God to calm the storm, the prophet told them that they needed to throw him overboard (vv. 15-16).  They tried to avoid throwing Jonah overboard, but it became clear that it was their only option, so they threw him into the sea, and while in the sea, “the Lord designated a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights” (1:17).  While in the belly of the “great fish” Jonah endured the rage and discipline of his heavenly Father because he sinned against Him.  Jonah called out to the Lord for help (Jon. 2:1-9), and God delivered His prophet by commanding the fish to vomit Jonah up onto the dry land (v. 10).  Awakened from his proverbial slumber from the stern of the ship to the belly of the great fish, Jonah obeyed God’s will upon his life by going to Nineveh to preach the word of God to a people walking in the darkness of their sins and idols (3:1-9).  
 
The whole reason why Jonah fled for Tarshish when God told him to go to Nineveh is because of what Nineveh represented.  Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire whose army has been credited with some of the earliest forms of psychological warfare.  Nineveh was filled with violent people who were guilty of some of the most horrible things against humanity.  After Jonah preached his very brief message about God’s coming wrath, the entire city repented (see Jonah 3:5-10).  Jonah’s response was resentment and anger; this is what he prayed after God spared Nineveh from His wrath: “Please Lord, was this not what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster” (4:1-2).
 
Against the backdrop of God’s promise of redemption for His people because of the shed blood of Jesus (Isa. 60:1-2; Dan. 12:2), how His redeemed people ought to respond to His loving discipline (Mic. 7:8-9), and Jonah’s story of his rebellion and repentance, consider Ephesians 5:14 again: “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 
 
Conclusion
Maybe you are like Jonah, while in your sin, you are asleep in it.  Maybe you have slipped back into certain sins due to your spiritual apathy.  Maybe your apathy has become spiritual atrophy.   If you are truly a Christian, this 2 Corinthians 4:6 describes how it is you have been made alive with Christ: “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”  You are here today, not by accident, but because it is time to wake up!  The enemy of your soul wants nothing more for you than to remain in your spiritual apathy and atrophy, but today your heavenly Father summons you from the stern of your rebellious slumber: “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
 
So, how do you get up from your slumber?  You must repent by calling your sin for what it is and by turning from it to Jesus.  Listen to what the Bible says about your sin:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
 
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2)
 
The Devil is a liar and the great accuser, but Jesus is a great savior and our all-sufficient advocate!  We can run to Him in the spirit of Micah 7:8-9 and we can respond to our sins, failures, and even the devil himself: “Do not rejoice over me, enemy of mine. Though I fall I will rise; Though I live in darkness, the Lord is a light for me. I will endure the rage of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will look at His righteousness” (Mic. 7:8-9).
 
One more thing I would like to point out that I find ironic about Jonah’s story and ours.  It is possible that the “great fish” that swallowed Jonah was some other creature rather than a whale, but in my opinion that is doubtful.  I do believe that the “great fish” that swallowed Jonah was most likely a whale.  A species of whale that is large enough to swallow a human and swam in the same waters where Jonah most likely would have been tossed overboard is the sperm whale which can grow up to 60 feet long.  Do you want to know what else the sperm whale is known for?  It is known for both being one of the few whales that vomit, and it is also known for what it vomits!  The sperm whale’s vomit is called Ambergris (aka liquid gold).  In the water, it is a dung-like smelly substance, but once exposed to the sunlight and saltwater, it develops a muskier (perfumed) odor. 
 
After Jonah was vomited up onto the shore, covered in Ambergris and saltwater under the Arabic sun, it was not the stench of death and dung that Jonah was covered in, but a fragrant aroma that was the result of the forgiveness of his heavenly Father that he did not deserve that resulted in his redemption! 
 
Oh dear Christian!  Can you see the parallels of Jonah’s story and ours?  Jesus said, “...for just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” (Matt. 12:40).  Jesus died a death we deserved for our sins, was buried in the belly of the earth, and three days later... He came out of the tomb for our redemption!  Unlike Jonah, we are not covered by Ambergris and salt water under the hot sun!  No, we are covered in something infinitely better!  If you are a Christian, it is in Jesus, that you have redemption; listen again to Ephesians 1:7-8, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.” If you are a Christian, you are covered in the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and according to the apostle Peter: “...you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” 
 
My appeal to you is the appeal of Ephesians 5:14; do not slumber in your sin and do not stay there!  Do not be apathetic towards those sins that the wrath of God is coming for and those sins for which Jesus endured that wrath you deserved.  You are covered under the blood of Jesus and because that is the case, “There is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).  So turn, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
 
[1] Keith Rose, How Porn Affects Church Attendance (Covenant Eyes; 2023)