Dr. Bradford Reaves
Crossway Christian Fellowship
Hagerstown, MD
www.mycrossway.org
watch this message at: https://mycrossway.churchcenter.com/episodes/156328
Introduction
It comes as a shock to the new or the uninformed believer that the Christian life is a battleground and not a playground. Maturity in Christ brings battles. This is actually a good sign because, as Spurgeon used to say, “Satan never kicks a dead Horse!” If we are going to win the battle, we must know the enemy possesses the power. We must also understand that Satan is a vanquished foe and we have the equipment to fully protect ourselves. This week we will study the last two pieces of spiritual armor that God provides.
?10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, (Ephesians 6:10–18 ESV)
This is a spiritual battle and in order to stand in the battle, believers need every piece of God's armor. The order of the pieces listed in these verses is likely the order in which a soldier would put them on. We started with the Belt of Truth that holds everything together. Then we cover the vital part of our body with the Breastplate of Righteousness and then made ourselves ready with the Shoes of the Gospel. To protect against and extinguish the fiery arrows from the enemy, we take up the shield of faith. And now, to complete our armor we put on the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit.
The final item in the Christian’s defensive armor is the Helmet of Salvation. Putting on this help could merely mean that we are putting on our salvation. But in 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Paul talks about putting on “the hope of salvation as a helmet,” which is what I think he was also projecting here to the reader. Salvation isn’t something that you take on and off at your whim. It is the very identity of who you are in Christ. Rather, it is the knowledge and understanding of our Salvation - that hope - that will see us through trials, and temptations, and ground us in our faith.
We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul... (Hebrews 6:19a)
I think we have a pretty clear understanding that our salvation is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Any religious system that replaces faith with works is unbiblical and leads people to false, demonic teaching. Roman Catholics, for instance, believe salvation is gained by faith plus works, grace plus merit, and Christ plus our own righteousness. It is the same general pattern that every other false religion and teaching follows be it Mormonism, Islam, Word of Faith, Buddism, New Age, and so on. They all demand the person to obtain a higher spiritual realm through one’s own merit. Even to the point that they will claim that you can become a god.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, (Philippians 2:12)
he saved us, not because of works are done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, (Titus 3:5)
And so the world system is in a constant assault with the message of God’s grace. The world says that you find true peace, true joy, and true satisfaction in something other than God. What we must first understand is this is the voice of Satan echoed from the garden. Will you believe God and trust God or will you believe the lies of the enemy and trust in something other than yourself? If you chose to trust in something other than God, you are sinning.
Now, biblically speaking, there are 3 parts to your salvation: Past, Present, and Future; or we are saved from the Penalty of sin, the Power of sin, and the Presence of sin. Through Christ Jesus, all three aspects of sin are defeated. The Penalty of sin speaks to our past sin. We are saved from the penalty - eternal death and punishment - that sin inflicts upon us. That is what we call justification.
?but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. (1 Timothy 5:6)
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)
Secondly, we are saved from the Power of Sin. That’s our sanctification. Every time you are in the midst of temptation, Satan is doing his best to convince you to submit to that temptation. Satan’s greatest lie is that we cannot overcome sin and sometimes that lie comes from other Christians. They will say things like, “It is okay; we all sin. Even though you are saved, you still have that old sinful nature inside of you. You can never habitually be free from the power of sin until you die and go to heaven one day.” Nothing could be further from the truth and I think more than anything that is what Paul is talking about here in Ephesians.
?Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, so that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Third, Jesus saves us from the presence of sin; that future promise that we will one day live apart from sin and temptation to sin. That’s our future glorification. Hebrews 1:14 says that we are heirs of salvation. First Peter 1:5a says that we are "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." Romans 13:11b reminds us to awake out of sleep, for our "salvation is nearer than when we (first) believed." Christ came the first time to pay the price of our sins; He is coming the second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly looking for Him (Hebrews 9:28).
And it is this that we are to continually wear upon our head a helmet to protect us from the enemy and as an anchor for your soul. The helmet of salvation protects you from any fatal blow from the enemy. It is an assurance that war for your eternity is won. You can face the enemy with confidence that nothing he throws at you can snatch you out of your Savior’s hand. You’ve been equipped to win and overcome.
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:28)
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37–39)
Jesus tells us there is never a reason we should lose heart (Luke 18:1), but we are to keep our focus afixed surely on the eternal and with that Helmet of Salvation - that steadfast assurance - we are given our only offensive weapon, The Sword of the Spirit.
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, (Ephesians 6:17)
I want you to recognize, first that Paul makes clear what he means by the Sword of the Spirit - it is the Word of God. He’s not referring to some charismatic unhinging where people are running around, yelling, or rolling on the ground. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God - Scripture. We’re going to take a brief look at what he means because we’ll cover this in more detail in our Know-Live-Share series.
There are two primary Greek words that describe Scripture which are translated as “word” in the New Testament. The first, logos, refers principally to the totally inspired Word of God and to Jesus, who is the living Word. Logos is found in John 1:1; Luke 8:11; Philippians 2:16; Hebrews 4:12; and other verses. The second Greek word translated as “word” is rhema, which refers to the spoken word. Rhema literally means a specific utterance.
Now rhema has two specific inclinations that are not mutually exclusive. First, we can apply rhema to mean the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to them at the present moment. The voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to them at the present moment. Jesus said in Luke 12:12 “for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” What the Bible doesn’t mean by Rhema is that this spoken word has more power than the written word or that you can speak into existence (Name it and Claim it) at your pleasure.
The other association of the word Rhema is that it is essentially synonymous with logos but with more discernment and specificity. We can also use the illustration of the Inner Word (the Holy Spirit) and the Outer Word (the written Scripture). In any case, these two are never in conflict. What is most important to understand from Paul is our offensive weapon against the enemy is a high view of Scripture. The Word of God is infallible, inerrant, and complete to sufficiently accomplish all of God’s purposes in His people.
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; (Psalm 19:7)
Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. 6 Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. (Proverbs 30:5–6)
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)
Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it. (Psalm 119:140)
We could also sum all this up by saying what Peter said in 2 Peter 1:20-21 “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” There is no other book in existence that can claim these things. To be infallible, inerrant, complete, authoritative, sufficient, powerful, and divinely authored belongs only to Scripture. This is what the Bible claims for itself; as such, it is obviously a formidable weapon.
In fact, if you look at Matthew 4 and Luke 4 at the temptation of Jesus, he uses one and only one weapon to defeat Satan and that is the Word of God. Jesus defeats Satan every time quoting from Deuteronomy. For instance, In Matthew 4:3, “If you’re the Son of God, command these stones become bread.” The temptation was to disobey God, to take authority, disregard what God had planned, and grab some satisfaction for Himself. He deserved it. “If you’re the Son of God, why should you be hungering? Why should you go forty days and forty nights without eating? Grab some satisfaction, you have a right to it.” If He’d have been listening to some name-it-and-claim-it preacher and bought into that lie, He might’ve done that. But rather He answered quoting from Deuteronomy each time it is written, man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God - I do what God says, nothing else.
The Christian life is no different. We are given this word to defeat every foe, every temptation, every attack. That is why we only need one weapon, we only need the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Old Testament writers refer to what they wrote as the Word of God about 3,800 times. New Testament writers refer to the Old Testament as the Word of God about 320 times, and they refer to the Old Testament about a thousand times. New Testament writers also claim that they are writing for God, that both Old and New are His words.
That is why I continually teach about being Biblically literate. Not just to live a marginal life or a defeated life, but to know the truths of God. So much so, that we are daily living victoriously and powerfully over the attacks of this world system. It is right here that your salvation begins and it will see you through to the gate of Glory:
?Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24)
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. (John 6:63)
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)
but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)
And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
Will you come to him today?
