Ephesians 13
We’ve come to the last talk in our journey of discovery through the letter of the apostle Paul to the Ephesians. Over the past twelve programmes we have discovered many practical and important truths as Paul has set them out for us. Last time we were thinking about the spiritual armour that we need to put on if we are to be strong and victorious for the Lord in our life and witness. We still have the final pieces of the armour to consider and you find these in Ephesians chapter 6 starting at verse 17.
The next part of the Christian’s armour is called “the helmet of salvation.” Salvation refers to our spiritual health and to our relationship to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is not something which only looks back. The salvation which is in Christ gives us forgiveness for the sins of the past and strength to conquer sin in the days to come. Our salvation in Christ is sure. When Satan comes to us with his accusations we can point to the cross and be certain that our sins have been forgiven, and remind him that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Salvation is called a helmet because when our relationship with God is right, it protects our thinking; it protects us from the suggestions of the evil one.
Then comes the “sword of the Spirit.” This is explained as the Word of God - the Bible. Each of the other pieces of the Christian’s spiritual armour is defensive, designed to protect. The sword of the Spirit is the only weapon of attack and it is essential to the Christian. In Matthew chapter 4 we have the account of Christ’s temptation in the wilderness. Each time that Satan came with his temptations, Jesus answered the temptation with a quotation from the Scriptures. This is the way we can resist the attacks of our adversary. It is also the way to take the offensive in defeating his working in the lives of others. It is the Word of God that is living and powerful and able to bring conviction of sin and defeat Satan. This is why we should read the Bible constantly and learn verses and passages that can be used as the opportunity comes. If we have hidden the word of God in our hearts we will be able to resist the devil and we will know what God’s will is.
So we come to the end of Paul’s inventory of the Christian’s armour. But this is not all that he has to say because in the middle of it all he gives encouragement. He says in verse 13: “Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” If we wear the armour then in the day of testing and temptation we will be able to withstand the enemy. We will be able to stand against him or stand by attacking. Never turn back, never give in to Satan. This is where knowing and using the Word of God is so important. This, too, is where faith is important. We mentioned this when talking about the shield of faith in the last talk. Our trust and confidence in the Lord must remain strong. We live by faith and fight the Lord’s battle by faith.
Paul adds something else here, though. He says, “After you have done everything, to stand.” There are times when it seems impossible to attack. It is then that we are to rest in the Lord, stand firm in Him and wait patiently in faith for Him to defeat the powers of darkness. He surely will.
Now Paul turns to the matter of prayer in verse 18. He does not include this in the armour as such but thinks of it as the life and vitality of every believer in his walk and warfare. He says: “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions”, or “at all times.” This does not mean that we are to be in attitude of prayer the whole time or always actually speaking words of prayer. This would be impossible. We have to live our lives and there are other things to be done. We can, though, be in the spirit of prayer the whole time. Remember that we can speak to God at any time and in any place and in any circumstance. The Holy Spirit himself is the one who inspires our praying and teaches us what to pray. We read about this in Romans chapter 8 verses 26 and 27:
“… the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, or how to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” So we are to live in the spirit of prayer, inspired by the Holy Spirit. We are to talk to God about everything in our lives and in our service for Him. Nothing is too small to bring to God in prayer. We are to especially pray for other believers and for those who are serving God in preaching the Gospel or in other ways. We are to pray, as Paul asked for himself, that they will be bold and have the strength to do all that God wants them to do. Even in prison Paul wanted to be a good ambassador for his Lord. May we, then, “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” We must always be alert to the needs of others so that we can pray intelligently for them. How important prayer is.
Paul has now reached the end of this letter to the Ephesians. He wants to assure them that he is thinking of them, and he wants them to know how he is getting on. He knows they will be concerned about him, especially as he is in prison. He sends Tychicus to give them the news. He is beloved as a brother in the Lord, and he is faithful in his service for the Lord. Paul says in verse 21: “He will tell you everything, so that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.” How thoughtful Paul is, whatever the circumstances he is in!
Now comes the closing benediction. He prays for them peace, that wholeness of inner being mentioned more than once in the letter. He asks that they may receive the gifts of love and faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the final word. It is a word of grace to believers, to those “who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.” That is a beautiful description of all true Christians. Peter says to his readers in his first letter, concerning the Lord Jesus, “Though you have not seen Him, you love him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy…”
So we come to the end of this journey of discovery through the letter to the Ephesians. A letter that is so full of spiritual riches, spiritual food and help for our Christian lives. Someone has described the letter as “the wealth, the walk and the warfare of the Christian.” That just sums it up. In the early part of the letter we had described to us all the riches and resources upon which we can draw, and all the power of the risen Lord which is at our disposal. The we discovered what our walk with the Lord is to be like. We are to walk in love, to walk carefully and to walk worthy of the Lord. We are to walk in the reality of those who are filled with the Holy Spirit. Then, as we have just seen, we are in a spiritual battle, but we have all the armour of God available to us to enable us to overcome in our warfare against Satan and his forces.
I trust that you have learned something from these studies written by the late Lionel Hawker and which it has been my privilege to present on “Discovery”. May we all be stronger and better Christians by receiving through faith and obedience all the grace and power we need from the Lord.