Ephesians 6:13-18
There are two bible texts that appear on the surface to be self-contradictory. One is what Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light," versus the other one, the rather stern command of our beloved apostle Paul when he says, "Fight the good fight of faith" in 1 Timothy 6:12.
Jesus and Paul are not at odds, surely; can we conclude therefore that this "good fight" is what Jesus means when He says that His yoke is "easy"?
The Lord's use of His word "easy" needs to be understood and appreciated. The word is not to be denied or disparaged; Jesus said it, He means it. He was wise when He said it, for Satan is constantly trying to convince us that becoming a true Christian is something only a few specially "strong" people can manage to do.
The truth is that there is not one "strong" person in this world; the greatest heroes in the Bible were weak—King David for instance fell flat before a woman's pornographic temptation; Peter folded ignominiously under a mild temptation from a mere girl and denied Jesus cravenly.
Jesus is rightly seeking to encourage ordinary people like you and me to believe that it is possible to follow Him and enjoy companionship with Him—in fellowship of spirit. We understand that Marines who fight together in hard battles become life-long buddies.
Eternal happiness in the kingdom of God will be this never-to-be-forgotten fellowship with the Son of God in fighting battles of faith. You two (Jesus and you) will always have a nodding wink between you that nobody else in the universe will fathom. That "white stone" He gives you in the judgment day has within it a "new name written which no one knows except him that receives it." You keep the secret with Jesus forever (Rev. 2:17). Imagine the whole universe wanting to pry into what you and Jesus keep private between you! And this, all because you made the choice to believe and appreciate what Paul tells us is the privilege of wearing "the whole armor of God" in the battles we face.
Ephesians 6:3
"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."
The King James Version renders it "take unto you," but the New King James Version correctly gives the idea that the armor is something you "take up." It's waiting for you to take it "up." It's lying in your pathway where you can't miss it. It's like the Roman soldier's armor that has been lying by his side all night while he has been snatching a little needed rest, but in the morning that's his first job—to "take it up" and put it on.
Your first job each new morning is to "take up" this blessed "armor." The Roman soldier may at night dream the most delightful dreams of holidays and pleasure, but the morning light reminds him that he must be ready for the stern battle again today.
Paul is very likely writing these words while he is looking out the window watching Roman soldiers on duty. Their job is not only to "stand," but to "withstand," for their very standing attracts the arrows of the enemy to try to force them to fall. So girding on the armor physically includes girding on the determination of soul to win this new battle today.
And the war is being so fiercely fought that if the soldier doesn't make any progress forward that he can see today, if he simply "stands" where he is, that will be a victory! Sometimes standing still is progress. The commander will commend his soldier for simply "having done all" that it was possible to do. Think of our heavenly Commander commending us likewise!
In our spiritual struggle, we are sharing the brunt of the attacks together with our Commander, Jesus; our battlefield is "heavenly places," realms where spiritual battles are being fought. No one else, even in our personal family or among our classmates at school, or our fellow workers in the factory or the office, may have an inkling of what struggles we are going through. Never mind, the Commander knows; He has that glint in His eye. He sees you, He understands,
Ephesians 6:14
"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,"
The Roman soldier first ties on his leather belt or the equivalent of our bullet-proof vest. There is a covering for his vital organs that must be defended against a sword. Even if he loses a limb he can survive; but he must not lose a heart or other organ.
Truth is a precious entity that doesn't come lightly to anyone. Even little children fight this battle of truth; they are constantly tempted to tell or act lies. It requires as much of their moral fortitude to tell the truth in a playground squabble as for a CEO to tell it in a financial court of law. Blessed is the child who can come to the age of accountability before God with a keenly developed love of truth.
Yes! For example, the child can understand and believe the simple prophecies of Daniel and can reason out with firm conviction who the "little horn" is of chapter 8 and can make his decision that in the final crisis of earth's history he will be true to the Lord God of heaven and to His holy law and His holy Sabbath day. If children can be "girded with truth," can't all of us also?
Jesus said, "You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free" (John 8:32). One of the grandest titles of the Lord Jehovah is, "Lord God of truth" (Psalm 31:5). Jesus said furthermore that He is personally "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). No one can deny truth in any particular and still be loyal to Jesus!
But truth always involves bearing a cross; that's why Jesus said that He is "the truth," because truth always involves the crucifixion of self.
As Paul was watching the Roman soldiers, he thought of "righteousness" as being our "breastplate." The word righteousness does not have a clear connotation for many people, for it sounds "theological." It means simply right judgment, the confession of truth, the choice to be loyal to the basic principle of being straight and upright—all this requires self-sacrifice, or its profession is null and void. Paul encourages us to "stand therefore" defending what is right and letting ourselves be defended by it.
Ephesians 6:5-17
"And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;"
When Jesus commanded us to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15), He meant that we must wear spiritual "shoes." The "shoes" are what make it possible for us to "go."
In the expression "the preparation of the gospel of peace," the word "preparation" implies clearing a highway for the king to come, taking away hindrances or obstacles (Matt. 3:3, for example, "Prepare the way of the Lord," repair the road, the king is coming). Paul's idea is to have good shoes put on properly so there is no obstacle to hinder your mission. And the good news of "peace" will open doors that are presently closed by prejudice.
Jesus knew that we would meet with opposition and suspicion.
As we go to proclaim the last message of salvation, we must let the people know that we are desirous of their best good. Here is where the message of health reform and medical ministry fit in with the proclamation of the gospel. It literally "prepares" the way. The idea of "a preparation of peace" is appropriate.
As Paul studied the armor of the Roman soldier going into battle, he judged the shield to be the indispensable article. Fighting was dangerous business because the enemy shot arrows tipped with fire and poison. The shield must be deftly maneuvered. How does Paul see "faith" as analogous in spiritual warfare to what a shield does in physical combat?
It's nice phraseology, but what does he mean?
The shield is grasped by one arm while the other arm grasps the sword. The two are complementary—one is defensive in battle, the other is on the offensive.
When we are proclaiming truth there is a kind of spiritual adrenalin that nerves us, but when the truth is attacked and we are on the defensive, we are especially tried in faith. Are we sure we are right in our understanding of truth?
New Testament definitions of faith are closely linked with the demonstration of the love of Christ at His cross; faith is a heart-response to that love. But faith also bears within itself the confidence that the cross, despised as it is now, is truth that will triumph. If you are a soldier in a Roman battle, the confidence that your cause will triumph will strengthen your arm which bears your shield. It will be more adept at protecting you from these "fiery darts." Confidence and trust are also elements of Bible faith. To "believe in Jesus" is also to believe in the triumph of His cause.
Ephesians 6:18
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all saints—"
The idea is a full-hearted devotion that appears on the surface to be extremism to people whose devotion is only lukewarm.
It is illustrated in Paul's life himself who said: "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21). But Paul is not some person unusually created, different from us; he many times confesses himself a sinner by nature just like all of us. What then has made him like he is, totally dedicated to Christ?
The answer: he has seen something we have not seen so clearly. And he has spent his energies writing this letter to the Ephesians to tell us what he sees—how Christ expended Himself in redeeming us.
His equation is simplicity itself: "the love of Christ compels us [constrains, KJV], because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died: and that He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again" (2 Cor, 5:14,15). What Paul is saying is that we will find it impossible to go on living for self if we appreciate what it cost the Savior to save us.
As time goes on, more and more people will sense the motivation of that constraint until a corporate body of saints, 144,000 in mystic number, will "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Rev. 14:4). Christ will see His character mirrored in them; they will be to Him what a loving bride is to a husband she respects. The "marriage of the Lamb" will have come; then all we individuals will come as guests to the Wedding, while the church as a corporate body will be the Bride. That group will be the "all saints" that Paul speaks of here.
You have your part with them as you are "watchful ... with all perseverance and supplication" for others.