The Sandals of Peace Ephesians 2:11-4:16

This is part four from my Sunday School lesson based on Larry Richard's book The Full Armor of God:

The 3rd scheme is to destroy our inner peace and distort or shatter the harmony that should exist in our relationships with others. Satan wants us to respond with anger and bitterness when we are wounded. He wants us to be in turmoil, suspicious of others’ motives and quick to take offense. He wants us to remember and nurse our hurts. Anger and bitterness steal your peace! In the Bible peace is not the absence of strife. In Hebrews the word is Shalom. It’s harmony and wholeness. Colossians 3:12-15 tells us how to live as believers to experience this. 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

In the Ephesian verses Paul talks about the military sandals worn by Roman Legionnaires. The heavy Roman military sandals were ½ boot and ½ sandal. They were tied on with leather thongs wrapped halfway up the shin. The sole was made with several layers of leather three quarters of an inch thick and studded with hobnails. This enabled the soldier to line up with his fellow soldiers and for all of them to dig their feet into the ground and hold their position. Paul warns us that it’s impossible for us to stand against our supernatural enemy without lining up with our fellow believers and digging our feet in.

There are several dimensions of peace in scripture. There’s the inner peace that Jesus knew and that He promises his followers. There’s the peace with God that is ours through faith in Jesus. And there is interpersonal peace which marks our relationship with others.

In this Ephesians passage it’s the “gospel of peace”. The good news of Jesus that enables us to live at peace with one another and Paul devotes a large space to this section. And he points out the powerful results of peace. When we “keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace” the spiritual gifts God has given us function and the Body of Christ is built up and we become mature and more and more like Christ. No wonder Satan doesn’t want us to have peace. Christianity is the story of chaos to peace, hostility to love. Once we were enemies of God. Now through Christ’s love we are reconciled.

Ephesians 2:14-16 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

Paul was writing about Jews and Gentiles and describing them as hostile was putting it mildly! The Jews had been persecuted by non-Jews for centuries. Their homeland had been occupied by the Romans and taxed mercilessly. Their faith and customs had been ridiculed throughout the Empire. And the Jews returned the hostility. They called the Gentiles dogs and immoral worshippers of idols. They even avoided a Gentile’s shadow; believing contact with it would make them ritually unclean. They were God’s chosen people and they felt contempt for non-Jews.

Jesus came to unite the two hostile people into a single community. The church that was to be marked by peace and love. How?

What set the Jews apart from all other people was Moses’ law, prescribing a way of life that was markedly different from the way of life of non-Jews. The Jews thought that their descent from Abraham along with their observance of the law guaranteed them God’s favor. The Gospel challenged that.

In the book of Romans Paul says God sees Jews and Gentiles both as sinners. So God sent His Son to die on a cross so all humans could have their sins forgiven. Rather then relate to God through the law, Jews and Gentiles are to relate to God through faith in Jesus. With the focus on the cross the barrier of the law became irrelevant. Christ’s death abolished the law.

For peace to exist the barrier to peace must be made irrelevant. With observance of the law no longer an issue, Jewish and Gentile believers could live together in harmony.

But how does this help a person who has no peace because of bitterness and anger from broken relationships?

The cross not only removed the cause of hostility between the Jews and Gentiles (the law), it is also God’s proclamation that He forgives sin. And it demonstrates that God is totally committed to punishing sin!

Romans 3:25-26 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

God let “sins committed beforehand” (prior to Christ’s death)  go unpunished because He knew He would one day send His Son to receive the punishment those unpunished sins deserved! God is a God of justice. The fact that God punished sin in Christ is proof He will punish all sin. We, who trust Christ, are only forgiven because Jesus took the punishment we deserve. Those who don’t look to Jesus to save them will bear the punishment themselves.  Because God is committed to this Paul says in Romans 12:19 we shouldn’t take revenge, but leave it to God. He will repay. God is the only one who has the right to punish sin.

Ideally we go to the person who has hurt us and tell him or her how we feel. And ideally they accept responsibility and apologize. This will heal a relationship. If they don’t do that we still forgive. And give it over to God.

It’s ok to feel anger, but it’s not ok to nurse it.

Ephesians 4:26-27 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

We free ourselves from the burden of continuing to hold the other person responsible. And even more as Christians; Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

This closes a window where a demon might have entered. The purpose of going to the person is not confrontation, but reconciliation. We all sin. The only way to maintain harmony is to be quick to confess our faults and just as quick to forgive the faults of others.

The Shield of Faith.

This is part three from my Sunday School lesson based on Larry Richard's book The Full Armor of God.

At the end of his letter Paul says in 6:16, “Take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” But he covers what this means in Ephesians 2:1-10 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

In hand to hand combat Roman soldiers were the likely winners. So their enemies would shoot flaming “darts” or “javelins” at them as they advanced. But even that didn’t work very well because the Romans had large shields two and a half feet wide and four feet tall that they held in front of them as they advanced in long rows. When the arrows came from above they moved the shields over their heads and formed a roof. This formation was called a turtle. The arrows just bounded off.

Paul likens theses arrows to demonic attacks. This is not close, personal confrontation. They were hurled from a distance. And they weren’t weapons for killing; they were just designed to break up an advancing formation. Separate the soldiers so they could do hand to hand combat.

Sometimes Satan throws obstacles at us to make us anxious and discouraged. Sarah urged Abraham to have a child with her servant Hagar rather then wait on God’s promise. And he did! And that’s what began the conflict between the Arabs and the Jews that still goes on today! They panicked under pressure instead of raising the shield that God provides all believers. The shield of faith.

What faith is Paul talking about? THE faith? The Good News that Jesus saves? Or OUR faith – the trust we exhibit in Jesus? Or is it our new self-image? Because when Paul talked about the helmet of salvation he went to great lengths to show how it was meant to shape our self-image.

When we grasped what each member of the Trinity did to provide us with salvation we realized we were not nothings or nobodies. We are special and part of God’s family. We could see ourselves as God sees us: no longer victims, but victors. We could shake off Satan’s lies and step out boldly to live the lives God created for us to live. Called to live out the victory Jesus won for us.
But in Ephesians 2:1 Paul, after just telling us we are chosen, loved, blessed and empowered, says we were dead in transgressions and sins. That we used to live in our sins when we followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air (Satan). And on and on. But then he says we were not totally lost. Because of His great love for us God intervened!

We cannot save ourselves! God acted. God raised us up. God gave us life in Jesus Christ! And because our salvation is entirely the work of God we will be on display for all of eternity as living expressions of “the incomparable riches of His grace.” We are special and wonderful. But only because God created us and only because God saved us.

In this section of Ephesians 2 Paul wants us to realize we are totally dependent on God, not on ourselves.

The author of this book believes that the “true faith” in these verses is not pointing to our faith, but God’s faithfulness. That when it comes to salvation God does it all. So the shield that extinguishes Satan’s flaming arrows is not the strength or measure of our faith, it’s the faithfulness of God. Our salvation is rooted in His grace and love.

Psalm 7:10 is just one verse in the Old Testament which confirms the idea of God as the believer’s shield. “My shield is God Most High.”

“We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Our lives have purpose and meaning. God has a path for each of us to follow.
Satan wants to force us off that path. So he hurls his flaming arrows at us. Those difficulties and troubling circumstances that cause us fear and anxiety. He hopes we’ll panic and rush ahead of God’s timing like Sarah did. Or turn and go in the wrong direction. But God is faithful - if we listen to Him – to His promptings, He will guide us along the path He has chosen. We may not know what that path is right now, but He will show us when and how to take the next step.

Paul knows we are frail. He knows how hard it is for us to trust God for today. Isn’t it interesting we trust Him to get us to Heaven, but it’s so hard to have confidence He’ll get us through today?
So Paul reminds us. Often!

Romans 5:10 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Romans 8:38-39 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

God knows exactly how much we can bear. And then will provide a way out.

How are we to take up this shield of faith?

First, be prepared. Satan will go after you because you believe in God. Don’t focus on your problems. Focus on God. Remember everything He has done for you and been to you. Memorize Bible verses:

Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 33:20 We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.

Psalm 91:4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

The Helmet of Salvation

This is part two of the Sunday School lesson I wrote using Larry Richard's book The Full Armor of God:

In the 1st century the whole Mediterranean was under Roman rule. The Roman guards/soldiers and their uniforms were well known. In Ephesians 6 Paul describes their armor and draws an analogy between it and God’s spiritual armor that we can use to stand against demonic enemies.

Ephesians 6:14-17 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Belt = truth, Breastplate = righteousness, Sandals = preparation that comes from the Gospel of peace, Shield = faith, the helmet = salvation. The sword is the Word of God. The sword is the only offensive weapon. Everything else is defensive. Each of these meanings is defined earlier in his letter.

Ephesians 1:1-23 = defines salvation. Ephesians 2:1-10 = faith. Ephesians 2:11- 4:16 = peace. Ephesians 4:17-5:7 = righteousness. Ephesians 5:8 – 6:9 = truth.

The first scheme of Satan:

The truth is we are works of God. Each one of us is God’s personal creation. Each of us is special! We may wish certain things about us were different, but we are just as God intended us to be for His purposes.

Satan hates that. He doesn’t want us to have a meaningful life. He doesn’t want us to be used for God’s purposes. His scheme is to block our development by convincing us we are worthless. He tries to convince us we are flawed, weak and inadequate. So we will never step out and become all that God intends us to be. And he uses sin that others committed against us to reach that goal. Parents who make their children feel they aren’t reaching their potential. People who shame and humiliate us. Abandon us. Bully us. We’ve all been wounded by someone’s words or actions. Satan’s strategy is to use those words and actions to convince us we are not “wonderfully made”. That our lives will never have meaning. He uses those things to corrupt our self image. He wants us to feel weak, helpless and miserable.

Our thoughts of “I’ll never change” or “nobody cares” or “nothing I do is important” can usually be traced back to something that happened in our childhood or adolescence. The feelings we have may be real, but these are Satan’s lies.

The Helmet of Salvation

The helmet of salvation is the last piece of armor a Roman soldier puts on, but Paul talks about it first in his letter. Around the time of Paul’s writing the Roman helmet not only had a metal skull cap covered with bronze, it had a piece that protected the neck and 2 pieces that protected the cheeks.

Paul uses this to show that what protects our hearts and minds is an understanding of salvation itself. Our salvation provides a perspective that protects us from Satan’s lies. When we understand what God has done to provide salvation, we begin to grasp how truly significant we are and how much we are loved. Each member of the Trinity played a part in our Salvation.

Ephesians 1:3-14 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Even before creation, God the Father had you in His thoughts. He chose you. He planned you. He determined to adopt you as His child. In Ephesians 1:3 it says God the Father “blessed us in the heavenly realms.” In Ephesians 6:12 Paul points out that “the heavenly realms are those from which “the forces of evil” launch their attacks. Blessed in these realms we are guarded against these attacks.

It also says in 1:3 God blessed us “with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Because of our relationship with Christ there isn’t a single spiritual blessing we don’t have. So Satan’s lie of “there’s no use trying” is just that – a lie!

Ephesians 1:4 says “God chose us to be holy and blameless in His sight.” Satan’s lie is “you’ll never amount to anything.” God’s truth is that throughout eternity you will reflect the very holiness of God and even now are becoming more and more like your Creator.

Ephesians 1:5 says “God predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Christ Jesus. He did this at the foundation of the world. In the 1st century adoption as a son was very special. Every tie to the old family was cut and every debt owed to the old family canceled. We are part of God’s family now. We are royalty! Destined to rule with Jesus.

1:5 also tells us why God did this. “In accordance with His pleasure and will.” He blessed, chose and adopted us because He wanted to! He loves us! And that love isn’t based on anything we have done or will do. He loves us for ourselves!

The Son’s part is He was a freely given gift.

Ephesians 1:6 Grace. Even though we didn’t deserve it and didn’t do anything for it, Jesus chose to die for us. There was a huge cost to bring us into the family of God.

Ephesians 1:7 Jesus shed His blood to redeem us. Redemption means to pay the price necessary to free someone from imminent threat or danger. His death saved us from death. And also provided forgiveness from our sins. Past, present and future.

Ephesians 1:8 In Jesus God lavished on us the riches of God’s grace. This means that in everything that happens to us, Jesus will be there, working in each situation to bless us and those we love.

Ephesians 1:9-11 Ultimately all things in heaven and on earth will be brought together in Christ. All of God’s purpose will be fulfilled and we will see where we fit in.

Ephesians 1:12 says “for the praise of His glory.” Throughout eternity we will glorify God.

The Holy Spirit’s part:

Ephesians 1:13 says the Holy Spirit marked us with a seal. The seal is the Holy Spirit Himself who came into our lives when we believed. In the 1st century a wax seal on a package or letter had several purposes. 1. It denoted security. 2. It identified ownership. 3. It certified genuineness. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our life shows we are genuine Christians. His presence is proof we belong to God and it assures us we are safe in His loving hands.

Ephesians 1:14 The Holy Spirit is “a deposit guarding our inheritance until redemption.” Jesus has redeemed us. The Holy Spirit is God’s personal guarantee that when Jesus returns the transaction will be completed and we will be free from the slightest taint of sin.

In Ephesians 1:14 Paul repeats “to the praise of His glory.”

So God: chose, blessed and adopted us as His children.
 Jesus: redeemed, forgave and granted us overflowing grace.
 And the Holy Spirit: sealed and guaranteed our ultimate salvation so that throughout eternity we will glorify God.

Paul’s prayer follows and it’s not just for the Ephesians. Because it’s in the Bible it’s for us too.

He prays that God enables us to know Him better. That God opens our eyes to understand the significance of this salvation that is ours. As God’s own we are now one of His treasurer’s. His own precious inheritance. Also, God’s resurrection power, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us! The power which not only raised Him from the dead, but lifted Him to a position of total authority over the heavenly realm. Everything bows to the authority of Jesus.

Satan says we are weak and impotent. God says we have His resurrection power available to us!

How do we put on the helmet of salvation? How do we change the beliefs and feelings about ourselves that are rooted in Satan’s lies?

1.  Speak the truth. Read out loud and often: confessions. An example – Loving Father, I confess that I believed Satan’s lies about who I am. I have failed to live as the new creation Your Word says I am. For this I ask Your forgiveness. God and Father, I praise You for the gift of forgiveness won for me by Christ on the cross. I acknowledge You have forgiven me and accepted me. That I am Your child and an inheritor of Your kingdom. 

Next renunciation. Example: I reject Satan’s lie that I will never amount to anything. I have been given gifts by the Holy Spirit and am an important member of the Body of Christ. I renounce the lie I am not worthy to be loved. I am loved by You, God Almighty, and I am worthy to be loved by others also. I renounce the idea there is no use trying. I reject self-hatred and self-condemnation. And I affirm that You, Lord Jesus, will enable me to do anything You call me to do. I believe in Your promise that You give me “hope and a future.”

Then declaration: Example: I declare this day I am a dearly loved child of God through faith in Jesus Christ. I am adopted into God’s family and provided with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. I will no longer listen to Satan’s lies. I will daily put on the helmet of salvation and live as the redeemed and transformed person I truly am. To the glory of God, the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son.

2.  Besides speaking these, read Ephesians 1 regularly and let the truth of who you are in Christ fill your heart and mind.

3.  Memorize verses. Like 1 John 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

Galatians 4:6-7 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.