20TH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY-2
Text: Ephesians 5:15-21
Source from Back to Luther with German archive reference. Back to Walther's Epistle Sermons.
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
In our Savior, dear hearers.
Times of severe persecution are times of great blessing for the Church, that is, for the communion of Christians. They are like stormy days during which nature seems to be in an uproar; it seems as though heaven is angry at the earth and would like to rain down death and destruction; but after the storm the pastures always smile the more joyfully, and the heaviest rains leave behind fruitfulness, life, and blessing. Likewise, persecutions often seem to bring about the destruction of the Church, whilst in reality it merely grounds the Church so much the more firmly and grows the more gloriously. The beautiful expression is known which Tertullian, a teacher of the Church, uttered: "We Christians," he says, "increase in numbers the more we are cut down; the blood of the Christian is a seed."
At no other time does the Christian grow more in faith than in times of persecution. During such times faith sustains the severest test which it must endure; by this exercise it becomes strong. Then Christians grow up to become men in Christ and heroes of faith. The same is true in respect to love to the brethren. As the herd tightens up its circle when the wolf approaches,
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so Christians in times of general persecution, as those who are suffering together, draw more closely together inwardly; they become more conscious of their holy fellowship in faith and hope; they feel as servants of one Lord, wanderers toward one goal, and fighters for one treasure, ever more closely united in one holy bond; this stirs up the fire of brotherly love's leaping flame.
Times of persecution have also this blessin g for Christians: They are preserved from security, from love of the world, from false friendship with it, and from loving its treasures, joys, and honor; rather, the yearning to be out of the sinful world and in their true homeland with Christ their Lord awakens in them. They are preserved from satiety of God's Mord; they for the first time really taste and discover its divine, almighty comfort, and the spirit of confession awakens. The prayer of the Christian becomes zealous and ardent; as incense cast upon fire, their common supplication ascends to God as a God-pleasing odor. And far be it that in times of great persecution no one would want to become a Christian; often during such times many are so deeply convinced of the divine power of the Gospel by the example of Christian courage and steadfastness which Christians present, that in the very midst of the most dangerous war they join the banner of the Crucified.
The history of the persecution of Christians throughout all ages shows this. At no time did the Church groan under more severe oppression and more gruesome persecutions than in the first three centuries of the Christian era; but we see that never were Christians stronger in the faith, never were they more ardent in love, never more free from illicit intercourse With the world, never more hungry for the Word of God, never more zealous in prayer, never more outspoken in confession, in short, never did the Christian Church shine more gloriously in its divine beauty than in those centuries of war and bloody persecution; the more thought was given to wiping them out, the more quickly, the more miraculously did their numbers increase. Often those who were assigned the task of carrying out the sentence of death were suddenly converted. When they saw how confidently Christians looked death in the face, how happily they despised all torment, how unflinchingly they confessed their faith, how completely they did not hate their murderers and even dying prayed for them, they often lost the courage to lay their hands on such persons who had come as though from another world; convinced of the heavenly power of Christianity, they often besought the Christians to accept them into their midst and teach them the mysteries of their wonderful faith and declared themselves ready to live, suffer and die with Christians as Christians.
But what a change we see take place in the fourth century in the Christian Church, when they received rest from their foes and could grow in peace under the rule of a Caesar who became a Christian! In the beginning under the blessings of peace the Church really bloomed more wonderfully than ever before as a land watered by the dew of heaven; but alas', faith soon declined, love grew cold, and security, love of the world, pride, and satiety entered into the Church amongst teachers and hearers. Is peace in the Church then only ruinous? No, my friends; as the time of persecution has its advantages and also its dangers and temptations for Christians, so does also the time of rest and peace. Since at the celebration of peace we held a few days ago I lacked time to speak to you a word of instruction, encouragement, and warning about this, permit me to make up for it today.
The text. Ephesians 5:15-21.
As you have heard, in this Epistle St. Paul admonishes Christians to redeem the time wisely. The apostle adds this as the reason: " Because the days are evil;" but we dare not think that he meant only days of persecution. No,
as every period, even the time of persecution, is in a certain sense good, a day of grace, for Christians, so in another sense every age, even the time of peace, is evil. Therefore, permit me to show you:
WHY CHRISTIANS MUST WISELY REDEEM THE TIMES EVEN IN DAYS OF PEACE
1. Because The Days of Peace Have Such Great Advantages From Whose
Enjoyment God Will Demand A Strict Accounting, and
2. Because The Days Of Peace Also Have Such Great Dangers And Tempta
tions During Which The Christian Could Easily Fall.
I.
Though it is obvious that the time of oppression and persecution has always been a time of blessing for the Christian Church, however, continual, uninterrupted persecution must beyond a doubt finally be the ruin of the Christian Church. It is with the Church as with individual Christians. It is hard for a person to remain a Christian unless he experiences cross and tribulation; but if God would give him no time for rest and refreshment, he would succumb; that is why St. Paul says: "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Cor 10:13.
And that applies to the Church as a whole. What, for example, would have happened to our German fatherland had not God 200 years ago ended the Thirty Years War by bending the hearts of kings toward thoughts of peace and permitted the Peace of Westphalia to be signed? Apart from the physical misery, Germany would have become a dreadful wilderness and the blessings of the Reformation would finally have disappeared completely. For at that time faithful teachers were being persecuted more and more, increasingly were good books taken out of the hands of Christians, increasingly were churches closed, universities had to close their doors, schools for the youth had to shut down. Thus most of the youth grew up amid the sight of offences which surrounded them everywhere in the most shocking ignorance; institutions for the spreading of the Gospel were not to be thought of in such misery; in the Christian Church in Germany unbelief and superstition, cursing and blasphemy, sins against the Sabbath Day, robbery, unwillingness to work, unchastity, and wickedness of every description gained the upper hand with terrifying speed.
So can we be surprised when the heralds of peace were received throughout all Germany as messengers of heaven, when the TE DEUM LAUDAMUS, or the "We Praise Thee, Oh God," was then sung in many thousands of churches with the deepest feeling, and when everywhere people shed tears of joy? Certainly not; for the advantages of peace are so great that even the most eloquent mouth cannot extol it sufficiently.
What a blessing it is when Christians during times of peace need not anxiously hide from their persecutors in woods and caves every time they wish to refresh their souls with the Gospel and Sacraments; on every Sunday and festival they can, as David wishes for himself, go "with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday." Ps 42:4. When they can take refuge from the cares and worries of this earthly life in the lovely mansions of the Lord Sabaoth, and there undisturbed are able to hear his Word with one another which shows them the way to heaven, which gives them light in all darkness, power for every conflict which they must fight, and the comfort of heaven for all misery, anguish of sins,
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poverty, sickness, shame, temptation, and the fear of death, and when as the seal of these things they are able to eat and drink the true body and blood of their holy Mediator !
What a blessing it is for Christians when during times of peace they can choose their own shepherd and teacher who will preach God's pure Word publicly and privately to them, and watch over every individual in particular and the congregation as a whole so that the doctrine, faith, and confession are preserved in their purity and each may walk as it suits him in his calling! What a blessing it is for Christians when during times of peace their children can be educated unhindered in the fear of the Lord, when they can send them to a Christian school, there to be led to their Savior, and even in their tender age to have the foundation of saving knowledge laid in their hearts !
What a blessing it is for Christians when during times of peace they are able to found a congregation without any obstruction, in which they can start everything according to God's Word and make all possible provisions whereby the kingdom of darkness Is broken down while God's honor and the salvation of souls is furthered ! What a blessing it is for Christians that during peacetime they can also do something, so that the Gospel is preserved for their descendants and that it can be brought to those who still sit in heathenish darkness and in the shadow of death by training and sending out orthodox pastors and self-denying missionaries filled with heroic faith and the love of Christ! What a blessing it is for Christians that in days of peace they can conduct their family devotions, read, pray, and sing the Scriptures with their families according to the desires of their soul! What a blessing it is for Christians that in days of peace they can cultivate brotherly fellowship without danger, and each serve the other with his gifts, teach, encourage, admonish, reprimand, and comfort them!
Yet who can mention all the blessings which Christians enjoy in days of peace? Where this peace is properly used, the Church blooms like a garden after a severe storm has passed, and a rainbow amid the laughing of a cloudless sun erects its colorful bridges over the freshly watered valleys and mountains.
However my friends, the greater the advantages are which peace brings to Christians, the mote also the admonition of the apostle in our text applies to them: "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is." Vv.15-17,
Every time God graciously grants Christians such times of peace he gives them a pound with which they are wisely to make the most of their opportunities, that is, which they are to use for his honor and for their own and their brother's salvation. During such times God visits the vineyard of the Church, through his Word plants the most superior grapes, surrounds it through peace as though with a fence, and within it builds congregations as towers with alert watchmen. But the time will come when the Lord will visit his vineyard again and look for that fruit which should have grown during this wonderful time. What do you think the Lord will do when the vineyard has produced the bitter and sour grapes of a faithless and loveless Christianity, instead of the sweet grapes of faith, love, and good works he hoped for? He tells us what he will do when he says in Isaiah 5: "What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard; I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down; and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no more upon it," Is 5:4-6.
A fearful threat of God upon congregations and churches who did not perceive and faithfully use God's visitation in grace during times of peace to bring God the upright fruits of repentance, faith, and a new life! Sad to say we see God's threats fulfilled in our poor fatherland. God gave this land the peace it desired and along with it once again the blessings of the Reformation. But the pound was kept tied up in the napkin, no watch was kept, no use was faithfully made of the gifts given them. What has happened? The vineyard of the Church of our fatherland was given up by God to the ravages of the foe; the most wicked blasphemers finally took over the office of preaching, wolves are the shepherds of the flock, murderers of souls have become the leaders of souls, and even now they are hard at work erasing the last signs of Christianity and laying everything waste to the very foundation.
How important that is for us! We enjoy a peace, perhaps, such as no Christian nation today has any more upon the whole world. Here we have found a more beautiful Zoar than Lot, a more beautiful Goshen than Israel, a more beautiful Pella than the first Christians. God has poured out upon us a glorious time of peace almost without equal with all its blessings; we must call ourselves fortunate that God has done great things, yes,truly great things to us. But let us also remember that the time is coming when the Lord will look for fruit also in the vineyard of our congregation; woe to us if he finds sour grapes instead of ripe grapes! As great as his grace was toward us at first, so great will his wrath then be over us. Therefore, this holds true that we wisely redeem the time during this period of peace, buy up this time with its wonderful opportunities to care for our souls, promote God's honor, and also be a blessing to others.
To redeem the time wisely is also necessary because such times also have such great dangers and temptations into which Christians can easily fall. Permit me to speak to you of this.
II.
My friends, the dangers are very many; I will,therefore, remind you only of the most important ones.
Periods of persecution have this good result that during these times Christians are awakened to find increasingly greater joy in God's Word; the greater the lack of the bread of life is the greater the hunger for it becomes. If God grants times of peace during which Christians have God's Word not only in its purity but also richly, in overflowing abundance, the great danger for them is that satiety, weariness, and loathing will creep up and overpower them; they will no longer treasure the most precious gift of all so highly; neither will they hear, read, search in it, and discuss it so zealously; rather, they will come to think that they already know everything very well. The result is that even Christians become indifferent toward purity of doctrine; they lose their old zeal for it, do not earnestly fight for it, and if their teachers are zealous for it consider them quarrelsome persons who want to damn others.
If we examine ourselves on this basis, must we not confess, that during these last days of peace almost all of us have fallen into this danger? Has not in most the zeal to hear, read, and speak of God's Word waned greatly? Do not many reveal satiety, loathing, and weariness? Did not many during the past festival rather remain at their earthly labors, even though they could have had this time free? Do not many consider it too much to hear God's Word twice on the day of the Lord? Do we not lack greatly in that thing to which the apostle in our text exhorts: " Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual
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songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Vv. 19.20. Does not also very little zeal for preserving purity of doctrine show its elf ever and again among us? Oh, that God would have mercy on us and rekindle the first love in all who have become lukewarm and lazy ! Otherwise God will certainly and soon take the lamp from its place, and then woe to us if we must appear before God as unfaithful servants !
We continue. Periods of persecution also have this good result that during these times Christians are drawn and torn away from the world, its friendships, its joys, treasures, and honor; then this world becomes a torture chamber. If God grants days of peace during which the world meets also the Christian as a friend, and during which Christians can very often obtain this world’s joys, treasures, and honor, then the great danger is that they will love the things of this world, strive to become rich, want to have its pleasures, and be honored in the world.
If we examine ourselves accordingly, must we not blush? Does not conformity to the world, the fashions of the world, its love of finery, its vanities, its pride, the visiting of worldly societies and places of amusements, its attachment to earthly things, its wanting to become rich, press into our congregation like a deluge? Oh my dear brethren, it is time that we stop doing these things and pray God for repentance, pray that the heavenly mind and the seeking first for the kingdom of God fill our souls and be seen among us again.
Finally, my friends, periods of persecution also have this good result that during them Christians are united by the deepest bond of inner brotherly love; they follow the finely admonition of Paul in our Epistle: " Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." V.21. If God grants times of peace during which Christians are not driven together by a common trouble, the great danger for them is that they may lose the consciousness of their divine relationship and brotherhood. The danger exists that the one will pass the other by as a stranger, that the one will exalt himself over the other, that because the one is despised by the world, or because he is a weak sinner, or because he has no gifts and is simple, or even because he is poor in this world's goods, the other will despise him. There is the danger that the one will squabble with the other, not let himself be reprimanded and admonished, or that one of them will speak evil of the other behind his back, and the like. Would to God, that I would not have experienced that, sad to say, even mutual brotherly love abates and cools, that mutual, humble submissiveness is lost, and that merely a worldly, friendly association wants to gain the upper hand among us !
Oh, let us then know what belongs to our peace; let us recognize the danger in which we hover during our glorious periods of peace; let us earnestly think that God's gracious visitation by the gift of his pure Word in rest and peace may not be misused by us, that we do not become secure but bring forth even richer fruits of faith and love, so that some day those who received less grace but persevered more faithfully in it do not rise up against us and condemn our unfaithfulness. For he who knows the Lord's will and has not prepared himself, nor even done his will must suffer many stripes. For to whom much is given of him much shall be required.
Now may the Lord, who ascended on high and has received gifts for men, yea for the rebellious also, cover all our sins with his grace and fill us with new life; may he strengthen our weak hands and tired knees, so that we may take straight paths for our feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed. Finally, may he bring us to the end of faith, namely the soul's salvation. Amen.
21ST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY-1 Ep hesians 6:10-17 ()
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
Dear friends in Christ Jesus.
To hope that before Judgment Day there will come a time when the Church will have peace and rest from all its enemies is a vain, groundless, and foolish hope. True, the prophets have predicted that there would come a time when swords would be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. However, the time which these things announced has come long ago; it dawned when more than 1800 years ago the angels sang: "Peace on earth;" this is the time of the Mew
Testament, the time of the Gospel, which preaches peace and brings peace, not an earthly peace but a peace which is higher than all understanding, a spiritual and heavenly peace, which stands firm even in the midst of war, peace of heart and conscience with God in spite of sin, Law, death, judgment, and hell.
Nonetheless, Christ's Church on earth is and remains until the end of days a militant Church. It is God's army which conducts the Lord's war on earth. Christ its Lord and Head is also its leader, its general. The moment a person wants to become a member of the Church, that is, a Christian, he must first of all swear allegiance to the Triune God in Baptism, let himself be enrolled in the host of God's soldiers, and place himself under the blood-red flag of the crucified Lord of Glory, the Prince of Life who was killed.
The entire world, wherever there is a Christian, is a battlefield. The entire Church on earth with all its spiritual and heavenly treasures is the Holy Land whose boundaries he has to defend; every Christian congregation and every Christian family to which he belongs is a fortress, and every revealed truth and Bible passage an entrenchment which he must defend with his blood.
In this conflict no one dare plan on being neutral; for it is a conflict for the most holy and righteous causes, God's honor, one's own salvation, and the salvation of the whole world. Neutrality is betrayal. He who does not want to join God's army and fight belongs to the enemy. Be you man or woman, young or old, young man or young woman, gray-head or child, strong or weak, healthy or sick, rich or poor, king or beggar, all must fight, all must serve in this conflict, all must bear arms.
In this spiritual war there dare be no armistice, no peace made with the foe until death. Here this is true: "He that shall endure unto the end the same shall be saved." Mt 24:13. Here this is true: "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Rev 2:10. On his deathbed the Christian must be able to say with Paul: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith," that is, I have not broken the oath sworn to Christ in Baptism, "henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim 4:7.8.
This is also true as Paul writes: " And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully." 2 Tim 2:5. He who indeed fights but not lawfully, that is, whoever lets himself be overcome in the fight, whoever does not gain the victory, will also not pass from the Church militant into the Church triumphant. He will not share in the eternal feast of peace and victory in the high cathedral of heaven; he will depart empty when the booty is divided, and no unfading victor's crown of honor will adorn his brow.
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Well now, my friends, is there no book in which we are shown how we can carry on this conflict to victory? Yes, there is such a book, and this book is the Holy Bible, and in the Epistle of today all the means are indicated which Christians must use if in the conflict appointed as theirs they want to resist in the evil day, do everything well; and hold the field. It contains the well-known "Martial Sermon for Christians," as Luther so beautifully calls it. Let us now hear it.
The text. Ephesians 6:10-17.
After the apostle has shown the Christians at Ephesus what they should believe and hope and how everyone in his station and calling should live and walk, he still could not close. He has one thing on his heart which he could not silence, and it is that which our Epistle contains, which he begins with the words: " Finally, my brethren." And what is this last point? It is instruction on how they (should and must carry on the fight, if they again do not want to lost everything which they had already received and even be lost.
Let that which Paul holds before the Christians at Ephesus be said also to us, for it applies to Christians of all ages, also to us. Permit me then on the basis of the words of the apostle to show you briefly:
THE THREE IMPORTANT MEANS WHICH CHRISTIANS MUST USE IF IN THEIR CONFLICT THEY WANT TO DO EVERYTHING WELL AND HOLD THE FIELD
1. The First Means Is, That They Are Strong In The Lord And In The Power Of His Might:
2. The Second Means Is That They Know The Foes Against Whom They Have To Fight;
3. Finally. The Third Means Is That They Put On The Armor Of God And Use It.
I.
My friends, it is a truth confirmed by the experience of all ages, that if an army goes against the foe without courage no victory will be gained, even though the army is huge in number, is ever so well armed, and led by ever so skilled a general. If the soldiers lack courage, if they have an evil conscience and, therefore, also a cowardly heart, then as the Lord says through Moses a rustling leaf scares them and ten thousands flee before a hundred. Thus 135,000 cowardly Midianites fled before Gideon's 300 brave soldiers when they appeared among them with the battle cry: "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!" Courage, bravery, is, therefore, the first and most necessary virtue of a true soldier. This applies also to Christians for the spiritual conflict which they must wage. For the first thing which the apostle says in his martial sermon to Christians is: " Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." V.10
" Be strong." he says and means to say: If Christians want to arrive at the end of faith, namely their soul's salvation, they must fight and wrestle; if they will do this, the first thing necessary is that they dare not be cowardly, nor downhearted, nor fearful, but they must rather be of a strong manly spirit, brave, yes, courageous even in the face of death.
Among Christians, Paul means to say, it must be a foregone conclusion: He will not let himself be frightened by anything, flee as a coward in the face
of the foes of his soul, faithlessly forsake the army of the Church and the banner of its confession, treacherously surrender the fortress of God's Word which has been entrusted to him to the foes, and surrender to them, or even become a deserter to the foe; as far as a Christian is concerned it is a foregone conclusion that he will follow Christ, the Lord of his salvation, his heavenly General, wherever he calls him, remain with his army the Church, and with the banner of its confession; if necessary he has decided that he will go to meet the foe himself and bravely fight until death, defend the fortress of God's Word, and rather die than surrender even one little town of doctrine or one little verse, or even yield just one foot; briefly, for the Christian it is self-understood that he will fight until he wins and if he has to gain the victory by his blood and life.
But, you will say, who can be that strong? Are we not all poor, weak creatures, are we not all helpless dust?
Yes, my friends; but that is the very reason why the apostle says in our text not only: " Be strong !" but he says even more; he says: " Be strong IN THE LORD AND IN THE POWER OF HIS MIGHT." The apostle means to say: I know very well, my Christians, that by nature you have no power confidently and joyfully to join Christ in the struggle. Neither is it my wish that you should be strong in yourselves and in the power of your might; rather, it is my wish that you despair completely of your own power, might, strength, bravery,and courage, and seek your strength alone in Christ, that is, rely completely upon him as your leader. You need but firmly believe that if you follow Christ the victory is assured, since he is eternal wisdom whom no one can outwit, and the eternal power, whom nothing can overcome; to have a happy conscience you need but firmly believe that this Jesus Christ is your Savior who has erased all your sins, and that he alone does the actual fighting and you stand under his shield and you will never lack courage, power, and strength. Thousands and millions of Christians have indeed fallen and become deserters, because they relied upon their own power, but all who were strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, all who built alone upon Jesus have also in the end done well, held the field, and at last died as blessed victors. For
With might of ours can naught be done,
Soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the Valiant One,
Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, Who is this?
Of Sabaoth Lord,
And there's none other God;
He holds the field forever. (292,2)
Therefore: Hopeful, cheerful, and undaunted
Everywhere They appear
Who in Christ are planted.
Death Itself cannot appal them,
They rejoice, When the voice
Of their Lord doth call them. (523,4)
II.
However, my friends, according to our text, if in their conflict Christians want to do everything well and hold the field, they must not only be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, but secondly, they must know
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the foe against whom they fight.
In war how important it is to know against whom one must fight, what plans the foe might follow, what stratagems of war he might attempt to use, how much strength he has, and who his allies are; according to world history the experience of all times teaches this, without this knowledge even the bravest and strongest army is in great danger of being tricked into ruin and defeated; but with this knowledge the victory is already half won.
And who is the foe with whom Christians have to fight and whom the apostle teaches us to know in our Epistle? He says: " Put on the whole armor of God.
that ye mav be able to 3tand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Vv.11.12.
From this we see first of all: They are not " flesh and blood", not human beings with whom we as Christians have to fight. Rather, as far as it concerns people, we as Christians should not fight against but only for them. We should love them as ourselves and love not only our friends but also our enemies. We should, therefore, wish them no evil but only good, not think about their destruction but of their temporal and eternal salvation.
Entirely different are the foes with which God's Word confronts us, namely, the " devil " and his angels, this " spiritual wickedness in high places." They are God's sworn enemies who have been cast out of heaven forever; therefore, they are also the implacable enemies of all children of God. Already in Paradise they tempted man who was created in God's image and caused him to fall from God, and after God again reconciled fallen mankind with himself and redeemed him, their striving and endeavors day and night are now to deceive us also concerning our reconciliation and redemption.
According to the apostle, the true enemies of our souls are invisible, for they are evil spirits. What a powerful, urgent warning the apostle gives us never to be secure! If our foes were visible, we could always be calm and secure if we saw the foe before us. But since our enemies are invisible, we must constantly be armed, for they are even at the place where our eyes see nothing. If our foes were creatures which have flesh and blood, we could by fleeing into a strong fortress successfully resist them; but whither can we flee in order to prevent spirits from having access to us? We also know from other passages of God's Word that theirs is a counties host, so that often thousands lie in wait for one human soul in order to subvert and ruin it.
Our text teaches us to gain even deeper insight about them when it says: " Put on the whole armor of God, that ye mav be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." V.ll. The evil spirits, therefore, are not the kind of foes who wish us only evil and have only evil in mind against us, but they even use the most cunning " wiles " against us. These wiles consist chiefly in this that, when Satan intends to overcome us, he does not meet us in his recognizable form, but transforms himself into an angel of light. That is, if he wants to hurl us into error, he presents it as truth and uses God's Word to that end; if he wants to hurl us into sin, he presents the sin as a virtue, or as something permitted, innocent, insignificant; if he wants to persuade us to fall from God, he presents this, as he did to the first people, as simply coming closer to God and becoming like God.
When we think we are farthest away from Satan, e.g., when we pray, when we hear and read God's Word, or when we are among upright Christians, then Satan
is the closest and tries to take the seed of the Word from our hearts and nullify the blessing of fellowship. He does not attack us in the points where we are strong, but where we are weak and where he detects a breach in the wall surrounding our heart, there he forces his way in. The one he, therefore, tempts with pride, another with lust, a third with greed and worry about food, a fourth with wrath and irreconcilableness, a fifth with envy, a sixth with dishonesty and unfaithfulness, a seventh with false doctrine, and so forth. Thus he accommodates himself exactly to the different inclinations which he perceives in the poor Christian. The one he attempts to draw into his net by riches, happiness, honor, and good days, another by poverty, unhappiness, disgrace, and misery of all kinds. The one he does not disturb for a long time and then suddenly falls upon him with even more fearful might in order to hurl him unexpectedly into a great sin; another who has just conquered him and rejoices over this fact he immediately assails again from a different side in order to make him torpid and tired with a second, third, fourth cunning attack in quick succession and thus still draw him into the abyss.
Now, the apostle says of these foes of the Christians not only that they are cunning; he also called them " principalities and powers." Great power is also joined to their cunning; they are entire armies of hellish giants. Against them we men are helpless dust. Therefore, if we men wanted to fight against them in our own power, it would be just as if an unarmed child wanted to oppose an entire well-armed army, as though a withered leaf wanted to fight against the hurricane, yes, as though a blade of straw wanted to fight against fire.
And finally, how does the apostle further describe these foes of ours? He calls them: " the rulers of the darkness of this world." In these words the apostle also reveals to us the strong allies of our foes; their allies are the whole world which is dominated by Satan and ruled and led According to his will. All unbelievers, all unconverted, all the godless who still belong to the world are, therefore, simply the tools which our invisible enemies use in order to take our faith, our love, and our hope from us, to mislead us into unbelief, false faith, sin, and shame and thus finally hurl us into eternal damnation. Yes, since also Christians still have something of the Old Adam, of flesh and blood, in short, since they carry something of the world in their hearts, the evil foe has the ally most dangerous to us like a secret traitor even in the very midst of the fortress of our heart.
You see, these are the foes of Christians, against which they must battle: The evil spirits over and under them, the world next to them, and flesh and blood within them. Oh, blessed, therefore, is the Christian who is strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, otherwise he is surely lost!
III.
My friends, the Holy Ghost, who once spoke and wrote through the Apostle Paul, knows better than we do the great distress and danger in which our souls are; therefore, in the third place, he has also mentioned the armor which we must put on and use, if we want to do all things well and hold the field. So let us examine this armor a bit.
At one time the well-equipped soldier wore six different pieces of armor. First he had to buckle on a belt in order that the long clothing usually worn w o uld not hinder his movements; then he had to don a breastplate, that is, protect his chest with armor; thirdly, to cover his feet he had to put on boots
reinforced with iron. After doing this, he had to cover his whole body and head with a shield and helmet, the chief weapons of defense, and finally have a sword, the chief weapon of offense.
So also a Christian should make provisions for his spiritual struggle with all these parts of a complete complement of armor.
First of all, how is the Christian to be girded? The apostle says: " Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth." V.l4a. Here by " truth " one must without a doubt not understand the evangelical truth, for this is really the sword, but that truth in which Christians are to walk, that is, an upright unhypocr i tical life. For hypocrites are not capable of fighting the holy Christian fight, but, as David says, only those in whose spirit there is no guile.
Moreover, what is the Christian's breastplate? The apostle says: " And having on the breastplate of righteousness." V.14b. Here also by righteousness we must not understand the righteousness of faith which is rather the shield, but the righteousness of life, the upright, unoffending life toward every person. For he who still serves unrighteousness cannot fight against the unrighteous world.
Thirdly, how is the Christian shod? The apostle says: "And your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace." V.15. The third piece of the Christian's armor is, therefore, a walk in peace over against everyone, being real confessors of the Gospel of peace.
Oh, blessed is the Christian who is thus thrice armed with truth, righteousness, and peace! But, my friends, these three pieces are held only in great weakness by every Christian.
Therefore, the apostle continues thus: " Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." Vv.16.17.
Oh, precious, comforting closing! " ABOVE ALL " the apostle says, we are to take " the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit." Of course, he wants to say, we should be diligent in being truly godly and pious toward God and men, yet this is not so much one of our weapons as comfortable clothing in the struggle. Our real weapons of protection against all the fiery arrows and wiles of the devil are faith and salvation by grace in Christ Jesus seized by faith; and the only weapon of attack is God's Word, the written Word of the holy prophets and apostles. He who remains in this faith and clings firmly to this Word fights successfully and stands firmly, even if all the devils, the entire world, and his own flesh rage against him.
Oh my dear Christians, rejoice, therefore, that the Holy Spirit has given you such a brief, blessed, and certain guide for the fight. Oh, do not let go of your faith in your salvation in Christ, and do not throw away the weapon of the Word; then, at all times, even during evil days, you will be able to resist, carry out everything well, and hold the field.
May Jesus Christ, praised to all eternity, grant this to us. Amen.