Continue

This past Sunday we wrapped up The Rumor series. We hope that our take of the gospel through Paul’s Ephesian letter has been of help to you. We close the series with a consideration of how we might let these ideas live forward. And that is the key, isn’t it? The talk on Sunday was entitled “Continue”, and it was based on Ephesians 6.

At the heart of Paul’s closing statements are these words:

Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News... hold up the shield of faith... put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (v. 14-17)

Paul creates a visual image that can be of real use for us. But before we consider its meaning, we should simply remind ourselves that the gospel is not an end point but a beginning, a beginning which calls us to become more than we are. The gospel is a call to grow up (Eph. 4:15), a power in which to realize our possibilities and potential (1:19-20). And, because of Jesus, everything has been put in place for this to happen. To use an agricultural metaphor, the soil is good, there are plenty of nutrients to draw on, there is a sun to reach toward, and deep down moisture to send our roots after. Everything is there for us to grow. To shift the metaphor to an educational one, there is a library of books ready to be read. Or to shift the metaphor once more, there is a place cleared for us to build and all the materials we need to make a beautiful house. Whatever your favourite metaphor, the gospel “has provided all we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).

But the metaphor Paul actually does choose is a military one. Unlike other worthy metaphors, the image of the armour recognizes that this life we are given is a life that meets opposition, even hostility. The image of the armour recognizes that this life we are given needs to be protected.

Paul’s Ephesian letter was written from prison. Some imagine Paul sitting in his jail, meditating on the spiritual life, and looking at the guard attending him; he thinks about how all the pieces of armour fit together, what their function is, and how appropriate armour is to the preservation of spiritual life.

So we could take Paul’s image this way: there are crucial and life-vital aspects of our being that we must protect. Among these are the protection of connecting to the really real (belt of truth), the protection of personal integrity (breastplate of righteousness), the protection of peaceful intention (shoes of gospel peace), the protection of believing in what we cannot see (shield of faith), the protection of a mind focused on God’s purposes (helmet of salvation), and the only weapon we have, the gift of words and ideas that originate in God himself (sword of truth). Such is the armour that allows us to continue.

Although I believe that the New Testament ethic is thoroughly non-violent, the realism of Biblical faith does not view spiritual life as an achievement without struggle. We should not be naive about this. So Paul tells us that truth, faith, peaceful intention, personal integrity, and worthy words, are ways we protect the life that is given to us. And although this life is robust – very robust – we understand that this gospel life we are given is to be protected as we move towards the completion of our spiritual journey.

This coming Sunday we begin our journey towards Christmas. Join us at 9:29 or 11:11 if you can; or tune into the podcast through the week.

Bob Osborne