We began a new series through the armor of God called “Fit Check” at Gateway Church in Austin.
We included a time of lament in our service this past Sunday as well.
Digging Deeper
Work through the following questions and scriptures on your own or get together with your group, spiritual
running partners, or family to talk through what you are learning.
Message Video:
Message Notes by Carlos Ortiz, Jr.:
We all have rhythms and patterns to our life, and one of those rhythms is vital to how we live and go about our days. So I want you to imagine that you are leaving home for the day. Maybe you are going to school, running a few errands, heading out to work, or to the gym. No matter our destination, we all have a way we go about readying ourselves for the day. So what is your regular routine?
Maybe you grab a bag, make sure your water bottle is filled, lunch ready to go, keys in hand, wallet readily available, sunglasses are a must. Maybe you stop at the mirror in a hallway and ensure your hair is done, your zipper is zipped, your breath doesn’t stink, your clothes look the way you intended. I mean the list goes on and on.
Now, imagine all of those things you need to get ready for the day, and now ask yourself: Does my checklist prepare my heart, my mind, my soul for what I may encounter that day?
In the book of Ephesians, Paul writes to that local church and has two large umbrellas in the body of the letter. The first half (chapters 1-3) is about their identity in Christ, and this is not something we just gloss over, it’s a daily reminder that we begin with who God says we are when we choose to follow Jesus.
But the 2nd half (chapters 4-6) is full of practical instruction about character, conducting ourselves like Christ in an ethical manner, that we are to be children of the light, imitators of Jesus with one another, as friends, neighbors, roommates, married couples, children and parents.
Paul ends this letter with what everyone who follows Jesus needs to know. We are going to park in this passage for the next few weeks and break down why this matters to us, and how we go about truly implementing it. They are like items we all need as we head out of the metaphorical doors of our home and into the real world. So let’s read together:
Ephesians 6:10-18 – 10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor 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. 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. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
What does Paul want followers of Jesus to know?
God is our source of strength (verse 10)
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” (verse 10)
The Christian’s strength doesn’t come from willpower, personality, or discipline, but from being rooted in Christ. It comes with an understanding that we are limited, we are finite, no matter what our life looks like. Paul is not saying “be strong in yourself.” Instead, he’s saying “receive strength from outside yourself.” That is profoundly countercultural in a city like Ephesus (and in modern NYC, LA, or Austin), because people believe strength comes from achievement, money, reputation, or self-actualization.
Paul is amplifying a truth he has come to know personally…the gospel (good news) frees us from self-reliance. In fact, inside of God’s Kingdom, true strength comes when you and I admit weakness and rely fully on Christ’s power (2 Cor. 12:9-10). And this is so freeing because His power transforms us into the people we were created to be!
So Paul was experiencing personal torment, and he asked God to bring relief, and he writes in 2 Corinthians about God’s response to him.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Like a branch drawing life from the vine (John 15), followers of Jesus must stay connected to God’s power source. How do we stay connected to the source? Great question…we stay connected by knowing that:
God has equipped us with spiritual armor (verse 11)
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
Armor must be intentionally put on—it’s not automatic. He’s saying it doesn’t come naturally, we have to put it on.
My mentor walked me through the armor for a year…and making me daily put on the armor like a little child. But it stuck, I will never forget it.
Once we put it on, we have to put the WHOLE thing, the FULL version on.
“Full armor” means no shortcuts, because partial protection leaves you vulnerable.
● I can’t just put on the helmet of salvation and never learn to use my Sword (the Word of God) which helps me overcome the temptations from darkness as we saw a couple of weeks ago when we looked at the story of when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. (if you use this phrase I would recommend teaching on it rather than a passing mention since some people think this points towards a works-oriented salvation)
● And as amazing as K-pop music is, and the number one movie in the world is K-pop demon hunters, that is NOT going to help us. You can sing and dance all you want, but what you really need is the name of Jesus.
If God designed it, and it is for our benefit, then we should stick to the instructions to get optimal results. The results God intended!
Now the 2nd half of this verse (11b) begins to take us down a road that we need to take seriously. Paul is giving us the why? He’s saying, we find our strength in God, when we begin to use his instructions, why?
We have an enemy who is scheming against us.
Because there is an enemy who is scheming. The greek word here for scheme is methodeia ( μεθοδεία) – craftiness
Schemes or Craftiness equate to an enemy who will do anything to win, a spiritual enemy who works with strategy, deception, and subtlety.
So if we go back to our opening challenge of preparing to leave our house for the challenges we will face every day…Can we identify daily spiritual “schemes” (lies, distractions, temptations) and be prepared for them?
Our spiritual enemy’s greatest tactic is not grotesque evil, but subtle lies. The “schemes” are about twisting good things into ultimate things (idolatry).
The devil doesn’t tempt you by saying “hate God.” He tempts you by whispering, “If you don’t succeed at work, you’re worthless.” Or “If you lose that relationship, your life has no meaning.” The devil’s main weapon is accusation and deceit, and the gospel truth is the only defense. For what it’s worth…this has been the same tactic of deceit from the very first of creation. The tempter whispered to Eve, laid the seeds of doubt and confusion…there’s a blue print of deceit we see in so many of the stories in scripture, and in our own lives.
● We will dive into this more later and as the weeks go on, but when we say the “devil” remove the renaissance imagery, flames, pitchforks, etc. Actually it says the devil masquerades as an angel of light
● And when we say devil, we don’t mean one figure omnipresent tempting everyone. We use the term devil to mean all the malevolent forces of evil in the unseen realm that hate God and hate you, and actively plot on your and my demise.
(production note – this can all be on one slide)
Diabolos (διάβολος):
Verb (action) – devilish, malicious, slanderous
Noun (person, place or thing) – the devil, Satan, or a wicked person who is like the devil
Why is this important…because of what we learn in verse 12:
God’s enemy is our enemy
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Paul is painting a picture in this letter to the Ephesians, can you see it? He’s portraying a picture of what can be seen, the physical, the people we can see and sometimes see as enemies, and he’s saying…that person you see across the table, across the room, on another team…yeah, they’re not your enemy. They are merely flesh and blood.
But if you open your spiritual eyes, you can see that there is so much more at play here.
Look at the list Paul provides us of anti-God players:
* Rulers
* Authorities
* Powers of this dark world
* Spiritual forces of evil
Well, Carlos, I don’t know about all of this devil stuff. I mean I’m here exploring faith, and I think I like this Jesus guy, but good/evil, seen/unseen, darkness and light…it all seems too much for me?
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.“
-C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters
The true battle isn’t against people, governments, or culture—but against spiritual powers of darkness.
In Dr. Michael Heiser’s (professor of OT with a focus on the unseen realm of spirituality) framework, there are different rebellions, with different classes of beings and different fates. We won’t be taking the time to go into a full on theology of demons in this series, so I wanna point you towards Michael Heiser‘s book The Unseen Realm, but what I really want you to take away is you are Victorious over the schemes of the enemy when you rely on Jesus. We don’t have to become experts in demons. We need to become experts and stand firm in our faith in our relationship with Jesus.”
If you ask the modern Christian why is the world so broken and messed up. Most Christians will say Genesis 3, when sin entered the world via Adam and Eve and the deception of the serpent.
So in summary (per Heiser):
Genesis 6 angels (Watchers) → bound, not active.
Satan (the Eden rebel) → active tempter/accuser.
Cosmic rulers from Babel → active, influencing nations/cultures.
Demons (Nephilim spirits) → active, harassing individuals.
Our own flesh → the most consistent source of temptation.
Warning: If we misidentify the enemy, we’ll fight the wrong battles (turning on each other instead of standing against Satan’s influence).
If you think people are the enemy, you’ll become self-righteous and bitter. But if you see the spiritual dimension, you’ll be both humble and bold—because the true enemy has already been defeated at the cross.
Check your heart—are you fighting people, or are you discerning the spiritual forces behind the struggle?
God asks us to stand firm (verse 13)
Therefore put on the full armor 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.
The wrong question to ask is, “Will I ever face temptation?” The more accurate question is, “Am I ready when I face temptation?” Spiritual preparation ensures endurance.
“Stand” shows stability, not retreat. The Christian posture is not fear, but firm confidence in Christ. “To stand” means “to establish your place” or “to not be moved”
We live in a fallen world and therefore we will suffer. Jesus guarantees it: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”John 16:33
When suffering comes if we aren’t armored up we can lose hope, put blame on God, push the community away (opposite of what Ephesians is teaching us), etc. Armor is essential to suffering well.
It’s not about charging forward in aggression or retreating in fear. It’s about standing firm in what Christ has already accomplished. Our Spiritual habits (prayer, Scripture, gathering for Sunday worship, leaning into our spiritual community) are how we “gear up” for a spiritual storm or temptation. We stand on who Jesus is because…
“…he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” – Colossians 1:13-14
