The imperative “stand!” at the beginning of this verse is modified by four participles: having gird, having put on, having shod, and having taken up. These are each related to a piece of the armor of God that will enable believers to withstand Satan’s onslaughts. This sermon emphasizes the fact that standing fast in God’s redemption and promises is in contrast to the temptation to bail out and take action. To show this, we first cover Satan’s temptation of Jesus as found in Luke 4:1-13. In each case Satan tempted Jesus to take action while Jesus rejected those temptations with Scripture. We must resist urge to change things and make “progress” when God’s will is that we stand firm in what God has done.

The armor of God is grounded in what God has done for us in Christ. The “belt of truth” is an allusion to Isaiah 11:5 where Christ is revealed as the divine warrior who has won the battle and sits at God’s right hand. The breastplate of righteousness is another allusion to OT scripture (Isaiah 59:17). This refers to our status in Christ, not what we are going to achieve for Christ.  Only the righteousness of Christ will enable us to withstand the attacks of the accuser (Satan). We reference Zechariah 3:1-5 which shows the Lord rebuking Satan and clothing the high priest with “pure vestments.” The righteousness of Christ as our breastplate is our protection, not our own religious activities. Another OT passage covered in this sermon is Exodus 14:9-14 where Moses commanded the complaining Israelites to “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord.” “Stand firm” in the Greek OT is the same word found in Ephesians 6:14, also in the imperative. They were to believe God’s promises even when backed up to the sea by Pharaoh’s army. This was in the face of their grumbling and complaining. We end by preaching salvation through the finished work of Christ grounded in His imputed righteousness through the blood atonement (Romans 3:21-26).

They were to believe God’s promises even when backed up to the sea by Pharaoh’s army. This is (a) in? was or is in?] the face of their grumbling and complaining.