A Sermon on Ephesians 6:10-17

A Sermon on Ephesians 6:10-17 by Aeltester Abraham L. Friesen, Nebraska, presented to the Kleine Gemeinde in Manitoba in February 1882 after the Holdemans had separated themselves from the Kleine Gemeinde.

Dearly beloved in the Lord, we want to trust that it has been under the guidance of the all-knowing Creator that we, who have been so closely related, may yet in this world, yea, in this our last sad and deceiving time, not only see each other face to face, but also much more to once again unite and strengthen ourselves in our mutual faith which we have once received. I say with the Apostle,

Beloved brethren and sisters in the Lord. In our present sad conditions and in these last days we may very well comfort ourselves with the Prophet Jeremiah and tell ourselves, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. And even when the remnant of "the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city" (Isa. 1:8), the Lord nonetheless promises to remain with her unto the end.  

Oh, therefore, my beloved, let us place our trust and confidence solely and alone upon the Lord and His holy Word regarding all the travesty which hath befallen us. His Word is the truth and stands more securely than heaven and earth; it cannot be cast down nor even weakened by anyone in the world--be they as talented and learned as could be.  

And beloved, in view of the fact that the archenemy of all goodness--the false spirit-cannot endure the good if a person humbly clings firmly unto God, Satan will not let us go without tempting us. On the one hand and perhaps principally toward the young souls, he seduces the youth towards evil--unto all manner of uncleanness, the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life and whatever else leads to worldliness. On the other hand, he comes unto the righteous--those whom he cannot entice with unclean lusts--in the form of the holy angels, and presents himself as the preacher of righteousness; he seeks to seduce these through a form of false holiness, namely, through outward ceremonies and symbols which he unduly elevates and places on a pedestal. Satan thereby takes many captive who are laden with sin; for they would prefer not to confess their misdeeds and to deny themselves, and thereby, they avoid repentance and contrite remorse over their sins. How tragic! For they depend on the outward ceremonies and symbols and thereby promise themselves forgiveness.

These ceremonies then become their idols. Menno Simons deals with this in his First Volume, page 98, and says with Paul,

"...  professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:22).

They fight primarily among themselves regarding the symbols and ceremonies which are of the least importance; but they fail to understand the real meaning and the purpose why these ceremonies were instituted, which should be of the highest importance. There is not a single letter in the entire Scripture telling us that there should be disputations concerning the outward and visible ceremonies. Further on page 65, Menno says, "He who seeks forgiveness through baptism, that one despises the blood of the Lord and esteems the water as his idol. Therefore everyone should take heed not to give the honour and praise of Christ to the outward ceremonies and the created elements." Thus far Menno Simons.

Our contemporary re-baptizers (Wiedertaeufer), who are against us in a threefold way, would certainly never confess with their mouth that they place such a great importance upon the outward ceremonies and ordinances. But their public practices demonstrate that this is so. Otherwise there is no way that they would re­ baptize--according to their own sayings--people who have been born again through the Spirit of God, who are children of God according to the teachings of Paul, and who have been baptized after having been rightly taught by a humble servant of the Gospel This unequivocally affirms the view of Menno and also agrees with what we read in the Martyrs' Mirror, (First Book 1,28), of a certain Haimo, "That if a baptism has taken place in accordance with the proscriptions of the Holy Scripture, it should not to be repeated."

These and innumerable similar signs more are foretold for the last days. It would take too long to enumerate them all. I trust that the references mentioned will be sufficient to instruct us and to persuade us that we are living in a perilous and deceptive time, wherein Satan is loosed and knows that his time is short. Yes, the false spirit, Satan, will come out against us in such manifold forms. It will be as the apostle says, "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived" (2 Tim. 3:13). Thus, my beloved, we must above all else watch and pray that the Lord would grant us His good Spirit, that He would lead and guide us in all truth and that He would protect us from all deception. Oh for the false spirit presents himself in so many different ways in order to deceive us! But he will not be permitted to succeed in this, for it is written, "No man can pluck them out of my hand" (John 10). However, we must watch and pray that we do not fall into temptation.

Therefore, watch and pray and "remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day" (Acts 20). For through the Spirit, he saw afar off the dangers which the souls would face and openly warned the Gemeinde and pointed out the form in which the deceiving spirits would show themselves.  

On the other hand, the Devil reveals himself as an angel of light, as a friendly and loving--yes, even as a divine--messenger and holds himself out in the appearance of a harmless, born-again, repentant and genuine Christian. Yes, like the holy people, but among whom he is very careful and watches to see where he can attack us the most easily and do the most damage and hurt us the most. Yes, he inspires anger and creates divisions; he originates and assembles a new sect about himself. Menno Simons says with much regret that he has seen this done openly in his time and unfortunately more than 2 or 3 times. How much more so is this not true in the present day.

Menno Simons testifies accordingly and says,

"I have no visions nor angelic communications, nor do I seek such or desire them so as not to be deceived by the same; for the Word of Christ alone is sufficient for me. If I do not follow His testimonies, I am truly lost."

My beloved, if in his days such deceptions were already so prevalent that he feared to be deceived or led astray by such an emotionally based spirituality, such as angelic communications or visions, how much more do we not have reason to fear such in these our last days and times of deception, when unrighteousness increases evermore and achieves dominance! According to the prophecy of Christ, false Christians and false prophets will arise and do great wonders and signs to lead unto deception even the very elect, if it were possible, which is also what is happening today. Christ says, "Behold, I have told you so." And beloved, His Word stands firm and unmoveable and will come into abundant fulfilment without fail.

In contrast, the prophets of our day say exactly the opposite, namely, that a great conversion will take place which must be articulated and inspired by great signs and wonders. Therefore Christ says, "Take heed that no man deceive you, For many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ: and shall deceive many" (Matthew 24:4). It is evident that many will do so in my name, but will not say it in truth rather only in appearance. And they will say further, "Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not." This is truly being fulfilled even today which we can see before our very own eyes as clearly as we see the bright sunshine. Therefore, my beloved, let us take heed that we are "... not unwise, but understanding that the will of the Lord is ... " that we shall be "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:17,16).

"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand" (Ephesians 6:14).

Yes, I must freely admit, beloved, how my conscience convicts me that even my best works are tainted with sin which is why I often come short and have stumbled. As a result of which it happens that someone may have been hurt by me and may have taken offense, for which I ask for your forgiveness as I am ready always to forgive the sins and weaknesses of my neighbour.

Now, may the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, prepare, strengthen and establish us upon the true foundation! To Him be honour and might from eternity to eternity! Amen!

Copying finished May 20, 1882, Cornelius Friesen, Blumenort, Manitoba.

Editor's Comment
The Sermon on Ephesians 6:10-17, written by Abraham L. Friesen in 1882 is from the document collection of Margaret and Peter A. Plett, Landmark, Manitoba.