“This is How I Fight My Battles”
Ephesians 6:10-24
We are wrapping up the book of Ephesians. While sitting in a Roman prison, Paul was writing a letter, to tell the new Christian churches he helped to start, how to live out their faith. Paul was helping them to see that once they decided to follow Jesus, they were part of a new Kingdom, a new way of life. He began his letter reminding them about who Jesus was and what Christianity was all about. Then he describes what life should look like once they become Christians, and how they should be acting towards each other.
Paul makes it very clear that we are to submit to each other. That no one is above or below another. We are one in the Spirit.
Paul has been describing what it should look like in this new humanity where Jesus is elevated as King of Kings and Lord of Lord over all things.
At the end of his letter, Paul brings us back to earth and daily life, which means realizing the nitty gritty of spiritual warfare. In fact, Scripture has a lot to say about evil. It talks specifically about a personal evil, not just a force around us, but a personality who has a kingdom. This is known as the devil and his demons. When we read about Jesus on earth, He was constantly being confronted by the kingdom of darkness. In fact, Jesus taught His disciples to pray daily about their inevitable encounter with evil, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Jesus’ response was always the Gospel, which is the key to victory.
In Hebrews 2:14. we are told,
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—
Jesus came to defeat death and the devil.
Whether we like it or not, we cannot escape this reality. In fact, Paul assumes we believe in the devil and his demons. We know this because Paul doesn’t offer a background, but he does offer us a way to stand firm against the devil and his schemes. Paul, like A.W. Tozer viewed life more as a battle ground than as a playground. In fact, Scripture is always calling us to do something,
To stand fast,
To be ready,
To work out our salvation with fear and trembling,
To run the race as one who is running to win the prize
To fight the good fight
We are called to participate in Christ’s suffering because the Gospel is worth dying for.
There is a battle.
But here’s the kicker,
we are not working towards victory,
we are working from victory.
Paul has spent the beginning of this letter explaining who we are in Jesus and what He did for us. Then Paul wrote how we should function as this new community, so that we live in a way that reflects Jesus as we live amongst one another.
Now Paul wants us to understand that there is a constant conflict, raging all around us.
And each of us, is its battle field.
It’s important to recognize that evil is multi-dimensional. There are some really weird ideas about spiritual warfare. Some are obsessed with it and are looking for it under every rock. Others are ignorant of it and pretend it doesn’t exist. Neither of these responses are good and the devil is quite satisfied with both.
The truth is, there is evil inside each of us, it’s called the flesh. This means if the devil were to die today, you would sin tomorrow. The devil doesn’t make us do it, but the devil does use the evil that is within us by causing us to live according to the flesh instead of according to the Spirit.
There is also evil outside of us. It exists within the structures and systems of humanity that are contrary to God’s ways.
We also need to recognize there is evil above us. This exists as a supernatural realm and is based in personality. There is actually a will, a powerful, non-human, personal will that is opposed to the will of God. He has his own kingdom and his own followers. In fact, in 1 John 5:19 it reads,
“We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”
I think that when the average person hears about the devil they have a picture in their minds of what entertainment has created. Whether it’s a devil portrayed by someone like in the Exorcist, or the idea of a half man, half goat who is red with horns for ears and a three pronged fork.
When it comes to Scripture we need to recognize it assumes a belief in God, and His existence and His involvement in the world. Scripture also assumes belief in a personal evil.
The general belief by the church historically is that the devil was once a spirit that was good, who went bad, and whose primary goal is to oppose God’s kingdom and God’s redemptive work.
As we read through today’s Scripture, what I want you to think about and understand are the subtleties of Satan’s maneuvering in our lives and how it is by putting on Christ, in the form of our armor, we may engage in spiritual warfare in a way that is Biblical and healthy.
After explaining how Christians were to treat each other, Paul goes on to explain how Christians were to treat the enemy, verse 10-12,
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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.
“Be strong,” there’s the imperative, the immediate action that needs to be done.
Notice, Paul doesn’t tell us to be strong on our own accord, he tells us to be strong, in the Lord. Our ability to stand strong in the battle is based on our direct contact with Jesus, in our abiding in Him.
Why are we called to be strong?
Why are we called to put on armor?
You only put on armor when you are preparing to fight. Wake up and stop being reactive, instead, be ready. Understand where your enemy is so that you can live victoriously, and be a true reflection of Jesus.
We are called to take a stand against the devil’s schemes, realizing that our struggles are not against flesh and blood. Which means the battle is not against each other, or against yourself. But there is an outside force that plays upon our weakness and our flesh. This force utilizes the world systems to draw us away from Christ and bring us into death rather than life.
Satan has numerous names, devil, ruler of this age, prince or power of the air, the deceiver, the great serpent, the dragon, he’s a liar, the thief that comes to steal, kill and destroy, to name a few. Primarily he is the one opposed to God and the deceiver of the world. When we think of the devil, he’s not just a single entity. He is an organized ruler of the cosmos. Jesus understood who he was, in John 14:30 He said,
I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming.
In fact, Jesus had a face to face altercation with the devil, in the desert, where Satan offered Him the kingdoms of this world and nowhere do we get the idea that Jesus denied Satan’s powers or control. Jesus recognized Satan’s dominion but goes on to say,
“Satan, (He) has no hold over me.”
In 1 John 5:19, we read,
We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one
This confirms for us that the world as we know it, right now, is under the control of the evil one. Keeping this in mind, Paul provides the new believers, and us, with an armor that will win the battles.
The proper response to the fact of spiritual warfare is 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.
Paul has been telling Christians how to live as the new humanity. Satan is going to do his best to keep us from doing so. Knowing that attacks and intimidations are inevitable, Paul tells us to “stand.” In fact, Paul tells us to stand 4 times. There is a lot indicated by this one word.
It means that we
- Are going to be attacked
- No drooping, no slouching, no uncertainty or half-heartedness in the fight (no self-pity allowed)
- We should be at our position and alert
- Must not back down
Yes, but how?
Paul goes on using the analogy of the soldier’s armor, to reflect the specific dynamic within the Christian life that enables us to stand against a spiritual attack.
I wonder if Paul came up with this analogy while sitting in the Roman prison watching the guards. The order in which the pieces of armor are described is the order in which the soldier would normally put them on.
The belt of truth is first. In fact, it is truth that holds everything up. Before you can put your armor on, the undergarments had to be gathered together. Having the truth, we are told, sets us free.
Next comes the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate protected the most vital organs. Our righteousness is not sufficient to effectively fight evil. Instead, we need a righteousness obtained by faith in Jesus. Paul reminds us that it’s not what we have done for the Lord, because experiences change quickly. God’s righteousness never changes and is the best defense against whatever the devil can dish up. It worked for Jesus and will work for us.
Paul then goes to the feet. If you are wounded in your feet, you become easy prey for the enemy.
The best shoes to put on against the devil, is the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Readiness means we are mobile, flexible and alert. The best way to get “ready” is from the gospel of peace. Paul was thinking of Isaiah 52:7, when he came up with this,
“How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
Now that Paul has us dressed with what we should be wearing all the time:
- The belt of truth
- The breastplate of God’s righteousness
- The combat boots of readiness which comes from the gospel of peace
He will deal with the parts of armor we are to take to be used at the necessary moments of spiritual warfare.
First item to take – the shield of faith – Why?
Because it extinguishes all the flaming arrows of the evil one. We need to go back to the first century and understand how battles were fought. The soldiers were out in the field, face to face and one side would shoot flaming arrows, in great numbers, at the soldiers on the other side. This would cause confusion and panic because they would be coming at all sides and flaming so strongly that they would catch the wooden shields afire.
The soldier would then drop his shield and become vulnerable to a spear attack. The shield of faith, not only keeps the arrows from hitting you, it extinguishes their flame.
Thoughts, feelings, imaginations, fears and most of all lies, can all be hurled at us by Satan as fiery darts.
Faith makes them useless.
Next Paul reminds us to take the helmet of salvation. In the ancient world a soldier would be foolish to go to battle without his helmet. It was usually made of leather that was studded with metal for extra strength. Salvation is pictured as protecting another essential part of the body.
One of Satan’s most effective weapons against us is discouragement. When we are properly equipped with salvation, it’s hard to stay discouraged.
One can’t fight without a sword. For Paul, we are to have the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Basically the idea is that the Spirit of God provides a sword for you, and it will come in the form of the word of God. It’s not like the Bible is a book of magic charms or that we can tie it around our neck and use it like garlic to drive away vampires. To effectively use the sword, we need to actually know God’s word. Yet, in our knowledge we must depend on the Spirit to help us use it. The Spirit is the one who makes the Word of God alive and equips us with the right thrust of the sword at the right time.
Think of a fencer in training, practicing sword thrusts and moves and positions. He must practice these moves ahead of time. To become a superior fighter he must develop an instinct for what is about to happen. At the time of battle he will instantly recall the type of thrust which suits the precise moment.
He will never be able to use the thrust in the fight if he has not first practiced it: but he still has to make the move at the moment. We need to practice in order to use the Word of God as our defense. The best example of this can be seen when Jesus combated the temptation of Satan in the wilderness.
Paul wraps up his battle preparations with prayer.
You can be strong and well dressed for battle but without prayer, it’s useless. Paul tells us to pray,
“in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”
We should be using every kind of prayer we can think of,
Group prayer – individual prayer – silent prayer – shouting prayer – walking prayer – kneeling prayer – eloquent prayer – groaning prayer – constant prayer – fervent prayer – just pray!
Paul tells them to pray for others.
Paul tells them to pray for him, their leader, that, as an ambassador of Christ, he may make known the mystery of the gospel.
That is my prayer for you.
We are all ambassadors for Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:20.
As ambassadors, it is up to us to enter the foreign land, known as the world, where the evil one reigns and bring the gospel, the good news, wherever God sends us. It could be down the street, to a nursing home or across the world. Wherever God has you this week, don’t go unprepared. Put on your armor, be prepared for a battle with the evil one. But remember, the war has been won.
Lord’s Supper.
