Over the years, I have talked to many Christians that are down and out, or perhaps better put, down for the count. In other words, I have met many defeated Christians. Hey, let's be honest; we all have our "down moments", our "weak times", those times when we struggle in the faith. I guess the question is not if you have struggles now and then, but instead if you are down and out all the time. Struggles in the Christian life are to be expected. Life is not always a peach.
Here's two lines of thought. First, would we be truly thankful if each and every day was without struggle? Sure, we are going to have days and perhaps even weeks on a stretch without struggle, you will struggle and may struggle for days and even weeks on a stretch! Going through tough times, while not fun, make those days of easier living and blessing much more sweet.
Second, how does one grow and get closer to God unless we struggle? It's like the old saying of separating the men from the boys (or the girls from the women). Think of trials and tribulations in your life as being God's gym. It's part of the training that makes you stronger in Him. And--now give this some careful thought--if you are closer to God now, you have a head start on being closer to God in Heaven. In other words, get to know God better now so you will enjoy Him more forever.
I think that many churches fail to realize that as Christians, we are at WAR. This is a war that is being fought between God and Satan, demons versus holy angels; it is a war that you and I are involved in whether you like it or not. If you are always happy, content, and never feel that you stumble or that you have problems in your Christian walk then I have some bad news for you: you, my friend are losing the battle. You may say "WHAT?", when I say that. John MacArthur wrote in his Ephesians commentary:
A Christian who no longer has to struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil is a Christian who has fallen either into sin or into complacency. A Christian who has no conflict is a Christian who has retreated from the front lines of service.
You see, here's the point to this passage in Ephesians we are going to cover over the next two weeks: Be Prepared. Yup, just like a Boy Scout. We are to "train yourselves to be godly" (1 Timothy 4:7), in other words, go to God's gym. No wimps allowed.
YOU Can't...GOD Can! (10)
Many nice, well meaning Christians have the whole spiritual warfare thing all backwards and "mullusked up", as some old timers would say. Hey, I used to make the same mistake. We often think that we can try to be strong in the Lord. Try to be godly. Try to stand. Tell that to any professional athlete or soldier, that you want to try to be a football player or try to be a Marine. No, it takes training. And training takes time, effort and a commitment to do such which, unfortunately, many people that profess Christ lack. Folks say they love Jesus, but they expect to be no more than a spiritual sugar daddy that blesses them. This, my friend, sadly is the Americanized view of Christianity.
As Paul draws his Epistle to the Ephesians to a close, he gives people their orders as soldiers in Christ. These orders are often misunderstood by well meaning Christians, and I myself have had a few wrong views concerning this passage in the past.
First, it is a translational weakness in the NKJV (and in the KJV, NASB, ESV, NLT and most other translations) to translate the Koine Greek word endunamoo as be strong; it should read as the NET Bible gets it right by translating the word as be strengthened, or as Kenneth Wuest stated, continually strengthened. Wuest explains: The rendering, "be strong," could encourage one to self-effort at being strong, whereas the translation "be strengthened," causes the saint to depend on the Lord for the supply of that strength. In other words, the battle belongs to the Lord (1 Samuel 17:47; 2 Chronicles 20:15); however we are to know how to attain that power from God.
It's important to be prepared. A lack of preparation in the life of the believer causes great grief when the going gets tough, and the attacks from Satan increase in intensity and amount. Basic to the effective Christian life is preparation. The unprepared believer becomes the defeated believer who seeks to serve the Lord in his own wisdom and power. The strength of the Christian life is dependence on God, being strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. (MacArthur).
What is amazing, when you think about it, is that we do not have to be defeated. Some Christians think that suffering and pain and persecution is something to be avoided at all costs. However, we have the strength of the Lord and the power of His might. Give that a little thought: since God is Omnipotent, He is "all powerful". In short, whatever power you or I need to get through the Christian battles is never short in supply but superabundant instead.
This may sound harsh, but isn't it hard to feel sorry for "entitlement minded Christians" when they have every opportunity to train to endure and even avoid difficult situations in the first place?
Hold Your Ground! (11)
Both here and in verse 13 there is something unique that is not seen unless one looks at some scholarly work done by those familiar with Greek language. Dr. Wuest stated in his Greek study on Romans that the Greek word translated as "put on" means "to envelope in, to hide in, to clothe with." In short, we are to wear this metaphorical armor as we would our clothing. It is a personal thing, it is tailored by God for each person but is a complete array that is like other Christians.
The whole armor of God is from a Greek word from which we get the word panoply, which refers to "the full armour of a hoplite or heavy-armed soldier" (Wikipedia). It is not a partial suit, neither is it a uniform like "dress whites" that is only brought out on special occasions. It is not something that we put on each day in the morning before we head out for our day. No, this armor, according to the Greek, is to be put on "once for all" and not taken off.
We put on this armor, once and for all time, so that you may be able to stand. To stand means to hold your ground. The metaphorical weaponry and heavy armor that we are wear are defensive in nature, and meant not for us to be in attack mode but instead are meant to protect us that we might hold our ground in war.
As I have mentioned before, I have seen what I used to think were well meaning people that would say they are ready to take on Satan. Now I just look at that idea as not only being the statement of a foolish person, but a tragically foolish person that has no idea what they are dealing with.
We have studied this enemy, Satan, just a few weeks ago and learned that he does not play fair. The term diabolos which is translated devil here means slanderer, the arch-enemy of man's spiritual interest (Easton's Bible Dictionary). He is, by nature, a sneak and is an opponent that has many wiles about him; this term wiles is from the term methodeia, "cunning arts, deceit, craft, trickery." The word comes from the verbal form methodeuo, "to follow up or investigate by method and settled plan, to follow craftily, frame devices, deceive" (Wuest).
"The schemes of the devil include the propagation of individual beliefs and life-styles that corrupt and damn. They include evil national and international policies and practices that deceive and destroy They include the doubts placed in believers' minds to lead them away from trust in their holy and loving Father. They include temptations of God's children to immorality, worldliness, pride, self-reliance, and self-satisfaction. They include slander, ridicule, and persecution of His saints" (John MacArthur).
Satan's minion demons watch, observe, and study your every move so that they know your "brand of sin" (James 1:14) and the weaknesses in your defenses.--JH
War in the Air (12)
It's important to remember that any conflict that you or I have with others is most often not an issue between you and him, but is between the forces of good and evil. Above you will see that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood; in other words our struggle is not against a person or against people but instead is against what I call "Satan's Organized Crime Unit".
The term wrestle above is a better translation that the term used in some of the other Bible translations as struggle. I wrestled in high school, and I am sure that either you did or know people that did. It's a popular high school sport in Greene County, and three of my cousins (all brothers) have been high school varsity wrestling coaches (two at West Greene and one in New York).
However this wrestling, though referring to the same sport, had more dire consequences which the Ephesians knew quite well. The match was a contest of grappling with each other, and putting the other on his back and holding him down until the win (being pinned). The real difference, however, was that in many of the cases the victor would gouge the eyes of the opponent out, rendering him blind for the rest of his life. The Ephesians understood the weight of the wrestling that Paul spoke of; Satan's Mafia seeks to not just hurt you, but instead to make you completely unable to do work for Jesus Christ AND hurt you.
We have spoken of the organized crime unit that Satan utilizes in the recent past. They are spoken of by Paul as being against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. It is a military type structure, and is demonically efficient. J. Vernon McGee describes this demonic army: "Principalities are the demons who have the oversight of nations. They would correspond to the rank of generals. Powers are the privates who are the demons wanting to possess human beings. The rulers of the darkness of this world are those demons who have charge of Satan's worldly business. Spiritual wickedness in high places are the demons in the heavenlies who have charge of religion."
Satan has a military structure from the Commander in Chief to Four Star Generals to Colonels to Sergeants to Privates First Class. And their goal is simple: for the destruction and suppression of the message of Jesus Christ to men and women across the world. This is done by delaying or deleting the message from the mouths of His called people, the church.
Get Ready and Stay Ready! (13)
This panoply, this suit of heavy armor with a full array of weaponry, is worn like a garment by the Christian. It is put on once for all and is not to be taken off; you are to be prepared and ready for battle not just a moments notice but at no notice whatsoever! The term take up is meant as action that is done once but continues, in other words, get suited up and stay suited up. Wuest states that the Greek language "construction issues a command given with military snap and curtness, a command to be obeyed at once and once for all. Thus, the Christian is to take up and put on all the armor of God as a once-for-all act and keep that armor on during the entire course of his life, not relaxing the discipline necessary for the constant use of such protection".
I know a woman that once told me that she would put on the armor piece by piece when she would leave for work. Although a nice sentiment it is a misplaced one; demonic attacks happen many times before our feet hit the floor! Here's one that the forces of evil will whisper in the ears of believers: "Hey, it's 10 degrees outside. It's warm under these covers. Stay home this morning for church." See what I mean?
In addition, we must not just be prepared by having on the armor, but just wearing the armor at all times makes us better soldiers prepared to defend ourselves. Dr. Marvin Vincent in Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament made the following comment: "The historian, Gibbon, relates how the relaxation of discipline and the disuse of exercise rendered soldiers less willing and less able to support the fatigue of the service. They complained of the weight of their armor, and obtained permission to lay aside their cuirasses and helmets." Does this not describe the average Christian today? Few are ready for battle as they don't exercise and they are not used to the weight and fit of their armor!
The evil day is taken by a few as meaning the end times, but I agree with the scholars that believe this deals with times of heavy attack by Satan. Satan will only do to us or tempt us to the certain degree that God will allow. Sometimes this is because we have slipped in our fellowship or obedience to God but sometimes it is to bring us to a deeper trust, believe and love in Jesus that all will one day be right and good again.
"The Christian who continually seeks to grow in his knowledge of and obedience to the Word and to serve the Lord more faithfully will not find ministry becoming easier. As the Lord gives mastery over certain temptations and weaknesses, Satan will attack elsewhere. Faithful witnessing, preaching, teaching, visiting, and every other service for the Lord not only will bring victories but will also bring their own special difficulties and opposition. A Christian who no longer has to struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil is a Christian who has fallen either into sin or into complacency. A Christian who has no conflict is a Christian who has retreated from the front lines of service."-- John MacArthur. Our job as Christians is to stand firm, defend the faith and honor the King!
