Ephesians: Our Identity In Christ~part 26
Armed and Dangerous
Ephesians 6:10-13
The Armor of God
10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
11. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
12. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this edarkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
We live in a dangerous and hostile world. There are many today who are armed and dangerous. Do you remember when the US invaded Iraq, and we watched on television as the night sky over Baghdad lit up with missiles and anti-aircraft fire. It was an incredible sight, and a horrifying one.
There is a scene being played out in every corner of the world much like that one. The only difference is that this scene takes place in the invisible realm of the spiritual world. Although we can experience its effects, this battle can rage on undetected by many.
There are armies armed for battle that are not of this earth. This is not a new enemy. This enemy has been around since the beginning of time. And in this battle there is more at stake than there was in all our wars combined.
Because our enemy is armed and dangerous, we must learn how to be armed and dangerous ourselves. This is the battle that counts. This is the battle we must make certain we win. It is the spiritual battle against the demonic forces of Hell.
Our Problem --- God's Enemy
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)
As Christians, we must struggle with God's enemy. Too many Christians fail to understand that we are engaged in mortal combat. We are in a warfare which is very real and upon which not only our spiritual welfare but the welfare of others depends.
Our fight is not against humans; Paul says, “for our struggle is not against flesh and blood. The warfare we wage is against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Our struggle is against Satan and his demonic hordes.
Are you aware that we are in a life and death struggle against the demonic powers which operate this world? Did you know that there is a demonic hierarchy, much like a military or governmental organization, which is even now in place, organized to promote the agenda of Satan himself? It is true! When our text speaks of rulers, powers, and forces it is referring to the organizational structure of Satan's hierarchy. The word which is translated “world forces” is kosmokratoras. A more recognizable anglicized rendering would be cosmocrats. Many, like Professor F. F. Bruce, think that these terms refer to the hierarchy of fallen angels. One cosmocrat could have been the angel-prince of Persia who hindered the angelic messenger sent to Daniel. In Daniel 10:12-13 we read that the angel said to Daniel, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.”
The demonic cosmocrats of Satan's army are deployed everywhere in our culture. They infiltrate every segment of society, both secular and ecclesiastical. They have but one purpose: to destroy God's work. Their attack takes many forms. They attack God's work directly and indirectly. They are after you and your walk with God. They are after your family and your relationships with others. They attack you through your emotions and your circumstances. And they do not sleep. It is a very real and personal struggle. In our own strength we are over-matched.
You have all personally felt the onslaught of Satanic attack in your life. Have you struggled with addiction of some kind? Have you struggled with depression or discouragement? Have you struggled with anger, or problems in your marriage? Have you felt that you are not saved, or that God doesn’t love you? This is all supernatural attacks orchestrated by satan. This is our warfare.
Our Provision --- God's Strength
Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. (Ephesians 6:10)
Because we struggle against God's enemy, we must walk in God's strength. The discomforting thing about our spiritual warfare is that we are terribly over-matched.
Be careful not to be presumptuous and think that you can beat the devil in this war. You can't even win over one of his subordinates. This is why we are exhorted to be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.
The order here is clear. We are first to be strong in the Lord. Our focus must always first be on Jesus. We must cultivate our relationship with Him. Until we have taken care of that, nothing else will do. Cultivate your personal relationship with Jesus.
Then you are able to operate in the strength of his might. The power of God comes from a relationship with God. We will only be able to face the challenge of the spiritual warfare we fight if we are filled with God's strength.
In Isaiah 40:31 we read, “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” The idea expressed in this passage is that those of us who wait upon the Lord will exchange our strength for His. This is what we must have if we are to fight successfully.
Our Protection is God's Armor
Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)
Throughout this paragraph on spiritual warfare Paul’s sustained imagery is drawn from the prophecy of Isaiah, which describes the armour of Yahweh and his Messiah (Isaiah 11:4–5; 59:17; cf. 49:2; 52:7). These references in Isaiah depict the Lord of hosts as a warrior dressed for battle as he goes forth to vindicate his people. The ‘full armor of God’ which the readers are urged to put on as they engage in a deadly spiritual warfare (v. 11) is Yahweh’s own armor, which he and his Messiah have worn and which is now provided for his people as they engage in battle.
Not only must we walk in God's strength, we must put on God's armor. The armor of God, which we will address later, is our protection. We must put on the full armor of God for a very important reason. This armor will enable us to be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
Satan is not simply sitting idly by. Neither is he randomly going about his work. He is not only ultimate evil; he is ultimate evil with a plan. Satan has many schemes. He is organized and prepared to discourage and frustrate every effort we might undertake for Jesus. He is an intelligent being, and he is out to kill and destroy. How do we combat his plans? How do we stand against his schemes?
We must be clothed in the armor of God. Only God can protect us. Only God can empower us. The right armor and the right weapons must come from God. We cannot fight with our own weapons, and we cannot leave ourselves exposed to his attacks.
At the same time, a number of concerns within the whole letter are brought back to the readers’ attention in an emphatic way. There is a recapitulation of various issues, themes, and terminology from the earlier sections of the of Paul’s letter. For example, the encouragement to be strong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10) brings to mind God’s power, which was manifested in Christ’s resurrection and exaltation, and is now available to believers (Ephesians 1:19–20). The imperative regarding divine empowering also has links with believers’ strengthening through the Spirit (Ephesians 3:16) and the praise that God’s power is at work among them (Ephesians 3:20). Often the connections between motifs in Ephesians 1–3 and 6:10–20 highlight the tension between what has already been achieved in Christ, so that believers now experience the life of the ‘new age’, and this present evil age where the powers are active and in which believers now live. Christ has ‘already’ triumphed over the powers (Ephesians 1:21; 3:10). But they still exist, and are active in the disobedient (Ephesians 2:2), they bedevil faithful Christians, and in the world around us. They seek to deceive us through paganism that is disguised as harmless “new age” or “progressive” thinking. It is through their prince, Satan, which they try to gain a base of operations against believers Ephesians (4:27). These evil supernatural forces listed in Ephesians 6:12 are the principalities and authorities that have been mentioned in Ephesians 1:21 and Ephesians 3:10; the space that they function is the heavenly realm (Ephesians 6:12; Ephesians 3:10), and the present age over which they hold sway is described in terms of darkness (Ephesians 6:12) or evil days (Ephesians 5:16). Christ’s triumph over the powers has ‘already’ occurred (Ephesians 1:21), so believers no longer live in fear of them. But the fruits of that victory have ‘not yet’ been fully realized, so Christians must be aware of the conflict and be equipped with divine power to stand against them.
We must clothe ourselves with the armor of truth, righteousness, the Gospel, faith, salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Only then will we be prepared to stand against Satan and his schemes.
Our Prize is God's Victory
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (6:13)
Not only must we walk in God's strength, and put on God's armor, but we must stand in God's victory. Our call is to stand firm. Now that we have appropriated God's strength, put on God's armor, we may stand in the victory which is ours in Christ Jesus.
The real power connected with the pieces of armor in Ephesians 6:14–17 have already presented in earlier chapters of the epistle. So, we have truth (Ephesians 1:13; 4:15, 21, 24, 25; 5:9), righteousness (Ephesians 4:24; 5:9), peace (Ephesians 1:2; esp. 2:14–18; 4:3; and 6:23), the gospel (Ephesians 1:13; 3:6; and 2:17; 3:8) or word of God (Ephesians 1:13; 5:26), salvation (Ephesians 1:13; 2:5, 8; 5:23), and faith (Ephesians 1:1, 13, 15, 19; 2:8; 3:12, 17; 4:5, 13). These are all important theological themes which Paul presents as the weaponry that believers are to use in our spiritual warfare. In addition to this, there is a call to prayer in Ephesians 6:16–18 that picks up terminology already used earlier in the letter: Ephesians 1:16; ‘all the saints’ (Ephesians 3:18); the ‘mystery’ (Ephesians 1:9; 3:3, 4, 9; 5:32), ‘boldness’ (Ephesians 3:12), and Paul’s imprisonment (Ephesians 3:1; 4:1).77
The battle is not ours, it is the Lord's. In reality, He has already won the victory. We simply must stand in that victory. We must recognize who we are in Christ. We must recognize the power of the Church, the Body of Christ, you and me. This is the Church which Jesus spoke of when He said, “Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hell shall not overpower it.” The Church is more powerful than the gates of Hell. The Church of Jesus Christ, not just the organizations that so many call churches, is the mystical, mighty army of God.
So, the first command, ‘be strong’, is best understood as a passive, meaning ‘be made strong, be strengthened’. This fits with the corresponding passive in the prayer of Ephesians 3:16, ‘that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit’, and indicates that believers do not empower themselves, even if they are to follow that command to lay hold of, and take the divine resources available to them. Our strengthening comes from an external source, which the following phrase indicates is the Lord Jesus. He is the One that believers have been brought into union (cf. Ephesians 2:21; 4:1, 17; 5:8; 6:1, 21), and so, the sphere in whom they now live their Christian lives and it is He that we derive our strength. We no longer fall under the tyranny of the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), but have come under Christ’s loving rule and headship. For this reason we can be encouraged to ‘be strengthened in him’: because he supplies all we need in or spiritual warfare.
The call to be ‘strong’ in the midst of a battle has a number of Old Testament precedents, one of the most notable is Joshua, he was told to ‘be strong and of good courage’ (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9; cf. Deuteronomy. 31:6, 7, 23). In a critical situation David ‘found strength in the LORD’ (1 Samuel. 30:6), a while later God says about his people gathered home from exile, ‘I will make them strong in the LORD’ ( Zechariah 10:12).85 The latter examples mention explicitly that the external source of this empowering is ‘the Lord’, and in Ephesians this refers to the Lord Jesus.
The source of this strengthening is described more specifically as in his mighty power. This amazing phrase has already been used in relation to God’s all-powerful strength which raised Christ from the dead and exalted him to the place of honor, above all rule and authority as we read in Ephesians 1:19–20. Paul prayed that his readers would understand and experience the extraordinary power of God working on their behalf (Ephesians 1:19). Now he calls upon believers to take for themselves this power, which in the case of Jesus had already proven itself able to overcome powerful, diabolical opposition.
The phrase “put on the full armour of God” explains how the admonition of Ephesians 10, “Be strong in the Lord”, is to be carried out. It is only by putting on the divine armor that believers can be adequately equipped against the devil’s attacks. This command to put on God’s armor refers back to the earlier instruction about ‘putting on the new self’, which was created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). Essentially, then, to ‘put on the new self’ is the same as putting on the armor of God.
The expression ‘full armor’ referred to ‘a complete set of weaponry used in defensive or offensive warfare’ which was worn by a heavily armed foot soldier. Although not all the weapons are mentioned in the following verses, the emphasis here is on putting on the ‘whole armor’ in order to be protected fully in this spiritual warfare. Paul likes a simpler term ‘weapons’ (Romans 6:13; 13:12; 2 Corinthians. 6:7; 2 Corinthians 10:4). His use of the fuller expression here rendered ‘whole armor’ may be ‘explained as a collective for representing the substantial number of arms listed in the context’, and as highlighting ‘the danger and seriousness of the threat facing the readers and therefore more strongly emphasizing] the importance of total dependence on God’s strength’.
The ‘armor of God’ can be understood as the armor that God supplies, his own armor which he wears, or even the armor that is God himself. The context clearly implies that God provides these weapon for believers. At the same time, in the light of the description of the armor of Yahweh and his Messiah in Isaiah 11:5; 52:7; 59:19, which stands at the center of Paul’s sustained imagery throughout the passage (esp. vv. 14–17), it is important to recognize that the armor given to believers is God’s own. The references from Isaiah depict the Lord of hosts as a warrior fighting with his own armor in order to vindicate his people. There is a detailed discussion of the armor in the light of its Old Testament background at Ephesians 14–17.) Some of the weapons that believers are to put on, namely, truth, righteousness, and salvation, suggest that we put on God himself, or at least his characteristics, and this idea is close in meaning to that exhortation of Ephesians 5:1, ‘Be imitators of God’. Accordingly, we can conclude that ‘in the end all the armor language is a way to talk about identification with God and his purposes’.
The goal for readers to be clothed with the divine armor is so that they ‘might be able to stand against the schemes of the devil’. Four times over (Ephesians 11, 13 [twice in 13], and 14) the apostle uses the language of standing, standing firm, or withstanding (various forms of the verb to describe the readers’ overall objective in this spiritual warfare). The first reference to ‘standing’ involves resisting or holding their position against the devil’s ‘insidious wiles’ (see on v. Ehpesians 14) so that they do not surrender to his evil opposition but prevail against it. This term invariably carries a bad sense, and here the plural suggests attacks that are constantly repeated or of incalculable variety. The varied nature of that attack is brought out again in Ephesians 16, in a slightly different language: the ‘evil one’ launches his ‘flaming arrows’ against the saints. These differing expressions suggest not only inner temptations to evil but also ‘every kind of attack and assault of the “evil one” ’.
According to Ephesians 4:27, Satan tries to gain a foothold and exert his influence over the lives of Christians through uncontrolled anger (Ephesians 26) as well as falsehood (Ephesians 4:25), stealing (Ephesians 28), unwholesome talk (Ephesians 29), indeed any conduct that is characteristic of the ‘old way of life’ (Ephesians 22). Further, the evil one is committed to hindering the progress of the gospel and the fulfilment of the divine plan of summing up all things in Christ (Ephesians 1:10). He will attempt by his ‘insidious wiles’ to turn believers aside from pursuing the cause of Christ and achieving this goal.
In C.S. Lewis' book, The Screwtape Letters, a senior devil named Screwtape is instructing a junior devil on how to tempt and trap humans. He says, “One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately it is quite invisible to these humans.” We must understand the power of the risen Lord in His true church. We must ask God to help us see the invisible. The army of God is truly on the march, and you are a part of that army. We must stand firm. Let Satan do his worst. “The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure.” We are privileged to stand in the victory of Christ.
So, take courage! Fight the fight of faith. Although the enemy is armed and dangerous, so are we. And we also have all the mighty angelic warriors battling for us.
From Heaven's fortress the mighty armies of the Lord of Hosts array themselves for battle. These angelic warriors with their flashing swords and brilliant armor surge forth in battle array against the host of Hell. As the army of God's Church on earth falls to its knees and as the prayers of the saints ascend heavenward the battle is engaged. The struggle ensues. One foe after another is pierced through by the awesome power of the mighty God. These invisible, supernatural creatures groan in intense struggle with the souls of men and women hanging in the balance. But God's Word is sure. The gates of Hell absorb blow after crushing blow as the mighty phalanx of God's soldiers burst upon it. First the gates are buffeted, then they begin to groan under the mighty surge, and finally they crumble under the onslaught of this army of God. It is the Church, terrible as an army with banners. This is our destiny. The shout of victory fills the air. “All hail King Jesus! All hail Emmanuel! King of kings, Lord of lords, Bright Morning Star. Through all eternity I'll sing your praises. And I'll reign with You throughout eternity.”
Remember saints, the Church is armed and dangerous.
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