Scripture
Last week we began a sermon series in Ephesians 6:10-24 that I am calling, “The Whole Armor of God.”
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is usually divided into two major divisions: Ephesians 1-3, which deals primarily with doctrine, and Ephesians 4-6, which deals primarily with duty. But, it does seem that Paul has a final division in Ephesians 6:10-24, which deals with the whole armor of God.
Last time we examined our spiritual warfare. And today I would like to examine our terrible enemy in this warfare.
So, let’s read about our terrible enemy in Ephesians 6:11-12, although for the sake of context, I shall read Ephesians 6:10-20:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:12)
Introduction
I am currently reading the three-volume biography of Winston Churchill titled The Last Lion by William Manchester. As a boy, Churchill had more than a thousand lead toy soldiers. He loved to play with them and line them up in various battles. He eventually joined the military—rather than go to university—and became a soldier. As a relatively young man he became First Lord of the Admiralty. During the Great War, which we know as World War I, he resigned his position as First Lord of the Admiralty. He then wanted to command a brigade, but he was not given one. Manchester writes, “As a young officer he had seen fighting in Cuba, India, the Sudan, and South Africa. Twice he had witnessed German war maneuvers, an advantage no one on the general staff shared. He had made a thorough study of the arts of war and had published five books on military subjects.” If anyone knew the enemy, it was Winston Churchill. But, his expertise was not fully utilized until World War II when he was finally called upon to save Great Britain from their enemy.
It is important for us to realize that we battle against a terrible enemy. If we expect to be victorious in our battle against our terrible enemy, then we need to know something about him. Much of the material for this lesson is taken from James Montgomery Boice’s commentary on Ephesians.
Lesson
Ephesians 6:11-12 teaches us that we battle against a formidable foe.
Let’s use the following outline:?
1. Our Enemy Is Powerful (6:11-12)
2. Our Enemy Is Wicked (6:12)
3. Our Enemy Is Crafty (6:11)
I. Our Enemy Is Powerful (6:11-12)
First, we learn that our enemy is powerful.
Earlier in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul mentioned the devil. In Ephesians 4:26–27, he wrote, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” Paul knew that the devil is a real being.
He did so because Jesus also acknowledged the devil as a real being. In fact, immediately following his baptism, Matthew records that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). During his ministry, Jesus often cast demons out of people.
In fact, throughout the entire Scriptures the biblical writers acknowledge the reality, presence, and work of the devil and his demons.
So, when Paul got to the end of his letter to the Ephesians, he wrote a summary statement about the devil and his demons against whom we battle. He wrote in Ephesians 6:11–12, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
The first thing Paul wants us to understand about our terrible enemy, the devil, is that he is powerful. The subordinates of the devil are described as rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
In his commentary on Ephesians, John R. W. Stott says that some contemporary theologians view Paul’s statement here in verse 12 as referring to “to structures of thought…especially as embodied in the state and its institutions” rather than to personal, demonic beings. After giving four examples from four theologians, he concludes, “I confess to finding the reconstructions of the new theorists not only ingenious, but artificial to the point of being contrived.”
The reality is that we do not wrestle against structures of thought, the state, institutions, or even human beings, but rather against the devil and his demons. Stott helpfully notes:
Paul’s Asian readers were quite familiar with this fact. They doubtless remembered—or would have heard about—the incident of the Jewish exorcists in Ephesus who were rash enough to try to dismiss an evil spirit in the name of Jesus without themselves knowing the Jesus whose name they used. Instead of succeeding in their attempt, they were overpowered by the demoniac and fled in panic, naked and battered. This kind of happening may have been common. For Paul’s Ephesian converts had previously dabbled in the occult and then made a public bonfire of their valuable books of magic. Such a direct challenge to the forces of evil will not have gone unheeded.
As I mentioned, the subordinates of the devil are described as rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. John MacArthur says that these “describe the different strata and rankings of those demons and the evil, supernatural empire in which they operate.” On the other hand, Stott says that “whether ‘principalities’ and ‘powers’ refer to different ranks of evil spirits in the hierarchy of hell we do not know, but both titles draw attention to the power and authority they wield.”
While our enemy is powerful, we must not think of him as the equal and opposite of God.
God is omnipotent. That is, he is all-powerful. The devil is not. God is able to do whatever he wishes. The devil is able to do only what God permits him to do.
God is omniscient. That is, he knows everything. The devil is not. Of course, he knows a great deal, and he has been around for a very long time, but he does not know all things.
God is omnipresent. That is, he is present everywhere at the same time. The devil is not. He is able to be only in one place at one time. That is why he operates through a vast network of demons to carry out his diabolical schemes. Boice makes the interesting observation that “in all the Bible we know of only six individuals who were tempted by Satan himself: Eve (but not Adam), Job, Jesus Christ, Judas, Peter, and Ananias (but not his wife Sapphira). No doubt there have been many others, but these are the only ones the Bible tells us of specifically.”
Nevertheless, even though our enemy is not omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent, he is still very powerful. We must never take our enemy lightly, and we must realize that we are not able to stand against him in our own strength.
II. Our Enemy Is Wicked (6:12)
Second, we learn that our enemy is wicked.
In verse 12, Paul wrote that our enemy controls “the rulers,…the authorities,…the cosmic powers over this present darkness,…the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Darkness and evil are the realm in which our enemy and his demons operate. John Stott wisely notes, “If we hope to overcome them, we shall need to bear in mind that they have no moral principles, no code of honor, no higher feelings. They recognize no Geneva Convention to restrict or partially civilize the weapons of their warfare. They are utterly unscrupulous, and ruthless in the pursuit of their malicious designs.”
While it is true that our enemy is wicked, we need to realize that he does not always operate in a wicked way. The Apostle Paul warned the Corinthian Church that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). He said this after he told the Corinthian believers, “And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:12-13). In other words, those who claim to represent Christ and teach false doctrine are actually being used by our enemy to carry out his wicked purposes.
III. Our Enemy Is Crafty (6:11)
And third, we learn that our enemy is crafty.
In verse 11a, Paul told believers to “put on the whole armor of God.” And the reason believers must put on the whole armor of God is so “that [they] may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (6:11b).
So, what are the schemes of the devil? The Puritan William Gurnall, in his 1,200-page commentary of The Christian in Complete Armour, helps us understand the schemes of the devil. He suggests that our enemy attacks in two ways.
A. Our Enemy Is Crafty in the Timing of His Attacks
First, our enemy is crafty in the timing of his attacks. Let us know when our enemy attacks Christians.
First, our enemy attacks when the Christian is newly converted. Prior to our conversion we were in Satan’s army. We belonged to him. We were dead in our transgressions and sin. We walked in darkness. We did not desire fellowship with God or his people. But, then, we were gloriously converted. We became new creations in Christ. We were transferred into the army of Christ. We now belong to Jesus. We are alive in Christ. We have no desire to continue in our sin. We are walking in the light. We enjoy our fellowship with God and his people. We love God’s word. We speak to him in prayer. But then we commit a sin, and our enemy whispers in our ear, “See, you really are not a Christian after all. Your ‘conversion’ is fake. You have fallen away. You might as well give up and follow me, as you did before.” And that attack may continue for years.
Second, our enemy attacks when the Christian is afflicted. When things are going well, our enemy often leaves us alone. But, when affliction comes, as it always does, our enemy suggests to our minds that God really does not love us or care about us. He says, “If God loved you, he wouldn’t let this happen to you.” Think of Job in the Old Testament. He was very prosperous. But, then God allowed Satan to afflict him, and he lost all of his possessions, his children, and his health. Then his wife—being the mouthpiece of our enemy—said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die” (Job 2:9). Some of our fiercest attacks from our enemy come when we are going through trials or difficulties.
Third, our enemy attacks when the Christian is successful. Sometimes, things seem to go really well for the Christian. And our enemy then suggests that we accomplished what we did because of our innate ability or skill or expertise or knowledge. And he makes us believe that we accomplished what we did without the help of God.
Fourth, our enemy attacks when the Christian is idle. So many Christians fall into our enemy’s trap when they are not busy. It is late at night and the Christian flips through his internet and turns to pornography. Or, the married Christian has a few spare minutes and flips through Facebook and connects with an old flame. Remember King David’s idleness led him into adultery with Bathsheba, and that resulted in the murder of her husband Uriah. Our enemy attacked him when he was idle.
Fifth, our enemy attacks when the Christian is isolated from other Christians. Christians have been adopted by God into his family. He expects them to meet with one another every week for worship, and also to be in regular contact for fellowship and support and encouragement. But then, since Christians are not perfect, sooner or later someone will hurt or even sin against another Christian. And our enemy will say, “See, these ‘so-called Christians’ are just a bunch of hypocrites. You are better off finding your own friends and activities. There is no need to stay connected to people in the church.”
And sixth, our enemy attacks when the Christian is dying. Some Christians die suddenly. However, many Christians experience illness and weakness in the final days of their lives. And our enemy uses this time to attack us. William Gurnall writes, “At the hour of death, when the saint is down and prostrate in his bodily strength, now this coward falls upon him. As they say of the natural serpent, he never is seen at his length till dying; so this mystical serpent never strains his wit and wiles more, than when his time is thus short. The saint is even stepping into eternity, and now he treads upon his heel, which if he cannot trip up so as to hinder his arrival in heaven, yet at least to bruise it, that he may go with more pain thither.”
Our enemy attacks Christians at many different times.
B. Our Enemy Is Crafty in the Manner of His Attacks
And second, our enemy is crafty in the manner of his attacks. Let us know how our enemy attacks Christians.
First, our enemy attacks as a roaring lion. Peter warns Christians, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Our enemy does not always appear as a lion, but he does want to frighten Christians so that they forget to whom they really belong.
Second, our enemy attacks as a friend. That is how our enemy came to Eve. She thought that he was helping her see things about God that she had not seen before. He would help her “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). But, of course, when she followed Satan’s advice, she fell for the scheme of the devil and sinned against God.
And third, our enemy attacks as an angel of light. I have already mentioned that Paul warned the Corinthian Church that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). So, in our day people generally don’t believe that he exists. They deride Christians for believing such old-fashioned mythology. And Satan is delighted when more and more people believe in that lie.
Conclusion
Therefore, having analyzed our terrible enemy in Ephesians 6:12, let us submit ourselves to God and resist the devil.
If we were left to ourselves, we would fail in our battle against our terrible enemy. However, God has made provision for us in our spiritual warfare. Paul says in verse 11, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” And then again in verse 13, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Finally, James says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Let us do so in our battle against our terrible enemy. Amen.
