Dr. Bradford Reaves
Crossway Christian Fellowship
Hagerstown, MD
www.mycrossway.org
View this sermon at: https://mycrossway.churchcenter.com/episodes/147557
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.
Last week we entered into the final section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. This portion of Scripture famously uses the metaphor of a soldier’s armor to describe the believer’s warfare. We call it the armor of God and it speaks into the reality of the believer’s life. (Ephesians 6:11–13)
John Stott in his book The Cross of Christ, wrote, "It is impossible to read the New Testament with being impressed by the atmosphere of joyful confidence which pervades it, and which stands out in relief against the rather jejune (superficial) religion that often passes for Christianity today. There was no defeatism about the early Christians; they spoke rather of victory...For if they spoke of victory, they knew they owed it to the victorious Jesus...It is he who 'overcame,' 'has triumphed,' and moreover did it 'by the cross'
Though Satan is a vanquished enemy, the war between God and Satan has not diminished over the centuries, it has intensified. That war is over every man’s soul and Satan is not going to take a day off. There are literally millions of souls around the world who are in the grasp of Satan.
Among the greatest schemes of Satan in the world to win the battles over the souls of men is the deception in the church that there is no battle to fight. Satan will subtly impair you through lethargy, indifference, and lukewarmness. Satan wants country club churches with comfortable Christians. I look around America today and I would say he is doing a pretty good job.
My only fear for Crossway Christian Fellowship is that this becomes the case for us. The greatest tragedy that could ever happen to us as a church is that all of us come and ‘enjoy’ our worship and go about life indifferent to the battle that is raging. So the question is do you see what is going on in your life, our community, our schools, and our country as warfare? Not a war against Democrats vs Republicans, Liberals vs Conservatives, Bosses vs. Employees, Husbands vs. Wives, or may I even say Right vs. Wrong, but the events of our day are a result of a tremendous spiritual war that is going culminate with the Church’s Rapture and the triumphant return of Christ. If we get that, then our entire outlook of the world around us should not be lukewarm, but passionate for the things of Christ.
If there is a battle, then there must be an enemy of Christ. Unless we know our enemy we cannot win the battle. Our greatest enemy is Satan. It is not the world and it is certainly not each other! This brings me to our text.
We do not wrestle with flesh and blood. We wrestle against… That word “wrestle” is a struggle. It is a full-on contact with and full engagement with the powers of Satan. This is not a passive type of battle. This is not something that is happening somewhere else and we’re just going about our business. Our enemy is working in the spiritual realm that is directly influencing the physical. Paul tells us that victory is certain when we stand against such battles in the armor of God.
Satan wants nothing more than for us to start arguing, battling, and warring against each other, mistaking each other for the enemy which he just sits back and laughs. The fact that Paul uses the same verb “against” before each category tells us these are rankings or a hierarchy of different forces in the same satanic army. And Paul tells us that we are to first be strong in the Lord and in his might. There is a Divine paradox that happens here because, in order to be strong, we must strip ourselves of our own strength and commit ourselves to the strength in Christ.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. (2 Corinthians 10:4)
I. The Strength of Our Adversary
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood... (Ephesians 6:12)
The word “wrestle” or pale gives us a visual clue to the battle we are engaged in. Wrestling is not passive - it is a full-contact sport. In ancient Rome, Wrestling was vigorous and sometimes a battle to the death. There were no rounds or timeouts. It was sometimes combined with boxing in a sport called Pankration meaning “with all might and force.” The point is, that Paul’s characteristics of our lives as Christians are not passive, relaxed, or on cruise control. Instead, we are in a match of strength and endurance.
?Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:12)
“Victory in the Christian life is not the absence of conflict but the presence and protection of God in the midst of conflict.” - William MacDonald
There was a boxer who was being pummeled in the ring by his opponent. Blow after blow his adversary left him bloody, swollen, and painfully dazed. The trainer, trying to encourage him between rounds, kept telling him, “You’re doing great. That bum is barely touching you.” To which, the boxer replied, “Then you better keep an eye on the referee, because something out there is killing me!” No amount of smooth talk could camouflage the reality, no psychobabble could assuage the pain. In the same way, when you and I realize the opponent, we are able to go win the battle that affects every area of your life. (Jeff Seaman, Sermon Central)
We are in a war, but there is no reason to lose and there is no reason to be afraid as a believer bought with the blood of Christ and dressed in God’s armor. The battle is fierce, but God is greater. Satan can lay no claim to you, but do not deny that he is real, do not cast aside the vastness of his army
II. The Spiritual Nature of Our Adversary
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. (Ephesians 6:12)
The Bible tells us there’s a real devil. He is the anointed Cherub in Isaiah 14, and Ezekiel 28. He was thrown out of heaven. Revelation 12 says “like a great dragon he fell and with his tail, he swept a third of the angels with him.”
Jesus believed in him. He talked with him in Matthew 4. He talked about him in John 14, The apostles all taught about him. He tempted Eve in Genesis 3. He tempted Christ in Matthew 4. He perverted God’s word in Matthew 4 and he opposed God’s work in Zachariah 3. He hindered God’s servant in 1 Thessalonians 2 and he hinders the gospel in 2 Corinthians 4. He snares the wicked in 1 Timothy 3 he desires the nations in Revelation 16. He’s an angel of light in 2 Corinthians 11. He fights with Michael in Jude. He brought sin into the world in Genesis 3 and he now has the whole world lying in his lap in 1 John 5.
He has personal titles. The Bible calls him in Ezekiel 28 the anointed cherub. In John 16 the prince of this world. In Ephesians 2 the prince of the power of the air. In 2 Corinthians chapter 4 he’s called the God of this age and in Luke 11:15 the prince of demons. 52 times he’s called Satan which means adversary. 35 times he’s called devil, diabolos which means slanderer. He is described by our lord in John 8:44 as a murderer and as a liar. He works overtly and covertly with doctrines of devils and with seducing spirits. (MacArthur)
He is a deceiver with subtle with lies, heresies, and false doctrine. He perverts the Word and prevents it from reaching the hearts of men. He has men stand in pulpits who deny the authority of Scripture, deny the deity of Christ, deny salvation by grace, deny the second coming, deny the judgment, and instead teach a lifestyle that damns. He infiltrates the church to tempt us with self-reliance, entertainment, business, and weakness.
The real enemy is not flesh and blood. The real enemy would love nothing more than to disrupt our unity and convince us that the real problem is other people. The truth is spiritual warfare is not about the struggle of man against man. It is not political, social, economic, or even religious. It is not a struggle between human beings; it is a struggle within human beings.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. (Psalm 34:7)
We can’t lose because is he greater than any weapon or power of Satan. We may lose some skirmishes over sin along the way, but the battle belongs to the Lord whose name is El Elyon and El Shaddai.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37)
III. The Army of Our Adversary
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. (Ephesians 6:12)
When we talk about the devil being great and powerful we must be careful not to overstate the case. Because he is a spiritual rather than a material being, many people are inclined to think of Satan as more or less the equal of God. It is true that he is a counterpart to the greatest of the unfallen angels: Michael or Gabriel. But he is not a spiritual counterpart to God. God is God. Every other being has been created by God and is therefore limited for the simple reason that he or she has been created. (Boice) We need to understand that Satan is a limited being. He is finite in his presence, strength, knowledge, and power. He is not. He is a fallen angel with an army of demons that are awaiting their eternal death by our victorious Lord.
Satan executes his attacks through a force of demons that are so vast it is beyond our ability to comprehend. We should know that there is a rank and structure in the demonic realm. If you go back and read verse 12 we see that Paul uses the word “against” four different times in reference to the forces of Satan. Against rulers, against authorities, against cosmic powers, and against spiritual forces. All of these forces, under Satan’s control, stand behind the powers of “this dark world.” This world and its systems are under Satan’s rule.
?In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)
IV. The Believer’s Response to Our Adversary
?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. (Ephesians 6:13)
Paul tells us our response to the forces of darkness is to stand firm in God’s armor. It’s the same word Paul uses in James 4:7 “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” and 1 Peter 5:8-9 “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion...9 Resist him, firm in your faith” In other words, make sure above all things, your faith is unshakable. It is able to withstand all the enemy can throw at you financially, in your job, with your health, and in your family. Stand. Stand with the armor of God firmly in place.
William Gurnall, the Puritan divine wrote more on the armor of God than anybody. In his 1,200-page study of The Christian in Complete Armour, Gurnall exposes Satan’s craft in knowing when Satan attacks. It is at these times that we should be ready to stand firm:
1. When the Christian is newly converted. Satan sees new believers as easy prey to lead astray in the joy of their new life. The newness of the Christian life is quickly met with temptation and failure. Stand firm.
2. When the Christian is afflicted. When things go well the devil frequently leaves us alone. But when we go through times of affliction, the devil is often quick to suggest that God has abandoned us. Stand firm.
3. When the Christian has achieved some notable success. This was Peter’s experience. Peter had responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Jesus then went on to speak about his coming death and resurrection. But Peter, riding high on his good performance, tried to persuade Jesus that his death was unnecessary and occasioned his stinging rebuke: “Get behind me, Satan!” (v. 23). When you experience victory, Stand firm.
4. When the Christian is idle. “Idle hands are the devil’s hands,” says a proverb. There are times when we say, “I just want to take it easy for a while and do less ministry.” Ministry keeps us close to the Word, other believers, and God’s hands. Stand firm.
5. When the Christian is isolated from others who share his faith. By ourselves and away from other Christians the faith wanes and compromise easily sets in. Stand Firm.
6. When the Christian is dying. Death is a time of physical weakness and Satan uses physical weaknesses to afflict us. In these hours of pain and our bodies on death's door, Stand Firm.
The question of all of this is, who is seated on the throne of your life? Whose strength are you relying on in life? Yours or the Lord Jesus Christ? Everything we need to overcome the attacks from Satan is found in Christ alone.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
