“Stand Firm!”
Ephesians 6:10-18
Focus: In his concluding exhortations to the Ephesians, Paul calls Christians to be strong and stand firm in their battle against evil.
Function: To call Christians to active service against the evil of our world by trusting in the power of God.
Just imagine the hot sun blazing down on the barren landscape of the Middle East. The commander had told his people that they would be moving out in three days to begin their mission to take the city by force. Two Special Forces Operatives were sent into the city to scope it out – to find out if the people within the city were really as afraid of the impending battle as the commander had been led to believe. They should have been. This was going to be no ordinary battle in a very unconventional war with very unconventional weapons, unlike any ever seen!
And as the army no doubt anxiously prepared for invasion, Joshua, commander of the Israelite army, heard from Central Command as recorded in Joshua chapter 1.
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be
strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you
may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you
may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong
and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (NIV)
Like a high ranking General to his troops, as they were about to face war, God wanted to exhort Joshua and his men to ‘Be Strong & Courageous’ that He would be with them through it all! What reassuring words those must have been to men about to march into harm’s way!
Paul has the same thing in mind in the text that ___________ just read from Eph. 6.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against
the devil’s schemes. (NIV)
Remember, as we’ve moved through Ephesians over the last three months, we’ve seen Paul describe the wonder and privilege it is to be in Christ AND how he has implored his readers to live lives worthy of that call of Christ!
In 4:1, he urged them to ‘walk worthy’ of their call in several ways . . . 1) by preserving unity; 2) by being different from the world
around them; 3) and by being pure- avoiding any hint of sexual immorality! In 4:21, he began emphasizing that part of this call
involved ‘submitting to one another’; we submit to one another as a family of God, in our marriages, in our families, with our parents and in our work places. And now, as he begins to wrap it up, he sets forth both an effective summary and a great challenge! It’s a call to ACTION!
As if preparing for battle, Christians need to be prepared for what the world has in store for us! ‘Right living’ doesn’t happen by accident! It takes diligence and training! It takes a ready knowledge of the weapons of battle! And it takes a healthy respect for the enemy!
Paul is saying in this text, “Folks, don’t you know, there’s a war on!”
This is a Call to Battle!
Why are Christians called to ‘be strong’ and in vs. 14 to ‘stand firm’? Because there’s a war on and Christians are to stand up and fight; not sit idly by and watch the enemy take one victory after another! There’s a war on– but its not a war over land or
politics or power . . .it’s a war for the souls of men and women. The word for ‘struggle’ in vs. 12 is a word used nowhere else in the N.T. but is used in other writings to refer to wrestling and can be used to mean ‘fight’ or ‘battle.’
Paul doesn’t want to leave the wrong impression, living the Christian life (walking worthy of our call) CAN be a difficult struggle! The world doesn’t necessarily help us out very much! We hear the words, ‘avoid any hint of sexual immorality’ but then we’re bombarded with sexual images on our televisions and movie screens. We hear the words, ‘husbands love your wives’, but then we see our co-workers openly cheating on theirs; We hear the words, ‘children, obey your parents in the Lord’ but kids are taught to be adults long before they’re ready; and parents can be tempted to be their kids friends before being their parent. The call to the Christian life; the call to Christ; is a radical Counter-Cultural Call! And it’s a struggle!
This is a Call to Know the Enemy!
Any good military strategist will tell you that part of winning a war is learning all you can about the enemy. The last thing you want in battle is any surprises!
12 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. (NIV)
Here we find out who our enemy is NOT . . . & you might be surprised. NOT ‘flesh & blood’- a euphemism for mankind. Our good soldiers this very moment are in Iraq and Afghanistan tracking down terrorists and defeating what by all accounts is a truly
terrible and evil, repressive regime. I’m SO proud of them and am constantly lifting them up in prayer as they face the enemy on the battlefield. But, you know what? Ultimately, Saddam Hussein, Usama Bin Laden, the Taliban, the Republican Guard . . .
they aren’t the root of evil . . . they aren’t REALLY the enemy!
The REAL struggle, the REAL war, is against the ‘spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ Don’t misunderstand! When I hear ‘spiritual’ I tend to think ‘not real.’ I think in terms of ‘real’ vs. ‘spiritual’. That’s FAR from the truth! Something that is described as ‘spiritual’ in Scripture is FAR more REAL than the physical! So, just because something is spiritual and not
physical doesn’t make it any less real! Quite the opposite! Did you know that as many as 75% of people who ‘claim’ to be Christians, don’t believe that the devil is real? 52% of ‘conservative Bible believing’ Christians don’t believe Satan to be a real being. Satan is real! Don’t take my word for it- take Paul’s. And he says that the devil is out ‘scheming’. Satan is real; he is
crafty; he is deceitful- the ‘father of lies’; and he is evil! We mustn’t forget that!
As Christians, we spend an awful lot of energy battling each other & unbelievers in our world . . . but we must remember that not only are fellow Christians not the enemy, unbelievers are NOT the enemy either! They are ‘prisoners of war’ so to speak; taken captive by the wiles of the devil. Now, I understand they CHOSE to do so (I don’t mean to imply some kind of ‘devil made me do it’ theology) But this is to remember that Satan is at the root of this evil that is present in our world today. . . and just because we can’t see him with our physical eyes doesn’t mean he isn’t real! This is a REAL war with a REAL enemy . . .
And Satan is that Enemy! He is that old serpent from Garden of Eden who tempted Adam & Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit.
He is the father of lies who told Jesus ‘Jump and I’ll give you all of this Kingdom.’ He is the prince of this world who rules through deceit and subterfuge. He is the roaring lion looking for someone to devour!
There is no doubt, the devil is an evil and destructive force against which we must be vigilant . . . BUT on the other hand, we
must remember that he has already been defeated!
This is also a Call to Victory!
There is NO DOUBT about this war! The Outcome is certain! We may not know how long each of us will be engaged in this war; either until the Lord comes back or we go to be with him. We may not know how each battle will go; whether we will win every one or whether we’ll sometimes fall and allow Satan a victory in our lives. But we DO KNOW THIS! Satan will be and has been defeated ONCE & FOR ALL!
Notice, Paul doesn’t exhort the Ephesians to ‘be strong because of their faith’; or ‘b/c of their works’; or ‘b/c of their position as Christians’ . . . Rather, he reminds them of where their POWER is from that assures them of this victory! ‘Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power!’ That’s why he prayed way back in Chpt. 1 that they would KNOW his power . . . “the power that is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at
his right hand in the heavenly realms.” (1:19,20) THAT power that is from the Lord is what empowers the Christian to ‘walk
worthy’; to be strong, to stand firm and to defeat the enemy! The power is not within US, it is within CHRIST who has won that
victory for us!
1 Cor 15:55-57
55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (NIV)
Finally, it is a Call to Arms!
A Military has got to be equipped with the latest and best weapons of battle in order to be fully prepared for battle! I’ve been
intrigued watching t.v. coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom at the new weapons of war. In ‘91, I learned new words such as SCUD and PATRIOT missiles. This war was been even more. There are Bradleys and MOABS and Weapons of Mass Destruction. There are the bunker buster bombs and the B-1 bombers. There are protective suits against chemical warfare and
our men & women in uniform rely heavily on all of this equipment. In the old days, armies relied on horses and chariots . . . but the old warrior, David, got it right when he wrote the Ps 20:7-9 “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 8 They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. “(NIV) Ultimately, Christians win the victory in THIS war because our trust is in the Lord!
That’s the point of his exhortation to put on the full armor of God!
Eph 6:13-17
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.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (NIV)
The armor can be understood as the armor that God provides us; or the armor that God himself wears; or even the armor that is
God himself! That’s interesting, isn’t it? Notice the equipment again, ‘truth’, ‘ righteousness’ – characteristics of God, himself!
We are to clothe ourselves with God! To put on His characteristics! These are the weapons of war on which we can FULLY
RELY!
Well, how’s the war going? How’s it going for you?
Have you put on this armor? Are you reflecting the characteristics of God in your stand against the enemy?
This is not a conventional war, by any means! Its not a war that we’re used to fighting. The enemy is deceitful, wiley, and crafty!
And He will do anything, will stoop to any level; will try every dirty trick in the book; violate all Geneva Conventions . . . in the
battle for YOUR SOUL!
But YOU have a God who is more powerful than even the devil! While you may not be able to stand firm against the devil on
your own, you don’t have to! You can stand firm in the power of God! Christ has already defeated him; the victory is ours; the
outcome is certain!
Are you ‘in Christ’ this morning? Have you taken your STAND at all?
If you’ve never committed your life to Christ, turned away from your sin, and had it washed away in the waters of baptism . . .
Our commander in Chief is calling you today to STAND UP and be counted! He wants YOU more than Satan does and he will
also do anything to win you (like sending his son to die on a cross so that your sins could be forgiven.)
We’ll look at Paul’s final words next week . . . but today hear his concluding exhortation today loud & clear . . .
“Be Strong!”; “Stand FIRM” . . . God will be with you regardless of what you face in this spiritual battle!
Will you STAND . . . as we sing this invitation song?
