Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual Warfare Ephesians 6:10-18

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THE CHRISTIAN’S WARFARE READ IN YOUR BIBLE: Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 to 13.

KEY VERSE: “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power” Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10.

AND IN MAORI: “Kia kaha i roto te Ariki, i te mana hoki o töna kaha” Epeha 6:10.

As a Christian, does it sometimes seem that you are in a battle between good and evil? If so, it is because you are! If you find yourself in this type of conflict with the desire to do what pleases the Lord it is a sign you are a true Christian. Do you remember that in our first lesson in this series, we thought of Ephesians as being the parallel to the Old Testament book of Joshua? In Joshua the people of Israel found that the Land of Canaan, which was the territory of potential blessing for them, was also the territory of warfare. When we, as Christians, enter the spiritual territory in Christ where we are blessed “with every spiritual blessing” (chapter 1, verse 3), and we seek to “live a life worthy of the calling we have received” (chapter 4, verse 1) we find that this same territory is also one of warfare — spiritual warfare. As soon as you became a Christian you entered this very real battle against the forces of evil which are bent on overcoming you and spoiling your efforts to live for God. Having shown us our WEALTH in Christ and having outlined what should therefore be our WALK (or the way we should live) in Christ, Paul now calls us to battle and introduces us to the enemy. At the same time, he reveals what we need to protect us from the onslaught and teaches us how to be victorious soldiers in the Lord’s army rather than defeated victims of the enemy. The word “finally” (in verse 10) implies “what remains to be done”.

The blessings God has bestowed upon us and the way we should live as Christians has been set before us. But there is one important thing wleft to be done if we are going to be able to put into practice what we have learned: We need to “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” The original Greek language implies we are to “continually allow ourselves to be strengthened in the Lord by His mighty power”. All the resources the Christian soldier needs are found in our Lord Jesus Christ and as we abide in Him His mighty strength will be imparted to us. The measure of His mighty power is seen in chapter 1, verses 19 to 23, where it speaks of His resurrection and exaltation. But, more than this, in chapter 2, verses 5 and 6 we see that not only has Christ been raised from the dead and exalted to the highest place by the power of God, we too have been raised from being dead in sin to life with Christ. The same power, which has accomplished all this, is now available to us to “live a life worthy of the calling we have received” and to stand against our enemy, the devil and his demonic horde.

The Lord has provided His soldiers with adequate armour, but we must put it on “so that we can stand against the devil’s schemes” (verse 11). The words “put on” indicate that we are to put it on permanently and never take it off. Not only so, but we must put it on in its entirety. The Greek word for “full armour”, panoplia, signifies that it is a complete package and will only be effective if the whole suit of armour is “put on”. If one piece is missing we leave ourselves open to the enemy. When we initially received Christ as Saviour, God put on us His divine righteousness and the garments of salvation (2 Corinthians 5, verse 21), but the armour of God is something we have to put on. Only true Christians have the ability to put on this armour and to use it correctly. We must realise we are to stand against “the devil’s schemes”. The commander-in-chief of the opposing forces is Satan himself. He is a master of ingenious strategies (the Greek word here is methodeias from which comes the English word method). Satan has methods for ruining our lives and service for God and we must not be caught unawares by his deceptive devices. In order to stress the need for us to “put on the full armour of God” and so that we will not under-estimate the opposition, in verse 12 Paul shows us the nature of the enemy. We are not fighting against a human enemy who can be seen. But we are fighting against an evil, unseen foe of immense power, ruthlessness and cunning. Behind the tangible world in which we live, is a tremendous army of supernatural, demonic beings under the control of Satan himself, who manipulate it for their own evil purposes. Their activity is seen on every hand. They are the true rulers, authorities and powers who control “this dark world”, seeking its destruction and opposing all that is of God. It is with these “spiritual forces of evil” in the unseen world of spiritual reality that the Christian is at war. When we grasp something of the nature and scale of the power arrayed against us, we also realise how foolish it is to seek to go against the enemy not properly prepared, and so the instruction is repeated in verse 13 to “put on the full armour of God”. No soldier, who takes his profession seriously, would endeavour to go into battle improperly equipped, and the Christian soldier must not do so either. God has provided the necessary armour, but we must put it on and use it. “The day of evil” refers to those times when the onslaught of evil is at its fiercest. If the Christian soldier is properly armed, at such times he will be able to stand and defeat the forces of evil.

THE CHRISTIAN’S ARMOUR READ IN YOUR BIBLE: Ephesians chapter 6, verses 14 to 18.

KEY VERSE: “Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Ephesians chapter 6, verse 11).

AND IN MAORI: “Käkahuria iho ngä mea whawhai katoa a te Atua, kia taea ai e koutou ngä mahi tinihanga a te rëwera te tü ki te riri.” (Epeha 6:11).

Having been instructed to “put on the full armour of God” Paul uses the illustration of the heavily armed Roman soldier to show what he means. Once again the command to “stand firm” is repeated, but we will only do so if we put on the full armour of God. The first item mentioned in the soldier’s panoplia is the belt. It was to be “buckled” or tied tightly around the waist. Worn in this way it signified readiness for action. To slacken the belt was to go off duty. The belt served an essential purpose for it gathered in the short tunic and helped to keep the breastplate in place. From it hung the scabbard in which the soldier’s sword was sheathed. The Christian soldier must be girded about with “the belt of truth”.

We are to know and be controlled by the truth of God, for it is only God’s truth that can dispel the devil’s lies. Christ Himself is “the Truth” (John 14, verse 6), and a personal knowledge of Him and His Word is essential. But more than this, our lives are to answer to the truth in that we are to be people of integrity and honour, without hypocrisy. In Psalm 51, verse 6 we are told that God requires truth in the inner being. We are to be characterised by truthfulness, sincerity and consistency in the world in which God has left us to be witnesses. A Christian whose word or actions are not reliable is a Christian who does not have on “the full armour of God” and is leaving himself or herself open to the attack of the enemy. The soldier’s breastplate was that part of his armour which covered the vital organs — in particular, the heart. For the Christian soldier the breastplate of righteousness is closely related to the belt of truth. When we first repented of our sin and received Christ as our personal Saviour, God put on us His own righteousness (2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 21), but here, in this verse, the righteousness spoken of is practical righteousness which is to correspond with His credited righteousness. In other words, if God has made us righteous or made us acceptable to Himself in Christ, then we are to be people who live rightly in all we say and do. In Christ we have the ability to “put on” this practical righteousness. Next comes the correct footwear (verse 15). After the breastplate had been fitted, the soldier then put on his strong army boots. The Jewish historian, Josephus,

described them as “shoes thickly studded with sharp nails” so as to ensure a good grip. The military successes of both Alexander the Great and of Julius Caesar were due in large measure to their armies’ being well shod and thus able to undertake long marches at great speed over rough terrain. “The Gospel of peace” is so termed because, through Christ, it brings peace between the believing sinner and God who is holy (Rom. 5, verse 1, Ephesians 2, verses 14-15, Colossians 1, verse 20). It provides the readiness (the foundation or the ground) that the Christian soldiers need in their spiritual warfare. But they must have a good grip of it: They must know what they believe and have no doubt as to its effectiveness in their own lives because of the change it has made, and that it is what others need as well. Only then will they be truly ready to carry the good news of the Gospel of Christ to others. Paul showed such conviction when he wrote to the believers in Rome, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Roman 1, verse 16). He knew personally both the power and the peace of the Gospel in his own life and he had seen it operating in the lives of many others. “In addition to all this” (verse 16) implies that what has gone before is only part of the armour and is not sufficient to repel the onslaught of the enemy. Any soldier in Roman days entering the sphere of battle without his shield would be foolish indeed. Equally, the Christian soldier needs his “shield of faith”. Here the emphasis is on faith in action. It is our dependence upon and trust in God and His Word. It is going to meet the foe with our trust not in ourselves, but in the living God. The shield carried by the Roman soldier was a large oblong or oval structure known as a “scutum”. It was usually made of two layers of wood glued together; about two and a half feet wide by four feet in length (76cm x 122cm) covered with hide and bound with iron. Opposing forces often targeted the shields of their enemies with flaming arrows trying to set them on fire and thus cause the bearers to discard them.They would then be exposed to the enemy’s fire. But the “shield of faith” used by the Christian soldier extinguishes all the “flaming arrows of the evil one”, thus making them ineffective.

As we shelter behind the shield of faith as we trust in God and obey Him we are safe from Satan’s fiery attacks.

THE CHRISTIAN’S ARMOUR READ IN YOUR BIBLE: Ephesians chapter 6, verses 17 to 24.

KEY VERSE: “Take the helmet of salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” (Ephesians chapter 6, verse 17).

AND IN MAORI: “E mau hoki ki te ora hei potae, ki te hoari hoki a te Wairua, arä ki te kupu a te Atua.” (Epeha 6:17).

Two more items are necessary to complete the soldier’s panoplia— his full armour. The previous items are described as laid out ready for the soldier to take up and put on. But the helmet and the sword would be given to him by an attendant. These two items would be handed to him and he would need to accept them. This is implied by the word “take” at the beginning of verse 17. The helmet was vital because it protected the head, and the“helmet of salvation” or “the helmet which is salvation” reminds us that the Christian soldier needs to accept and live in the power of the salvation God has given to him. He must live in the good of it, enjoying not only deliverance from the penalty of sin, but also deliverance from the power of sin, and content in the knowledge that one day he will be delivered from the very presence of sin. The sword was the Roman soldier’s only weapon of offence. Paul has in mind the “gladius” or short twoedged cut and- thrust sword used by the Roman soldier for close combat. The Christian soldier’s only weapon of offence is “the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God”. There are two primary Greek words that describe Scripture which are translated “word” in the New Testament. The first, logos, refers principally to the total inspired Word of God and to Jesus, who is the living Word. Logos is found in John 1, verse 1, Luke 8, verse 11, Philippians 2, verse16; Hebrews 4, verse 12 and other verses. The other word is “rhema” and it is the one used in this verse. Basically it means “an utterance” or “a saying”, and it refers to a particular Word or saying of God. The Bible is the armoury containing many swords, and to use the sword of the Spirit is to use the right “saying of God” or the right Scripture at the right time. It is being able to use the appropriate Word of God in whatever situation the enemy may bring against us. We need to use the sword of the Spirit in countering temptation, or times of difficulty, in witnessing to others and in counselling. To be able to do so effectively we must have a working knowledge of the logos or whole Word of God so that the Holy Spirit can bring to our minds the right portion and use it according to His divine purpose. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit always work together and are never in conflict.

While the previous verses show the complete panoplia of the Roman soldier as imagery to describe the Christian’s armour, there is one more item necessary for the Christian soldier: It is found in verse 18 and is that which must pervade everything else.

It is prayer. As with any soldier, the Christian soldier must remain in contact with “Headquarters”. We are to “pray in the Spirit” (in line with His will and prompted

by His guidance) on every occasion, not just when we get into difficulty. We can only do this effectively if we are “controlled by the Spirit” (see chapter 5 verse 18).

It was when Joshua and the people of Israel failed to consult the Lord that they lost the battle at Ai (Joshua 7, verses 2 to 5) and were deceived by the Gibeonites (Joshua 9). Prayer takes many forms and we are to make use of all kinds of prayer.

It can be private or public, intercessory (praying for others), or supplicatory (making requests), praising or thanksgiving, urgent or agonising — whatever form is necessary, we are not to neglect it. (Read Philippians 4, verses 6 to 7).

Closely related to prayerfulness is watchfulness. Because of the deceptive nature of the enemy we are to be alert not only for ourselves but also for each other. Read 1 Peter 5, verse 8). Thus, part of our prayer life is to be employed in praying for our fellow believers — “for all the saints”. Paul realised his own need for the prayers of God’s people. Because he was “an ambassador for the Gospel” even though at the time he was “in chains”, his great desire was that whenever he had occasion to speak for the Lord and to declare the Gospel, he would be given freedom of speech in order to say the right words so that his hearers, whether they were the soldiers who guarded him or the emperor himself, would understand. He wanted his fellow Christians to pray that he would have the courage and wisdom to say what God wanted him to say. It was because of his faithfulness in proclaiming the Gospel that he had been arrested, and Paul wanted to remain faithful. For this purpose he requested the prayers of God’s people. This is an eloquent reminder that, although every Christian is in the battle against Satan and his evil hosts, there are those who are in the front line who need special prayer that they may have the necessary strength from God to stand and be faithful in the heat of the battle whatever the cost. In his concluding remarks, Paul mentions a man who was a great example of a faithful Christian and servant of God – Tychicus. For this reason Paul relied on him to take this letter to the various churches including Ephesus. Tychicus was a close friend and assistant to Paul. He was with Paul during his journey from Macedonia to Jerusalem, and later helped Paul when he was imprisoned in Rome, before Paul sent him to Ephesus. Often unknown or overlooked Tychicus was certainly highly regarded

by Paul, who referred to him as a “beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord”. We can all be like Tychicus if we are thankful to God for His blessings and seek to “walk worthy of the calling we have received”.

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Put on your Armour