Let’s begin our journey to understanding spiritual warfare by reviewing Ephesians 6:10-18. The verses are very familiar. They get us thinking about how to prepare to face our foe, what we need to be wearing when we do and Who we are to rely upon.
Now, let’s look at each verse from
our passage in Ephesians.
A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
We need strength and power from
God. Whatever we think our strengths
are, whatever talents we possess, whatever our spiritual track record is, we
cannot do this Christian life alone. We
cannot do this spiritual warfare alone.
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
We need armor to do this Christian life. Why?
It’s a war we are in—pure and simple.
No other garment will do. Someday
we will be arrayed as His bride, but while we inhabit Earth, we are in a battle
zone, and we need to be outfitted appropriately. We must have armor on to survive. Why?
So we can STAND. If you are lying
on the ground, the battle is over and you have lost.
We need to put on the whole kit and caboodle. Not one or two pieces, thinking that will suffice. Paul declared we need “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) and we are to wear the “whole armor of God.” If we are outfitted correctly, we are then able to stand against the schemes of Satan.
Don’t bring your knife to a gun fight.
Don’t wear your ball gown in the trenches.
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
The armor fits the battle itself:
You must be arrayed in spiritual power, provisioned by God for this expressed
purpose, because the battle is in the spiritual realm with spiritual foes. You wouldn’t bring a crossbow when the enemy
has an AK-47. You don’t fight with your
flesh what is in the spiritual realm.
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
Paul repeats for us put on
the whole armor of God. It’s God’s armor, and we are to put it on, not our
own. We don’t accessorize His armor with
our flesh; it is His and His alone.
God invites us to put it on. We can either choose to put on what He
provides, or we can walk away (a perilous choice). Evil days are coming and we need to be suited
up before they arrive. Our “having done
all” is putting on His armor willingly and standing in His power and might. No snoozing.
No complacency. No taking a nap
behind the tent. Armored up and
standing. That’s what He expects of us.
Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.
Again, Paul says,
“Stand.” A fallen soldier is either
dead, MIA, or wounded. A fallen solider
is now out of battle, and this is part of Satan’s game plan. Being
properly armored allows us to withstand the onslaught. Though we may take many hits, we will still
be standing.
How? We possess God’s strength and His mighty power. Where? We stand only on His truth. Truth provides the only sure footing, for no matter how the winds of warfare blow, truth takes a beating and keeps on ticking. Why? Because you are standing in Christ.
- He is The Truth: "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)
- He is The Rock: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." (Matt. 7:24)
Jesus is the only solid ground upon which we stand.
- "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." (Ezek. 36:26-7)
- "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." (Luke 6:45)
The Word says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." (Prov. 4:23 NIV) Good advice. A guarded heart is a protected heart. You are not just protecting your own; you are protecting His, for He dwells within you. His heart in you is far too precious to not protect.
For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.
People who stand need shoes. People who sleep can afford to be
barefoot. A soldier must be booted up, for
the mission of declaring the Good News of Jesus Christ requires movement when
ordered to do so. So, standing or
marching, you need shoes. Nikes will do
for battle, for Nike in Greek means, “victory.”
Flip flops? No.
In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
Faith is not just your
response to God’s lovely offer of grace.
It is your shield that you wave around you, showing your enemy that you
are serious. The armor is on you; the
shield is around you. The bigger your
faith, the larger your shield.
A dinky shield means an arrow or two will get
passed it. Upgrade. Faith itself is a gift, so ask for more, and
trade up to a larger shield. Your shield
will grow in proportion to your faith and your knowledge of the Word. Less will get by that greater shield and you
will feel bolder as you go forth.
But you must stay strong in Christ to wield
it. Faith not only protects, it
extinguishes. How so? Your faith says, “No!” to Satan’s lies and to
those who perpetrate his agenda.
You are
clothed in righteousness because of Christ’s finished work on the cross. You respond with faith by actively moving
your shield and flashing it before the enemy.
Your faith protects you from all sides when the arrows of lies, deceit,
temptation and condemnation come flying in.
Faith: Don’t
leave home without it.
Faith: Don’t
go to war without it.
Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
A blow to your head can be
fatal and down you go. A blow to your
mind is where you believe the enemy’s lies, fall into deceit, yield to
temptation or wallow in condemnation.
All or one of these can be fatal to your ability to stand and down you go.
Your salvation is your covering. You have been adopted into God’s family as
His son or daughter because of Jesus’ sacrifice. He paid the price so you could enter in God’s
presence, cleansed of your sin and made right with God. You are covered in the blood of Jesus and
it’s a powerful covering.
To insure that the foe doesn’t get too close, mightily
wave that sword at him. The Word of God
is the weapon of choice in spiritual warfare.
Jesus used it to vanquish Satan in the wilderness. Take a lesson from the Master.
But you must know the Word. You read the Word and the Word reads
you. So, with the SPIRIT + WORD, you get S/WORD.
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Pray. All the time. Every chance you get.
In other words, continuously monitor the
intel from HQ. Listen for Jesus’ voice
and run everything you hear by His Word.
His voice and His Word will never contradict each other. A soldier out of touch with his Commanding
Officer is a soldier in danger. So, persevere.
Fight the good fight. In other
words, STAND.
But how do you STAND?
It's simple: S.T.A.N.D.: Spiritually Trained And Not Defeated. Training for warfare is everything. But we equally need to know that Satan is a defeated foe. We are training not to gain ground, but to stand on what Jesus already won for us on the cross. What did He do on the cross? He defeated sin and death:
- "'O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?' The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 15:55-57 NIV)
So, the ground we stand on is given to us by Jesus. His blood secured it and we stand on it. He fought and defeated the enemy on the
cross. Satan is a vanquished foe, although
he will try to convince you otherwise. (Remember,
he’s a liar, so whatever he tells you is automatically false.)
God Himself is arrayed in His Helmet of Salvation—if we
follow Him, how can we dress any less?
His foe is our foe, and His battle is our battle. By dressing in His armor, we will have the
wisdom in Christ to follow orders and carry out His desires:
- "Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head…" (Is. 59:16-17 NIV)
We’ve establish that we need to gear up. Not for a run to the market but for each day
we wake up and face the challenges ahead. His grace awaits us as we rise to go forth:
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.” (Lam. 3:22-24)
What’s next? You need to
know who you are. You will then practice
with this knowledge.
You will learn what you are not.
You will learn Who God is, and what He is not.
You will again practice with this knowledge.
You will learn who Satan is, and what He is not.
We will learn what Satan’s ultimate goal or endgame is.
You will see what God’s gear is, what your gear is, and how the
two are not compatible.
We will then follow Jesus through the Gospels, seeing how He
conducted His encounters with evil.
We will then use Joshua, Chapter 6, as our guideline to taking
down a stronghold.
The Word of God will be our sole guide. We are going to stay focused on Scripture,
for it alone guides us as we face our foe.
But we must put it into practice for us to be effective warriors:
Excited? We have a new journey ahead! Out of the desert into being a soldier! Let’s go!
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