(from Renaissance Church Pulpit Series, Feb 2, 2003, Chico, CA)
Ephesians 6:10-18
Mike Chenevey
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:10-18
There are tough times all around us. Sometimes these times touch us personally, sometimes generally, and sometimes they pass us by. I officiated at a funeral yesterday for a man who died seemingly too early. Tough times come and go. Right now, some of us are in the midst of tough times – physically, financially, time-wise, family-wise, work-wise. The world is in tough times right now, with grief over the space shuttle Columbia disaster, war looming in Iraq, and terrorist activity increasing around the world, and even here in the US, we are expecting and preparing for more high profile attacks.
What I want to address in this message is personal. The tough times that inevitably come to us and affect us personally. Times when we need to stand firm. In the Scripture reading, the Bible calls these “our struggle.” We face struggles.
Have you ever faced a situation where it seems all hell is breaking out against you or your family? Times when troubles break out all over? Many times troubles are like bananas – they come in bunches! Some of you may feel like this is your life! Have you ever had your “good” car break down, the kids get really sick, and medical bills pile up higher than your budget could handle? That’s my life right now! Some of you have deeper struggles to face.
I want to give God’s perspective on our struggles this morning. Sometimes we are so myopic – we have tunnel vision, and can’t focus on anything but the issues at hand. Sunday mornings at Renaissance, I want to continually refocus you all on God’s plan; God’s perspective of your issues.
God knows our struggles. He sees it all, and He knows our troubles. He knows the troubles we have had, presently have, and will have in the future. And He has given us a manual – the manual of life – to help us out. If we follow the manual, we will have the means to overcome the struggle. I am not talking about something inhuman – to overcome and be victorious continually. I don’t believe that is possible as long as we are on earth, and not in heaven. We know that God’s will is not always accomplished here on earth as it is in heaven. What I am talking about is being able, after you have done all you can, to stand firm.
In Ephesians 6:10-18, God gives us a very unique perspective on our struggles and He provides a plan on how to overcome and stand strong in the midst of chaos and evil. I am going to give you five things to glean from this passage. When you understand and apply each of these things, you will be able to stand. You will not fall, and you will not be overcome. We all need this information right now!
- That we struggle is a given, and God is fully aware of it
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when (not if) the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.” The Bible is clear that evil days will come. It’s just a matter of time. But we do not always understand the nature of the attacks. They are not just general attacks on humanity. But specific attacks on each of us personally, in our own context.
It is interesting that Paul the Apostle, who wrote the book of Ephesians, begins this passage with war-oriented language:
“Put on the full armor of God” (v. 10). Armor is used by soldiers as personal defensive equipment when offensive maneuvers fail. Paul then uses a term more aptly applied to the sport of wrestling – “our struggle” (v. 12). The word brings to mind two individuals wrestling each other in hand-to-hand combat. You see, the enemy’s attacks are personal. He rarely uses long-range missiles to get to us. He hits us one-on-one where he knows we are weak.
Here is a hang up that we all face in varying levels: we think that if we were ideal Christians, we would not have to struggle. Our finances would be in perfect order and we would be blessed givers (I met a man once whose goal was to make so much money that he could give 90% of his income away and still live comfortably!). If we were ideal believers, we would never lie, cheat, steal, or look lustfully at the opposite sex. If we all worked hard enough, all of our relationships would be blessed or at least tolerable. We would get up every morning, and say, “Good morning, Lord!” And not, “Good Lord, it’s morning!”
Well, the good news is, as we follow the master, Jesus, we are on the right path to relieving the big struggles. But the bad news is, we will always struggle in some areas.
- The source of our problems is with the devil and his cohorts
God knows that we struggle, and we are encouraged to be strong and take a stand. But what is the nature of this struggle? Who do we wrestle with, or who is our enemy? The devil doesn’t just come out and attack us outright; that would be too obvious. He subversively uses people to do his work.
Have you ever had someone just hate you for no reason? Treat you bad, or do something to you that was not deserved? And perhaps you have wondered, what did I do? Kick his dog? Call his momma names? No, of course not! So why the attitude?
The other day, I was driving along highway 99 south, toward the Butte College exit, sailing along at a good clip (around 60 mph) in my sleek, sort of silver-looking 1984 Toyota Corolla hatchback. I actually came upon another driver going slower than I was, so I decided to pass. No one was visible in the passing lane for miles behind me. So I made my move. All of a sudden, this rocket powered, monster truck-drivin’, flame throwin’ woman comes streaking up behind me, probably doing twice my speed. She, of course, had to slow down for my “silver flame.” Well, that really got her upset. I can’t read lips, but I am sure she was speaking words I don’t normally use. She gestured inappropriately at me with certain fingers on BOTH hands! Well I finally got around the slower driver, and got into the driving lane. She roared past like a rocket. About a mile down the road, I saw a rare form of roadway justice. A highway patrolman just happened to be waiting over the next hill, and he pulled her over. I waved as I passed by.
The Bible tells us that as believers, the struggles we continually have with people are not ultimately with the people themselves. If they don’t have God on the throne of their life, guess who has access to use them as he will? That’s right, the devil; Satan and his cohorts (the forces of evil in the spiritual realm). These poor folks are but pawns, allowing every evil thing to flow through them. Our struggles against these humans are spiritual in nature. We need to look beyond the physical things to the things we cannot always see with our eyes.
The Bible talks about this in Ephesians 6:
“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.”
Similarly, we do not fight with physical weapons, but spiritual ones:
“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:4-5
- The spiritual forces of evil are far greater and more powerful than us
The Scripture I just read tells us that the spiritual forces of evil we wrestle with are very powerful. I don’t know about you, but when I first read this passage when I was younger, it scared me. I read that “rulers, authorities, powers, spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm” were out to get me! That sounded immensely beyond what I envisioned was my capacity to handle or fight against such things.
For many people, the concept of “forces of evil” seems more theatrical than reality. They write off the devil or satan as the imaginary rantings of skewed Bible thumpers. But this is not a fictional Star Wars episode; it is reality and it is clearly represented in the Bible as something we must take seriously. Some people have asked me, do you really believe there is a devil? Jesus taught about the devil, and I believe Him.
So we must take seriously the fact that there is a spiritual realm; a heavenly realm populated with both angelic, God-favored beings and evil forces who do not do God’s bidding. Evil forces are in a continual struggle with mankind to rob, kill, steal, lie, and bring all kinds of terrible things to the earth.
“But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” Rev 12:12
So we have to get to the point that we not only acknowledge that these forces exist, and that we should take the battle seriously, but we also need to acknowledge that we, in and of ourselves, are not strong enough to take them on. We need help. God’s help.
- We do what we can do in our own sphere of influence to abort the enemy’s attacks
“after you have done everything, to stand.” This tells me that we have a job to do. It may seem small in comparison to what God’s part is in the battle, but we have a part to play in the overcoming of evil.
Since we know that the enemy attacks us through other humans in personal, hand-to-hand combat, we must make sure that we live our lives without fault or blame. Lives of integrity and honor, without hypocrisy.
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place”
The Belt of Truth has to do with the way we fight against lies or falsehoods. The devil has been called the “father of lies”:
“He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” John 8:44
So one of the ways the devil fights against us is to use deception, falsehoods. Knowing this is his method, we should strive to avoid falsehoods. Whenever we lie to get through a difficult situation, perhaps to avoid facing the truth, or to avoid being held accountable for some dumb thing we have done, we buy into one of the devils schemes to trap us. Make no mistake, he will expose our hypocrisy one way or another.
The Breastplate of Righteousness has to do with living rightly, without cause for accusation or blame. We can live a life of integrity and holiness with God’s power. At our work, for instance, we should diligently account for the time we are being paid for and honor our employers. In our finances, we should live righteously. Tax season is upon us, and what greater time for the enemy to tempt us to be deceptive in how we report our incomes. Do we claim all that we have received? No under the table exclusions? God will bless our finances as we live financially righteous. I have met believers who seem outwardly pious and full of the Spirit, but yet they were cheating on their taxes. Is that how God would have us live? We should live blameless lives, above reproach in all areas.
“take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
What is a Shield of Faith? Faith, or trust in God for all things, is what we use to counter the mistrust sown by the forces of evil. Faith begins with our thought life, and it is here where the devil attacks first. “Flaming arrows” are thoughts of mistrust, unbelief in God. Yet faith says, even though my situation looks impossible, with no way out or past, I will trust God for a miracle.
“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints”
Here, the Sword of the Spirit is key. How can we have salvation or any true knowledge of God and His plans without understanding the Word of God? The Word of God is the primary offensive weapon God gives to us. With our knowledge and understanding of the Word of God we can wage war proactively. The more knowledgeable and the better our ability to apply the words of God in various situations, the more victorious we will be. This is one reason why I went to seminary; my calling as pastor/teacher demanded it. I wanted to understand as much as I could about Scripture and its implications and applications.
So we do what we can, but ultimately in order to stand firm, we must rely on God’s power.
- Only when we put on “God’s equipment” and rely on His power can we stand against these overwhelming odds
This equipment the Apostle Paul talks about – swords, shields, helmets – does not belong to us. The Bible is clear that we are to “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” And, “put on the whole armor of God.”
All these things have their source and power in God, not in us. We don’t own them, but we work with God in employing their power and authority in our lives, that we might over come evil.
We could not have truth and righteousness without God’s power in our lives. Similarly, we cannot have the Shield of Faith, or the Helmet of Salvation, or be able to know and apply the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) without His power.
To summarize:
- We must first acknowledge our struggles
- We must see that our enemy is not people (flesh and blood), but the devil and the forces of evil in the heavenly realms
- We must acknowledge that the forces of evil are far greater than us
- We must do what we can (“having done everything”) to live righteously and truthfully, by faith, understanding God’s Word
- And we must understand that we can take our stand with God’s power
