Eph. 6:10-13,
“Put On The Full Armor Of God, Our Struggle Is Not Against Flesh And
Blood”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at verses 1-9 of chapter 6.
1.1.1. In that
study, we finished up Paul’s admonitions about submission and the Christian as
we discussed the fact that children are to be in submission to their parents
and slaves are to be in submission to their masters.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at verses
10-13 of chapter 6.
1.2.1. In our most
recent studies in the book of Ephesians, we have seen that Paul first
admonished us as Christians that we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit as
this is a prerequisite for applying any of the admonitions of this book (or the
Bible in general), and then he admonished us as Christians as to our proper
roles of submission. Paul realized that
being victorious in spiritual warfare without first understanding and applying
the Biblical understanding of the filling of the Holy Spirit as well as
submission would be a venture in futility.
A person must be filled with the Holy Spirit and properly applying the
principles of submission in his life if he is to be victorious over the
spiritual forces of wickedness that we battle against in this world.
1.2.2. We are now
at Paul’s final teaching and admonitions for this book and they happen to
concern spiritual warfare. It is appropriate
that Paul conclude this epistle with a discussion of spiritual warfare and how
to fight a spiritual battle because the reality in this world is that when we
as Christians attempt to live for the Lord and apply in our lives His precepts
and commandments we are going to face an ongoing battle with spiritual
forces. It is important that we as
Christians learn about spiritual warfare and the nature of the spirit world and
forces because it is true what someone once said, “To be forewarned is to be
forearmed.”
1.2.3. According to
Barna Research’s latest polls of Americans, though 69% believe in God, 60% of
all people do not believe in the Devil as a living being but rather see him as
a mere symbol of evil. We can see from
this that one of Satan’s main ploys is to get people to not believe in him as a
living being. If people can be convinced
that there is no such thing as evil angels who tempt and seek to deceive people
then they are not going to be on their guard and thus it will be easier to
deceive them. Conversely, when a person
realizes that he has an adversary in the Devil then the Lord uses this
information to bring him to see his need for God and the Lord will then draw
the person to Himself.
1.2.4. We
Christians must recognize at the outset that we are living in the midst of a
huge spiritual battle zone. When we look
around at this world we need to understand that God and His angels and the
Devil and his angels are fighting each other all around us. The battle zone is earth and the battle is
for the souls of men and women.
1.2.5. I have
shared this before, but at the age of 19 when I first came to know the Lord I
didn’t realize what this Christian life was going to bring. I somehow had the idea that when a person
became a Christian that he was going to have an easy and wonderful life and
that everyone around him, especially those who know him well, would want to
hear about the wonderful things that God had done in his life in bringing him
to salvation through Christ. However,
soon after coming to know the Lord I suddenly began to realize that though I
did have a joy, peace, and a hope that I hadn’t had before, that there were
always difficulties and complications that arose whenever I stepped out to serve the Lord. Things seemed to always go awry whenever I
got serious about commitment to the Lord or whenever I attempted to share with
someone else about my newfound faith.
1.2.6. There are
numerous places in both the New and Old Testament where you can get a glimpse
of what this spiritual battle that is going on for this world is like and how
that our being used by the Lord is always going to involve resistance and a
battle with demonic spirits, including the following:
1.2.6.1. In 2 Kings
6:8-19, the king of Aram wanted to attack and conquer the king of Israel but
God kept telling Elisha what the plans were which the king of Aram had planned
and Elisha would tell the king of Israel and thwart the king of Aram’s
plans. Then, the king of Aram came and
attempted to capture Elisha and surrounded the city of Dotham where Elisha was
staying, and when a servant was worrying and freaking out about what the king
of Aram might do to them Elisha prayed that the Lord would open the eyes of
this man to see the battle that was being waged in the spiritual realm about
them right then, “8 Now the king of Aram was warring against
Israel; and he counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place
shall be my camp.” 9 The man of God sent word to the king of
1.2.6.2. In the tenth
chapter of the book of Daniel we read that Daniel had prayed to the Lord that
he might understand what would happen in the latter days and we read in Dan.
10:10-14 how that an angel that was sent from God to Daniel finally came to him
to reveal these things but was hindered for twenty one days from coming to him
by a demonic angel until Michael the arc angel came and delivered the angel so
he could speak with Daniel, “10 Then behold, a hand touched me
and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said to me, “O
Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you
and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken
this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, “Do
not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on
understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words
were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13 “But the
prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then
behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left
there with the kings of Persia. 14 “Now I have come to give you an
understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the
vision pertains to the days yet future.””
1.2.6.3. In the
sixteenth chapter of the book of Acts, we read that as Paul and Silas were
attempting to preach the gospel in the city of Thyatira, having first won a
business woman named Lydia and her household to the Lord, we read that Paul was
hindered in his preaching by a certain slave-girl who was possessed by a demon
until in Acts 16:16-18 we read that Paul cast the demon out of the girl, “16
It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl
having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit
by fortune-telling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying
out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are
proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” 18 She continued doing
this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the
spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it
came out at that very moment.”
1.2.7. There are a few foundational principles that
need to be understood when entering into this study on spiritual warfare:
1.2.7.1. Jesus has
victory over every one of our enemies and even over all of the forces of
nature.
1.2.7.1.1.
When we study Jesus’ earthly life from the gospel
accounts we are constantly brought to see Jesus’ power over all, as this chart
which was derived from the following internet site : http://www.jesusanswers.com/bible/miracles.htm
|
Jesus’
Miracles |
|
|
The water changed into wine |
John
2:1-11 |
|
Healing of a nobleman’s son |
John
4:46-54 |
|
Healing of a sick man |
John 5:1-9 |
|
Healing of a man who was born blind |
John
9:1-41 |
|
Raising Lazarus |
John
11:1-44 |
|
The hundred and fifty three fish |
John
21:1-11 |
|
Walking on the sea |
John
6:19-21 |
|
Feeding five thousand hungry people |
John
6:5-13 |
|
Freeing a man’s soul which was possessed by demons |
Luke
4:33-35 |
|
Healing of Simon’s mother in law |
Luke
4:38-39 |
|
The
enormous catch of fish |
Luke
5:1-11 |
|
Healing of a leper |
Luke
5:12-13 |
|
Healing of a man who was paralyzed |
Luke
5:18-25 |
|
The restoration of the withered hand |
Luke
6:6-10 |
|
Healing of
a centurion’s slave |
Luke
7:1-10 |
|
The raising of a widow’s son |
Luke
7:11-15 |
|
Calming the storm |
Luke
8:22-25 |
|
Freeing Legion from evil spirits |
Luke
8:27-35 |
|
Healing of Jairus’ daughter |
Luke
8:41-56 |
|
Healing of a woman with hemorrhage |
Luke
8:43-48 |
|
Freeing a boy’s soul which was seized by demons |
Luke
9:38-43 |
|
Healing a dumb demon possessed man |
Luke 11:14 |
|
Healing a crippled woman |
Luke
13:11-13 |
|
Healing a man with dropsy |
Luke
14:1-4 |
|
Healing ten lepers |
Luke
17:11-19 |
|
Healing of a blind man |
Luke
18:35-43 |
|
Healing of a slave’s ear |
Luke
22:50-51 |
|
Healing of two blind men |
Matthew
9:27-31 |
|
Healing of a dumb demon possessed man |
Matthew
9:32-33 |
|
Healing of the Canaanite girl who was seized by
demons |
Matthew
15:21-28 |
|
Feeding four thousand hungry people |
Matthew
15:32-38 |
|
The money in the fish’s mouth |
Matthew
17:24-27 |
|
The withering of the fig tree |
Matthew
21:18-22 |
|
Healing a deaf and mute man |
Mark
7:31-37 |
|
Healing a blind man |
Mark
8:2-26 |
1.2.7.1.2.
The names of Jesus as found in the scripture (found at
the web site mentioned above) also reveal His power and abilities:
|
NAMES
OF JESUS |
||
|
TITLE |
MEANING/SIGNIFCANCE
OF NAME |
BIBLE
REF. |
|
Son of God |
The special relationship of Jesus to God |
Mark 1:1 |
|
Son of Man |
The human identity of Jesus |
Matthew
8:20 |
|
Son of David |
Jesus is descendant of King David |
Matthew
15:22 |
|
Word |
Jesus revealed God |
John 1:1 |
|
Lamb of God |
Jesus is the sacrifice for world’s sin |
John 1:29 |
|
Christ |
The Greek for ‘Anointed One’ |
Matthew
16:16 |
|
Savior |
The one who saves |
John 4:14 |
|
Rabbi/Teacher |
Jesus taught people about God |
John 1:38,
Mark 5:35 |
|
Author of life |
One who gives life |
Acts 3:15 |
|
Alpha and Omega |
The first and last letters of the Greek alphabets, meaning that Jesus is the beginning and the end |
Revelation 1:8 |
|
Lion of |
A title of the Messiah |
Revelation
5:5 |
|
King of Kings/Lord of Lords |
The ruler of all people |
Revelation
19:16 |
|
Bright Morning Star |
The one who gives light |
Revelation
22:16 |
|
Word of God |
Jesus is the voice of God |
Revelation
19:13 |
|
Holy and Righteous |
Attributes of Jesus |
Acts 3:14 |
|
Head of the Church |
The leader of all Christians |
Ephesians
5:23 |
|
Immanuel |
God with us |
Isaiah
7:14 |
|
Prince of Peace |
Jesus will bring everlasting peace |
Isaiah 9:6 |
|
Wonderful Advisor |
Jesus will always rule with honesty and justice |
Isaiah 9:6 |
|
Mighty God |
Jesus is supreme |
Isaiah 9:6 |
|
Eternal Father |
Jesus is eternal |
Isaiah 9:6 |
1.2.7.1.2.1.
By the way, when you read your Bibles on a daily basis,
as I hope that you do, don’t just be mechanical about your reading or be
satisfied just to get through it. As you
read your Bible think about what the passages tell you about the Lord and his
power and ability for your life. Think
about how you can apply these scriptures to your present situations and then
trust God and the power of His might in the midst of these situations.
1.2.7.2. Jesus in His
death upon the cross conquered and rendered powerless the Devil who is now a
vanquished foe awaiting eternal judgment:
1.2.7.2.1.
In Col. 2:10-15, we read about how that on Calvary’s
cross that Jesus conquered the Devil and that now He is head over all rule and
authority in all creation, “10 and in Him you have been made
complete, and He is the
head over all rule and authority; 11 and in Him you were also
circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body
of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried
with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in
the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 When you were
dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you
alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having
canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which
was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the
cross. 15 When
He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them,
having triumphed over them through Him.”
1.2.7.3. When we as
Christians go out into this world as an ambassador for the Lord we need to
understand that we go out with the authority of Christ , as we see from these
verses:
1.2.7.3.1.
When Jesus sent His disciples out on intern mission’s
trips He gave them His authority to heal diseases and to cast out demons, as
seen in Luke 9:1, “1 And He called the twelve together, and gave
them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.”
1.2.7.3.2.
When Jesus was preparing His disciples for His departure
He began telling them about how He had appointed them and thus they would go
forth in His Name, and how that at that future time He would answer all of
their prayers prayed in His Name (or authority), as seen in these verses:
1.2.7.3.2.1.
John 15:16, “16 “You
did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear
fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the
Father in My name He may give to you.”
God has chosen each of us who are
Christians to be His ambassadors and thus we go out into this world in His
authority as His representative.
1.2.7.3.2.2.
John 14:13, “13 “Whatever
you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the
Son.”
1.2.7.4. We
Christians must have assurance of our salvation in order to be victorious in
the Lord, and the scriptures promise us this, including the following:
1.2.7.4.1.
John 10:27-29, “27 “My
sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28
and I give eternal life to them, and they will
never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than
all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
1.2.7.4.2.
1 John 5:11-13, “11 And the testimony is
this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He
who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have
the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the
name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
1.2.7.4.3.
Romans 8:38-39, “38 For I am convinced
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth,
nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”.
2. VS. 6:10
- “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the
strength of His might.” - Paul
admonishes us to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might
2.1.
Indicating that this next teaching on spiritual
warfare contain his final admonitions, Paul begins here by writing, ‘Finally.’
2.2.
Paul admonishes us as Christians to be ‘strong in
the Lord’ and that our strength should not be that which comes from
ourselves and our own will power and determination but rather from ‘the
strength of His might.’ In order to
be victorious in battle against spiritual forces, the Lord must strengthen us
with His might and power.
2.3.
There used to be a teaching that was very prevalent
and sometimes even today you hear it, and it states that a Christian needs to, “Let go and let God.” The idea in this teaching is that our
problems as Christians are the result of our struggling and striving in this
life. If we would then just let go of
our life and let the Lord do everything through us then we would be victorious
and our life would be simple and easy.
Again, the idea is that we as Christians are not to do anything but just
sit around and let the Lord do it all.
This is a call to inaction.
However, this teaching contradicts every admonition in the scriptures
given to God’s people, and the scripture (both Testaments) is full of
admonitions for us, as these examples show us (note the high-lighted words that
require action on our part).
2.3.1. Philippians
2:12, “12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation
with fear and trembling.”
2.3.2. Ephesians
5:18, “18 And do
not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.”
2.3.3. Romans
13:12-14, “12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near.
Therefore let us lay aside
the deeds of darkness and put
on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in
carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in
strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the
flesh in regard to its lusts.”
2.3.4. 2 Timothy
2:22, “22 Now flee
from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those
who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
2.3.5. James 4:7, “7
Submit
therefore to God. Resist
the devil and he will flee from you.”
2.3.5.1. By the way,
notice the order here when it comes to having victory of the Devil. We first must submit to God and then we are
to resist the Devil. If we attempt to
resist the Devil without first submitting to God we shall never be victorious
because we have no ability to successfully wage spiritual warfare in the
strength and will power of our own flesh.
Satan always wins that battle because he is a very powerful angel and we
are no match for him unless the Lord fights for us.
2.4.
The Christian is not told in this verse that the Lord
will do everything for him, but that the Lord will make him strong. The Christian is admonished here to be ‘strong
in the Lord.’ It is the Christian’s
responsibility to see that He is filled with the ‘strength of His might.’
2.5.
We have already looked at the miracles that Jesus’
performed and of the ways in which the scriptures reveal that God’s armies are battling
for God’s people in the conflicts that we find ourselves in serving the Lord in
this life. The scriptures constantly
reveal to us just how great is the ‘strength of His might.’ There is nothing that the Lord cannot perform
and He will show Himself mighty on our behalf when we trust our lives
completely to Him and look to Him to empower us. In some ways you might say that the Lord will
show Himself strong on our behalf because His reputation is at stake if He does
not do so since we are at that point standing upon His promises from the
scripture.
2.6.
When we Christians look to the Lord in faith to be our
strength then He will answer our prayers and fight for us just as the Lord did
in Old Testament times:
2.6.1.1. In 1 Samuel 17:44-47
before David killed the Philistine giant he announced that this day the power
of God would be revealed and that all would see that the battle is the Lord’s
for David was coming against Goliath in the power of the armies of heaven, “44
The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your
flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” 45 Then
David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a
javelin, but I come to you
in the name of the Lord of hosts,
the God of the armies of
2.6.1.2. In Zechariah
4:1-6 Zechariah saw a lampstand and the angel of the Lord told Zechariah that
this lampstand was to reveal to Zechariah that it was not by might, nor by
power but by God’s Spirit that he would have victory, “1 Then the
angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened
from his sleep. 2 He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I
see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and
its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which
are on the top of it; 3 also two olive trees by it, one on the right
side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” 4 Then I said to
the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, my lord?” 5 So
the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know
what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 6 Then he said to me,
“This is the word of the Lord to
Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by
might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord
of hosts.”
3. VS 6:11 - “11 Put on the full
armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the
devil.” - Paul admonishes us to put on
the full armor of God in order to be able to stand firm against the schemes of
the Devil.
3.1.
Here we see yet more words that requires action on our
parts as Christians, Paul writes to us to:
‘put on’ the full armor of God.
3.2.
Every piece of our armor we have been given as
Christians is important for us to wear, therefore Paul writes that we are to
put on ‘the full’ armor of God.
Can you imagine if you were a soldier sent to battle for our country and
you took with you your M-16 rifle but left your ammunition clip at home? Can you imagine putting on your combat
uniform and heading off into battle but forgetting to take your helmet with
you? Every piece of your gear is
essential to being able to successfully fight in a battle and in the same way
every piece of the armor of God which we Christians have been given is essential
to utilize in the spiritual warfare that we have to fight in this world as we
serve the Lord.
3.3.
Note here that it is as we put on the full armor of
God that we will then be able to ‘stand firm against the schemes of the
devil.’ Again, God does not do
everything for us and we are not called to just sit and wait for God to do
everything. We as Christians are called
to action, we have to be proactive and put on the full armor of God.
3.4.
We could spend an entire study just talking about the
ways in which the ‘schemes of the devil’ occur in our lives as
Christians. We won’t do that but it is
sufficient to say that in light of all that we have thought about so far that
the Devil is going to do everything that God gives him the authority to do in
order to keep us from being successfully used by the Lord. All who serve the Lord are going to face
temptations, trials, testings, hindrances, persecutions, etc., because we have
a real foe and the Lord is going to give the Devil some leeway to try to hinder
us from being fruitful for the Lord.
Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:4 about how as soldiers of Christ
that we can sometimes become distracted from focusing upon the things that God
has called us to do, and this comes about from the Devil, “4 No
soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so
that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” In Hebrews 12:1 we are told that in this race
that we are in that we must lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so
easily can entangle us, “1 Therefore, since we have so great a
cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and
the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race
that is set before us.” Satan has so
many schemes which he can work against us.
3.5.
It is critical
to our spiritual walk to realize that we have an enemy who is constantly
pondering us and dreaming up ways in which to ensnare us by tempting us to sin
and do some act that will cause us to stumble in our faith and witness, and
thus keep us from being used of God.
Satan is also trying to keep every unsaved person from understanding the
gospel message and placing his faith and trust in Jesus Christ as his Lord and
Savior, thereby receiving the gift of eternal life. More than anything the Devil would like to
take as many people on this earth to hell with him as he can.
4. VS
6:12-13 - “12 For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces
of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take
up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day,
and having done everything, to stand firm.” -
Paul tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but
against powers and world forces of this darkness
4.1.
In this world, we Christians are in the midst of a war
that is really being waged between God and His angels and the Devil and the
fallen angels. Though we have a big part
to play in this war as well as responsibilities before the Lord, it is the Lord
who fights against the wicked spirits around us.
4.2.
These verses reveal to us that there is an animating
force behind everything that affects peoples’ lives in this world. People who tempt or hinder us in our
Christian walk are being animated by the Devil to do so, whether or not they
realize this or not.
4.3.
We need to realize that people who try to hinder or
persecute us are just pawns in the hand of the Devil and by realizing this we
should be able to have some compassion on those people in our lives.
4.4.
It is important for us as Christians to realize that
behind every persecution which we may face is the Devil himself who is trying
to somehow discourage or discredit us from fulfilling the Great Commission, and
the calling and ministries that the Lord has for our lives.
4.5.
Paul again repeats what he has previously said, that
because we Christians realize that we are in a spiritual warfare and that there
is an animating force behind everything that occurs in our lives in this world,
it is just so much more imperative that we ‘take up the full armor of God’
for it is only as we take up this armor that we will ‘be able to resist in
the evil day’ (when we are tempted and tested) and ‘having done
everything to stand firm.’
4.6.
I want to make one final comment about these verses
and spiritual warfare, and that is that it is imperative that when we realize
that we are going through spiritual warfare as people and circumstances are
attempting to hinder us from being used by the Lord, that we ‘stand firm.’ I tell people sometimes that if you are going
through spiritual warfare that this is a good thing for it indicates that you are
doing something right and that God is intending to use your life. Knowing this fact encourages us to ‘stand
firm’ and watch the Lord get the final victory (even though the Devil might
have won some of the battles). A coward
cuts and run when he sees the battle being waged, may it never be said of us
that we are cowards and ashamed to stand up for Jesus in this world.
4.7.
In our next study we will look at the individual
pieces of the armor of God that God has provided for us to fight these
spiritual battles we are in.
5. CONCLUSIONS:
5.1.
As we consider this study and how that it applies to
our life, lets be committed to being Christians who are strong in the Lord and
in the strength of His might.
5.2.
Lets recognize the futility of trying to wage this war
against wicked spirits in our own strength and will power, in the power of the
flesh.
5.3.
Lets remember to recognize daily that we are in a
spiritual warfare and that our struggles are not against flesh and blood but
against wicked spirits in high places.
5.4.
Lets remember that we need not part of the armor that
God has provided for us to fight this war, but all of it. Lets daily put on the full armor of God.