How to be Victorious in Spiritual War
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
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On June 4th, 1940 Winston Churchill strode into the House of Commons. As he took the floor, it was his intent to prepare his countrymen for a possible invasion. Hitler’s forces were rumored to be setting their sites on England because of the colossal losses in France.
In particular view was the Dunkirk retreat. To be sure, England had just pulled off one of the greatest rescues in history. They had saved over 330,000 soldiers from the shores of France. But despite the remarkable achievement, Churchill did not laud the accomplishment. In a brutally honest fashion, he described it as a horrendous defeat. The “Miracle of Dunkirk” (as it was called) was overshadowed by the reality of that Hitler’s advance.
In his address Churchill did not hold back in describing just how awful it was. Many who heard the speech found the record of loss terribly depressing. Yet despite the dire tones which he recounted, Churchill reiterated the undefeatable resolve of his Majesty's government. He ended that speech with the immortalized words,
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”
It is said that Churchill's words were not so much for his parliament or the people of Great Britain. It is said that these were the words he spoke for Americans to help draw them into the war and come to the aid of their allies.
Whatever political purpose those words served, they still speak of the tenacity, the firmness, the courage to fight on. Evil must be opposed and the war must be won. Despite the hardships and the pain, the people of England must continue to engage the battle and stand their ground
Today you and I come to the final portion of this great epistle. And we are called to fight.
We began this letter by contemplating the great spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. We’ve had, as it were, a rapture into the highest realms as we have been contemplating all the blessings that are ours in Christ.
We then were called to walk. We came back to earth, as it were, and were reminded that God’s grace compels us to radical earthly living. But Paul pushes us one step further. He reminds us that we are at war.
The world in which we live is not a hospitable one. The culture around us is by no means our ally. Though Paul has called us to build godly homes, he reminds us that these homes are constantly under attack. Our souls face foes that desire nothing more than our unconditional surrender.
As Paul concludes this letter, we are reminded that we are engaged in a war. We are fighting a spiritual war. And we must not give in. We must not give ground. We must fight and we must stand.
And the good news is that we can. I want you to understand that Paul is not simply giving a rallying cry to whip up the ranks to fight. Paul is not merely giving a pep talk or even calling us to arms. He’s actually telling us how to be successful. We can not just fight, but we can win.
So that is our subject matter for this morning. We are talking about Spiritual warfare and how we come out on top. And I want you to notice that we can win this war, because God has given us everything to we need to win. To win a war you need superior strength, superior intelligence, and superior equipment. And that is exactly what Paul says we have.
When it comes to the Spiritual War that we fight, how is it that we can be victorious? What do we need in order to win?
I. Superior strength [10]
Paul begins by saying, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”
It is true that there have been forces which were weaker in standing that have warded off those of superior might. But these are typically the exceptions to the rule. These little forces are usually superior in some other way which enables them to rule the day.
The general principle is that superior power wins. Your defenses are all that much more unassailable and the offensive initiatives all that much more penetrating.
I once heard that one the United States military is the best in the entire world. We are not only the number 1 military force, we are actually greater than the next 9 countries combined. We simply have the ability to squelch the enemy by mere force of our strength.
You can think about the battle between David & Goliath in this regard too. When you read this story, you recognize that Goliath didn’t stand a chance. I once heard a sermon where the minister said that David could have slung a marshmallow at Goliath and it would have been the same result. His point was that, despite all the appearances, the battle belonged to God. David was so well fortified with strength that it made him almost immortal.
So it is no wonder that our passage starts off by calling us to be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. Spiritual war requires substantial power
The beautiful thing is that there is power to be had. There is a storehouse of infinite reserves from which we can draw. It is God himself, who is inexhaustible in power. And the Lord dispenses his unconquerable help to us in liberal quantities.
This is where the means of grace are so necessary. Because that is the way in which you come to gain this strength. You don’t have to try to tap into it. You do not have to climb some mountain in order to gain it. The Lord makes it readily available to you. All you have to do is pray to him and ask him for it. He gives this strength as you meditate upon him and seek him for it. As you sing songs which exalt him, you can find yourself being renewed.
One of the best ways to do that is by remembering your baptism too. This is something that is often neglected. Many people don’t even know that they can do this. They are oblivious to how their baptism is a tool for greater empowerment.
We often think of baptism as a one time thing that we leave in the past. But that’s not actually the way God intends us to look at our baptisms. Our baptisms are to be reflected upon and improved throughout our lives. It is to be a source of encouragement and strength to us all through our days. We can say we “were baptized.” But it is better to say, “I am baptized,” recognizing it is still a present reality.
Let’s say that you are dealing with worries in your life. Some big life changes are coming your way and you are uptight about it. It potentially can consume you and throw you into a tizzy. When you feel that urge come on, what are you to do? You are to gain strength to trust God and believe that all things will work out for your good. That might be hard to do. That’s why God has given you your baptism. You can go back and remember that this is God’s claim on your life. In baptism God promises to be our God. He takes us to be his people. In doing that our worries should melt away because it should remind us that he’s taking care of us.
In remembering that, you can gain strength. That can calm your fears. You can begin to realize that this fretting is silly and you can begin to feel the peace that all the details will work out just as they were intended.
That’s just one way to do it, of course. As I said, you can gain this strength in many ways: through prayer, meditation and reflection on the truth of who God is, by singing or fellowshipping with the saints.
Whatever the means to it, what you are doing is tapping into the greatest resource known to man. You equip yourself with what is needed to move forward with your obedience. Even though it may seem impossible form that human point of view--it might be terrifying, trying, or difficult--but as you put your trust in God and depend upon him all the strength that you need is supplied.
That’s the first step to winning the war. Superior strength. Strength of a supernatural sort. Spiritual strength for spiritual feats of obedience.
But superior strength, be it ever so needful, is not the only thing God supplies. God knows that wars also require superior intelligence.
II. Superior Intelligence [11b-12]
History shows us that military might alone does not guarantee victory. Battles are won, not just with power, but with knowledge. If you have good intelligence, then you can determine how best to go against your enemy. And you can stand, even with smaller forces.
Take the Revolutionary War. Britain was the military superpower. How is it that a bunch of farmers and merchants were able to defeat them? Much of it was because the Americans had a network of informants. The Sons of Liberty watched British movements and relayed that information quickly to their leaders. They were able to use those intelligence reports to organize, defend, and attack.
If you know who is attacking, how many of them there are, and how they are coming at you, then you can be well equipped to stand your ground against your enemy.
And that’s what you find in this passage. In verses 11-12 Paul gives us a full intelligence report on our enemy. He tells us of their overwhelming forces and their basic tactics.
Look at verse 12. In this verse Paul gives us an overview of who it is we are up against. Paul says, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
The picture Paul gives is that of overwhelming forces. They are powerful and they are legion.
I wouldn’t doubt that the Ephesians would have a good idea what Paul meant. If you flip over to Acts 19 you can read about the seven sons of Sceva. There in Ephesus was a man who these men attempted to cast a demon out of. And we are told that they attempted to do it by means of the Jesus of whom Paul spoke. The evil spirit responded by saying, “Jesus I know and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And he proceeded to beat the tar out of the 7 young men.
The only thing that may be said here is that Paul recognizes that there are multitudes of such spirits.
But this verse helps us to understand the reality of the spiritual world around us and the real threat that they pose. One of the great pitfalls of our age is we tend to deny the existence of a spiritual world. Not only do we deny it, but we also underestimate the incredible impact of it. Paul uses language here to remind us that these are not silly little beings that prance around in red tights like we see on TV. They are forces to be reckoned with.
And of course, the reason he says this is to highlight all that much more the need for us to be strengthened in the Lord and his mighty power. Some of us might be tempted to neglect prayer and skip over the discipline of daily meditation on God’s word. But to do so would be to either overestimate our human capabilities or not truly comprehend the real forces that are at work around us.
The question that you should be asking yourself is, “How much strength do I really need?” And the answer is enough to withstand the onslaught of this behemoth force.
But you’ll notice he not only gives us a run down of the overwhelming forces which we are up against, he also gives us an good idea of the tactics that they use.
For this you need to back up to verse 11. Notice what Paul says. He says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
The latter half of this verse is very informative. For it tells us how it is that the devil attacks us. He uses schemes. It is a strategy not so much a frontal attack or physical brutality (like the sons of Sceva experienced); it is a system of deception. It is the lies that they tell and the cunning they employ to tempt us and get us to sin.
They will attempt to convince us that surely this is okay. Its to your advantage. It’s perfectly justifiable. It isn’t really all that bad.
When it comes down to it, Satan’s forces are simply running one gigantic disinformation strategy.
We’ve just come through a through study of the Christian family. We see this all too clearly in this realm. We as fathers are tempted to think that we don’t really need to engage. We work hard. We’ve had long days. We can leave the parenting to our wives.
Or on the other end. Kids, you are being fed lies. Obedience doesn’t have to be right this minute. My parents really don’t know what is best for me.
You need to remember that Satan isn’t going to pop out and start duking it out with you. He does not operate that way. He is much more covert in his attacks. He feeds you lies and encourages you to believe them. He offers these little enticements to draw you away from God. He aims at your heart, not your face.
Paul wants you to know that so that you guard your heart. Paul wants us to be as well equipped for the battle as we can. He knows that the key to winning is getting as much information as possible. Faithfulness to the Lord will be easier if we know that there is an all out barrage of lies being thrown at us.
That’s why he tells us these things. As the war rages and the day to day battles occur, we do not have to be blind or ignorant. We can be successful because we have superior strength and superior intelligence.
There’s one more item that is necessary though. As we go to war, let us not forget that we need superior equipment.
III. Superior equipment [11,13]
Twice in this passage Paul talks about the need to put on the whole armor of God. In verse 11 he says put on the whole armor of God. In verse 13 he says we must take up the whole armor of God.
I know the importance of good equipment just from my having played airsoft. When I started playing, I purchased an entry level gun. I didn’t have a lot of money to be throwing into my hobbies. So I got a rather inexpensive weapon. And it was really good. I could pick off those kids and have a good time.
But we started having more and more guys start to play with us. And what happened is that everyone started pouring more money into their equipment and purchasing better guns. The rate of fire and range that some of these things had got to be incredible. I might as well have been carrying a slingshot because it really didn’t compare.
And here in this passage we are told to take up some specialized equipment. We have an armor that we can put on that is specifically made for this spiritual war.
But what exactly does Paul mean when he says put on the whole armor of God. It’s a fun picture, but what exactly does it mean?
Well, in the next passage Paul gives an extended word on each of the parts of the armor. But here we should understand that he’s calling us to see ourselves as secure in God and his divine care.
Why do I say that? When Paul says that we must put on something, he’s saying that we need to take the characteristics of that thing and begin to live it or manifest it.
For instance, earlier in this epistle Paul told us that we need to put on the new self. That means that, since we’ve been converted and raised to a new life, we need to live this new life. We can’t keep sinning, like our old lives before Christ. We need to put on a new life in that we live differently; a life of righteousness.
In the book of Galatians Paul tells us to put on Christ. That has to do with our being righteous and living out a new life that exudes the likeness of Christ. In 1st Corinthians he says that, at the resurrection, we will put on immortality. He means that the characteristics of immortality will be what characterize our lives and we will live forever.
So when Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God, in one sense is telling us that we must live in the reality of God’s care and protection.
So we put on the armor by trusting that God’s way is the right way. We put on the armor by committing to following him and doing what he has called us to. And as we do so we trust that he will, by his sovereign power, grant us everything we need for enduring the hardships that may come along with it.
We are in the conclusion of this book. And it makes sense that this would be one of Paul’s final exhortations. For the last several months we’ve been called to obedience in a number of ways. We’ve been encouraged to be patient with one another, to forbear with each others’ sins and shortcomings. We’ve been called to sexual purity. We’ve been called to a new kind of family life.
The list could go on. But here we are called not to do one more thing. We are called to trust that God himself will see us through. We are called to remember that God is our caretaker. And all these steps that we take will not be in vain. As we make changes and do things that are counter cultural, we must do this: we must believe that the Lord is our sole security in every part.
And that is how you will stand. It is not a standing in your own power or efforts. It is God, in his grace and Spirit, enabling to to defy the hosts of this dark world.
Conclusion:
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are here reminded that we are engaged in a war. It is a war that we cannot see, but it is still a war. It is the war to end all wars.
Each day we face a blitzkrieg of demonic forces. They have mounted a siege against the most important stronghold: Our very hearts.
But God has given us everything we need in order to stand. He has given us Superior strength, Superior intelligence, superior equipment. Let us not be negligent of them. But be diligent to utilize them and pursue faithfulness to our God.
And in doing so, let us fight. Let us fight in our homes and in the streets. Let us fight at our places of work and in our church. May we not give up or give in. But may we stand against this diabolical host to pursue the obedience that pleases our God.
In particular view was the Dunkirk retreat. To be sure, England had just pulled off one of the greatest rescues in history. They had saved over 330,000 soldiers from the shores of France. But despite the remarkable achievement, Churchill did not laud the accomplishment. In a brutally honest fashion, he described it as a horrendous defeat. The “Miracle of Dunkirk” (as it was called) was overshadowed by the reality of that Hitler’s advance.
In his address Churchill did not hold back in describing just how awful it was. Many who heard the speech found the record of loss terribly depressing. Yet despite the dire tones which he recounted, Churchill reiterated the undefeatable resolve of his Majesty's government. He ended that speech with the immortalized words,
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”
It is said that Churchill's words were not so much for his parliament or the people of Great Britain. It is said that these were the words he spoke for Americans to help draw them into the war and come to the aid of their allies.
Whatever political purpose those words served, they still speak of the tenacity, the firmness, the courage to fight on. Evil must be opposed and the war must be won. Despite the hardships and the pain, the people of England must continue to engage the battle and stand their ground
Today you and I come to the final portion of this great epistle. And we are called to fight.
We began this letter by contemplating the great spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. We’ve had, as it were, a rapture into the highest realms as we have been contemplating all the blessings that are ours in Christ.
We then were called to walk. We came back to earth, as it were, and were reminded that God’s grace compels us to radical earthly living. But Paul pushes us one step further. He reminds us that we are at war.
The world in which we live is not a hospitable one. The culture around us is by no means our ally. Though Paul has called us to build godly homes, he reminds us that these homes are constantly under attack. Our souls face foes that desire nothing more than our unconditional surrender.
As Paul concludes this letter, we are reminded that we are engaged in a war. We are fighting a spiritual war. And we must not give in. We must not give ground. We must fight and we must stand.
And the good news is that we can. I want you to understand that Paul is not simply giving a rallying cry to whip up the ranks to fight. Paul is not merely giving a pep talk or even calling us to arms. He’s actually telling us how to be successful. We can not just fight, but we can win.
So that is our subject matter for this morning. We are talking about Spiritual warfare and how we come out on top. And I want you to notice that we can win this war, because God has given us everything to we need to win. To win a war you need superior strength, superior intelligence, and superior equipment. And that is exactly what Paul says we have.
When it comes to the Spiritual War that we fight, how is it that we can be victorious? What do we need in order to win?
I. Superior strength [10]
Paul begins by saying, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”
It is true that there have been forces which were weaker in standing that have warded off those of superior might. But these are typically the exceptions to the rule. These little forces are usually superior in some other way which enables them to rule the day.
The general principle is that superior power wins. Your defenses are all that much more unassailable and the offensive initiatives all that much more penetrating.
I once heard that one the United States military is the best in the entire world. We are not only the number 1 military force, we are actually greater than the next 9 countries combined. We simply have the ability to squelch the enemy by mere force of our strength.
You can think about the battle between David & Goliath in this regard too. When you read this story, you recognize that Goliath didn’t stand a chance. I once heard a sermon where the minister said that David could have slung a marshmallow at Goliath and it would have been the same result. His point was that, despite all the appearances, the battle belonged to God. David was so well fortified with strength that it made him almost immortal.
So it is no wonder that our passage starts off by calling us to be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. Spiritual war requires substantial power
The beautiful thing is that there is power to be had. There is a storehouse of infinite reserves from which we can draw. It is God himself, who is inexhaustible in power. And the Lord dispenses his unconquerable help to us in liberal quantities.
This is where the means of grace are so necessary. Because that is the way in which you come to gain this strength. You don’t have to try to tap into it. You do not have to climb some mountain in order to gain it. The Lord makes it readily available to you. All you have to do is pray to him and ask him for it. He gives this strength as you meditate upon him and seek him for it. As you sing songs which exalt him, you can find yourself being renewed.
One of the best ways to do that is by remembering your baptism too. This is something that is often neglected. Many people don’t even know that they can do this. They are oblivious to how their baptism is a tool for greater empowerment.
We often think of baptism as a one time thing that we leave in the past. But that’s not actually the way God intends us to look at our baptisms. Our baptisms are to be reflected upon and improved throughout our lives. It is to be a source of encouragement and strength to us all through our days. We can say we “were baptized.” But it is better to say, “I am baptized,” recognizing it is still a present reality.
Let’s say that you are dealing with worries in your life. Some big life changes are coming your way and you are uptight about it. It potentially can consume you and throw you into a tizzy. When you feel that urge come on, what are you to do? You are to gain strength to trust God and believe that all things will work out for your good. That might be hard to do. That’s why God has given you your baptism. You can go back and remember that this is God’s claim on your life. In baptism God promises to be our God. He takes us to be his people. In doing that our worries should melt away because it should remind us that he’s taking care of us.
In remembering that, you can gain strength. That can calm your fears. You can begin to realize that this fretting is silly and you can begin to feel the peace that all the details will work out just as they were intended.
That’s just one way to do it, of course. As I said, you can gain this strength in many ways: through prayer, meditation and reflection on the truth of who God is, by singing or fellowshipping with the saints.
Whatever the means to it, what you are doing is tapping into the greatest resource known to man. You equip yourself with what is needed to move forward with your obedience. Even though it may seem impossible form that human point of view--it might be terrifying, trying, or difficult--but as you put your trust in God and depend upon him all the strength that you need is supplied.
That’s the first step to winning the war. Superior strength. Strength of a supernatural sort. Spiritual strength for spiritual feats of obedience.
But superior strength, be it ever so needful, is not the only thing God supplies. God knows that wars also require superior intelligence.
II. Superior Intelligence [11b-12]
History shows us that military might alone does not guarantee victory. Battles are won, not just with power, but with knowledge. If you have good intelligence, then you can determine how best to go against your enemy. And you can stand, even with smaller forces.
Take the Revolutionary War. Britain was the military superpower. How is it that a bunch of farmers and merchants were able to defeat them? Much of it was because the Americans had a network of informants. The Sons of Liberty watched British movements and relayed that information quickly to their leaders. They were able to use those intelligence reports to organize, defend, and attack.
If you know who is attacking, how many of them there are, and how they are coming at you, then you can be well equipped to stand your ground against your enemy.
And that’s what you find in this passage. In verses 11-12 Paul gives us a full intelligence report on our enemy. He tells us of their overwhelming forces and their basic tactics.
Look at verse 12. In this verse Paul gives us an overview of who it is we are up against. Paul says, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
The picture Paul gives is that of overwhelming forces. They are powerful and they are legion.
I wouldn’t doubt that the Ephesians would have a good idea what Paul meant. If you flip over to Acts 19 you can read about the seven sons of Sceva. There in Ephesus was a man who these men attempted to cast a demon out of. And we are told that they attempted to do it by means of the Jesus of whom Paul spoke. The evil spirit responded by saying, “Jesus I know and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And he proceeded to beat the tar out of the 7 young men.
The only thing that may be said here is that Paul recognizes that there are multitudes of such spirits.
But this verse helps us to understand the reality of the spiritual world around us and the real threat that they pose. One of the great pitfalls of our age is we tend to deny the existence of a spiritual world. Not only do we deny it, but we also underestimate the incredible impact of it. Paul uses language here to remind us that these are not silly little beings that prance around in red tights like we see on TV. They are forces to be reckoned with.
And of course, the reason he says this is to highlight all that much more the need for us to be strengthened in the Lord and his mighty power. Some of us might be tempted to neglect prayer and skip over the discipline of daily meditation on God’s word. But to do so would be to either overestimate our human capabilities or not truly comprehend the real forces that are at work around us.
The question that you should be asking yourself is, “How much strength do I really need?” And the answer is enough to withstand the onslaught of this behemoth force.
But you’ll notice he not only gives us a run down of the overwhelming forces which we are up against, he also gives us an good idea of the tactics that they use.
For this you need to back up to verse 11. Notice what Paul says. He says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
The latter half of this verse is very informative. For it tells us how it is that the devil attacks us. He uses schemes. It is a strategy not so much a frontal attack or physical brutality (like the sons of Sceva experienced); it is a system of deception. It is the lies that they tell and the cunning they employ to tempt us and get us to sin.
They will attempt to convince us that surely this is okay. Its to your advantage. It’s perfectly justifiable. It isn’t really all that bad.
When it comes down to it, Satan’s forces are simply running one gigantic disinformation strategy.
We’ve just come through a through study of the Christian family. We see this all too clearly in this realm. We as fathers are tempted to think that we don’t really need to engage. We work hard. We’ve had long days. We can leave the parenting to our wives.
Or on the other end. Kids, you are being fed lies. Obedience doesn’t have to be right this minute. My parents really don’t know what is best for me.
You need to remember that Satan isn’t going to pop out and start duking it out with you. He does not operate that way. He is much more covert in his attacks. He feeds you lies and encourages you to believe them. He offers these little enticements to draw you away from God. He aims at your heart, not your face.
Paul wants you to know that so that you guard your heart. Paul wants us to be as well equipped for the battle as we can. He knows that the key to winning is getting as much information as possible. Faithfulness to the Lord will be easier if we know that there is an all out barrage of lies being thrown at us.
That’s why he tells us these things. As the war rages and the day to day battles occur, we do not have to be blind or ignorant. We can be successful because we have superior strength and superior intelligence.
There’s one more item that is necessary though. As we go to war, let us not forget that we need superior equipment.
III. Superior equipment [11,13]
Twice in this passage Paul talks about the need to put on the whole armor of God. In verse 11 he says put on the whole armor of God. In verse 13 he says we must take up the whole armor of God.
I know the importance of good equipment just from my having played airsoft. When I started playing, I purchased an entry level gun. I didn’t have a lot of money to be throwing into my hobbies. So I got a rather inexpensive weapon. And it was really good. I could pick off those kids and have a good time.
But we started having more and more guys start to play with us. And what happened is that everyone started pouring more money into their equipment and purchasing better guns. The rate of fire and range that some of these things had got to be incredible. I might as well have been carrying a slingshot because it really didn’t compare.
And here in this passage we are told to take up some specialized equipment. We have an armor that we can put on that is specifically made for this spiritual war.
But what exactly does Paul mean when he says put on the whole armor of God. It’s a fun picture, but what exactly does it mean?
Well, in the next passage Paul gives an extended word on each of the parts of the armor. But here we should understand that he’s calling us to see ourselves as secure in God and his divine care.
Why do I say that? When Paul says that we must put on something, he’s saying that we need to take the characteristics of that thing and begin to live it or manifest it.
For instance, earlier in this epistle Paul told us that we need to put on the new self. That means that, since we’ve been converted and raised to a new life, we need to live this new life. We can’t keep sinning, like our old lives before Christ. We need to put on a new life in that we live differently; a life of righteousness.
In the book of Galatians Paul tells us to put on Christ. That has to do with our being righteous and living out a new life that exudes the likeness of Christ. In 1st Corinthians he says that, at the resurrection, we will put on immortality. He means that the characteristics of immortality will be what characterize our lives and we will live forever.
So when Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God, in one sense is telling us that we must live in the reality of God’s care and protection.
So we put on the armor by trusting that God’s way is the right way. We put on the armor by committing to following him and doing what he has called us to. And as we do so we trust that he will, by his sovereign power, grant us everything we need for enduring the hardships that may come along with it.
We are in the conclusion of this book. And it makes sense that this would be one of Paul’s final exhortations. For the last several months we’ve been called to obedience in a number of ways. We’ve been encouraged to be patient with one another, to forbear with each others’ sins and shortcomings. We’ve been called to sexual purity. We’ve been called to a new kind of family life.
The list could go on. But here we are called not to do one more thing. We are called to trust that God himself will see us through. We are called to remember that God is our caretaker. And all these steps that we take will not be in vain. As we make changes and do things that are counter cultural, we must do this: we must believe that the Lord is our sole security in every part.
And that is how you will stand. It is not a standing in your own power or efforts. It is God, in his grace and Spirit, enabling to to defy the hosts of this dark world.
Conclusion:
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are here reminded that we are engaged in a war. It is a war that we cannot see, but it is still a war. It is the war to end all wars.
Each day we face a blitzkrieg of demonic forces. They have mounted a siege against the most important stronghold: Our very hearts.
But God has given us everything we need in order to stand. He has given us Superior strength, Superior intelligence, superior equipment. Let us not be negligent of them. But be diligent to utilize them and pursue faithfulness to our God.
And in doing so, let us fight. Let us fight in our homes and in the streets. Let us fight at our places of work and in our church. May we not give up or give in. But may we stand against this diabolical host to pursue the obedience that pleases our God.