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Good Monday morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Today we begin a several day journey of walking through one of the most important and powerful portions of God’s Word, Ephesians 6:10-18.
Spiritual warfare is a topic not deeply understood by most Christians in North America. Conversations about the dark kingdom, demons, Satan, evil spirits and such things, are rare in most churches in North America. Sadly, many pastors are not well versed in this harsh reality. Yet almost anywhere in the rest of our world, this topic is front and center, well understood by almost all Christians, and a very real part of everyday life in many places. So we’re going to take several days to understand the truths of what Paul is warning us about here in Ephesians 6.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in HIS mighty power.” Paul begins with a very encouraging word. When we experience authentic salvation from our sin, through our faith in Jesus Christ; and adoption by Almighty God the Father; and the Holy Spirit of God baptizes us into Christ, births a new spiritual nature in us, cleanses us from the contamination of our past sin, and empowers us with His indwelling presence… my friends we become an entirely different person spiritually, than who we were before this miraculous, life-transforming work of God. Do I hear a loud Amen? Paul wants us to start here!
As a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), we can ‘be strong in the Lord and in HIS mighty power.” It’s a statement of IDENTITY, POSITION and POWER! We are a new person in a totally new relationship with God. We have been raised to a position of spiritual authority in Christ, remember Ephesians 2:6,7? As an ambassador of Christ (2 Cor. 5:20) we have authority to speak in His name and live victoriously when facing any temptation, (1 Cor. 10:13) while we are empowered by the Spirit of God (Eph. 3:16-20). So, there is no hint that we have any new human power, but it is a new spiritual power that we have, as we now engage spiritual warfare.
“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” We understand Paul is using the picture of a Roman soldier preparing to enter the battle. Carefully he puts on the protective armor, which has been specifically designed, to protect his most vital body parts from the weapons of the enemy, while leaving him mobile enough to fight. Unlike a turtle that simply hides in its shell, a warrior engages battle both protected and armed to fight. Our spiritual armor is designed and manufactured by God Himself, for He understands our enemy the devil and his weapons, his tactics, his schemes better than we do.
You’ll notice we are to stand strong, both as the enemy approaches us, or as we move into enemy territory. None of our armor is designed for retreat or running away. None is designed for hiding us so the enemy can’t see us. This is battle gear, intended for fighting and winning!
And finally that word ‘schemes’, do you see it? Yes, the devil is a scheming enemy. He is sinister, diabolical, and very powerful! Since he and angels do not age, they have been studying the human race since the days of Adam. They know you and me and our family heritage all the way back to Noah! They understand the vulnerabilities of our ancestors and where the devil’s schemes have been successful in past generations in our family. It’s appropriate to add 1 Peter 5:8 here… “Be self-controlled and alert. The devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith..”
So as you think about your life story, and that of your parents, grandparents and even what you know of your great grandparents, what has this reality looked like in practical terms? What schemes has the devil used to gain footholds in your family, remember Eph. 4:27? And what things are in your family heritage which have ‘grieved the Holy Spirit of God’, remember Eph. 4:30? Things like addictions or adultery or pornography or deceitfulness or unforgiveness, or cheating, lying, stealing, or even murder or suicide? How well, my friends, do you understand the moral and spiritual heritage of your family tree? What has been passed to you from generation to generation? Are you simply continuing it, oblivious to it, or are you the chain breaking generation, by the power of Jesus Christ?
Paul continues with a very powerful statement… “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.” Now there are two ways to look at this statement. First, that the words ‘rulers’, ‘authorities’, ‘powers’, ‘spiritual forces’ are distinct, separate categories of evil angels. These words describe their ‘rank’ or ‘title’ in the army of demons, under the direction and authority of Satan.
Another perspective is that these words describe their roles, their strength and function: ‘rule’, ‘authority’, ‘power’, ‘spiritual evil force’. Also, please notice “in the heavenly realms”. This means these are spiritual forces who once were good angels in God’s holy presence in heaven, but they rebelled against God and have been cast out of heaven, and have now established a dark kingdom, (Col. 1:13) in another place God created for them, ‘in the heavenly realms’, called hell. They are fully and always opposed to God, God’s purposes, God’s people and especially the dark kingdom opposes the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel in action around the world.
Now, what does this battle look like practically in our world today? Here are two graphic descriptions by Paul. . . Galatians 5:19-21 and Colossians 3:7-9. Go ahead, look around your world today and identify the tangible evidences of the schemes, the tactics of our enemy the devil and the great harm the dark kingdom is doing in our world as it holds people in bondage: drug addiction, alcoholism, pornography, adultery, prostitution, sex trafficking, gambling, suicide, abortion, self-mutilation. And what about things like gender identity confusion, homosexuality, incest, child abuse, spouse abuse, abandonment?
It isn’t difficult is it, my friends, to see areas of our human journey in which the dark kingdom has opposed God’s holy design of how things should function, and led our human race to think very wrongly, make choices that reject God and His design for our world, and distort or destroy everything God has made beautiful and holy.
That’s why Paul calls us to STAND firm, as the tide of popular opinion turns away from God and opposes God’s people. He writes in vs. 13 “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’ve done everything, to stand.” You see the warning, the invitation and the promise don’t you? The day of evil will come, to all of us, relentlessly…because as I said before, the dark kingdom MUST oppose God and God’s people.
Second, we can ONLY stand firm in the day of evil, if we are well armed with God’s spiritual armor. No human strength or devices can withstand the forces of spiritual evil. Please note…the armor is ‘put on’! That means we intentionally understand, own and actively use each part of this God made armor. And third, Paul urges us to realize the armor is designed for victory, so that after the evil passes, you and I, fully armed by God, are still standing!! Amen!
Now let’s just simmer in that for today, and tomorrow, we’ll start looking very specifically at what this armor is, that God has designed for us, and how to use it effectively.
Here are a couple of questions to ponder…
1. In your family heritage… what have been some of the evil schemes which have been successful and your family members have succumbed to the temptations, the attack, and fallen? What damage has been done in your family?
2. In your personal life, what are the schemes or tactics which the devil has used, which have been most difficult for you to battle and withstand? What have been the sad results when you have not stood strong, when you have fallen in the battle and been overwhelmed by the enemy? What lingering consequences might you still be living with today, from defeat in the past?
3. What is your understanding of the reality and the ferocity of this spiritual warfare? What resources do you have which help refine your understanding and your ability to fight victoriously? I urge you to consider this web site: www.ficm.org (Freedom in Christ Ministries), as a wonderful resource for equipping you and helping you deal with generational strongholds.
Oh Lord Jesus, we celebrate YOU and your victory over Satan, and we thank you for your Word which is so powerful in the battle against our enemy the devil.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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