Subject: Spiritual Attack
Theme: Gaining the Victory Over All Spiritual Attack
Passage: Ephesians 6: 10 - 20
One of the aspects of truth that evangelicals have been slow to catch unto is the intensity of the battle in which we are engaged and what my part is in that battle. In another section of scripture we read about the world, the flesh and the devil - we are going to concentrate in this study on the devil.
Ephesians 6:10 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness 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. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints––"
We began the study of the letter to the Ephesians with the blessings of the Christian life, with the joy of being chosen by God, accepted in the beloved, redeemed by His blood, forgiven of all our sins, so that in the ages to come we might be to the praise of God's grace.
We learned how we who once were dead towards God in our sin, were made alive by faith in Christ, how we were brought into the church in which all distinctions have been removed so that Jews and Gentile believers form one body in Christ.
As we came into the second half of Ephesians we were challenged to no longer walk in the same way the rest of the world walks, but to turn away from all sinful ways, walking in the love of Christ, walking in light of God's truth, walking in the wisdom of God in our homes, in our families and in our workplace.
In other words, all of life has been transformed by our relationship with Jesus Christ. Now we are coming to the end, but before Paul wraps up his instruction, like any good preacher, he has a "Finally, my brethren,"
What does he want to say to us in this final word? He wants to remind us of the Christian's ongoing spiritual battle. You are not home yet!
1. The Battle:
Every person is engaged in this battle whether you want to be or not. And every person is on one side or the other - either on Satan's side or on God's side. You were born on the enemy's side and that is why you had to be born again. You may have thought that crossing the lines through faith in Christ was going to get you off the firing line into the territory of peace and you may have been surprised to find that in fact faith in Christ just intensified your problems. The answer is very simple. It is simply the truth that when you started considering crossing the lines Satan turned up the heat - he marshalled all his forces to stop you from doing so, and he probably used your own desires, fears, pride, jealousy, envy, and every other foul thing to try to trip you up while at the same time stirring up opposition from other people around you - often those you love the most. We had better understand that our enemy is ruthless, and powerful and has his allies within your own being; all around you in the persons who do not know God, even if they may appear to be religious; and in the spirit world itself through all the demons at his command.
Warren Wiersbe puts it graphically, "The Christian life is not a playground; it is a battleground." Another writer puts it this way, "For the Christian, the world is an arena, not an armchair." Yes, the Christian life is a warfare; we live in enemy territory.
So if you don't want a fight, I'm afraid I have both good news and bad news for you. The bad news is that there is no way to avoid this battle. The good news is that Christ has already won it, and in yielding your life to Him He has adequate resources to help you win the victory also, and He fully plans for you to WIN!
So right at the beginning, he tells you to be strong. Ephesians 6:10 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."
2. The Enemy:
a. There is an enemy.
He is called Satan, and he is a real, a powerful, a malicious and an utterly evil being. The Bible unambiguously tells us that Satan, as the "god of this age" (2 Cor. 4:4) and "the prince of this world" (John 12:31, 14:30) has been allowed by God to have his own dominion of darkness (Col. 1:13) and to war against the kingdom of light (Col. 1:12). Other names applied to him are "ruler of the kingdom of the air", "the evil one" (2 Thes. 3:3 etc.), "the tempter" (Matt. 4:3). "the accuser" (= 'Satan', Zech. 3:1), "(our) enemy, the devil" (1 Peter 5:8), "a roaring lion" (1 Peter 5:8), "an enormous red dragon" Rev. 12:3) and "the serpent" (Rev. 12:9).
b. His character:
"the wiles of the devil." "schemes". "cunning devices".
He is the master of seduction and deception. One of his most effective deceptions is to convince people that he really doesn't exist, that there is no intelligent being behind the evil in the world. The scriptures say that he is fully capable of "(blinding) the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of God" (2 Cor. 4:4). Though in reality a "roaring lion" (1 Peter 5:8), yet he presents himself as "an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14). Words like subtle, fraudulent, unscrupulous and malicious come to mind. Our Lord referred to him as "a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44).
Probably the devil's most deadly 'stratagem' is that of religious deception, be it through the cults, or false prophets and teachers, or liberal theologians or gospel hucksters. The New Age movement reminds us of Satan's original temptation, "You shall be like god, knowing good and evil." Satan is incredibly dangerous.
c. Not flesh and blood v. 12- It is important for us to realize that our enemy is not that other person, even if he or she is attacking you. How often people make that mistake and get involved in a wrangling match with a person, whether in the home or in the church. How Satan loves it when he can stir up strife in a church and turn people against one another. How sad that the unsaved people in the world can excuse their own unbelief by pointing to professing Christians as unlovely, unkind, unchristian in their words and actions. Satan has no more effective weapons than Christians who have been turned aside to fight battles against fellow Christians.
d. His organization;
12 "but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
It would appear that Satan was successful in drawing at least 1/3 of the angels of God after him in his original fall. It would appear as though these demonic forces are fully organized in their struggle to overthrow God through their attack on God's people.
principalities - probably indicates that these fallen angels have retained the rank of ruling dignitaries;
powers invested with authority to exercise such rule.
rulers of the darkness of this age speaks of the realm in which they operate: the world in its present state of spiritual darkness.
spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. - the invisible horde "whose appetite for evil only exceeds their capacity for producing it (Eadie)
e. His effectiveness:
Satan's effectiveness is found in the allies he has even within our own beings. I mentioned earlier that the Bible tells us of the world, the flesh and the devil, and this reminds us of the fact that we are still living in the world around us, with all of its sinful, worldly thinking and ways. - the world - all that is ungodly and opposed to the rule and reign of God. We are still influenced by those old thought patterns which once were our own.
Then there is the enemy within -the flesh, the old nature - sold out to the enemy - subject to old appetites; to old habit patterns; old thought patterns. Praise God that when we became a Christian God placed within our heat His new nature which is pure and righteous and holy. The Holy Spirit came to live in our hearts, and He gave us a love for God, a love for the good, and the uplifting and the holy. But we still have a battle with our old way of life.
- the devil - a lion - seeking whom he may devour; the angel of light seeking to seduce the unwary; murder and mixture; defeat and compromise;
When you consider all of the advantages that Satan has, is it not a wonder that we have any success in this battle at all? And yet we do. Praise God. Jesus has won the victory over the enemy and he designs that His children shall also win the victory. So the question is, How may we win the victory against this spiritual opposition which we face?
11 Put on the whole armor of God, .... 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.
Conclusion:
This reminds us that God has provided everything we need in order to win the battle against this enemy. God expects us to win. Even when we lose, God uses even our losses to show us His forgiveness, His kindness, His mercy, His compassion. To study the nature of the armour God has provided though is too large a study for this morning, so we shall have to leave it for next week.
But let me leave with you this final thought. The scripture shows over and over that Satan cannot go one step beyond what God allows him to go. Therefore, God is the victor, and we have the victory in Him.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment