Right Living In A World Gone Wrong…Studies in Ephesians
Final Words: The Enemy
Ephesians 6:10-13
Good morning, everyone!
It’s a little weird for me to be speaking into a camera today – and I imagine it’s a little weird for you to be watching me on the screen instead of in person. Occasionally there are times when meetings, vacations or illness have caused us to be unavailable on a Sunday morning, and we’ve had a number of people from the congregation fill in from time to time, and they do a great job. Video taping the message is another option that we are exploring this week.
I’m reminded of a line from the film Jurrasic Park where Dr. Malcolm says, “Oh no! We’re in the hands of technology!” We’ve never tried this before, and I look forward to getting your feedback. Given the nature of today’s message I am especially concerned with the operation of the machines that make this presentation possible, so before we go any further, will you pray with me?
“Father, this morning we are doing a full force charge right at our enemy, so we want to stop, drop and pray! Father, do battle in the heavenly realms on our behalf. Drive back the forces of evil that would disrupt and discourage us this morning. Protect and defend each participant, and lead us forward against our adversary, the devil. AMEN.”
Carol and I, with John, are in Madison this morning. Our son, Andrew, is a sophomore in the United States Navy ROTC cadet corps at UW, and this morning is the Spring Review of the Corps. We attended his first review last year, and it is an interesting and patriotic display. A Navy band comes up from the Naval Training Station in Chicago, a high-ranking Admiral or other official comes to give a speech, some cadets receive medals or special awards of merit and there is a passing in review of the corps of cadets.
Reviewing the troops is now a largely ceremonial event that is done by a commanding officer, visiting dignitary or a head of state, but the idea of an inspection or the troops has practical and important roots. A commander must be certain that his troops are prepared for battle, and in the long history of military combat, inspections and reviews of the status of those troops has been a common and important element. At every level, from Squad Leader to Commander in Chief, the leader must be certain and assured that his forces are ready – disciplined, trained, motivated and aware of the battle ahead of them.
As we come to the closing paragraphs of Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, we find a review of the troops. In Ephesians 6:10, he writes, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Paul is not there in person, but before he closes out this incredible letter to the young church, he wants to be certain that they are ready for the combat that awaits them. He focuses his attention on three components that we will look at over the next three weeks as we conclude our study of Ephesians. First, the Enemy we face, secondly, the Armor that is available to us, and lastly, the Battle we are engaged in. Today we get a briefing on our enemy.
With all the advances in weaponry and armor in recent years, the most important aspect of warfare in modern times is exactly the same as it was in ancient days. 2500 years ago, a Chinese warrior named Sun Tzu wrote The Art of War, the earliest text on tactics and strategy ever written. In it he wrote these words,
If you know the enemy, and know yourself,
You need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
If you know yourself but not the enemy,
For every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself,
You will succumb in every battle.
We’ve said that a military review is done so that leaders can know the status of their own troops, but if that’s all they know, they can only hope to win half the battles. That is not acceptable, and Paul knows it. He will not leave this young church in Ephesus, or our church today, in the dark about the enemy we face – we must know our enemy as well as our own capabilities.
Paul identifies the enemy personally as the devil. Satan is the leader of the enemy forces we face. You know, as I say that, I can imagine that there are some in the audience who are smiling – if not on the outside, then internally, because the idea of Satan conjures up all sorts of amusing images. From Flip Wilson, back in the 70’s, dressed up as a woman named Geraldine, claiming “The Devil made me do it!” or Dana Carvey’s “Church Lady” asking, “Could it be SATAAN?”
The sad reality is that most individuals, and an alarming number of church leaders, have denied the existence of a personal, powerful enemy leader identified throughout the Bible as Satan, Lucifer, the Angel of Light, The Prince of the Power of the Air, the Serpent, and the Devil.
The problem is that while modern society and theologians might want to minimilize, trivialize or deny the existence of Satan, they have to throw out the Bible to do so. I choose not to do so. The Bible makes it clear that there is an individual at the helm of the evil realm. Satan is a created being, and Isaiah chapter 14 gives us some background on his origins – “Lucifer, the son of the morning,” was a beautiful, powerful angel, but his pride caused him to think that he could rule in the place of God, and God cast him out of heaven. John hints in Revelations 12 that his pride and sin was so attractive that he took a third of the angels of heaven with him – we’re going to discuss them in a moment.
There are some rather shocking appearances of Satan in Scripture. He is called the Accuser, and we see him in the opening chapters of Job standing before God hurling accusations at the faithful. In the Gospels we see him tempting Jesus with cunning and power. He quotes and twists Scripture. He attacks at the weakest points of human pride and greed. He makes an outrageous claim that “he has been given authority over all the kingdoms of the world and can give them to anyone he chooses…” and Jesus never argues the point, but he refuses to give in to the temptation.
Satan is a powerful enemy – he is indeed the “Prince of the Power of the Air,” and has been given a wide range of powers on earth - we dare not underestimate his strength. But we don’t have to give him more than he’s due, either. He is a created being – he is subject to the Creator God. He is not eternal, he is not omniscient and there are limits to his knowledge and abilities. The Bible makes it clear that “Greater is He who is in us (believers) than he who is in the world.” (I Jn 4:4)
Along with an enemy leader, we face an army of enemy troops. Paul tells us in verse 12 that these troops are not flesh and blood, but “principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, and spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.” There is an amassed army of demonic creatures that assist Satan in his attacks on the church and on individual believers. John talks about them in Revelation, Jesus encountered them over and over again as he walked the earth, and they are still influential in our world today.
They are powerful beings, intent on inflicting pain and torment on the innocent, and destroying the lives of followers of Jesus. In the book of Daniel, chapter 10, we have an amazing glimpse into the nature of the battle that rages in the spirit realm. Daniel fasted for 21 days to get a needed answer from God, and when an angel finally was able to bring him the answer, he told Daniel that he had been sent with the answer on the first day of Daniels prayer, but demonic forces had battled him for three weeks. Unable to get through, the messenger of God had to call for assistance from Michael the Archangel before he could get through to deliver the answer to Daniels prayers! If you have never read that chapter of the Bible, Daniel 10, I encourage you to do so because it gives us important intel on the nature of the war that rages all around us every day. We are part of the battle – we must be faithful in our part of the fight.
There are demonic forces at work all around us, all the time. They are armed with a wide array of weapons – tempting us, lying to us, causing us to be pessimistic, depressed, oppressed and defeated. They can not take our salvation from us, but they will do all they can, under the leadership of Satan, to keep us from living victorious Christian lives, and having an impact on lost people around us. They cause divisions, misunderstandings, illnesses, can disrupt machinery and electronics. In the book of Job we see Satan’s forces attack a Job’s health, home, money and relationships. Just as we should never underestimate the power of Satan, we would be fools to forget the demonic forces that are at work around us to keep us cowering instead of advancing the kingdom of God! Our awareness of their presence, and their tactics, will allow us to be victorious.
Paul gives us some insight into the enemies’ tactics in this paragraph, and other hints are laced throughout Scripture. Right away in verse 11, Paul tells us that we need to put on the armor of God so that we can withstand the “wiles” of the devil. The NIV translates the words “wiles” as “schemes.” It means that Satan is “cunning, crafty and strategic.” Satan is no fool. He is a powerful, spiritual force, full of deceit and hate. He has been battling God since before the world was created and has been seeking and stealing the souls of men since Adam and Eve walked in the Garden. We see his deceit demonstrated in that Garden, twisting the Words of God “Did God really say?” He does the same to Jesus Himself at the temptation – imagine, Satan quoting Scripture to the Living Word of God! If he is so bold as to try to deceive and tempt the very Son of God we dare not trick ourselves into thinking that we are somehow immune to his schemes!
Paul warns us in II Corinthians 2:11 that we should “not allow Satan to outwit us or be unaware of his schemes.” I mentioned earlier that most people in the world and a lot of people in the church don’t even believe he exists, and they are playing right into his hands! He loves it when someone says, “OH, Come On! Satan?! You’ve got to be kidding! I thought you were brighter than THAT!” Let me tell you, to deny his existence, and to ignore his power is to put yourself, your family, your church and your world in grave danger! It’s not coincidental that he’s described as a lion, looking for anyone to devour; and a dragon, out for blood. Jesus said that Satan was a thief who comes to “steal, kill and destroy.” He will use anything to defeat you – Luke tells us that “when the devil had finished all this tempting, he left [Jesus] until an opportune time.” (4:13) He is always looking for an opportune time to attack us.
It may be when you are feeling week physically – tired and run down. It may be when you are feeling confident and cocky. It might be when you are at a baseball game in Milwaukee, or in a worship service at church. There is never a time or place that he won’t attack if he feels the opportunity exists. He’ll keep prodding and probing until he finds that place of weakness, then he’ll unleash all he has against you. In his autobiography General Tommy Franks talks about “death by a thousand cuts,” where an enemy simply refuses to quit – and eventually wears down their opponent. That’s a great picture of Satan and his tactics.
So in light of this intel on the enemy, what is our response to be? I mean, it seems pretty bleak, doesn’t it? No. It is something for us to take seriously, but we should not despair. Remember that the one who is in us is greater then the enemy we face! But we must recognize that we will not win the battle by ignorance, neglect or half-hearted measures. No soldier ever went into battle, even with overwhelming force, without the realization that the stakes could not be higher, and that even in victory there are casualties, wounds and pain. Paul uses three words to describe our engagement: strength, struggle and stand.
· Strength
The engagement we are called to is described in this section and the picture it paints is one of intense combat. Paul says, in verse 11, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.” The Greek is written in a way that reads, “Keep on being strengthened” – constant replenishment from the Lord. Our strength is “IN the Lord,” our strength comes not from an outside source, but from our unity with God Himself. In I John 2:14, John echoes this idea when he writes, “You are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” When we have His word living in us, and remain in close fellowship with Him, living our lives within the sphere of His will, we will have the power of his might at our disposal.
· Struggle
Paul describes our encounter as a “struggle” in verse 12. In the NKJV the word used is “wrestle,” which is more accurate in the original Greek. Even though the next paragraph talks about a soldier and the armor he wears, in this sentence Paul uses the image of a wrestler to describe our encounter. Wrestling is an interesting sport – when I wrestled in college our coach said told us that wrestling was a team sport played on an individual basis. You win points for your team, and the entire team wins or looses, but it gets done one man at a time in single combat. The same is true for us. We must each one face our battles. Of course the rest of the team is there to support us and prepare us as much as possible, but each and every one of us must be ready to face and confront the enemy. While we do it individually, we don’t do it alone, or in our own power – remember, we stand in the power of His might, not our own. “We wrestle” means that we are involved in the hand to hand battle, not a spectator. It also indicates that there is sweat, effort, pain and struggle involved. When the Christian life feel like a war zone – you’re right where you are supposed to be!
· Stand
Three times in this passage Paul calls on us to “stand.” We are to stand against the wiles of the devil (vs. 11), we are to “withstand” in verse 13, which means to stand firm against great opposition, and at the end of verse 13 we are, after all is said and done, and the battle is complete, to be found standing.
Notice that Paul writes, “Be strong in the lord and in the power of his might, so that you might be able to stand against the whiles of the devil.” It is not automatic! Just because you are a Christian does not mean that you are immune from the devils attack, or that those attacks cannot BEAT YOU DOWN! For us to assume that simply because we have trusted in Jesus we automatically rise above every battle is as foolish as a Marine going into battle, waiving his American passport at the enemy and saying, “You can’t hurt me, I’m and American!” It doesn’t work in Iraq that way, and I guarantee you it doesn’t work in the spirit world either. We need to be strengthened in order to stand, we need to resist and struggle in order to stand, and we need to remain in the Lord if we are to be found standing when all is said and done.
The bottom line of this intelligence briefing is this: We are facing a powerful, relentless enemy who will use any and all tactics at his disposal to defeat you. You dare not take him and his minions lightly, or minimize the awful consequences of his influence in your life, home, church and community. If you call yourself “Christian,” then you are engaged in battle with this enemy. The Bible assures us that we have ultimate victory, but that victory does not happen accidentally. You are called to advance the kingdom of God against the very gates of hell, in the power of the Spirit, by walking faithfully before your God.
Next week we will examine the uniform and equipment that you’ve been issued to wage war against the forces of hell. Between now and then, I encourage you to read this passage of Scripture, Ephesians 6:10-20 at least once a day. Pray for God to strengthen you in His mighty power, so that you will be able to withstand the devils schemes, and having done all, to be found standing firm in Him.