21/01/18 Ephesians 6:10-12 “Put on the whole armour of God”
Last week we
discussed satan’s desire to gain dominion over all
the earth and that he cannot have such dominion in his own right. Therefore,
satan has to control them that do have dominion over the earth, namely
mankind. Now we begin on Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians concerning
fighting the resultant battle.
Most Christians
today do not have a clear understanding of the spiritual warfare that they are
called to fight. They might admit that satan (and his demons) are the enemy
(although many even won’t admit that satan is capable of seriously attacking
God’s people!) but they have no idea why satan is on the attack and
therefore they have no comprehension of just what they as Christians are
being called to defend! If you don’t know why satan is attacking you,
then how can you successfully defend anything if you don’t first of all know what
it is that satan wants? Some might say that satan is attacking them because
they are Christians because that’s what satan does! But satan is a highly
intelligent and rational being; everything he does will have a very logical
reason behind it. He wants something and he will do what’s necessary to get it.
And, if you stand in the way, then he may attack.
But, some say, at
the name of Jesus demons have to flee. And, resist the devil and he will flee (James
4:7). But, is this verse dealing with demonic attack against the Christian, or
is it instead tackling Christians dealing with the problems of sin and
temptation? Certainly, satan cannot attack Christians unless God permits him to
do so, yet if God has permitted satan to attack, then how can resisting him
cause him to flee while he has permission to attack? (Note Job’s experience
with satan attacking him by God’s permission!)
So, what are
Christians defending? What is it that satan wants and that we are called to
protect? Jude suggests that it is the faith that was once delivered to the
saints that we must contend for.
Jude 3-4 – 3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto
you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and
exhort [you] that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which
was once delivered unto the saints. 4 For there are certain
men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation,
ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the
only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
earnestly
contend for – epagonizomai (to contend; earnest contend for)
[from epi
(upon; on; at; by; before; over; against) and agonizomai
(to enter a contest: contend in the gymnastic games; to contend with adversaries,
fight; metaphorically: to contend, struggle, with difficulties and dangers; to
endeavour with strenuous zeal, strive: to obtain something)]
Ellicott says – Contend for.—The
word is a graphic one, implying standing over a thing to fight in its defence.
You must fight as well as build (Nehemiah 4:16-18).
the faith – the true doctrines and beliefs of
Christians.
Of course,
defending the faith once delivered to the saints is not just teaching and
preaching the truth, but living out a life consistent with what you believe.
That is, if you are Christians, you should act like it, and this includes
resisting temptation to sin by which satan seeks to take a foothold in the
Christian’s life. Thus Paul tells the Ephesians to not
give place to the devil (including through the works of darkness).
That faith once
delivered to the saints is also a significant topic in Ephesians.
Ephesians 4:12-13 – 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of
the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ:
Unless the Church
works toward that unity of the faith (which can only come about if it is based
upon God’s truth), then the Church is fragmented, limited in its ability to
defend itself against the enemy. For how can any army win if it is divided
against itself?
Matthew 12:25 – And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to
desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
Many wars have been
lost simply because soldiers have started arguing among themselves. It is how
the mighty army opposing Jehoshaphat destroyed itself.
2 Chronicles 20:23 – For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against
the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and
destroy [them]: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
We are defending
our right to test all things, to hold fast to that which is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 – Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
We are, by our
stand for the truth, defending man’s right to have dominion over all the earth.
After all, that is what satan desires, and therefore he opposes everything that
will get in his way of gaining such dominion through the control of mankind.
One huge obstacle standing in the way of his march toward dominion is the
Church. Or rather, it should be the Church that defends the earth
against the improper dominion over it by satan and his demons. But, the Church
has largely lost its way today; it is failing dismally to defend God’s truth
against those who would break down that truth and thus replace it with deceit
and lies. Many in the Church even deny that demons can actually have any
significant effect on Christians! However, if you play with sin as you might
play with fire, you’ll get burnt, possibly badly!
And, soldiers do
not always merely defend their ground, but, when necessary, go on the
offensive, actively opposing all those false teachers who would destroy that
faith through a pretence that their doctrines are more Biblical than the
others! (Jude 3-4)
Ephesians 6:10 – Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
finally – (that which is) remaining; the rest;
hereafter; henceforth; at last; besides; moreover. A word that suggests the
rounding off of this letter to the Ephesians. Finally, we get to that which we
have been leading up to throughout this letter.
Philippians 3:1a – Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.
Philippians 4:8a – Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things [are] honest ……
power – kratos (force;
strength; power; might; mighty deed; dominion) Not dynamis
This word appears
to have the idea of dominating in a contest, being more than conquerors by
reason of our position in Christ (Romans 8:37).
might – ischus (ability;
force; strength; might)
power of his
might – “the dominating and
clearly victorious strength of the awesome might of God” is how I would
describe this.
Ephesians 3:16 – That he would grant you, according to the riches of
his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
Ephesians 1:19 – And what [is] the exceeding greatness of his
power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
be strong – or “be strengthened”
Be strong in the
Lord – be strengthened by
2 Timothy 2:1 – Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that
is in Christ Jesus.
Because we are more
than conquerors through Him that loved us (Romans 8:37), then in battle with
the enemy we cannot lose unless we choose to lose. We can be strengthened in
the Lord because of the dominance of His infinite might. That is, God’s might
will (or should) dominate all battles that we might face. It also strongly
implies that we will not be strengthened, and therefore lose the battle, if
we are not upheld by the dominating and victorious strength of the might of
God.
With Christ I can
do all things (Philippians 4:13) yet without Christ I can do nothing (John
15:5).
Ephesians 6:11 – Put on
the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil.
the whole armour – panoplia
(full armour; complete armour; includes shield, sword, lance, helmet, greaves,
and breastplate) Also used in Ephesians 6:13 and …..
Luke 11:21-22 – 21 When a strong man armed keepeth
his palace, his goods are in peace: 22 But when a stronger
than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his
armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his
spoils.
“panoply” = a magnificent or impressive array; a wide
range of types.
An old hymn by
Charles Wesley includes the words “The panoply of God”, yet in a modernised (shortened) version of the same hymn, it is now
translated as “The weapons of our God”. The original (longer) version outlines
the whole armour as in Ephesians 6.
Stand
then in His great might, With all His strength endued;
And take, to arm you for the fight, The panoply of God,
That,
having all things done, And all your conflicts past,
Ye may o’ercome through Christ alone, And stand
complete at last.
stand – stand; establish; to cause or make to
stand; stand firm; steadfast; not wavering; stand ready or prepared; to uphold
or sustain the authority or force of anything. It is considered that Bunyan’s
Mr Standfast relates to this term.
wiles – methodeia
(cunning arts; deceit; craft; trickery) (or stratagems, or ambush)
Also used in Ephesians 4:14 – That we [henceforth] be
no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried
about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning
craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
“Put on (clothe yourself with) the whole armour (panoply) of God, that you may be able to stand
against (withstand;
establish yourself against) the
wiles (stratagems;
trickery; deceit; ambushes) of
the devil (false
accuser; slanderer).”
Beware of the
cunning ambushes that satan sets up against the unwary Christian. Also, be
aware that it is the whole armour and not a part-only that is effective. The
word “panoply” is made up of two words, pas (all) and hoplon (arms used in warfare; weapons), which means
that it is one of those “all or nothing” words – if you can’t use all, then
anything less than all will be little better than nothing.
To stand against
the wiles means to be able to hold your ground, to defend your territory, to
not lose ground (or, not give place to the devil), when the enemy is using all
means of trickery to deceive you. The enemy is described as occult, which means
that he likes to fight from a hidden position; we would term this an ambush. It
is when you would least expect an attack that it is most likely to come.
Ephesians 6:12 – For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high [places].
For we wrestle
not against – “For our
wrestling is not against”
wrestle – wrestling (a contest between two in which
each endeavours to throw the other, and which is
decided when the victor is able to hold his opponent down with his hand upon
his neck); the term is transferred to the Christian’s struggle with the power
of evil. This is its only use in the New Testament.
principalities – arche (beginning; origin; first
person or thing in a series; the leader; first place; magistracy; principality;
of angels and demons) Translated the same in Ephesians 1:21, and Ephesians
3:10.
powers – exousia (power
of choice; liberty to do as one pleases; physical and mental power; the power
of authority and of right; the power of him whose will and commands must be
submitted to by others and obeyed; the sign of regal authority, a crown; the
leading and more powerful among created beings
superior to man, spiritual potentates) Translated the same in Ephesians 1:21
and 3:10.
Translated with archon
(ruler; commander; prince) + exousia + aer (air; atmosphere) as “the prince of the power of
the air” in Ephesians 2:2. ton archonta tes exousias tou aeros
rulers – kosmokrator
(lord of the world; prince of this age; the devil and his demons)
This is its only
use in the New Testament.
[from kosmos (world; government; universe; inhabitants of
earth; the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God; can
mean Gentiles as opposed to Jews, or it can mean believers only, or any
particular collection of people or things) + krateo
(to have power; powerful; chief; master; become master of; get possession of;
hold onto and not let go; hold in check)] World-power!
Note 1 John 5:19b – the whole world lieth in
wickedness.
darkness – skotos (darkness;
metaphorically: of ignorance respecting divine things and human duties, and the
accompanying ungodliness and immorality, together with their consequent misery in
hell; persons in whom darkness becomes visible and holds sway)
world – aion (for
ever; an unbroken age; perpetuity of time; eternity; the worlds; universe;
period of time; age)
wickedness – poneria (depravity;
iniquity; wickedness; malice; evil purposes and desires)
high (places) – epouranios
(existing in heaven; taking place in heaven; heavenly regions; heaven itself,
the abode of God and angels; lower heavens, of the stars; heavens, of the
clouds; heavenly temple or sanctuary; of heavenly origin or nature)
Principalities;
powers; rulers of the darkness of this world; spiritual wickedness in high
places – these are clearly defined as not being of flesh and blood, that is,
not physical as we perceive things and persons. This battle is spiritual and therefore
cannot be fought with physical weapons. This point is being made very clearly
indeed. We cannot expect to be able to oppose spiritual warfare with great
physical preparation. That which is effective against flesh and blood will not
be effective in this warfare. Walking by faith, not by sight, is extremely
relevant to this warfare. It will be what we know by faith that will win the
battle, not what we can see.
2 Corinthians 5:7 – For we walk by faith, not by sight.
This is an enemy
you cannot see and cannot touch. He is like an invisible man who can only be
recognised by what he does. A door opens and shuts, yet no-one walks through,
no-one is present, no-one can be seen touching that door. There is no breeze,
no motorised hinges, in fact, nothing that can be seen that could possibly make
that door open and shut. Yet, it has just opened and shut! Logically the only
answer appears to be that an invisible man has just opened and shut that door,
probably to walk through it. You can see what he does, yet you cannot see him.
He can only be recognised by what he does.
If you do not
believe that invisible men exist, then you are left with an enigma that cannot
be explained. If the only possible solution is that an invisible man walked
through that door, yet invisible men do not exist, then you have no solution to
your enigma. You either believe an invisible man walked through that door, or
else come up with an alternative solution. But no such alternative solution
appears to exist.
Likewise with spiritual warfare. There are times
when things appear to happen without any logical physical cause, yet there must
be a cause because the event happened. If you believe in satan and his demons,
then when something happens that they could have done (and that nothing else
can satisfactorily explain), then you have to suspect spiritual activity might
be happening. If spiritual beings (who are invisible and cannot be felt) alone
could realistically explain the situation, and you believe that such beings exist,
then the most logical conclusion is that such spiritual beings have been active
in this particular situation. I call this the invisible man theory!
So, what things could
happen that could indicate spiritual activity, especially in the absence of any
logical physical solution to satisfactorily explain it? These include:
(a) A circumstance
(usually a problem or difficulty) that doesn’t appear to have a satisfactory physical
explanation, a circumstance that causes confusion as to how to deal with it. Spiritual
attack is often associated with events that have some significant mystery
surrounding their occurrence and their solution. Confusion may rule.
(b) Often two or
more circumstances occur around the same time, seemingly independent of each
other, yet can be similar in the way they are pushed at you. There is often a
pattern in the enemy’s behaviour; remember that demons are highly rational and
intelligent beings. The enemy will try to get you down or weaken you, and then
hit you again while you are down, yet may use two different attack sources.
(c) Often there can
be a feeling of urgency about the problem. There can be a feeling that one is
being pushed into a corner with little time to think carefully about it.
(d) Often there is
a feeling of helplessness or despair that makes the problem appear far bigger
than it is. Spiritual attack is often accompanied by a feeling of anxiety, of
unrest, that something is wrong, and that action is urgently needed to overcome
such anxiety. You might end up “making mountains out of molehills!”
(e) Often things
are just not what they seem to be. Sometimes the people you think you can trust
the most seem to be against you. This may not actually be so, but it may appear
as if others are opposing you. Remember that deception is a major part of most
spiritual attack. Don’t be too quick to blame the other person.
(f) Spiritual attack is usually associated
with the enemy having a need to oppose you for some reason. Generally, if you
don’t offend the enemy, he’ll mostly leave you alone. He usually only seriously
opposes those who won’t give in to his pressure!
The way to defeat
all of these is to accept that spiritual attack may be occurring (it is
not easy to be absolutely certain that spiritual attack is occurring).
If there is confusion or chaos over what to do, then take time to think it
through, calm down, take some deep breaths, etc. Slow the circumstance down if
you can. Give yourself time to think. The enemy does prefer to have you under
pressure to make a decision when you haven’t had time to think it through, so
force yourself to have time to consider it, if at all possible. Recognise that
the enemy could be a demon and not the person who might appear to be against
you. Things may not be as they seem, because we walk by faith, not by sight. Allow
time to commit the problem to God. Put yourself in God’s hands. Take God’s
promises on board. If all things work together for good for Christians in
reasonable standing with God (see Romans 8:28), then give God thanks for
everything that has happened (for He has to have permitted everything to happen
or else it wouldn’t have happened, unless you overrule God’s provision).
Ephesians 5:20 – Giving thanks always for all things unto God and
the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Give God glory for
the circumstance you find yourself in. If the enemy is involved in that
circumstance, then he will have to give God glory along with you. Require this
of the enemy, that as he comes into your presence, he also comes into God’s
presence, and must bend the knee and confess with his lips that Jesus is Lord. For
all must do this at the name of Jesus! Put on the whole armour (the panoply) of
God. Be prepared! Do the rigorous training that keeps you from falling.
1 Corinthians 9:27 – But I keep under my body, and
bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached
to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Watch and pray
(Matthew 26:41). Be ready for battle at all times! Wear the armour and know how
to use it! Test all things! Hold fast to that which is right! And give God
praise and glory for all that he has permitted you to be a part of.
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