Spiritual Warfare - Ephesians 6:10

Paul has spent an entire letter establishing our place in Jesus Christ and the basics of the Christian walk. This passage comes at the end of the letter....

 

FINALLY, 

• In light of all that God has done for you. 
• In light of the glorious standing you have as a child of God. 
• In light of His great plan of the ages that God has made you part of. 
• In light of the plan for Christian maturity and growth He gives to you. 
• In light of the conduct God calls every believer to live. 
• In light of the filling of the Spirit and our walk in the Spirit.

 In light of all this, there is a battle to fight in the Christian life.
 

This passage is broken up into 2 basic parts, "Be strong in the Lord and in His might and power" and "put on the full armor of God". Many pass over the first and move on to the second, but we are starting with the first because I truly believe that, even if you put a weak man in the best armor,  he is still a weak man, and weak person is an ineffective soldier.

Where does the Christian get his strength? From the Lord of course. This is not a natural happening. One can't simply name it and claim it. Our strength comes from the LORD's Mighty Power. It comes from a personal, deep, rich relationship with our Creator. It grows over time as we learn more and more about our Lord and His ways. It grows as we focus on His Word and spend time in Bible Study and Prayer. It grows as we seek his strength to help us through hard times.

Might is reserved strength. Power is strength in motion. A "mighty" person is one whose strength is apparent. A muscular man's big muscles display his might, even if he does not use them. When that muscular man uses his muscles to lift weight, he uses his power...that reserved strength is put to use.

Tapping into God's mighty Power is relying on His MIGHT more and more and then moving forward in His Power.

 

In my studying on these verses, I found one commentary that mentioned the misuse of God's might. The author said that it is as if people receive a bit of God's might and then let it seep away like water leaking from a bucket with holes in it. Here are some things he mentioned that will cause God's Might to "leak out of you":

•  Committing to too many spiritual works or things
• Too much conversation
• Arguments, debates, wrangling
• Laziness
• Too much time in the wrong company
• Too much foolish talk and joking
• Love of money and career
• A desire for respectability and image
• An unequal yoking with an unbeliever
• Ungodly entertainment
• A wrong attitude toward or doubting the Word of God

Beware of these seemingly harmless things in your life, for they will surely drain you of the strength you will need when the day comes for you to stand against temptation.

Before we can put on the Full Armor of GOD, we have to "Be strong in the Lord's Mighty Power."   Know Him, Believe Him, Put all your trust and faith in Him, confess and turn away from known sin in your life so that it does not separate you from Him, submit fully to Him...then move forward in His Power.

Spiritual Warfare - introduction

In all areas of our lives, we prepare for "battle", whether it be a war in the desert, the football state championship, competition for a job; firemen train before pulling someone out of a car wreck or fire, lifeguards train before saving someone who is drowning, police officers train before being sent out to arrest a criminal. Point is, all these men and women must be prepared before they go to work. To send someone into battle without training is to doom them to fail.

Why then, do we not prepare to fight Satan? Is it because we really don't believe that Satan is a real enemy? Do we not believe that he is seeking to destroy us? Do we think that we can fight him with no preparation?

 

Satan is the root of ALL sin, of ALL evil. Yet, we dismiss him as nothing more than a Sunday School lesson topic.

Satan wants to destroy every part of you and all that you hold dear. Your marriage, your children, your spouse, your friendships, your career, your integrity, your finances, your home, your family, your body, your emotions, anything and everything that you love. He will use any means necessary to destroy you. Not just you, but everyone you love. Not just everyone you love, but everyone on earth.

So, how do we prepare for battle?

Paul lays the plan out before us in Ephesians 6:

Christian Warfare

¹⁰ Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. ¹² For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. ¹³ This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. ¹⁴ Stand, therefore,

with truth like a belt around your waist,
righteousness like armor on your chest,
¹⁵ and your feet sandaled with readiness
for the gospel of peace.
¹⁶ In every situation take the shield of faith,
and with it you will be able to extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit,
which is God’s word.

¹⁸ Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. ²⁰ For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should.

Over the next several posts, we will look into this passage. It is my prayer that you will put on the full armor of God and, when the time comes,  be prepared to stand.

 

 

 

From time to time I am reminded why I chose "In the Battle" as the title for this blog. Our recent ministry trip to New Orleans, LA, and a few things that have happened since we returned have reminded me once again that we are in a battle...every one of us.

 

In New Orleans, I met several people who, through various circumstances, have found themselves living on the street. There are more people in my life who have recently been diagnosed with cancer than I want to think about. One of our church members has a chronically ill 4 month old son. I have a friend facing bankruptcy and another facing divorce. At any given time, we can all make a long list of people in our lives who are obviously struggling with something.

 

You may read this and count yourself lucky. You may be thankful that you are not in the middle of a battle. Perhaps you are not fighting a battle for all the world to see. To me, unseen battles are much harder to fight than the types listed above. Perhaps you fight depression, anxiety, addiction, loneliness, anger, hatred, unforgivness, or bitterness. Perhaps you fight jealousy, lust, pride, envy, greed, or selfishness. Maybe you feel insignificant or left out.

 

There is a common thread that runs through all of these...the enemy who heaps these troubles on us. We are in battle, every one of us, but our battle is not against people or sickness or circumstance. I was reminded of this earlier today. My brother was telling me about an encounter my nephew had in Africa last summer. He came face to face with a demonic force and was so terrified that he stayed up all night praying. The comment was made that we don't see spiritual warfare here in the USA like they do in other places.

 

This has had me thinking all morning.

 

No, we don't experience spiritual warfare here in the States like they do elsewhere, but that is not because there is none going on. When someone like my nephew spends a summer as a missionary in Africa, his focus is on Christ and only Christ; His prayer life is rich; he is dependent on God's provision; he looks for any opportunity to share the love of Christ; he is completely separated from distractions like television, cell phone, laptop, etc...how very different from how we spend most of our days here in the States. How often do we stay up all night praying for God's protection against Satan and his minions? Truth be told, most days we are no threat to Satan. Most days. we are too busy living our lives to threaten his plans for anyone's eternity. I truly believe that we would see Spiritual warfare unleashed in full force if we, as Christians, made the commitment to live like missionaries. I believe it strongly enough that I admit I am hesitant to do so. I have in the past and suffered greatly. While I know that ultimately the Battle is the Lord's, I also know that no battle is without it's wounded.

 

All this is just a simple reminder of the importance of the battle....

 

Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.  Put on the full armor of

God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil.  For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.  This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.  Ephesians 6:10-13