2 actions we must take to stand strong when we face spiritual battles
I. Depend on the Strength in the Lord (v.10)
A. Because our identity is “in the Lord”
Ephesians 2:10 - For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:21-22 - …in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 3:12 - …in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
B. Because of “the strength of His might”
Ephesians 1:19-20 - …and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 3:16 - …that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.
II. Put on God's Powerful Resources Like Complete Weaponry (v.11-13)
Romans 13:12 - Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Ephesians 4:24 - …and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
A. Because you are in a spiritual battle (v.11-12)
“against the devil’s schemes”
“our struggle is not against flesh and blood”
“against the rulers”
“against the powers”
“against the world forces of this darkness”
“against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places”
“the evil day” (v. 13) (Ephesians 5:16)
B. So that you can stand firm and resist (v.11, 13)
“so that you will be able to stand firm” (v.11)
“so that you will be able to resist” (v.13)
One of my absolute favorite parts on the bible is when David gives a speech about the Lord before he fights Goliath.
I want to open our time this morning with reading a section of the David and Goliath story as it really sets the stage for our passage this morning in Ephesians.
Please turn to 1 Samual 17:31-47….Note that the context here is that the philistines have camped in Israel for war…the Phillistine army is on the side of one mountain, and the Israelite army is also on a side of a mountain with a valley in between…and Goliath coms out and taunts the armies of Israel and tells them to give them someone to fight him….he did this for 40 days…morning and evening…and no one wanted to fight him because he was huge…
David is delivering some food and he hears this taunt and he asks who is going to kill this guy who is taunting the army of the living God…David recognized this is the Lord battle….the Lord is the one who is begin opposed….Goliath is fighting in the name of the Philistine false gods…and Yahweh is the God of Israel…So this is what David does, and what Daivd says….
Read 1 Samual 17:31-47
Did you notice David did not wear Saul’s armor…it did not fit…it was not going to help him against Goliath….David was skilled with a sling for sure, he was brave and he fought lions and bears …But he fought in the name of the Lord…He fought wearing the strength of the Lord…David said the Lord delivered these animals into my hands…the Lord will deliver Goliath into my hand…David did not fight with the Armor of Saul….David was fighting with the Armor of God…because he was calling upon the strength of the lord to deliver him victory…The Battle is the Lord’s…and yet we are called to fight…to stand firm and fight the battle the Lord wants us to fight in His strength…
Standing Strong in the Lord's Power for Battle
Read Eph 6:1--13
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
There is one thing I want everyone to take away from this message today…we are in a spiritual battle…they key today is recognizing the real battle and as the bible says girding yourselves for war…
So this morning lets look at…
2 actions we must take to stand strong when we face spiritual battles.
First we must…
I. Depend on the strength in the Lord. (v.10)
David identified Israel not simply as Bill, Bob, Saul, David etc…He identified Israel as the armies of the living God…the identify of the nation of Israel was about who their God was…
Our identify too is all about who our God is…We must stand strong…
Because our identity is “in the Lord”
The first 3 Chapters of Ephesians are all about what God has done for us to make us His people, it illustrated his power and strength in salvation…then everything we do after salvation is to be connected to our God…
Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
God prepared good works for us to walk in…we are to walk in them, but we are to do so as one who was created anew in Christ Jesus.
We must recognize we represent something much bigger than ourselves…we are in a battle that is much bigger than ourselves…not that it says…
Ephesians 2:21–22 – “in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
We are to represent the holy presence of God…We are to bear His image…function as His temple where his presence dwells…
We can do this boldly and courageously even in trial and battle because …
Ephesians 3:12 – “in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.”
Not only is this our identity…but we actually have power and strength to carry out His purposes and His good works…we can do this even through opposition….
Because of “the strength of His might”
We may not have the power to accomplish our own purposes…but we have infinite power available to us to accomplish God’s purposes…note the power available to us…
Ephesians 1:19–20 – “and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places”
There is an internal strengthening that is to take place…not a goliath like outward physical strength with ability and resources…but an internal power that bring glory to God…
Ephesians 3:16 – “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man”
The way we are to be strong is by putting on the full armor of God…we are to
II. Put on God's Powerful Resources Like Complete Weaponry (v.11-13)
Notice how it says the full armor of God…it says this twice…
- “Put on the full armor of God” (v. 11)
- "Therefore put on the full armor of God” (v. 13)
Next week we will discuss the specific pieces of the Armor of God…but today I want you to especially focus on the full armor…There needs to be a holistic approach to this…You need all of you to be protected by all of God…you need to put on God himself…all that He is you need to apply to every aspect of your life.
Notice David did not wear Sauls armor…but he was protected by the lord…He was fighting in the name of the Lord…bearing His values, bearing His purposes…That was David’s armor that you could not see…
If you read Isaiah 59:15-20 you will see that God is the ultimate warrior, and it is His armor we are putting on…this is not simply a resource that God has that he is sharing with us…it is God’s very character, his divine nature, all that He is and all that he has done…we are to put on God Himself, and All His mighty deeds,
Romans says it like this…
Romans 13:12 - “Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
Ephesians says it like this…
Ephesians 4:24 – “and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
One commentator said…
"Essentially, then, to "put on the new self" is the same as donning the armour of God." – Peter T. O'Brien, PNTC
And another said…
"In other words, knowing the truth of who we are in union with Christ, cultivating the virtues of this new identity, and using the resources available through this new relationship are at the heart of what it means to put on the armor of God." – Clinton E. Arnold, ECNT
When you trust Jesus as your Lord and savior…you are now in union with Him…but you need to continuously put on that truth to prepare and arm yourself each day.
The reason you must do this is….
Because you are in a spiritual battle (v.11-12)
This is a battel we need to be aware of
Do you know what is worse than getting beat…worse than losing a battle? Not even knowing you were in a battle and then not even be able to stand up and fight because you did not even know there was a threat nearby.
We are in a spiritual battle…we are supposed to be aware of this and stand firm….
- “against the devil’s schemes”
The devil is powerful and he is conniving…his plans and schemes are not always obvious…it is not going to be right in front of you…the problem is not going to be obvious and right in front of you…it is a scheme…it is designed to trick you…
- The name Devil means “accuser,” because he accuses God’s people day and night before the throne of God (Rev. 12:7–11).
- The devil want to trick you to believe that your identity is not tied to Christ but must be tied to your own work, your own performance, your own goodness…and then what follows is guilt and shame because everyone falls short of the Glory of God.
- His goal is to not glorify the son, but to seek to glorify man and devour people with their own desires and pride and foolish self sufficiency.
- He wants you to put your trust, your security and your pleasure in anything except God, anything except the person and work of Jesus Christ. Sports, Beauty, popularity, politics, wealth, intelligence…anything but Christ.
- He is powerful and clever and so you must be fully protected with all that God provides you with, with all that God has done for you and in your place…
- This is so important bc we are in a Battle that has a great deal of adversaries we cannot see, let alone fight on our own. notice it says…
[NOTE: All bold quotes fit on one slide].
- “our struggle is not against flesh and blood”
- “against the rulers”
- “against the powers”
- “against the world forces of this darkness”
- “against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places”
- “the evil day” (v. 13) (Eph 5:16)
So not only are the days evil…ever since Christ left we have been in the end times as we wait for his return…and the days are evil, but our struggle is not against flesh and blood…all of these terms are describing Satan’s minions…fallen angels that oppose God and follow Satan in His rebellion….and they have a spiritual influence that is easy to get distracted from.
We just got done doing a whole series on Marriage and family, and relationships with others under your authority or those who have authority over you….it is not a mistake that the very next passage after all these relationships is about the spiritual batter that is against the devil and spiritual forces of darkness.
You see the greatest scheme and distraction is to seek to get you to fight flesh and blood and not resist the spiritual battler to exalt Christ….Your spouse is not your enemy, even when they wrong you…Your parents are not your enemy even if they fail you…your coworker, your neighbors, your friends who let you down, embarrass you or even sin against you…are not your real enemy…Satan wants you to focus on building your physical kingdom and fight people here are earth that get in the way of doing what you want to do…that is one key way he is seeking to deceive us…get us to fight for our name, our preferences, our exaltation and our comfort, and our desires….Rather than fight in the name of the Lord for the glory and exaltation of Jesus Christ.
Don’t fight the wrong battle…and if you are admit it and refocus your energies in the right direction…a direction that focuses on putting on the full armor of God…growing in your knowledge of Who God is and what He has done…The real battle is apathy to the things of God.
[Consider battle in WW2 to distract Germany from allied landing site…consider Germy fighting on 2 fronts…If you can get someone to fight the wrong battle, you can beat them pretty easily…
People get so upset they don’t even fight the right battle…this passage is to alert us to the real enemy, the real battle the one we cannot see, but one that we are supposed to be a part of..
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Pet 5:8
We want to put on the full armor of God …
So that you can stand firm and resist (v.11, 13)
“so that you will be able to stand firm” (v.11)
One commentator said…The fundamental reason for this confidence (though not presumption) is that the decisive victory over the powers has already been won by God in Christ (1:19–22[2]
We see that victory illustrated earlier in Ephesians…
Ephesians 1:19–23 -19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
So our Job is not to win…but to trust the victory of Christ and stand form…and cloth ourselves with what He has done to resist the devil…we must put on the armor of God…God is the hero, he is the divine warrior, he is our rock and our redeemer…we put on what he has done, we must do that
We fight by becoming more like Christ every day…putting on Christ, resting in what Christ says about us, not what Satan says about us….
We put on grace and mercy when wronged by our spouse,
We put on patience and a forgiving spirit when our parents or our kids disrespect us
We return good for evil if our friend, or co-worker or neighbor treats us poorly…
We don’t use sinful anger, slander, or gossip to fight back…we fight back by standing firm in the pursuit of becoming more like Christ…putting on the FULL armor of God…This is
“so that you will be able to resist” (v.13)
You can’t win a battle if you don’t know to fight, not willing to fight, and wont trust the resources God has given you…the purpose is so we can resist…holding firm…
CS Lewis wrote a wonderful book called the Screwtape letters…which is a fiction, that portrays a elder demon writing letters to a younger demon seeking to give him instruction in the best way to temps, distract and way lay Christians…
“Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.” ― C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
When you see the real battle is to trust God when there is no earthy reason to trust God…that is the battle we cannot see…
The other battle is the temptation to simply give God part of our lives, and not be fully devoted to him…another good except from the Screwtape letters is…
“If you can once get him to the point of thinking that ‘religion is all very well up to a point,’ you can feel quite happy about his soul. A moderated religion is as good for us as no religion at all- and more amusing.” ― C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
The Lord wants all of you, he wants you all your heart, soul , mind strength….He wants your whole heart…he wants you to put on the full armor of God…he wants you to seek to know all that God has revealed about Himself so you grow in the Grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ…
The interesting thing is that Jesus has already won the victory…already defeated sin and death, and he will one day cast Satan and all his demons into the lake of fire once and for all…what we need to do is stand firm, wait, and hold fast while the Lord finalizes His victory that we get to be a part of….
I want to close with what James says…
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
Pray
- Lord help your people see we are in a spiritual battle that is not against flesh and blood.
- Lord, help us …Depend on the strength in the Lord. (v.10)
- Lord help us….Put on your full armor…Help us fin dour strength and identity in you
- So we will be able to stand form and resist the devil as we seek to obey you, and exalt the person and work of Christ.
[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 57). Victor Books.
[2] O’Brien, P. T. (1999). The letter to the Ephesians (p. 464). W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
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