Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 6:6-19
New Testament Reading: Hebrews 12:1-17
Spiritual Warfare
“The Believer’s Call to Spiritual Warfare” # 4
Ephesians 6:10-17
Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor
In Ephesians 6:10-17, the Apostle Paul used the six pieces of a Roman Soldier’s armor to describe what it means for a Christian to be fully clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
- Just as the Roman soldier put each piece of his physical armor on before entering the battle, to be effective in our spiritual warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil, Christians must be fully equipped with the spiritual armor of God.
In Hebrews 5:12, the writer scolded the Christians of that day for their lack of spiritual growth. He said, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you still need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God.”
- The term “first principles” describes the basic, fundamental, elementary concepts of the Christian Faith, i.e.:
- God is holy, God is righteous, God is perfect, His mercy endures forever, and we are kept forever by His love.
- Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead to prove His deity, and He now intercedes for us in heaven.
- The Holy Spirit has sealed us in Christ until the day of our redemption, and He is working all things together for our good, even using the things Satan uses to harm us to conform us to the image of the One who saved us.
While it is delightful to see an unbeliever become a new-born-babe in Christ and hunger for the sincere “milk” of the Word, it is depressing to see a Christian who has had sufficient time to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord still needing to be “spoon-fed” the fundamental principles of the Christian Faith.
- When a person receives Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, they are enlisted as a soldier in the Lord’s army and they are called to fight against God’s enemies.
- Not against people or human organizations, “but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
- Not with weapons of the flesh, “but with the whole armor of God.” (Ephesians 6:13)
- No believer is safe who faces Satan in his strength alone, but no believer is more secure than he who goes into battle wearing the whole armor of God.
Satan is real! Among his many titles, he is called the “devil,” the “serpent,” the “evil one,” and the “accuser of the brethren.”
- Satan’s greatest triumph is for people not to take him seriously, which is the main reason today’s Church is so weak and why we are losing the culture war.
- Satan is rarely talked about, much less preached about, which is why the majority of Christians are ignorant of his power, his plans, and his ultimate goal.
- Satan’s number one tool is discouragement, which is why he attacks us in many different ways each day. He is also called “a liar, “a deceiver,” and he is “diabolical” in the sense that he can transform himself into an angel of light.
- So, the Apostle Paul said the only way we can be effective in our spiritual warfare against Satan is by using the spiritual power inferred in the six pieces of a Roman soldier’s armor.
- The belt – the truth of the Word of God.
- When Satan tries to discourage us, we must go back to those first principles of our salvation and our first love for the Lord and do whatever it takes to be renewed and revived in our relationship with Him.
- The breastplate – the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
- Since we have been declared righteous because of our faith alone, in Christ alone, we can pursue holiness, without which no man will see God. Nothing gives a Christian more courage than knowing he is right with God and as right as he can be with others.
- The shoes – the stability of our faith in God.
- Because of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ, we not only have peace with God, but we also have the peace of God, even during our battles. Therefore, we can stand firm in our faith even when we are being attacked.
- The shield of faith – to call upon the Lord in our times of trouble.
- To hold up our shield of faith is to cry out unto the Lord in prayer and to trust His grace to quench Satan’s fiery darts. Satan sends the fiery darts to defeat us, but God allows those darts to reveal the spiritual condition of our hearts.
- The Helmet of Salvation – the absolute assurance of our salvation.
- In Romans 8:37, the Apostle Paul said once we are secure in our relationship with God, nothing can ever separate us from the love of God who sent His Son to be our Savior. Therefore, we can boldly declare our faith in God, for regardless of what happens to us in this life, we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.
- In Ephesians 4:17-22, Romans 12:1-2, and Philippians 4:7, the Apostle Paul said we must protect our minds from evil by forsaking the trash of the world and focusing on the truth of God’s Holy Word.
- The Sword of the Spirit – the Christian’s only offensive weapon is the Word of God.
- Nothing defeats the devil like the Word of God. Our weightless words mean nothing to him, for we cannot defend them with our righteousness. But when we stand on the Word of God, while Satan will never accept God’s Word as truth, he cannot disregard them, for God’s Word is supported by His absolute holiness.
- The weakness of today’s church is due to the lack of the uncompromising preaching of the unadulterated Word of God. When the Church relies upon the words and works of men, it fails. But when the Church depends upon the Word of God, Satan shivers, and the glory of the Lord shines.
- Pray in the Spirit – prayer is the believer’s secret weapon that makes the armor of God effective in our lives and in our witness to others.
- Prayer is our ultimate weapon in the warfare we face. Our greatest problems are not temporal but spiritual. Our enemies are not the humans who Satan uses to attack us. but Satan himself, whose goal is to destroy us.
- As Martin Luther wrote:
“And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed, His truth to triumph through us: The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him.” Amen!
