Winning Your War with Evil

 

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. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:12-13)

 

 

          You just have to cringe when you hear about it: a star athlete, who has spent a lifetime conditioning his body and training for a major competition such as the Olympics, slips on ice and breaks his leg. Just that quickly, his life is cast into total upheaval.

          This happens more often than you or I would like to think. But it serves as a reminder that even those with sculpted physiques and otherwise-ideal health need to be vigilant. Slips are possible always – and they can wreck everything.

 

          If you believe in Jesus as your Redeemer, you enjoy the loftiest status a person could ever desire. You are a child of the Living God, born to life eternal; and no one or thing can ever separate you from the love of God in Christ.

          But it is also true that you as a Christian face Christ’s enemy, Satan (and his minions). If you think an Olympic-hopeful stands to lose a lot with one slip, imagine how much you as a child of God stand to lose! Ice only threatens star athletes in wintertime; Satan continually is at work to oppose Christ’s church, and you and me in particular. A slip – an adulterous affair, getting caught stealing – doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not a Heaven-bound Christian, but it does wreck everything.

          This morning, St. Paul exhorts the Ephesians (and you and me) to stand strong amid spiritual warfare; to put on the spiritual armor that Christ provides you; and to crown your obedience with prayer. This is an eternally serious war in which you, Christian, are engaged. Thankfully, Jesus has provided protection for your battles.

 

          The apostle first instructs you and me to stand strong amid our spiritual warfare.

          Don’t let the “finally” by which Paul introduces this last section of his epistle trick you: this section of the letter isn’t an “add on” but, rather, a powerful parting word of exhortation. As a redeemed Christian, brought from death to life by our sovereign Lord, you are engaged in a spiritual battle, and all of Paul’s previous exhortations depend on you fighting the good fight of faith. These are vital words from the apostle – words that he prefaces with that sweet, pastoral address: “my brethren.” Paul identified with the Ephesians, and with you and me, in our daily struggles with sin and with the evil one.

          You are to be strengthened in the Lord, Paul writes, and in the power of his might. Interestingly, Paul in 1:19-20 said God raised Jesus, and you and me (spiritually), from the dead by the “power of his might.” Jesus himself said you and I would be able to bear fruit for him only as we remain in him (as a branch must remain in the vine). Likewise here the apostle says you and I must continually flee to Jesus and draw our strength from him, as we wear his armor, if we are to withstand the attacks of our fierce enemy, Satan.

          Whether or not you recognize it, you – if you indeed look to Jesus for your forgiveness and right standing before God – are engaged in a spiritual war at this very moment. You’re wrestling in hand-to-hand combat not with flesh and blood but instead with spiritual wickedness of great potency. It’s curious that Paul should employ the term “wrestle” to describe your spiritual conflict; wrestling in Paul’s day was perhaps the most-cunning, trickiest sport of all. The craftier you were, the better you were at wrestling – at “throwing off” your opponent and getting him in a vulnerable position. In the same way, you and I fight the craftiest of all opponents, Satan, as Eve learned right well in Eden. Did not Satan pose a wily question to her, prompting her to continue her rebellious questioning of God’s goodness? He does the same to you and me today.

          Paul is encouraging you to see beyond the superficialities of your daily life. Oh, it might seem that the pesky co-worker who made that snide comment about your project was simply “Earl being Earl.” But what about the attitude you took toward Earl? Was it Christ-honoring? Have you continued to harbor bitterness against Earl? You see, your real struggle isn’t with a sinner named Earl; it is with the one who ultimately promotes all evil in the world and uses willing sinners to accomplish his means.

          When Paul refers to “principalities and powers” and to other demons in verse 12, he isn’t trying to establish a hierarchy of evil spirits. He rather is emphasizing the reality of the struggle in which you and I are involved every day – a struggle against powerful, spiritual foes whose realm is this sin-darkened world. Our enemy attacks us every day (we live in this “present evil age,” Paul elsewhere writes), and he attacks most fiercely on the “evil day.” Your evil day might be when you’ve had enough of Earl’s comments, or when your mother’s illness is about to cause you to question God’s goodness. Either way, your day(s) will come.

          By looking to the victorious Savior for strength, and by putting on his armor, you will be able to withstand all of the enemy’s attacks – and, finally, to be the last one standing.

 

          Paul offers you even more encouragement, secondly, as he describes the armor that Christ provides for you.

          “Standing” is a key concept in this passage, but again, you and I can stand our ground in our battle with evil only as we remain in our strong Lord Jesus. Critical to your standing firm in Christ is to put on his armor, which Paul describes by way of analogy to the armor of a Roman soldier. Now, I caution you not to be overly subtle in your appropriation of these terms: don’t think that salvation is a helmet protecting your head but having nothing to do with your heart. Instead, grasp the central point: you are to “put on Jesus” and his holy and unassailable character as you live daily life.

          Truth, upon which our belief is built, is the belt that holds everything together and is foundational for your life. Jesus said he was the Truth; and his truth stands in direct opposition to the father of lies, Satan. You need to begin every day by reading God’s truth in Scripture, taking it to heart and referring to it continually as you face the lies of Satan. The devil will make that tirade against Earl in front of everyone look delectable – but he will leave out how your barrage against Earl will wreck your Christian witness. Rest on God’s truth, revealed in the Word.

          Righteousness protects you from Satan’s slander, so it is to be your protective breastplate. Not only does Jesus’ perfect obedience to his Father’s law assure you of your standing before God; when you desire to walk in righteousness in your inward parts, you will avoid the wiles of the enemy. A breastplate covers the heart. If your heart is covered by and motivated by God’s law, you’ll love your spouse, for example – and avoid inappropriate relations and situations.

          The Gospel, which brings peace (or wholeness of life, which comes from a right relationship with God through forgiveness for your sins), should spur your feet to readiness in God’s service. Think about it: if you are infatuated with this sinful world, your feet will take you where you can indulge in pet sins. If you know God’s peace in Christ, though, you will be eager to take this message of hope to the hopeless sinners around you. Let the Gospel guide your steps, and be ready to follow where Jesus leads you.

          Faith, which lays hold of Christ’s victory over sin and Satan, serves as your door-sized shield against Satan’s “fiery missiles.” The Roman shield to which Paul refers in this text was door-sized, saturated in water, and protected the entire soldier from flaming arrows, which damaged not only with their points but also with their fire. Such is how Satan operates: he not only sends Earl’s snide comments your way; he also tempts you to let those comments simmer. Not only, then, do you feel defeated, you also become enraged and bitter. Faith looks to God’s love in Christ for you and forgives Earl continually – extinguishing the flames and the effects of his words.

          Salvation is the helmet that guards your mind and thinking, reminding you that you serve the Savior who “made an open show over his enemies, triumphing over them at the cross.” When you’re sorely tempted, remember that you serve the living Savior, and you are called and empowered by him to a holy life. As you consider this world and your role in it, think as a saved person.

          The last piece of Christian armor that Paul describes is the Word of God, which the Spirit uses as His sword. In Hebrews, the apostle tells us that the Word is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts right to your very heart. By the preaching of the Word, God slays sinners and calls us effectually by His Spirit to Jesus. By his right understanding and application of the Word, Jesus himself resisted Satan in the wilderness. So you and I are to “take the fight” to Satan, combating his lies – which only bring death – with the Word of Life.

          You will face battles every day in your walk with Jesus. It isn’t a stroll; it’s a war. Thankfully, he has provided his very character to protect and to equip you for victory in every battle.

 

          Third, Paul teaches that prayer must crown your life as you stand firm in Christ.

          Prayer might not be a part of your Christian armor per se, but it clearly is a vital part of your Christian life. Paul emphasizes his need for prayer in verses 18-20, underscoring its importance by using the word “all” four times (as the scholar Peter O’Brien has well observed). You are to pray at all times, seeing every moment – especially trials – as occasions calling for prayer. You’re to offer all prayer and supplication, praising and thanking the Lord for His mercies as well as petitioning Him for your and others’ spiritual health. You’re to pray with all perseverance (the NIV has it wrong in verse 18, incidentally), doing the difficult and sometimes-tiring work of prayer with constant attention. (How healthier would you and I and our churches be if we did the hard work of continual prayer?) And you are to pray, Paul writes, for all saints – not merely for yourself or for your Aunt Earline. Most of us in Greene County have a very individualistic Christianity; remember, there is a vertical as well as a horizontal dimension to the faith!

          Even Paul himself coveted the Ephesians’ prayers. He requested that they pray for him to have boldness when he would be granted occasion to speak, so that he would make known the Gospel fearlessly. After all, such occasions can be rare – and are precious for promoting the Gospel. And if Paul needed prayer, surely you and I do as well.

 

          The apostle described himself as an “ambassador (of Christ) in chains.” Those chains are instructive for you and me, because they represent a spiritual wrestling match, or to continue our earlier analogy, a patch of ice on the walkway.

          If Paul weren’t spiritually awake and fully clothed in Christ’s armor, he could have slipped on the ice of imprisonment. He could have thrown up his hands, grown resentful at God and rebelled against Christ. No doubt that’s what Satan wanted to happen.

          Yet Paul relied on Jesus’ strength. He equipped himself in Christ’s armor, in Christ’s saving work. And he prayed for God’s blessing on the situation. Because he had done what was necessary for preparation, he won the battle. He stood his ground. Those chains became a witness to the power of Christ to transform sinners.

          You might not be in chains for Christ today, but you have your battles. You have your “spots of ice.”

Are you prepared?