Our Call to War

Our Call to War Ephesians 6:10-13 Review/Preview • Paul has just wrapped up a lengthy review of Spirit-filled relationships. • Now, Paul transitions to the final section of the book – 6:10-20. • Grand Theme: God’s Power through Prayer • Today’s Phrases: (1) Call to Arms & (2) Strength to Stand Call to Arms 1. Capstone Command: • • Finally: extremely important word, of far greater importance than we might suspect Paul ties together several previous sections with this description of power and prayer – 1:15-20; 3:14-19; 4:11-14 2. True Power: • • Literally, “Be being strengthened in the Lord and in the might of His power.” Paul insists that God is the only source of this power Call to Arms 3. God’s Armor • • • “Panoply”: heavily armed soldier equipped for every battlefield contingency (Danker). God arms Himself for battle – Isaiah 59:17; Revelation 19:11ff God’s armor is absolutely critical to fulfilling our commission – v. 11, “so that …”; v. 13, “in order that …” Strength to Stand 1. Desperate Plea • • From 10-14, Paul uses at least 4 direct commands (Be strong; put on; take up; stand therefore) From 10-14, Paul employs another three subcommands (Put on … to stand against; take up … to withstand; having done all, to stand) 2. Implacable Foes: • • • We fight against a scheming Devil – 11b We fight against the Devil’s vast horde of evil lackies (v. 12) We fight against the backdrop of evil times (v. 13) Strength to Stand 3. Stand Your Ground • • • In ancient warfare, breaking rank and allowing a breach in the battleline caused catastrophic defeat. See Isaiah 40:1ff; Nehemiah 4 Classic Old Testament Examples: Daniel 3; Daniel 6; Exodus 5ff (“Go in to Pharaoh …”) Applications 1. There is a fight we can avoid simply by calling evil good. Practitioners of this agenda call us dangerous and hateful and employ words like “love” and “tolerance” to denounce us. They will attempt to tax us, cancel us, and legally disband us. Their violent rhetoric will rise to the levels of Genesis 19:4-10. But we will not bow to their agenda; we will not retreat one inch as we speak the truth to them in love. 2. Of far greater importance is the individual battles we face every day. The strength we gain in those smaller battles will enable us to stand fast in great trials.