Love that Goes to War

Ephesians 6

Good morning! Please open your Bibles to Ephesians 6. This is going to be our last sermon in Ephesians before the Advent season begins, and then we will come back on the last Sunday of December with one more sermon from Ephesians. And let me tell you why we are doing it this way. Our church is going to look at 2025 as the year of prayer. Just as every sermon this year has had something to do with discipleship, which is another word for our Christian life, I want our Sunday morning teachings next year to be focused around prayer.

This morning’s message will be a really great lead-in to that idea, because we are going to talk about love that goes to war.

That may sound like a contradiction in terms to you. Love doesn’t go to war… does it? As Christians, we describe ourselves in lots of different ways: Christ-follower. Disciple. Believer. Born again. But warrior? Some of us are thinking, no, wait. I’m a lover, not a fighter.

But I didn’t say fighter. I said warrior. There’s a difference. A fighter can fight for selfish reasons. Maybe he was insulted. Or maybe he’s a bully. Or maybe he just likes to stir up trouble.

But a warrior takes orders from a superior officer. He or she doesn’t just fight to be a brawler. He or she fights for something greater than himself or herself.

And so this morning, we’re gonna go to war. We’ll answer four questions:

Why do we fight?

Who is the enemy?

What is and isn’t he capable of?

How do we beat him?

Lets read Ephesians 6:10-16. If you are physically able, please stand to honor the reading of God’s Word. [pray] 1. Why do we fight?

Let’s talk first about why we fight. At the point of salvation, when you surrendered to Jesus, you got some incredible gifts. You got forgiveness for every sin, past present or future. You got the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. You got adoption into God’s forever family. Great things. But you also also one thing you probably wish you didn’t. You got God’s enemy. Now that you are a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, you are by default a citizen soldier, at war with the kingdom of darkness.

And maybe you’re thinking, Can’t I just get the blessings? Let’s go back to talking about all our riches in glory.

The short answer is no. You don’t get to be a spiritual Switzerland. When you become a Christian, you become a threat. Satan is out to destroy you and take you out of the battle. If you try saying, no, I don't want to fight, then you will fall, and you will fail. We find this language peppered throughout the New Testament.

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith.

2 Timothy 2:3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 10:4–5 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Jude 3 contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

At the end of his life, Paul wrote again to Timothy, in 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Notice that verse 10 says "be strong in the Lord. This isn’t about what you can do, it’s about what Christ can do through you. “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil."

Who is the Enemy?

I don’t like talking about the devil. I would much rather talk about Jesus. But think of this as military intelligence. We have to know our enemy. So who or what is the devil?

According to the Bible, the devil is a a real created spiritual being named Satan. Nowhere is it implied that he’s just a metaphor. He had extensive conversations with Adam in the Garden, God in Job, and Jesus in the wilderness. He is highly malevolent, incredibly intelligent, and has been around for some long, long years—since before the world was created. Satan is mentioned 47 times in the Bible.

He’s also personal. Peter calls him “your adversary, the devil” (1 Peter 5:8)

Where did Satan come from? The Bible describes Satan in Isaiah 14:12-15 as one of the most beautiful of all God’s heavenly host. The KJV refers to him as Lucifer in this passage, which actually means “bearer of light.” At some point in prehistory, Lucifer led a rebellion along with a third of the angels. (Revelation 12:4). And that third of the angelic hosts are what we call demons.

Revelation 12:9 says,

The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

According to Luke 10, Jesus saw it happen. He told his followers, “I saw Satan fall like lightning.”

Revelation 5:11 says that there are thousands upon thousands of angels, and ten thousand times ten thousand. It was another way of saying too many to count. And a third of them went with Satan. That’s a lot of demons. But here’s the good news: two thirds of them didn’t. So whatever else we can say about Satan, we can say this with confidence: he’s outnumbered! 2/3 of the heavenly host is on our side! Hebrews 1:14 says the ministering spirits to serve those of us who inherit salvation. They're on our side! Martin Luther wrote in the hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”

though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us,

we will not fall, 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.

I like our chances. When it comes down to it, I’m glad he's my enemy. I'd much have God as my friend and Satan as my enemy than Satan as my friend and God as my enemy.

3. What is and isn’t he capable of?

Now that we know who the devil is and where he came from, let’s talk about what he can and can’t do. Verse 11 says, Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. The Greek word is methodia-- methods.

Now Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 2:11 that we are not unaware of Satan's schemes. We already know from Scripture what the devil can do, and also what he can’t do. Let’s start with what the devil can’t do.

First off, if you are a Christian, the devil cannot possess you. Forget everything you’ve ever seen about people being possessed by the devil in horror movies. It cannot happen to you. Think of yourself like one of those Russian nesting dolls. The Holy Spirit is in you. You are in Christ. Christ is in God. So for the devil to get to you, he’s first got to go through God, which is not gonna happen without God’s permission. But even if God allowed it, like he did with Job, then Satan’s gotta deal with Jesus, who already kicked his tail at Calvary. But even if he could somehow get past Jesus, he would still have to contend with the Holy Spirit who is in you. And 1 John 4:4 tells us that “the one who is in you is greater than he that is in the world. So you can be confident that the Holy Spirit would be busting out like Alien.

Secondly, the devil can’t tempt you beyond what you can bear. 1 Corinthians 10:13 promises that. It says that you are never going to go through anything that is not common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but with the temptation will come the way of escape.

Third, the devil can’t steal your salvation. in John 10:28-29, we are assured that when Jesus gives you eternal life, no one, especially not the devil, will be able to snatch you out of the Father’s hand.

Those are just a few of the things the devil can’t do. So now, let’s talk about what the devil can do. The devil has two main lines of attack. One is a frontal assault. The other is a sneak attack.

Frontal assaults include persecution, trials, doubts, and temptations. Even though God won’t let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, he will allow you to be tempted. Satan is the best observer of human nature that’s ever been created. And he knows just what will tempt you most effectively. He knows when to put it in front of you. When you’re tired. When you’re alone. When you are disconnected from the people of God. He can’t take your salvation, but he sure can distract you, and keep you distant from your Heavenly Father.

But if the frontal attack through temptations don't work, Satan’s other tactic is infiltration. Get unbelievers in churches to influence true believers in those churches. All throughout the New Testament, the church is warned about false teachers.

Jude 4 ESV

4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Satan is an angel of light. It's no marvel that his ministers also disguised themselves as ministers of light. So we put everything said and every person to the test to find out if there's truth or not truth (Acts 17:11).

Friends, I give you my word that I will always preach and teach only what the Bible says. If something is my opinion, I will tell you so. But it is your job to do what the Bereans did. Search the Scriptures to see if what I teach and preach is in accordance with them. And call me on it if it isn’t [story from camp when I got them to say Amen]

Satan doesn’t just use false teacher, he also fake, self-proclaimed Christians. Those who claim to be a brother and sister in Christ and yet do not exhibit the heart of Christ.

Paul warns against divisiveness in Romans 16:17

17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.

He warns against gossips and busybodies in 1 Tim. 5:13

1 Timothy 5:13 ESV

13 Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.

He warns against quarrelsome people in 2 Timothy 2:23–25

23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness.

4. So how do we fight?

How do we defend ourselves against Satan’s frontal assaults and his covert infiltration? How do you protect yourself and defend your church?

First, realize that this is a spiritual battle, and it can’t be fought by human means. Paul makes this clear in verse 12

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

This is not a human battle. This is not fought in the world of humanity and politics, although Satan does infiltrate humanity and politics, and he does use people who are aligned with his value system to wreak havoc in the lives of believers.

When Paul says we wrestle against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers and spiritual forces, these are rankings of demonic spiritual beings in high, invisible places, Some are principalities, some are powers, some are rulers of the darkness of this age. So Paul tells the Ephsians to “put on the whole armor of God.” Paul wrote Ephesians from a Roman He had two soldiers chained to him at all times. And during those two years, Paul got to know what a solider’s armor looked like and how it functioned. So he composed this incredible analogy of what the armor of God is.

This week we are going to look at the defensive armor. When we come back to Ephesians after Advent, we will look at the three offensive weapons.

Verse 13: “Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Then, he goes on to describe each piece of the armor of God 1. The belt of truth. The belt was located at the center of the soldiers body, and it held every other piece in place. The breastplate attached to the belt. The sword hung from it. It was a wide belt of thick leather, and it helps protect the vital organs. A soldier would gather up his tunic and tuck it into his belt so he could move more freely in battle.

So in our armor inventory, what is the function of the belt of truth? Well, it’s truth that holds every other piece of armor in place. You need to know truth. And like a belt, truth rests at the very center of a Christian’s being. The truth of God’s word encircles us. And when you know truth, you'll know the scope of the battle. You'll know the outcome of the battle before you get into it. You'll know that you're on the winning side, that Satan is outnumbered. You know the end of the story.

John 17:17 ESV

17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

John 8:32 ESV

32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

You need to know that going in. And so it's the belt of truth. Have your waist girded. Second piece, also verse 14, the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate covered the chest and abdomen. It was made out of leather. Sometimes it had plates of metal in it. And along with the wide belt, it protected the vital organs, especially the heart. In ancient Greek, Roman and Jewish understanding, the heart in was where your thoughts originated. The guts was where you feelings originated. We still use that language today, don’t we?

The breastplate of righteousness protects your thoughts and feelings. Satan attacks those two areas constantly. He whispers to you, and he says, you're not good enough. You're not righteous enough. You don’t pray enough. You’re an imposter. So we protect ourselves by putting on the breastplate of righteousness. Whose righteousness? Not our righteousness, The righteousness of Jesus. When we surrender to Jesus, He imputes His righteousness to us. You don't stand in your good works. Philippians 3:9

9 not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

Now, it’s worth spending some time on the difference between positional righteousness and practical righteousness. Positional righteousness is what Paul talk about in Philippians. Our position is in Christ (remember the nesting dolls?)

But there is also practical righteousness. This is what John, the third pastor of the church at Ephesus, writes about in

1 John 3:7–9 ESV

7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.

Practical righteousness is our ongoing commitment to live a life that pleases God. It isn’t what saves you— that’s positional righteousness. Its what sanctifies you. And sanctification is the daily process of destroying the works of the devil in your life and replacing them with the work of God. It’s not that I am sinless, but as I grow, I sin less. There's more righteousness, less of the old behavior.

If that's true, if that has happened, guess what? There will be practical righteousness. And when there is, and you are attacked, you have confidence.