11. Ephesians 6.10-24

In 2005 two men in their 80s emerged from the jungle on the island of Mindanao, which is 600 miles from Manila. During the Second World War they had been members of a Japanese tank division involved in fierce fighting with American soldiers.

The men who emerged from the jungle were suspicious of anyone who approached them. It turned out they had been hiding for 60 years. They did not realise that the war was over. They were still in battle mode.

By contrast, if today’s passage is anything to go by… Many Christian’s have the opposite problem.

Those Japanese men thought they were in a war… when really, peace had come.

Many Christians, I fear, think they’re living in peace…. When actually we’re at war.

Today we come to the end of our 11 week journey through Ephesians…. See how Paul begins this section….

Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”

Notice the word finally….. that means this is not a disconnected section (although often it’s treated that way)…. It’s not some appendix bolted on to the end of the letter…. No this is a summary…. A climax…… a rounding off of everything that has been said.

What HAS been said? Well remember Paul has outlined the gospel - God’s masterplan to bring all things together under Christ as head…. We were drawn into that masterplan as we moved from spiritual death to spiritual life - NOT because of anything we have done… but purely and only because of Jesus.

His blood has been shed for us on the cross - where he has died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins. Through his blood our sins are forgiven…. And we and given a whole new identity - adopted as children in the family of God… and filled with the Spirit of God.

NOW God, by the power of his Spirit, is empowering us to be changed more and more into his likeness. Our duty is to cooperate… to make every effort, by the power of the Spirit to live out our new identity as God’s children in the most real-world down to earth ways…. Our new identity must effect the way we speak…. And think…. The way we treat others, including (as we saw last week) in our marriages and families and workplaces.

Paul draws all that together today and says…. Finally…. (6:10)….

Ephesians 6:10–12 “Finally, 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. 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.”

We’ve reached our first point today….

1. Wartime Awareness

We’re in a wrestle (v12)…..

We need to put on Armour (v11)…

We have an enemy (v11) - the devil, who is scheming against us.

Paul says - as a Christian you need to know you’re in a WAR.

To be clear - we’re NOT in some physical fight….

· We abhor and reject religious violence….

· Jesus said blessed are the peacemakers - we’re not seeking conflict, certainly not violence…. When we’re telling others about Jesus we do so (as the apostle Peter said) “with gentleness and respect”… we never force ourselves on anyone… we must never coerce or push anyone to become a Christian.

AND YET we are in a war… it is a spiritual war. Paul says here that we have a spiritual enemy - Satan.

Satan hates the gospel….. he opposes God’s masterplan. He doesn’t want anyone to be brought from spiritual death to life…. He detests the cross of Jesus…. He doesn’t want you to learn of it…. He doesn’t want you to trust in Jesus… he opposes forgiveness…. He doesn’t want you to be adopted in God’s family.

Satan and his minions - which Paul calls the rulers and powers and authorities of this dark world… oppose all of this. That means, if you’re a Christian they oppose you.

Whether they know it or not, those who aren’t lead by Jesus…. Are lead by Satan - once we too were under his power - remember? - that’s what we saw back in Ch 2.2

Skip back a page or two and see it…

Ephesians 2:1–3 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived…

But now Christ has come to save us. And so Satan now opposes us.

Here are five very brief things to note (a, b, c, d, and e)… on the reality of evil and of spiritual warfare.

A) Satan is real and he’s our enemy.

Christians tend towards two opposite mistakes when it comes to Satan. Some people become obsessed by him (you see this in certain churches and ministries)…. Others become very fearful… but others (and this is more likely OUR danger)… others simply dismiss Satan together, don’t give him a thought, and forget we’re at war.

We must avoid becoming obsessed with him….

Those in Christ needn’t fear him - Jesus has won a victory over him.

But neither must be neglect him and forget we’re in a war and we have an enemy.

Next…

B) Satan’s main weapon is often deception.

He temps us to doubt God and question God’s word. That’s how it began with Adam and Eve - “did God really say?” Scripture calls him the father of lies…. Satan tried to tempt Jesus with falsehood (at the start of his ministry)…. But Jesus rebuked him be believing and speaking the truth of God’s word.

C) Scripture Says - God rescues his people from pagan fear.

It was so common I the ancient world for people to be terrified of evil… of satanic forces and pagan spirits - in many parts of the world today that remains the case.

People will often consult pagan forces or dabble in occult activities out of fear of evil. In some memorable OT passage God wants his people to have nothing to do with this occult world…. fortune-telling, sorcery or consulting the dead (Deut. 18:9–14; Lev. 19:31). These were not harmless activities, but a turning away from trusting God. We see this in the lives of Saul and Manasseh, whose involvement in such practices brought God’s judgment (1 Chron. 10:13–14; 2 Kings 21:6). God wanted his people to be distinct from the nations around them, trusting him alone for guidance and direction (Isa. 44:25; Jer. 27:9–10).

Don’t even go there, God tells his people - God himself is there safety from evil.

More than that (letter D)

D) Scripture says - Christ came to defeat evil and Satan.

What do we see in Jesus ministry? Amazing teaching? - yes….. Amazing miracles, healings? - yes…. But we also see him opposing evil, driving out demons, defeating Satan.

You might remember Jesus said (Mark 3:26–27 “And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.”

That’s what Jesus age to do - to plunder Satan’s house - to steal his stuff….. what stuff does he steal? PEOPLE! He wins people back, draws people out from the clutches of Satan to place them in his family instead…. How does he do that? At the cross….

Because… Jesus opposed and defeated evil OF COURSE… most importantly at the Cross - through his own death.

Speaking about the CROSS Paul says…

Colossians 2:15 “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them.”

Finally on this little sidebar…

E) The church his Jesus trophy cabinet in his victory over evil.

God displays his victory over Satan IN US - we are those he has rescued from Satan’s grasp. Again Ephesians 2:4–7 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

We are, as it were, on display to demonstrate

SO - back to the passage…. Behind human opposition that the church faces…. Behind False philosophies…. Behind Physical suffering… practical opposition…. Behind the lies of the world….. behind false teaching in the church… behind the doubts in our minds and the divisions in our churches… lies Satan.

He has been defeated by Jesus….. but not yet completely removed. He is a defeated enemy, but an enemy nonetheless.

To use another Second World War analogy (tw9 already this morning)… The cross of Jesus is a bit like D-Day. On D-Day the allied forces struck the decisive blow against Hitler. Once allied troops had taken those Normandy Beaches and begun to take land on continental Europe… the war in a sense was won - the decisive blow against Hitler had been struck. Yet they still had to fight on from Normandy in June 1944…. To Berlin in May 1945.

At the cross Jesus has truck the decisive blow against Satan…. But we still must resist him today… he still hates and opposes the gospel and the church today…. And so (secondly)

2. Wartime Armour

How can we be ready for the attacks of Satan - who would love to drag us from Christ and ruin his church?

Like any battle we need to be armed….

Ephesians 6:13 “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 firm.”

The (so-called) “day of evil” - is now…. The time before Jesus returns. Notice we are to arm ourselves, NOT to attack Satan…. But simply to STAND.

Paul’s point here is NOT that we get geared up with armour so we can attack Satan and the forces of evil. No, the way for us to be protected from his schemes and attacks….. is to stay close to Jesus. The way to stay safe from Satan is to stay in the one who has defeated Satan - Jesus.

The armour of God then, is actually all about putting on JESUS.

And the background to the armour of God Paul lists…. Is the book of Isaiah. Remember - Paul was a deeply religious Jew - a Pharisee no less - before he came to faith in Jesus so he would have known the OT like the back off his hand.

The book of Isaiah forms the background….

So, for example…

Ephesians says we need (v14) to have “fastened on the belt of truth” Isaiah promised a saviour for whom “righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash round his waist” (Isaiah 11:5). This Saviour is Jesus, who was righteous and faithful. We are wearing the belt of truth when, like a Roman soldier wearing a protective apron or belt, we keep trusting the truth of the gospel that Jesus lived in righteousness and faithfulness for our salvation.

Paul also says we need…. “The breastplate of righteousness” (v14). Isaiah promised a saviour who would “put on righteousness as his breastplate” (Isaiah 59:17). This saviour is Jesus, who lived a life of perfect righteousness for us. We are wearing this breastplate of righteousness when we keep trusting the gospel that Jesus’ righteousness is what qualifies us for heaven and protects us from Satan’s condemnation.

Wearing the armour of God also means having “as shoes for your feet… [putting] on the readiness given by the gospel of peace” (v15). Isaiah had promised: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news” (Isaiah 52:7). Jesus was the most beautiful evangelist, who “came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near” (Ephesians 2:17). We are wearing his sandals of peace when, like troops prepared for battle, we are so trusting in the peace that Jesus secured for us on the cross that we are ready to proclaim it to others.

We need “The helmet of salvation” (says v17). Isaiah promised a saviour who would wear “the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak” (Isaiah 59:17). Jesus is this Saviour. And like troops protected by bronze helmets, we are taking the helmet of salvation when we are trusting that Jesus is our Saviour and Judge

I could go on…. We’ll do one more….

“The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). Isaiah promised a servant who would say: “[The Lord] made my mouth like a sharpened sword” (Isaiah 49:2). Jesus is this servant who wielded the sword of the Spirit, the word of God—which is the only offensive weapon necessary. He defeated the devil in the desert and on the cross by enduring in his faith in the word of the gospel

The bottom line is…. The armour all points to Jesus. Putting it on means putting on Christ, it means trusting in Jesus and staying close to Jesus.

Paul is bringing us to land now. We’ve seen the need for…

· Wartime Awareness.

· Wartime Armour.

· And lastly….

3. Wartime Communications

We’re down to v18 now…

Ephesians 6:18–20 “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

In battle… in many ways the most important thing is COMMUNICATION. Without communication from the troops on the ground to the commanders on high…. Troops and aircraft and military hardware and supplies (and all the rest) won’t get to where it needs to be… and the battle will be lost.

In wartime communications are key - and it’s no different for us in our ongoing spiritual war.

We have 24h instant access to high command. We can pray anytime, anywhere. And we MUST!

And, says Paul, we can pray about anyTHING. (ALL prayer - V18) - on all occasions… we all kinds of prayers and requests. I’ve not fought in a war (riff - Moray, Lossie)… but I guess that’s how it is…. Troops will communicate with command as much as they can as often as they can - big things, small things….. huge requests…. Small needs.

We’re in spiritual conflict…. the power we need comes from God…. AND, as we’ve already seen our only hope for victory is to stay close to our commander Jesus - and yet, if we’re honest pray for many of us is NOT urgent wartime communication. There’s little urgency in our praying… little regularity to it.

Come back to that in a moment… for now nice that, whilst we can (and SHOULD) pray about all sorts of things…. There is one prayer topic we should be praying for VERY regularly - it should be at the top of our list…. And that is prayer for GOSPEL PROGRESS.

We are to pray for God’s people…. We are to pray for people like Paul to speak the gospel fearlessly and regularly… to that more people might come to know Christ. And, of course, it’s not just Christian leaders who have that task - we all do…. Paul adds (end of v18) we should pay for all the Lord’s people.

Whenever we meet to pray - here in services…. Or at our City Groups…. Or at our Wednesday evening monthly prayer meeting….. we must be constantly praying for evangelism - for new people to come to know Jesus… for God to use us to share the gospel here in Edinburgh…

In military terms we’re praying for the success of the campaign. We have a vision for our particular part of that campaign - for Gospel growth here in Edinburgh.

Prayer is wartime communication - it is essential - Gospel progress is Impossible without God at work. Remember -we’ve seen right here in Ephesians that if people are going to come to faith in Jesus - if they’re going to move from spiritual eath to spiritual life then that can ONLY happen if God is at work - if GOD does it.

We need to pray… and yet I need to be honest and say prayer is a great weakness In our church. Prayer is not only measured by numbers t prayer meetings - but it does give some indication. There are 50-60 of us here most Sunday mornings. Perhaps another 30 or so watching online, sometimes more…. In some ways we’re not far off engaging with 100 folks each Sunday morning. And yet last week our midweek Wednesday prayer meeting had just 8…. And our Monday prayer meeting just 4. Numbers are shamefully low and (to be honest) falling.

in a war do the soldiers cease to use the communications simply because the method is slightly inconvenient?

for the sake of our own souls…. For the sake of the mission - the progress of the gospel. We gotta pray.

SO…

So we reach the end of Ephesians…. Paul has shown us the glorious gospel of Jesus who has come to save us… and draw us into God’s plans for the world. God is driving history in one direction - where God’s people will be united eternally under Jesus as head…. But the gospel touches on really life NOW as well. We have a new father God…. We’re adopted into his family - to take on his likeness more and more in our thinking and speaking…. In our living in marriage, in family, in community, in our work.

That’s God’s masterplan. And that’s Ephesians.

Let’s pray.