Wartime Mentality (Eph 6:10-13)

Wartime Mentality (Ephesians 6:10-13) Prayer and Intro: [God of grace and glory, we thank you for offering us a relationship with you through your eternal Son, Jesus, the Messiah. We ask now that by your Holy Spirit, your word will work powerfully in us to change our attitudes and thoughts… and give us practical steps that we can take to grow in knowing and imitating you more. Amen.]  Reality check. The ideal described to this point in Ephesians is not met without severe opposition. The Christian life can indeed be viewed as a great adventure, a life of growing in relationship with God through his Son Jesus Christ in submission to the Father’s will and the indwelling Holy Spirit. But Christianity is also a perilous journey marked by great struggle. Read Passage to Explain & Apply: Wow, that sounds serious. Paul isn’t playing around. I. This world is not a playground but a battleground. – What kind of Christianity must we be flying if this isn’t on our radar? A. The church in America is popularizing the notion of the Christian life as a prolonged birthday party at a theme park. (According to Paul, is that really how we should think?) 1. The suffering church doesn’t need this reminder as much as the prosperous one. – This danger of complacency and distraction is present right here in the Bible belt buckle. a. One particular evidence of this that’s on my radar is coming from many churches around us, and some of those not so distant from us in particular theological veins but certainly removed in biblical methodology. – I am deeply concerned for the attractional church (shallow) b/c I am concerned for feeble, shallow disciples. (What happens when they realize the gospel message isn’t attractive? How will these disciples respond when they realize that following Jesus faithfully isn’t so easy as entertaining worship gatherings? How will they not be moved by the cunning of false teaching? How will they not be crushed by the weight of intellectual superiority and bullying? Where will they gain a deep theology to handle suffering?) b. Lest we should catch ourselves pointing fingers and not looking in the mirror, I must ask: Do you recognize the severity, the seriousness of the situation Paul describes? Are you inviting people into your life and into your church family—one that desires to exposit God’s word to give them faith with deep roots, and desires to see them gain practical training in real-world fruit-bearing for God, and desires to send them back into the world to be a light for Jesus that withstands attacks from the evil one? c. I ask this too: Are we training our children for battle (and discipling others in Christ accordingly), or are we allowing them to be duped into planning bigger rides and preparing better games? 2. The metaphor Paul employs is intended to shake us from our complacent lethargy and get us into a wartime mentality. B. [Here’s his point] When the Church (when the Christian) is strengthened in the Lord by putting on the full armor of God, she will be able to stand fast against the devil’s schemes. 1. We need a reality check because there is a spiritual war from an unseen supernatural enemy, meaning that we are engaged in inevitable conflict, to the point of hand-to-hand combat. 2. And that’s where I’ll begin, v.12. Let’s start to unfold this in the middle of our passage and work our way out to the first and the last. II. Know Your Enemy – He is an Invisible, Supernatural Enemy A. The reason we need to stand firm in the strength of God’s might by putting on his whole armor is because the enemy of God is the enemy of His Church. – While the enemy is unseen, he is a real, wicked, and cunning enemy… and a powerful and organized enemy. 1. Clearly, Paul isn’t telling them this so they’ll be like, “PANIC!!!” No, he wants them to be alert and prepared. But how do you prepare yourself for war when you can’t see the enemy coming and can’t tell from where he’ll attack? Oh, and he’s substantially more powerful than you with demons at his disposal? a. Know who your enemy is and have a healthy respect for his power and methods. – (I think it is safe to say that) Underestimating the enemy while dancing among the dandelions is an unwise approach to wartime. b. Illust: Do you think that Brady and Candy Farr handle themselves differently in Jo’burg than we do here, knowing the dangers?  If you knew what was coming, would you prepare for the days differently? The weeks, months, years? The evil day (v. 13) – Attacks from the devil and his minions come in waves. Not every day is equally difficult in its challenge to stand. – We must be alert. Peter warns us in 1 Pet. 5:8 that the adversary prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 2. Also, to say that the enemy is primarily spiritual (unseen) does not mean that his scheming doesn’t manifest itself at times in the form of flesh and blood. a. That’s why Paul warns against human false teachers in ch.4:14 with very similar language, because they are, whether knowingly or not, in the service of their true master, the devil. b. On the opposite side, allow me to warn you against deifying or demonizing human institutions and structures (whether political, economic, or even religious). As you strive to stand up for what’s right, remember who the enemy is. Remember that while he is beyond hope, his human counterparts may be sinning, but they are not beyond the reach of God’s rescuing grace in Jesus. 3. (These are) Supernatural powers a. They are the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies (their sphere), the cosmic powers over this present darkness (their influence due to the fallen state of the universe – who’s influence you were once under, ch.2:2). b. They are personal, demonic intelligences apparently organized in some form of hierarchy. – Rulers and authorities echoes similar references to angelic beings in 1:21 and 3:10, both places that should actually encourage believers. Christ rules high above these other spiritual powers, and God’s plan for the church is to display the manifold wisdom of God to these rulers and authorities. c. Don’t live in fear of a demon behind every stone, but trust in the Lord and prepare for battle.  Paul talks about us having peace with God because we were his enemies. (Rom. 5:1) He explains us experiencing peace in this life because of our trust in God in the midst of a cosmic spiritual struggle. (Php. 4:7) – Having come to faith in Christ, you joined the winning side… which is constantly being bombarded and undermined. B. Have we underestimated the scheming of our enemy and missed the point of our mission? 1. As God purposes to tell His story to save sinners for His glory, Satan schemes to distract and disrupt God’s soldiers and to waylay sinners drawing near. 2. When people come to Christ, Satan is losing ground. How do you suspect he feels about that? When Christians walk in the righteousness they have received, God is getting the glory. God is glorified when people respond in faith to him, find joy in him, and walk obediently to him. What do you think Satan would like to do about that? – As much hatred and anger and evil scheming as you can fathom… it’s driving him to any means imaginable to thwart God’s plan. (The defeated foe is still a dangerous one. He will launch his attacks to the bitter end.) a. Our problem is that we get all complacent about it. Like, what?! God’s got this in the bag. He doesn’t need me to be more devoted and work harder and be more passionate, more consistent. He doesn’t need me to be like a super sensational team player. b. The problem with that attitude is that God is proving to the devil that he, God, is so good and so powerful that Satan can’t even defeat His church, because this Bride has been bought with the blood of Christ and empowered with the resurrection life of Christ. (He is showing up Satan. Christ can take mere men and enable them to stand firm against the devil’s schemes.) c. So while you’d be right about not trying harder to be a goodie goodie rule-keeper in your own strength, it is absolutely God’s plan for you to yield to him your time, treasure, and talents so that he can glorify himself in your life and in his church. 3. (Sometimes) The more you walk in obedience to God, the harder Satan will hit. And it may not be in the way you expect. He’s crafty, scheming, diabolical. Consider the tactics and subterfuge of evil in our lives. (Snodgrass’s comment in O’Brien) “Evil rarely looks evil until it accomplishes its goal; it gains entrance by appearing attractive, desirable, and perfectly legitimate. It is a baited and camouflaged trap.” – 2 Cor. 11:14 tells us that just as there are false apostle and false servants of righteousness, Paul says, “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself [masquerades] as an angel of light.” a. If I were in the devil’s shoes, I would want people to think I didn’t really exist. And I’d want them to think they’re doing just fine without God. I’d want them to think no one will hold them accountable. I would want to change up God’s words just enough to make my version sound more appealing to their preferred sensibilities, while undermining the very truth of those words. b. If I were in the devil’s shoes, I’d use people’s weaknesses against them. I’d want them discouraged and despondent. I’d want them embarrassing Christ’s name and disqualifying themselves as reputable witnesses. I’d want them fighting with each other. I’d want them focused on earth-bound peace and prosperity while I secretly undermine their foundation. C. This all sounds very sinister indeed. And for the American church, I think it needs to.  The question should become, what shall we do against this enemy? And what good are human resources against a superhuman attack? Apart from God, we are outmatched. That is why God has availed us of His resources to accomplish the task. III. Know your task.  The command is to stand. (stand firm, stand fast, stand against, withstand)  the commands “be strengthened” and “put on… take up” become the means to this end A. We do not need to go after Satan; he’s coming after us. We are not waging war against the devil, but he wages war against the people and purposes of God. B. Your job is to stand firm on the ground already won. 1. Your confidence in this daily battle is Christ’s decisive victory already won at the cross. (by his death and resurrection) Col. 2:15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. – “Not only has the authority of the powers been broken, but also their final defeat is imminent[….]” (O’Brien) 2. The goal of acquiring God’s strength by donning his armor is that we may stand. (four times including v. 14) Paul’s concern here is for Christian stability. The young child is wobbly, weak, and imbalanced, but the mature man is stalwart and stable. – the first is easy prey, the second a formidable foe (4:13-14) C. Standing firm is no passive endeavor. – A spiritual war requires that we fight spiritual battles outfitted with spiritual armor and weaponry. (Why does that matter?) 1. The armor of God provides the strength of God. – Before they get too nervous about the power and influence of Satan and his harmful scheming, Paul reminds the Christian church to be “strengthened in the Lord and in the power of His might.” That’s a lot of power words – dynamis, kratos, ischus - same ones from 1:19! a. Notice the balance of the Christian life again. - While it is God who does the strengthening for battle, we are commanded to put on his armor in order to gain the strength of his might. b. And God’s power works. 2 Cor. 10:3-4 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. [emphases mine] 2. Put on (v.11) and Take up (v.13) the complete panoply of a fully armed soldier… (both body protectors and weapons, ones worn at all times and ones picked up when the fighting starts) – The emphasis here is not simply on the completeness but particularly in the divineness of the armor. 3. And if I don’t have you convinced yet just how active this task of fending off the devil is, consider the Gk word for struggle, grapple, wrestle. It isn’t used anywhere else in the N.T. where several other words can be used for struggle. Paul is emphasizing the closeness and personal connection of hand-to-hand combat. 4. Knowing our own weakness, we also know that our God is able. And by his strength he makes us able to withstand in the evil day. See the clear connection to Paul’s prayer now back in 3:14-21. D. Next week we’ll continue Paul’s explanation of the Christian church being ‘outfitted for battle,’ considering the full panoply. IV. Let me give you a bit of closing Application to mull over in your mind today and throughout the week: A. The battle lines are drawn. Whose side are you on? B. (Sons, citizens) Soldiers of God, what will it take for you to get into wartime mentality? What priorities and practices need to shift in your life to reflect the change? What will you do daily to prepare for battle, to be strengthened in the Lord and in the power of His might? [Closing prayer] Save us, we pray, O Lord!     O Lord, we pray, give us success! (Psalm 118:25) [Benediction] (As Paul tells Timothy in 2 Tim. 2:1 “You therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”