Preparing for Spiritual Warfare (Ephesians 6:10-20)

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Prayer of Repentance and Adoration

Sermon

Introduction

We have two more weeks in the Letter to the Ephesians and I’m excited to announce that after we finish up this series in Ephesians, we’re going to start into a series on the book of Psalms; and I do want to explain that we aren’t going to work our way through all 150 psalms in one long series, but we’re actually going to break it up a bit. I’ll explain a little more about how we’re going to do that when we start the series, but essentially, we’re going to break the book into five smaller portions, we’ll work through the first set, take a break, work through the second set, and then take a break, and so on until we finish through the whole book of psalms. I love the book of Psalms and I think most Christians today have a fairly appreciative attitude towards the psalms, however, I recognize that it’s also very easy to read them and not actually understand them, so I think it’ll be beneficial to do a study of each psalm individually in order to understand what the psalmist intended for us to understand and in order for us to apply the psalms to our lives today.

But like I said, that’ll be in a few weeks, right now, this evening, we’re in Ephesians 6:10-20. And it is really at this moment in the passage that Paul is starting to wrap up the text with one final exhortation to the church in Ephesus.

Part of this passage is probably very familiar to most of us because it’s often utilized in children’s ministry—particularly during VBS and sometimes camp; and the reason for that is because Paul utilizes a very familiar and somewhat fun illustration to show us the necessity of knowing Scripture, being prepared, and utilizing the Word of God as a sword. Because of the familiarity of the passage, I’m asking that as we dig into this text that you put aside any preconceived ideas of what you might have concerning this text and I’m asking that you look only at what this particular passage teaches as week seek to understand it, apply it, and live it this evening.

Let’s read Ephesians 6:10-20, after which, I’ll explain how we’ll divide the passage up, we’ll pray together, and then we’ll dig into Scripture. Read with me Ephesians 6:10-20.

Ephesians 6:10–20 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 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. 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. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 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, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

As we study this passage, we’re going to take it in three parts that center around us being aware and being prepared for certain issues at hand: (1) Vs. 10-12, we are in the midst of a spiritual war, focuses in on the primary exhortation of Paul in this last section. That we need to be strong in the LORD in order to stand against the devil; and Paul explains that the reason for this is that we’re in a spiritual war not an earthly war; (2) Vs. 13-17, because we’re in the midst of a spiritual war, we need to be prepared for spiritual battles. This section talks about putting on the whole armor of God and Paul utilizes the illustration of Roman armor to show us what he means by putting on the whole armor of God. And (3) Vs. 18-20, ends by reminding us to be alert through our prayer in perseverance. Paul also utilizes the last few verses to ask for prayer for himself, in particular, to ask for boldness as he speaks and preaches the mystery of the Gospel. As we study this passage, we’ll gain deeper insight of what spiritual warfare is and we’ll gain biblical insight into what we ought to do in light of the truth that there is definitely a spiritual war going on.

But before we jump into Scripture, let’s pray for the illumination of the Holy Spirit as we study God’s Word together.

We are in the midst of a spiritual war (10-12)

Paul starts this section by saying, “Finally, be strong in the LORD and in the strength of his might.” And that the Ephesians are to, “put on the whole armor of God, that you might be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

The finally, reminds us that this passage is connected to all that he’s already taught the Ephesians throughout chapters 1-6:9. In other words, while this paragraph is often treated like a standalone passage, the truth of the matter is that it is inherently attached to the rest of the book.

So, consider with me some of what Paul has spent considerable amounts of time in this letter talking about. He starts the entire book by expressing that there are spiritual benefits that Christians are able to partake in because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

He then moves onto what he calls the mystery of the Gospel, that Jews and Gentiles have been made one church by and through Jesus Christ.

And then he discusses the necessity of church unity when the doctrine is correct that results in a place in which all believers are able and willing to utilize their spiritual gifts to help build up that church.

After talking about unity within the church, Paul shifts focuses more towards personal application of the truths in chapters 1-3, and he tells the Ephesians to be imitators of God in light, in love, and in wisdom, just before looking specifically at interpersonal relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, and bondservants and masters.

Which brings us to this evening’s passage. “Finally, be strong in the LORD and in the strength of his might.” Again, which links what he’s about to say to the previous chapters and it brings up the question, what links this to the previous chapters?

What links this to the previous chapter is this, that as they seek to be unified as a church, as they seek to be imitators of God, and as they seek to live like Christians in their interpersonal relationships, there is a great struggle which lies before them.

As they seek to live in a way that brings glory and honor to the name of Jesus Christ, there is a very real struggle that they need to prepare for.

And in order for them to be prepared for this, they need to “be strong in the LORD and in the strength of his might.” And they need to “Put on the whole armor of God.”

The phrase “be strong in the LORD and in the strength of his might,” may be a little misleading in the way that we speak today because it almost sounds like this is something that we are to do, much like Vs. 11, tells us to “Put on the whole armor of God”

But the idea of being strong in the LORD, isn’t that we can put on God’s strength ourselves. Rather, it literally means to “be [strengthened] in the LORD and in the strength of his might.”

Or in other words, you cannot strengthen yourself in the the LORD. To be strengthened in the LORD is something that God does for us. He empowers us in himself and in the strength of his might.

Or in other words, as you continue to seek the LORD, he will empower you and he will strengthen you.

It is of note that the word translated as “be strong” is in Greek a present, passive, imperative written in the second person.

Which simply means this, you don’t do it. It’s done to you. And it is something that doesn’t just happen once and then it’s done

Rather it’s something that continues to happen to you throughout life.

With the stipulation that you need to seek the LORD and as you seek the LORD, he will empower you and he will strengthen you in himself.

Paul starts this last section by telling the Ephesians to essentially continue seeking the LORD and the LORD will continue to strengthen you.

He continues by telling them to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Why? Because “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.”

While being strengthened in the LORD is something that the LORD does for you as you seek the LORD, Vs. 11, tells us that you need to also “put on the whole armor of God.”

And I’m not actually going to spend time at this moment to discuss what the armor of God is because Paul actually defines the armor of God in Vs. 13-18, but I will point out that Paul calls this the armor of God.

There is some speculation as to whether this means the armor that God wears or the armor that God gives and I would suggest that there’s really nothing wrong with thinking that both of those statements are true—God might very well wear the same sort of armor (though that is speculation), but we definitely know that the armor that Paul is telling the Ephesians is definitely from God.

Which means that this armor from God comes from only God; and without God, you cannot put on this armor.

Paul tells us that there’s a very specific reason for this armor in the latter half of Vs. 11 into Vs. 12. First off, so that “you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

We live in a hyper-rationalized world that discredits spiritual activity as often as possible. So in the world that we live in today, for many people, the thought of a real devil seeking to do war against someone seems farfetched.

And yet, Ephesians 6 tells us that the devil schemes against us. The KJV tells us that we are to put on the armor of God in order to withstand the wiles of the devil. I think the term wiles gives us a better idea of what the Bible is talking of when it talks about what the devil does. The idea is that the devil is devious and cunning, that he utilizes strategic means to manipulate or persuade us into doing what he wants us to do.

1 Peter 5:8 teaches us to “be sober-minded; be watchful.” Because “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

The Bible teaches us that the devil is a real being who is seeking to do you harm by tricking you with his schemes and wiles.

Paul continues in Vs. 12, by telling the Ephesians that “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.”

The primary war that we’re in as Christians and the primary war that the Ephesians were in as Christians isn’t a physical war, but a spiritual war.

Often, we get so caught up in what’s going on in our physical world—the politics of our government, the wars in foreign lands, our perceived idea of persecution, that we neglect to realize that ultimately the war isn’t a physical war. The real war is spiritual.

And that doesn’t negate or denigrate the physical world’s problem, it only helps us to see that the spiritual war that we’re in is of greater consequence than the physical war.

Paul utilizes several different terms to describe the enemies in the real, spiritual war. He calls them “the rulers,” “the authorities,” “the cosmic powers over this present darkness,” and “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

We could take time to break down each term, but I think to do so would not only be time-consuming, but it would be to miss the point of what Paul is saying.

Paul doesn’t want us to pontificate about the different terms he utilizes to define the evil forces warring against us.

He wants us to realize that there is such a thing as spiritual evil and that spiritual evil is coming against us, but ultimately coming against the LORD.

And because we are the LORD’s, we’re caught in the midst of a spiritual war between God and Satan.

Even before salvation, we’re caught in the midst of this spiritual war between God and Satan

But when we came to Jesus Christ and believed in him, we switched sides in the war. We’re no longer enemies of God like Satan is, we’re now diametrically opposed to Satan, which is why we need to be prepared for spiritual battle. The question is, how do we prepare for spiritual battles?

Paul has already told us. (1) Be strengthened in the LORD by seeking after him. And (2) Put on the whole armor of God. In Vs. 13-18, he goes into more detail of what the armor of God is. Let’s re-read Ephesians 6:13-18a.

We need to be prepared for spiritual battles (13-17)

Ephesians 6:13–17 ESV

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. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

Because there is a spiritual war going on and since we’re caught up in the midst of this spiritual war, Paul tells the Ephesians to “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.”

Paul tells the Ephesians that now that they know they’re in the midst of this spiritual war with several evil spiritual beings fighting against them, they need to put on the whole armor of God.

This is the part of the passage, that’s often taken out of context and taken to an extreme. And you know what I mean by that, because I know that you’ve seen people pull out literal pieces of armor (or at least fake ones that you can by from the party store) and spend tremendous amounts of time describing what each piece of the armor is, but similarly to how going through each term utilized to define the evil beings would be to miss the point, I would argue to spend tremendous amounts of time working through the armor itself, would be to miss the point.

The point isn’t the armor itself, the armor itself is just a way for Paul to teach the Ephesians to focus on these things in a way that would be memorable for them.

But to get distracted with the armor itself is to miss the point that Paul is driving at.

The point being that now that they know that they’re in the midst of a spiritual battle, they need to be prepared in order to endure and stand firm. How do you get prepared? How do you endure and stand firm?

He starts that idea in Vs. 14-17, “having fastened on the belt of truth,” “having put on the breastplate of righteousness,” “having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace,” by “taking up the shield of faith” and “taking on the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Now, let’s take a moment, to look at all of these ideas without the armor illustration.

Paul says in order to be prepared and in order to endure and stand firm, you need to put on truth, you need to put on righteousness, you need to put on peace that comes from the Gospel, you need to hold onto your faith, you need to wear your salvation, and you need to take up the Word of God.

Or in other words, what Paul is teaching by utilizing the idea of Roman armor is this: You as a Christian are in the midst of a spiritual war between God and Satan. Because you’re in the midst of a spiritual war between God and Satan, you need to be prepared just like a soldier would wear armor in battle.

What is your armor as a Christian? Truth, righteousness, peace of the Gospel, faith, salvation, and the Word of God.

The question is, how exactly do you put on truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God? And that’s where the idea of the armor comes back into play:

Paul tells the Ephesians to “fasten on the belt of truth.” The idea here of truth being like a belt is something that we have to take armor into account with. Consider someone wearing armor today, where does the belt go? It doesn’t go after putting the rest of the armor on, it actually goes on before putting the rest of the armor on, because it’s underneath the armor and the belt is actually what a Roman soldier would hang his armor onto. The imagery being that the truth is what holds all the armor together. Which only emphasizes the need for proper teaching and proper understanding of the Scriptures even more. If we don’t understand the truth, we can’t put on the rest of the armor.

Paul tells the Ephesians to “put on the breastplate of righteousness,” and let me clarify that this is not talking about manmade self-righteousness, but to the sanctifying righteousness of Jesus Christ in the believer’s life. This would be the concept of progressive sanctification causing the believer to live in a different manner and this righteous living protects the believer against the assaults of Satan.

Paul tells the Ephesians to put on like shoes, “the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” There is a misconception that the idea here is that the Gospel is to advance as part of the armor of God, but Vs. 14, just told us that as we wear this figurative armor, we’re standing, we’re not marching ahead. In that figurative sense, this doesn’t have to do with the Gospel advancing, but rather that the truth of the Gospel provides peace in which a person can stand in the battle. The more rooted you are in the Gospel, the more surefooted you are in the battle against Satan.

Paul tells the Ephesians to “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” I think the illustration used here actually helps quite a bit. That as the attacks of the evil one are like flaming darts or arrows against us, our faith is what protects us against those flaming arrows. It is true belief in Jesus Christ that extinguishes the attacks against us from Satan.

Paul tells the Ephesians to “take the helmet of salvation,” which is the last piece of armor that a soldier would take up. This isn’t referring to salvation in the sense of the person needing to be saved, I would argue that salvation in that sense was taken up when the believer takes up the truth. I like how Harold Hoehner explains the helmet of salvation, “The helmet and sword are the last two pieces a soldier takes up. A helmet, being hot and uncomfortable, would be put on by a soldier only when he faced impending danger. Having one’s head guarded by a helmet gives a sense of safety, so the helmet of salvation refers either to present safety from the devil’s attacks or to a future delivers, ‘the hope of salvation as a helmet.’” To take on the helmet of salvation is to remind yourself of your position in Christ and to think on the hope that comes as a part of your salvation.

Paul tells the Ephesians to take “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” This is the only piece of offensive equipment that is given to a Christian. This sword is given by the Spirit and it is specified as the Word of God. In particular, this is speaking of the Word of God being proclaimed and it is the proclamation of the Word that combats the enemy, just like Jesus does to Satan in Matthew 4:1-11 as Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness.

Again, I don’t want us to overemphasize the the different elements of Roman armor because that isn’t the point that Paul is driving at.

He doesn’t want us to get so focused on understanding the purpose of different pieces as much as he wants us to understand the literal meaning here.

Christians are in a very real, literal war against Satan. They must be prepared by putting on truth, by standing firm in their salvation and by living like Christians ought to live, by being rooted in the Gospel, by living according to their faith, by being reminded of their hope in salvation, and by knowing the Word of God.

That is how Christians are to be prepared for the spiritual war against Satan; and then Paul adds one more statement, that gives us insight into how the Christian ought to prepare himself for this war. Read with me Vs. 18-20.

We need to keep alert through prayer (18-20)

Ephesians 6:18–20 ESV

18 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, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

In general, Paul tells the Ephesians that because of this great war between Satan and God and because the Christian is caught in the midst of the war, they need to be prepared for battle. They need to put on all of these different things by putting on truth, standing firm in their salvation, living like Christians ought to live; they need to be rooted in the Gospel, they need to live by faith and they need to remind themselves of their hope in salvation while knowing the Word of God.

And they need to do all of this while “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication”

Paul tells both the Ephesians here, and the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 5 to “pray without ceasing” and I don’t think that we can overestimate just how important prayer is especially during times of great spiritual warfare.

Oswald Chambers once wrote, “Prayer does not equip us for greater works—prayer is the greater work. Yet we think of prayer as some commonsense exercise of our higher powers that simply prepares us for God’s work. . . Prayer is the battle, and it makes no difference where you are. However God may engineer your circumstances, your duty is to pray.

Paul tells the Ephesians as they prepare for this spiritual warfare, to pray at all times in the Spirit.

And he takes it a step further by saying, “with all prayer and supplication.” Supplication is a certain type of prayer that’s defined by asking for something. By saying “with all prayer and supplication” Paul is essentially just saying that as they prepare for this spiritual war, they need to seep all that they do in all sorts of prayer.

And they need to do all of this while also “[keeping] alert with all perseverance.”

The first phrase, “keep alert with all perseverance” is similar to Peter’s statement in 1 Peter 5:8, “be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

And it emphasizes the severe nature of Paul’s command to them to seek the LORD for strengthening and to put on the whole armor of God.

Putting on the whole armor of God and being strengthened in the LORD is not something to take lightly because there is a very real problem. Satan is a very real enemy and without strength from the LORD and without putting on the armor of God, there isn’t much a chance for you.

As they’re putting on the armor of God and they’re seeking God, Paul tells them to “keep alert with all perseverance.”

Don’t let your guard down. Sometimes in American Christianity I think people get the impression that once someone believes, they can sort of relax now, that the major battle is won and they can kind of coast until they pass from this side of eternity to the next.

This mindset is correct in the sense that they no longer have to fear eternal punishment for their sins, but the problem with that mindset is that according to Ephesians 6:10-20, they can’t let up their guard yet.

There’s still a spiritual war going on, the only difference is that prior to salvation, you’re against God and after salvation you’re for God.

Notice that I’m not saying that prior to salvation, you’re for Satan’s side. The reason for that is that even prior to salvation, Satan is still a roaring lion waiting to devour you. Satan is your enemy either way.

The difference pre and post salvation is that pre-salvation you’re an enemy of God and post-salvation, you aren’t an enemy of God.

And even though you now have hope in the LORD, you are still in a war against Satan and you need to stay alert against the devil’s schemes.

While Satan may no longer influence your eternal destination and salvation, he can still cause great distress in your life that prevents you from living how Jesus wants you to live.

So, put on the armor of God, and pray at all times in the Spirit, don’t let your guard down, stay alert against the devil, and make supplication for all the saints, Vs. 19, “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.”

This last verse is a request from Paul personally to the church in Ephesus. He tells them to “make supplication for all the saints” AND “[make supplication] also for me.”

Paul is requesting that as the Ephesians pray for all that believe, that they pray for him specifically—what exactly are they to pray for?

“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.”

Paul asks them to pray for him, that he declares the Gospel with boldness.

This is the same gospel that he declares throughout this book, which includes salvation through Jesus Christ by faith alone.

This is the same gospel that makes us partakers in the spiritual blessings from Chapter 1 and the same Gospel that Paul states unifies both Jews and Greeks into one universal church.

It is the same Gospel that compels us to seek unity within Gospel-preaching and Bible-believing churches and it is the same Gospel that empowers us to utilize our spiritual gifts for the building up of the church.

This is the same Gospel that motivates us to live as imitators of God and as people who seek to live like Christians in our interpersonal relationships.

It is the same Gospel that exhorts us to be prepared for spiritual warfare by putting on the armor of God and standing firm in our faith.

This is the Gospel that Paul wants boldness for as he continues to proclaim God’s truth to all who would listen. Paul tells them to pray for all the saints as they prepare for this spiritual war against Satan, but he also asks them to specifically pray for him and his responsibility to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As we start to wrap everything up this evening, let’s take a moment to look at some specific application, which honestly, Paul has already given us several application points throughout this passage, but let me help you with some specific ways to apply this text today.

Application

We are in the midst of a spiritual war (10-12)—This section of Scripture starts by shifting our focus from earthly relationships to Paul’s final subject, which is that of spiritual warfare. He explains that ultimately, we’re not fighting on a physical plane but rather on a spiritual plane with evil forces, but he teaches us to be strengthened in the LORD and to put on the whole armor of God. For this point, I’m looking specifically at the statement that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, and spiritual forces of evil.” Our application is this:

Recognize that there is such a thing as spiritual warfare. There are such things as demons and the devil, those are real beings that seek your destruction not just because they hate God who created you, but also because they very literally hate you as well.

To think that there is no such thing as the devil and demons is to disregard quite a bit of Scripture including Ephesians 6, but also 2 Peter, the Gospels in which Jesus exorcises demons, and the demonic activity that’s recorded throughout Scripture.

Demons are real and so is Satan himself. The question then is, should you be afraid of demons? And should you be afraid of Satan himself?

To answer that, let me remind you that Jesus is the all-sovereign King, which means even demons and Satan are subject to Jesus’ role. James tells us that the demons shudder at the name of Jesus.

And if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ tonight, the same power that makes demons shudder is at work within you, you have no reason to fear demons and Satan.

In light of this, recognize that there is such a thing as spiritual warfare, but don’t be afraid of demons and Satan.

Your God is far more powerful than any demon and your God is far greater than Satan.

So recognize that there is true, spiritual warfare and that demons and Satan are warring against God and you and allow this truth to cause you to run to Jesus for refuge and to seek Jesus for strength as you prepare yourself for the battle.

We need to be prepared for spiritual battles (13-17)—the middle section of the passage tells us of the different pieces of the armor of God. I suggested that often we put too much emphasis on the individual pieces of armor and we remember the illustration rather the point that Paul is making. The point is that there is a spiritual war and we as Christians need to be prepared for it and Vs. 13-17, tells us how we are to be prepared for it.

We’re told to take up the whole armor of God, which includes putting on truth, righteousness, and to be rooted in the Gospel. To take up faith, to remember our hope in Jesus Christ, and to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And I think the best way to apply this is by giving you exactly how you do these things:

Put on truth—this includes the truth of the Gospel, but really it includes all of the truth found in God’s Word. Jesus prays for the disciples and he asks that God sanctify the disciples in truth and he then says “thy word is truth.” Putting on truth involves learning Scripture and applying it to your life. It also includes rejecting anything that’s false, which you can determine by comparing it to Scripture. What the Bible says is God’s Word. Anything contrary to God’s Word is a lie and should be rejected as part of putting on truth. Without living in the truth, you can’t put on the rest of the armor because you don’t know what you’re supposed to believe as a Christian—without truth, there is no salvation.

Put on righteousness—we spoke about how this isn’t so much the righteousness attained through our justification in Jesus Christ as it is the concept of righteous living after salvation. The idea then is to do what one of the overarching themes of Ephesians is—now that you’re a Christian, live like it. Seek to do what Paul writes to the Ephesians concerning their interpersonal relationships. Seek to be an imitator of God in love, in light, and in wisdom. As you seek to live in a righteous way, many of the temptations that come from Satan won’t entice you the same way as someone who lives in an unrighteous way.

Be rooted in the Gospel—there is a difference between simply knowing what the Gospel says and allowing the Gospel to influence the way that you live. That difference is found in allowing the Gospel to infiltrate every aspect of your life so it isn’t just something that you know and that you claim to believe, but it becomes something that’s so integral to your life that you can’t help but to see everything in a Gospel light. This will change the way you live, the way you interact with others, and the way that you seek to serve Jesus Christ. If you live by being rooted in the Gospel, Satan’s influence on you will be diminished because you’ll start to see things in light of the Gospel—what Satan utilizes to tempt you won’t be as important to you, because you’ll be focused on the Gospel.

Take up faith—This is the mindset of seeing everything around you through the lens of your faith. It is more than just claiming to believe, it’s allowing what you believe to change your perspective in life.

Remember your hope in Jesus—One of the most important aspects of persevering through spiritual warfare is to simply remind yourself of the hope that you have in Jesus. Keep your mind on what Jesus has done for you both now and in the future and this will help to protect you against whatever Satan throws at you.

And take up the Word of God, which I know, sounds a lot like the first point, but this also includes the idea of knowing the Bible well enough to defend against Satan’s attacks. One of the biggest reasons why young people stray from the church is because they allow what they feel to dictate what they think and what they believe; and the only reason they can let that happen is because they haven’t taken time to seriously figure out what Scripture itself says. If you don’t know the Bible, you can’t defend Christianity and thus, you’re susceptible to every level of attack from Satan himself. Learn Scripture in order to defend your beliefs.

Putting on the whole armor of God includes learning the truths of Scripture and learning Scripture itself, it includes living in a righteous way, being rooted in the Gospel, and allowing your worldview to be transformed by your faith in Jesus Christ.

Which means that the application is this: learn what Scripture says, apply Scripture in order to live in a righteous way, be rooted in the Gospel, and allow your worldview to be transformed by your belief in Jesus Christ.

We need to keep alert through prayer (18-20)—this final point is quite simple, because the application for the Ephesians is the same application that we’re to apply to ourselves today. And that application is this, knowing that there is a spiritual war going on that we’re caught in the midst of, you need to:

Pray at all times, not just for yourself, but for all the saints. And pray for those who are laboring in the ministry of the verbal proclamation of the Gospel.

Surviving the attacks from Satan and proclaiming the truths of his Word can only happen when we’re empowered by the Holy Spirit, so pray that the Holy Spirit helps us to put on the armor of God and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Put simply, Ephesians 6:10-20 teaches us to: (1) realize that there is a real spiritual war happening, (2) prepare for that spiritual war by seeking truth in Scripture, living in a righteous way, being rooted in the Gospel, and having hope in Jesus Christ, and (3) pray that you persevere through this spiritual war, pray that others persevere, and pray for those who are proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is a spiritual war that you need to be prepared for. Prepare yourself through the study of Scripture, righteous living, being rooted in the Gospel, and living in hope of what is to come because of Jesus Christ.

Pastoral Prayer.