Sermon Tone Analysis

Ephesians 6:10

7163 Who is Enemy?

When World War I broke out, the War Ministry in London dispatched a coded message to one of the British outposts in the inaccessible areas of Africa.

The message read: “War declared.

Arrest all enemy aliens in your district.”

The War Ministry received his prompt reply: “Have arrested ten Germans, six Belgians, four Frenchman, two Italians, three Austrians, and an American.

Please Advice immediately who we’re at war with.”

It was the Chinese General Sun Tzu in The Art of War coined that expression “know your enemy.”

That is sound advise for engagement in any battle, including those which are spiritual (invisible).

Surveys have been taken recently identifying America’s perspective about spiritual realities.

In 2016 Barna reported, as you might suspect, convictions about spiritual realities are plummeting (belief in absolute moral truth, have orthodox view of God, Bible is accurate in all it teaches, Jesus lived a sinless life on earth, Satan exists (not just symbol of evil))—majority of Americans (including those who claim to be Xn) doubt that Satan is a living being; but even more disturbing is that they are more apt to believe in Satan than God.

The question that comes to mind is this “Are God’s people truly prepared for an on-going spiritual struggle against Satan?”

Every believer faces this spiritual battle.

We’re called to arms against an enemy who is real, relentless in his opposition to God and all that belongs to God.

So many discussions about spiritual warfare center around all the negative imageries we have of war and battles.

Paul calls is the “good fight.”

JC Ryle wrote Holiness

Let us settle it in our minds that the Christian fight is a good fight—really good, truly good, emphatically good.

We see only part of it yet.

We see the struggle, but not the end; we see the campaign, but not the reward; we see the cross, but not the crown.

We see a few humble, broken–spirited, penitent, praying people, enduring hardships and despised by the world; but we see not the hand of God over them, the face of God smiling on them, the kingdom of glory prepared for them.

These things are yet to be revealed.

Let us not judge by appearances.

There are more good things about the Christian warfare than we see.

Every Xn is called to fight, called to arms—in a spiritual struggle…and we know the enemy.

Paul says we are not ignorant of Satan’s schemes (2Cor 2:11).

Now, while it is the good fight, it is not an easy fight.

In Eph 6 Paul admonishes each of us to engage in spiritual warfare according to the strategy and provision of the Lord.

This is a cosmic struggle and one that we have the assurance of victory b/c of the LJC.

Over the next several weeks we will be studying this spiritual war that every Xn is facing on account of your allegiance to Christ.

Outline is simple: Alert to the Battle, Alert to the Enemy, Alert to God’s Provision.

1. Alert to the Battle

“Finally...” this is not uncommon in Paul’s letters.

Paul is introducing the last major theme of this letter to the church in Ephesus.

This could also be translated “from now on...” (pertains to what remains).

Paul is saying “until the end there will be battle…there will be struggle, wrestling with world forces of darkness, spiritual forces of wickedness.”

This is what your relationship with Christ will bring until the time when He returns to bring you to Himself, transforming you into His glory.

From now on—yours is spiritual warfare, so don’t overlook the reality of the fight or the nature of our enemy.

This is a serious call to be alert.

Eph is written with spiritual war in mind: If Christ has torn down the barrier of the dividing wall b/t believers, Satan is trying to rebuild that wall.

If Christ desires unity among the saints and for the members of His church to live in harmony and purity, Satan is there to sow seeds of discord and sin.

If God has given His plan for the family where husbands, wives and children encounter God’s design that brings the abundance of joy in peaceful, happy homes, then Satan will seek to upend that.

The saints from of old have strenuously warned their contemporary brothers and sisters to fight well.

One puritan William Gurnall (d.

1679) wrote a work that Spurgeon heralded as “peerless and priceless; every line full of wisdom.

The book has been preached over scores of times and is, in our judgment, the best thought-breeder in all our library.”

His work is called “The Christian in Complete Armour” (Short-title) The sub-title “A Treatise Of the Saints' War against the Devil: Wherein a Discovery is made of that grand Enemy of God and his People, in his Policies, Power, Seat of his Empire, Wickedness, and chief design he hath against the Saints.

A Magazine Opened, From whence the Christian is furnished with Spiritual Arms for the Battle, helped on with his Armour, and taught the use of his Weapon: together with the happy issue of the whole War.” Originally printed in 3 volumes is 1240 pages.

“The happy issue of the whole war”?

I think this ought to be of tremendous joy for us and for which we constantly thank God.

You say “be joyful b/c of our spiritual struggle?”

Yes in a sense—b/c God has equipped us to triumph in that struggle but we can’t possibly do it in our own strength.

So before Paul mentions the armor of God—he tells us to “be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might.”

Now there are those approach the battle with the mindset “let go and let God”—“Just hand it over to the Lord and rely on His strength.”

Others will approach the battle in the opposite manner who put all the emphasis on the armor of God as if they could wield it themselves.

As believers, our absolute dependence is upon Jesus Christ, upon His power/might/strength/wisdom.

A. The Source of Strength

Paul is certainly one man who has seen the scheming of evil firsthand.

He participated in the struggle and knew what it meant to rely upon the strength of Christ for victorious Xn living.

He found opposition in every city he proclaimed the gospel.

The struggle was intense for Paul and yet he says:

It’s not how much strength we have that’s important but the source.

In matter of speaking—the battles we face with the enemy are already won.

With His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus shattered Satan, defeated death, destroyed the power of sin over our lives (Rom 5:18-21 ; 1 Cor 15:56-57).

By trusting in the LJC the believer has been initiated into that strength for his daily life.

It is appropriated (applied) thru grace, prayer, knowledge of & obedience to God’s Word, faith in God’s promises.

Crucial to understand that the strength is not our own—it is the strength of the Lord (present passive: be strengthened in the Lord).

The key to living this out is not walking down the road and merely recite these words “be strong in the Lord…” It’s not some sort of incantation—repeating phrases to yourself.

NO! the key to living this out is to recognize:

1) Power of the enemy: Don’t underestimate.

The Bible calls us to face the enemy & realize his power and resist it.

The devil is active today (some of our brothers believe he is presently bound—no!).

He creates uncertainty about the fundamentals of the faith.

He produces utter confusion in the church (doubt).

We are called to resist by the teaching of the true gospel.

To resist our adversary—we need Christ’s strength.

2) To be strong in the Lord is to avoid personal failure.

When we fail (all of us do), when we fall into sin we become miserable and unhappy.

To keep ourselves from the misery we must appropriate Christ’s strength in our daily lives.

The world takes notice of the victorious Xn.

The world is unhappy, people don’t know what to do, they don’t know where to turn.

When they see someone who is calm, steadfast, who is not confused at world’s events, they look and say “what is this?

What is that person’s secret?”

So you’re given opportunity to evangelize simply b/c you’re standing firm in the strength of the Lord.

I trust you realize your proneness to failure Do you understand the reality of your weakness?

Paul is not just concerned about Satan’s power—but our propensity to fail…our own weakness.

Scriptures unequivocally teach us this truth.

Back to Genesis—God created Adam & Eve. 2 people who fellowshipped with God in absolute perfection.

Adam was created sinless but he was confronted by the devil and one of Satan’s schemes.

Though he was perfect—lived in unhindered fellowship with God, he fell--so easily.

That’s why Gen 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made”—Satan knew what he was doing and saw how vulnerable Adam was.

And yet the devil launched his attack and that perfect man, made in image of God, fell.

If Adam fell, who are we to stand?

You look further at testimony of Saints in OT—patriarchs, godly kings, prophets—they all fell.

Not one of them could stand up to the devil.

All have failed “we all have fallen short of glory of God.”

This is a universal truth of all Xian saints—even the greatest of the centuries.

We should never get the impression of the Xian life easy, without failure.

The Corinthian church thought that.

1 Cor 10:1-12