Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Last week we entered into the final section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

This portion of Scripture famously uses the metaphor of a soldier’s armor to describe the believer’s warfare.

We call it the armor of God and it speaks into the reality of the believer’s life.

John Stott is his book The Cross of Christ, wrote, "It is impossible to read the New Testament with being impressed by the atmosphere of joyful confidence which pervades it, and which stands out in relief against the rather jejune (superficial) religion that often passes for Christianity today.

There was no defeatism about the early Christians; they spoke rather of victory...For if they spoke of victory, they knew they owed it to the victorious Jesus...It is he who 'overcame,' 'has triumphed,' and moreover did it 'by the cross'

Though Satan is a vanquished enemy, the war between God and Satan has not diminished over the centuries, it has intensified.

That war is over every man’s soul and Satan is not going to take a day off.

There are literally millions of souls around the world who are in the grasp of Satan.

Among the greatest schemes of Satan in the world to win the battles over the souls of men is the deception in the church that there is no battle to fight.

Satan will subtly impair you through lethargy, indifference, and lukewarmness.

Satan wants country club churches with comfortable Christians.

I look around America today and I would say he is doing a pretty good job.

My only fear for Crossway Christian Fellowship is that this becomes the case for us.

The greatest tragedy that could ever happen to us as a church is that all of us come and ‘enjoy’ our worship and go about life indifferent to the battle that is raging.

So the question is do you see what is going on in your life, our community, our schools, our country as warfare?

Not a war against Democrats vs Republicans, Liberals vs Conservatives, Bosses vs. Employees, Husbands vs. Wives, or may I even say Right vs. Wrong, but the events of our day are a result of a tremendous spiritual war that is going culminate with the Church’s Rapture and triumphant return of Christ.

If we get that, then our entire outlook of the world around us should not be lukewarm, but passionate for the things of Christ.

If there is a battle, then there must be an enemy of Christ.

Unless we know our enemy we cannot win the battle.

Our greatest enemy is Satan.

It is not the world and it is certainly not each other!

Which brings me to our text.

We do not wrestle with flesh and blood.

We wrestle against… That word “wrestle” is struggle.

It is a full-on contact with and full engagement with the powers of Satan.

This is not a passive type of battle.

This is not something that is happening somewhere else and we’re just going about our business.

Our enemy is working in the spiritual realm that is directly influencing the physical.

Paul tells us that victory is certain when we stand against such battles in the armor of God.

Satan wants nothing more than for us to start arguing, battling, and warring against each other, mistaking each other for the enemy which he just sits back and laughs.

The fact that Paul uses the same verb “against” before each category tells us these are rankings or a hierarchy of different forces in the same satanic army.

And Paul tells us that we are to first be strong in the Lord and in his might.

There is a Divine paradox that happens here because in order to be strong, we must strip ourselves of our own strength and commit ourselves to the strength in Christ.

The Strength of Our Adversary

Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood...

The word “wrestle” or palē gives us a visual clue to the battle we are engaged.

Wrestling is not passive - it is a full contact sport.

In ancient Rome, Wrestling was vigorous and sometime a battle to the death.

There were no rounds or timeouts.

It was sometimes combined with boxing in a sport called Pankration meaning “with all might and force.”

The point is, Paul’s characteristic of our lives as Christians is not passive, relaxed, or on cruise control.

Instead we are in a match of strength and endurance.

“Victory in the Christian life is not the absence of conflict but the presence and protection of God in the midst of conflict.”

- William MacDonald

There was a boxer who was being pummeled in the ring by his opponent.

Blow after blow his adversary left him bloody, swollen, and painfully dazed.

The trainer, trying to encourage him between rounds, kept telling him, “You’re doing great.

That bum is barely touching you.”

To which, the boxer replied, “Then you better keep an eye on the referee, because something out there is killing me!”

No amount of smooth talk could camouflage the reality, no psychobabble could assuage the pain.

In the same way when you and I realize the opponent, we are able to go win the battle that affects every area of your life.

We are in a war, but there is no reason to lose and there is no reason to be afraid as a believer bought with the blood of Christ and dressed in God’s armor.

The battle is fierce, but God is greater.

Satan can lay no claim to you, but do not deny that he is real, do not cast aside the vastness of his army

The Spiritual Nature of Our Adversary

Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)

12 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 Bible tells us there’s a real devil.

He is the anointed Cherub in Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28.

He was thrown out of heaven.

Revelation 12 says “like a great dragon he fell and with his tail he swept a third of the angels with him.”

Jesus believed in him.

He talked with him in Matthew 4.

He talked about him in John 14, The apostles all taught about him.

He tempted Eve in Genesis 3.

He tempted Christ in Matthew 4.

He perverted God’s word in Matthew 4 and he opposed God’s work in Zachariah 3.

He hindered God’s servant in 1 Thessalonians 2 and he hinders the gospel in 2 Corinthians 4.

He snares the wicked in 1 Timothy 3 he desires the nations in Revelation 16.

He’s an angel of light in 2 Corinthians 11.

He fights with Michael in Jude.

He brought sin into the world in Genesis 3 and he now has the whole world lying in his lap in 1 John 5.

He has personal titles.

The Bible calls him in Ezekiel 28 the anointed cherub.

In John 16 the prince of this world.

In Ephesians 2 the prince of the power of the air.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 4 he’s called the God of this age and in Luke 11:15 the prince of demons.

52 times he’s called Satan which means adversary.

35 times he’s called devil, diabolos which means slanderer.

He is described by our lord in John 8:44 as a murderer and as a liar.

He works overtly and covertly with doctrines of devils and with seducing spirits.

(MacArthur)

He is a deceiver with subtle with lies, heresies and false doctrine.

He perverts the Word and prevents it from reaching the hearts of men.

He has men stand in pulpits who deny the authority of Scripture, deny the deity of Christ, deny salvation by grace, deny the second coming, deny the judgment, and instead teach a lifestyle that damns.

He infiltrates the church to tempt us with self reliance, entertainment, business, and weakness.

The real enemy is not flesh and blood.

The real enemy would love nothing more than to disrupt our unity and convince us that the real problem is other people.

The truth is spiritual warfare is not about the struggle of man against man.

It is not political, social, economic, or even religious.

It is not a struggle between humans beings; it is a struggle within human beings.

We can’t lose because is he greater than any weapon or power of Satan.

We may lose some skirmishes over sin along the way, but the battle belongs to the Lord whose name is El Elyon and El Shaddai.

The Army of Our Adversary

When we talk about the devil being great and powerful we must be careful not to overstate the case.

Because he is a spiritual rather than a material being, many people are inclined to think of Satan as more or less the equal of God.

It is true that he is a counterpart to the greatest of the unfallen angels: Michael or Gabriel.

But he is not a spiritual counterpart to God.