Heavenly Blessings for Spiritual Battle

This blog is the first in a series of talks about the Armor of God from Ephesians 6 given to our Rhetoric School students during their retreat at Timberwolf
at the beginning of our school year.

Ephesians 6 on the armor of God is a wonderfully rich portion of Scripture.  It provides us a glimpse behind the heavenly “curtain” so to speak and reminds us children of rationalistic empiricism that what we see, touch, taste, and hear is not all there is. 

Spiritual Blessings

But these verses come at the end of Paul’s letter and are part of his practical instructions for how individual believers should live together as God’s new humanity – the Church.  They sit within a larger context that begins in some of the most elegant doxological moments in all of Scripture.  The Christian is one who heard, believed the Word preached and now hopes in Christ (1:12-13).  This believer has everything he needs in Christ.  He’s been purposefully chosen before the foundation of the world (1:4), predestined in love for adoption as sons (1:5), redeemed and forgiven (1:7), received lavish amounts of grace with wisdom and insight (1:7-8), received knowledge of God’s will to unite all things in heaven and earth in Christ, and set as an heir to inherit all things and, until then, given the sealing work of God’s Spirit to persevere (1:13-14).  

We read these verses too quickly, passing over them like a child opening gifts at Christmas, barely noting the grace of one gift in order to simply get to the next one and through the lot of them.   

But this profound theology of what God has done to us – and for us – in Christ is worth hanging onto. It is the very definition of “good news” (Gospel) and not merely good advice.  Without it, we are lost; with it, we have everything we need. 

 But that’s not it.   

Spiritual Battle

Paul is well-aware that the battle has been won definitively at the Cross, but the Enemy continues, by the permission of God, to wage war against Christians, accusing them, dividing them, and deceiving them wherever possible.  The wise Christian walks “worthy” (4:1) and recognizes that while the victory has been won, the great enemy of God, that serpent, Satan, still rules this present darkness until God’s plan purposed in Christ to unite all things is complete. 

So, near the end of his letter (6:10-20), we see that the Church is commanded (not advised) to be strong and put on the armor of God so that they might stand firm against the craftiness and lies of Satan and his rulers, authorities and cosmic powers.  Here’s the rub: Satan does not present himself to the Christian as a demon with horns and a pitchfork, promising them eternal rule in hell if only they renounce God.  No, Satan masquerades as an angel of light, just like false teachers, apostles, and deceitful workmen (2 Cor. 11:14).  Satan trades in deception, lies, and – in my experience – flattery.  He also loves to sow discord and help God’s people accuse and devour one another. 

It is essential to know at least two things.

Spiritual Truths

First, we must know that for those who have heard and believed (trusted), God’s grace to you is lavish, abundant, and hope-giving in all things.  You have been rescued and saved, and nothing can separate you from the love of God which is Christ Jesus: 

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39) 

Second, Satan and his demonic powers are real.  They seldom make a frontal assault on your mind and heart, rather he prefers a less direct but more subtle way as C.S. Lewis describes in his spiritual classic, The Screwtape Letters:

 “Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts…”. 

So, we are certainly attentive to the “big sins” which confront us, but we are also asking God to help us see the gentle, and ever-so-slight moral failures that leave us compromised and eventually incapable of change.  While Satan’s power is completely hemmed in by God’s eternal decree and power, he does have real power to wreak havoc on your soul. 

Rejoice in the exhilarating good news that God has done and given you everything you need in Christ and use that knowledge to claim the promise that if you resist the Devil, he will flee from you (James 4:7)!