When my great-grandmother, Mama Ruby, passed away, I was gifted a set of her commentaries. One day, as I was reading through them, I found a small piece of paper that she used as a bookmark. On it were the words, "The Christian life is not a playground but a battleground."
I don't believe there's a better summary for our passage today than those ten words penned by Mama Ruby. Here in Ephesians 6:10-20, we will learn that an enemy is lurking who is out to steal, kill, and destroy, and he will do anything but sit back and watch the church grow and flourish. He and his little kingdom are waging war against the church, and we are a part of a spiritual battle. So, as Paul is closing out this letter to the churches in Ephesus, he's telling the church that they must always be alert and fully dressed for combat.
There's a saying out there that goes, "Ignorance is bliss." I think that's perhaps one of the most misleading statements regarding the Christian faith. Ignorance is not always bliss. To be ignorant that a spiritual battle is taking place right now is to open yourself up to tremendous spiritual danger. In fact, I would argue that one of the greatest dangers is to be unaware of posing threats. But fortunately for us, God is drawing our attention to an enemy lurking, and he's calling and equipping us for battle. God cares about us enough to point out danger and loves us enough to equip us to combat danger.
Today, we will look at two commands: the command to be strong and the command to put on the whole armor of God. Then, for the next seven weeks, we will unpack the implications of this general exhortation.
Let's dive in.
"[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."
The first thing we see is the word "finally." Finally is an "icing on the cake" word. It implies important information regarding everything that has previously been said. In the same way that cake without icing is dull and bland, Ephesians without these verses are incomplete and ineffective. To live out what we've been called to in Ephesians, we must "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might." We cannot walk in obedience to Jesus without the power of the Holy Spirit working.
There are two things I want to highlight here: (1) the call to be strong and (2) the source of our strength.
BE STRONG
There's a saying, "Let go and let God," which implies a victory found in a lack of effort. Perhaps there are moments when we need to let go of a situation and let God take control. But perhaps there are also moments when we need to try so that God can work through us. The Christian faith is not passive; it is active. "Be strong in the Lord," Paul says. The Christian life demands effort; it necessitates strength. If we want to lift a lot of weight, we must be physically strong. If we want to walk in Christian faithfulness, we must be spiritually strong. If we want to honor the Lord, we must be prepared to exert effort.
IN THE STRENGTH OF HIS MIGHT
But, notice how the strength we are to be strong in here isn't our strength— "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might."
One of the most extraordinary graces of the Christian life resides in the fact that God doesn't simply call you to be strong; he gives you the strength to be strong. The Christian life isn't meant to be lived in our own strength; it's meant to be lived in God's strength. This is the same word Paul uses in Philippians 4:13 when he says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." So, you do not possess the power and ability to fight the good fight alone; you need the Lord's strength. And thankfully, God offers you strength.
Now, check this out. The three different words used here to signify power (strong: dynamis, strength: kratos, might ischus) are the exact words used in Ephesians 1:19 concerning God's work in raising Jesus from the dead. God has done some powerful things throughout history. But, we learned in Ephesians 1 that the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus are the ultimate display of power to us as believers. And it's this power that has been extended to us today. It's this power that resides within us today. God doesn't call us to be strong in our own strength, nor has he given us second-hand strength. He has given us himself; in return, we have his power.
PUT ON THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD
In addition to putting on God's strength, we are to put on his armor— "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." Notice how, like the strength we lean into, the armor we put on is God's armor, not our armor. God gives us armor to protect us from the devil's attacks.
Looking at the word armor in the New Testament, I noticed this term isn't often used. It's used twice in Ephesians 6 and once in Luke 11. But, all three uses were in a spiritual context.
In Luke 11, for example, Jesus was accused of casting out a demon by the spirit of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. In response, Jesus says, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls." So, he's picking up kingdom language, and in doing so, he's comparing two kingdoms: a kingdom of darkness and a kingdom of light, a demonic kingdom and God's kingdom. And he's essentially saying, "If I was who you say I am, I would be waging war against my own kingdom, which makes no sense at all." He's calling them to ponder what they're accusing him of.
He then goes on to say, "But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil." So, he's saying that he can either be the prince of demons or the prince of peace. If he's the prince of demons, he's waging war against his own kingdom. If he's the prince of peace, he's ushering in God's kingdom, waging war against the kingdom of darkness.
Jesus is demonstrating that he is far more powerful than the spiritual powers of this world. It's not by the arms or legs of God that the demons are cast out; it's by the finger of God that Jesus casts them out, stripping them of their armor and dividing their spoils, leaving them in total ruin. Like flicking an ant off the picnic table, Jesus casts out the fully armed guards of the kingdom of darkness.
So, in marrying these two passages (Ephesians 6 and Luke 11), by the power of the one who cast out demons with a subtle flick, we can put on the whole armor of God and withstand the schemes of the devil. Offensively, the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. It's a lost battle for Satan. Jesus has powerfully disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them on the cross. And defensively, we can stand against the devil's schemes by the power of Jesus. Satan does not possess the power and ability to overtake those who are in Christ. He can attack you, but he cannot overtake you. He can tempt you, but he cannot destroy you.
WHO IS THE DEVIL?
Now, I find it interesting that Paul doesn't give us a long dissertation on who the devil is; instead, he assumes his readers already have a pretty good understanding of who he is. I think, in part, that is because they're already familiar with the devil and his works. In Acts 19, we see a group of Jewish exorcists coming to Ephesus to cast out demons. But, the evil spirit answers them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?" The possessed man then jumps on the seven men and overpowers them, leading to them running out of the house naked and wounded. It says that this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.
The churches in Ephesus are well acquainted with demonic activity. They're not strangers to dark spiritual activities. And they know firsthand that Jesus is greater. So, as we read through Ephesians, we see Paul alluding to Satan and demons more frequently than we might realize.
In Ephesians 2, we see Paul say that we were “dead in our trespasses and sins in which we once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience." In simpler terms, Paul is saying that before we trusted in Jesus, we were following the leadership of Satan. In Ephesians 3, we see the manifold wisdom being made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. We learned that this was in reference to spiritual beings such as angels and demons. While studying this verse, we learned that angels and demons are real spiritual beings that are not all-powerful or all-knowing.
The name devil means false accuser or slanderer. The devil is the prince of the power of the air, meaning he is the prince of demons and the author of evil. His sole goal is to bring you harm and destroy God's creation. His primary objective is to steal, kill, and destroy. We see him act this way in the garden when he tempts Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. We see him act this way with Job, seeking to bring harm, pain, and misery upon Job, hoping that Job will no longer worship God. We see this with Jesus when the Holy Spirit leads him into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Satan tempted Jesus with the hopes of him abandoning obedience to the Father. We see this when Satan stands at the right hand of the high priest, Joshua, accusing him in Zechariah 3.
Satan never has plans for good, and he's hardly idle. He's seeking to bring great harm to you and this world. But he does so discreetly. Satan is a schemer. The Greek word for "schemes" means cunning arts, deceit, craft, tricky. It's the idea of hiding and waiting to deceive and harm. Satan will try to destroy you by tricking you.
In adopting the words of 1 Peter 5:8, "Our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." Satan rarely attacks in the open. He prefers the shadows over the light. Sometimes, his attacks are loud and blatant. But more often, they are quiet whispers. Like a mad chemist, he seeks to mix harmful lies with partial truths and serve as foundational doctrines for us to embrace. And every sip we take leads to our demise. Like a true con artist, he feeds us lies, promising us pleasure or prosperity. But, in the end, it leads to death.
Satan is trying to destroy you by tricking you. Therefore, we need the armor of God.
A LIFE OF WRESTLING
Paul then says, "[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."
Wrestling implies we are engaged in hand-to-hand combat with spiritual forces. We are not innocent bystanders; we are on the frontlines engaged in battle. The Christian life is not a playground but a battleground. We need the strength of the Lord and the armor of God because we are actively engaging against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. The language here for "rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, spiritual forces" is kingdom language. There is a spiritual world, if you will, an invisible kingdom that we are engaging with that we cannot see.
Going back to Ephesians 2, we were once following the prince of the power of the air, the leader of this world, the kingdom of darkness. But now, we belong to God's kingdom. Our residence has changed. We are no longer dead; we are alive. We are children of light, not children of darkness. And now that we belong to God, we wrestle against darkness instead of following it. Because of this, we must take up the whole armor of God, so that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. We put on the armor of God so that when Satan and his army come marching to our door, we're ready to stand firm.
The Christian life is not always easy. There will be seasons when the fiery darts are soaring in your direction. There will be times when swords are heaved at you. There will be seasons of weariness and desperation. But God gives us strength, and he gives us armor to withstand the attacks of the enemy. And having done all that we can to stand firm, we will prevail by God's strength and grace.
Now, who does Paul not say we wrestle against? We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. We are called to battle against those that we cannot see. This is essential for us to understand. Sometimes, I fear that we read verses like this, and we think it's an endorsement to be mean and combative with our neighbors. No! The mark of a mature Christian is not your ability to win a wrestling match online. The mark of a mature Christian is to put on the love of Christ. A mature believer's mark is found in one's willingness to embrace and preach truth with a gentle, kind, loving, and patient heart.
So, perhaps conflict has entered into some of your relationships within the church; remember that the church is not your enemy. Perhaps conflict has entered your marriage; remember that your spouse is not your enemy. Perhaps you've been deeply hurt by a boss or coworker; remember, they are not your enemy. Satan is a master manipulator, and he is seeking to kill, steal, and destroy. It is those that we cannot see that we wrestle against.
So, when Satan tempts us with bitterness, we choose forgiveness. When Satan tempts us with envy, we choose contentment. When Satan tempts us with lust, we choose love. When Satan tempts us with doubt, we choose faith. We do not fight against flesh and blood, but against those we cannot see.
GOD > SATAN
As we close, I want to remind us that God and Satan are not equal. If I were to ask you what the opposite of left is, you would say right. If I were to ask you what the opposite of up is, you would say down. If I were to ask you what the opposite of God is, you might say the devil. But that isn't true. To say God and Satan are opposites would be to say that they're on a level playing field, but that simply isn't true. Satan cannot take a step, nor can he take a breath without the approval of the Sovereign Lord of all. Satan was able to test Job when God allowed him to. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Lk. 4:1). No fiery dart shot in your direction, no swing of the enemy's sword, falls outside the approval of the one who gives us strength. So, put your armor on and stand firm in hope!