Eph 6:11-13 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Armor Up was the theme of the VBS at Yorks Corners in August 2022; it was a fun week with 75 volunteers and students. Yes, we are in a spiritual battle; but we know who wins. You and I get to choose if we want to be on the winning side. Jesus defeated Satan by his shed blood at Calvary—I choose Jesus. God is calling us to see through the lies of the enemy
The Christian life a battle, so let’s suit up for it. Our enemy here is unseen. There are spiritual beings around us who are both alive and present. Both good and evil. We are on the battlefield and these spiritual beings are there for our help and encouragement [angels] or for our destruction [evil spirits]. We cannot live an aimless, careless life and still be a growing Christian.
To be growing toward full faith in Christ, the full stature of Christ, to stay untangled from the allurements of sin, to stay alert to unseen spiritual foes–this is no easy task. It is a battle.
Why should the Christian life be such a battle? Has not Jesus been exalted far above all principalities and powers? Has he not destroyed the works of the devil on the cross? Yes! But he is also using us to win the victory. We have a part in defeating the enemy.
I strongly sense that God wants to teach us, equip us and then make us strong warriors in His kingdom. That’s what God is all about; forming a group of people who will know Him and serve Him in this present age. He wants to make us strong. People who can stand the heat of the battle. People who are wise to the tactics and schemes of the enemy. There is a battle happening. Sometimes we can get ambushed by the enemy because we don’t even know we are in a battle zone. Then when things get tough we ask, “Why is all this happening to me?” We must recognize that we are in a spiritual battle. Things may get tough–but let’s be alert.
Be strong. Be made powerful. Let God empower you. We don’t need to run dry when all of God’s resources are available. Stand against the devil’s schemes. his wiles. He is out to deceive us. He is called the great deceiver.
In Genesis 3 Satan came on the scene to begin his war on God by attacking His children. Satan’s very first approach is to doubt God. Remember there was a tree of life in the garden that Adam and Eve were commanded not to eat–they could enjoy everything else there in this blissful location.
To do a little paraphrasing, Satan told them, “Did God really say that you would die if you ate of a certain tree? That’s a lie. I am here to tell you the truth. The fact is, God is holding out on you. You can’t trust Him. If you eat of that tree you will discover your true potential, namely that you are like God and really don’t need Him to tell you what to do and not to do.”
Notice how quickly and cleverly Satan deceives Eve to invert his role and the role of God. God became the liar and Satan became the truth teller. Such deception has been going on ever since that fateful day in Eden. Satan has, indeed, developed a considerable “bag of tricks” to impress people and lead them astray. These tricks include clever lies to which he has found us humans quite susceptible.
“We wrestle not against flesh and blood”. People are not the enemy. Satan will not play fair in this wrestling match. He will break the rules if it is to his advantage.
He does this by telling them lies about God. John 8:44 tells us, “for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Evil angels will also deceive and mislead people in bad doctrine.
The whole reason that Jesus came into the world was to destroy the works of the devil. Everywhere in the New Testament there is a great conflict between the forces of God which are good and of Satan which are evil.
Eph 6:12 is lifting the veil to help us see who the church’s struggle is against. It is against the Satanic hierarchy that opposes God, not ordinary people.
“Rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world”.
God’s kingdom is light, Satan’s is darkness.
“Spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”. Our enemies are personal beings, spiritual in nature, organized.
Realize what we are up against. We are in a spiritual battle. In the problems we face in life we tend to focus on people as the problem. People are not the problem. Don’t lash out against other people. The problem is Satan and the sin that he causes.
Since, we are in a spiritual battle, here are some insights that can help us through the fight.
- Don’t be surprised by the enemies’ tactics. Anything can happen in a war. It is our duty to be alert. Be ready. It is too easy to become complacent.
- People may get hurt in battle–but that is not the end. We may get knocked down but we are not out. Get up again.
- Don’t play “poor me”.
- If we sin, there will be consequences. When we give in to temptation [if we fall], we recognize it as a temporary defeat; we get cleansed and then rejoin the battle. We can be temporarily knocked down–we don’t lie on the ground there forever.
- We are aware of the enemies’ strategy. Not allow him to deceive us.
- We keep inventory of our spiritual walk. We know how close we are to God. If we are not growing in God with a desire to know Him more; how has Satan deceived you? Where has He tripped you up?
- Are you on the sidelines or are you involved in God’s kingdom. One of Satan’s tactics is to keep us inactive. Perhaps there is nothing really good or really bad in your life; you are just drifting. Watch out! You could be easy game for him.
1 Peter 5:8. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Satan is always working to overthrow the purposes of God.