LIVING ABUNDANTLY — Studies in Ephesians
Chapter 1 Part 1 — Our Spiritual Conflict
Ephesians 6:10—20
The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
I have found that there are three lines of truth that unfolds in the Book of Ephesians. Each is an outgrowth of the other.
1. There is the teaching of our exalted position in Jesus Christ, that is outlined for us in the first three chapters. Everyone who has received Jesus as Saviour has this perfect position. Plain and simple! So what this teaching does is it reveals what Christ has done for you and me.
2. Ephesians talks a lot about our spiritual walk here on earth and that it is based on your exalted position in Christ. This is emphasized in the last three chapters of Ephesians through verse 9 of chapter 6. This verse talks about what Christ wants to accomplish in our “walk” or life.
3. Ephesians ends by teaching us about our spiritual conflict. And it shows how Christ works through the believer.
You may ask, why the conflict? why end the book on a battlefield? Yeah it may seem strange that after God reveals our lofty position that you and I have in Christ and the noble walk that you are to walk in, that God chooses then to dwell on warfare. One of the striking features of Ephesians is that Christ has the Victory for every believer, Amen! Chapter 4 tells us that “He led captivity captive”! (v. 8); that is, He led captive those who held us captive. So if we are victorious in Him, why then is there a conflict?
My son Christian, just came back from our Student Ministries Sumer Camp — Coram Deo, and one of the things that he told me was that he didn’t want the fire that God gave him, to go away. It’s true that our nature as Christians is to never leave that mountain top experience. Thats how Peter, James and John felt when they witnessed Jesus’ Transfiguration on the mountain. They not only saw Jesus in all of His glory, but they also saw Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus, two people who also had mountain top experiences. What an experience it must have been that Peter said to Jesus, “It’s good for us to be here (thats an understatement); if you’re willing, let us make three tents (or tabernacles); one for you, and one for Moses and one for Elijah” Matthew 17:4. But this was God’s will at that moment, kinda bad timing on Peter’s part, but with good intentions. You see they had to return to the valley. You can’t stay on the mountain top; you have to return to the duties of life to serve Jesus and others.
REASONS FOR SPIRITUAL CONFLICT
There are three reasons why you and I can expect — and must be prepared for — a spiritual conflict as we live our lives unto the Lord.
1. Believers must be prepared for spiritual warfare because there is a traitor in the camp. But you don,t have to look any further than in the mirror. The traitor is the “flesh,” which is the old nature. The old nature is not totally eradicated when a person receives Jesus as Saviour, so there is a spiritual struggle between the old nature and the new nature in the life you now live in Christ.
Galatians 5:17 tells us “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” So here we see the flesh opposing the liberty you have in Christ. The flesh takes away any desire to get closer to Jesus and brings us into bondage to it’s desires. Satan entices us through the flesh. Jesus had to rebuke Peter one time saying, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail” Luke 22:31-32.
The Bible says that Satan is the enemy of our souls; he is envious of our salvation in Christ and especially seeks to destroy our faith in Christ. Satan lures believers and tries to take advantage of them. Look at what 1 Peter 5:8-9 tell us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brothers in the world.”
2. A second reason that there is spiritual conflict is that we are members of the Body of Christ. Satan has sought to destroy Christ from the very first time that God pronounced the curse on Satan in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, anyone associated with Christ —especially a part of His Body — is subject to Satan’s attack. there are many instances recorded throughout the Bible when Satan sought to destroy Christ. He tried to destroy Jesus as a baby when the Eternal King manifested on that beautiful night. Herod served Satan’s purpose when he decreed that all children in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas, two years old and younger, should be killed (Matthew 2:16). However, God is God, and Jesus escaped death because Mary and Joseph obeyed the God when they were instructed to take Jesus out of the country.
Later, when Satan tried to entice Jesus to sin, he challenged Jesus to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple. Jesus responded, “You shall not temp the Lord your God” (4:7). When Jesus was on the cross, Satan had no doubt in his mind that he won by having Jesus be put to death, but Praise the Lord, He rose on the third day from the tomb; He rolled back that stone and Jesus proved that He has the victory over sin and death! He conquered Satan! Jesus then ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven, beyond the reach of Satan.
Inasmuch as Satan can no longer attack Christ himself, Satan attacks the Body of Christ which is the Church. The Body of Christ, made up of all believers, is within the reach of Satan even though Christ himself is not. However, the Body of Christ will ultimately be victorious, because Jesus said, “I will build my Church; and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (16:18).
3. And the third reason there is spiritual conflict for believers is that God’s plan and purpose include the fact that Christ will someday rule the world in righteousness. Because this refers to a future time, this might be reffered to as a dispensational (check out this link on dispensationalism) reason for spiritual conflict. The Apostle John tells us of the vision he had of Christ return to earth, he says “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war” Revelation 19:11. Acts 17:31 prophesies “because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” This verse reveals to us that the Father has delegated all judgement to the Son. this means — and Satan knows this — that there will be a final reckoning with the powers of evil, which will result in their — and Satan’s — ultimate destruction! (Time out for an Amen!) Okay back again. In Revelation 1:18 Jesus says “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” and Revelation 20:10 tells us, “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Another time out for an Amen!) Okay back again.
Inasmuch as believers are to share with Christ in His reigning and judging, we are laid open to the attacks of Satan at the present time. Satan and his messengers claim this world as their own; thus, those of us who will eventually sit in judgement over them are laid open to conflict. Satan is well aware that God’s program is closing in on him and for this reason he directs much of his attention to persecuting and even killing off the Church. Even though Satan is at work, the Holy Spirit is at this time restraining evil. 2 Thessalonians 2:7 says, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.” This restraining work of the Holy Spirit, through believers, has been going on since the Day of Pentecost when the Church came into existence. But it is evident we are being brought closer and closer to the final conflict.
We will continue with this study later, Im sure that you and I have enough to chew on at this time. But I hope that what i’ve shared with you so far will help encourage us to continue to take that next step toward Christ.
God Bless
