Engaging in Spiritual Warfare

 

By:  Dale Weckbacher

 

Text:  Ephesians 6:10-20

 

Ephesians 6:10-11

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. 

(ESV)

 

To say these are challenging times would be an extreme understatement.  As we approach the Christmas season and the beginning of a new year, we have hope that in our savior born on Christmas day and hope the year 2021 will be better.  However, God’s people are in a constant spiritual war and as Ephesians 6:10-11, must wear our armor as we enter into battle.  An interesting observation of this passage of scripture is that it never tells God’s people to take it off.  While we must have hope in Jesus as our Savior and can have hope 2021 will be a better year, God’s people must not let their guard down in spiritual warfare but remain diligent.

 

Diligence in spiritual warfare involves,

 

1)      Prayer (Ephesians 6:18) – Since we cannot physically see what is occurring in the spiritual world, prayer may seem like a passive activity.  Daniel may have begun to believe his prayer and fasting were useless after 21 days of no answer (Daniel 10:1-3).  However, God sends a messenger to Daniel who pulls back the curtain, giving Daniel a peek into the spiritual world (Daniel 10:12-14).  This messenger tells Daniel that his prayer was heard the instant he prayed but that the delivery of the answer was delayed due to resistance offered by the spiritual prince of Persia (Daniel 10:13).  Likewise, our prayers are heard the instant they are given but will encounter resistance and why we must remain diligent using the armor of God.

2)      Correctly identifying the enemy (Ephesians 6:12) – Since we are unable to see what is occurring in the spiritual world, we cannot see the spiritual forces behind much of the evil prevalent in the world.  This can lead to God’s people attacking those committing and supporting evil practices like abortion and gay marriage.  This does not mean we should not confront those supporting and practicing evil but to remember the source behind the evil they support, and that their evil practices are demonic.  Diligence in spiritual warfare involves confronting those practicing and supporting evil with truth and love while praying for the defeat of the spiritual forces behind evil. 

3)      Never taking off the armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-17) – The spiritual forces behind the evil in the world never take a rest.  Ephesians 6:11 tells God’s people to put on the whole armor of God so they can stand against the schemes of the Devil and never tells us to take it off.  This does not mean God’s people should never take time to rest for we must not grow weary in well-doing (Galatians 6:9) but means we must be ready to confront evil by remaining prepared through wearing the armor of God. 

 

These are troubling times full of worry and fear.  Jesus tells us not to worry or let our hearts be troubled but to focus on Him as our source of peace, strength, and power (John 14:27; Matthew 6:25-34).  The battlefield of spiritual warfare is our hearts and minds with the enemy using fear and circumstances in life to remove our focus from Jesus, the source of our peace.  As we look at each of the implements of the armor of God, we see that each of them is designed to keep our focus on God.  The armor of God provides,

 

1)      Truth to combat lies (Ephesians 6:14a).  The truth of the Word of God providing light for our path and a lamp for our feet (Psalm 119:105). 

2)      The breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6:14b).  Not our righteousness which is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), but the righteousness of God in Christ (Philippians 3:9-11). 

3)      Shoes of the Gospel (Ephesians 6:15) – The image of the Gospel as shoes means the message is not to be contained within the walls of a Church building but something we take with us wherever we go.

4)      The shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16) – The enemy will continually shoot his flaming darts at God’s people and why we must always have our shield of faith ready to deflect these attacks.

5)      The helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:17a) – We are not perfect individuals and will slip up but that does not mean we lose our salvation but that we must seek forgiveness (1 John 1:9).  The helmet of salvation is there to continually remind us that we are saved by the grace of God and not our works (Ephesians 2:8).

6)      The sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 2:17b) – The only offensive weapon of the armor and a weapon we must learn to use.  As with any good soldier, a soldier in spiritual warfare must continually study God’s Word so that when attacked they can use it against the enemy.  Jesus provided an example of the power of this weapon by using it against the Devil when tempted (Matthew 4:1-11).

 

Take a moment to watch this video as a reminder to allow Jesus to speak peace to our hearts in these troubled times.  For this to happen in our lives, we must take time to be still in prayer, study, and meditation in the Word of God so we can know that God is in control (Psalm 46:10).  May God bless everyone reading this post.