Paul’s final instruction is to be strong with the Lord’s power. It is in the Lord’s power, not in our own strength, that we are able to withstand the attacks and schemes of the devil. (10-11)
The devil and his fellow fallen angels were defeated by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Colossians 2:15 says Jesus disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him. And we know that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus. (Matthew 28:18) Hebrews 2:14 says “ Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil…”.
Yet, God has allowed the devil to remain and have some power to oppose Christ and the church, though he is subject to some restraints. He prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) His main tool is temptation to sin. As a long time observer of human nature, he is good at seeing our weaknesses and tempting us to follow him rather than God, just as he did with Adam and Eve.
The devil has other angels who followed him in rebellion against God. They are spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (12) There seems to be a structure of authority among them. Paul says there are rulers and authorities among these demons. They have some sort of cosmic powers they exercise during this age. Paul calls it “this present darkness”.
One of the schemes of the devil is to use strained relationships, hurt or angry feelings, to damage the fellowship of the church and the welfare of the believer. In 4:27, Paul urged the Ephesian believers to avoid continuing anger that gives opportunity to the devil.
Another scheme is to turn the culture’s opinions away from and against Christianity. That was the case in the Roman Empire in the first century. It is the case in America and much of the world today.
The Bible portrays Satan as a real being. He is not just a representation of evil in the world. Jesus spoke with him during his temptation. (Matthew 4:3-10). His name, Satan, means adversary. He is the adversary of God and his church. He has great power to tempt, deceive, and corrupt. He is a more powerful being that a human person in his or her own strength.
In the power of the Lord, though, we believers may resist Satan. Paul tells us to stand against Satan and his schemes as Paul instructs. (10-11) Peter said to resist him and be firm in the faith. (1 Peter 5:9) Since Peter tells us to do it, we must be able to do it in the power of the Lord.
In our passage, Paul tells us how to do that. He tells us to use all of the tools God has given us so that we may stand against the devil’s schemes. He calls these tools the armor of God.
The image Paul portrays here is of the believer standing firm against the attack of evil forces. The image is of a soldier outfitted for battle. The believer does not fall or retreat. He does not lose his faith or fall into sin. He stands firm in his faith. (13) He does this because of the armor and weapons the Lord gives him or her. To fight spiritual enemies, we must use spiritual resources. Our physical strengths are useless.
The Lord gives us a belt of truth, a breastplate of righteousness and shoes of readiness to share the gospel. Paul may have used these metaphors based on the picture in Isaiah of God as a warrior standing for justice and defending the truth. Isaiah 59:17 says:
He (God) put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.
First, we are to put on the belt of truth. (14) One of Satan’s schemes is to defame God’s character and motives. For example, in the Garden, Satan disputes God’s motives in forbidding Adam and Eve to each of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan said God wanted to prevent them from becoming like him. He also disputed the truth of God’s words, saying “you will not surely die”. (Genesis 3:4-5)
We know that Jesus is the truth. He said that in John 14:6. Jesus also called the Holy Spirit the Spirit of truth who guides us into all the truth. (John 16:12) In his high priestly prayer, he asked the father to sanctify us in the truth, which is his word. (John 17: 17) We know the truth and stand on it.
This scheme of Satan also requires that we know God’s word, the truth, so that we may know Satan’s falsehoods and resist them. Remember that Jesus resisted the temptation of Satan by quoting Scripture to him. (Matthew 4)
For example, we know God’s design for the family, as we just studied in Ephesians. Many in our culture dispute the validity of this structure. That is an attack of Satan. When Believers doubt what God says about the family in the Bible, and begins to adopt the contrary ideas of the culture, they are not standing firm, committed to putting on the truth of God.
In our time, it is also popular to believe that all religions are equal and all lead to heaven. However, Jesus said he was the only way to the Father, hence, to heaven. (John 14:6) Peter preached that there is no other name given under heaven by which we may be saved. (Act 4:12)
Any time a believer embraces ideas of the culture that are in opposition to the truth of God as expressed in the Bible, he or she has failed to stand firm and is subject to further attacks by Satan. They become those whom Paul said would fall away from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)
Further, since Jesus is truth and the Holy Spirit within us is the Spirit of Truth, we should strive to always speak the truth.
We also put on the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate was a piece of armor that protected the torso from injury. This image is likely taken from Isaiah 59:17, where the Lord wears the breastplate of righteousness for battle.
This refers to our practical righteousness, our living in obedience to God as expressed in his word. If we are not living righteous lives, we have a weakness for the devil to exploit. We see this in the encounter of the sons of Sceva, who were not believers, yet tried to cast out demons “in the name of Jesus whom Paul proclaims”. They were all beaten by the possessed man and had to flee naked and wounded. (Acts 19:11-20)
We put on the breastplate of righteousness by living in continual obedience to God. When we live in sin, we give Satan an opening with which to attack us. He may attack our reputation as a Christian, or seduce us to fall into sin, disgracing ourselves and the church. He may attack us by causing us to doubt God and his word in favor of the sin to which we are attracted. That is why Peter urged us to abstain from fleshly lusts that wage war against the soul. (2 Peter 2:11)
Next, Paul describes the shoes of the soldier. They are the readiness given by the gospel of peace. (15) The gospel of peace is the good news that believers are at peace with God.
We have sure footing in the gospel. We stand in confidence of God’s love for us and his ability to fight for us. “…in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. As Paul wrote:
“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 8:37-39.
There is also an allusion here to Isaiah 52:7, which says:
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns”.
In addition to the armor worn by the believer, there is the shield that is held. It is the shield of faith that shield allows you to extinguish the flaming darts of the evil one. (16) That is a reference to arrows fired by the enemy that are on fire. This is the unshakable faith of the believer that repels attacks of doubt and fear sent by the devil.
There are many people today who throw these arrows or darts at you on behalf of the devil. The so called “new atheists” are on every social media platform telling you why you should not believe. Television shows feature critics who offer alternative explanations to the accounts of the Bible, or even misstate what the Bible says.
The helmet of salvation refers to our ultimate victory. Believers have already been rescued from slavery to sin and have a firm hope in Christ’s final victory, our vindication as believers, and eternity with him. In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Paul says we have as a helmet the hope of salvation. When the battle rages, that hope keeps fear and confusion away.
There is only one offensive weapon mentioned in this passage. It is the sword of the Spirit. That sword is the word of God, the Bible. Our example is Jesus: in the wilderness, Jesus battled and defeated Satan solely by using God’s word. (Matthew 4:1-11)
Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would strike the earth with the rod of his mouth. (Isaiah11:4) Revelation 19 shows us the picture of the conquering Christ making war on all of the enemies of God. “From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations”. (Revelation 19:11) He will destroy his enemies with his word. We may repel the devil now using the word of God just as Jesus did during his temptation.
That should be a great motivation for us to read, study, and memorize the Word of God. When temptation or trials come, nothing elevates the believer better than calling Scripture to mind and saying it out loud.
You know the enemy.
You have the armor & weapons.
Fight the good fight!
No comments:
Post a Comment