Reflection on God's Word

WAR OF THE WORLDS

by Tim Thomas

August 13, 2007

Ephesians 6:10-17

Paul winds down his letter with a reminder that we who follow Jesus live in a war zone. Worse, we are actually targetted by the enemy. Paul does not want us simply to duck and hide, but to fight and win. This passage begins by the Apostle Paul exhorting us to "be strong in the Lord". I like the way the Amplified brings out the meaning by suggesting that the first part means to "be empowered through our union with Him", and then translates "in his mighty power" from the NIV as "draw your strength from Him". I can see no other practical way to "be strong in the Lord" except by learning how to go to God relationally to get that strength. It is perhaps what Jesus was teaching in John 15 when he said that we must abide in Him if we are to have life, and that if we fail to abide in Him, we would wither and die.

In many ways, the next verses amplify what Paul means about being strong in the Lord. He explains that we are to put on the full armor of God. He is being figurative, of course, and goes on to explain the components of the armor. But first he reminds us that the true battle we face is not what we can see with our eyes -- it is not like non-believers think, blaming people or circumstances or institutions. No, there are very real spiritual forces and beings that operate behind the scenes, seeking to derail us and make us lose. These forces are hierarchical, agents of their ruler, the devil. Verse 13 emphasizes that unless we are properly armed and ready, we will be "cannon fodder", so to speak.

Paul refers to "the day of evil". It is not entirely clear whether he is referring to a day that all believers face simultaneously, like an end-times battle, or whether there are simply a day or days that each of us will face where our faith will be challenged or our mission that we are doing for God will be assaulted. I tend to think that each of us has several days in our lives which could be said to be "days of evil", and that it is on those days that we need our armor. The thing about spiritual armor is that once the battle comes against us, it is probably too late to put on the armor -- it just takes some time to get it on. That doesn't mean that we can't put it on after the defeat and go back for the counter-attack. In fact, if we get defeated, that is exactly what we should do, rather than totally surrendering for all times. Unfortunately, many Christians get side-tracked by defeat, and live essentially as spiritual POWs.

For those who wear their armor and who overcome the powers of darkness on those days of evil, they will be able to stand as a battle-tested veteran. Those who overcome have a confidence -- not a cockiness -- that armed with the strength of God, they can do all things (see Philippians 4:13 or 19). These are the pillars of the Church, the strong men and women who guard and strengthen the young and weak in faith.

The fact that the true fight is against spiritual powers leads us to one of two types of fights. The first is a mental fight. These spiritual forces mess with our minds, and we will often need to fight the battle there, as we face accusation and all sorts of thoughts of unworthiness, worthlessness, confusion, and defeatist attitudes. The second type is a battle in prayer and intercession. Many people take spiritual authority in prayer against these forces. Gary Wiens has written a book called "Bridal Intercession" that suggests that we can do this kind of warfare by asking our Bridegroom Jesus to take authority. I hope to write about this sometime soon, because the motivation is based in part on verses from Ephesians.

The first piece of spiritual armor is the belt of truth. Jesus, said that He is "the Truth". To know Jesus is to know Truth. I believe truth referred to here is not just being "in Jesus" but also understanding who we are in Jesus, and being able to understand that spiritual reality more accurately defines truth than does what is perceived by our natural senses. So, to put on the belt of truth is to remind us that because we have put our trust in Jesus and what He did for us, we are dearly loved children of the Most High, seated in the heavenly realms with Christ Jesus, where we have access to all the power in the universe, because of our relationship with God. This may also refer to being able to perceive the Truth of every situation, and to face Truth, now that we are free in Jesus.

The next piece or armor is the breastplate of righteousness. How should we think about righteousness, and how does it help us stand? The Bible is fairly clear that all of us have failed God in some way, and that to trust in our own righteousness to save us is a serious mistake. One way to look at the breastplate of righteousness is to not place confidence in our own performance, but rather recognize that by our utter dependence on Jesus's righteousness and substitutionary death on our behalf, we are found righteous, above accusation from the devil. Many of us have struggled and do struggle with accusations from the devil about our failures and moral shortcomings. Many times, the devil is accusing us of things that truly happened. A breastplate of righteousness, though, is able to admit our own shortcomings, while boldly declaring that we have full confidence in who we are in Jesus.

Another aspect of righteousness, however, comes in actively and even aggressively placing all that we do and say under the Lordship of Jesus. That is, we acknowledge that He has authority to direct us in every area of life, and do our best to follow where and how He leads. We all we fall short. We may acknowledge His authority in some area, and then fail to obey. By confessing our failure and by trying once again to obey, we maintain a certain sense of righteousness of our own, by continually seeking full obedience to Jesus.

The breastplate protects the heart. If I am deceived into believing that it is my own righteousness that saves me, I will rightly recognize my failure, and despair in my heart. Or, if I recognize that I have not submitted part of my life to the Lord (not that I simply fail in it, just that I refuse to even try to follow God in it), again my heart is open to being rightly accused by Satan, and my heart is open to arrows. John Eldredge points out in "Waking the Dead" that we also most learn to protect our hearts, and that things that come against our hearts are usually from the devil. Our hearts are protected when we believe what God says about us being dearly loved and of great worth, and when we disregard feedback from the world that devalues our worth. This kind of attack is almost always related to pointing to failures in what we have said or done, or in making us feel that we are flawed in some way that makes us unacceptable.

Shoes that show the readiness of the gospel of peace is the third piece of armor. The meaning of this is less clear. We want to ask, "Readiness for what?" Is this readiness for battle, readiness to respond to the leading of the Spirit, readiness to share our faith with someone who hasn't yet put their faith in Jesus? All of these interpretations might be appropriate. I do know that Satan attacks often when we least expect it, and often when we are at our weakest. Yet the Good News of Jesus enables us to be ready even in such times. I also know that the Holy Spirit seems to prompt us to act for the advancement of the Kingdom of God in the lives of others, and this often comes at narrow windows of time which must be acted upon swiftly. Even reserved people like me who prefer to carefully consider options and develop the best strategies possible must learn to seize the moment at the prompting of the Holy Spirit!

The shield of faith is a very important piece of armor. Oftentimes we cannot see clearly in battle. It is easy to become confused, and in the confusion succumb to the attack against us. Faith enables us to persevere through the confusion. Faith reminds us of the fundamentals, and enables us to trust in God's goodness and love. Satan's flaming arrows tempt us to focus on him and his power. Faith turns our gaze to our God and His power.

A helmet protects one's head from injuries. The head is also where our brain -- our mind -- is located. The helmet of salvation helps defend our mind. Our acknowledgment of our salvation reminds us that even if we lose our very lives, we will spend eternity in God's presence.

Finally, the sword of the Spirit is the word of God. Jesus is called the Word of God, but more conventionally the Bible is the word of God. This passage probably refers to the Bible. In Jesus's battle with the devil in the wilderness during his forty day fast at the beginning of his ministry, knowledge of the Bible provided the weapon that Jesus needed to defeat his adversary. He was able to fend off the devil's assaults by reminding himself and the devil the truth declared in God's word. Even the devil quoted the Bible during this attack, and yet Jesus not only knew what the Bible said, but he had a heart-level understanding of its meaning, and was able to declare God's purposes by declaring another part of the Bible.

Likewise, we need to know the Bible AND discern God's heart in the verses. In our battles with the devil, we too can be victorious as we boldly proclaim God's objective truths that we have read and understood.

Let us then endeavor to become strong and mature, not being foolish, but consistently arming ourselves with the full armor of God!