The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, perhaps more than any other New Testament epistle, describes the spiritual blessings that God has given to the believers in His Son:He has “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (1:3). “He has chosen us in Him [that is, Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (1:4). He has “predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself” (1:5). “He has made us accepted in the beloved” (1:6).
In Him “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (1:7). In Him “we have obtained an inheritance” (1:11). He “has quickened us together with Christ … and has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (2:5,6). “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (2:10). “He is our peace” (2:14). In Christ we “are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit (2:22). He has sealed us by the Holy Spirit “unto the day of redemption” (4:30). (See also 1:8,9,22; 4:8,11; 5:25-27.)
We are not to take these blessings lightly, or for granted. God intended that we should appreciate them, meditate upon them, enjoy them, use them for His glory, and worship Him because of them. As we grow spiritually, we will find ourselves spending more time meditating upon Christ, seeking to understand and lay hold of our blessings in Christ, seeking to discern God’s perfect will for every aspect of our lives, and attempting to serve God through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Correspondingly, as we grow spiritually we more and more will be reckoning ourselves dead to sin (Rom. 6:11), not allowing sin to reign in our mortal bodies (Rom. 6:12), fleeing youthful lusts (2 Tim. 2:22), and gaining victory over the world through faith (1 John 5:4). As we become increasingly victorious in our conflicts with fleshly lusts and worldly pleasures, and as we focus our attention more on the Lord and those things that are pleasing in His sight, we increasingly will be brought face to face with another foe—Satan and His demons.
As long as we are content to live our Christian lives in a lukewarm fashion, on a plane of mediocrity, bestirring ourselves only occasionally to engage in any activity that brings us face to face with God, the presence of Satan and/or his henchmen will not be very evident to us. If we are content to conform outwardly to the customs of Christianity—attending worship, prayer, or Bible study meetings once or twice a week, mindlessly reading a Bible chapter occasionally, and saying prayers by rote each night—we are not likely to experience very much of the combat described in Ephesians 6. Rather, I suggest, Satan’s activity in our lives will take the form primarily of (1) keeping us content with our lukewarm involvement in the Christian life and keeping us from even beginning any serious meditation upon Christ and His will for us; or (2) tempting us to sin in such a way as to cause upset among and/or estrangement from our brothers and sisters in Christ; or (3) leading us to behave in ways that will tend to hinder our unsaved friends and neighbors from responding to the gospel. Each of us—even as true believers in Christ—has such a native ability to sin, to be self-willed and self-centered, that Satan and his demons often do not have to exert much effort to keep our hearts on self and off of Christ.
However, once a believer starts taking positive steps to learn more about his God and his Saviour, to know and to do His will, and to be of service to Him, Satan’s cohorts are immediately stirred into a new kind of action—action aimed at putting a quick end to such exercises and activities. In Ephesians 6 we find instruction for combating Satan’s attacks in such instances. This is spiritual warfare of the highest kind. It does not so much have to do with resisting temptations aimed at stirring sinful flesh into activity, but with defending against attacks designed to discourage us from pursuing our course of seeking to honor, obey, serve, and worship God.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers … against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Eph. 6:10-13). God does not leave us to our own strength in defending against the host of spiritual enemies arrayed against us (6:12). Every spiritual weapon and piece of armor is provided by God. All He asks of us is to use this armor faithfully and entirely—“Put on the whole armor of God” (6:11,13).
Our enemy is wily, shrewd, cunning. He knows the weaknesses of each one of us and exploits these weaknesses to the fullest. And He attacks when we least expect it—often right on the heels of a great victory over sin or Satan (compare Judg. 7:19-22 with 8:24-27; compare 1 Ki. 18:40 with 19:1-4). Clad with the whole armor of God, our areas of weakness will be protected and we will be ready to stand against the devil “in the evil day”—the moment of special attack.
Our combatants include a whole host of spiritual powers of wickedness. Satan himself, unlike Christ, does not possess the divine attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, self-existence from past eternity, and the like. He is, indeed, extremely powerful, highly knowledgeable, intelligent, and wise, and moves very rapidly. But he does not have the power to be all places at all times. Therefore, he has set up a vast system of under-devils, with different ranks (such as “principalities” or arch-demons, 6:12) and different charges, such as the responsibility to watch over a specific person to keep him from setting his mind too much on spiritual things and from being obedient to God (compare Dan. 10:12,13).
Note that our struggle is “against spiritual wickedness in high places” or “in the heavenlies” (6:12 JND). We have been blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ” (1:3 JND). God has raised up Christ and “set Him down at His right hand in the heavenlies” (1:20 JND). God “has raised us up together, and made us sit down together in the heavenlies” (2:6 JND). As we find ourselves more and more led by the Spirit to enter into the heavenlies to meditate upon Christ and upon our blessings, we will find our enemies—“spiritual powers of wickedness”—also there in the heavenlies, arrayed against us to keep us from the enjoyment of our Lord and Saviour and the blessings He has imparted to us.
The Girdle of Truth
Let us consider now some of the specific schemes and stratagems used by these satanic powers to attack God’s children, and the specific pieces of armor provided by God to protect His children against these attacks.
The first piece of armor the Christian warrior is to put on is truth. “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth” (6:14). Since Paul was writing to the Ephesians from a prison in Rome where he was guarded by a Roman soldier, it may well be that the analogies he drew in Ephesians 6 were to Roman armor. The girdle or belt of the Roman soldier’s armor was very important because almost everything else fastened to it. If the belt was not in place, then the other parts of the armor would not be in proper functioning order. In a similar way, truth—the revealed truth of God in the Holy Scriptures—is the foundation for all other pieces of the Christian’s armor. Typically, Satan’s first area of attack when we are first saved is in regard to the truth, particularly as concerns the person and work of Christ. The apostle John gives a word of warning to the little children, or spiritual babes, to beware of antichrists, that is, those who deny that Jesus is the Christ or that He is the Son of God (1 John 2:18-27). God desires that we come into the “knowledge of the Son of God” and “that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine … whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph. 4:13,14). There are many false teachers around who superficially cannot be distinguished from the true ones because they teach a mixture of truth and error. We must put on the girdle of truth, testing every new teaching that we encounter by the Word of God. We must be like those of Berea who “searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).
The Breastplate of Righteousness”
“Having on the breastplate of righteousness.” One of Satan’s chief devices to draw our attention away from Christ is to bring before our thoughts our own past sins—particularly those sins of the recent past and those we have committed since our conversion. He may taunt us:“Do you really think God is paying any attention to your attempts to worship Him (or know Him, or learn His will), considering how you lost your temper (or yielded to a bad habit) yesterday? How can you call yourself a saved person when you keep sinning so frequently?” And we often listen to his taunts, and start thinking about ourselves and our sinful lives, and perhaps start wondering whether God has really forgiven us all those many times we have sinned against Him. The armor we need to protect us against such attacks of Satan is “the breastplate of righteousness.” This, I believe, refers first and foremost to the practical application of the truth of our justification. “To him who works not, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:5; also 3:21-28; 4:1-8). If we are true believers in Christ’s atoning work on the cross, and thus have been justified by faith, then we should always abide in the confidence of this wonderful fact. So when Satan attacks us with respect to our recent or past sins, we can confidently face him “having on the breastplate of righteousness,” assured that we have been justified and that all our sins—past, present, and future—have been atoned for by the shed blood of Christ. A further aspect of the breastplate of righteousness has to do with our practical righteousness, or refraining from sin in our daily lives. The more we succeed in this regard, the less ammunition Satan will have with which to attack us.
The Gospel of Peace
“Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” On that most famous night in Israel’s history, when the destroying angel passed throughout Egypt slaying the firstborn of each household, the Israelites were instructed to eat the passover lamb “with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand” (Exod. 12:11). They were to be ready to escape from Egypt at a moment’s notice. Similarly, spiritual shoes are a necessary part of the Christian’s armor in “standing against the wiles of the devil.” The shoes depict the believer’s preparedness or readiness with the gospel of peace. In Romans 10:15 we find a strikingly similar expression:“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace.” The beauty of the feet of the gospel preacher—seemingly surpassing the beauty of his mouth—lies in the willingness of the preacher to go to out of the way places, wherever the Lord sends him, to proclaim the gospel of peace. Notice in the Book of Acts how frequently the Lord sent His servants such as Philip, Peter, and Paul to distant places to proclaim the gospel—sometimes to an audience of only one or two people (Acts 8:26-39; 10:1-48; 16:9-34). We all should “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5), even if not gifted as an evangelist. And we are enjoined to “be ready always to give an answer to every man who asks you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15). Satan, on the other hand, is always ready to whisper into our minds a thousand excuses for not sharing the gospel with others:“too busy,” “too tired,” “too much effort,” “have a headache,” “not the appropriate time,” “might give me a dirty look,” “might not be my friend any more.” If our feet are shod with the preparedness of the gospel of peace, we will not allow Satan’s excuses to hinder us from going where God sends us and speaking to those to whom He directs us.
I would suggest that the gospel of peace is not necessarily limited to the good news of how to be saved. Being peacemakers, living peaceably with others, manifesting a peaceful spirit before all, are of great value in today’s world of upset and turmoil. “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matt. 5:9). “Follow peace with all men” (Heb. 12:14). “Keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). This includes also the ministry of restoration to the Lord. “If your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone; if he shall hear you, you have gained your brother” (Matt. 18:15). “If a man be overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness” (Gal. 6:1). “He who converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (Jas. 5:20). This is often difficult and trying work, and Satan will seek to dissuade us from such work as much as from evangelistic work. So how necessary it is to be always in readiness for such service, prepared to go where we are sent, prepared to ignore Satan’s excuses, having our “feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”
The Shield of Faith
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked [one].” Another tactic of Satan is to cast fiery darts into the minds of the believers. What is the nature of these darts? No doubt it varies according to the temperament and spiritual maturity of each individual believer. For some, the darts may be blasphemous thoughts and doubting questions implanted by Satan and his demons in the minds of believers. For example:“How do you know there really is a God?” “The Bible is a bunch of lies and fantasies.” “Are you sure the truth of God is found in the Bible and not in the Qur’an or the teachings of Buddha?” “Jesus was an imposter, not the Son of God.” “You were never really saved; you only think you were.” No doubt we all, on occasion, have experienced some such thoughts flitting into our minds. Most are able to dismiss them immediately as untrue and invalid. However, some believers may become very upset and agitated by such thoughts, thinking that they initiated the thoughts and hence that God must be angry with them, or wondering if they could really be saved and think such thoughts. To protect against these darts we need to take the shield of faith, that is, unflinching, unshakeable belief in the Word of God—that what God says in His Word is true. The fact that such thoughts most often come when one is positively seeking to worship, please, or serve God, and the fact that we are horrified at them, should be sufficient evidence to us that the thoughts did not originate with us but were really the fiery darts of the wicked one. Thus, our best response to such darts is to dismiss them immediately by confirming our belief in God’s Word, and then going on about our business.
For others, the darts may take the form of words or pictures that bring to mind past sins, habits, or indulgences. For a former alcoholic such a dart might be, “Wouldn’t a cold beer taste good right now?” For one with a past history of sexual sin the dart might be a lewd picture implanted in his mind. Again, one must combat such darts with the shield of faith, the confirmation that I now belong to Christ and am dead to those old habits, and the immediate dismissal of such thoughts and pictures from one’s mind. If one is not careful to take up the shield of faith, there will be a tendency to dwell on these thoughts; this may lead in turn to fantasies and longings for the old life; and this, if not checked, may lead to a sliding back into those old habits and sins. It is important to note here that while Satan is absolutely delighted if his darts result ultimately in a Christian falling back into old sin patterns, he is still happy, and has achieved his immediate objective, if he succeeds in getting the believer’s thoughts onto something other than the Lord.
The Helmet of Salvation
“Take the helmet of salvation.” Our failure with regard to other parts of the armor may result in doubts arising in our minds as to whether we are saved. Without the girdle of truth I may fall into believing those who proclaim that it is possible to lose one’s salvation. Without the breastplate of righteousness I may allow Satan to convince me that if I were really saved I would not have committed so terrible a sin. Without the shield of faith I might start believing that those blasphemous thoughts that have popped into my mind have issued from my innermost being, and then think that this indicates that I very likely have never been saved. Satan may use yet other ways and means in addition to these, such as taking advantage of physical weakness or mental depression, to bring doubts into the believer’s mind as to his salvation. As far as Satan is concerned, no doubt the next best thing to preventing a person from becoming saved in the first place is making him either think that he has lost it or doubt that he ever had it. In such a condition, the individual will have little interest or ability to pray, worship, serve, or commune with the Lord. Either he will spend his time fretting about whether he really is saved, or else will tend to give up hope and fall back into his pre-Christian life style.
To combat such satanic efforts to make us doubt our salvation, we need to be armed with the “helmet of salvation,” that is, by continually having fresh in our minds and memories those Scriptures that speak of the assurance of our salvation. “These things have I written unto you who believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13). This eternal life cannot be lost, for Christ said, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:28). Also, we “are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:5). If a believer sins, he does not lose his salvation; he does lose his joy of salvation (Psa. 51:12) and fellowship with his Father, but not his salvation. And even this fellowship is restored when he confesses his sin:“If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin…. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7,9).
If Satan suggests (as always, in a way that will make you believe the thought originated in your own mind) that you never really trusted Christ to begin with, you might review in your mind those verses that speak of the way of salvation. Remind yourself and your tormentor that you have acknowledged to God your sin and guilt, that you have owned that you deserve God’s eternal punishment, and that you have placed your trust for salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ who bore the penalty for your sin on the cross. Then quote John 6:37—“Him who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out”—and ask God to protect you from the enemy.
Taking the helmet of salvation may also refer to having a complete, balanced understanding of what is entailed in our salvation. Our salvation has past, present, and future aspects. “Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver; in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us” (2 Cor. 1:10). There are many New Testament Scriptures that present to the believer his eternal portion in the heavens, to be totally delivered from the presence of sin, both in self and in others; on the basis of such a wonderful hope, we are exhorted to live accordingly in this present life (see, for example, Eph. 5:25-28; Tit. 2:11-14). Satan, on the other hand, will take advantage of the blessed truth of eternal security and will suggest to those who have an ear to hear:“Since there is nothing you can do to lose your salvation, why not treat yourself to some of those pleasures you enjoyed before you were saved.” So for attacks like this we also need to have the helmet of salvation, that clear understanding that God has saved us for the purpose of serving Him, worshiping Him, manifesting the fruit of the Spirit, and obeying His Word, and that He wants us to live in view of that soon coming day when we shall be delivered totally from indwelling sin. True joy and happiness in eternity will come as a result of such deliverance from sin and total attachment to Christ. In like manner, true joy and happiness in this present life will result from deliverance that God will give us—if we but allow Him—from the power of sin in our daily lives.
The Sword of the Spirit
“Take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The best example in Scripture of wielding the “sword of the Spirit” is given by the Lord Jesus Himself when tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Jesus responded to each of the three recorded temptations with a quotation from the Old Testament Scriptures:“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God…. You shall not tempt the Lord your God…. You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve” (Matt. 4:4,7,10). It is important to note that Jesus did not simply state Scriptural principles, but quoted the Scriptures themselves. There is a lesson here for us. As important as it is for us to be familiar with the basic doctrines and teachings of Scripture, it is equally important to be familiar with the Scriptures themselves on which the doctrines are based. If we only know doctrines, Satan can confuse us and trip us up by pointing out Scriptures that seem to contradict the doctrines we have learned.
“The sword of the Spirit … is the word of God.” “Word” here is not the Greek word logos (as in John 1:1) but rhema, meaning “speech” or “sayings.” Thus it is not referring to the entire Bible as such, but to the individual passages of Scripture that the Spirit brings to our minds at appropriate times. And the most efficient way for the Spirit to bring specific scriptures into our minds is for us to have read them often, better yet, to have committed them to memory, and best of all, to have put them into action in our lives.
While the sword is often used as an offensive weapon, in the present context its use would seem to be intended, like the pieces of armor, to defend the believer against the attacks of Satan (verses 11,13). Along with the shield, helmet, and breastplate to protect against the blows of the enemy, the sword is used to parry the offensive thrusts of Satan. Thus the believer is equipped to meet both the error and the mangled or incomplete Bible quotations used by the enemy with the truth of Scripture (see Matt. 4:6 where Satan quotes Scripture incompletely and misleadingly, and Matt. 4:7 where Jesus responds with a concise statement of truth from the Scriptures).
Prayer
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Prayer is not presented as one of the pieces of armor per se but that attitude of total dependence on the Lord that should accompany the use of each piece of the armor. And that prayer is not solely for ourselves as we personally “stand against the wiles of the devil.” We are enjoined to engage in “supplication for all saints.” How much we need the help, the encouragement, and the prayers of one another as we all experience the attacks of Satan. May we all be more diligent in praying for our fellow saints, not just for their physical health, but much more for their spiritual health and energy as they, too, wrestle against “principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”