Return to Fighting Stance
Well, we’ve come to the very last section of Ephesians. God has taught me so much and I pray he’s been teaching you too.
We’ve come to a powerful section here at the end of Ephesians. I love the battlefield and armor analogy that Paul uses.
When I was a little girl, one of my favorite make-believe games was called Abigail’s Army. In it, I pretended that God chose me to lead an army of little people the size of ants. My army and I went around the countryside, and when we saw bad guys, I’d wave this magic staff and my miniature army would grow big and fight the bad guys with me. Sometimes I wonder if this was a premonition to having children. And I keep wondering, where’s my magical staff?
So last week we talked about choosing our battles. We talked about how Jesus didn’t come to free us from our earthly masters but to make us fit to join our Heavenly Master. We talked about how our earthly authorities are not the enemy. Our husbands or bosses or parents aren’t the source of our problems. Rather, our battle is against what Paul says in verse 12 here: the rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Those are the ones trying to enslave us again to the old way of living.
I think however, that the devil and his demons aren’t the only enemy or cause of conflict in our lives. Eph 2:1-3 says, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
From this passage we see that we once had four enemies:
- This world
- Prince of the power of the air (Demonic World)
- Passions of our flesh
- God’s enemy
In essence before we believed, everything was against us. Everything was a threat to us, even God’s burning wrath. We couldn’t even approach God because our old selves were in total opposition to him. But now Christ’s work has made us a child of God. God is on our side. We have Christ’s spirit inside us creating a new self. And last week we saw how the governments and earthly authorities in the Lord’s hands are no longer a threat to us but our place to do God’s work.
So the relationship between three of these four enemies is in the process of being transformed. What was meant for evil can now be used by God for our good and his glory. The change isn’t complete yet, and so we still have conflict with our old selves and the flesh and earthly authorities and even God, but those three areas have begun to change.
There remains only one force that hasn’t been reconciled, and that is the demonic forces of evil: the prince of the power of the air. But until then they are trying to do what?
When my kids were slightly younger, playing boards games was difficult for them because when they learned they were going to lose, they made the game as miserable as possible for all the other players. Misery loves company.
I’m going to guess that the devil and his demons are pretty miserable. They've lost their place in Heaven already and they know they're eventually going to lose everything on earth too. So I imagine the Devil is trying to make everyone else as miserable as can be. The best way I can think of to make humans miserable is to lead them as far as possible away from that which makes them happy, lead them away from God and into slavery to fear and misplaced trusts, and spiritual blindness.
In fact any area of our lives that we hold back from the Lord can be a point of entry to the Devil. Remember back in Chapter 4 where Paul told us to not let the sun do down on our anger?
New problems, tense relationships, even mundane and tedious tasks can be a chance for the Devil to get a foothold. But they can also be a place for our faith to grow.
Because we have Christ, we know that any weakness or imperfection can be a chance for victory. George Macdonald once wrote in one of his princess books that we are either turning more and more into a heavenly creature or more and more into a hellish creature.
We could really do an in depth study about how the Devil tries to make us miserable. We could go through some of the Screwtape Letters and talk about how he twists our thoughts to his purposes. But that’s not what Paul does in this section of Ephesians and that’s not what I want to do either. I think this would be the wrong focus.
I once attempted to read a book called Deliver Us from Evil: A New York City Cop Investigates the Supernatural by Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool. I say “attempted” because I got four Chapters into it and had to stop because the book was keeping me up at night. I was so focused on the devil and what he does to enslave people in fear that I found I was falling into fear myself. My eyes were so focused on the power of evil that I forgot about the power of God, which far surpasses that of the devil.
It's like this: The devil is like a ravenous lion in a desert that we are traveling through. To survive we could dedicate all our time to studying lions. We could learn their habits and habitats. We could make camouflage and release decoys into the desert or we could stay with the desert guide with the lion-slaying gun.
If we make the Lord our dwelling place, we will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent we will trample underfoot, Psalm 91 says.
We could study all the devil’s tactics or we could stay so close to Jesus that the thought of the devil gives us no fear. The Shepherd of Hermas, which is an apocryphal book says, “Those who are empty fear the devil as if he had power . . .” Be filled with Christ and the devil’s power will pail in comparison.
That is what Paul focuses on here in this section: the armor and weapons we have to stand against the devil, things so fool-proof and strong that the Devil’s attempts become humorous.
This is a section for action, for bold assertion against the Devil and everything he can throw at us. Look at this litany of action words here. We had to list many of them in our homework too.
Verse 10 seems like the key to the action here though. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” It doesn’t say be strong in ourselves and our own righteousness. It doesn’t say have faith in ourselves and our own abilities. It says to be strong in the Lord. And I’m going to attach these bits of armor to that statement as well. Be strong in the Lord’s truth, the Lord’s righteousness, the Lord’s peace, have strong faith in the Lord’s salvation, and that his Word has the strength to influence.
The world and most especially Disney movies tell us to look within ourselves to find our strength. No. No. No. Discover where our strength ends and so we can find where the Lord’s power begins. And his power never grows tired or weary of doing good.
So let’s look at the tools that the Lord has given us for protection: this shield, breastplate, belt, shoes, sword, and helmet. Many of these are echoes of other passages in scripture.
Isaiah 11:5 “Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.”
Isaiah 59:17 “He 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.”
Isaiah 52:7 “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.’”
These passages in Isaiah are talking about the right way to behave, the right way to dress. God dresses a certain way and so does his Messiah and so must we. Jesus was the first one to dress as God wants humans to dress. Jesus’ clothing was his holiness and obedience and humility.
Our own history of clothing is quite different. Let’s review that history. When God made Adam and Eve, they needed no clothes. He made them to wear righteousness and justice and peace and faithfulness like beautiful garments around them. But they chose their own way instead of God’s. So they became aware of their nakedness and what did they cover themselves with? Fig leaves. Fig leaves were our attempt to hid our shame.
So God gave Adam and Eve what to wear? Skins. God sacrificed an animal so Adam and Even would have suitable clothes for the time being. Sacrifices were God's temporary solution to our sin. These skins were the precursor to the only acceptable sacrifice, the life of a lamb, more precisely, the Lamb of God.
When Jesus died as the perfect spotless lamb, he made it possible for us to now put on Jesus’ righteousness and faith and truth. We don’t have to put on our own man-made fig-leaf cover-ups for shame. We don’t have to make sacrifices to pay back the angry God. God’s wrath has been satisfied by Jesus’ blood so we can now dress like him, be like him.
What does it mean to put on Jesus? How do we wear Jesus like clothing?
Well, Jesus spent a lot to time trying to explain it to us. He used all sorts of analogies, but I like the parable the wedding feast in Matthew 22. In it, all the riffraff off the streets are invited to a wedding feast in place of the original guests who denied the invitations. We are the riffraff invited into Jesus’ feast. But do you remember what some of the guests at the wedding feast failed to do? Some of them failed to put on the proper wedding clothes. We’ve all been invited into God’s family, but we’ve got to put on the proper clothes.
Jesus in the gospel of John said it another way. He said we were to eat Jesus’ flesh and drink his blood. Elsewhere Jesus talks about working all the yeast into the bread and building our house on a solid foundation. In my lectures I’ve used all sorts of analogies: not digging in the dumpster, submitting to God’s surgeries, bring our darkness into the light, and wear Jesus as a medal over our hearts.
All these analogies are talking about the same thing.
Christianity isn’t about a litany of rules to follow and lists of sins to avoid. It’s about this one thing: putting on Christ, put him in us, put on his armor like clothes, act like sons and daughters of the king. Put on the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation. Use the shoes that are ready with the Gospel of Peace, and lastly wield the Sword that is the Word of God.
To put on Jesus means to trust him in everything. We don’t have to sew fig leaves for ourselves to try to hide our desires in the darkness. We don’t have to make more sacrifices to God thinking that’ll make things right. Trust Jesus. To put on Jesus means to trust him in all we do, think, and feel. Or if you want to use Paul’s analogy in Ephesians here, to put on Jesus is to put on God’s armor.
I want to make special mention of the sword here. This Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, is not the logos-word. That’s not this word. Nor is this talking about the Bible per say. Remember the Ephesians didn’t have the New Testament at that time and not everyone could read or had access to the Old Testament.
This Word of God is the spoken word of God, the message in action. What’s the difference, you ask? It’s the difference between a law book about property owner’s rights and a lawyer in court defending my property owner’s rights. It’s the difference between a recipe and a cook making that recipe. It’s the difference between a travel book and traveling. Are you getting the difference?
If you want a perfect example of the sword in action, look at how Jesus used the Word of God against the devil in his temptations. I’m going to paraphrase that conversation.
The devil said, “Use God’s power to make what you need instantly appear before you: rocks to bread.”
Jesus said, “The Lord is supplying all my needs: Man shall not live by bread alone.”
The Devil said, “Test God, see if he’ll do as you say: throw yourself off this building.”
Jesus said, “We do not test God. God tests us: Thou shalt not put the Lord your God to the test.”
The Devil said, “You can accomplish what you came to do by just compromising a little bit. Bow to me and I’ll give it to you.”
Jesus said, “Compromising a little is to worship a false god: I worship God alone.”
To just read the Word of God and not use it, is like studying swords and reading stories about swords and polishing swords, but never grasping the sword ourselves and using it to defend or attack. God’s word is meant for everyday use: for doing the dishes and paying bills and going to the doctors and dealing with the government and southern California drivers.
All God’s armor is like this: God’s truth isn’t just for arguing against atheists. It’s for when someone hurts you and you feel unwanted. It’s to remind you, “The Lord loves me. The Lord delights in me. And he is enough for me.”
God’s righteousness isn’t just for when we first believed. It’s for when we make mistakes and we feel like we’re no good. It’s for when we’ve done well and are tempted to give ourselves all the credit. Then we can point to Jesus’ righteousness and remember, “Jesus did it all so I can wear Jesus' righteousness like a medal around my neck.”
The shield of faith isn’t just for when trouble comes along, but for when life grows tedious and boring. It's to believe that God is still doing something when nothing seems to be changing, when no one seems to be improving. That’s where our faith in God’s work sustains us.
Salvation is not just to save us from Hell after death but to save us from Hell on earth. Salvation is the process that began when we first believed. We are this very moment working out the rest of it by allowing God to continue his surgeries on us.
And the Gospel of peace told to the nations isn’t just something for missionaries and people with an outgoing personality. If the salvation life is really taking over our old life, then our speech is filled with the Lord’s truths no matter if we’re speaking to the gas station attendant or church friends. How could our joy and worship and thanksgiving not seep out?
In Martial Arts there’s a sparing position that a good fighter returns to after every offensive or defensive move: arms up ready to block, legs wide apart, one foot out in front of the other, knees bent ready to spring once way of another, head tucked in, and fists in front of face.
Many other sports have this sort of ready-for-action-position as well. Tennis: you put your racket out in front of you, ready to hit forehand or backhand depending on where the ball goes. Football, you crouch down low ready to move quickly in any direction.
In Martial Arts it’s important to always return to this fighting stance when sparing because if you don’t, your opponent is going to take advantage of your not being prepared. In fact, if a fighter celebrates too long over a successful attack, marveling over their swiftness or good form, checking to see who’s watching, their opponent is going to seize the opportunity to knock them off their feet. The same is true after an unsuccessful encounter, if a fighter gets knocked down and stays there, moaning and groaning about their failure, their opponent is going to kick them while they’re down.
A good fighter can’t spend a lot of time focusing on their successes or failures. They’ve got to return to this fighting stance. You see the correlation, don’t you? No matter what triumphs or failures we encounter, Christians must return to their fighting stance, which is on our knees in conversational trust: in prayer, petition, confession, thanksgiving, praise, lament, and listening.
Verse 18 says, “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”
Returning to the Lord again and again in prayer after every victory and every failure allows us to see all our wins and losses through God’s eyes, and it steadies our hearts, minds, and strength for the next encounter. Prayer is how we do battle for those who aren’t defending themselves, who’ve been knocked down and aren’t getting back up. It’s where we break through strongholds where people are enslaved in self-reliance or self-righteousness or self-glory.
Do you know the power of your prayers ladies? Sometimes I think I do more spiritual warfare now with my prayers than I ever did in my active youth, attending Harvest Parades, going overseas on missions trips, trying to argue people into the Kingdom of God.
On our knees is where we are made fit for his service, fit for his army. Stand firm against the devil on your knees in prayer. Doesn’t that tie in so beautifully with what we talked about last week. Last week we talked about submitting in all things to the Lord. Getting on my knees is the best position I can think of that symbolized my submission to the Lord.
It’s in this submission before him that we surrender our fig-leaf-clothing ways of hiding ourselves and where we recognize all our sacrifices are not enough. Only Jesus’ sacrifice was.
I think Luke 22 gives us a great example of all this. Luke 22:31-32 Jesus says to Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
Anyone looking at the story of Peter might think that his faith failed him. Wouldn’t they? He sliced off that high priest’s ear when soldiers came to take Jesus in the garden. He ran away. And then he lied three times about not knowing Jesus. How’s that not a failing of his faith?
Because after all that, Peter returned to fighting stance. He went out and wept for his sins. He raced to the tomb to see if Jesus’ body was there. And he confirmed his love for Jesus three times on the beach after a fish and bread breakfast. Satan may have knocked Peter down, but Peter got back up and was strengthened in the Lord so that he could then strengthen his brothers with gentleness and patience, bearing with them in love. It took awhile for Peter to return to fighting stance, but he did.
Having faith that withstands evil doesn’t mean we don’t get knocked about. It just means, we always return to our knees before God: this wonderful, safe, and powerful place that Jesus makes possible for us.
In order for a fighter or Christian to always return to this stance, we have to practice over and over until we get that spiritual muscle memory and it becomes automatic. A beginner fighter gets punched and starts writhing on the floor. “Oh, my nose! It hurts. I’m dying! Help! I can’t fight anymore.” Similarly, a baby Christian gets stuck in self-shame or regrets or anxiety or anger or self-glory or pride or judgement or self-reliance for long stretches of time. A mature Christian winces once and then returns to the Lord in conversational trust. They return to fighting stance fast because they practice.
But while a baby Christian and a mature Christian may return to this fighting stance at different speeds, the movements are the same. This is something all Christians everywhere throughout history have practiced. It is why we can do life together no matter how weak or strong our faith is, no matter our age or occupation. We are united in practicing the same movements. We are all returning to the same position: on our knees before God. We are all learning to dress like Jesus. We are all helping others to put on their armor and allowing others to help us with ours.
Return to fighting stance.
Audio of this lecture: (Eph 6:10-24)
Other WOW Ephesians Lectures: (Eph 4:1-16, Eph 4:17-32, Eph 5:1-20, Eph 5:21-6:9)
More on Spiritual Warfare: Demons in the House
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