The Christian's Battle – Ephesians 6:10–13
I originally preached this sermon at Redemption Church on October 30, 2022. Included below is my manuscript for the sermon. You can access the full sermon archive or Redemption Church here or subscribe to the sermon audio podcast.
Chances are, you live a fairly cushy life with hot showers, reliable transportation, food on demand, and endless entertainment. These luxuries, unknown throughout human history, dull our spiritual senses and lull us to sleep. Even this morning, we gather in comfort—a warm cup of coffee in our hands, in a heated room, in a cushioned chair, with no fear in our public gathering. All seems peaceful, and we act as if we live in a time of peace. But the Christian life isn’t one of peace but of war. Even as we meet now, the cosmic powers of this evil age long to distract you from hearing the Word of God and will conspire afterward to send birds to gobble up the sowed seed of the Word quickly. We face a spiritual foe who is unceasing in his hate for Christ and his church. While we sip on our lattes, Satan schemes his next attack. While we scroll through our phones, Satan’s mobilizing his demonic hoard. While we leave our Bibles on the shelf, Satan’s manufacturing his fiery darts. What’s more dangerous than being in a war? Being in a war and not realizing you’re in one.
In Ephesians, Paul has held before us the authority and power of Christ far above all rule and authority. We are now seated with Christ in the cosmic realm of the heavenly places. But in the present age, we have been saved by God’s grace to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. The Christian walks in unity with other believers in the church, we grow and mature as we build one another up in love, and we put on the new self, having holy lives marked distinct from the works of darkness. Our holy distinction extends down to the most personal aspect of our lives—our very household. But as Paul concludes his letters, he throws the cold water of reality on our faces. We do not walk in a manner worthy of the gospel in a neutral environment. We have a foe who opposes this work, and he is fierce. We must prepare ourselves to engage in the battle.
Today, we will study Ephesians 6:10–13, where Paul reminds us of the battle, the reality of our enemy, and the need for God’s strength given to us as we put on his armor. As we begin our study of this section of Ephesians, we will first identify the source of strength. Second, we will look more carefully at our foe as we understand the schemes of Satan. And then, thirdly, we will hear God’s call for his saints to withstand the devil’s attacks.
1. The Source of Strength (vv. 10–11)
Paul is closing out the body of the letter with the word “finally.” He moves towards the conclusion of his letter by urging the church to be on defense from the darkness of the evil one by putting on the whole armor of God. If they will survive, they must “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might,” and they must “put on the whole armor of God.”
In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, shortly after his burden is lifted in conversion, the pilgrim Christian visits the house beautiful, a symbol for the church. Christian tours the house and gets trained and equipped for his journey. It is in the house beautiful that Christian is dressed in armor.
As Paul said earlier in Ephesians, the church leaders are to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Eph 4:12). But what do we equip ourselves with? What do we put on to resist the schemes of the devil? We put on the whole armor of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of gospel readiness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
The transition from the relationships from slaves to the armor of God would have surprised the Ephesians, but not in a way we might be surprised. Slaves and masters jointly, with all Christians, put on the whole armor of God. The armor of a Roman soldier afforded him rank and status. How much more does the armor of God bestow on those who wear it?1 And as those redeemed by Christ, we all must put on this armor to defend ourselves against Satan’s schemes. And we fight against the enemy together.
Due to our context, we read this passage on God’s armor through an individualistic lens. We think of the armor of God most like Q equipping James Bond with spy gadgets before he goes on a solo mission. But the armor of God isn’t a ballpoint pen grenade or exploding gel concealed in toothpaste to single-handedly win the day. No, the armor of God is primarily defensive to withstand the enemy’s attacks. And the assumption behind this armor is that it is worn together with other Christians. Individual soldiers in the Roman army made up a unit of soldiers armed and working together. Military strength did not come from a well-equipped single soldier but from a legion of armored soldiers.
Paul emphasizes in Ephesians that the church takes center stage in the cosmic realm. Ephesians 3:9–10 tells us that God displays his manifold wisdom through the church, making it known “to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” As Paul envisions the spiritual battle of rulers and authorities, the church stands victorious as the display of God’s wisdom. No wonder the hoard of hell attacks her with such violence. Therefore, churches, and the Christians who make up those churches, must put on God’s armor so that we may withstand the attacks. Like Christian going through the house beautiful, we must be equipped with the whole armor of God if we will progress and persevere on the Way of Holiness, the King’s highway.
But verse 10 is essential for understanding this whole section concerning the armor of God. Paul clarifies that the strength we need is not our strength but God’s strength. “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” It is through our union with Christ, “in the Lord,” that God’s divine strength is made available to us. Indeed, God’s power and strength have been a key theme throughout Ephesians.
Paul prays that the Ephesians might know “the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe” (Eph 1:19). And by the working of God’s power, he raised Christ from the dead, seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” (Eph 1:21). While we were dead in our sin, “following the prince of the power of the air” God overcomes the power of the devil and makes us alive together with Christ (Eph 2:2). Paul was made a minister of the gospel “by the working of his power” (Eph 3:7). And so Paul prays at the end of chapter 3 that the God would grant the Ephesians to “be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being” and that they may have the “strength to comprehend” the four-fold measure of God’s love (Eph 3:14–19). And in his doxology to God, closing out his doctrinal section of the letter in Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask of think, according to the power at work within us.” Masterfully, Paul closes out his section of moral imperatives and exhortations to walk in a manner worthy by connecting them to the doctrinal section of his letter. As Paul concludes the letter, he begins to interweave the two sections of the letter, reminding us that if we will walk in a manner worthy, we must depend on the strength of God that first saved us and the power we have access to because of our union with Christ.
If we are to survive the onslaught of the kingdom of darkness that gnashes its teeth in hatred toward God and his people, we need to be empowered by God’s strength made available to us through our union with Christ. Left to ourselves and our natural abilities, we will not withstand the attack. But God has made his strength available to us through our union with Christ as we put on the armor he has provided. Paul sees a causal relationship between verses 10 and 11. Even though he doesn’t put a “therefore” between these two sentences—the relationship is implied. We could say: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might; therefore, put on the whole armor of God. If we want to be strong, we put on God’s armor.
The battle we fight is spiritual, and natural means taken up in the weakness of our flesh cannot achieve victory. If we go toe to toe with the devil in our own strength, we lose every time. We need the might of God’s strength. We are dependent wholly upon the power of God. Therefore we put on the armor God has provided as the means of our protection and perseverance. The spiritual battle cannot be won by natural means. Self-help, self-improvement, and self-care will not do. Without the whole armor of God, you run naked and weaponless into a battlefield. And without the shield of faith or the sword of the Word, what chance does your karate-chop have against the gnashing beasts of hell? Our strength comes from God. Therefore we must put on his armor.
2. The Schemes of Satan (vv. 11–12)
Shortly after Christian departed from the house beautiful, equipped with his armor, he entered the Valley of Humiliation. There he spots the foul fiend Apollyon blocking his way. At first, he thinks about retreating, but he remembers that he has no armor for his back. He would be an easy target if he turned around and ran away. Plus, the way to the celestial city is forward. So with courage, he presses on to confront the beast.
In the gospel, Paul tells us that we must grow in unity, maturity, and holiness. But as we seek to become the new self, to walk as children of the light in a world of darkness, we do not do so in a neutral environment. We are on a battlefield, and an enemy opposes us. To succeed over our enemy, we must identify the enemy.
Paul tells us that the Christian armor helps us “to stand against the schemes of the devil.” And in verse 12, he identifies our true enemy. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Our enemy is not an enemy of flesh and blood. Other human beings aren’t our enemies but the malevolent spiritual forces who rule this present age.
The church’s weakness in our day stems from a failure to identify the true enemy. We too easily confuse the enemy’s schemes as the enemy. We turn our attention to combat people, professors, corrupt pastors, or political parties. But such human beings and their institutions are but the victims of the devil’s schemes. Our true enemy lurks behind the scenes, manipulating the church to be distracted by a flesh-and-blood foe to conceal his trickery. The devil is like a master of sleight of hand, who distracts the church’s attention from Jesus to weaken us with petty squabbles that divide us. J. C. Ryle notes that “the cause of sin is never so much helped as when Christians waste their strength in quarreling with one another and spend their time in petty squabbles.”2
In a secular age, we discount the spiritual realm. Even as God’s people who believe in the supernatural and the spiritual, we still think in natural, flesh and blood sort of ways. Yet, verse 12 reminds us that our actual foes are spiritual forces of evil. We will not have victory over our enemy if we don’t correctly recognize the enemy.
When it comes to the domain of darkness, we can make two opposite errors. On the one hand, we can dismiss it entirely so that we functionally disbelieve in the demonic realm. On the other hand, we can have an unhealthy obsession with the demonic, where we attribute every problem we face to a demon, from sound system problems to a broken car. Both can lead to dangerous errors, but we mustn’t discount our true enemy. Indeed, one of his grand schemes in our secular age is to cause us to ignore his existence.
As the Scriptures tell us, Satan and his minions have great power in this world. We can not easily disregard our foe. The apostle John tells us that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn 5:19). In 2 Corinthians, Paul tells us that the “god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor 4:4). Satan is called in Ephesians “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2).
The “rulers” and “authorities” Paul refers to are spiritual rulers and authorities. Though Christ is “over all,” they wield power over this present age. The “cosmic powers” are the cosmocrats of darkness. This was a term used in astrology for planets, which were thought to control the fate of humanity, in hymns to Zeus, in writings referring to Nebuchadnezzar and other pagan monarchs, and often used in writings of the Roman emperor. The term communicates one who has a worldwide rule.3 The present darkness of the age comes from the rule of spiritual forces in the heavenly places. The term “heavenly places” in Ephesians refers to the spiritual realm. Christ sits above all in that spiritual realm, and we now sit with him by faith. But the evil spirits, though defeated by the resurrection, have yet to be destroyed. And they are too prideful to admit such defeat, so they continue to exert their evil in this world until they will one day be dethroned by Christ, tossed into the lake of fire.
Though Jesus is superior, we cannot overlook our foe. He is fierce, aggressive, and powerful. The battle we fight each day in the Christian life is not one of flesh and blood but of cosmic powers over this present age. As Christians, we cannot defeat the devil. We can only resist or withstand his schemes. The apostles never talk about defeating the devil.4 James tells us to “resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (Jas 4:7). Peter describes the devil as one who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” And we are to “resist him” (1 Pe 5:8–9). Similarly, Paul tells us to “stand against the schemes of the devil.” In other words, we are to have firm footing to endure when he attacks with his blows and darts.
The devil’s attacks will come. The schemer of hell’s army will attack you. Will you be felled by them or stand against them? If you are strengthened by God through the bestowal of his armor, you will have victory. The whole armor of God helps us withstand his schemes.
And the devil is a schemer. He is crafty, sneaky, and deceitful. He is often too cowardly to attack us directly, so he conspires plans to entrap us by surprise. Satan knows he cannot overcome the fully equipped Christian, so he avoids a direct assault. The devil is a coward who lurks in the bush for a surprise attack when we let our guard down or take off our armor. He has no chance of winning a direct confrontation with a Christian garbed in the whole armor of God. Therefore, he conspires to catch us at our weakest.
When we let down our spiritual guard, when we stop being watchful over our hearts, when we are negligent in putting on the armor of God each day, when the desires of the world attract our hearts, that is when he mounts his attack. His sinister schemes require our utmost vigilance. He attacks us when we least expect it and when we are the most vulnerable.
The devil is a cunning creature who has grown in cunning as he learns the intricacies of our fallen humanity. It takes us a lifetime to grow masterful at a skill, and the devil has had millennia to master his. He is a skilled foe, studying humanity throughout the generations. He is an accomplished philosopher, theologian, and psychologist.5
Though his schemes are varied, he has three primary tactics: deception, doubts, and decadence.
Concerning deception, he is a liar. He deceives us by “disguising himself as an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14). He enters the church as a wolf in sheep’s clothing (Mt 7:15). From the beginning, he twists the words of God, making his lies sound truthful to the undiscerning ear. Jesus calls the devil “the father of lies” (Jn 8:44). And his lies spread throughout the world and through the church like gangrene, leading people into more and more ungodliness (2 Tim 2:16–17). His most effective lie spread over the last few hundred years is the lie of materialism that all that exists is the material world. He’s largely convinced the West to deny the supernatural and ignore the spiritual. Thus, he can operate under concealment in the spread of his lies while at the same time blinding humanity from seeking a God they no longer believes exists. It’s a masterful scheme conspired by the great deceiver. But his deceptive attacks against the church comes through a variety of false teaching that denies the gospel and its power—the prosperity gospel, trinitarian heresies, worldly philosophies, a denial of Scripture’s authority and sufficiency, and more. Against this scheme, the church must have firmly buckled the belt of truth. Without a commitment to the truth of the Bible and knowledge of what it says, we will be easily deceived. We teach the Bible and study the Bible not to puff ourselves up with knowledge but to defend ourselves against the devil’s lies.
Concerning doubts, the devil will attack God’s people by causing them to doubt God’s goodness and promises. He does this primarily in two ways: circumstances and accusations. When suffering and affliction come into our lives, he will cause us to question God’s goodness. He will take whatever grief or sorrow or pain you are experiencing and tempt you to doubt God’s Fatherly care and goodness to you. Like the first temptation in the garden, he will insinuate that God is withholding from you, harming you, or doing evil to you. The devil will use your trials to cause you to question God’s goodness. As in the sufferings of Job, the devil whispers for us to curse God in our misery.
But he also attacks us with doubts through his accusation. In Revelation 12:10, Satan is described as the one who accuses the saints. He enjoys bringing to our attention our past failures and many sins as a way to doubt the validity of God’s promise. While God has promised forgiveness of sins to all in Christ, Satan will riddle you with guilt over forgiven sin. You hear his accusations in your inner dialogue—“God could never love me. I’ve messed up too much. My sin is too great! I’m beyond help and forgiveness!” And by his accusation, he tempts us to doubt the glorious promises of God. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). Therefore, we must respond to his accusation with gospel truth and power.
Concerning decadence, Satan tempts the church to abandon God by appealing to our sensuality. When a supposed Christian becomes apostate, it usually comes not from intellectual argumentation but moral wandering. The devil will tempt us to think that holiness is a cumbersome, repulsive thing. He will tempt us to believe that restraining our natural appetites is a cruel request from God. And in our desire to do sin, we change our theology to justify it. The desire for immorality often precedes a shift into a false theology. And though there might be an appearance of godliness, but it denies the power of holiness (2 Tim 3:5). The god of this world appeals to the desire of the flesh and the desires of the eyes to entrap us in the things of the world. Moral drift sliding into immoral decadence has called many to shipwreck their faith.
We have a fierce foe, a masterful schemer with the cunning and the expertise to launch deadly attacks against us. The opponent we face isn’t one of flesh and blood but the hoard of the demonic kingdom of darkness.
When Christian stared down the beast Apollyon, it began as a cordial conversation. Apollyon began by questioning Christian, attuning to sow seeds of doubt. When that fails, Apollyon appeals to Christian’s senses by promising him wealth and luxuries of the world if he turns around. But as Christian resists his tactics, Apollyon becomes more aggressive and begins accusing Christian of his past failures and sins. Christian responds to those accusations with a bold declaration of his forgiveness from Christ. Upon the mention of the prince, Apollyon shrieks in a hideous rage revealing his hatred of Christ. He states his true purpose in the valley, to stop Christian in his tracks. He has been sent to prevent him from moving forward on the way of holiness. With his true intentions revealed, the beast attacks, throwing a fiery dart at Christian. Christian raises his shield and blocks the blast. Then Christian drew his sword, knowing it was time for him to take a stand. The enemy was unrelenting, wounding Christian and weakening him. Apollyon, seeing his chance, moved closer to Christian and began to wrestle against him. Apollyon gets the upper hand and knocks Christian’s sword out of his hand, boasting, “I have you now!” And Christian lay in the dirt of the valley of humiliation with the beast pinning him down, ready to inflict his fatal blow.
3. The Stand of the Saints (v. 13)
Against such a powerful enemy, God has not left us helpless. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Pt 1:3). The Lord does not send his saints into a battle they cannot win. He has provided armor for this battle. Because of our danger, Paul urges again in verse 13, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”
Putting on the whole armor of God is a daily task. Each day we must equip ourselves for the danger that awaits us throughout the day. The Lord’s mercies are new every morning, but so are Satan’s schemes. We must daily and self-consciously dress in the garbs of God’s armor by employing the spiritual practices he gives us, namely, Word and prayer.
While we would never walk out to work without our clothes, many of us launch into our days without God’s armor. While we don’t leave the house without breakfast in our bellies and a warm cup of coffee in our hands, we will leave spiritually famished without a Bible in hand. While we don’t get out of bed before checking our messages and reading our news, we go through our days prayerless and thus powerless. Christian, every day you open your eyes and put your feet on the floor, you have entered into a spiritual battle. Whether you realize it or not, we are thrust into a spiritual war. And our enemy conspires against us to slay our souls.
Are you wrestling against a temptation of the flesh? Do you find yourself given to despair and discouragement? Are you self-indulgent and selfish? Have your affections for the Lord and his Word cooled? Is your heart growing hard against your brothers and sisters? Be warned! Such are the schemes of the enemy. And Christian, you are not helpless before the devil’s darts. God has not left us vulnerable to his advances. If we equip ourselves with the armor he has provided, then victory is ours. Satan cannot win in a toe to toe battle with the Christian fully garbed in God’s armor.
Paul tells us to take up the whole armor of God “that you may be able to withstand in the evil day.” What day does Paul refer to here? There are three possibilities. First, Paul may be referring to a single evil day of persecution before the return of Christ. Second, he may refer more generally to the present age, the time between Christ’s first and second coming. But thirdly, and I think most likely, Paul refers to critical times in the life of a believer when Satan’s attacks are most intense.6
Christian, you will face such seasons—where joy and faith and belief seem to be a moment-by-moment fight. The Christian life is hard, and the enemy will mount his offensive against you to destroy you. And our faith will only survive if we find our strength from God to sustain us. He keeps us by his power. By taking up God’s armor, we will withstand the devil even on the most evil of days.
But the struggle of faith is no passive affair but requires manly action, initiative, and persistence. We have created a form of spirituality that embraces passivity, a “let go and let God” mentality. But God has designed our perseverance to come through our fighting for faith. “True Christianity is a fight,” says J. C. Ryle. If we will grow in holiness, persist in Christ, and resist Satan’s schemes, then we must fight with the power God freely gives.
When you are in the fight for your life, you do everything you can to survive. Paul alludes to this in verse 13, “that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” In your fight against sin, have you done all you can? Are you putting on the armor each day to fight against your flesh? Are you watchful, attentive, and on guard? We will win the day if we put on God’s whole armor because it is through the armor of God that we are empowered with the strength of God.
Paul writes Ephesians in chains, and he has had a lot of opportunities in the last three to four years to see the armor of a Roman soldier up close. The imagery was fresh in his mind as he wrote these words. But the spark of influence behind Paul’s use of the imagery of armor comes from Isaiah 59:17, where Christ is described as putting “on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head.” The armor Christ gives us is his own.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, he waged war on the kingdom of darkness. The demonic hoard was at its most visible, agitated, and aggressive during his ministry. The demons decried him and attempted to demonstrate their authority and power in the possession of human beings. But by his word, Jesus commanded the demons to depart. He silenced them at his command. The demons are more powerful than us, yes, but they must submit to the word of God’s Son. Jesus’ ability to cast out demons became a sign of his powerful ministry and his true identity. He is the strong man who binds and bounds the god of this world (Mt 12:29).
And the intensity of temptation Jesus experienced was unlike anything we will ever experience. From his fasting in the wilderness to his temptation in Gethsemane, Jesus chose obedience each time, even though Satan himself unleashed the full force of his cunning to tempt Jesus. Yet, Jesus was tempted in every way we are, yet he was without sin (Heb 4:15). Fully equipped in God’s armor, Jesus embraces the evil day of his greatest temptation. At the cross, Jesus endured the unrestrained violence of hell. And though he was rejected and despised, he took the shame of the cross with joy. He believed that though he died, yet shall his Father vindicate him and raise him from the dead. The army of hell rejoiced at his death. But the Lord Jesus out-schemed the great schemer. For by his defeat, Christ had won the victory. In his crushing, he exerted his absolute power. His nail-pierced hands dripped supernatural strength to cleanse sinners and empower his saints. And on the third day, Christ arose victoriously. The spiritual war of the cosmos was won on the day of Christ’s resurrection from the grave.
Today, you may find yourself getting pummeled by the kingdom of darkness. Your sin has a grip around your throat. You are beaten up with guilt, disfigured by shame, and crippled by wounds. Take heart; Christ has overcome the kingdom of darkness. Friend, I urge you to repent of your sin and put your faith in Jesus. Be united to him, and he will grant you to share in his victory of eternal life. And he will empower you by his Spirit to equip you with the whole armor of God that you might withstand the schemes of the devil.
Christian, remember this victory is already yours! Be strong and courageous, for you fight a battle that has already been won! Rest in the strength of his might! Put on the whole armor of God and watch as the defeated hoard of hell scurries back into the darkness.
Don’t underestimate your enemy:
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
But don’t you dare underestimate Jesus:
The Prince of Darkness grim.
We tremble not for him
His rage we can endure
For lo his doom is sure;
One little word shall fell him
The devil may rage against us for the moment, but he will come for us at Christ’s return. And Jesus will but speak a word, and our defeated foe will be destroyed once and for all. Victory belongs to the Lord!
Christian lay underneath the weight and grasp of Apollyon. And right before his death blow, Christian stretches to reach for his sword, which is the Word of God. And with the sword in hand, he says, “Rejoice not against me, O my enemy: when I fall, I shall rise back up.” And at that word, Christian thrusts the sword into Apollyon. Apollyon screeches and recoils. Then Christian stands, cloaked in his armor stares Apollyon down. He takes his sword and jabs it again into the beast, quoting Romans 8:37, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquers, through him who loved us.” And the sharpened blade of God’s Word forced the beast to fly away in retreat. Achieving victory, Christian bends his knee and thanks God for his strength and help.
What enemy stands before you now on your Christian journey? Is today the evil day where Apollyon, sent by the devil, stands ready to slay you? If so, “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might…. Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”