Archive for the ‘armor of God’ Category
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April 21, 2010
The eleventh in a series of studies of demons in Paul’s epistles.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:12.13).
Context
The Book of Ephesians is best understood as a handbook on spiritual warfare against the “powers of this dark world.” In chapter six of Ephesians the Apostle sums up his teaching, with the armor worn by a fully armed Roman legionnaire symbolizing each theme he has treated in this powerful letter. The verses we are looking at in this study, verses 12 and 13 of chapter six, put the nature of spiritual warfare in clear perspective.
Observations
“our struggle is not against flesh and blood.” When we experience difficulties with other Christians, or find fellow believers disrupting our churches, our tendency is to see them as the problem. When nonbelievers attempt to marshal public opinion or political power against Christians, we tend to respond in the same way. But Paul reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. We make no headway focusing on our tormentors, for the simple reason that the source of their hostility is supernatural, not natural. As Paul remind us, we are to struggle against the true source of opposition, the powers, rulers and authorities who dominate the dark world in which we live.
“powers, rulers, authorities.” In the first century world these terms referred not to abstractions but to discrete spirit beings, living evil entities. The angels who followed Satan and who as demons serve him now, are the sources of the evils against which we are called to struggle. Rather than marshal our energies to battle those humans who, often unwittingly, are the instruments of evil, we are to focus our energies to combat the demonic powers that energize them.
“the powers of this dark world” Theologically “world” (kosmos} portrays human society as a tangled web of drives and passions that reflect fallen human nature. It truly this is a dark world, for sinful man’s passions are warped and twisted. This world is described powerfully by the Apostle John in his first epistle: “everything that is in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does” (2:16). As John succinctly says, these things are “not of the Father.” Rather human societies and cultures are shaped by Satan and his “powers/” Not only the lost but all too often God’s own lose their way in the world’s tangled web of corrupting beliefs and values.
“the spiritual forces of evil.” The powers that operate in this dark world and against which we struggle are called “spiritual forces of evil.” The real enemies are not the human puppets but rather the evil spirits who influence them.
“in the heavenly realms” It’s best to take this phrase as a reference to the realm inhabited by God, by holy and by fallen angels. In the first century this realm was “up.” Moderns might think of it as “beside,” as a parallel dimension. We don’t know “where” the heavenly realms are. But we do know that both angels and demons are able to affect events on earth from that realm.
We also know that God has blessed us “in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3). The enemy is not beyond our reach! We have not only been equipped by God for spiritual warfare, but we have been provided with every spiritual blessing so that we can triumph over the demonic powers whose base is in the “heavenly realms”!
Conclusion
Satan and his demons are powerful enemies, committed to making our lives both miserable and meaningless, preventing us from walking in those good works which God has ordained beforehand for us to do. But God has provided us with the resources we need thwart Satan’s schemes. We are put on the “full armor” that God has made available, and thus equipped we are to engage in the struggle against our real enemies . . . the powers and rulers and authorities who operate in and through humans to thwart God’s intent for individual believers and for our faith communities alike.
How important then to understand and to apply the truths taught in this great New Testament book.
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August 11, 2009
When Paul entered the city he had an overpowering sense of resident evil. It wasn’t the teaming crowds or the merchants hawking their wares from the shops that lined the streets. The crowd seemed excited, caught up in the sights and sounds of this First City of Asia. It was nothing tangible, nothing visible. It was simply a feeling; an awareness that dark forces ruled here, that a heavy weight was crushing down on the crowds that seemed completely unaware.
The city was Ephesus, the site of the Temple of the goddess Diana, or Artimis as she was known in Asia minor. Ephesus was the center of her cult, the proud possessor of a magnificent temple that not only drew pilgrims from the entire Mediterranean world but that also served as a bank, providing massive loans to governments as well as individuals. Paul would live in this city for two years, during which he would do battle with the demons masked by cities deities, and the myriad of demons that worked in the hearts of individuals through the sorceries and occult practices much of the population engaged in.
Acts 17 tells us much about the spiritual conditions in Ephesus when Paul arrived . . . and the transformation of the city as Paul’s gospel penetrated the hearts of more and more of the population. Paul conducted a spiritual warfare against Satan that led to the burning of books on magic and sorcery worth the equivalent of millions of dollars, cast demons from individual, and turned so many away from the worship of Diana that the economy of the city–based on the sale of medalions and other religious souvenirs–was almost destroyed.
After two years or so in Ephesus Paul continued on his missionary journey. But later Paul wrote a letter to the Ephesians which we have preserved for us in the New Testament. As might be expected, the struggle against the dark forces that had dominated Ephesus continued. In Paul’s letter he undoubtedly reviewed truths he had taught when he was with the young congregation. And we shouldn’t be surprised if those truths focused on what seems to have been the major challenge to the Christian community’s continuing spiritual health and well-being. Aside from two brief references to the principalities and powers in heavenly places that Christ enabled the apostle to defeat, the major clue to the significance of Ephesians is found in the Apostle’s concluding challenge. The Christians in Ephesus are to “put on the full armor of God” so that they can “stand against the schemes of the Devil.”
The church at Ephesus must continue the spiritual war against the Devil that Paul conducted so successfully when he was present.
Not surprisingly, in view of the satanic stronghold that Ephesus was in the first century, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians served that young church as a handbook for spiritual warfare against Satan and his demons. Each piece of armor that Paul mentions represents a theme that is developed in the book itself, although the topics represented by the pieces of armor are taken up in reverse order in the body of the book. As a handbook for spiritual warfare with the Devil, the book of Ephesians is especially relevant for us today.
It was only some 50 years ago, in the 1960’s and 70’s, that a group in Great Britain turned back to ancient days to reconstruct the religion then practiced by pagans. Drawing on Celtic and Scandinavian myths and practices, a new paganism emerged. Today neopagan faiths are growing exponentially in Great Britain and the United States, incorporating New Age ideas and magical rites. These faiths, while there are some 150 different “paths” represented, are perhaps best represented by Wicca. In today’s climate of a relativistic view of truth and a social emphasis on “tolerance,” neopagan beliefs and an occult spirituality are growing exponentially. Witchcraft and magick, the invitation of spirits into one’s life to serve as spirit guides, and the worship of demons masquerading as gods and goddesses, is becoming more and more common in our culture.
The result here, as it was in first century Ephesus, is a growing plague of demonization, as demons gain a foothold in the lives of unbelievers and Christians alike. As the plague moves toward epidemic proportions, Christians need to recognize the challenge. And we need to turn to Scripture for guidance as how we’re to respond.
The book of Ephesians is especially valuable for this purpose. By donning the “full armor of God” we can protect ourselves from Satan’s schemes, and be ready to take our stand against him.
That’s why in past posts I’ve taken a look at each piece of the armor God provides. And that’s why I’m looking forward to teaching the Book of Ephesians in the church we attend, and in other churches as well.
I encourage you to look back on this blog and check out the posts on the armor of God in Ephesians. And I invite you to come to one of the the Ephesians studies I’ll be doing in the Raleigh area, or, to see if your church would like to sponsor a Friday/Saturday intensive study of Ephesians where you live.
I’ll post the dates and times for these Ephesians studies when they have been arranged.
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August 5, 2009
We’re finally at the last piece of the Armor of God believers are to “put on” to be able to take a stand against the strategies of the devil. Actually, as far as the Chapter 6 listing of the “armor” is concerned, it’s the first piece to be arranged by the Roman soldier as he donned his defensive gear. But, as I’ve noted in the earlier studies, the structure of Ephesians treats the spiritual reality each piece of armor symbolizes in reverse order. Thus the first to be “put on,” which is “the belt of truth,” is treated last in Ephesians, in chapter 5:8 through 6:9. That’s the passage we must focus on if we are to understand the role of “truth” in protecting us from Satan’s strategies.
The “belt”
The “belt” worn by the Roman legionnaire wasn’t that thin strap of leather moderns wear to hold up a man’s trousers or shape a woman’s waist. And it wasn’t a tool belt, designed to store a foot solders weapons or hold his canteen. The military belt was more like a thick leather apron. It hung down to the knees, providing some protection for the thighs. But more importantly, it was strapped tightly around the abdomen and the muscle of the lower back, much like a belt worn by weight lifters or construction workers who must lift heavy objects. It was designed to strengthen the soldier core, greatly increasing the the ability of the legionnaire to remain steady as the enemy pressed against him. The first item of armor to be put on as a Roman soldier prepared for battle, it was vital to his ability to “stand” under enemy attacks.
“Truth”
Paul’s titling of each piece of armor defines what it symbolizes. Ephesians 6:14 tells us that the belt represents “truth.” This leaves us with another question. What does the Apostle mean by “truth?”
The first paragraph in this section, Ephesians 5:8-14, makes Paul’s thought very clear. That paragraph links “truth” and “light.” This linkage is not unique with Paul. It’s found also in the writings of the Apostle john (See 1 John 1:5-7 especially), and in Jesus’ own teaching, which frequently contrasts light with darkness.
One of the roots of the Greek word for “truth” is “in harmony with reality.” A thing is true not simply because God says it, but because what God says is in complete harmony with reality as God knows and shaped reality to be. The Bible portrays lost humanity as wandering blindly in a moral world of illusion, never able to see reality because of the darkness that is in them. only the touch of the Holy Spirit illuminating the Word can enable a human being not only to see reality but to live in harmony with it, and thus to “know the truth” in the sense of experiencing it.
In Stevenson’s book Kidnapped the young hero comes to his uncles dark castle after his father dies. The uncle, fearful the young man is there to claim a share of the estate, offers him a room at the top of a flight of stone stairs. Refusing to give our hero a candle, the uncle tells him to guide himself by placing a hand against the wall till he comes to the doorway of his room. The lad stumbles up the stairs in total darkness, feeling his way. Then, suddenly, after he’s climbed up many steps, a flash of lightening suddenly illumines the scene. And the boy sees to his horror that the steps simply end in space, and down below are jagged rocks on which the uncle intended the boy to fall to his death. Only the flash of light revealed the reality. The darkness obscured it, and promoted the illusion of safety at the top of the stairs.
in a sense each of us is born into a dark world, and we stumble up hidden steps seeking safety. But with reality hidden from us we are destined to fall. But then comes the Gospel, and the Holy Spirit shines God’s light on our life. We see life as it really is. And seeing the truth, we have the opportunity to choose a path that is in harmony with reality; a path that is safe, though at times challenging; a path that as Jesus announced, can set us free (John 8:32).
Truth applied
Many commentators on Ephesians tend to treat Eph.5:8-13 with what comes before it rather than what follows. It’s easy to see the reason for this. Righteousness, the theme of Eph.4:13-5:7, is intimately related to both truth and light. However I see this paragraph as the introduction to Paul’s discussion of truth as a soldier’s belt which supports the core of the individual, providing the strength and stability required for standing firm under Satan’s attack.
If I’m correct, this paragraph provides Paul’s definition of truth and enables him to go on to focus our attention on the contexts in which living the truth strengthens our core. We are not to be foolish, Paul says. We’re to understand what the will of the Lord is, and rather than getting our thrills from alcohol we’re to get a true “high” by being filled with the Spirit, and helping each other be filled by providing spiritual support (5:17-20). Then we’re to live out the truth in every relationship we have.
Husbands are to live the truth with wives, wives with husbands. Parents are to live the truth with children, children with parents. Even in the relationship a master has with a slave and a slave with a master there is truth to be lived. And as our daily lives and most intimate relationships are shaped by God’s truth, our core is strengthened. And we are better prepared to stand against Satan’s attacks.
Much more
There is much more to be said about each paragraph in this section. But here our goal isn’t to provide a thorough exposition of each paragraph. Here our goal is simple to gain insight into the armor God provides us as believers. And this “first on” piece of armor is vital.
God has revealed the truth to us in his word. He has shown us how to live our lives with others in view of moral and interpersonal realities. As we belt this truth on tightly we are strengthened in our very core, our “inner man,” and thus prepare ourselves to stand against all that Satan and his demons can throw at us.
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July 23, 2009
Ephesians is a book that teaches believers how to “stand our ground” against the devil and his schemes. Paul sums up his teaching using the analogy of the Roman legionaries panoply, his “full armor.” Each piece of armor reprises a theme Paul has developed in his letter to the Ephesians. As I’ve noted in earlier “armor of God” posts, Paul lists the piece of equipment in the order in which they were put on, but in reverse order of the treatment given the teaching in the body of the book. Thus the theme of righteousness which is represented by the “breastpiece” is treated late in the book, in 4:17-5:7.
There’s one more thing that’s important to recognize. This and the other pieces of armor are defensive in character. Only the sword, which Paul identifies as the Word of God and actually does not discuss in Ephesians, is offensive. Thus each theme in Ephesians is teaching us how to defend ourselves against Satanic attacks while we attack the devil and his followers with the living Word of God. This is clearly the case with the breastpiece, made of molded metal and strapped on over the the chest to protect the vital organs from the enemy’s more deadly thrusts.
Righteousness
Paul is saying that “righteousness” is invaluable defending ourselves from the enemy’s more deadly thrusts. This of course raises a question. What does he mean by “righteousness”? The problem is that “righteousness” is a complex term. I sum up the different ways this term is used in Scripture in my Richards Complete Bible Dictionary (World Bible Publishers, p. 865).
OT. (1) An absolute quality of God, who always acts in harmony with his moral nature. God’s character is the standard by which righteousness is measure. (2) Conformity to the moral and ethical norms revealed in God’s Law. In the OT righteousness is not an abstract quality or sinlessness but rather acting in line with one’s obligation to God and to other persons. In this limited sense, individuals in the OT are called ‘righteous.’ This sense of righteous is sometimes found in the Gospels. NT (3) Imputed righteousness: the declaration by God that a person is righteous in God’s sight, not by virtue of that person’s acts but in virtue of his faith in Jesus.(4)Actual righteousness: inner moral conformity of one’s character to the character of God, and the acts that flow from a righteous moral character.
To determine what aspect of righteousness serves us as a breastpiece and guards us against the more deadly thrusts of the enemy, we need to take a look at what Paul is saying in Ephesians 4:17-5:7.
Paul begins by characterizing the lifestyle of those who are separated from the life of God, ignorant of his character and standards, and have “given themselves over the sensuality so as to indulge in ever kink of impurity” (4:17-19). In contrast, those of us who have been “made new” are to put on a new self, which has been “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (4:20-24). Paul then goes on to describe the way of life which is appropriate for those who have been created to be like God. There must be a rejection of sin, lest, Paul says, we give the devil a foothold (4:27), Paul continues his ‘before and after’ theme writing, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (4:31,32). And the theme continues into chapter 5. We are to be imitators of God as his “dearly loved children” and are to “live a life of love,” totally refusing to be involved in such things as “sexual immorality or any other kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people” (5:1-7).
It is clear from scanning these verses in Ephesians that Paul is not talking about imputed righteousness. It’s also clear that he is not talking about an abstract quality or sinlessness. He is focusing on maintaining a righteous lifestyle; of doing what is in harmony with God’s own character and decisively rejecting behaviors that conflict with godliness.
It is also clear that Paul does not expect a righteous way of life to be rooted in any human effort to change. Instead he argues that, just as God’s actions flow from and express his character, so the Christians way of life is to flow from and express the fact that we have experienced a spiritual rebirth: in Christ we have been created anew, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Implications of the exhortation
Paul bases his argument in this section on the fact that believers are “dearly loved children.” As children of God, participants in the restore image of God, we are to live out who we truly are. At the same time Paul reminds us that adopting a godly lifestyle isn’t automatic. It involves choice. So he challenges us, “put off your old self.” “Put on the new self.” In a series of exhortations Paul makes it clear that we do have a choice, and he urges us to make the right choice. Constructions such as “Do not let . . .” and “get rid of” are indelible markers of the fact that we are responsible to choose the life we live, and that opportunities to choose arise again and again every day.
We can choose to live the new life God has given us in Christ.
We can choose to live the old life from which we’ve been redeemed.
And we do choose. Daily. Hourly. Minute by minute.
Back to the breastpiece
Looking back into Ephesians its clear what Paul is saying when he tells us to put on the breastpiece of righteousness. He’s not talking about imputed righteousness. He’s talking about living righteously. He’s talking about the choices we make, the way we opt to live our lives. And Paul is warning us. If we’re to stand against the devil and thwart his schemes to make us ineffective in this war that’s going on between God and Satan, we must choose to live godly lives. When we chose wrong over right, evil over good, the selfish over the selfless, we become vulnerable to Satan’s more deadly thrusts.
I don’t believe that Paul is speaking here about the ways any of us may stumble at times. He’s not asking us to focus on that time we got angry three weeks ago, but rather on a temper that erupts again and again at work or at home. He’s not asks us to focus on the random thought that may flash through our heads when we see a person in a seductive pose, but on the perverse fascination with pornography that drives us to Internet again and again. He’s not asking us to focus on the little “white” lie that slips out spontaneously, but on the pattern of deceit that leads us to hide our flaws from our spouse or closest Christian friends. What Paul is talking about are the patterns of behavior that reflect God’s character, or that reflect the character of fallen human beings and the deceiver himself. AQnd Paul is warning us that repeated evil provides an entry point for demons who would spoil our lives and render us ineffective for God’s purposes.
What Paul is saying is that we are to choose those ways of life that are godly, and reject those that are stained by sin. For to survive this spiritual warfare in which we are engaged–whether we’re aware of it or not–we must chose to live righteous lives.
We must live in accord with who we truly are.
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July 10, 2009
We’re looking in this series on spiritual warfare against the devil at the armor the Apostle Paul says God has provided to enable us to “take our stand” against Satan. This “full armor” or panoply is the equipment provided to the Roman legionnaire, a member of the military machine that in Paul’s time dominates the known world. In this post we’re looking a the shield, which Paul defines as “the shield of faith” which equips us to deal with the ‘fiery darts” of the enemy.
The “darts”
One of the Roman legionnaires most important pieces of armor was his shield. As the legions approached an enemy would hurl plumbata, lead weighted “darts” or “javelins.” In some cases these darts would be tipped with poison, earning the description “fiery.” While the darts of the enemy might not kill outright, they could and did incapacitate those they struck.
Roman soldiers carried five of these plumbata fastened to the inner curve of their shields. The Roman darts were more effective, as for much of the period of the Republic the legions confronted unarmored tribesmen. But Paul ignores the offensive use of darts, limiting his description of offensive equipment to “the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph 8:17). As noted in an earlier post in this series, the sword was used in close combat, where the legions had their greatest advantage. A solid wall of shields protected the Roman lines as they pressed, side by side, against the enemy, their swords making deadly thrusts from behind the barrier. No ancient army could stand against them, as Satan himself cannot stand against the living Word of God.
But back to Paul’s analogy. The first century reader familiar with the Roman legions would recognize the enemies’ darts as long-distance weapons. As fiery darts they are designed to incapacitate us; to take us out of the battle, and render us unable to join our companions in the fierce hand-to-hand struggle where the outcome of the battle is ultimately determined. But the impact of the darts on the battle could be neutralized. Maintaining their tight formation, the Roman troops would raise their shields, forming a impenetrable ‘roof” over their heads.
What are the enemy’s “fiery darts”?
Commentators have made various suggestions as to what these fiery darts are. Some have identified them as lies and accusations. Others have identified them as doubts and fears, still others as trials and troubles that distract us from our commitment to God’s priorities and his will.
It seems to me that rather than trying to define the darts themselves we should focus on their function. Military darts were designed to incapacitate enemy soldiers. To keep them from taking an effective role in the struggle. Satan may use a variety of strategies to accomplish this purpose in our lives. But whatever strategy he adopts with an individual, thee “long distance” weapons of our enemy, his fiery darts, can be extinguished by “faith.”
Faith
It’s here that understanding Paul’s use of the armor analogy as a summary of what he has been teaching in the letter to the Ephesians is so important. Too often commentators range through all of Scripture picking and choosing various aspects of “faith” to glean Paul’s meaning. If we see the armor analogy as a literary devise Paul uses to sum up what he has been teaching in Ephesians, then we’ll seek to understand the “shield of faith” by what he has written earlier in this book.
And Paul does discuss “faith” in Ephesians 2:1-10. It is to this passage that we need to look to define that aspect of faith which Paul says is to be our shield against the attempts of the enemy to incapacitate us for spiritual battles.
Ephesians 2:1-10 is one of the most theologically significant passages in the New Testament. It portrays human beings as so totally lost and separated from God that we can only be described as “dead,” without any capacity to respond to or to please God. In fact we are by nature followers of “the ruler of the kingdom of the air,” a phrase that designates Satan and his realm, and we live as citizens of the dark kingdom, “gratifying the cravings of our sinful natures and following its desires and thoughts.” In this state we are “by nature objects of wrath.”
But God loved us in spite of ourselves. He acted to “make us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.” In Christ we’ve been lifted out of the kingdom of Satan, raised up and seated with Christ “in the heavenly realms.”
Paul emphasizes the fact that this transfer from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light is an expression of pure grace. It has nothing to do with us or with anything that we do or fail to do. And the transmutation from death to life is effected by faith.
Here Paul is careful to make sure we do not mistake faith as a work. He says, “it is by grace that you have been saved through faith–and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God–not of works, so that no one can boast.”
Notice the careful limitations Paul places on our understanding of “faith.” Faith is not something that is “of yourselves.” It’s a gift, not “of works.” Too often we treat faith as a work, supposing that it is up to us to have “more faith” or “greater faith.” As if we could turn up the volume of faith as one turns up the volume on a radio or TV. Faith as nothing to do with quantity or quality. Faith has to do with it’s object. The person who has received the gift of faith understands that God’s promises in Christ are worthy of trust, and simply rests in those promises.
Resting in God’s promises to us in Christ has transforming, resurrection power. It raises the dead to life, frees us from the kingdom of Satan and makes us citizens of the kingdom of the Son God loves. Resting in God’s promises of commitment to us is a far more accurate picture of faith as Paul depicts it in Ephesians than is depicting faith as our “commitment to Jesus” or “asking Jesus to be our savior.” The Gospel is the proclamation that God has acted to save us, and all we can do is to rest in the Gospel’s promise. To depict faith as “committing ourselves” or “asking” is to distort it as though “faith” had an element of work.
Applying this kind of faith
What Paul is telling us in Ephesians is that Satan will cast many fiery darts at us as we live our lives in this world. And all of them, whatever their nature, will be designed to incapacitate us and make us unfit for the spiritual battles that God intends us to wage. But every one of those fiery darts can be extinguished by faith.
Not by faith as something we “have,” or as something we “exercise.” But faith as simply resting in the promises God gives us in Christ; promises to be with us always, to love us always, and whatever happens to turn every threat into a triumph of his grace.