Si\piritual Warfare against the Devil (8)

Posted by owner on May 30, 2009

The country preacher explained. “First, I tells ‘em what I’m gonna tell em. Then I tells ‘em. And then I tells em what I told ‘em.”

I suspect the country preacher got this approach from the Apostle Paul, who used something like it in the Book of Ephesians. Paul had “told” the believers in Ephesus when he was with them. He “tells ‘em” in the Ephesian epistle. And then he tells ‘em what he told ‘em at the end of this brief letter.

Actually, understanding the country preacher’s approach is the key to understanding Paul’s famous words about “the whole armor of God,” a resource which is specifically designed “so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (6:11).

I’m not aware of any commentary that treats Ephesians as a treatise on spiritual warfare, but I suspect that’s what it is.

The situation in Ephesus

When Paul went to Ephesus it was the center of the cult of Diana [Artemis]. Her temple dominated the city, and pilgrims from all over the Mediterranean world flocked to Ephesus to worship. The economy of the city depended on these pilgrims, and whole industries had developed to sell souvenirs and religious items to the visitors.

But the worship of the goddess failed to satisfy the spiritual hunger of the population, and Ephesus was also a center of occult activity. Books of magick were bought and sold,  spells and curses were cast, and those who claimed the power to cast out demons,like the seven sons of Sceva, were in great demand. In short, Ephesus was one of Satan’s strongholds, a city where the darkness was intense.

Then Paul arrived with the Gospel, and in just two years of preaching and teaching tore down the system Satan had spent decades developing . . . and in the process destroyed the economy of the city! Silversmiths couldn’t sell their amulets, and millions of dollars worth of books of magick were burned publicly by converts.

Paul had launched spiritual warfare against Satan in one of the centers of his power . . . and had been victorious.

Throwing down strongholds

Introducing the “full armor of God” Paul writes that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (6:12). He then goes on to state that to take our stand against the onslaughts of these demonic forces, God has provided us with a complete set of military equipment, the “full armor” (panoply) which a Roman legionnaire wore when going into battle.

Many commentators have written on the pieces of armor Paul lists. More than a few have missed the point. That point is that Paul, like the country preacher, is using the analogy of armor to “tell ‘em what he’s told ‘em.”

That is, the armor we’re to wear when engaged in spiritual warfare is intended to serve as a review of the book of Ephesians itself.

Only “the sword of the Spirit” in this list is defined [as "the Word of God"]. Why define the sword while leaving the other pieces of armor undefined? Because the other pieces of armor have already been defined in the book itself.

In short, we can and we should approach Ephesians as a manual for spiritual warfare against the demonic powers that rule this world.

Deadly thrusts

In future posts I’ll look at each piece of armor Paul mentions, note its function, and relate it to the relevant teaching in Ephesians. For the rest of this post I want simply to comment on the one piece of equipment not expanded on in Ephesians, the “sword of the spirit.”

Roman military doctrine required soldiers to fight the enemy together, pressed close side by side. Roman ranks advanced, each man’s shoulder pressed against the shoulder of the man next to him, shields held before them, a solid wall bearing down on the enemy. This approach left no room for a soldier to swing a sword with the great looping blows we’re familiar with from pirate movies, or to lunge and retreat, thrust and parry as in fencing. Instead as the ranks of Roman legionaries pressed in to engage the enemy behind their shields, they thrust at their enemy with short, pointed blades. There was no slashing with the Roman broadsword; just deadly thrusts aimed an exposed bodies, arms, legs, or throats; blows that crippled even if they did not kill.

Roman legionaries did carry two javelins. which they hurled as they approached the foe. But when the battle was joined the struggle was face to face, intimate, body straining against body. In this kind of battle the Roman sword was decisive, easy to wield, designed for deadly thrusts in melees where there was no room to swing a longer, sharpened blade.

This is what the Word of God is in spiritual warfare, a Roman short-sword, used by the Spirit of God to strike the enemy deadly blows. This is how Jesus used the Word of God when he was tempted by the Devil (Matthew 4). Jesus found in the book of Deuteronomy truths with which to strike down every test by Satan) Similarly we find in Scripture truth the Spirit will bring to mind to counter every threat and lie of the enemy, and send him reeling in defeat.

Don’t be like Eve

In the temptation in Eden Eve proved vulnerable. As Satan probed, Eve misquoted Scripture, and then questioned God’s motive for commanding the first pair not to eat the forbidden fruit. Thus disarmed, Eve had nothing to rely on but her own appetites and reasoning. The fruit looked and smelled good, and surely God would want her to gain knowledge. So she ate…as Adam, who was not deceived, stood by and let her.

Adam could have stepped in. He could have challenged Satan’s deceits with an accurate statement of the Word God had spoke to him. With one thrust of this Sword provided by the Spirit Adam could have wounded Satan and driven him away . . . and changed the course of human history.

The believer who knows the Word of God and uses it to deal Satan a deadly blow each time the evil one seeks to attack and deceive us is assured of victory.

Let’s learn from Eve, who failed to accurately quote the divine Word, and from Adam, who failed to act on the Word he knew. Let’s equip ourselves with a knowledge of that Word
the Spirit both inspired and brings to our mind when needed, and so make sure we’re equipped not only to defend ourselves against Satan’s schemes but to strike him deadly blows each time he attacks us.