Like we’ve seen, having presented the cosmic vision, Paul says: You’ll need to do something practical about it, in marital/sexual relationships, workplace ones, family ones… And all this will take you beyond your comfort zones! It will expose you to merciless assault. Expect that, says Paul, and prepare for it – now!
Why? Because we have enemies. There are intelligences in this world that are not human, that apparently pre-date humanity and are marked by unceasing hatred towards God’s purposes and towards humans who identify with them. (These, incidentally, may be a good application to bear in mind when we read David talking about his enemies in the Psalms.) And they have a real power; Paul even terms them `the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world.’ We may well face human hostility (John 15:18ff), but it’s essential we see where our real, most significant enemies are. `Our struggle is not against flesh and blood’, says Paul (though he’d faced plenty of human opposition at Ephesus; see Acts 19 & 2 Tim 4:14), `but… against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ There is a war on, and we will face trouble if we let that reality slip out of our consciousness: `Therefore put on the full armour of God.’
What for? Surely, both for attack and for defence. In our evangelism we aren’t merely engaged in mental wrestling-matches, our brains against unbelievers’: `Our struggle is against the spiritual forces of evil.’ 2 Corinthians makes this very clear: Satan has `blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ’ (4:4). Those we seek to reach are currently, if unknowingly, `following the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air’ (Satan; Eph 2:2). We have to recognise where the real problem is, and the kind of response that will be needed. We are wasting our time if we think the captives of darkness can be liberated by a few wise words, without our consciously making use of the armament Paul is about to describe. (See also Christ’s promises in Matt 12:(22-)29.) So this is a vital chapter.
But the defensive aspect seems most prominent in Paul’s mind. `Put on the full armour 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.’ `Days of evil’ do happen; times of unrelenting assault – suffering, day-by-day problems, depressions, doubts, conflict – when there is no real question of our seeking to advance: our task, indeed all we can do, is to `stand’. (Job is a good example.) So this, says Paul, is how to prepare for them. It will be too late when the whirlwind is upon us; what we must do is ensure we have God’s `full armour’ already `in place'(v14) beforehand.
As we read on, we find this is made up of seven pieces; five primarily for defence, perhaps, and two for attack. And, as two posts back, we can pray about each of these, both for ourselves and for someone we care about…
First then, the `belt of truth’. The day-by-day, week-by-week absorption of God’s truth equips us with what we need to be effective in liberating Satan’s captives; it is the truth that sets people free from Satan (cf John 8:44,32). But it’s also vital defensively, to keep us from being swept away when the `evil day’ comes. If in some small measure we face a situation resembling Job’s, it can make all the difference if we’ve read and absorbed the truth in Job 1: that whatever Satan does is limited by the loving sovereignty of God; that there is a limit beyond which Satan cannot go. (See also 1 Cor 10:13.) The `truth’ about heaven is another vital part of our armour, as we’ll see in a moment. So the habitual spirituality that clothes us continually with deeper and deeper reserves of `truth’ is indispensable for spiritual warfare. But there’s another way of looking at this `belt of truth’; it may also refer to integrity, truthfulness. If our lives aren’t marked by such sincerity our evangelism will be hollow – and defensively, there will be all kinds of inconsistencies that will offer ways in for destructive powers when the assault begins in earnest. We don’t need to choose between these interpretations, because surely they go together. A life of integrity is built on the full expression, in our lives, of what we learn from God’s Word; but the truths we learn there are meaningless unless they lead to consistent truth-full-ness of lifestyle. (Lord, please lead me deeper in both these aspects…) (And this is something to pray likewise for your spouse or a close friend?)
But the Word’s living truth goes with the liberating power of the Spirit. And we cannot battle in partnership with the Spirit if we do things that `grieve the Spirit’ (Eph 4:30). Therefore, the `breastplate of righteousness’ is vital for our witness; otherwise the Spirit’s power will be lacking and we will be ineffective. Yet still more is this essential for defensive spiritual warfare. Unless we maintain the `full armour’ of holiness, there will be gaps (from dishonesty, refusal to forgive, pride, lust, anger) that satanic power will exploit when the assault begins. Therefore, said Paul two chapters earlier in the context of maintaining good relationships, `Do not give the devil a foothold'(4:27). (Lord, please grant me alertness as to where my carelessness about sin is leaving an opening for the devil himself… And I pray the same for —- [one or two other friends??]
Our third step is to have our `feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace’ – or, as the Good News Bible helpfully reads it, the `readiness to announce the good news of peace’. Again, here is a mindset vital for the war of spiritual liberation: one that is continually, prayerfully expectant, watching alertly for those windows of opportunity to share the truth that sets people free. Lord, please help me – and I pray the same for —- [eg, a missionary you care about??]- to cultivate this expectancy… But defensively this is important too. Times of intense difficulty can be rendered meaningful if we are asking: But how could this provide an opening for the good news? 1 Peter makes this clear: in a chapter directed at believers facing intense difficulties, he encourages them, `Always be prepared to give the reason for the hope you have.’ The reality of something in us that sustains us, even through the toughest times, can be as powerful a piece of lived-out `good news’ as our neighbours will ever see.
The fourth item comes with quite a warranty!- `the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one’. What stops us being swept away, in any and all satanic assault, is the firmness of our grasp of God’s faithfulness, our conviction of his love, wisdom, and power. `The just live by faith’ – which was a key truth that God gave to Habakkuk to arm him for an evil day (Hab 2:1-4). `It is by faith you stand firm’, says Paul in 2 Corinthians 1; and in that passage we see the steps God takes to develop this essential ability to trust him. (In fact it even seems to be why some of the `evil days’ are actually permitted, 2 Cor 1:9.) Again, therefore, we need to grow in this mindset now, so that it’s in place when a real conflict comes; learning to live in a way where it matters whether God is real or not. Father, please help me, and also — [eg, some family members??], to grow in my trust in you…
`Take the helmet of salvation‘ – or, as Paul expands it in 1 Thessalonians 5:8, `the hope of salvation as a helmet.’ What protects our heads, our minds, is that hope which Paul was praying for in Eph 1. If we’ve truly grasped the glory of what God has in store for us, we will be secure against the many kinds of satanic attack that depend on taking this world too seriously. Covetousness (materialism) is one; bitterness is another; concern for status is another. Maybe Hebrews 10 gives us the clearest `worked example’ of this: `Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground’ (as in Ephesians 6) `in a great contest in the face of suffering… You sympathised with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions’ (vv32,34). (Our deep conviction of heaven’s and hell’s reality also give weight to our evangelistic attacks on Satan’s kingdom, of course.) Father, please help me – and — [eg the leaders of your church or homegroup??] – to `take’ – to fill my mind with – this certainty…
And finally come the two more aggressive weapons. Paul presents no esoteric, complex secrets here about addressing demons or the use of candles or liturgy in deliverance; what enables us to defeat the `spiritual forces of evil’ is two simple things, the Word of God and prayer. First, `the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.’ We see this in practice in evangelism (and in pastoral care): `My personal opinion is…’, or `Historically, Christians have thought…’, has far less ability to lodge in the mind than `Read this, this is what God says…’ – or better still, `Do you know, just yesterday I was reading what God says about this…’ (Which is why the freshness of our own times with God’s Word correlates directly with our fruitfulness in evangelism.) Yet defensively, too, the Spirit’s sword equips us for combat in the realm of our thoughts. We watch this in the classic temptation in Matthew 4. Satan approaches Jesus with a temptation to materialism: Jesus parries, taking up a relevant truth from Deuteronomy, that it’s rather by `every word from God’ that we live. Satan tries a different temptation; Jesus wards him off again – again using Deuteronomy. Satan tempts again; Jesus parries again – yet again using Deuteronomy! (We learn here the value of a `pioneering spirituality’ that day by day `takes’, grows equipped by, more and more of God’s `every’ Word! It’s also why carelessness about the Bible’s authority and trustworthiness becomes crippling in any church or spiritual movement, in terms of spiritual warfare. `Did God really say?’ is where the fatal temptation starts in Genesis 3!) Thankyou, Lord; please help me, and us! Satan can’t take too much of this, and the battle ends.
And alongside that comes `praying in the Spirit’. Let’s note the repeated role of the Spirit here; the Word, too, is the Spirit’s sword, because the Word and the Spirit go together. These weapons have no effect without us seeking continually to be full of the Spirit (5:18) who empowers them. (As someone who speaks in tongues myself – well, I’d better say `probably`, because I’ve never quite known how to figure out whether what I’m doing is what Scripture means – but it’s worth doing in case it is — As someone who speaks in tongues myself, I can’t see that this `Pray in the Spirit` is about tongues, because the person doing it here knows what they’re praying about: `Pray in the Spirit with all kinds of prayers and requests.`) The kind of prayer Paul is talking about that is basic to spiritual warfare has a regular, all-encompassing character, so that we’re advancing (and protected) on every front: `On all occasions, with all kinds of prayers… Be alert, and always keep on praying for all the saints!’ Maybe that helps us grasp how much `growing’ we have to do in prayer, and how many things deserve and demand our intercession! As offensive weapon, specific prayer opens the windows in people’s hearts; it’s a central expression of our `readiness to announce the good news of peace’. But specific prayer is also essential for our defence. Sometimes we sense problems converging in a way that has no human explanation but almost feels like some purposefully malignant mind on the attack. That impression may well match reality; we need to act on what we’re sensing, because if there is a spiritual dimension to it, then our enemy can only be dealt with by prayer. `Be alert’ says Paul (repeating the advice Jesus gave his disciples in the `evil day’ (Matthew 26:41)), `and always keep on praying.’
Lord, I have so much learning to do in all these areas; please help me to grow in using each part of this essential armament for spiritual warfare…
