The Believer's Battleground - Walking in Victory in Our War - Part 1

I want to call your attention to the second to the last song that we were singing, "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name." I know that you know that one. I know that you were probably raised on that one. Now I'm going to say something and I don't want to sound overly corrective. I don't think we sang that very well earlier. I think that we could have been singing that song with a little more spiritual enthusiasm from our heart. We shouldn't let a song like that go by us. "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name." And it's not often that I do this, but I'm going to ask Keith to sing that as we close.

And I want you to think about that song, those lyrics, as we reflect on what we're going to study this morning. Because we certainly do need the power of Jesus in our lives and especially with what we're studying this morning. And I think that you'll understand why I'm calling us to do that after the message. Well, if you would take your Bible and turn back to Ephesians chapter 6, I said earlier we'll be in verses 10 to 13, but we really will only divide verse 10 and verse 11, although we're going to get into the other verses. Now starting in verse 10, Paul is making another transition in his letter.

You probably can see that as you look into your copy of God's Word. But Paul is moving to the conclusion of his letter. But Paul is not ready to put this letter in the mail just yet. He has a little more to say to these believers. He has quite a bit he wants to teach them, and he has quite a bit he wants to teach us. Now when I say the word conclusion, many of you can do what is kind of a habit. When we hear the word conclusion, we can close our Bibles and start thinking about what's for lunch. Isn't that right? Now I don't want us to do that. When I say the word conclusion, let's not tune out because there's a lot of good teaching to come.

But starting in verse 10, Paul is giving these believers, yes, the conclusion, but some necessary instruction in how they can live out properly all that he has been teaching them. Now it's been quite a while since I mentioned the breakdown of this letter. Chapters 1 to 3 are all about Paul's theological instruction for these believers. You can say it like this, these first three chapters describe the true believer in Christ. And then chapters 4 to 6 are all about Paul's practical instructions for these believers. You can say it like this, these last three chapters are all about how the obedient believer lives out chapters 1 to 3.

Starting here in verse 10, Paul explains that if these believers were to truly live out all that he has been given them, they would be in for a battle. Truly they would be in a war. Now right here you might say, "Pastor, I want to live out all of these things that we've been studying, but I do not want a battle and I do not want a war." You might even say, "Pastor, my life is complicated and hard enough as it is." Well, sorry brother. The true Christian life is a battle and it is a war. Now look folks, if you want the church to be a circus for your entertainment, well, you're in the wrong church.

And if you want the church to be a concession stand that gives you the cotton candy for your playground, which is your so-called Christian life, well, you're in the wrong church. And I don't think we have that mindset around here. I'm thankful. And it's sad, very sad. And it's also maddening to me. There are so many so-called ministers and so-called Christians that expect those things from the church and from the Christian life. But we will see that those things are all schemes of the devil and they're nothing more than cheap counterfeits. We're going to look at that a little more next week.

In church, if we know our Bibles and if we understand the true church and the true Christian life, Paul's use of military language that we see here does not surprise us. In 1 Corinthians 9, verses 25 to 27, Paul compared the Christian life to a strenuous athletic event that requires hard work, great discipline, and self-control. Paul compared the Christian life to running into boxing. He says, "Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. So I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and I keep it under control.

Least after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified." In 1 Timothy 6, 12, Paul was writing to young Timothy who was his son in the faith and protege in the ministry. And he compared the Christian life and Christian ministry to a good fight. He says to young Timothy, "Fight the good fight of faith. Fight the good fight of faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." In 2 Corinthians 10, 3 to 4, Paul compared the true Christian life to a war and to waging war, but not a war against flesh and blood.

He says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds." In Romans 7, verse 21 to 23, Paul described a great war that was going on inside of him. This was the war between his old self and his new self. This was a war between his old sinful humanity and his new inner self in Christ that no longer loved sin and didn't even want sin. And listen to this great war. Paul says, "So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close in hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inner being.

But I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members." And then he says, "Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?" And then 2 Timothy 4, 7, at the end of his life, Paul described his Christian life and ministry as a fight and a race. He uses the language of an athlete again. He said, "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith." She may be asking, "Pastor, why do you take the time to go through those passages that describe the Christian life in all of these different ways?

That is because we must see and understand the church and the Christian life correctly and biblically. The true Christian life is truly a personal battleground and war. And anything and anyone else that represents the Christian life as something else besides a battle and a war, that is false, totally false. Starting in verse 10, Paul is writing to communicate two basic things. First as prisoners for the Lord who walk in a manner worthy of our calling, we can be prepared, we should be prepared, and we must be prepared for the battle and for the war that is at hand.

And then second, as prisoners for the Lord, we can walk in a manner worthy of our calling in the battle and in the war, and that means victory. Yes, victory. Now that leads me to the title of the message. It's a little bit long, a little longer than normal. This is what I call the believer's battleground walking in victory in our war. The believer's battleground walking in victory in our war. And this will be a part one because we will finish these verses next week. Now I like how Warren Wearsby titles these verses. He simply says, "You're in the army now." That's how he describes them. You're in the army now.

One commentator that I read this week said that Paul's words here resemble the exhortations that generals gave to their soldiers before battle. So if we are in the Lord's army and we are, and our general is giving us instructions before our battle, and he is, I want us to look at the first two commands that our Lord gives us, and then I want us to look at three important details. We'll cover this briefly this morning, and then we'll finish this out next week. Our enemy, our battle, and our victory. So the first command, number one, be strong in the Lord. We see this in verse 10. Command number one, be strong in the Lord.

Here we see Paul turning this letter to its conclusion. But this was not a conclusion with personal and loving remarks like we do see from Paul at times. Paul says finally, that can be translated or in conclusion. He says finally, or in conclusion, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. And this is clearly an emphatic command. But there is some debate if this is an active or a passive command, a question or two. This will help us. Was Paul calling them to let God make them strong? That's the passive. Or was Paul calling them to make themselves strong in the Lord? That's the active. And this is important for us to see.

There is a sense in which they could only be made strong by God. A believer cannot make themselves strong in their own strength and even in their own efforts in the Lord. So the believer must be made strong in the Lord by the Lord. But there is a sense in which the believer can pray, they can study the scripture, they can seek God, and they can seek after the strength of the Lord. The believer can work to make themselves strong in the Lord by their efforts in the Lord. So the believer can be made strong in the Lord by exercising their responsibilities in the Lord. Now this brings to mind two mistakes that believers can make here.

Now I'll call these traps, two traps. The first trap. This is the trap of passive sanctification, the trap of passive sanctification. Passive sanctification is the belief that all we have to do is sit back and let God bring about the work of sanctification in our lives. Those who hold to this position believe that the Christian has little to no responsibility for their sanctification. And this is a terrible, terrible error. But then the second trap, the trap of sanctification by self effort. The trap of sanctification by self effort.

This is the belief that Christians can pray, they can study God's Word, and they can perform as a Christian should. And through their hard work, they can bring about a work of sanctification. They believe that the responsibility of sanctification falls squarely, almost totally squarely on the believers' shoulders. And this is a terrible error as well. Well we've got to ask a question. Which is it? Which is Paul talking about? Well the answer is yes. It's both. First and foremost, we can never attain the strength of the Lord on our own. But we definitely are responsible to pray, to study God's Word, to seek after God.

We are responsible to seek after godliness and God's will for our lives. We are responsible to walk in obedience to our Lord and to grow in the Lord. And that is a part of our sanctification or growing in the strength of the Lord. Now think with me here. Follow me church. What happens to our strength in the Lord if our Lord does not hold us, protect us, provide for us, and work in us? What happens if our Lord withdraws from us? Now you might say, "Pastor, our Lord cannot withdraw from us." Think about the life of Job. Did the Lord not withdraw from him? Yes. And what happened to Job?

And what happens to our strength in the Lord if we do not pray and study the Scripture? If we are not disciplined in our walk and our obedience with the Lord, if we are not serious about sin that can come into our lives, what happens? Well, we will quench and we will grieve the Holy Spirit of God in our lives. So do you see how being strengthened in the Lord happens? It takes God working in us by his good grace first and foremost. And it takes us exercising our Christian responsibilities in all of these things. I like how the Bible scholar Leon Morris describes what Paul is commanding here.

He says, and I'm quoting, "Christians then are to be made strong." And Paul explicitly says that this is to be done in the Lord. And Morris continues. He says, "He is saying that we should make the fullest use of the spiritual strength that is given to those who are in the Lord." So what we should see here is this. We cannot strengthen ourselves in the Lord. We need our Lord to work in us to produce his strength in us. But we are responsible to, if I can quote Morris, make the fullest use of the spiritual strength that is given to those who are in the Lord. You see the two?

Now right here there are two things that we need to see and we need to apply in our lives before we continue in the verses. First, first, if we have sin, if we have sinfulness, if we have a sin pattern in our lives, we must see that we have an in the Lord problem. If we have a sin or sinfulness in our lives, then we are not in the Lord as we should be, so we have an in the Lord problem. Question, where does our spiritual strength come from? In the Lord. So there is a great amount of responsibility on all of our part here. Second, we must see that our strength for the Christian battle that our Lord has for us comes from being in the Lord.

And if we have spiritual weakness and spiritual defeat in our lives, we must see that we have an in the Lord problem. Another question, where does our strength come from? In the Lord. So there is a great responsibility here on our shoulders. But Paul gives more. Just in case there is any doubt at the end of the verse, Paul emphasizes and he elevates the great importance of the spiritual strength in the lives of these believers. Look back at verse 10. Notice what he says. I am reading from the English Standard Version. Finally, or in conclusion, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Now by saying and in the strength of his might, Paul was saying that God can and certainly will make them strong and stronger for the battle that is before them. If they will repent of sin, if they will repent of spiritual weakness, and if they rely on him for this spiritual strength. So notice what Paul is saying and doing here. He was calling these believers to be strong in the Lord and to be strong in the strength of the Lord's might and power. Now look at verse 10 again with me. Notice that Paul uses three words to emphasize the strength and the victory that was for them. Paul is being repetitive and he is being repetitive on purpose.

The English Standard says strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. The King James says strong, power and might. Some of you use the Legacy Standard Bible. It says strong, might and strength. Occasionally I'll reference the Amplified. Notice what it says. Be strong in the Lord, draw your strength from him and be empowered through your union with him and in the power of his boundless might. Sometimes illustration and example helps us. Paul is using an illustration and example for these Ephesian believers. I'll give us one that will help us here. Years ago I had a friend of mine. He was a part of our church years gone by.

He's since passed and gone to be with the Lord. He came to faith in Christ as an adult, but in the late 70s he began a battle with alcohol and drug abuse, both. And he said that in his effort to get free of those things he became involved in Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. But I'm not sure how all of these things fit together, but sometime during all of those things he came to faith in Christ. And he began to tell me about how he would go to those AA meetings and those NA meetings and they would all sit down and they would all go around once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic and they would always talk about their struggles.

He said that it always seemed that everyone in there was just one second away from going right back into that old lifestyle. And he said many of them did. And he said after a while I got tired of that and he said I didn't want to be around all that. God had done a work in my life and he said I never went back. Now why? It was because he understood that he was born again and that he was a new creation in Christ, but more. He also understood that he was strong in the Lord and he was strong in the strength of his might. So he was not an alcoholic anymore.

He was a new creation in Christ and he was strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. So when Alcoholics Anonymous kept telling him that he would always be an addict, he said that's a bunch of nonsense. Because he understood the scripture in the biblical position and he never went back. He never went back to alcohol. He never went back to drug addiction and he never went back to those organizations. I don't always do this. I'm going to turn to another verse because there's somebody here that might be doubting these things. First Corinthians chapter 6 starting in verse 9 because I think somebody in here needs to hear this.

Paul says, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor greedy, nor drunkers, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." Now notice what Paul says, "As such were some of you." What is he saying? That's what you were. You're not that anymore. What is he saying? That's what you were. Paul is saying that those people were washed. They were born again, but they were living their life how? In the strength of the Lord and in the strength of his might.

In Luke Church, what we have here is the power of God to make men and women and young people new. Sinners can come to faith in Christ, but that is not all. That same sinner can not only have their sins forgiven, they can become strong in the Lord and then the power of his boundless might so they can break free from their sin. They can break free from their sinful past. Again, if you have a sin pattern and sinfulness in your life, you have an in the Lord problem. And if you have spiritual defeat and patterns of spiritual defeat in your life, you have an in the Lord problem. But can these things be a battle? Can these things be a war?

Certainly. And for some, sometimes they really, really are. That's what the verses are all about from verse 10 all the way down to verse 20. So command number one, Paul says, "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might." And then command number two, "Put on the whole armor of God." We see this in verse 11. Number two, "Put on the whole or the full armor of God." Here we see Paul's second command. That's clear. He calls these believers to put on the whole or the full armor of God. So asked to be fully equipped for the battle and the war that was before them, really the war and the battle that they were in.

Now this language and imagery, this example of armor, it really is strange for us in our day. But this was not strange for those in Paul's day. Most all of those Paul was writing to would have known about the Roman soldier. It is safe to say that they had seen soldiers and had even come into contact with Roman soldiers at many different times. So all of this language would have made sense to them. This would have been a very, very familiar teaching example. And some speculate that Paul was using the example of a Roman soldier because he had a living example right beside him.

He was under house arrest and he was chained to a Roman soldier as he was writing this letter. We see this later on in verse 20. So it could have been that Paul was actually looking at a Roman soldier as he was writing these things. Of course that speculation on our part. But here we see that Paul gives these believers the command to put on the whole or the full armor of God. We see this command in the beginning of verse 11. What does it say? Put on the whole armor of God. And then it's repeated in verse 13 a little differently. Take up the whole armor of God. Now there are a few details about this armor in this command. I want us to look at.

First, this is the whole armor of God. This word whole or full, it simply means complete. That means that nothing was missing. There was nothing that was lacking. And it is interesting that Paul mentions both offensive and defensive parts of the Roman soldier's armor. But he does not mention every part. He mentions one offensive weapon, the sword. But scholars and historians tell us that they also carried a lance. So he does not mention the lance which was a part of the Roman soldier's armor. Now what is my point here? Paul was not saying that God had provided for us the full armor of a Roman soldier.

Paul is saying that God has provided for us the full armor of God. And we are not lacking one piece of armor that we need. So God has provided his people the whole armor of God. Nothing is missing. And then second, this is the whole armor of God. As I've already said, this is not the armor of a Roman soldier. But what needs to be seen here is this. The armor Paul is talking about is from God. It's not from man. Now what's my point here? We are not to provide our own armor for the battle and the war that God has for us. We are not to take up the armor of man and man.

And we are definitely not to take up the armor of human methods and human means. Some of those can be sinful. But we are to take up God's armor and God's armor alone. So God has provided his people his armor and his armor is full. It is complete. And no other armor will do for this battle. And then third, this armor was to be put on and never taken off. This phrase put on speaks of that which is permanent. That means that this complete armor of God is not something to be put on and taken off.

Unlike a Roman soldier who would put on his full armor at certain times but only use part of his armor at other times, the believer is to put on and to keep on God's armor. Now what's my point here? We are not to put on and take off God's armor because the battle and the war is every day. John MacArthur says that God's armor should be the Christian's lifelong companion. I like that. His lifelong companion. So God's armor is permanent which means it should never be taken off. So look at what Paul is commanding here.

He was commanding these believers to put on God's armor which was and is complete and he was expecting them to keep God's armor on at all times for the battle, for the war that was before them and the battle and the war that they were in. Well I think we have a pretty good picture of this command and the previous command. Of course we have not gotten into the actual parts of God's armor. Do you notice that? We see that starting in verse 14. Many of you are familiar with these verses. But right here I think we need to ask a question. What is the believer to do with this armor? What? What is the believer to do with this armor?

Paul commands the believer to put on God's armor. So what is next? Now notice that Paul does not call them to go on the offensive. What Paul commands and expects is all defensive. Look at verse 11. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand, notice stand against the schemes of the devil. Here Paul commands them to put on the full armor of God so that they may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. The New American says stand firm. And this word stand, translated stand firm, had the idea of staying firmly fixed in place even in the face of opposition.

And when this was used in a military context, it spoke of soldiers holding a needed position while being under attack. One scholar pointed out that in battle, Roman soldiers were able to stand their position and not retreat as long as they stood together and they did not break their ranks. When they were on flat ground and had an open position, if they stood together in their ranks and they did not break their ranks, they were seen as virtually invincible.

And in the case of all believers, when a believer is strong in the strength of his Lord and when he is dressed in the full armor of God and standing the ground that God has given them, Paul was and is saying that these believers were able to stand their ground and resist attacks from the enemy successfully. One scholar said before an offensive can be launched, one must first of all maintain his own ground. Well, that is exactly what Paul was saying here. And right here there is a much needed lesson. Until you can stand strong in the Lord, dressed in the full armor of God, you will not be able to go on the offensive for God.

That needs to be repeated. Until you can stand strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might, dressed in the full armor of God, you will not be able to go on the offensive for God. The reason some of you are not being used by God to advance the gospel in the kingdom of God is because you cannot stand like Paul is commanding you. The reason some of you are not being used by God to advance the gospel in the kingdom of God into the darkness of sin in the world is because you are not standing like God and Paul is commanding here like you should. Now think with me about the places in life where the gospel and the kingdom must advance.

Places of darkness in your own home with your own children. We covered this thoroughly. Folks if our children do not come to faith in Christ, they are lost. Thereby nature children of wrath, if they do not come to faith in Christ, they are in darkness. What about our extended family? Many of us have extended family who are in darkness. They are lost and they need the gospel. What about the people that you work with? What about your neighbors? So many that are lost and they are in darkness. What about the people of our city? What about the people of the county surrounding us? So many are in lost and they are in darkness.

Who is going to go on the offensive and to advance with the saving power of the gospel and the truth of God's word? Who does God look to for that work? It's been committed to the church. It's been committed to you and to me. Personally I believe there are many true believers, true believers. They cannot be used of God as they should offensively. Why? Because they cannot stand and they do not stand firmly, strongly. In Luke Church we cannot overlook the importance of standing strong and the power of His might. Four times Paul uses the word against. Four times. Look at all of the verses again. Let's read them all, verses 10 to 13.

Notice how many times he uses the word against. Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. And on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all stand firm. Now what does this tell us? That Paul's just repetitive? No.

Paul is highlighting and emphasizing the hostility and the fight which confronts believers every day and that's me and that's you. And seeing what we are up against tells us that if we cannot stand firm in the strength of His might clothed in the full armor of God, not only can we not advance offensively, we can't stand defensively. And if we can't stand defensively, we're defeated totally, badly. So command number two, put on the full armor of God. Now I do this sometimes. I ask you to step back from the verses.

I ask you to step back from all of the details that we've studied here and I want you to think about verse 10 in the beginning of verse 11. Paul is writing to these believers that he loved and he says, "Brothers, sisters, as I begin to conclude this letter, make sure you are strong in the Lord. Get your strength from your God and by walking in obedience to your God and make sure to be strong in the strength of His might and make sure you put on the full armor of God that He has provided you and keep it on.

And church, do all of these things," Paul says, "so that you may be able to make an immovable defense to stand against all that the enemy brings against you." Now that's my paraphrase but isn't that about right? Isn't that what Paul is teaching? I see some heads nodding, "Yes, but you may have noticed. I have said that these verses are all about the believers' battleground and personal war but we really haven't gotten into the battle and into the war yet. And that is because before we study the battle, before we get into the war, we have to understand what it means to be ready for the battle and what it means to be ready for the war.

And that is what Paul was and is doing here. He was making ready God's troops for battle and for the war. And for us, God through Paul is making us ready for our battleground and for our war and yes, for our victory." Now here is how I want to finish up. I want to quickly glance at our enemy, our battle, and our victory. Next week we're going to flesh these things out a little more. And I give you a zoom through of these things to stir up your curiosity. Go study this on your own. But first we see our enemy in the second part of verse 11 and verse 12. Now who is our enemy? Paul says that our enemy is not flesh and blood.

Look folks, our enemy is not our mother-in-law. Our enemy is not our boss. Our enemy is not the Democrats. Our enemy is not communism or socialism. He says our enemy is not people. Our enemy is laid out in two ways. First the devil or Satan. Yes, there is a real devil. Second, his helpers, demons who were called rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers in the English Standard Version. Yes, these are real demons and demonic powers. And look folks, if we believe in these things, it doesn't make us charismatic. It makes us biblical. And then second, we see our battle in the second part of verse 11 and verse 12.

In verse 11, we see that our battle is against the schemes of the devil. The King James says the wiles of the devil. And then in verse 12, we see that we wrestle against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Again, we see this word against over and over and over. That highlights and emphasizes the battle that is right before us. And then third, we see our victory in verse 13. Paul says that if we take up the full armor of God, then we will be able to stand and having done all to stand firm.

And this is victory in the battle and in the war. Anything else is utter defeat. So the title of the message again, the Believer's Battleground, Walking in Victory in the War. Let's pray, as we always do. Let's commit these things to the Lord and then we'll sing a closing hymn of worship. So let's pray.