51
The Winning
That Results
(Eph.
6:11, 13, 16, 19-20)
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil . . .
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be
able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand . . .
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked . . .
And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open
my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak
boldly, as I ought to speak.
In our
last chapter we examined the war in which every believer is engaged. We saw
there just how severe this struggle is and looked briefly at the enemies
themselves, Satan and his demons. We also made reference to the fact that we
can have victory in this war if we put on the armor of God.
But what
exactly does this victory consist of? What kind of victory does God assure?
Before we get to the specifics of the armor we must wear to the war, we should
first understand the victory God gives because it provides us with a tremendous
encouragement. In the five verses before us we find three victories.
I. We Will Not Be Defeated (vs. 11, 13)
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil . . .
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be
able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Unlike a
sporting event or a military conflict, where the outcome is never certain, the
most blessed truth in our spiritual war is that if we have on the armor of God,
we simply cannot lose. This victory involves two things.
We Will Stand Against
Satan’s Tactics (v. 11)
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil.
The Greek used
here for stand against (stēnai
pros) is a
military phrase that means to stand in front of with a view to holding a
critical position, to hold one’s ground.
Further, able
is the Greek dunamai, which is the eighth of nine occurrence of this
word group in this Epistle,[1] and
is where we derive English words such as “dynamic” and “dynamite.” Used over
100 times in the New Testament, its basic meaning in is “ability to perform
anything.” We could also define the word as “that which overcomes resistance.”
In the present text, then, by putting on God’s armor, we are able to
defeat any resistance Satan offers and overcome any obstacle he puts in our
path.
After much
research, it seems this word carries a defensive tone, that we just face the
enemy and hold our ground. As we’ll study later, it is important to realize
that the majority of the war in which we are engaged is, in fact, defensive. It
is for this reason that God has given us five pieces of defensive armor
while giving only one offensive weapon, the sword.
A basic,
fundamental military tenet is to hold the ground you already possess. One of
the problems in the Vietnam War was that we held certain ground during the day
while “Charlie” (the Viet Cong) held it at night. Also, terrain was often taken
from the enemy only to be given back later when we pulled out of the area. This
obviously caused discouragement and a sense of futility to many a soldier.
Plus, the waste in men, materiel, and money in such folly was incalculable.
So God
provides us the power to stand against Satan’s tactics. But there is
something else here.
We Will Withstand
Satan’s Tactics (v. 13)
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be
able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
It’s
extremely significant that Paul not only says that the armor makes us able
to stand, as in verse 11—able is again dunamai, the ninth
occurrence of this word group—but also to withstand. The
Greek is actually different here. The root used for “stand” in verse 11 is histēmi, while the word for withstand
is anthistēmi, which by adding the prefix anti
(“against”) means “to set one’s self against, oppose, resist.” This is the same
word used in James 4:7, “Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” What a
promise! Stand against him, land a couple of blows of your own, and he’ll run
like a little girl.
So in
light of the defensive word we saw earlier, this word seems to possess a more
offensive tone. Not only must we be defensive, holding our present
ground, but we must also be offensive, landing blows of our own on the
enemy. As John Eadie writes:
The soldier is equipped for the purpose of
defending himself and opposing the enemy. The Christian armor is not worn for
idle parade, or as holiday attire. The enemy must be encountered.[2]
We must
disagree with the few commentators who say our war with Satan is defensive
only, that we cannot fight an offensive war with him. If Paul meant only
defense, he certainly would not have used the imagery of a Roman soldier, for
he was not primarily defensive, rather a professional soldier who was trained
to kill. Further, the sword is an offensive weapon. Militarily speaking, no
battle, no war, can be won by defense alone. God not only wants us to stand our
ground, but He wants us to resist and oppose and land blows of our own with the
Word of God. Commentator William Hendrickson makes this point well:
We must be careful, however, not to infer
from this that Christians are pictured here as sitting back, as it were,
waiting in the shelter of their fortress for Satan’s attack. The context (see
on verse 17 and 19) does not allow this rather common interpretation. The
“standing” of which Paul speaks (verses 11, 14) in not that of a brick wall
that is waiting passively, as it were, for the assault of the battering ram.
The soldiers referred to here are drawn up in battle array and rushing into the
fight. They are both defending themselves and attacking.[3]
We must
mention here a teaching mentioned back in our study of Spirit-filling in 5:18.
A popular teaching that has been around since the mid-nineteenth century is the
idea that we do not have to struggle or fight in the Christian life, rather we
need only “Let go and let God,” just let Him fight our battles. It is argued,
“Stop struggling and just hand it over to God. It’s His battle, not yours.”
This was the teaching of the Keswicks, Charles Finney, and Hannah Whitall Smith in her book, The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life.
Such teachers,
in fact, have gone so far as to say that countless Christians have missed this
teaching for centuries, that great saints of God, such as the Church Fathers,
the Reformers, and many other mighty men of God overlooked this teaching and
needlessly struggled. We must submit, however, that while such teachers were
certainly not cultists, they clearly did what all cults do, namely, offer a
specific “secret” to Christian living that only they have discovered. By
following this “secret,” they promise a “shortcut” to victory.
If that is
true, however, then, as Martyn-Lloyd-Jones rightly points out, all the
exhortations in Scripture concerning our fighting and struggle in the Christian
life (our text, Rom. 8:13, 1
Cor. 9:24-27, Jas.
4:7, 1 Tim. 6:12, 2
Tim. 2:3-4, etc.) “are not only unnecessary but actually wrong.”[4] Paul apparently didn’t know this
secret either, because he clearly outlines his own struggle with the flesh in
Romans 7. No, Scripture doesn’t offer any “shortcuts” to victory. There are no
“secrets” to Spiritual living. The Christian life is, indeed, a struggle, a war
in fact, but we claim the victory by putting on the armor of God.
So then,
the first victory we have is that we will not be defeated. Physical warfare is
never sure; there are always unknowns that can reverse a battle. But we can be
assured of victory if we put on God’s armor before we go into battle. As we
said in our last chapter, strategically the war has already been won,
but tactically we must fight little battles every day. We could call
these “firefights” like those faced on a daily basis by squads and platoons of
men in Vietnam and in the current conflict in Iraq. Though such firefights are
small, they are savage and bloody. We, too, are involved in “firefights” every
day, and each will be won or lost depending upon whether or not God’s armor is
on or off. How tragic it is that countless Christians (preachers and laymen
alike), having once stood firm, have now fallen into defeat because they took
off God’s armor.
So then,
dear Christian, may we each put on God’s armor so we can be victorious in the
evil day. To what does that term refer? The most significant point is that
the definite article (the) is present in the Greek, which indicates a specific
day, not just any day in general. Paul has already indicated that we are in a
daily struggle in verse 11. Here he adds that if we are prepared for that, we
will be prepared for the evil day. While some interpreters
think this refers to those days when trials and temptations are the most severe
and violent,[5] it could be that Paul is going
further to refer to “a time [in the future] when the conflict is most severe,
due both to persecution from without and trial from within the Christian
fellowship.”[6] He speaks of those days of rampant
apostasy in II Timothy 3 and 4 and II Thessalonians 2. We are, indeed, in the
evil day right now, a day of unprecedented apostasy. In that sense,
then, every day is an evil one and victory will come only with
the armor of God.
II. We Will Not Be Injured (v. 16)
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
If a
commander could truthfully say to a soldier before he goes into a firefight, “I
promise you that you’re not going to get hit,” that would be quite a promise,
and that is exactly the promise Paul gives here. We will, of course, study the
shield of faith in another chapter, but we need to see here that the shield
gives us one of the three specific victories by quenching the fiery darts of
the wicked and thereby keeping us from injury.
The fiery
darts were arrows that had tips wrapped with pieces of cloth and were then
soaked in pitch. They were then lit and shot at the enemy. The pitch burned
furiously and would splatter on impact, igniting most anything in its path,
whether it be clothing, equipment, or people.
So, not
only to protect their own bodies, but also to decrease the effectiveness of the
arrows, the soldier would use his shield. The shield was a large, oblong shaped
shield that covered half, sometimes all, of the body. It was usually made of
leather, sometimes brass or copper. It was rubbed with nonflammable oil to make
it slippery; this would help deflect and even extinguish the flaming arrows.
The
application of all this is tremendous! The “flaming arrows” clearly represent
the temptations to sin that are common to the Christian. Satan continually
shoots the flaming arrows of immorality, doubt, fear, anger, lying,
covetousness, jealousy, unfaithfulness, and every other sin. And may we also
realize that, like the literal arrows of history, the arrows of Satan not only
will damage us, but they will splatter onto others around us. What a lie is the
statement, “My sin doesn’t effect anyone but me!”
So then,
we must carry the shield of faith; we must lean on the Lord at all times. In so
doing, we will not be injured as we wage the war. Our own spiritual life, our
character, our family, our local church, and all else will be untouched by the
flaming arrows of the enemy. This leads us to one other victory.
III. We Will Not Be Humiliated (vs. 19-20)
And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open
my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak
boldly, as I ought to speak.
We will
also look at these verses again in greater depth, but we should mention them
here as well.
Consider a
moment the defeat of the Israelites at Ai in Joshua chapter 7. We recall that
God told the Israelites to destroy every living thing in Jericho but to bring
the gold, brass, and iron into the treasury and to consecrate it to the Lord
(6:19-21). He also told them to keep themselves from these things, that is, to
not take the spoils for themselves because this would taint them with sin
(6:18). But, as we recall, Achan disobeyed God; he took of the spoils of war
and buried them in his tent.
Achan,
however, was not the only one who was guilty of sin, as is sometimes taught.
There were two other sins of the people. First, the people decided to
send only a few men to Ai because it was a small city. This demonstrated a
dependence upon human strength and thinking instead of upon God. Second,
there is no record whatsoever of the people communicating with God as they did
in the taking of Jericho.
As a
result of all this the Israelites were defeated. But the point we need to
emphasize is that not only were many soldiers and the whole army driven back,
but as they fled the men of Ai chased them. It is humiliating to be chased
after a defeat. As a rule, an army will pursue a retreating force because it
discourages the enemy and lowers morale.
Consider
another Biblical incident. In Judges 1 we read of God’s people defeating the
Canaanites and the Perizzites. Adonibezek (literally, lord of Bezek) was the
king of Bezek, a chief Canaanite city (1:5-7). He had subdued seventy of the
petty kings around his kingdom and, after cutting off their thumbs and great
toes, made them gather food under his table.
When the
Israelites attacked, Adonibezek fled but was captured and suffered the same
indignity. This was truly a humiliating fate. As a soldier, he could no longer
hold a weapon. Without the thumbs, the gripping power and dexterity of the hand
is destroyed. Try it for yourself; try picking up a heavy object without using
your thumb, and then pick up something like a pencil or fork and try to use it.
Further, without the great toes, a man can barely walk, much less run, because
it is actually the great toes which give balance.
In light
of this, it is a tragic fact that many Christians live a life of defeat and
humiliation. They have no effectiveness in witness. Any challenge to their
faith causes them to drop their guard and run away. What then does the enemy
do? He laughs and chases them!
But having
on the armor of God brings a boldness we’ve never known before. The Greek
behind boldly is parrhesia. As one Greek authority tells us, when
this word was used in a political context, it signified the right to say
anything and to be candid. When used in the context of private conversation,
the word meant basically the same, but could also carry a negative meaning like
insolence, haughtiness, and arrogance.[7] These meanings not only give us a
challenge but a warning as well. God wants us to speak openly and courageously,
but He does not want us to be arrogant, overbearing, or pushy in our witness.
God does not want Christians to wear their Christianity as a chip on their
shoulder just waiting to be knocked off. Rather, He wants each of us to stand
courageously and to stand humbly when our faith is challenged (4:15). This
power comes only from the armor of God.
As noted
earlier, we’ll return to some of these verses in future studies, but the
challenge for us right now is that nothing else will bring victory in the
raging spiritual war except the armor of God. Dear Christian, WEAR it and
WIN—LEAVE it and LOSE!