1 Our Enemy to the End Ephesians 6:10-12 The awful battle of Antietam was fought a century and a half ago, on September 17, 1862. Antietam remains the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. It s hard to fathom that on that one tragic day ten thousand Confederate troops and eleven thousand Union troops perished or were critically wounded on the battlefield. One historian wrote, At last the sun went down and the battle ended, smoke heavy in the air, the twilight quivering with the anguished cries of thousands of wounded men. While the battle appeared to be a draw, Union General George McClellan was able to end General Robert E. Lee s thrust into Maryland, forcing him to retreat across the Potomac. This was possible because two Union soldiers found a copy of Lee s battle plans and delivered them to McClellan before the battle. So here s something to think about: Just like Union General McClellan, our enemy s plans have been found and given to us. On our own, we re no match to our adversary. But because we have Satan s plans, we know something about how he works and how he forms his strategies. In Ephesians 6 Paul, who was chained to a Roman soldier under house arrest or in a Roman prison in about the year 60 AD, is telling us that Christ has defeated this awful foe. We re not fighting for victory Christ won full and final victory at Calvary s cross. Victory is achieved and secure! But we re still fighting until the Lord returns or may call us home. We re fighting to advance our Lord s kingdom purposes. In order to do this we need the equipment, the energy and the encouragement which Christ provides. That s what we ll focus on in our new worship series entitled Freedom Fighters during the next four Sundays. But the question before us this morning is simply this: How shall we fight? How do we stand strong and resist this foe? For one thing we need to know what we re up against. Follow along on your back page bulletin, if you wish. Here s a first truth to note: We fight against a deceptively strong and evil enemy. 1. We fight against a deceptively strong and evil enemy. Fight on. Let s read aloud the first two verses of our text. A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil (Eph. 6:10-11, NLT). Who is this enemy? Our enemy has many names which only begin to describe his character and conduct. Devil means accuser, because he accuses God's people day and night before the throne of God. Satan means adversary, because he is the enemy of God. He is also called the tempter, and the murderer and the liar. Let s read aloud Jesus stern words to the Pharisees and other Jewish religious leaders: You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). The Bible also compares Satan to a roaring lion, a crafty serpent and an angel of light. The Bible speaks of the devil as the god of this age. Paul writes, The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4).
2 Most Bible teachers believe that Satan was originally an angel called Lucifer, the son of the morning, as Isaiah 14 indicates: How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit (Isaiah 14:12-15). Satan was cast down from heaven because of his pride and his longing to occupy God s rightful throne in the universe. Today, of course, his evil desires and designs remain unchanged. Defeated by our Lord at Calvary, and awaiting his eternal punishment, he still seeks to reign on the throne of the hearts and minds of every person on this planet. Satan is the same evil, selfish and self-serving con that he was eons ago. He remains prideful and ego-driven. And he is wickedly dangerous. We must never underestimate his power to do evil. Do you recall Job s story? That s a case study in what Satan can do, God permitting, to a righteous person s health, wealth, family and friends. Satan s influence is seen in all spheres of life. He holds enormous power. At the same time, we don t need to overstate the case. Satan is the evil counterpart of the great angels who did not fall into sin, such as Michael or Gabriel. But let s be clear: Satan is not the counterpart of God. Like any angel, Satan is a created being, and so he is infinitely less than our Creator and Heavenly Father, infinitely less than our Loving Savior, infinitely less than our Counselor, God the Holy Spirit. Satan is powerful in his evil designs, but he is not all-powerful. Satan is shrewd, but he is not all-knowing. Satan has far-reaching influence, but he is not present everywhere at once. But he still gets his evil work done, doesn t he? So how does he do it? This leads us to a second truth to note: Not only do we fight against a deceptively strong and evil enemy. We fight Satan s demonic forces on many different fields of battle. 2. We fight demonic forces on many different fields of battle. Fight on. Let s read aloud together what Paul says about these demonic forces: For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). Dr. Warren Weirsbe writes, Our battle is not against human beings. It is against spiritual powers. We are wasting our time fighting people when we ought to be fighting the devil who seeks to control people and make them oppose the work of God. What this means is that if a person isn t a dedicated disciple of Jesus, guided and filled with the Holy Spirit, they are in varying degrees being guided by the adversary. We know that Paul continually experienced demonic powers which often guided the countless people who battled against him while he preached, taught, wrote letters and planted churches for over 30 years. One such occasion of spiritual evil and attack against Paul was, in fact, in Ephesus. In Acts 19 you may recall the near riot that was about to explode with Paul at the center. Had it erupted, it could have really hurt the Christian mission and the new church
family in Ephesus. In brief, here s what happened: Demetrius and the silversmith union made their living by making and selling silver idols and shrines to the Greek goddess Artemis. The silversmith union was guided by Demetrius, but Demetrius was guided by the demonic powers of Satan in forging this pagan craft. Demetrius and his ilk, including the demons hated everything about Paul and his preaching of Christ the Crucified and Risen Savior and Lord. Paul s life-changing, light-giving proclamation of God s truth and the new growing community of Christians threatened their evil trade and evil doing in Ephesus. I mean, when people can have the real deal in Jesus, why buy and bow down to worthless hunks of silver junk? Of course, it wasn t just Demetrius and his cronies that Paul had to fight. It was Satan and his minions who were the real ones attacking the early Christians. What happened? Paul took action. Paul s counterstrategy was to praise and pray to the Lord. Others prayed, as well. The evil doers and enemies were silenced. That s the power of fervent, effective, Christ-centered prayer. That s one example from Paul s life. How are we to face the fields of battle which are before us today, tomorrow and in this week ahead? Let s go back to the 12 th verse of our text. Paul writes, 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 (Ephesians 6:12). How are we to understand these four terms: rulers, authorities, powers, and forces? Dr. James Boice suggest this: The distinction is not between the supposed levels of demonic authority but rather between the various areas of life over which they exert an evil influence. For example, the term ruler suggests governance over a certain territory or region. Dr. Boice observes, We know that in some areas of the world the power of Satan is very strong and obvious. In other places, particularly places where the gospel of Jesus Christ has gone, it is comparatively weaker. The term authority concerns cultural values. Dr. Boice writes, We need to see that the dominant values of our culture the me first philosophy, pleasure for its own sake, materialism, and other things are not Christian but are controlled and manipulated by Satan for his own base ends. We are to be at war against them. The term power relates to influence and control. Obviously the various media, film, music, the arts, print and the powers that stand behind the media seems to capture the idea of power with which Paul is dealing here. Finally, those who are evil and do evil things are referred to as the spiritual forces of evil. Such persons seek to control morality, by changing biblical and godly values to secular values antithetical to God s Word s teachings. To fight these demonic forces on various fields of battle, we must, as John R. W. Stott says, Bear in mind that they have no moral principles, no code of honor, no higher feelings. They recognize no Geneva Convention to restrict or partially civilize the weapons of their warfare. They are utterly unscrupulous, and ruthless in the pursuit of their malicious designs. Our enemy is a rotten foe! This leads us to a third and final truth to note. Not only do we fight against a deceptively strong and evil enemy, not only do we fight Satan s demonic forces on many different fields of battle, thirdly and thankfully, we do fight against an adversary with a discernable attack strategy. 3
3. We fight an adversary with a discernable attack strategy. Fight on. The truth is, Satan wants to use our external enemy the world s priorities, and our internal enemy our human weaknesses, to take us down. Let me share a personal story. Those of you who know me know that I love winter. I love cold weather. The colder the better! That s the Norwegian and French Canadian in me. My paternal and maternal roots are close to the Arctic Circle. Well the day that I wrote this sermon some weeks ago was fairly hot and humid. Frankly, if you ve had a hard time staying awake listening, I had a hard time staying awake writing, as the temps in my office registered 85*. You see the air conditioner in the pastor s study had broken down due a few weeks earlier due to a defective compressor. So whatever heat and humidity was outside was inside because the windows were open with a fan blowing hot air. Now in the cool of September this seems so insignificant. But in the heat of late July, with no a/c, it seemed like one more simple attack strategy by the adversary who had no interest in having this sermon or any sermon for that matter written or preached, heard or applied. You see, Satan doesn t want us to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. He doesn t want us to stand firm and fight on! That s why Paul writes, Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil s schemes (Ephesians 6:11). Next Sunday, Lord willing, we ll begin to focus on the spiritual armor that God lovingly provides. But in concluding our message this morning, I d like us to note a few of Satan s most discernable attack strategies. Satan has his schemes. He has his tricks of the trade, his sleight of hand, his smoke and mirrors. As Paul writes, So that Satan will not outsmart us... we are very familiar with his evil schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11, NLT). What are some of Satan s schemes? What are his attack plans? Dr. James Boice tells about an 18 th century Puritan author William Gurnall who wrote a 1200 page book on Satan s schemes based on Paul s teaching here in Ephesians 6. His book is entitled, The Christian in Complete Armor. In this book William Gurnall reveals his years of study into Satan s schemes. Here s what Gurnall discovered about Satan s discernable attack strategies: First, Satan will attack us soon after we have become Christians. The adversary tries to deceive us, raises doubts and discourages all spiritual growth. Second, Satan will attack and kick us when we re down. When all is well, Satan often leaves us alone. But when the Lord permits us to go through trials and trouble to deepen our faith, to lessen on our grip on unimportant things or to draw unto Himself it s then that Satan suddenly is there to suggest that we ve been abandoned by God or that God doesn t really care. Third, Satan will attack us when we re idle and inactive. That s why there can be no retirement from serving Christ! The most tragic sin in King David s life was his adultery with Bathsheba and his arranging her husband Uriah s death. Satan attacked when David was at home away from the battle with his troops. Fourth, Satan will attack us when we re not worshipping and serving with other believers. When we re in close fellowship and connection with other Christians, where we have solid support and accountability, Satan backs off. He ll focus his evil 4
elsewhere. But when we re alone or, worse yet, if we become closely connected with non-believers, Satan will often attack with vengeance. Satan has many ways to do this. If we grow close to those who don t believe that Satan and his evil is a real, if we leave Christian fellowship and if we grow close to those who don t trust in Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord, we re doing just what this evil enemy desires. He ll do all he can to keep it that way. Satan is very accommodating when it comes to achieving his purposes. Some say they don t accept the Bible. Satan says, Perfect! If you don t read it, you won t believe it! But unbelief isn t a sign of intelligence. It s a sign of blindness. We need only remember Paul s teaching: The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). Fifth and finally, Satan will even attack when we re passing from this life into the next. If you re a believer, you might as well expect Satan s attacks. When you re ill and even at the point of death, Satan will try to make you doubt that you belong to God at all. Some of the godliest believers on their deathbeds have said that Satan was attacking them with doubts about their salvation. Why? Because Satan hates Christians! This vicious adversary takes every opportunity to hurt those of us who love Christ even in our home going! Let me say this in closing: My friend, if you belong to Christ, if Jesus is your personal Savior and Lord, Satan cannot separate you from God s love or from your eternal life in Heaven. But Satan will do all he can to weaken your confidence and to steal your joy. He does this out of hatred and sheer spite, and also because he wants you to be so crushed and exhausted so that you won t be effective. He doesn t want others to hear about Christ from you or to see Christ at work in you. Otherwise they might believe the great Good News that they can be saved and find new life with joy, peace and purpose in the Lord Jesus Christ. But no matter what Satan tries, don t give in. Don t let him fool you or defeat you. Don t be careless or ignore his power. Satan is cunning, hateful and powerful. But he s also defeated. And he s running scared. Remember that Jesus is Lord! Satan is terrified of the Risen Christ. He s scared of the Holy Spirit. He s afraid of the Gospel. He runs from those who pray. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil s schemes (Eph. 6:10-11). If you re here this morning and you ve been living without Jesus, if you ve been in Satan s grip, maybe without even knowing it, now is the time to change. Now is the time to recognize the enemy for who he is and for what he s been doing to you. Get rid of Satan s domination. Believe and receive God s salvation. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome his Spirit into your heart. The Bible says, Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you (James 4:7-8a). 5
6 Our Enemy to the End Ephesians 6:10-12 1. We fight against a deceptively strong and evil enemy. Fight on. A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil (Ephesians 6:10-11, NLT). You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit (Isaiah 14:12-15). 2. We fight demonic forces on many different fields of battle. Fight on. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12, NLT). 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 (Ephesians 6:12, NIV). 3. We fight an adversary with a discernable attack strategy. Fight on. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil s schemes (Ephesians 6:11). So that Satan will not outsmart us... we are very familiar with his evil schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11, NLT). The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil s schemes (Ephesians 6:10-11). Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you (James 4:7-8a).