1 The Invisible War Pt 10. 19-02 -2012 The Spiritual War Weapons For War. Eph 6:10-19 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 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. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel (ESV) Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood The above Greek phrase For we do not wrestle is not correctly translated. It should actually read for the wrestle to us. The suggestion here is that this is something we will experience personally. There is no passive action from satan s kingdom. The word Wrestle pale ^3823^, "a wrestling" (akin to pallo, "to sway, to vibrate"), is used figuratively in <Eph. 6:12>, of the spiritual conflict engaged in by believers, RV, "(our) wrestling," KJV, (from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)(Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers) The inference is to a wrestling match. In the old sense pale meant to shake with vibration. One Geek scholar has suggested that this is in reference to the Holy Spirit giving us vibes, or if you will, warning us by allowing us to sense an impending satanic attack that is coming our way. Remember this enemy has murderous intent! The Greeks derived their name for the Palastra from this word pale. The Palastra was a huge palace of combat sports. It was a beautiful building where the sportsmen of that day would train in disciplined fervor to become the best they could be. They were boxers, wrestlers, and pankratists. At all times of the day you could find these athletes training for their competitions. These sports were brutal and violent. There were no rules, and the first one who died or the first one to give up was declared the loser. These boxers would have their gloves ribbed with steel and spiked with nails. Few boxers ever lived to retire. A common phrase of that day was A boxers victory is obtained through blood. It was not uncommon for a boxer to strike his opponent so hard that his eyeball would pop out of its socket. It was a brutal, bloody sport. The wrestlers were just as brutal. One of their favorite moves was to grab their opponent throw him up into the air and bring him down with his back towards the knee and snap the back in two. The pankratists incorporated all styles and were out to prove that they were the best.
Paul uses this illustration to metaphorically illustrate and describe our conflict with unseen demonic powers gathered for our destruction. There are no rules in the spirit. Satan uses all methods of attack; there is no umpire to shout foul when satan wants to choke you, break your back, kill and destroy you or your loved ones. Whoever fights in the spirit the hardest, the meanest, and lasts the longest wins the confrontation. Eph 6:12: 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. Against This word is used four times for emphasis. When God repeats Himself He is trying to get our attention and this would necessitate that we take note. This word carries the idea of personal confrontation; in a forward position, close against, face-to-face, eye-to-eye. The wrestle to us will be a personal confrontation and it involves satanic forces in the invisible reality. 1. Rulers (Principalities) The Greek word, arche (ar-khay'); from 756; chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank): This word meant ancient, ancient times; it also speaks of the highest position of rank. This word describes satan s highest ranking authorities that have held this position since ancient times, possibly since the fall of Lucifer. 2. Authorities (Powers) - The Greek word exhausia. This word means delegated authority. The suggestion is that these powers receive instructions and then carry out their mission however, wherever, whatever, against mankind. 3. Cosmic Powers (The rulers of the darkness of this world) This is a Greek compound word; kosmokrateros. This comes from two words: Kosmos Order, arrangement and Kratos Power. When you put these two words together as kosmoskrateros it primarily refers to great military power in one spot. It describes power that has been harnessed and put into some kind of order. This was a Greek word that the Greek s used to describe certain aspects of their military. It is descriptive of young soldiers who are full of energy but very chaotic. For their military power to be effective this raw energy of young troops had to be harnessed and then organized, disciplined, committed, submissive, ordered, and perfectly arranged into rank and file. It speaks of a military training camp. Paul is telling us by using this word that satan deals with his dark legions of demon spirits like troops. These demons are organized, disciplined, trained and committed to our destruction. The church has no power shortage. We have access to legitimate authority. What we do lack however, is commitment, discipline, organization and strategy. We need to match the level of satan s commitment. The devil is very serious about doing damage. 4. Spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places - High places refers to the air or atmosphere in which we come into contact with. The word wickedness refers to vile, bad, malevolent, vicious and malignant. These are the spirits we usually cast out of people. Eph 6:13: Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (NKJV) The necessity for us to be clothed in the whole armor of God is so that we can withstand. The word withstand - koluo ^2967^, "to hinder," "to set against," to forbid, to resist (from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words) (Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers) 2
This word suggests in the Greek to so stand in your position of victory so as to be vigorously opposing, bravely resisting, standing face to face against an adversary, and i.e. standing your ground. The suggestion is that with the authority and spiritual weapons granted to us we are able to withstand evil forces. Eph 6:13-18:Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (NKJV) It is important for us to understand the metaphor that Paul is using in this text. It is based on the armour and battle dress of the first century Roman soldier. This armour consisted of seven pieces of weaponry. Paul consistently tells the Ephesus Church and us, to put the whole armour on. i) The loin belt. ii) The breastplate. iii) The shoes. iv) The shield. v) The helmet. vi) The sword. Vii) The Lance. Eph 6:14: Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness - In this verse there are two weapons mentioned: The belt of truth, and the breastplate of righteousness 1.The belt of truth The belt of truth is symbolic of the Roman soldiers loin belt that was a very ugly and common piece of weaponry. This belt was, however, the most important piece of a Roman soldiers weaponry. It gave the soldier confidence that his weaponry would stay on. It was the central piece of armor that held all the other parts together. This loin belt had clips on it that allowed the rest of your armor to stay in place. This piece of armor is represented by the word of God. Some would say that the sword of the Spirit represents the word of God, and it does, but what needs to be understood is that there are two Greek words for our English word, word - the logos and rhema. The logos word is the expression of a thought, the message, or if you will, the logos is the bible in its entirety. The logos word is stable and holds the universe together. In contrast to the logos the rhema word represents that which is said and spoken by the Holy Spirits revealing. It is an utterance. Therefore the logos is the message and the rhema is the communication, or revelation of the message by the Holy Spirit, to your mind. (Eph 1:17) The logos would be the bible and the rhema would be a verse revealed and illuminated to your mind from the bible. The rhema i.e. that which is said or uttered by the Holy Spirit, illuminating a word to you, which is known as the sword of the spirit. If you stop studying the word of God you could become dry and all the other weaponry could fall off. The loin belt also protected your reproductive organs. Without this belt, you could become dry and stop producing fruit in the spirit. 2. The breastplate of righteousness This breastplate was both defensive and offensive. It was offensive because it was made of two large sheets of metal and was very shiny. The Roman soldier was disciplined to polish this piece of weaponry everyday. When he went into battle the glare of the sun would reflect off this piece of weaponry and the light would be reflected into their enemies eyes, causing them to be blinded. 3
4 This gave a warrior the opportunity to slaughter his enemy. It was defensive because it would extend from the neck all the way down below the waist to the knees. It looked like a skirt and was most probably the heaviest piece of weaponry. It covered both the front and the back of the soldier and these pieces of metal were attached together by straps. It was really a beautiful piece of weaponry. History would record these Roman soldiers as being the most handsome soldiers in history because of this brilliant piece of armor that was even known to radiate different colors. This breastplate of ours is a breastplate of righteousness. We are clothed with the righteousness of God. When we step out into battle the brilliance of our righteousness is reflected into the face of the enemy and he is blinded as we, with murderous intent, destroy him. The breastplate also protects our vital organs like the heart. When the enemy wants to condemn us in our heart we are protected by His righteousness. 3. The shoes of peace - Eph 6:15: and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; the preparation This word describes swiftness, ready to go swiftly - The Roman soldiers shoes were primarily made of two pieces of metal. The first part was called a greave. This was a piece of bronze or brass that had been wrapped around the soldiers lower legs beginning at the knee and ending at the top of the foot. As a result his shoes actually looked like boots. The second part of the shoe was made of very heavy metal that covered the top, sides and bottom of the foot. If you were involved in active combat there would be approximately 6-inch spikes at the bottom of your shoes. These shoes of peace are killer shoes for the devil. These shoes would help the soldier if he had to walk in rocky and difficult terrain. The symbolism here is that God might call you to walk in some difficult areas on your way to fulfilling destiny. It was not uncommon for the enemy to try and cut at your legs to stop you from being mobile. When a soldier was in battle the enemy would sometimes run up to him and try and kick the soldier on the shin to knock him down or break his legs so that one could cut his head off. The peace of God protects you. But not only did this weaponry protect you. The spikes on the bottom of the shoes could kill you by trampling and stomping you under foot. In the book of Romans, which is our main doctrinal book, we see that satan is only mentioned one time. We can read about him in Chapter 16:20. Romans 16:20: And the God of peace will crush satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. This word shortly here is a very important word. It was used to describe the way that soldiers march. These Roman soldiers were trained to march taking very short steps, stomping their feet down to make loud noises. Everyone, as they crashed their feet down, could hear the noises of these marching soldiers as they approached. The reason being was so that you could get out of their way before they reached you. A Roman soldier was trained never to stop marching for any reason whatsoever. If an elderly lady or a child fell in their path, or did not get out of the way fast enough they would just keep on marching and you would end up a bloody, mangled mass of flesh. Those six inch spikes would trample you beyond recognition. The idea that Paul is conveying here is that if the devil gets in your way, you just keep on marching over him with six inch spikes at the bottom of your shoes of peace and pulverize him into a bloody spiritual mess. When the devil tries to get in your way the shoes of peace become a dangerous weapon.
5 4. The shield of faith - Eph 6:16: above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one Above all Many Christians suggest that this is evidence that the shield is the most important piece of weaponry. However, this phrase is not describing the idea of importance. The Greek word is epipasin. This word describes position as opposed to importance. It means out front and covering all. Once again I must emphasize that it is not the idea of importance but rather the idea of cover and position. You hold a shield out front covering all. The shield was large and oblong and looked like a large door. The inner working of the shield was made of animal hide, and if it ever dried out it would get brittle and crack. The Roman soldier would daily anoint his shield with oil to stop it from becoming useless. The symbolism here is that our faith can dry up on us unless it has the fresh unction of the Holy Spirit every day. In Jude 1:20 we are exhorted to stir up our Holy faith. The oil would not jump onto the soldiers shield by itself. You have to apply the oil. God will supply the ointment but you must do the application. If your shield of faith was working correctly then you would be able to have power to quench i.e. to dampen, to limit, to extinguish. A good translation would be to ricochet (that is send it back) every fiery dart. A fiery dart was made out of long pieces of cane that were hollow. The opponent would fill the interior of the cane with combustible fluids. And when they could not get right into your castle or home they would stand outside and shoot one of these fiery darts over the wall from a distance. When the arrow came over the wall it would look just like any other arrow, but when it hit it was like a flying bomb and explode. The symbolism here is that our shield of faith must be anointed otherwise these fiery darts can hit us coming from a direction one would not normally expect it to come from and would create the most vile of passions taking you by complete surprise. 5.The helmet of salvation Eph 6:17: And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; A Roman soldiers helmet was like a piece of sculpture that sat upon his head. Protruding out of this piece of art would be a feather that would sometimes extend as high as 12 foot into the air. When a Roman soldier walked into a room it was impossible not to notice this helmet. The idea here is that our salvation is the most intricate, the most awesome and most noticeable of all that God has given us. This also means that our heads are protected when the enemy wants to use a battle-axe to consistently and continuously come against our minds to enter with lies. 6. The sword of the Spirit The sword of the Spirit is the word of God. The word, word here, is the Greek word rhema. The rhema word is the utterance or thing said by the Spirit for that specific moment. This word can come through a dream, a vision, an illuminated scripture, an inspired preacher, prophecy, and any way the Holy Spirit says to you. The rhema, utterance, sword of the Spirit, doesn t come everyday. It usually comes for a battle yet to come, at the point of a battle, or during the battle. It is important to understand that the Roman soldier s sword came from a sheath that hung and was attached to the loin belt. It is difficult to get a rhema if you don t have a place for the loin belt of truth. They are connected, and you must have the word of God (logos) in order for the rhema to come forth. When the logos word comes to you, it pierces you. (Hebrews 4:12)
6 It is interesting to note in this verse of scripture that the phrase two edged sword in the Greek is actually the word for two mouths. It has nothing to do with an edge at all. In Revelation 1:16 the same word is used again in the Greek and once again the word two edged is actually the Greek word for two mouthed. The idea suggests that the bible comes from God s mouth. We receive it and take it into our lives. When God s word comes to us it does not become a two edged sword until it has come out of your mouth. The logos when it comes out of God s mouth is powerful to pierce into our hearts. But when illuminated for battle the rhema is then spoken through our mouth and it becomes a two edged sword, or if you will a two mouthed sword bringing destruction to the enemy. 7. The Lance Eph 6:18: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints There is no doubt that the lance was a part of the whole armor of the Roman soldier. In order for Paul to carry through this illustration about the whole armor of God, it is absolutely necessary for the lance to be included in this text. The most trusted Greek scholars have taught that praying in the Spirit is the final piece of the whole armor of God. This would make sense regarding the metaphor that Paul uses here. Every Roman soldier carried a specially tooled lance to both strike the enemy from a distance and to pierce him at close quarters. Praying in other tongues has always done that for me. Prayer in the Spirit has been described as the lance of intercession. The lance was something you could throw at your enemy from a distance. And this is what prayer is, you throw it at your enemy from a distance. When you cannot get right up to the headquarters of the enemy then you attack him from without, at a distance. You can attack the devil s kingdom, his structure, his strategies, and his avenues of attack by prayer. Prayer in the Spirit is to me the primary way of using this weapon. Praying in the Spirit, which in my understanding, is praying in other tongues. Some people say I can pray in the Spirit by praying in English, I disagree. When I pray in French, I speak French. When I pray in English, I speak English. When I pray in Afrikaans, I speak Afrikaans. When I pray in the Spirit, I speak Spirit. This activity has been called by some, the lost weapon of the church. It is this weapon that plugs us into the supernatural realm. It is the vehicle by which we can receive divine revelation. Praying in other tongues is a very important spiritual essential and necessary application. This allows you to have explosive power to hit him from a distance.