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EPHESIANS 6:10-24
Lesson #19
THE CHURCH AS A SOLDIER WITH ENEMIES
- Memory verse: Eph 6:10
- Read Eph 6: 10-12 The Church as a Soldier
- Sooner or later the Christian discovers he is in a spiritual battle with a real enemy and involving spiritual weapons. God wants the believer to understand his enemy and the battle. (2Cor 2:11)
- Where is the battleground?
- Satan’s greatest activity is not in the lives of non-believers. It is not in the bars and sin parlors on skid row. It is not in the crime centers of the underworld.
- It is in the heavenly, spiritual realm. It is in the powerful political circles seeking world control.
- It is in the church.
- It is in the heart and mind of every Christian.
- Notice the term that Paul uses for this warfare is “to wrestle”(12).
- This tells us that it is a hand to hand combat.
- Therefore, Paul encourages Christians to stand strong in the Lord.
- No where does Paul say the believer is to advance and be on the offensive in the battle.
- We are simply to stand firm. (Four times Paul tells the believer to stand firm –vs. 11, two times in vs. 13, and vs. 14.)
- The Old Testament example of the Christian’s spiritual battle:
- In the book of Joshua, the people crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land. There were enemies they had to fight to possess the land.
- The first major obstacle was the city of Jericho which represents the world system.
- The second major obstacle was the city of Ai which represents the flesh nature.
- The third major obstacle was the deceptive Gibeonite people who represent Satan and his deceptions.
- Where is the battleground?
- The enemies of the Christian:
- There are 3 basic enemies the Christian must fight.
- =1= The world system
- This is the world system that is opposed to God and does not acknowledge Him.
- Instead the world system caters to the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. (1Joh 2:15-17)
- =2= The flesh nature
- This is the old nature that we inherit from Adam.
- This nature is opposed to God and can do nothing to please God. (Rom 8:7-8)
- =3= The devil, Satan
- Satan is a personal being, a fallen angel, who seeks to devour the believer and defeat him wherever he can.
- (1Pet 5:8 Joh 10:10)
- =1= The world system
- There are 3 reasons why the Christian must fight these enemies:
- =1= A personal reason
- We cannot separate ourselves from the flesh we live in.
- Therefore, to live the Christian life, we must battle the flesh and continuously put it down so that it does not control us.
- =2= A positional reason
- When we received Jesus Christ into our hearts, we identified ourselves with Him.
- Just because we belong to Jesus Christ and are his heirs of God’s blessings, the enemy of Jesus has become our enemy as well. (1Pet 5:8-9)
- =3= A preparational reason
- Because we are being prepared to rule and reign with Christ for eternity, Satan desires to make Jesus’ rulership of no effect. (2Tim 2:12)
- If the reign of Christ is of no effect in our lives, it will be of no effect in the world.
- =1= A personal reason
- Satan, the leader of the pack:
- Satan is known in the Bible by many names and appears from Genesis to Revelation.
- Why are there so many names for this one personality? Because the names tell us something about his character and actions:
- Satan = means “adversary” because he is the enemy of God.
- He first opposed God as an angel of light who sought to be God before the time of Adam and Eve.
- Read Isa 14:12-15 and Eze 28:14-19
- Lucifer, son of the morning =
- This was the original name of the angel that rebelled against God.
- The name Lucifer, literally means = “light bearer”. He was not the Light but was a bearer of the Light of God.
- He lost this name when God threw him out of heaven after his rebellion.
- Devil = means “accuser”.
- This name tells us of his activity. He accuses believers before God’s throne day and night.(Rev 12:7-11)
- This means that he still has access to heaven, permitted by God.
- Tempter = he is the one who tempts. God does not tempt believers to sin.
- He is the one that tempted Eve. He also tempted Jesus in the wilderness.
- He also tempts the believers to sin. (Mat 4:3)
- Murderer and the father of lies = he is the one responsible for death and lies.
- If there were no Satan, there would be no war, death, and destruction throughout the world, through all of human history.
- In the millennial reign of Christ on earth for 1000 years in the future, there will be no war during that period of time because Satan will be bound. As soon as Satan is loosed at the end of the millennial reign, there is a final war prompted by Satan. (Joh 8:44)
- Serpent = originally a winged creature who was cursed with the form of a snake in the Garden of Eden. (Gen 3:1 Rev 12:9)
- Angel of light = deceptively he appears as good in order to deceive people.
- The Bible tells us that God is light and truth.
- Lucifer was originally the bearer of light but he became just the opposite when he rebelled against God.
- As the Angel of light, Satan desires three things:
- =1= He is called the god of this world (age) = This name refers to Satan’s desire for worship. (2Cor 11:13-15)
- =2= He is called the prince of this world = This name refers to Satan’s desire for a throne.
- =3= He is called the prince of the power of the air = This name refers to Satan’s desire for ultimate universal authority. ( Joh 12:31 2Cor 4:4 Eph 2:2)
- Therefore, these last 3 titles refer to Lucifer who became the god of this world system when he was cast out of heaven to the earth.
- He possesses the title deed to this planet until Christ comes back and takes possession of it.
- Christ purchased the title deed to the earth at the crucifixion, but He has not yet taken possession of it. He continues to permit Satans existence and influence until the end.
- Abaddon (Apollyon) = both words (one Hebrew and the other Greek) mean = destruction or destroyer. They are names for Satan, the angel of the bottomless pit. (Rev 9:11)
- Beelzebub = meaning and origin are unsure but some probable sources and meanings of this title are: (Mat 10:25) Baal Zebub = “lord of flies” (2Kin 1:3)
- One form of the name Baal Zebub is Baal Zebul = “prince of Baal” or “lord of the house”. This is a heathen god frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. Baal means = “lord” or “master”, and this is what Satan wants to be.
- Another form of Baal Zebub is Baal Zebel = a play on words meaning “lord of dung”. This is the god that manifests himself in every filthy, immoral, degradation of sex and perversion.
- Satan = means “adversary” because he is the enemy of God.
- Because Satan is not all powerful, all knowing, and cannot be everywhere present at the same time, he has helpers (demons) who give their allegiance to him and help him with his destructive plans.
- Paul tells us who Satan’s helpers are: (12)
- Principalities (Dan 10:13) = These are demons that oversee nations, cities, and geographic areas.
- Powers = These are demons that promote Satanic power among earthly rulers and national leaders.
- Rulers of darkness = These are demons that promote Satan’s schemes in religious, social, and political areas.
- Spiritual wickedness in high places = These are spiritual forces of evil that work in religious organizations and churches.
- Eph 1:21 adds three more:
- =1= might
- =2= dominion
- =3= every name that exalts itself against Christ
- Behind the world scene in the heavenly realm, there is a battle raging between Satan and God.
- We are part of that battle. (Dan 10:13-20)
- Satan’s abilities:
- Satan is a strong enemy, but he is not all powerful. We cannot fight him in our own strength, but he is a defeated foe against the power of God. If we do not know that he is a blustering defeated foe, we permit him to gain a foothold in Gods territory.
- Satan is cunning and deceptive. That is why he often appears as an angel of light. (2Cor 11:14)
- Satan has two weapons:
- False accusations that seek to destroy believers.
- Fiery darts (Eph 6:16) that seek to destroy God and all who identify themselves with God.
- Satan’s tactics:
- The “wiles of the devil” (Eph 6:11) = methodical schemes initiated and empowered by Satan.
- He blinds men’s spiritual eyes (2Cor 4:4)
- He changes into an angel of light (2Cor 11:14-15)
- He makes men disobedient (Eph 2:2)
- He accuses believers (Rev 12:10)
- He deceives men (Rev 12:9)
- There are 3 basic enemies the Christian must fight.
- Read Eph 6:13-17 The Spiritual Equipment
- Paul tells us that we need the whole armor. We must not forget any part of it because Satan and his demons are looking for our unguarded areas.
- Remember when we started our study in Ephesians we talked about the riches that belong to the believer in heavenly places? Among those riches are our spiritual weapons for this heavenly battle.
- We learned that we obtain our heavenly riches by faith. The same is true of the spiritual weapons. They are put on by faith, and we fight the enemy by faith.
- Jesus defeated Satan on the cross, but Satan attempts to make us believe the battle is not yet won.
- By faith we know that if God be for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:31)
- Notice that it tells us to “put on” the armor, not make it. (Eph 6:11)
- It is already made for us to fit us perfectly.
- Paul tells us that we need the whole armor. We must not forget any part of it because Satan and his demons are looking for our unguarded areas.
HOMEWORK
EPH 6:10-24 continued
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.
- Application of Eph 6:10-24
- In what areas of your personal life is the battle the greatest at the moment?
- Find some scriptures that tell you who wins the battle.
- Memorize one or two scriptures that help you with the battle.
- Preparation for Eph 6:10-24 continued
- Read Eph 6:13-24
- What specific things do you learn about the Christian life from each of the pieces of armor?
- What role does the word of God play in spiritual warfare?
- Read Eph 6:13-24
- What role does prayer play in spiritual warfare?
Memory verse: Eph 6:18
