Wednesday, December 7, 2011

EMMDEV 2011-12-07 [Ephesians] Struggle #1: Stand Firm

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 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. 13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians6:10-13

We come to the final major section of Ephesians which has to do with the challenges of living for Christ in a hostile world. This is often called "Spiritual Warfare" but this is a term I have increasingly become uncomfortable with as it has become "Spiritual Cowboys and Crooks" where the earthly "cowboys" and "cowgirls" make the rules and have drifted away from the guidelines that Scripture provides.

Paul and the Ephesians were seasoned veterans in experiencing opposition. (Do you remember the story of the demon possessed man and the seven sons of Sceva in our introduction?) This experience translates into some common-sense principles for dealing with evil.

1. We must be strong in the Lord. Not in our supposed knowledge or our ideas of how the Spiritual Realm "works." Many people who get involved in "Spiritual Warfare" spend too much time "looking for the devil" when they ought to be looking for Christ.

2. We need God's armour - not our own ideas. God has already provided what we need. We don't need to reinvent the wheel. (More on this tomorrow...)

3. We have an enemy: Satan, his fallen angels and those who follow him. Many modern Christians feel that songs like "Onward Christian Soldiers" are not appropriate in our modern society, but the only reason that the darkness will leave us alone is if we are not shining the light of Christ! CS Lewis pointed out that the enemy has two winning strategies: Firstly that Christians ignore him - so that he can do what he likes. Secondly that we pay so much attention to him that we take our eyes of Christ.

4. Many people think that their job is to "defeat the devil." This so often leads to obsession and pride. Jesus already defeated Satan on the cross and soon He will complete His victory. Our job is to stand! Our job is to carry out our Master's call to make disciples of the nations by preaching and living a gospel of love. We are not called to "kill the crooks" but to stand firm. It means we shouldn't go beyond our Master's orders.

So, this is Paul's balanced perspective: The battle is real, but we must stay focussed on God and stand firm by staying in His will.

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/