(Ephesians) Ephesians 6:12-24 — Zac Poonen

Spiritual Warfare Against Satanic Forces

Ephesians in chapter 6 and verse 12. We were considering in our last study something about spiritual warfare. In the Old Testament, they never had any fighting with Satan. They only fought with the Philistines and the Amorites and the Hittites and the various ites like that.

But they never fought with the devil. They fought with human beings. Throughout the Old Testament, God's people fought with human beings. As soon as you come to the New Testament, it says, here since the day of Pentecost, we don't fight with human beings anymore.

It's finished. Completely finished. This is one of the distinctives of the New Covenant. We do not fight with human beings. Then what do we do? We still fight, but now we fight with Satanic forces in the second heavens, in the heavenly places.

Now, human beings are fought. We fight against human beings with words, with hands, with weapons, some with physical weapons and things like that. Weapons that can hurt their bodies. But when it comes to fighting against Satan, these are not the weapons.

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual. Mighty through God, to the pulling down of spiritual strongholds and fortresses that the devil has established in many places. So these spiritual fortresses that the devil has established, you know, from which he attacks.

He's established them in churches. He's established them in homes. That's why you find some homes they're always fighting. In some churches, there's always tension. There's immorality. So many things going wrong.

There's a deadness about the meetings. There's no power. There's no anointing. There's no grace upon those who minister the Word. What's the reason? Satan's established a fortress there, and there's nobody able to break down that fortress.

They come along to the meetings, and they pray, and they sing, and go through the ritual, and they break bread and do all that. But Satan's just living comfortably there. He's got his throne there. God needs people who are committed for spiritual warfare, who have made a decision in their life never to wrestle with flesh and blood, who are going to keep their conscience absolutely clear, who recognize that Satan was defeated on the cross of Calvary.

If you are not convinced that Satan was defeated on the cross of Calvary, don't ever get into spiritual warfare. You don't have to defeat Satan. He was defeated 2 ,000 years ago. You've got to just establish Christ's victory in the name of Jesus in your home, in your church, in your office, wherever God places you.

Our position is as members of the body of Christ. When Jesus Christ was on earth, He used the members of His physical body to resist Satan. For example, He used His tongue to speak to Satan, Get behind me, Satan!

Get away from here! Today, we are His tongue. We are the members of His body. He still wants to use His tongue. And we are to resist the devil, just like Jesus resisted Satan. And in order to do that, it says, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand.

The evil day is the day of warfare and battle, when the devil comes at us headlong with all his forces. And in that day, you should be able to stand firm after having done everything. You've done everything, and you stand firm.

That means you don't fall, you don't collapse, you don't get discouraged. Stand firm, therefore, verse 14, and then it goes on to speak about seven weapons or pieces of armor that we must have in order to fight this battle.

Now, Paul uses the imagery, the picture of a Roman soldier equipped for battle against the enemy, and he uses that picture for spiritual truths that need to be found in our lives if you are to overcome Satan.

The Belt of Truth and Transparent Honesty

First of all, he says, you must have the belt of truth to hold all the pieces of armor together. The Roman soldier had the belt of truth, the loins girt about with truth. Truth is one of the most important things in the Christian life.

After having been a believer for 42 years and watched believers in many parts of the world, I'm absolutely convinced of one thing, that the first thing God looks for in us is honesty. Not perfection, but honesty.

Your children must see you not as a perfect father, but as an honest father, one who will admit when he's done something wrong. Your church members must see you as an honest leader, not a perfect leader.

There is no perfect leader. Only Jesus was the only one. But honesty, that means you don't pretend. You don't try to give an impression to people, which is not true. Truth is number one. If you don't have this, you don't have your belt.

Things are not tied together. They're all going to fall apart. The Bible says that those who don't love the truth, God Himself will allow them to be deceived. By whom? By Satan. That's a clear word like that, a threat.

In 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 10 and 11, if you read there, 2nd Thessalonians 2, 10 and 11, it says that those who did not receive the love of the truth, God allowed them to be deceived by what is false, so that they believe a lie.

This is how so many people go into cults that lead people away from Christ. Why does God allow them to be deceived? Because they don't love the truth. So, love the truth with all your heart. Let your belt be tied around you at all times.

Never try to give people an impression about yourself that is not true. Let your yes be yes, and your no, no. Be known as a man of truth. When you are reporting something, if you report just one side of it, you're a liar.

If you don't give a fair picture, you're telling a lie. It's very difficult to report accurately, but those who love the truth pursue that accuracy in their life. It's very important. A true Christian is one who seeks to be accurate in everything.

The Breastplate of Imputed and Imparted Righteousness

He seeks to be honest in money matters, in keeping accounts, absolute truthfulness, down to the last paisa. Secondly, it says here we must put on the breastplate of righteousness. Now, in the New Testament, there are two types of righteousness.

One is that which God imputes to us, and the other is that which God imparts to us. Imputed righteousness means the righteousness which is put to our account as soon as we are born again. As soon as we are born again, the righteousness of Christ is put to our account.

We are clothed with a dress from heaven, like Adam was clothed with animal skins. His fig leaves were thrown away. Our own righteousness thrown away. We're clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Put to our account.

We stand before God, accepted with the righteousness of Christ, just as Christ himself. But, once God has done that, over a period of our lifetime, He seeks to impart, to make us partake of that righteousness of God through the Holy Spirit.

So this refers to both the imputed righteousness through faith and the imparted righteousness, which is the love of God. And that is why this righteousness, this breastplate rather, is called the breastplate of faith and love in 1 Thessalonians 5 .8.

That's the same thing. The righteousness imputed to us by faith, and the righteousness manifested through us by a life of love. So that is the breastplate of righteousness. Never should we try to stand before the devil with our own righteousness.

No. That's like having no breastplate. He'll just shoot you down. Stand in the righteousness of Christ. And at the same time, don't ever try to confront the devil if you've got a bad conscience. Don't say, well, I'm clothed to the righteousness of Christ.

You need to have the imputed as well as the imparted. If your conscience bothers you, you don't have confidence before God, and you cannot have boldness before the devil. That's impossible. Righteousness, that means as far as you know, things are right between you and God, between you and your fellow men.

You can't fight the devil if you've had a fight with your wife or a fellow believer, and you haven't said it right. The devil will come right into your situation, take advantage of you. Righteousness means that as far as you know, everything is clear in your life.

You've paid back your debts. You've given back money that is taken wrongfully. You haven't cheated anybody. You haven't done anything wrong. It gives you a breastplate that protects you. All the attacks of Satan can be defended with that breastplate.

The Gospel of Peace as Spiritual Readiness

And then thirdly, it says in verse 15, our feet must be shod, the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace. That means we must always be ready to share the gospel with other people. Do you know that this is part of the armor?

Do you know that those who are always looking for an opportunity to preach the gospel to others are protected from many attacks of Satan? It's true. Those who are always seeking to be ready to share the gospel with others, that readiness itself protects them from numerous temptations.

It strengthens them. Think, for example, if you're tempted to lust after a girl. And if you look at that girl, not as an object of lust, like the world looks at her, but as a soul that's lost and on her way to hell, however pretty she may be.

A soul that's lost, a soul for whom Christ died. A soul that Jesus came to save. It'd be very difficult for you to lust after her, if that's the way you looked at her. Because your feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

It's a protection. And the Lord fills us with the Spirit and makes us His witnesses. If that longing to witness to others, to share a word for Christ to other people, has gone from your life, you'll find that you're not so strong in your battle with Satan.

So think of these three things that we looked at now. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness imputed by faith and imparted in a life of love, and the readiness to share the gospel of peace, peace with God and peace with men, with others.

The Shield of Faith and the Unchanging Love of God

Ephesians in chapter 6 and verse 16. Continuing our study in the whole armor of God with which we are to resist the devil. We saw in our last study the first three pieces of that armor, the belt of truth, verse 14 of Ephesians 6, the breastplate of righteousness, imputed righteousness by faith in Christ, and imparted righteousness through the Holy Spirit, producing in us a life of love, a breastplate of faith and love, or a breastplate of righteousness.

And the readiness to share the gospel with others, the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace, the good news of peace with God and peace with men. The fourth piece of armor is supposed to have a special quality.

It's the shield of faith, a living faith in God. Faith is basically an assurance that God loves you as much as He loved Jesus. Like it says in John 17 23, He loves you and He will never leave you nor forsake you.

That He's always on your side against the devil even when you have misbehaved, even when you have fallen. That God's love is unchanging, eternal, abiding. If you believe that, you've got faith. And He says, if you have this faith, it'll be like a shield.

There are parts of your body that the breastplate may not protect, the shoes may not protect, the belt may not protect, the helmet may not protect, and even the sword may not be quick enough to defend.

But the shield of faith, you can move your hand around and put that shield left side, right side, up, down, wherever the arrows are coming from, and protect yourself from an arrow that comes from any direction.

The shield of faith, that's why it says, with it you'll be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. The devil not only fires arrows, they are arrows set on fire, aimed at you. And if you have faith in God, it's like a shield.

You know, when the devil came to Eve and said to her, why don't you eat of this tree? And implied in his question and suggestion was the thought that, well, you know, God doesn't really love you. If God loved you, He'd allow you to take part of this.

Why doesn't He allow you to take part of this wonderful tree, so tasty, so attractive, so good, something that can make you wise? Why doesn't God allow you to do that? Because He doesn't love you. And Satan began to think, and they, and the devil went on to say, he doesn't want you to be like him.

It was a lie. And Satan believed it, and began to think, perhaps God doesn't love me. Lost faith, and as soon as faith was lost, her shield was gone. And the flaming missile went straight to her heart, knocked her out.

And that's how Adam was knocked out, too. The shield of faith would have protected both of them in the Garden of Eden. And the shield of faith in the perfect, unchanging, eternal love of God, and assurance that God's plans for you are the best, His wisdom, and His power to protect you.

The Helmet of Salvation and the Hope of Christ's Return

If you can believe that, that'll protect you from every single, it says all, you'll never be knocked down by Satan. And then the fifth piece of the armor is the helmet of salvation. Now salvation, when we looked at Ephesians chapter 2, we were saying has three tenses.

Past, present, and future. We have been saved from the guilt of sin, or the penalty of sin. We are being saved from the power of sin. And we will be saved from the presence of sin. And the salvation spoken of here is the future salvation.

We know that from when Thessalonians in chapter 5, and verse 8, where the helmet is called the helmet of the hope of salvation. So it's not talking about being saved from the penalty, or the power of sin.

When we compare scripture with scripture, we see this is referring to the hope of salvation. Future salvation. The hope that Jesus Christ is coming back. It's such an exciting thing. These sorrows, these trials, they're only for a short while.

Christ is coming back. I want to be ready for that day. I want to be faithful. I want my life to count for God before He comes back. And that protects you, the hope of Christ coming and saving you completely from this wretched, sinful world, is like a helmet that protects your mind from getting discouraged by Satan's attacks.

From your mind from getting depressed, and having nervous breakdowns by Satan's attack. The hope, Christ is coming. He's going to establish His kingdom on the earth. Keep that helmet on, always. The devil is seeking to attack the minds of God's people these days.

And the mind must be protected with this helmet. Christ is coming back soon. I look forward to that. This world is not my home. I'm looking forward to an eternal home with Christ. A lot of things may go wrong on this earth, but my home is in heaven.

The hope of salvation. The hope of becoming like Jesus. We don't get discouraged in our minds, even though we haven't overcome sin completely, because we have the hope that one day we will be like Him completely.

The Sword of the Spirit and Specific Words of Scripture

And sixthly, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. This is what Jesus used every time He was tempted in the wilderness. He never argued with Satan. He never discussed with Satan. That was Eve's mistake.

Contrast the way Eve reacted to Satan and the way Jesus reacted to Satan, you can see a big difference. Eve discussed with Satan. They went back and forth. Jesus never bothered to talk to Satan at all.

Don't talk to Satan. The Bible says resist him. Rebuke him. Quote the Word of God to him when he comes at you with the temptation. Say what Jesus said. It is written. It's written, man shall not live by bread alone.

It's written, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. It's written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God. In Him only shalt thou serve. That's all Jesus said. Three times He quoted scripture. Never added a word of his own and said, get behind me Satan.

That's it. And so, that's how we are to fight Satan, to the sword of the Spirit. And the word here the Word of God, there are two words in the original Greek language for word. One is for the whole Word of God or what's called the Logos.

The whole Word of God means the entire scripture is called the Word of God. That's not the word used here. It's the word Rema, which means one specific word, a saying. We can say the Bible contains many swords.

This is not just one sword. It contains many swords and Jesus used a different sword for each temptation. And there's a specific word in the scripture somewhere for each temptation. That's why we must meditate on the scriptures regularly and have our mind filled with these numerous swords so that the Holy Spirit can pick out the right one for a particular temptation.

Prayer for All the Saints and God's Servants

A particular saying, a particular verse, a particular promise, a particular assurance from God. That is what we are to use in our battle against Satan. This particular verse, the Word of God. Then seventhly, the last weapon is called all prayer.

It's one phrase, all prayer. All types of prayer. With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit. The Bible never says pray every day. It never says pray for 15 minutes or half an hour every day.

Jesus said in Luke 18, verse 1, men must pray always. The Holy Spirit says in Ephesians 6, verse 18, pray at all times in the Spirit. In the Spirit does not mean in tongues. It means the opposite of in the flesh.

That means don't pray carnal prayers. Prayer in tongues is opposed to praying with the mind. But whether you pray in tongues or pray in the mind, we must pray in the Spirit always. That means not in the flesh, not with carnal requests, seeking God's glory first.

Prayer. Prayer is the expression of our dependence upon God. God, give me wisdom to protect me against the wiles of Satan here. Ask God to help us in a different situation. Praying at all times. And not only praying for ourselves, but praying for our fellow believers.

Being alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. And here it says that one way to keep awake in prayer is by praying for other people. We just pray for ourselves, we go to sleep. But it says keep alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.

God places certain people on your heart. And if you are sensitive to the Holy Spirit, sometimes God may burden you to pray for one particular person. And when you feel a burden to pray for a particular person, pray for that person.

Till that burden lifts, sometimes God may burden you to pray for your children. Or a brother in the church, somebody who is facing some pressure. Pray for that person. If we love one another, we'll pray for one another.

We don't pray for those we don't love. And it's because we don't love so many people that we never pray for them. So pray for all the saints and especially for God's servants. It says in verse 19, pray on my behalf that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth.

Sometimes we may think, well, particularly mighty anointed servants like the Apostle Paul. We don't need to pray for him. That man just always has a word whenever he stands up. He's so anointed, he keeps his conscience clear and he's walking with God.

No, those are the people who are the biggest targets of Satan. And we need to pray for them. We need to pray for those who are on the front lines, fighting the battles of God. We need to pray for those who are God's servants.

And especially those who are being specially used by God in the ministry of the Word. Like the Apostle Paul, he says, pray on my behalf that I may have utterance. Now you would think that Paul doesn't need help for utterance.

No, he says, I need to be able to have strength to open my mouth and to make known with boldness. You'd think Paul doesn't need boldness. He needs boldness and he says, you must pray for me, he says to the Ephesian Christians, for which I'm an ambassador in chains.

And a second time he says, pray for me that I'll speak boldly as I ought to speak. Boldness, you know, God's servants can sometimes be frightened. And I believe one of the most important prayers that you must ever pray for a servant of God is that he'll be bold to preach the whole truth without being afraid of any man, without seeking to please any man, and without being afraid of anything the devil may do to him.

If we put on this armor, this is part of the armor, it protects us too when we pray for others. So here are the seven pieces of the armor. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, of faith and love, the feet shod in the preparation of the gospel of peace, fourth, the shield of faith, the helmet of the hope of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, specific sayings of God, and finally, prayer, all prayer at all times for all saints and especially God's servants.

Standing Together as the Body of Christ

We now come to our concluding study in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. In the last 31 studies we have been looking at various truths, wonderful truths that are revealed in this wonderful episode. And in our last study we saw the armor of God fighting against Satan, keeping our position, standing in our position in Christ, overcoming Satan.

We cannot do this alone. Jesus said, if two of you are agreed concerning anything, it will be granted by them, for them by my Father in heaven. Because where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Matthew 18, verse 18 to 20. And whatever two such people bind in my name will be bound in heaven. That is in the heavenlies. That's where the devil is. And so, in Ephesians, this wonderful truth of the body, we must remember that it's as a body that we resist Satan.

Don't fight with flesh and blood. Never fight with believers. Don't accuse believers. Leave that to the devil. Don't judge the believers. Leave that to God. What are we supposed to do? Pray for the believers.

Faithful Servants and the Closing Blessing

Fight against Satan. If we would only obey these exhortations, think what a different church we would have in our land and on the earth. In conclusion, he says in verse 21, Ephesians 6, verse 21,. But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you.

Think that the Apostle Paul had faithful servants, people whom he could refer to as faithful servants of the Lord. I believe God needs many people like Tychicus, beloved and faithful. Just these two words.

Just think if you can take that as a challenge to yourself. Someone whom Paul had the confidence to send. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us. He may comfort your hearts.

Another time in Philippians he talks about Timothy, who was another man like that whom he had confidence to send. Think if you could be a young brother whom an older brother would have confidence to send into a particular situation to solve a problem.

Peace be to the brethren, verse 23, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace is a great word. Grace and peace. New Testament words. Love with faith. May God fill your heart with love for one another.

May God fill your heart with faith and perfect assurance of His love for you from God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace, another wonderful New Testament word. Be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ sincerely with an incorruptible love.

There is a special grace on those who are sincere in their life. Sincerity. Whose love for Jesus is transparent. My brothers and sisters, that is how it must be with our life. That people look at our lives, they see there is a transparent love for Jesus in our lives.

The Balance Between Doctrine and Christian Practice

That we do things because we love the Lord. And thus we conclude this wonderful episode. Let me just review this in the time that is left. What did we see in the beginning? That Ephesians was divided into two parts.

The first, doctrinal chapters 1 to 3 and the second, practical chapters 4, 5 and 6. And as we have studied through the episode, we have seen that. The first three chapters have no exhortations at all.

And chapters 4 to 6 are full of exhortations. Chapters 1 to 3 tell us how we are blessed by God in Christ. And chapters 4 to 6 tell us how we are to live through the power of the Holy Spirit in our personal life, in our home life, in our work spot, and in our attitude towards Satan.

All of this is possible only if we are firmly established on the foundation of chapters 1 to 3. I have repeated that many times throughout this study. And I need to repeat this again at the end of this study that most Christians fail.

There are many Christians, I find, at one extreme and some at the other extreme. God has given us two legs to stand on. And there is beauty when there is balance. And Ephesians 1 to 3 is like one leg.

Ephesians 4 to 6 is like another leg. Both legs should be equally long. Otherwise, you cannot walk straight. It is like the two halves of our body. What God has done for us is one side. What we are to do for the Lord is the other.

What God has done for us in Christ and what we are to do in the power of the Holy Spirit. Both are needed. Today we have Christians who emphasize all the time whenever they come together, they only think about what God has done for them.

And they become unreal. There are all types of sin in their lives. They never take their Christian life seriously. There is a lot of activity, perhaps, but no purity very often. A lot of sin, deadness in their meetings because they only think of what God has done for them.

And then there are others on the other side. What we must do, what we must do, what we must do. And there is deadness in their midst too because very often what we must do ends up as legalism. And very often there is not an emphasis in the power of the Holy Spirit.

So, in many, many areas as we look at it, we see the beautiful balance in Ephesians. What God has done for us in Christ blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place in Christ. And we now must be filled with the love of God, love our wives, be subject to our husbands, bring up our children in godly ways, all because of what God has done.

Out of gratitude for what God has done and being placed on that foundation in Christ what God has done for me, I live my life. Why do I work honestly, uprightly, not to please men in my office? Because of Ephesians 1 -3.

Why do you love your wife? Because of what God has done for you. Why are you subject to your husband? Because of what God has done for you. Now, a lot of you have problems in your home being subject to your husbands or loving your wives because you are not founded in Ephesians 1 -3.

You have problems fighting the devil because you are not founded in Ephesians 1 -3. You can't bring up your children right because you are not founded in Ephesians 1 -3. I want to encourage you who are having problems in these areas.

Living From Our Position in Christ

See what God has done for you in Christ. It's He who did it all. It's He who pulled you up from the pit, made you alive together with Christ, raised you up and placed you in the heavenly places. I really believe you need to pray that God will open your eyes to see that you are in the heavenlies.

Seated in the heavenlies. Ask God to give you a revelation. Think of that prayer in Ephesians 1. That God will give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him. That you may know the hope of your calling and how rich God has become because He's got you.

How precious you are to God. All that is very important. And the tremendous power that's available to you through the resurrection which you've got to claim. It's for those who believe. He's blessed you already.

Don't ask Him to bless you. He's already blessed you. Just claim that blessing in Jesus' name. He's already blessed you because it's the word of God. Or it's a lie. It is the word of God. And those who accept it as God's word find it is to be true.

And think of that prayer of the Paul. That the power of the Holy Spirit will so empower you. Ephesians 3 verse 14 onwards. That you'll be unshakable in love. Rooted and grounded in love. Only the Holy Spirit can do that.

And in view of all this which God has promised and done for us because we're seated in the heavenly places we can walk in love towards people who hate us because God can love people who hate Him. Now, if you're not seated in the heavenly places you can't do that.

You can't walk in love. You'll have an illusory holiness. And because we're seated in the heavenly places we can build the body of Christ. We can function together with others in fellowship. Because we're seated in the heavenly places we overcome hatred for falsehood.

We overcome all anger. Verse 31 of chapter 4. All bitterness. All wrath. Put away all gossiping. Because we see ourselves as seated in the heavenly places. You see the tremendous problems that believers have if they just go into all the exhortations in chapter 4, chapter 5, and chapter 6 without seeing they're being seated in heavenly places in Christ.

This is so very, very important. And it's because God is already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ that we can come to Him and ask Him to give us the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

We can ask Him to make the glory of God manifest in our homes so that our homes become like a little heaven on earth. We are seated in the heavenlies. Think of a husband who's seated in the heavenlies in Christ.

A wife who's seated in the heavenlies in Christ. Their home is going to be a heavenly home. God is going to bring up His children seated in the heavenlies in Christ. He's going to try and reflect God to His children.

And His children are going to see something of heaven in the way their Father behaves to them. Everything is based on chapters 1 to 3. And it's when we stand on that position that we have in Christ that we fight against the devil.

If I don't take my position with Christ in the heavenlies it's useless trying to fight the devil. I won't be able to overcome him. But when I recognize he's defeated Satan on the cross I can stand against him I can resist him and in Jesus' name he will flee.

I can dislodge him from the different places where he has established himself. Root him out. Think of the blessing you can be on earth if you are established in the truths found in Ephesians 1 to 3 and you can build the body of Christ.

As an ordinary saint remember the building of the body of Christ is not the work of the apostles and the prophets. You can be one of them who builds the body of Christ and prepares it for that day when Jesus will come as the bridegroom to be married to his bride.

Amen.