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Spiritual Warfare (2)- The Armour of God
Ephesians 6:13-20 |
Introduction:
In 1976 Time magazine’s cover story asked, “Is God Dead?” The
answer seemed to be that even if he wasn’t, belief in the supernatural
was on the way out. This was a reflection of the social trend in this
country 30 years ago.
But now, almost 30 years later, we see a great change has occurred
in this society. Belief in Astrology has increased from 17% in the 70’s
to 37% today; reincarnation from 9 to 25%; and production of crystal balls
for fortune telling from 4 to 14%. Any website in the world we turn to, we
see sections on Astrology or Horoscope. When we stop believing in the one
true God, we begin to believe in everything.
Certainly in the Chinese tradition, belief in the supernatural such
as the spirits (鬼神), is common. In both HK and Taiwan, we see such beliefs
rampantly spreading across the society; transcending educational,
political and economic structures.
In the Christian community, the advocates of the “3rd
wave of the Spirit’s movement” or Power Evangelism had placed a
tremendous emphasis on demons, demon possession, territory possession,
exorcism and healing. These social and Christian trends create great confusion in the Christian community. In this context, Ephesians 6 begins to carry special interest and meaning. In a world where one believes in almost everything, it is important for us to pause and hear what the biblical God has to say. I.
Christians are to recognize the reality of the spiritual battle.
Once again, we will review our basic worldview. As Christians, we
believe that the real world consists of both the physical and spiritual.
Besides what we can see, touch and feel, there is the creator God. In this
real world, there is also the devil or Satan.
In 6:10-13, we learned last week that the devil is powerful, wicked
and cunning. He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to
devour (1Pet 5:8). His primary objective is to destroy God's work. God's
objective in our life is to restore his glory ruined by sin. He wants us
to be like him. The devil’s purpose is to stop this from happening. God
desires for man’s reconciliation with him, but the devil would do his
best to distract and pull man away from God. God wants us to live in
harmony with each other; with our family members and with fellow
Christians. But Satan does his best to destroy harmony and unity.
Having said this, it by no means implies that we do not carry any
responsibilities for our behaviors. On the one hand, there is the
devil’s influence; on the other hand, we can also make meaningful
choices. We can decide to do wrong and evil, but can also decide to do
good and be kind to others.
Since the devil is wicked and cunning, and our knowledge of him is
limited; therefore, it is important that we be careful in our approach. I
would like to give some suggestions:
First, Thomas Merton, a well-known theologian once wrote: In prayer
and meditation, we open ourselves to the spiritual realm. The danger of
this position is that in the spiritual realm, there is God, but also
Satan. In Christian prayers and meditations, we only open ourselves to God
and his Holy Spirit. Unlike Zen, our meditation is not to empty ourselves,
but to meditate upon God's word.
Secondly, stay away from games such as the Quija Board. We are
dealing with some unknown and mysterious forces here. I feel I need to say
a few words about Qi Gong. Many treat it as an exercise, like shadow
boxing. The part we should be aware is when the master put his hand over
your neck to impart a certain Qi into your body. One can then direct this
Qi to go to different parts of the body to heal different pains. What is
this Qi? It is mysterious and we need to exercise great caution. Don’t
play with fire.
I also feel that I need to address the issue of demon possession.
In the gospels and early chapters of the book of Acts, there are examples
of individuals being possessed by the demon. In all of these cases, there
was a clear demonstration of God's power overcoming the demonic power.
How about today? From our experiences, we can say there are still
such occurrences. Again we have to be cautious in concluding that a person
is being possessed. Scriptures do not give us any criteria for determining
demon possession. Sometimes there is a very fine line between personal
evil decisions and demon possession. Can Christians be possessed by demons? We have to say no. When we become a Christian, God comes into our life and lives within us. He is there all the time. When he is with us, the devil cannot be within us. However, we may have heard or witnessed a confessed Christian being possessed by the demon. In situations like this, we have to admit our ignorance. We are to be careful not to bring an extreme example of certain experience to make it a norm. This can be very dangerous and misleading. II. Christians are to
recognize the source of our strength.
Facing this enemy, what do we do? When we sin, when we offend or
hurt others, do we just resort to: the devil made me do it? It is an easy
way out.
In vs 10, we read, ‘be strong’; vs11, ‘take your stand
against…’; vs13, ‘…able to stand,….to stand’; vs14, ‘stand
firm…’. In these 3 verses, the words stand up, be strong appear 5
times. The bible is clearly telling us that: yes, our enemy, the devil is
powerful, but we don’t have to be defeated. We can be strong, standing
firm against him. Yes, he can influence us, but we don’t have to yield
to his influence. God's word tells us that “when the day of evil
comes…”, that is when the devil attacks us, we can stand firm and be
strong. We don’t have to be persuaded by him. So, how can we be strong and standing firm? III. Christians are
to recognize our need to put on God's Armor.
Vs13, “therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the
day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…” When we put
on the armor of God, we will be strong, able to stand against our enemy.
As Paul wrote these words, he has the Roman soldier in his mind. The belt,
breastplate, boots, shield, helmet, sword are all part of the Roman
soldier armor. What is unique about this armor?
It is given to us from God. In the OT, God is described as the
mighty warrior. He is the Lord of hosts, the warrior for his people. Isa
59:17, “He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of
salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped
himself in zeal as in a cloak.” He still is that mighty warrior for his
children today, but he also shares his armor with us.
The armor described in vs. 14-20 has been the subject of many
studies in the Christian churches throughout the years. In 1655, puritan
minister William Gurnall published his book on these few verses. He refers
to this book as a small present to his congregation. It has 261 chapters
and 1472 pages! In the 20th century, Martyn Lloyd Jones’s
exposition on these verses total 736 pages. And of course, the book,
“Pilgrim’s Progress”, written by John Bunyan in 1675 captured our
imagination in his vivid description and the usage of this armor of God in
the life of a Christian. This morning we will begin to take a closer look at this armor and see what it means to us living in the 21st century world. 1. The belt of truth. Vs14
In the Roman
Soldier’s armor, the belt is made of leather, part of the underwear. It
tightens the clothes so they won’t affect their movement. By tightening
the belt, it provides a sense of strength and confidence. Even to day, in
the English language we still use this metaphor of “tightening the
belt”, meaning to be alert, to prepare oneself for difficult times
ahead. Now, in the Christian context, the belt is of truth. We are to use
truth as the source of strength and confidence.
The word ‘truth’ can mean God's revelation in Jesus Christ. It
is his word, the bible, the absolute standard for faith and behavior.
Today’s church faces many teachings that resemble truth. They are
half truths, and thus very confusing. We constantly hear about the gospel
of wealth and health. If God blesses you, you will prosper and be healthy.
Lately in a very popular book we read of this illustration: J went to
heaven after his death. Peter took him to a room and reluctantly showed
him a room with his name on the door. Inside this room are neat and
carefully wrapped boxes. When asked what they are for, Peter replied,
“these are blessings meant to be sent to you if you would have asked for
them.” This story is meant to encourage Christians to pray more boldly
for God's blessings, material and spiritual. It sounds attractive, isn’t
it? But wait a minute, is it biblical, is it compatible to God's truth? In
our study of the book of Ephesus, we learned that God has already blessed
us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (1:3).
3:20, “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or
imagine…”. God has already loved and blessed us. Besides, just imagine
if God's blessing depends on my asking, how heavy is my burden. I will
constantly live under the shadow of not asking enough or not asking for
the right thing. I will constantly look for that perfect formula so that
my prayer will not miss anything. This is imprisonment and not freedom.
This is work and not grace. The core of our truth is that God is a
gracious God. He showers us with his blessings that have nothing to do
with our merit. It is all GRACE.
Another trend in our society is moral relativism. There are no
absolute standards, only what is good for me. In the recent stem cell
research debate, there is a strong voice from various patients’ groups.
They argued that researchers should use the embryos for stem cell research
to help save those whose lives are being cut short by diseases. It’s
hard to say no to them. The question we are to ask is not is it good for
us but also is it right? If our understanding of the bible is correct,
then it is not right to sacrifice one human being for the good or
convenience of another. Instead of asking is it good or to my advantage,
we must ask, Is This True? Is it compatible to God's standards? We are to
recognize that there is truth; there is an absolute standard, which is
God's word, His Truth.
The word “truth” can also mean sincerity, honesty, without
hypocrisy. Why is honesty so important? John 8:44 tells us that, “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.” Whenever we
tell a lie, we give in to Satan’s influence.
What does it mean to be true? I think of several examples. We are
to be true in our fellowship with other Christians. We share with them our
victories but also our struggles, pains and frustration. During the annual
tax season, we will be honest with the numbers we put down on the tax
return. We will not use illegal means to get a visa so we can stay in this
or other countries. We are to be honest to our employers by not doing
personal things in company time, unless we are given the permission to do
so. In our dealing with others, we are to be open, upfront and without any
hidden agenda.
I think of elder Yang who is a retired businessman with a burden
for Krygsthan, a Muslim country. Several years ago, he approached the head
of the education department in that country to request permission to start
a school. When asked about his objective, he clearly stated it will be a
Christian school, and he will bring the best education quality to the
country. They granted his request, and moreover, they also gave him
permission to start several schools in different cities. Later the
Education department head told him that they like his honesty. He did not
have a hidden agenda. He was honest from the very beginning.
There is also Nathaniel in the gospel of John (1:47). This is how
Jesus spoke of him; “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing
false.” We see how both Truth and true go hand in hand. Without the conviction of Truth, then it is hard to be a true and honest person. Conclusion:
In the 60’s and 70’s, the American society wanted to do away
with anything spiritual and supernatural. 30 years later, we find
ourselves believing in almost anything. In the recent issue of
Christianity Today, there are several articles on the subject of demon
possession. It mentioned that in many Christian circles, headaches,
addiction to pornography, hearing voices, alcoholism, chronic fatigue
syndrome, homosexuality, nightmares, persistent anger, jealousy and some
other common ills and sins are some possible symptoms of demonization. One
author writes that we live in a culture where we’re encouraged to look
for ways to get us off the moral hook and to find excuses.
In the passage we studied this morning, we learn that we are in a
spiritual battle. Our enemy is powerful, wicked and cunning. His objective
is to destroy God's work in our lives. However, we are to avoid giving the
devil too much credit. Yes, he is powerful and we must not underestimate
him. But at the same time remember our Lord has already broken his power
over us. What is within us, our Lord Jesus Christ is greater than our
enemy, the devil.
He can influence us but the scripture is also very clear that we
can be strong; we can stand up against him. We don’t have to become his
victim. We can make real and significant choices to resist him. We can be
strong by holding onto God's truth as revealed in the scriptures. We can
stand up against the devil by being men and women of Truth and honesty.
Rev. William Hsueh Aug.26, 2001 Houston Chinese Church, Houston, Texas |
