Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-17, NKJ Bible
Kirk Franklin begins his 2007 CD called, “The Fight of my Life,” with the ringing of a boxing bell. He then quotes the Apostle Paul from Romans 7:21, 24-25, “Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me” (NIV Bible).
“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” He closes out his intro with, “You ready for the fight of your life?” As the Apostle Paul has shown within these verses, the fight is within us! When we desire to do good, we fall to our flesh and do exactly what we want to do.
To set the stage for our text, the Apostle Paul’s third missionary journey (AD 53-57) centered on Ephesus, located on the western coast of what we now call Turkey. In the days of Paul, Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the Roman Empire, with a population of perhaps 500,000.
Paul had made trips to Ephesus on previous occasions as mentioned in Acts 18:19-21 and 19-20:1. Paul’s concern for Ephesus stems from his insight of the Gentile Christians being inferior (lesser, lower, poorer) to or distinct from the Jewish Christians, and not fully part of God’s “New Israel.”
Discrimination. This is what Paul had to deal with in the city of Ephesus. There were also other concerns in which Paul had to face with the Gentiles and the Jewish Christians – the lack of awareness that God’s people are to live in a distinctly different way from those of the world.
We are called to be examples. We are called to walk in the light of Christ. We are called to live in holiness and righteousness. We are called to set apart, consecrated lives for the kingdom of God. This means, no cussing each other out. Not lying to anyone. We are different because Jesus Christ is different. And guess what? It’s okay!
As all of these issues have arisen in Ephesus, Paul shows us the way in how to handle the fights, the battles we will face in our lives; and it’s here in our text.
V.10, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” “Be strong,” can be translated, “Be made strong,” which says to us, we cannot do anything ourselves and in our own strength and might.
We too can “be made strong,” because of “who” is on our side. Even David, the shepherd boy, the anointed one, the king of Israel, did not fight Goliath in his own power. David stood tall and said, “Who defies the armies of the Lord?”
It was David who fought in the strength of the Lord, to take down a giant of no bark or bite. Beloved, we are “made strong” because of who lives inside of us. For you see, “Greater is He that’s within me, within you, within us, than he that is in the world” (1st John 4:4). It’s not on your own strength but the One who has strength to conqueror and to move every mountain. “I’m in the fight of my life!”
V.11, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” God gives the believer a full set of equipment, and He sends us out into battle with everything we need at our disposal to war off spiritual struggles and temptation in which we are faced with daily.
This Greek word for armor is also used in Luke 11:21-22 where Jesus speaks of the tough man who is fully armed, but is stripped of all his armor when a tougher one comes and defeats him. We know Jesus disarmed all principalities and authority (Colossians 2:15).
God requires us to wear the full armor daily. When we don’t put on the full armor of God, we can expect to be attacked by the enemy. The full armor of God is mapped out in vv. 14-17. How can we fight the enemy’s flaming darts if we are not equipped properly? Beloved, we are in the “fight of our lives.”
V. 12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
In my New King James Bible Commentary, it says, “Our real battle is not with cultists, false religionists, atheists, agnostics, and pseudo-Christians, but with the demonic beings working through them.” When you see or experience those who are acting out of character, it isn’t them per se you are fighting with, it’s the work of Satan.
Check this out! The disciples had the opportunity to cast out a mute spirit, which took control of a man’s son over in Mark 9:14-20. The man says to Jesus, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.”
There were several things happening with this boy. (1) the mute spirit he possessed was a demon that kept the boy from speaking, (2) this same demonic force also caused him to have seizures. So it’s not the boy in which the disciples ought to rebuke, it’s the demonic spirit inside of him that has to be cast out of him.
The text says, “For wrestle not against flesh and blood…” Beloved, you got to learn to rebuke, cast out all in the name of Jesus. He has given us the authority to cast out demons in His name. It’s only in the name of Jesus that demons tremble. It’s only in the name of Jesus that demons must flee.
V.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.” Paul reminds us again to take up the whole armor of God; put it on. Don’t walk out the door without it. When we do this, we can find ourselves trouble shooting the works of the enemy with prayer and with the Word of God – “No weapon formed against us shall prosper” (Isaiah 54:17)
We can trouble shoot, we fight with the Word of God, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,” (2nd Corinthians 10:4).
In the midst of the fight, we are given six spiritual pieces of armor to put on to help us conquer the enemy. We are to gird ourselves with the belt of truth because dishonesty cannot standup against the father of lies but the truth here refers to integrity a life of honesty and practical truth.
The breastplate of righteousness the breastplate was used to protect not only the chest but also the back itself. The breastplate of righteousness here speaks of righteous character and deeds of believers.
Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; the gospel is a firm foundation on which Christians are to stand or that the Christian solider should be ready to go out to defend and spread the Gospel.
The shield of faith is to be used against everything. This same shield is to cover the whole armor. It also protects us from the fiery darts of the wicked one.
The helmet of salvation the believer’s knowledge and hope in Christ and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
This Word of God is to be spoken to specific situations. To have the precise Word ready, a person must know the Bible intimately. “Your word I will hide in my heart so I will not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11)
This is a battle we are in and we are soldiers in the army of the Lord. “We are soldiers in the army, we have to fight although we have to cry. We have to hold up the bloodstained banner. We have to hold it up until we die.”
In the Name of Jesus, Amen!
The Rev. Joan Taylor is the senior pastor of Greater Harvest A.M.E. Church in Hesperia.
