THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
Spiritual Warfare
Message Four—The Whole Armor of God for the Spiritual Warfare
Scripture Reading: Eph. 6:10-20
I. If we would know how the church can be God’s warrior to engage in spiritual warfare, we must know that in the universe there are three wills—the divine will, the satanic will, and the human will—Isa. 14:12-15; Matt. 6:10; 7:21; 26:39; Phil. 2:13: (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
A. God’s will is for us to enjoy Christ as everything by functioning in the Body life for the reality and oneness of the Body of Christ—Eph. 1:5, 9, 11; 4:3-4; John 17:21; Rom. 12:1-2; Phil. 1:19; Heb. 10:5-10. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
B. Lucifer’s pride in his high position and beauty gave rise to an evil intention, which became the satanic will—Ezek. 28:12-19; Isa. 14:12-15. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
C. All warfare has its source in this conflict of wills; before the satanic will rose up to contradict the divine will, there was no war in the universe; the rebellion of Lucifer, the archangel of God, was the beginning of all the fighting that is now taking place among nations, in society, in the family, and within individuals—cf. Rev. 12:3-11; Gal. 5:17. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
D. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represent the divine will and the satanic will, respectively; the crucial issue is whether man would choose the divine will or the satanic will—Gen. 2:7-9. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
E. Through repentance man can turn from the satanic will to the divine will, from Satan’s side to God’s side—Acts 11:18. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
II. Ephesians 6:10-20 reveals that we can “fight the battle in the Body” with Christ as the constituents of God’s armor—Hymns, # 885: (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
A. “Finally, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil”—Eph. 6:10-11: (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
1. The fact that we need to be empowered in the Lord indicates that we cannot fight the spiritual warfare in ourselves; we can fight only in the Lord and in the might of His strength. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
2. The whole armor of God is for the entire Body of Christ as the corporate warrior, not for any individual member of the Body; we must fight the spiritual warfare in the Body, not as individuals—vv. 10-13; James 4:7; cf. Phil. 1:19; Rom. 13:12-14; 16:20. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
3. In Ephesians 2 we sit with Christ in the heavenlies; in chapters 4 and 5 we walk in His Body on the earth; then in chapter 6 we stand in His power in the heavenlies. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
4. To sit with Christ is to participate in all His accomplishments, to walk in His Body is to fulfill God’s eternal purpose, and to stand in His power is to fight against God’s enemy. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
B. “Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth”—v. 14a: (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
1. Truth here refers to God in Christ as the reality in our living, that is, God realized and experienced by us in our living; this is actually Christ Himself lived out by us—4:15, 21, 24-25; John 14:6. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
2. The truth with which we are girded is actually the Christ whom we experience; because Paul’s living was conformed to the pattern of Christ, he had the strength to face all opposition and adverse circumstances—Eph. 4:20; Phil. 1:19-21a. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
C. “Having put on the breastplate of righteousness”—Eph. 6:14b; 1 Cor. 1:30; Jer. 23:6: (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
1. Christ as the breastplate of righteousness covers our conscience, signified by the breast; in fighting against Satan, our accuser, we need a blood-purified conscience, a conscience void of offense—Heb. 9:14; 10:22; Acts 24:16. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
2. “They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb”; our response to Satan’s accusations should be, “I overcome Satan, the accuser, not by my perfection and not even by a conscience void of offense but by the blood of the Lamb. I am defended against his accusations by the breastplate of righteousness”—Rev. 12:11. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
D. “Having shod your feet with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace”—Eph. 6:15: (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
1. Christ has made peace for us on the cross, both with God and with man, and this peace has become our gospel; the gospel of peace has been established as a firm foundation, as a readiness, with which our feet may be shod— 2:13-17. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
2. We fight the spiritual warfare by standing in peace; if we lose the peace be-tween us and God or between us and other believers, we lose the standing to fight—Col. 3:15. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
E. “Besides all these, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one”—Eph. 6:16; 2 Cor. 4:13; Heb. 12:2; cf. Phil. 2:13: (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
1. The flaming darts are Satan’s temptations, proposals, doubts, questions, lies, and attacks; we need to take up the shield of faith to quench these flaming darts. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
2. We need to exercise our spirit of faith, with our subdued and resurrected will, to believe that the Lord’s manifestation is to destroy the works of the devil—2 Cor. 4:13; 1 John 3:8; Matt. 16:22-23; Luke 4:39; Matt. 12:28; Luke 10:17, 19. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
3. We need to exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the Lord’s death has destroyed Satan—Heb. 2:14; 1 Cor. 15:54-58; Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:3-6. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
4. We need to exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the Lord’s resurrection has put Satan to shame—Col. 2:12-15, 20; 3:1; John 14:30; Phil. 3:10; Isa. 61:10; Zech. 3:4-5. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
5. We need to exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the ascension of the Lord is far above Satan’s power—Eph. 1:19-23; 2:6; 6:11, 13. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
6. We must have faith in God, who is real, living, present, and available—Mark 11:22; Rev. 1:18. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
7. We must have faith in God’s sovereignty; under His sovereignty even our mistakes work for good—Rom. 9:19-29. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
F. “Receive the helmet of salvation”—Eph. 6:17a: (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
1. The helmet of salvation is for covering our mind, our mentality, against the negative thoughts shot in by the evil one; such a helmet, such a covering, is God’s salvation. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
2. Satan injects threats, worries, anxieties, fear, and other weakening thoughts into our mind; God’s salvation is the covering that we take up against all of these, and this salvation is the saving Christ whom we experience in our daily life—John 16:33. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
G. “Receive…the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God”—Eph. 6:17b: (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
1. Among the six items of God’s armor, the sword of the Spirit is the only one used for attacking the enemy; with the sword we cut the enemy to pieces. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
2. Christ as the Spirit and the word furnishes us with a sword as an offensive weapon to defeat and slay the enemy. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
3. When the logos (the constant word in the Bible) becomes the rhema (the present, instant, living speaking of the Spirit) to us, this rhema is the sword that cuts the enemy to pieces. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
H. “By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints”—v. 18: (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
1. Prayer may be considered the seventh item of the armor of God, because it is the means by which we apply the other items. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
2. Prayer is the unique way to apply Christ as the armor of God; it is prayer that makes the armor available to us in a practical way. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
3. We need to persevere in prayer because prayer involves a battle, a fight; two parties, God and Satan, are hostile to each other; the third party consists of God’s chosen and redeemed people—Col. 4:2; Eph. 6:18; Matt. 26:41; cf. Eph. 5:14; Rom. 13:11-14. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
4. Prayer is the way to enter into the Holy of Holies and come forward to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help; when we pray, approaching the throne of grace, grace will become a river flowing in us and supplying us—Heb. 4:16. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)
5. The more we pray, the more we experience being one with the Lord and the more we enjoy His presence and have fellowship with Him; what a marvelous reward! (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 5)