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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
B. “Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth”—v. 14a:
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.
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.
C. “Having put on the breastplate of righteousness”—Eph. 6:14b; 1 Cor. 1:30; Jer. 23:6:
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.
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.
D. “Having shod your feet with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace”—Eph. 6:15:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
6. We must have faith in God, who is real, living, present, and available—Mark 11:22; Rev. 1:18.
7. We must have faith in God’s sovereignty; under His sovereignty even our mistakes work for good—Rom. 9:19-29.
F. “Receive the helmet of salvation”—Eph. 6:17a:
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.
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.
G. “Receive…the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God”—Eph. 6:17b:
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.
2. Christ as the Spirit and the word furnishes us with a sword as an offensive weapon to defeat and slay the enemy.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Ministry Excerpts:
THE GIRDLE OF TRUTH
The first part of 6:14 says, “Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth.” For us to gird our loins is to strengthen our entire being. Our whole being needs to be strengthened with truth. This strengthening is not for sitting, but for standing.
According to the way the word truth is used in chapter four (vv. 15, 21, 24, 25), truth here refers to God in Christ as reality in our living, that is, God realized and experienced by us as our living. This is actually Christ Himself lived out by us (John 14:6). Such truth, such reality, is the girdle that strengthens our whole being for spiritual warfare. Our living must have a principle and a standard. This is nothing less than God Himself expressed in our living in a practical way. When such a truth girds our loins, we are made strong for the purpose of standing.
The truth with which we are girded for spiritual warfare is actually the very Christ we experience. In Philippians 1:21 Paul says, “To me to live is Christ.” This Christ whom Paul lived was his girdle of truth. This Christ was God expressed and revealed in Paul’s daily walk. Because Paul’s daily living was conformed to the pattern of Christ, he had the strength to face all opposition and adverse circumstances. Because Paul had been girded about with truth, he had the strength to stand.
THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTOUSNESS
In verse 14 Paul goes on to say, “Having put on the breastplate of righteousness.” The breastplate of righteousness covers our conscience, signified by the breast. Satan is our accuser. In fighting against him we need a conscience void of offense. But no matter how good we may feel our conscience is, we need to have it covered with the breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness is to be right with both God and man. If we have just a little problem with either God or man, Satan will accuse us, and there will be holes in our conscience through which all of our faith and boldness will leak out. Hence, we need the covering of righteousness to protect us from the enemy’s accusation. Such righteousness is Christ (1 Cor. 1:30).
If in anything we are not righteous, our conscience will be a conscience with offense. But if we are to engage in spiritual warfare, we must have a conscience void of offense, a conscience without holes. When our conscience has holes in it, our faith will leak out through the holes. If accusations and offenses remain on our conscience, faith will disappear. Therefore, we need to deal with our conscience in order to have a good conscience, a conscience void of offense. In addition, we need to put on the breastplate of righteousness to cover our conscience.
THE FIRM FOUNDATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE
Verse 15 says, “And having shod your feet with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace.” Our feet must be shod in order to strengthen our stand in the battle. This is not for walking a way or running a course, but for fighting the battle.
The phrase “the firm foundation of the gospel of peace” means the establishment of the gospel of peace. Christ has made peace for us on the cross, both with God and with man, and this peace has become our gospel (2:13-17). This has been established as a firm foundation, as a readiness for our feet to be shod with. Thus, we shall have a firm footing that we may stand to fight the spiritual warfare. The peace for such a firm foundation is also Christ (2:14).
In fighting, the crucial thing is to stand. We must be able to stand and to withstand the attacks of the enemy. Those who are defeated will run, but those who are victorious will stand. As we wrestle against the enemy, we shall find that Satan does not run away. Even when we are victorious over him, he keeps on wrestling with us. Therefore we need to be able to stand. Spiritual warfare is not a boxing match, but a wrestling match. If we would wrestle against the enemy, we need a firm footing. Hallelujah, in the Lord’s recovery we have such a foundation! Because there are those who have their feet shod with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace, they can withstand any attack of the enemy. Because they have such a firm footing, nothing can shake them. No matter what happens, they can stand and withstand in the evil day. (Life-Study of Ephesians, msg. 64)
THE SHIELD OF FAITH
Verse 16 says, “With all these, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.” We need truth to gird our loins, righteousness to cover our conscience, peace as the standing for our feet, and faith to shield our entire being. If we live by God as truth, we have righteousness (4:24), and righteousness issues in peace (Heb. 12:11; Isa. 32:17). With all these, we can easily have faith as a shield against the flaming darts of the evil one. Christ is the Author and Perfecter of such faith (Heb. 12:2). For us to stand firmly in the battle we need to be equipped with these four items of God’s armor.
The shield of faith is not something that we put on, but something that we take up in order to protect ourselves against the attacks of the enemy. Faith comes after truth, righteousness, and peace. If we have truth in our living, righteousness as our covering, and peace as our standing, we shall spontaneously have faith. This faith is a safeguard against the fiery darts, the attacks, of the enemy.
We need now to consider the shield of faith in detail. We certainly are not to have faith in our own ability, strength, merit, or virtue. Our faith must be in God (Mark 11:22). God is real, living, present, and available. We need to have faith in Him.
We also should have faith in God’s heart. Every Christian must know both God and the heart of God. God’s heart toward us is always good. No matter what may happen to us or what kind of sufferings we may undergo, we must always believe in the goodness of God’s heart. God has no intention to punish us, to injure us, or to cause us to suffer loss.
Along with faith in God’s heart, we should have faith in God’s faithfulness. We may change, but God does not change. As James 1:17 says, there is no shadow of turning with Him. Furthermore, He cannot lie (Titus 1:2), but is always faithful to His word.
God is not only faithful, but also able. Therefore, we need to have faith in God’s ability. In 3:20 Paul declares that God “is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think.”
Still another aspect of our faith is faith in God’s word. God is bound to fulfill all that He has spoken. The more He speaks, the more responsible He becomes to fulfill His own word. We can tell Him, “God, You have spoken, and Your written Word is in our hand. Lord, You are bound to fulfill Your word.” Hallelujah for God’s faithful word!
We also need to have faith in God’s will. Because God is a God of purpose, He has a will. His will with respect to us is always positive. Hence, no matter what befalls us, we should care not for our happiness or our environment, but for God’s will. Our environment may change, but God’s will never changes.
Furthermore, we must have faith in God’s sovereignty. Because God is sovereign, God could never make a mistake. Under His sovereignty, even our mistakes work for good. If God did not sovereignly allow us to make mistakes, we could not possibly make them. (However, this does not mean that we should deliberately make mistakes.) When we are wrong, we need to repent. But there is no need for us to regret, for that means we are lacking in faith. After we repent for a mistake or shortcoming, we must still exercise faith in God’s sovereignty. We could not have made that mistake if He had not sovereignly allowed us to do so. Hence, there is no need for regret.
We all need to have a full faith in God, in God’s heart, in God’s faithfulness, in God’s ability, in God’s word, in God’s will, and in God’s sovereignty. If we have such a faith, Satan’s flaming darts will not be able to damage us.
THE HELMET OF SALVATION
In the first part of verse 17 Paul goes on to say, “And receive the helmet of salvation.” This is for covering our mind, our mentality, against the negative thoughts directed at us by the evil one. Such a helmet, such a covering, is God’s salvation. Satan injects into our mind threats, worries, anxieties, and other weakening thoughts. God’s salvation is the covering we take up against all these. Such a salvation is the saving Christ we experience in our daily life (John 16:33).
Satan’s darts come to us through our mind. Therefore, just as our conscience needs the breastplate of righteousness and our will needs the shield of faith, so our mind needs the helmet of salvation. We need truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and then salvation. Righteousness issues in peace, and peace gives us the ground to have faith. Then faith brings in salvation. Do not separate the helmet of salvation from the shield of faith. The shield protects the front of our being, but the helmet protects our head. The shield and the helmet work together.
THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
In verse 17 Paul also speaks of “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.” Among the six items of God’s armor, this is the only one for attacking the enemy. With the sword we cut the enemy to pieces. However, we do not take up the sword first. Rather, we must firstly put on the girdle, the breastplate, and the shoes, and then take up the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. Then, when we are entirely protected and have salvation as our portion, we may receive the sword of the Spirit.
In verse 17 the antecedent of the word “which” is Spirit, not sword. This indicates that the Spirit is the word of God, both of which are Christ (2 Cor. 3:17; Rev. 19:13). If I were writing this verse, I would say, “the sword of the word of God.” But Paul speaks of “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.” Is the sword here the sword of the Spirit or the sword of the word? Most readers consider that Paul was saying that the sword is the word and that the Spirit wields the sword. I understood the verse this way for years. I thought that it was the Spirit, not I, who use the sword. In other words, according to this understanding, the sword is the word, and the One who uses the sword to slay the enemy is the Spirit. From my youth I was taught that the Spirit helps us to use the word of God as the sword. But this is not the meaning here. The correct meaning is that the Spirit is the sword itself, not the one who uses the sword. The Word of God is also a sword. The sword is the Spirit, and the Spirit is the Word. Here we have three that are one: the sword, the Spirit, and the Word.
As we engage in spiritual warfare against the enemy, we do not use gimmicks, skills, or politics. Our only weapon is the Spirit-Word, which is the sword. We do not employ cunning craftiness—we wield the sword of the Spirit. Our loins are girded with truth, and our conscience is covered by Christ as our righteousness. Then we have peace as our firm foundation. We can boast to the whole universe that we have no problems with God or man, for we are standing on the peace accomplished by Christ on the cross. Furthermore, we are protected by the shield of faith and guarded by the helmet of salvation. Therefore, when we pray-read the Word, every word becomes the rhema, the sword that cuts the enemy. In this way the victory is ours. We not only subdue the enemy and defeat him, but slay him and even cut him into pieces. This is what it means to fight the spiritual warfare with the whole armor of God. The church must be such an equipped, fighting, and victorious church to slay God’s enemy. (Life-Study of Ephesians, msg. 65)