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Sermon Notes of Rev.Dr.I.J.W.Oakley (3-11-1996 Guisborough Evangelical Church)
Additional reading: Matthew 12:22-30
Let’s recap the breadth of Paul’s horizons in
Ephesians. He began with the unfolding of God’s purpose, conceived in past
eternity before the world’s creation. Then how He sent His Son into the world
to deal with man’s fundamental problem of sin. How He created a new race and
new people, the Christian church. His ultimate purpose in uniting the whole
church and whole creation under Christ’s headship. The old days of divisions
and hatred between Jew and Gentile were gone when united in God’s new society.
The One Father has one family. One Saviour for one people. One Spirit in one
body.
On the basis of this work of
God, new people are to show they are God’s people by being united, using their
gifts in His service, living their lives in holiness and righteousness at home
and at work. Then Paul brings his readers down to earth and to harsh realities.
There is opposition to God, which is evil and supernatural. So he introduces us
to the fact of the devil, and the principalities and powers at his command. Paul
warns of their opposition and how to overcome them.
What will the devil do about
God’s new society? He will do his utmost to destroy it. What will the devil do
about the different races now united in Christ? He will create disunity. What
will the devil do about the Christians living in harmony and purity? The powers
of hell will scatter seeds of discord and sin. The Lord and His people are
involved in deadly combat with unseen spiritual evil powers. The Christian life
is a battleground, not a playground.
Many never think in these terms.
They are either drugged to sleep or without understanding. So they never realize
the enemy opposing them, never take on the weapons needed to fight, and so
become defeated and humiliated time without numbers.
This passage in Ephesians stirs
us all to battle. Told to stand on our feet and be men. No holiday in this war,
no temporary truce, no discharge in this war. It continues till our dying day.
Face the facts, and get ready for battle. He is an almost almighty enemy. At one
time or another he defeated all the greatest servants of God – patriarchs,
prophets, apostles, and all God’s people. Only one who was never defeated –
the Son of God. Though repeatedly attacked, He triumphed every time.
This week going to look at the enemy, and next week the equipment for the battle.
The Bible is clear about the
reality and power of unseen supernatural forces waging relentless warfare
against God and His people and His plans. The rulers… the authorities…
the powers of this dark world, … the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
realms (Ephesians 6:12). The leader and controller is the Devil. Once an
angel and servant of God, who in pride rebelled against God, and now heads up
vast array of evil powers. (Ezekiel 28:1-19; Isaiah 14:12ff). Variously
described, and his very titles reveal his character and intent. Need to think of
the Devil in a personal sense – not as a power or a force, but a superhuman
stronger than man, though not divine. The god of this world, the whole world
is under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19). The god of this age
has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the
Gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4). He even presumed to offer
Jesus the kingdoms of the world (Matthew 4:8-9). Luke describes him as a
strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe (Luke
11:21-22), alluding to his power and authority. Peter describes him as a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8), reminding us of
his force. And his craftiness, subtlety and malice are summed up in that
ancient serpent (Revelation 20:2). He was a murderer from the
beginning… he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). He seduces,
blinds, sows tares, deceives and misleads, offers perfect counterfeit of truth
and forgery.
God had His Christ, the Devil
was the anti-Christ. God sent prophets, the Devil sent false prophets. God’s
Gospel – the Devil preaches another gospel. Behind all systems, cults, false
teaching, are not just man’s ideas, but the Devil’s. He tempts, accuses, and
makes war against the saints (Revelations 12:7,17). He is concerned with their
downfall, with bringing a wedge between them and the Lord. He cannot break the
union (that is secure), but he can break the communion. He wants us to
backslide, to leave our first love, and miss God’s plan for our life.
His agents are everywhere. He
will disturb our mind with doubts, and confuse us with uncertainties. He will
make us ignorant or disobedient to the Word of God, and make us compromise
ourselves with the world. He will blunt the edge of our witness. He will cause
discord among the brethren, and poison minds. Jealousy, critical spirit, puffed
up pride and self-importance will taint God’s people. Filling us with fear, he
will foster trouble in God’s family, depress and discourage. Give us sense of
failure and hopelessness, leading to blasphemous thoughts.
To many people, the Devil is a
joke. They picture him with horns and a tail and a pitchfork. They laugh at a
creature of their own imagination. They remove the Devil to the realm of
folklore and fairy-tale, nothing to do with us in our educated, enlightened and
scientific age. It is the greatest masterstroke of the devil to persuade modern
man that he does not exist. Two comments on this. (a) Does modern man, with all
his knowledge and sophistication, know more about these things than the Son of
God and His apostles, to whom the devil was certainly reality? (b) If the Devil
does not exist, who is carrying his business on? Who is finally responsible for
the terrible state the world, society, and countless lives are in? Is it just
bad luck, human folly? Or the supernatural powers of the Devil?
How we need to take this subject seriously. Not dealing with picture language. Not a mere moral conflict between reason and conscience, and evil passions. Not about human enemies and problems. Not fighting flesh and blood. It is the dangerous conflict with supernatural evil forces. In it, believers can be seriously wounded, and multitudes of reputed believers have succumbed. If it was only a human struggle, the answer would be in human strength. If it is a supernatural struggle, we need supernatural strength and armour. Dare not forget this, or we will be hopelessly defeated and knocked out.
The Bible is clear about the
reality of the Devil and the powers of evil, and it is equally clear that he is
not an almighty, but a defeated foe. What men cannot do, God has done. Only God
was able to deal with the situation. He could have left the world as it was and
left it at the Devil’s mercy. But in grace He acted. Here is the central
message of the Bible.
In the context of the Fall, God
promised that the seed of woman would bruise the serpent’s head (Genesis
3:15). So there was warfare between the serpent and the woman’s seed. God
chose and called Abraham to be the father if His chosen people (Genesis 12). He
gave the law. He appointed sacrifices and offerings pointing to the One who was
to come, and His redeeming grace. Then the climactic event – But when the
time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to
redeem those under law (Galatians 4:4). He came not only to offer atonement
for sins, but to deal with the great enemy – the Devil. The Devil was the
strong man in Luke 11, and Jesus was the stronger man, who set the Devil’s
possessions and captives free. The reason the Son of God appeared was to
destroy the devil’s work (1 John 3:8).
In the life of Christ, we see
the constant battle between the strong man and the stronger man. It started with
Herod’s attempt to kill Him as a child. There was repeated opposition,
threats, plots, traps set by His enemies during His ministry. He was tempted in
the wilderness. On many occasions Jesus set free devil-possessed people. Then
the climax of the battle at the Cross. Now is the time for judgment on this
world; now the prince of this world will be driven out (John 12:31). The
Cross and the Resurrection meant the Devil was dethroned, defeated, his power
was broken, though his final destruction lies in the future. And having
disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:15). The Devil thought he
had finally defeated Jesus on the Cross, but God turned the tables on him – it
was a mighty triumph over evil. The Devil became a defeated foe, yet not finally
destroyed. He is still very dangerous, and has a measure of power in God’s
permissive will. The situation is bad – but not out of God’s control. It is
still true that the Lord reigns.
Martin Luther’s hymn “A
Safe Stronghold our God is still” celebrates the defeat of the ancient
prince of hell, the fact that we were helpless, but for us fights someone more
powerful, “Christ Jesus is his name”.
Now the Lord sends out messengers to announce the liberty He has gained. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:17-18). The Risen Christ appeared to Saul of Tarsus – and he became one of these messengers. The Christian is one who has been delivered from the dominion of darkness, and brought into the kingdom of the Son he loves (Colossians 1:13). In the Old Testament, God’s special concern was with His chosen nation, but now His kingdom has folk from every tribe and nation. He gives the fruits of victory to all who believe on Him. Now all over the world He is gathering people from all nations, delivering them from the power of the Devil, and giving them light, life and liberty. One day the Devil will be finally and completely destroyed, cast into the lake of fire (Revelations 20:10). The kingdom of this world is to be the kingdom of our God and His Christ. “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun”. The new heavens and new earth will be the home of the righteous.
Meanwhile the battle still goes on. The Devil is defeated
but not destroyed. Like a wounded animal he remains dangerous and menacing.
There is no doubt about his present activity in the world within the permissive
will of God. But the Christian is in very secure and superior position. He has
been delivered, translated into the kingdom of Christ. Devil can try to trip us
up, attack us, molest us, but he no longer holds us in his clutches rendering us
helpless, he no longer tramples us underfoot.
Need to remember who we are and
what we are. Need to possess our possessions. Our position is entirely changed
in Christ. And half the secret of victory in the Christian life is to realize
what has happened to us. We have been translated, delivered, set free in Christ.
We are new persons, and nothing can separate us from His love. We are in Christ
and Christ is in us. There are limitless possibilities for us. From this vantage
point we can fight with confidence. When all around are falling, we can stand,
even in a world like this.
Our whole relationship to the
Devil has changed because our relationship to God has changed. Not just to wage
war, but a triumphant war. The very power which raised Christ from the dead and
enthroned Him in the heavenly places, and which raised us up from death of sin
to be enthroned with Him, that same power can hold, keep and enable us.
So in light of this situation,
Paul gives two commands. The first is general – Be strong in the Lord and
in his mighty power (Ephesians 6:10). The second is more specific – Put
on the full armour of God (Ephesians 6:11, 13ff – to be covered next
week).
The Greek for “be strong”
actually translates “keep on being made strong” – a continuous experience.
Strength is in the Lord, but we have to lay hold of it. As we do things in His
name, we find we are able to do them. We are amazed at the ability we are given.
Folly to depend on self, for we are weaklings, spiritual pygmies, powerless on
our own. Cannot manage on our own. Whatever we do, we must not trust in
ourselves. If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t
fall (1 Corinthians 10:12).
On the other hand, we are not
just to leave it to the Lord. There has to be a proper combining of divine
enabling and human cooperation. We go forward, but we count on Him. Both are
beautifully brought together in Colossians – To this end I labour,
struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me (Colossians
1:29). All we need is found in Him. But we must make it ours. Must take what He
offers. Look at Christ - In
Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form (Colossians 2:9).
Need to realize our glorious
position in Christ when facing the almost almighty enemy – then we need not be
afraid or cowardly. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you (James
4:7). Not to relax and take it easy, but as we enter the battle we can be bold
and confident. We venture out in faith, but soon discover wonderful things are
happening. We begin to fight, and suddenly realize that God is at work in our
life. Our activity and His strength are working together – 100% of us and 100%
of Him. And this is how it is meant to be while we are here on earth. Not to be
timorous as we face the unknown future. He who began a good work in you will
carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).
“The work which his goodness began
The
arm of his strength will complete.”
