The Spiritual Battle

Bible Passage: Ephesians 6:10-17

The aim of this sermon is to set up the rest of the series on the armour of God by making clear the battle that we are in. Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, the world has been a contested space – and spiritual forces of evil have done battle against the kingdom of God. Through the cross, Christ won the decisive victory, but the enemy will continue to fight until the last day when Christ returns and final victory is accomplished. In these verses, Paul makes clear that we are in a battle, who our enemy is, and how we fight.

Spiritual Warfare – We are in a battle (v4): The passage could not be clearer that Christian life is one of conflict. Some Christians live in contexts where the opposition to their faith is obvious and the reality of conflict does not need to be argued for, but other live in more comfortable settings, where it can be easy to drift into complacency and compromise and be blinded to the work of the enemy. This passage, and hopefully this preaching series, is something of a wakeup call to believers to be armed for the fight and to stand against the enemy.

Powers and Principalities – Understanding our enemy: It would be a mistake to think of the battle as one where we fight against other human beings. Even when opposed and persecuted, neither Jesus nor his apostles retaliated with violence or saw people as enemies. In fact, Jesus taught his followers to love their enemies. Instead, the battle we face is against spiritual powers. The devil is real and acts in both overt and insidious ways to thwart God’s plans. Under his command are other spiritual forces, known as powers and principalities, who work through individuals, systems and societies in order to enslave, deceive, dehumanise and destroy. It is these forces that we are to see as our enemies, and be vigilant to fight against.

Armour of God – How we fight: Paul lists six pieces of armour that we have at our disposal, taking inspiration from the armour worn by Roman soldiers. The striking thing about these six things is how ordinary they are. Sometimes when we think of spiritual battle, our mind can go to the spectacular and supernatural, and this is part of it, but here Paul’s focus is on defeating the spiritual forces through living the normal Christian life: the belt of truth speaks of being honest rather than deceitful, and trusting in the ultimate truth of God’s word. The breastplate of righteousness focusses firstly on the righteousness of Jesus imparted to us, and secondly on this righteousness being lived out in our lives as we make decisions to do the right thing in everyday life. Our feet are fitted with readiness to share the good news of the gospel with other people. The shield of faith speaks about trusting God, even when opposition and doubt comes. The helmet of salvation is knowing we are secure in what Christ has done for us and letting this shape our identity. The sword of the Spirit is God’s word in Scripture, and we wield the sword as we read and apply the word. Fighting a spiritual battle often happens through the ordinary every day choices we make to live for Jesus.

Potential Applications:

• Some people may have been complacent and lost sight of the spiritual battle. You can challenge people to get their eyes back onto what is important.
• For some there might be one particular item of the armour that God is convicting people to put on and grow in. Perhaps leave some time for people to hear from God what he is saying to them.
• There may be some who are not Christians and do not have this armour. Invite them to put their trust in Jesus and join him in this spiritual war.