Now, that's what it says. We’re to be strengthened in the strength of his might, and there are two things that are suggested to us by that general affirmation. Let us note that without strength, armor will do us no good. Now, later on, he will itemize the armor, but armor will do you no good if you're not strong. As a matter of fact, armor is heavy. I think that if you were a 200 pound Roman soldier, when you donned all that armor that a Roman soldier would wear, you'd weigh 250 or 275 pounds. In fact, during the Middle Ages, they got so heavy that fighting became something of an impossibility. It was more for display than it was for any possible activity, but if you're not strong, it doesn’t matter how much armor you have. You'll lose. It won’t matter, even if you have the best armor that money can buy. It won't do you any good if you're not strong. That's why Paul starts with this. You need strength, otherwise armor will do you no good. One author says “No matter what armor is provided, how finely tempered, how highly polished, or how closely fitted it may be, if the man merely dressed in the dress of a soldier, he will not survive, not without strength.” That's why Paul begins where he does.

A second thought is this: without identifying the enemy, armor will do you no good. If you don't know who you’re fighting, the enemy has not been identified, all the armor in the world is not going to win anything, because you won't know who to fight. You won't know who to stand against. And so that's why the second part of our outline is not just our strength, without which armor will do no good, but Paul then immediately says what is our enemy, because without identifying this enemy, armor will do us no good. So, in verse 12, after having said to take the whole armor of God, which we’ll come to in due course, he identifies the enemy, because without that, armor won’t help, and he gives us this list:

First of all, there’s a negative. “It’s not flesh and blood.” By the way, all the translations say “our wrestling,” or whatever word they use for wrestling, the modern translations have “struggle,” we’ll come to that in a moment, but they all say “flesh and blood.” I’m not exactly sure why, and the answer is: the original language of the New Testament doesn't say “flesh and blood.” It says “blood and flesh,” and so, they've accommodated modern translations, in fact, the ASV too, and the King James back in 1611, and even before that. They would translate it “flesh and blood.” That's the way we usually use that phrase, don’t we? when we talk about flesh and blood. That’s not what it says. It says “blood and flesh.” I do not forgive them for doing that. That’s an accommodation to the way we say things, and forgetting what it says in the text. I don’t know why translations allow that. What's the difference? I'm not prepared to tell you. I'm merely prepared to tell you that's not what it says. It has it turned around the other way, “blood and flesh,” and that’s the way it ought to be translated.

Well, that's another issue, but notice that Paul gives us this list of identifying features of the enemy, or the different facets in which it may come upon us. John Stott says “It’s a full and frightening description of the forces arrayed against us,” and literally hundreds, if not thousands, of years, there are those who have read this text of Paul, and he mentions something of this kind of list previously in Ephesians 1:20 and 21, and in chapter 3:10, we have some of these same items listed as being those forces arrayed against us, and we have been scratching our heads, as I said, for hundreds of years, trying to identify what these forces are, not only who they are, but where they are, and it's important for us to come to some conclusion about this, because armor will do you no good if you’ve not identified the enemy. So, each of these, we suspect, has a sinister aspect about it. It's arrayed against us, and because of this, we need to put on armor. Now, we dealt with this earlier, because we came across it, as I just said, twice already. This is the third time in the book of Ephesians, and I am merely going to tell you what we noted before, and that is that over the years these forces, combined or individually, men have tried to identify, and there are three ways in which it has been attempted to be solved:

#1: There are those who see these as cosmic forces, that is, spiritual enemies, which perhaps are demonic beings that are opposed to the people of God, cosmic or spiritual forces, rulers of darkness, spiritual hosts of wickedness, and they say “Well, there it is. These are cosmic spiritual forces.”

And there are others who complain about that conclusion by saying “No, that's far too mystical, far too mystical for me to embrace. I don't see myself standing and putting on armor against spiritual forces. I don't know how to identify that. That’s far too mystical for me.” As one commentator called it “A spiritual mafia.”

Secondly, there are those who say “Well, we see these opposing forces as political structures, statism, or statist structures, governments, leaders of this world.” Some have suggested that this idea has gotten popular after the First World War, especially after the Second World War, where you have these evil men rising up, and governments doing all sorts of obscene things, and today, and that these forces which stand against the church and the people of God are political structures.

There are those who disagree with that theory by saying “No, that’s far too material. The first one was too ethereal, or mystical, and this is too material.”

And thirdly, there are those who say “No, we don't need to identify them as cosmic forces, or political structures. These are all philosophical systems, that is, kinds of thinking that are popularized and impressed upon people, which are in opposition to God's truth and God's church.”

There are those who disagree with this view too, and they say “No, that's too impersonal to make it just philosophies and false reasonings.” Cosmic forces? They say “It’s demonic.” Political structures? They say “No. It’s dictatorial.” Political systems and policies? “No,” they say “it’s dogmatic.” Some say “The first is too mystical. The second is too material. The third is too impersonal. What are we going to do to decide this?”

And my answer is this: We don’t have to choose. It's all three. Those which stand opposed to us are cosmic forces. They’re political structures, and they’re philosophical systems, all of which can be called anti-Christ, and against them we must stand. It's a miasma with three faces. Paul doesn't exactly, I think, intend to itemize these so that we identify each one. It’s any power you wish to mention that stands against God's people. “It is no herd of themes we encounter,” one author says, “but such as any of them are darkly eminent in place and dignity.”

Now, not only do we have these items which stand opposed to us, but we’re told where they are, because Paul has this particular expression in the book of Ephesians, “in heavenly places.” We ran across it almost at the beginning.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ: (Eph. 1:3 ASV)

Do you remember that? I think it occurs five times, spread throughout the book of Ephesians, but it says that these opposing forces exist and reside “in heavenly places” too. What does that mean? Well, I think it means basically this: It draws a picture. These forces, as it were, float above flesh and blood.

For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Eph. 6:12 ASV)

And they float above flesh and blood. You can't just point and put your finger in it and on it. They float above all of that, above blood and flesh. They’re abstractions which push themselves into concrete reality in the world in which we live, world tyrants, whether personified or philosophized, or demonized. So many things are out there against us that we must stand against. In fact, John Stott, in his little commentary on Ephesians, says this: “Paul here brings us down to earth, reminding us that beneath the surface, in the sphere of invisible reality, the battle is raging.” I thought that was interesting, because Paul says “They’re in the heavens.” Stott says “He means they’re below the surface.” Evidently, that seems to be one the opposite of the other. In his mind it wasn’t; in the heavens and beneath the surface are synonyms. They are there, but you can't put your finger necessarily on them at any particular time, but they're there, and we must be prepared to stand against them, whether they’re cosmic forces, political structures, or philosophical systems and policies.

Now, as we confront these things which are against us, there are two things that we notice that complicate the issue:

#1 is that these forces, and the devil himself, have their contrary methods. Notice what it says again in verse 11:

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Eph. 6:11 ASV)

The Greek word here translated “wiles of the devil” is the Greek word “methodeias” μεθοδείας. Do you see the English word that’s found in the Greek word? It’s the word “method,” the methods of the devil. The devil has methods. He has strategies, and we need to put on the armor of God to stand against the methods and the strategies of the devil, and all of these systems which are in operation under his general supervision.

Again John Stott says “They have no moral principles. They have no code of honor. They have no higher feelings. They recognize no Geneva Convention to restrict or partially civilize the weapons of their warfare. They are utterly unscrupulous and ruthless.”

And Paul mentions the devil 3 times quite prominently in this passage. If Satan and satanic influences are fables, as some men say, or if this is an obsolete idea that modern minds can cast aside, then all the rest of the representations concerning the spiritual conflict that Paul mentions here are empty, and nothing more than metaphors. Paul says “No, these things are real, and there are methods that are contrary to us,” and he mentions the devil.

Another author has said “The devil has been honing his methods for millennia. His emissaries visited the church councils at Nicaea and Chalcedon. He sat in on medieval faculty meetings. He is an accomplished philosopher, theologian, and psychologist. He has had thousands of years to study and master the discipline. He is the ultimate manipulator.” The methods of the devil.

Not only are there contrary methods, but there are contrary moments. Notice what it says in verse 13:

Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, (Eph. 6:13 ASV)

What's the evil day? When is the evil day? Is it some day at the end of the world in which it’s going to be an evil day? I don't think Paul is talking about eschatology here, do you? He’s talking about the present conflict: “Put on the whole armor of God,” present imperative. Why? Because you need to stand in this evil day. What day that is: everybody thinks it's his, right? “Things have never been worse than they are now. O for the good old days.” Every generation that has ever lived has thought that theirs was the evil day. We have good reason, it seems to me, to think that this is an evil day. Not only do we withstand contrary methods, but we withstand also contrary moments. As Lloyd-Jones says, “Life is always a battle, but there are certain times which are worse than others.” There is an evil day.

Now then, I want to come to the third part of our outline. We have dealt thus far, you recall, with our energy:

Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. (Eph. 6:10 ASV)

We have our enemy described for us in various ways in verse 12.

Then we have our efforts, and this I will not spend a great deal of time on, but notice in verse 12 it says:

For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, (Eph. 6:12 ASV)

Or it should be what? “blood and flesh,” but he uses the word “wrestle.” As I said, some modern translations change this to “struggle,” or “we contend not with blood and flesh,” or “flesh and blood.” I like the word “wrestle,” and I think Paul meant “wrestle,” and you know, the ancient Olympic Games didn't have ping pong, and synchronized swimming, and all the other things that are called sports nowadays. They had basically two things, running and wrestling. This word that Paul uses here, “wrestle,” is the only time it’s found in the New Testament, and when he did use it once, he used it here, and he used it “we don't wrestle against flesh and blood.” That brought the idea to mind, right? because wrestling is against flesh and blood. I like to find that word, because some of you know that I wrestled in high school and college, and some have suggested that this was a mixed metaphor. “Paul, you're talking about putting on armor, and being strong to fight the battle against your spiritual enemies, and now you're talking about the gymnasium instead of the battlefield all of a sudden.” Well, he really hasn't changed his tune, although he may have changed the metaphor, but it’s still one that's instructive.

In fact, I found Spurgeon saying this: “In wrestling, a man has all his mind, as well as his body, occupied with the desire to overthrow his antagonist. Now he bends and twists, and anon he strains and stretches. Now he uses one foot, then another. He tries his arm, and now his leg. He shifts his ground. He takes up another position, and he keeps his eye perpetually open lest he should be caught unawares. He has both his hands eager for a grip, and his whole body ready for a throw. The whole man is in his wrestling.”

There's the picture, I think, that Paul paints for us. Not only do we have our energy, and our enemies, but there's a certain amount of effort we’re to put forward, and he calls it wrestling. We are to be engaged in our whole man in our wrestling. There is effort to be put forward.

Now then, the fourth part of our outline is our equipment. Allow me to put that aside and tell you that when we come back to Ephesians, we’ll deal with that, the whole armor of God, and what are those items that he mentions, but today I have no time for that. I want to conclude this morning with two observations:

#1: Observe please that clearly those who depict the Christian life in terms of relaxation and surrender have no footing in scripture. Do you see what Paul is saying to us here? He says that this is not going to be easy. You’re not going to float to heaven on clouds of ease. If you think that the Christian life somehow can be described in terms of relaxing, you know, the “let go and let God” baloney that many of us heard when we were young, or in another place, or the idea that the whole Christian life is surrendering ourselves, somehow emptying ourselves, and being in that sort of posture, that's not what the Bible teaches. You’re not going to get anywhere relaxing, and you're not going to get anywhere surrendering, and if you use those terms in that way, you have no possible support in the Bible. Clearly, those who depict the Christian life in terms of relaxing and surrender haven’t listened to what Paul is saying here, have they? “Be strong,” he says, “and put on the armor.” This is not relaxation. This is wrestling. This is the effort that is to be put forward as the people of God opposing the forces arrayed against them. John Stott has said “Wobbly Christians are an easy prey.”

Now, on the other hand, and I'll say this again the next time we're here, we need to caution ourselves against over-stressing the metaphor of wrestling, and putting on armor, and so on, and so forth, so that we overstress the metaphor and the Christian life is “Onward Christian soldiers, going as to war,” as if the Christian life is some kind of jihad in Reformed clothing. You’ve got to be careful about that too, but this is my point: clearly, if you depict the Christian life in terms of relaxation, you have nothing to stand on. That's not how the Christian life works. “Be strong, put on armor, and stand.” Listen to this; try to remember this, and write it down:

First, in heaven, you will have peace with no trouble.

Secondly, in hell, you will have trouble without peace.

Good definition? However, there's a third thing:

Thirdly, on earth, you will have peace with trouble.

Do you see the three?

In heaven, you will have peace without trouble.

In hell, you will have trouble without peace, but

On earth, look at the picture that Paul paints, we will have peace, with trouble.

There's the picture that’s painted. There is the reality of the situation.

Now then, in spite of the fact that we’re in a wrestling match, and there is trouble opposing us, and withstanding us, and we must withstand it, we need to remember that ultimately the victory is won already. It’s ours. About 20 years ago, my son gave me a birthday card, and on the front, you know, you see the front, and says it says “For your birthday. I have a tee time, and you'll be playing me and Tiger Woods.” Now, my son is an accomplished golfer, and you know who Tiger Woods is, and then you open it up, and it says “You will lose, of course.” Okay? The good news is: I’ve got a tee time. The bad news is “You're going to lose.” Think about that card. When Paul tells us all of this about the battle going on, the armor to be put on, and he says “These are our enemies, but you know what? They will lose, of course.” They will lose, and that is to say, my second observation, all cosmic intelligences, whatever we may see in these things arrayed against us, they are placed on notice that they too are passive accessories to God's ultimate sovereign jurisdiction. This armor works. It’s the armor of God, and the strength is the strength of the Lord, and it will not fail, even though the struggle continues.

John Stott puts it this way: “A great drama is being enacted. History is the theater. The world is the stage, and the church are its actors. God himself has written the play. He directs and produces it, act by act, scene by scene. The story unfolds, and the audience are cosmic intelligences, and they will lose.”

However, Paul says “Be strong, and put on the armor,” because on earth we will have peace with trouble.

All right. What is this armor? What are the details of it? Obviously, we’ll do that the next time we'll come to Ephesians. Let’s bow together in prayer.

Once again, our Father, we thank you for the clear teaching and intention of the word of God, the encouragement that it is to us, the call that it places upon us. Enable us, we pray, to understand these things aright, that we might be strong, and put on the armor. Bless us, we pray, as we would attempt to do this for the glory of God. We ask it in Christ’s name. Amen.