You have been looking at the enemy and you have seen his strength; you have looked at yourself and you are trembling in your weakness and in your ineffectiveness; well, now, he says, look at Him, "Be strong in the Lord".
—Martyn Lloyd-Jones
You can relax now, I won't be using the devil's perspective from now on.
Make no mistake, the devil does use truths and twists them into temptations. You probably noticed that much of what you read in the last post was actually true and Biblical, except for what was concluded—that you should give up all hope on salvation.
I tried my best to portray the temptation that we as Christians face when we feel the weight of the law upon us. I think it's a rather curious temptation, in that many Christians don't seem to even realize that it actually is a temptation.
How should one respond to his own failures? Two wrong ways to respond are (1) blame God, and (2) fall into despair. Yes, one should understand his moral responsibility, but that will do him no good if he does not understand the grace of God. But why don't we understand God's grace?
There is a lie that is deeply embedded inside all humans, which causes us even to refuse to come before God because of our guilty feelings. The lie is this: God's heart towards us is not good, but seeks to do us harm. In other words, we think that God is not benevolent, but malevolent. And if we came to Him in our sin, He'd only kill us.
Why is this important? Because it silently and severely cripples our spiritual fight. In fact, I would posit that the key factor that keeps us from spiritual victories is the accusation of Satan that we do not belong to God, and thus He is against us. And if God is against us, how could we possibly win? From the beginning, we have already lost hope, and we become enfeebled.
Keep this in mind as we continue.
In this post, I will particularly explore a familiar Bible passage. Let's look at the Word.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might."
(Ephesians 6:10)
We sometimes hear the encouragement to "be strong". What is being said here is not what people usually mean when they say it.
When people say "be strong", there is an assumption that we have a potential, intrinsic strength inside of us that we can actualize. Well, that is not the case. In fact, whenever the Bible says "______ in the Lord", it actually means that we do NOT have what it takes, and we need to rely on God for whatever we lack. For example, we rejoice in the Lord because we find our joy in God, not because we have it in ourselves. In the same way, we can be strong in the Lord because we find our strength in Him.
Knowing that God's own strength is available for us should be a tremendous encouragement. Although we often forget, God is the most powerful person in the universe. He created the world, and He could destroy it just as easily. His immense strength is infinite, boundless. Now, can you imagine what it would be like if you had that kind of power on your side?
Well, blessed you are! You do have access to that kind of power!
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil."
(Ephesians 6:11)
Do you notice what is being said here? It says that there is such as thing that's called "the whole armor of God". And not only so, it says that we can actually put it on!
Wait, God has armor? Well, it seems so! Think of some of the Greek stories, where magical artifacts from the realm of the gods were coveted by people. People couldn't resist getting their hands on such great power. These were things that, if obtained, would give you the upper hand. Well, those are fictional myths, but this armor of God I'm talking about actually exists. It's as real as can be!
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
(Ephesians 6:12)
Here, the reason is given as to why we need this armor. It's something I've tried to draw attention to and give a sense of in my previous post, where I tried to point out the great power of worldly things, fleshly desires, and demonic influences, by showing how easily these become deeply embedded in our lives.
What is it like to wrestle against "flesh and blood"? Try to picture a fistfight on the streets, or imagine the bloodiness of a world war. It's not a pretty sight, and I think most of us would agree that we would not like to get involved.
But you know what, Christians? We're up against something that's even more deadly than the U.S.S.R and the U.S.A put together. We're engaged in a conflict that, if we realized the truth of the situation, would make the two world wars look like skirmishes. That's unimaginable, isn't it? But it's true; we're up against "the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places".
You, Christian, you are fighting these forces. No man can face such a force even if they had all the martial arts training in the world, or mastered the tactics of war. I hope you're intimidated, because if you weren't, you'd probably never realize how much you need this divine armor. Because only God can defeat these forces. You can't, and you know it. You've experienced sin's death grip, and you've seen the devil's control over the minds of people, and you know that it's a devastating force. (If you haven't felt it, it's probably because you're still under its power and influence.)
"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm."
(Ephesians 6:13)
Therefore, Paul says, take up the armor. Put it on and stand your ground. A dreadful conflict is headed our way (or is already here). Do not retreat, do not back away, do not surrender yourself to the rebel forces for fear of them!
Don't succumb to your addiction, thinking that it's futile to fight the endless waves of temptation. Don't stop declaring the truth of God for fear of what men think of you. Don't retreat from your calling to take up your cross and die to yourself, because you think that it's too hard for you to accomplish. Don't shrink back into your comfort zone, and oh, God forbid, become a normal, mediocre, complacent "Christian"!
I know, Christian, I know that deep inside, you want to live for God's glory; all true Christians do. You want to pursue truth and holiness and love. But you often become faithless and scared when you envision the bloody battle ahead, when you see the waves closing in on you, and you lose sight of the One who loves you and has the power to keep you above the waves.
But do not be afraid, my brethren. Stand firm and fight, taking courage from the fact that you're armed from head to toe in divine armor.
What exactly, then, is this divine armor? And how do we put it on?
"Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation,"
(Ephesians 6:14-17a)
I can't do a detailed exposition of this text, but what I'm going to do is to point out that this armor we're talking about is, essentially, God's saving grace, and that we put on its power when we believe in Him.
The seven pieces of armor (people usually say six pieces, but I would agree with John Bunyan and count prayer as the seventh piece) are actually different aspects of our salvation.
Here, I will deal with five.
The fastening of the belt of truth is our assurance of God's truth, particularly the truth of the gospel. Truth is a powerful thing, because it is absolute. It is eternal, it cannot be changed, and it cannot be stolen or destroyed. Indeed, the characteristics of its nature are such that our postmodern age finds its existence to be almost mythical.
When we have Jesus, we have the truth, because He IS the truth. In fact, while we often think of truth as an abstraction, an impersonal law of sorts, I would argue that the very core of all truth, the truth that holds all other truths together, is a person, not a thing. God is truth, and truth is absolute because God is absolute, not the other way around.
Jesus is our truth, even our gospel truth. And we have the power of the truth (in other words, we are securely guarded from Satan's lies), when we understand and believe the gospel and the Scriptures.
The breastplate of righteousness is the imputed righteousness of Christ. We put it on when we put our confidence not in our own merit, but in the perfect righteousness of Christ that has been counted to us.
It's becomes hard to believe that God is on our side when we see ourselves in all our wickedness. We can't imagine how God could love someone who is so terribly hardened and sinful. We lose heart and lose courage, and we give ourselves over to a humiliating defeat. Then we wallow in that condition, afraid to reach out for God because of our unclean hands.
But know this: "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
Remember, Christian, always remember—because it is so easy to forget—that God didn't save those whom He "likes". He doesn't save you because you are good. He saved you because you were evil and could do absolutely nothing about it. You were powerless and dead, and you needed a Savior to remove your guilt. In pity and great love, He gave the perfect holiness of His Son to cover you. That's your breastplate, beloved; always wear it, for it is priceless.
Elsewhere, Paul refers to the "breastplate of faith and love" (1 Thessalonians 5:8). This reference gives us an interesting perspective. By "faith", Paul means faith in Christ and His righteousness. And "love" refers to faith in action, in acts of kindness and grace towards our neighbors. Because when we really believe in what grace Christ has towards us, we are moved to give grace to others as well. And when we do so, Christ's righteousness is manifested in us, and our deeds become an evidence that Christ truly died for us. And we are comforted by that. Thus, righteousness here not only refers to imputed righteousness, but also the infused righteousness that flows out of it into a Christian's life.
The readiness given by the gospel of peace is our pair of sturdy war sandals. "What does the gospel make us ready for?" you might ask. Well, to go wherever God wants us to go! It allows us to tread on rocky terrain that would be too uncomfortable for bare feet. And to explain this in context, it allows us to fight well. Imagine engaging in a sword fight without shoes! It's terribly difficult to fight when you're stepping on a thorn or a sharp rock every now and then.
Notice the connection that is given here; this readiness to go where God sends us comes from the peace that is found in the gospel. Our peace with God (Romans 5:1) gives us freedom. It frees us to conform to God's will and, if I may push the symbolism a little further, to follow in His footsteps even in hard places. Ironically, the peace of our conscience makes us ready for war.
There's a small implication I might draw from that. Sometimes, all that we do to motivate ourselves to live a holy life is to beat ourselves up and tell ourselves to pull it together. Now, that's actually helpful and even necessary, but it is made complete when we find our rest in Christ. We only truly become ready to fight the good fight of faith when we find peace with God, and thus strengthen our conscience. It's our relationship with God that results in killing our sin, not the other way around.
The shield of faith—specifically our faith in Christ—is what keeps Satan's little stinkers from getting to us. What I mean by "stinkers" and what Paul means by "flaming darts" are actually the accusations of the devil. What accusations, specifically? Well, the accusations of our sins, based upon God's moral law and our consciences. And man, are these darts fiery. And stinky. And painful.
Let us not be so accustomed to the aching of our consciences that we think it's "natural", and try to live with it. These spiritual darts are real. The devil really accuses you before God, and he is delighted to let you know what exactly you're accused of. I'm not exactly sure how he lets people know of these accusations (Is it a demonic, mystic thing? Or is it the seed of doubt that was first sown in Adam and cultivated throughout all generations? Or both?), but he really does it. And the thing is, it's even more dreadful because his accusations often ring true.
Yes, we really don't deserve God. We deserve eternity in hellish torment. The devil knows it, and we know it. But raise your shield, beloved; look to Christ. Again, you are wicked, and He is your righteousness. And every time you are shown what a defiled, perverted person you are, you must raise your faith, and reply the way Martin Luther did:
"Well, yes, I am. And, indeed, Satan, you do not know the half of it. I have done much worse than that and if you care to give me your full list, I can no doubt add to it and help make it more complete. But you know what? My Saviour has died for all my sins - those you mention, those I could add and, indeed, those I have committed but am so wicked that I am unaware of having done so. It does not change the fact that Christ has died for all of them; his blood is sufficient; and on the Day of Judgment I shall be exonerated because he has taken all my sins on himself and clothed me in his own perfect righteousness."
Finally, the hope of salvation is our helmet. I say "the hope of salvation" instead of "salvation" because that's what Paul calls it in 1 Thessalonians 5:8, and I believe that's what he means here too.
Some people are often inclined to think of salvation as that moment in time when God regenerates us or justifies us (myself included). But a lot of the time, Paul uses the word to refer to our salvation from death—the second death, specifically. And that work is only truly complete after we die and go into eternity.
Therefore, this is something that we look forward to. We hope in the salvation of God, and we wait upon Him to save us from eternal death and from the evil powers that drag us towards it. We anticipate the day when we are free from sin, and free from evil angels and evil men. We await the day when we bask in the glory of God forever.
Hoping and waiting are acts of helplessness and weakness. You only hope and wait when you could do nothing else. But God's power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), and because of God, our hope has a great power to it.
In fact, it's a supernatural hope; it's not only us who are groaning in anticipation, but the Holy Spirit groans with us (Romans 8:26). This hope, this groaning—it is a powerful driving force, a desire for the consummation of our salvation at the end of time that keeps us clinging to Christ and fighting the forces of darkness with all holy determination.
That is, in short, what the five pieces of armor mean. To sum it up, all of the pieces refer to—prepare for a heavy sentence—the truth of the righteousness of Christ imputed to those who have faith, such that they have peace with God and have a secure hope of salvation. In other words, the divine armor is God's saving grace, and we put it on by believing in Him.
Come to God, beloved brothers and sisters. Come to Him in all your stupidity and weakness and sinfulness, and rebuke the lie of the accuser. Come to Him in your tears, and tell Him that you can do absolutely nothing for yourself and for Him. Tell Him that you're done, finished, and that you need Him so very, very much. Will you tell Him that, beloved? When you do, you will be ready, once again, to fight.
To refresh your memory, here's the passage that we just went through. I hope you read it slowly and deliberately and ask our generous Father to give you the strength you need.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation,"
(Ephesians 6:10-17a)
To conclude, the Christian warfare is not primarily about willpower or strength or intelligence. Instead, the key to spiritual warfare is to know God's heart, and to be assured that He's on your side. I hope that you see God's gracious and tender heart when you look at the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because as William Gurnall said, "He that has God's heart cannot lack his arm."
And a strong arm He has. And a merciful heart He has, a heart that led Him to the cross.
Now let's fetch you a sword, soldier.
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